Just need to moan

[NHAN]

My step children (9 and 11) are with us at the moment for a week and a half as their mum and step dad are on holiday abroad, again.
I asked for all of their school uniform to be sent over with them as in the past we have always received things I wouldn't use for rags. Yet we got 2 tops each and 2 bottoms, for 7 school days in total. Only 1 of them has a school jumper and the youngest pe kit was so disgsuting i've thrown the white (now grey and stained with ink) top away and bought 2 new ones from a car boot sale this morning. His trousers were a good 3 inches too short and totally covered in paint and other stains.
I went to their house to collect the rest of their uniform and despite draws full only found a couple of usuable things that fit and are not covered in stains, so i've also bought new jumpers and school trousers for youngest which i luckily found today in good condition very cheap. All of his tops look like they have had an argument with his belly button so i've given him a couple of his sisters old ones rom her room that actually fit.

I am just so sick of having to do all of this though, we bought them new school clothes for years as did their grandmother but they still turn up to school in the same manky clothes for a whole week because nobody cares enough to get them clean ones or iron them. We've eve had to buy school shoes as he had holes in the bottom and it was raining! no thanks for that though, their mother told OH to return them and make him wear trainers instead or the last 2 months of term in case his feet grew. Oh but she could spend a fortune on useless crap from Kenya on her 2 week holiday without the children.

Any decent things we buy now end up going back to their house being washed once and coming back shrunk and the wrong colour, I don't understand how they get ruined so quickly.

Theres also the nits that are constant except when we comb them all out, which is every other weekend without fail. I also took my step daughter for a bra fitting yesterday and bought her 2 new ones as she was wearing ones 3 sizes too small!

I just don't understand how people can go off on a lovely foreign holiday leaving their children without the basics that they need. Argghhhh!!
They always smell bad too and when they are here people comment on how clean and fresh they look with clean clothes, yes thats because they wash, clean their teeth and I actually look at them before they leave the house.

Sorry rant over now, feel a little better lol

[rainbowinthesky]

. At least they have you in their lives. What does your dh say about all this?

[theredhen]

You shouldn't be having to take on this responsibility and can understand that you must be incredibly frustrated. Sometimes being a step parent is incredibly difficult.

[NHAN]

He's fed up of it too, but he doesn't do much about it which really annoys me. He will comment that their clothes are filthy in front of his ex, that they need to wash, clean their teeth, have they had their nits done etc but he doesn't direct it at her which makes it seem as though he thinks the children should do it all themselves.
His parents spoke to me a few weeks ago about how the way they are treated is really neglect but then said who is going to say something to her, well why not you??! everyone is happy to comment and says they would be better off with us but nobody says anything. I have said things in the past and she then combs their hair once and buys a few new school clothes but they are still in them a year later - skrunk and filthy!