"Mommy Dearest" has evolved to "Grandma Dearest"

  So sorry for the length of time in between posts!  It has been CRAZY busy around here in our work and personal lives; not a whole lot to report about The Ex but she's been busy over the last few weeks.

  Son and Girlfriend had another baby about one month ago. (We're grandparents again, yay!!)  They asked everyone to wait to post anything on social media because they wanted Grandson to meet his sister first before anyone posted about her.

  Before I get into this next story, let me rewind to last year sometime.  Apparently, I forgot to tell you what happened last year while The Ex was watching Grandson.  Girlfriend told me that she was apprehensive about leaving him overnight but The Ex would not stop bugging them about it, so they caved and let him stay.  They gave The Ex specific instructions on what to do/not do with Grandson; one of those instructions was that Grandson had to be fed every 3 hours because Girlfriend was breastfeeding and that was the schedule they were on.  About 4 hours after dropping off Grandson, Son and Girlfriend stopped back at Ned's house.  Girlfriend said that when she walked into the house, Grandson was "screaming bloody murder."  The Ex was running a bath for him and said she hadn't fed him because he "didn't seem hungry." (They said he eats every 3 hours.  4 hours had passed.  The baby was screaming; The Ex decided to give him a bath because he "didn't seem hungry."  I honestly have no idea how this woman did not kill any of her children while they were growing up.)  I asked Girlfriend why The Ex was giving Grandson a bath in the first place. (Girlfriend is a really great mom and she always keeps Grandson clean.  It's not like she dropped him off by The Ex with dirt on his face and wearing clothes he'd had on for a week straight.)  Girlfriend said that The Ex said she was going to bathe him, and then feed him. (So, get him clean right before he eats.  That way if he spits up on himself, at least he had a nice clean canvas to work with.  The stupidity of this woman is just astounding.)  Son got into an argument with The Ex about her not feeding Grandson, particularly after Ned had reassured Girlfriend that Grandson would be fed every 3 hours.  The Ex ended up telling Son that she's "a good mom" and not to worry about it.

  Now we have a follow-up to that story.  For some history, Grandson has always LOVED taking baths; over the summer, he loved to play in the kiddie pool at Son & Girlfriend's apartment.  With that information being shared, Girlfriend messaged me last month saying that she was "outraged."  Girlfriend said that Grandson had recently spent time at The Ex's house, and while he was there The Ex had given him a bath. (I honestly don't get why The Ex is always doing this.  If you don't think this is weird yet, buckle up because it's about to get worse.)  Girlfriend said that The Ex told them about giving Grandson a bath and said, "[The Ex's son] had to get in with him because [Grandson] wouldn't sit." (...excuse me?)  Girlfriend told me that she thought this was weird at the time The Ex said it because Grandson never had an issue taking a bath in the past and he always loved water.  Girlfriend said she had just tried to give Grandson a bath and he started kicking her while she tried to put him into the tub "like he was hysterical" and when she finally got him in, he went crazy and slipped trying to get out again.  Girlfriend said she's never seen him act so scared and she didn't understand how he'd gone from loving baths to being terrified of them.  I asked why The Ex's son would "need to get in with him" because I was still trying to process why on earth a near 9-year-old would "need" to get into a bathtub with his 1.5-year-old nephew.  Girlfriend said that Son finally had to give Grandson a sponge bath because he was so scared of taking a bath; she said she was wondering what happened and asked if she was overreacting.  I told Girlfriend that she'd sent me pictures and videos of Grandson in the tub and pool before; he never had an issue.  I said maybe Grandson wasn't in the mood for a bath and The Ex forced it on him, so maybe that's what changed?  I said that Grandson loved water right up until The Ex made him bathe with his uncle so yes, this was extremely bizarre.  Girlfriend said that Son was going to call The Ex when she was done with work and ask what happened; she said if The Ex didn't give them some type of explanation, Grandson wouldn't be going over there for awhile. (When I hear this, I just sigh and shake my head.  Son and Girlfriend have made this threat so many times before but then The Ex guilts Son into feeling bad, and they end up breaking down and giving in.) I told her that I agreed and would also want an explanation as to what happened with her, her son, or both of them.  Girlfriend said she didn't like that The Ex's son was in the bath with Grandson in the first place; she said it was weird to her.  I agreed and said if they were brothers it might be a little less weird, but still not normal.  GIrlfriend said she brought it up to Son the night that The Ex told them about it; Son didn't think it was a big deal until he saw Grandson freaking out.  Girlfriend said they're not saying something sexual happened, but she was pissed off and trying to figure out what did happen that made Grandson so scared.  Girlfriend said she didn't know if it was just the pregnancy hormones but she said she'd just bawled her eyes out because she felt like they shouldn't have let The Ex watch Grandson and like it was their fault.  I told Girlfriend that I didn't think she was being hormonal; her baby wasn't acting right and she didn't know why, so she had every reason to be concerned.  I also told her that it wasn't her fault; she ought to be able to trust her kid's grandma but you can't trust The Ex because she's more concerned about herself than anything and she'll never admit if she did anything wrong.  I said that I knew The Ex's son was young and I didn't know him too well personally, but after hearing about how he acts and treats other people, I don't trust him and he's not exhibiting normal behavior for a 9-year-old child.  Girlfriend said she completely agreed and she was glad that Son was upset about it too, that it wasn't just her getting mad about The Ex and her actions.

  The next day, Girlfriend told me that The Ex wouldn't answer their calls.  I pointed out the obvious: Girlfriend was 9 months pregnant and about to pop; The Ex was ignoring Son and Girlfriend; if Girlfriend went into labor and had the baby, they would have no way to tell The Ex because she was avoiding them.

  Girlfriend had said about 2-3 months ago that the hospital was waiting to give the baby vaccinations because they wanted to make sure that she didn't have COVID before injecting anything; they advised Son and Girlfriend to limit the number of people that came in contact with her prior to getting vaccinated, particularly young kids.  Girlfriend said they were asking only immediate family to visit and only adults to come by, even if they were the baby's aunt or uncle.  Girlfriend said that she'd asked The Ex to not bring her kids around right away; The Ex got irritated by this and told Girlfriend, "Well, [Husband and my name] are probably bringing their kids."  Girlfriend told me that if we brought our kids it would be different because we live almost 2 hours away; The Ex lives nearby and can come over whenever she wants.  I told Girlfriend that we weren't going to bring our kids because they asked us not to and even if that wasn't the case, it's none of The Ex's business over what they allow us to do vs. what they allow her to do.  We respect their rules and boundaries; The Ex does not.  

  Daughter was recently asking when we were going to go visit Son and Girlfriend. (Husband and I went up a few weeks ago to see the baby; we left the kids at home because that's what we were asked to do and we have no problem respecting the parents' request.) I told her I wasn't sure since we'd gone up quite a few weekends in a row. (Husband was helping Son fix his truck the first two and then the baby was born so we went to visit.)  I told Daughter that if we went, I'd like to stay for longer than just one day but I knew that Son and Girlfriend were being cautious about who was coming into contact with Granddaughter.

  During this same time, Girlfriend complained that The Ex's sisters had been asking her almost daily when they could come meet the baby.  Girlfriend said that The Ex's brother had recently tested negative for COVID so they all expected to be allowed over, even though they'd told Son just two days prior that all of them were sick.  Girlfriend and I were talking about The Ex's family being immature and inconsiderate when I told her that we wanted to come visit but weren't going to pester them about it; we'd wait until they said it was okay for the kids to come with.  Girlfriend replied, "Honestly the kids can come meet [Granddaughter] almost whenever because [The Ex] ended up showing up with the kids when we asked her to not bring them. [Son] said if he would have asked her to leave he would have looked like an ass. Witch irritates me because she went behind our back and [Son] just let her push our boundaries over so what's gonna make her respect anything we say from now on."  I told Girlfriend that I used to think it was just me and Husband that The Ex treated this way but I slowly realized over the years that it's everyone; The Ex doesn't care about other people.  I said that I hate it for Son and Daughter; I said my opinion is that they always excuse The Ex's behavior because they think, "Well, she's my mom" and feel guilty if they try to hold her accountable for her actions.  Girlfriend said she completely agreed with me.

  WHEW, that was a lot to get out.  I swear I've been working on this post for weeks and kept trying to get all of the information in one place.  Now that I'm done with this one, I'll be working on a post about The Ex's fourth vacation this year. (No, that is not a joke or a typo.)