I’m stressed out already thinking about Halloween. My DH is so deep in the FOG he will need 30 years of therapy to even realize how manipulated he is by his mother.

Anyway… as you’ve all probably guessed, we have to go to MIL’s house for Halloween because all the siblings and their kids start the night there, and then go trick or treating after dinner in their old neighborhood.

I’ve asked him… “so did you spend childhood Halloween’s at your grandparents house with all your aunts, uncles and cousins?”

He said no, but said he would’ve loved that. Hmm ok.

We have the youngest LO… a one-and-a-half year old who goes to bed at 7:30. We live further away than the rest of the family. They’re all a very enmeshed family living within a 10 min radius. We live 25 min away.

It takes LO about 45 min to fall asleep, so sleeping by 8:15 or so. The bedtime routine starts at 6:30… bath, brush teeth, pajamas, story time, lights out.

Simple solution?? Not go! Stay home and give out candy. I guarantee LO would love that. Watch a Halloween movie, eat treats. Happy memories. Easy bedtime.

I hate how enmeshed MIL caused her entire family to be. Her adult children are so messed up and choose to run every holiday by her as if she’s the family boss.

I’m not expecting advice because I know this is an SO problem and I have considered divorce and spoke with multiple lawyers. I do want raise my next children the way i want and not have MIL breathing down our necks... expecting us to be at her beck and call.

But trying to win a relocation order to bring LO to where I’m from would be very difficult to win, according to the lawyers. And that means I’d legally have to let my husband take LO very often and alternate holidays. I’m not ready to give up my first born baby to his family part time because that’s clearly what they want.

So anyway, thank you for letting me rant. I’m just so sick and tired of being the only one in the family (out of 6 adult children) who wants to do our own damn thing for holidays — especially a kids’ holiday. I’m the only one who ever says no. It’s a highly uncomfortable thing.

All I can say is… they better not bulldoze over me to carry around my baby while trick or treating while I’m totally left out. Thanks to the smart, witty people in this sub, I will have something to say about it this time.