As always this information comes straight from the official Government of Ontario's "Framework for Reopening Our Province". This is not meant to be a complete guide but only some information for a regular person to understand what's open and what isn't. This post will follow a similar format to the Stage 2 post. This post will be updated when new information becomes available, if any is missing please let us know. Please report any inaccuracies.
July 31st Updates:

• Movie theaters can now have up to 50 people per auditorium. Physical distancing of 2 meters still must be maintained for the seating arrangements.
  
• Ontario's Primary and Secondary School Reopening Plan
  
• Thread about the school reopening.
  
• Courts reopening details have been realsed
  
• Drive Test will gradually be reopening.
  

Am I in Stage 3?.

• All regions are in Stage 3.

What is remaining closed in Stage 3?

The Chief Medical Officer of Health, public health experts and other officials have advised the following high-risk places and activities are not yet safe to open, due to the likelihood of large crowds congregating, difficulties with physical distancing, or challenges maintaining the proper cleaning and sanitation required to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Amusement parks and water parks
• Buffet-style food services
• Dancing at restaurants and bars, other than by performers hired by the establishment following specific requirements
• Overnight stays at camps for children
• Private karaoke rooms
• Prolonged or deliberate contact while playing sports•Saunas, steam rooms, bath houses and oxygen bars
• Table games at casinos and gaming establishments.

What are the new gathering limits?

Based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and public health experts, gathering limits for regions in Stage 3 will increase. The gathering limit of 10 people indoors or outdoors will continue to apply for regions in Stage 2 until they enter Stage 3. Social circles should continue to be kept at 10 people province-wide, regardless of stage.

• Indoor gathering limits will increase to a maximum of 50 people
• Outdoor gathering limits will increase to a maximum of 100 people.
• In all cases, individuals are required to continue to maintain physical distancing of at least two metres with people from outside their households or social circles.
• All businesses, services and public spaces when hosting an event are subject to indoor or outdoor gathering limits and ensuring physical distancing can be maintained.
• People at their place of work, including performers and crews, do not count towards gathering limits.
• People gathering indoors for religious services, rites or ceremonies, and wedding ceremonies or funeral services, can continue to fill up to 30 per cent of the capacity of the particular room, as introduced in Stage 2.

When Do Gathering Limits Apply?

Based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other public health experts, gathering limits apply to higher risk settings and activities where people congregate, including:

• All organized or spontaneous indoor and outdoor events and social gatherings(e.g., parties, fundraisers, fairs, wedding receptions, funeral receptions)
• Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments
• Concerts and live shows, including performing arts
• Convention centres and other meeting or event spaces
• Recreational attractions, courses and instruction (e.g., fitness classes, music lessons,tutoring)
• Festivals
• Facilities for sports and recreational fitness activities (e.g., gyms, fitness studios)
• movie theatres
• Sporting and racing events
• Real estate open houses
• Tour and guide services (including boat tours)

Now for some additional restrictions

Amusement Parks and Water Parks

Amusement parks and water parks are not yet permitted to open in Stage 3

Casinos and Charitable Gaming Establishments

• Table games must remain closed.
• Casinos and charitable gaming establishments are subject to gathering limits and physical distancing measures, which apply to the entire facility.

Convention Centres, Meeting and Event Spaces

• Convention centres, meeting and event spaces are subject to physical distancing measures and gathering limits, which apply to the entire facility

Facilities for Sports and Recreational Fitness Activities

Examples of facilities for sports and recreational fitness activities include gyms, fitness studios, and community centres.

• Physical distancing must be maintained, except if playing a team sport or as needed for personal training.
• The total number of people permitted in areas containing weights or exercise machines is limited to the number of people that can maintain physical distancing of at least two metres, whichcannot exceed the indoor gathering limit of 50 people.
• The total number people permitted in classes or organized activities at any one time is limited to the number of people that can maintain physical distancing of at least two metres, and cannot exceed the indoor gathering limit of 50 people or the outdoor limit of 100.
• Assigned spaces are strongly recommended for organized fitness classes (e.g., by marking circles on the floor to designate where each person should exercise)
• Gathering limits do not apply in all other areas (e.g., pools, tennis courts and rinks).
• Equipment must be cleaned and disinfected between user sets or at the end of a game.
• Any washrooms, locker rooms, change rooms, showers or similar amenities made available to the public must be cleaned and disinfected frequently.
• Steam rooms and saunas are not yet permitted to open.

Fitting Rooms

• All fitting rooms may reopen, as long as patrons are not permitted to occupy adjacent fitting room stalls at any one time.
• Cleaning and disinfection between fitting room customers should continue

Interactive Exhibits at Museums, Attractions and Heritage Institutions

• In addition to the exhibits opened in Stage 2, high-contact surfaces such as interactive exhibits and displays may open. They must be cleaned and disinfected frequently
• All special events, instructional classes and performances at these locations are subject to gathering limits and physical distancing measures.

Libraries

• In addition to the services resumed in Stage 2, libraries may reopen for all on-site services, as long as materials that are circulated, returned or accessed within the library are disinfected or quarantined before being recirculated.

Live Shows, Performing Arts and Movie Theatres

Concerts, artistic events, theatrical productions, performances, and movie theatres may resume operations, including rehearsals, with the following restrictions

• Performers must maintain physical distancing of two metres from every other person,except from other performers where necessary for purposes of the performance.
• Audiences are subject to the number of people that can maintain physical distancing of at least two metres and cannot exceed gathering limits of 50 indoors and 100 outdoors.This applies to the entire facility, regardless of the number of theatres or performance stages within the facility
• Performers and staff are not included in the gathering limits.
• Plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier is required between the audience and singers as well as players of brass or wind instruments
• Drive-in and drive-through venues, as permitted in Stage 2, are not subject to gathering limits
• Concessions stands at drive-through venues may be accessed in-person or by drive-through or delivery to vehicles

Personal Care Services

• In addition to the services permitted in Stage 2, all services that tend to a customer’s face are permitted (e.g., facials, ear piercing, eyebrow grooming and eyelash extensions).
• Patrons must wear face coverings except while receiving services on an area of their face that would otherwise be covered by a face covering.
• Personal care services must take measures to enable physical distancing between patrons, such as limiting the number of people who may be in the business at any one time.
• Businesses should also consider recording each patron’s name and contact information to support effective contact tracing in case of an outbreak.
• Oxygen bars, bath houses, steam rooms and saunas are not yet permitted to open.

Playgrounds and Play Structures

• Outdoor playgrounds and play structures are permitted to reopen in Stage 3.
• Physical distancing of at least two metres must be in place at all indoor playgrounds and play structures, except between individuals from the same household or social circle

Recreational Courses and Instruction

Examples of recreational courses and instruction include music lessons, language classes, tutoring and art classes.

• All instructional classes are subject to gathering limits.
• Physical distancing must be in place for participants, other than when necessary for instruction. Face coverings are recommended in those situations
• Equipment must be cleaned and disinfected frequently
• Plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier and physical distancing are required for any instruction that involves singing or playing wind or brass instruments

Recreational Attractions and Businesses

• Examples of indoor recreational facilities and attractions include arcade rooms, escape rooms, bowling alleys, and pool halls.
• Physical distancing of at least two metres must be in place.
• Equipment must be cleaned and disinfected frequently.
• Karaoke is permitted only outside of private karaoke rooms, which are not yet able to open in Stage 3, with restrictions including barriers, physical distancing and increased cleaning and disinfecting.

Restaurants, Bars and Nightclubs

• All restaurants, bars, concession stands,and other food and drink establishments may open for indoor dine-in.
• Nightclubs are not yet safe to open, except for the purpose of serving food or drinks to patrons in accordance with the conditions that apply to restaurants and bars
• All patrons must be seated when eating or drinking at the establishment.
• Establishments must take appropriate measures to ensure physical distancing of at least two metres between patrons from different tables, unless separated by plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier
• Buffet-style service is not yet permitted in Stage 3.
• Singing or music may be performed by a person or group at the restaurant or bar, with restrictions, including barriers between the performers and patrons and physical distancing. Dancing may only be performed by someone working at the establishment with restrictions
• Karaoke is permitted only outside of private karaoke rooms, which are not yet permitted to open in Stage 3, with restrictions including barriers, physical distancing and increased cleaning and disinfecting.
• Physical distancing of two metres between patrons from different households or social circles also continues to apply to food trucks, food courts, concession stands and tours, including tastings at wineries, breweries and distilleries.

Team Sports and Live Sporting Events

• Prolonged or deliberate contact while playing sports is not permitted.
• Team sports in which body contact between players is either an integral component of the sport or commonly occurs while engaged in the sport (e.g., wrestling, judo) are not yet permitted, unless the approach can be modified to prevent prolonged or deliberate physical contact
• Amateur and recreational sports leagues may resume so long as they do not allow prolonged or deliberate physical contact between players or if they have modifications to avoid physical contact between players.
• Leagues must contain no more than 50 participants total. If participants in a leagueexceed 50, the league may divide into smaller groups of no more than 50. Players are not yet permitted to play against players outside of their league or group.
• Spectators at all sporting events, including professional sports, will be subject to gathering limits and physical distancing measures, with assigned seating where possible

Tour and Guide Services

• For tour and guide services, including boat tours, the number of patrons is subject to gathering limits.
• Physical distancing of at least two metres must be maintained between all individuals, except for those from the same household or social circle.
• The outdoor gathering limit of 100 applies if patrons will be outside for the duration of the tour except to access washrooms, in transit to an outdoor area, or for health and safety reasons.
• As with other gatherings and events, the indoor gathering limit of 50 applies if the gathering is fully or partially indoors.

Beyond Stage 3

The health and well-being of the people of Ontario will continue to guide every step of the government’s response to COVID-19. The success of Stage 3 will be critical for Ontario’s long-term economic recovery. As more businesses and activities reopen, the Chief Medical Officer of Health and public health officials will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation to advise when more regions can enter Stage 3, if public health restrictions can be further eased, or if they need to be tightened or reapplied.
With almost all businesses and public spaces reopening in Stage 3, Ontario has put enhanced case and contact management in place to quickly test, trace and isolate cases of COVID-19 to prepare for any future outbreaks, surges or waves. Just as important, people must continue to follow public health advice and workplace safety guidelines to keep each other safe. This is about treating each other with respect and taking personal responsibility, so that we can successfully beat COVID-19 and get on the path to a strong recovery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone. As more of the province safely and gradually reopens, people are encouraged to support small businesses in their communities, shop local and look for products that are Ontario made. We are all in this together, and together we will emerge stronger than ever before.
The Ontario Spirit will continue to carry us forward as we work towards recovery and begin building a brighter and more prosperous future for every family, in every region of our province.

Thank God I kept a journal, I now have proof that my in-laws are nuts. For the record, I have a terrible memory and therefore I forgot about how crazy they are, which is why they were in my life for far too long. This is also my first post. I just joined Reddit today.
Prior to my relationship with DH – I know my MIL practically forced DH to be in dance classes when he was a child, as she was trying to live vicariously through him as she had a terrible childhood. One time she grabbed his dance instructor by the neck and pinned her up against a wall. She punched DH in the face one time and broke his nose. He’s had problems with his nose ever since with just not being able to breathe properly, etc. and she’s chased him around the house with a sledgehammer and broke holes in the walls.
June 2010 – DH lived in Ottawa (3.5 hours away) and worked 5 days on, 5 days off so he’d come back to our hometown on his days off. We would normally stay at his parent’s house, but on one occasion his brother (who is 8 years older, a crackhead alcoholic, been arrested hundreds of times, has 3 kids who he’s never supported either mentally or financially, never paid into taxes, etc.) came home late at night, not sober, and was mad that DH and I had set up a nice bed in one of the bedrooms, which was where he normally slept on a cot, but DH had moved the cot to the other bedroom. His brother kicked down a door, poured pop all over DH, punched DH in the face, smashed beer bottles and a light, and when the in-laws came down they blamed DH and said that I wasn’t allowed to be there, even though previously she’d said I was allowed. So we went back to my house and the next day my stepmom went out and bought a futon so DH could stay there when he was in town (she wouldn’t let us stay in the same room lol).
March 2011 – My mom was unable to keep her Himalayan kitten due to moving and her new roommate being allergic, and DH knew his mom always wanted a Himalayan so he called his mom and told her about the kitten, and she told him to tell my mom to give her a call. My mom calls her, and MIL says “oh, I want a boy!” even though she already knew it was a girl. This was also their first interaction with one another.
August 2011 – My brother stopped by my in-laws house (he and DH were best friends so he was friends with my in-laws) and my MIL told my brother that if he didn’t take the two pieces of art that I had left there that she was going to donate them. Even though weeks prior she had asked me a few weeks prior if I wanted to keep them, because she liked them and wanted to hang them up. I had told her that they were a gift, but she could hang them for now, but I’d want them back in the future.
May 2012 – Went to dinner with my in-laws and my MIL complained about everything, including her “spicy” vanilla milkshake. She didn’t eat her hamburger at all. This wasn't the first, or last, time that she complained about a meal at a restaurant and refused to eat.
June 2012 – We were preparing to move to Pakistan so we decided it would be best to leave our two cats and our dog with the in-laws, as we didn’t know what it was going to be like overseas (we had little information given to us) and we were worried. We brought the animals to my in-laws, and the following occurred.
We had two cats. An orange tabby named Fawkes, and a Tonkinese named Cougar. Upon arrival at the in-laws, Cougar peed on the bed and on a blanket. Cougar was like 11 or 12, we had adopted him from a friend who was moving cross-country. MIL said something along the lines of “you know what happened to the other animals when they pissed me off” (DH told me that she tried to choke them and gave them away). MIL also said she didn’t want Cougar but wanted Fawkes. We then mentioned the idea of maybe taking our dog with us overseas, and his parents kept saying not to, and that she was better off staying with them. Later on, MIL says “you don’t expect to take them back do you?”
Weeks later…
Arrived at our in-laws house and DH opened the door and Cougar got out, so I started panicking because they are indoor cats. FIL says “oh don’t worry, he loves going outside”. We specifically told them not to let the cats outside. Later on MIL asks if I’m okay with leaving the animals with her and I told her no, they haven’t listened to any of our instructions thus far and just got a new kitten. Then we are out in the backyard, and DH was ashing his cigarette on the deck and MIL asked him not to because she’d have to wash the deck, so he moved closer to the ashtray. She out of nowhere flips out and storms off inside, slamming the doors behind her. I went in and knocked on the door to MIL’s room, she told me to fuck off but opened it anyway. I told her that DH wanted to leave (keep in mind we are moving to Pakistan very soon) and she says “good, leave, fuck off, and take the animals with you!” then slammed the door in my face.
July 2012 – MIL calls to say that she’s booking a vet appointment for Cougar because he continues to pee all over the place. They had to buy a new couch because of it. She also told us that she bought some pills recommended by PetSmart to give to our dog, so she didn’t kill their grass when she peed.
Later on…
We called the vet after the appointment because the in-laws couldn’t answer any of our questions about what happened at the appointment. Apparently Cougar has bladder stones and it’s going to cost $1500 for surgery but this will stop him from peeing everywhere.
August 2012 – (We are now living in Pakistan) DH told my in-laws that I was now worried about our future children being around them, if they can’t even listen to simple instructions regarding animals. FIL got mad and I had to apologize.
In-laws mentioned that if they were to go away, they’d take our dog to their friend’s house, who lives in the country and has an unfenced yard. I said no. “Oh, but he’s a nice guy and we trust him!”
Paid the $1500 for surgery and Cougar is still peeing everywhere. I knew it wouldn’t work, as he had been peeing everywhere when we first got him also, but trained him not to and he eventually stopped. DH also bought his mom a new duvet because Cougar had ruined hers.
They went through all the bags of kitty litter that we had bought them, and we bought them 6 months’ worth. Instead of scooping the poop out, they just dumped the whole entire litter box out at the end of every day.
April 2013 – My brother got arrested (he’s a good kid so this came as a complete shock) and I wanted to go home to Canada. DH told MIL that I might be coming home and she told DH that Cougar passed away MONTHS AGO. DH felt like something was wrong, so he told MIL “I feel like something’s wrong, is there anything you want to tell me?” she said no. “How’s Cougar?” “Oh Cougar’s fine, he just doesn’t do much.” “DH: “He’s dead isn’t he?” MIL: “No!” DH: “tell me the truth!” MIL: “Ok he’s dead”. Also realized that our dog (German shepherd) isn’t listening very well and that’s because they aren’t stern or persistent with her.
August 2013 – We flew our dog to Pakistan only to discover that she was severely overweight. When we left her, she was 80lbs. When we got her back, she was 130lbs. Thanks to my in-laws. DH was so mad. When we got home from picking her up at the airport, he called MIL and gave her a blast of shit. He told her that he felt “used” because he’d been paying for everything, expecting to get the same dog back. But she legit was nothing like she once was. She had trouble climbing stairs, running, walking even. He was mad that his parents didn’t tell him that anything was wrong, and he had even bought his mom a trip to Vancouver so she could visit DH’s half-brother and half-sister (two of her kids from a previous relationship). MIL kept saying “oh but she’s (dog) so beautiful!” and trying to downplay the whole thing, and then “oh you would’ve been really mad if you seen her a few weeks ago, she was huge!” WTF. And she kept telling DH that she didn’t think the dog was fat and she didn’t notice. She kept saying “I don’t know what to say”. MIL admitted that our dog was getting fed twice a day, plus biscuits from them and the neighbours, was getting table scraps, potato chips, whatever, and may have gotten into the cat food. We had given them a baby gate that we had cut a hole in, to keep our dog out of the “cat room” at our house. So we asked them why hadn’t they used it, and they claimed to have never been given it. DH had even offered to install it, and FIL had said no.
June 2014 – We went home to Canada and DH took his mom shopping and must’ve spent at least $1000 on her. We asked her if she was enjoying the new stuff DH bought her and she stated “oh it’s just cheap stuff anyway” and that she realized she didn’t like it and had given it away. She also never said thank you when he originally bought her the clothes. RAGE. She asked DH to buy her a $700 chandelier even though she had $3000 in her bank account and can afford to bail DH’s brother out all the time and buy him cigarettes and give him money for alcohol/drugs/whatever he needs.
May 2015 – We went on our house hunting trip and the in-laws came with us, since we decided it was a good idea (what was I thinking) that they come and live with us in Alberta, to get away from their crazy son who they are enabling. So we are on this house hunting trip and MIL keeps saying “I get a room!” but she was insinuating that she was going to be locked away in a basement room, but no, the basement has a full living room, bathroom, and 3 bedrooms (which they utilized two of when they were here). She kept saying that if she just wanted a room, she’d move out on her own. Apparently the tension was thick. Why did we continue to go through with it? It was doomed from the start. And there were houses that we’d arrive at, and MIL wouldn’t even get out of the car. Mind you, DH and I were buying this house, the in-laws were not contributing money towards it. DH had a stern conversation with MIL that he had embarrassed her in front of the realtor, and that she can’t act like this in a small town. Then FIL said that he could send us money each month if we needed help, and we told them no, if you don’t plan on living with us, then we will just buy a smaller house. We can afford it, but we need to purchase appropriately. But the whole house hunting trip was an absolute nightmare. We were focused on trying to buy a house, but MIL was concerned about going to Walmart (she went 5 times in a week) and to the casino (twice).
August 2015 – The in-laws FINALLY put their house on the market after knowing they would be moving for several months. They kept telling us “not to worry” because it’d sell in no time.
December 2015 – The in-laws FINALLY sold their house. And moved in with us. I asked my MIL how she liked her new bedroom… her reply: “it’s a room!” after I had cleaned it and made it all nice and presentable. I then went to the grocery store, came back and MIL asks if I got orange juice. I said no. “Well I need orange juice. I drink it every morning. Helps with my bowels.” They kept complaining that the house was too cold (it was set to 21 Celsius, 69.8 F) so I turned it up to 23 C, 73.4 F. It was too hot for DH and I, so we had to open our window (in the middle of December in northern Alberta) and the window froze open and had icicles on the inside, so we told them this and FIL goes “no worries” which is a typical response from him, along with “all good!”
We took the in-laws to the best restaurant in town, where everything is made from scratch and fresh, and the menu changes daily depending on what’s in season or in stock at the grocery store, and MIL complained the entire time and didn’t eat her meal, and FIL complained a bit too.
MIL tells me that if she ever has an issue with me, she will tell me straight up.
Their shipment arrives, and we are unloading it. I see Fawkes on top of a piece of furniture, so I take him off. MIL tells FIL that she doesn’t like this (why? I don’t know) and DH overhears that conversation. Then DH tells me that his parents think I’m not friendly. We have a family meeting. I somehow found out that MIL had a talk with her MIL, and said that she would never get along with me, I confront her about this, and she denies it. DH stuck up for me and confirmed that this conversation had in fact happened. I confronted MIL about the cat situation, when we left them with them and how they didn’t listen to any of our instructions. MIL starts going on about how Fawkes is her cat. I then said “tell me what really happened to Cougar” (they’d previously said he just died) and she then says “we gave him away!” At this point I got up, pretty much said to DH “I told you so!” and left the room. Nobody bothered to come after me. I went back. I told them that giving him away wasn’t their decision to make, we could’ve shipped him to Pakistan, I could’ve given him to my sister or another family member, there were many options. I told MIL that she was a liar and she starts dancing around saying “oh I’m a liar!” They never apologized for anything.
January 2016 – I am babysitting a 2 year old boy for a friend, and my friend was due to pick her son up at 5:30. I had given him some snacks, but I didn’t feed him dinner because she was coming at 5:30 and I didn’t know what her dinner plans were, and she didn’t tell me to feed him dinner. My MIL got mad at me because I was eating dinner in front of the 2 year old (I had to go to soccer that night, so I had to eat then). I sent a text to my friend to see if she wanted me to feed her son, just to get MIL off my back. She kept going on. FIL pipes up to say that I sent a text and we are awaiting a response. She then proceeds to start swearing and yelling at FIL in front of the 2 year old, tells FIL to get his “fucking hands off her”, shoved FIL, made a fist like she was going to punch him, and stormed off downstairs. So it’s wrong of me to eat dinner in front of a 2 year old, but she can act like a complete fucking psycho?
April 2016 – Our dog was getting sick a lot and I asked if everyone in the house (in-laws and we also had a roommate who had a puppy) to stop feeding our dog ANYTHING, period. I needed to start tracking what she was eating to find out what was making her sick. She began getting better once I told everyone to stop feeding her things. One day at dinner, MIL gets out an ice cream sandwich and right at the dinner table, in front of everyone, goes to let our dog lick the ice cream sandwich. DH jumped up so fast and pushed it away from our dog. MIL goes “I was only going to let her have a lick” and DH says “the whole thing was in her mouth!” It was also chocolate. And MIL didn’t believe DH when he told her it was chocolate… until she tasted it. She then announces that our dog loves cheesies.
July 2016 – I'm pregnant and due in December. MIL tells me that I need to hurry up and have this baby because it’s affecting her too. Apparently she’s sensitive to smells these days.
August 2016 – We did a road trip to British Columbia with the in-laws. We stopped at many places on the way, and eventually left them in Vancouver so they could spend time with MIL’s daughter (DH’s half-sister). DH and I continued on to Victoria to visit our friends. When it was time for the in-laws to come to Victoria, MIL was super awkward and just sat in the backyard away from everyone.
We went to breakfast with the in-laws and MIL commented on how thin the pregnant waitress was and that you wouldn’t know she was pregnant until she turned around, and DH said “well (my name) is like that too” and MIL said “no she’s not, she’s wider in the hips” blah blah blah.
We were having a yard sale and MIL was having a meltdown because she has separation anxiety and asked if I wanted some of the belongings that she had intended to sell. I said no, I have enough junk of my own, and she had a fit because I don’t like anything that she likes. DH stuck up for me and said it was perfectly fine that we have different tastes/likes. And no, she did not assist with the yard sale.
October 2016 – MIL came and woke me up to see when we were going to leave for the craft show. I told her that I just needed to sleep a bit longer and she said she’d start to get ready. I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I went downstairs to hang out with the in-laws. I mentioned that the one lady I was meant to meet at the craft show wasn’t going to be there, so MIL says “we don’t have to go anymore?” and I asked her if she didn’t want to go, and she said no. So why did she wake me up to go???
November 2016 – My in-laws cat began scratching our leather couch set that we had bought when we first moved into the house, so it was probably only a year old, maybe. I asked the in-laws to start keeping the basement door closed so that the cat couldn’t come upstairs. They live downstairs, it’s where they sleep and watch TV. We live in a raised bungalow, so it’s not a typical dark basement. The windows are above ground, so it’s actually bright and nice down there, like any other house. And they are down there unless they’re using the kitchen, so I honestly see no reason why they can’t just leave the basement door closed so that the cat won’t ruin our belongings. When I went and asked my in-laws to keep the cat downstairs, MIL yells at FIL “I told you so [FIL’s name]!” A few days went by, they were keeping her downstairs, but then I’d show up at the house earlier than expected and the cat would be upstairs and they’d practically come running up to grab her. They literally got rid of my cat because it was peeing in their house, yet their cat is scratching up my furniture, and I’m not asking them to get rid of the cat, I’m only asking that they keep the cat downstairs. DH starts asking me what we are going to do about the two dining chairs that are currently in the garage. I told him that he said I could keep them there, as we don’t need them on a day to day basis in the kitchen. I suggested that if he had an issue with them in the garage, we could put them under the stairs, and that the garage needs to get organized anyway. Out of nowhere, MIL yells up from the basement “don’t worry about the dining set because I’m sick of this shit and we are moving out!” They then ran off to Bingo (which they basically went to 6 days a week for the first several months of living with us, and god only knows how much money they spent at Bingo while they lived with us).
Of course they never apologized for the cat scratching up our leather furniture.
DH also got upset because he had hoped that his parents living with us would give him the relationship that he had always hoped to have with his father and that his parents always favoured his brother over him.
The in-laws were ignoring us after the fight where MIL announced she was moving out. FIL walked outside one night when DH was brushing the dog, and said “how’s it going” to FIL who responded with “good”. DH asks “how was your day today?” and FIL says “great”. Then the next day DH comes home and FIL opens the basement door a tiny crack to let our dog out, and DH marches down and says to his parents “well that was the most awkward thing ever. Hello to you too!” Then his parents started talking to him, and FIL asked if we still had the microwave that was in the garage (we didn’t) and if he could buy the TV that we had in the garage. DH said that they could have it. They also announced that they’d found an apartment and DH got mad because there was no discussion at all about this.
DH and I are at breakfast one morning and he tells me some things. MIL has always gone on about how she gets along so well with her MIL and mentioned that she wanted to go home for Christmas (and would therefore miss the birth of our child) because she wanted to see her MIL, and how she’d spent every Christmas (except for the previous one) with her MIL. DH tells me that his mom hated his grandma up until recently and that every Christmas was a constant battle because his mom didn’t want to go to his grandma’s house and that he and his brother would sit in the car for hours while his parents fought inside. Come home and the cat is upstairs again with the basement door open. DH says that his parents are doing this on purpose so that we get mad and it will give them more ammunition and reason to leave without them feeling bad. DH says they do this often.
DH and the in-laws got into an argument and MIL tells DH that she loves me sometimes, hates me at other times, that I am difficult to live with, they feel like they are a burden on us, that they only moved here to help us, etc. DH told them that we didn’t need their help, we would’ve bought a cheaper house and we would’ve been fine.
My friend hosted a surprise baby shower for me and my MIL did not come although she was invited, because she “doesn’t do baby showers” and she claimed that nobody threw her a baby shower when she was pregnant, even though FIL said that yes, she did have a baby shower.
Still November…..
Woke up at 3am on a Saturday morning and it literally stunk so badly in our bedroom. I assumed that our dog had farted but it was so powerful so I got up and went out to the living room and there was liquid doggy diarrhea ALL OVER THE CARPET. Apparently this was the 5th time this month, I just didn’t document the first four. Keep in mind that I am due in December, so I’m super pregnant. Anyway, I scrubbed the floor at 3am and then had a shower and went back to bed, but had to wake up early for our maternity photoshoot that day.
I also discovered that when we got the mortgage, you have the option of including the yearly property taxes in with your mortgage payments or you can pay them yourself every year. FIL said that he’d pay the property tax each summer ($3500) and I discovered that he conveniently didn’t pay it for the previous year, and obviously now that they are moving out, we will be responsible for coming up with that $3500 each year. DH also gave his parents several thousands of dollars for money they had previously given us, but he didn’t want to feel like he was indebted to them, so he gave some of it back.
December 2016 – The in-laws finally moved out! They came over the day they moved out to give us a bag of dog treats that they had been hiding in the basement. When our dog was having all that diarrhea in November, I kept asking them if they were giving her anything and they kept saying no.
They didn’t even bother to clean the basement once they moved out, so I had to clean it. I steam cleaned the carpet and had to empty the container twice and it was disgustingly dirty. We have ledges that run around some of the rooms, and they had dirt caked on them from where the cats would walk/sit.
DH has a bad habit of smoking cigarettes, especially around his mother, who’s likely been smoking for 70 years (okay, well she’s only 72, but she likely started smoking when she was 10 or so). He had been smoking and I asked him to get me a drink. He took a sip of it and handed it to me. It stunk so badly and I said “this is why I don’t want you smoking around the baby!” MIL says “oh babies become immune to it”.
June 2017 – We went to British Columbia on a road trip. FIL texts DH to ask where our carpet cleaner is. We had lent it to a friend. DH asks why he needs it, and he tells us that our dog had another accident in the living room. Of course, only when the in-laws are taking care of her does she have these accidents. They claimed that our dog must have eaten something she found outside.
July 2017 – We came back from a mini road trip around Alberta that we had taken when our friend from Pakistan came to visit us. The in-laws had moved out of their apartment and were staying in our basement just for a couple nights, while we were on this road trip, and planned to move back to Ontario when we got back from the road trip, because they didn’t like it here. We got back from the road trip around midnight and went to bed. We woke up the next morning and the in-laws were gone. They drove/moved back to Ontario without saying goodbye.
December 2017 – The in-laws bought us plane tickets to go home for Christmas. We kept asking them if they had a car seat for us to use (DH has cousins and stuff so they said they would borrow one) or if we needed to buy one and get it sent to their house. They kept saying not to worry about it, that they’d take care of it. We arrived at the airport at like 4am and went to their truck, and the car seat was not even installed. It’s 4am, we’ve just travelled a ridiculously long time (5 hour drive to the airport plus a 3 hour flight plus delays plus waiting for the bags which took over an hour), it’s like -20 C and the car seat isn’t installed? DH tried to install it but it just would not get tight. And then we realized it had to be forward facing, still didn’t get tight. We honestly didn’t have any other options so we just had to put our daughter in it and pray to god that we’d get home okay. DH was angry, but FIL just kept saying “no worries, it’s okay” and DH was like “IT’S NOT OKAY! THIS IS ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE!” but the in-laws are just completely clueless.
January 2018 – We had gone home for Christmas, and stayed at the in-laws apartment. It was okay, as okay as it could be when I have to see my in-laws every day. MIL was her normal annoying self, DD was just learning to walk at this time and every day MIL would announce “oh today she walked 4 steps!” “Oh today she walked 5 steps!” and so on. It was like she was trying to prove something to me, I’m really not sure. On our last full day there, I was getting ready and went out to the living room. DH asked MIL what she was going to do that day, as we were going out and FIL was at work, and MIL doesn’t have her own vehicle. She said nothing. He asked if she wanted him to drop her off at Bingo. She said she had no money (untrue, they do have money, maybe most of it is tied up, but also while we were there they had told us how they had given their friend’s son $500 because he couldn’t pay his rent). DH said that he would pay for the Bingo and she immediately was like “OKAY!!!” And so I said “we can’t afford it either” which is 100% true. We are super struggling right now. And she said “well whose fault is that?” and I told her that yes, it’s our fault, but all the while thinking “you’re honestly okay with taking money from your son who has a young family and is struggling”. She even knows exactly how much money we are in debt, it’s tens of thousands of dollars, not including the car or the house. And with daycare starting up, that’s going to add an extra burden. So anyway, she flies up off the couch and gets right up in my face and proceeds to tell me that she doesn’t like me, I don’t like her (I told her that was untrue, I do like her, I just can only tolerate her in small doses, but didn’t mention that second part). She told me that I was antisocial, that I never talk, that I didn’t have dinner at their house once, etc. And that it would be a miracle if we were ever in the same room together again. DH unfortunately took his mother’s side on this occasion, and the rest of the day was horrible. He left, and wasn’t responding to texts or calls or anything. I went over to my sister’s and then my dad’s. My mom ended up calling my FIL about this and to ask what was going on, like my FIL was the one who was going to be driving us back to the airport early the next morning, and my FIL was just like “well if we see you at the airport tomorrow then we’ll see you” and my mom was like “uhhh there’s a child involved here!” and FIL didn’t even seem to care about that fact. Nor did DH really either, apparently.
Other information - Not to mention throughout the year that they lived with us, they continued to bail DH’s brother out. When they left, they had gotten him an apartment, given him a lot of their furniture, bought him a truck, paid for one year’s worth of insurance, etc. He lost the apartment, along with everything in it. They sent him money constantly, and I know, because they had to wire money through my brother, so I had to act as a middle man. And it was a lot of money. $700 here, $500 there. Now it’s all gone, nothing to show, including the truck.
And also, neither of them worked while they were here, until MIL got a job driving a school bus in August. They moved in the previous December. So for 8 months they didn’t work. They also didn’t help clean the upstairs of the house, and they rarely ever cooked dinner. DH and I worked full time, would come home from work and still cook dinner for all 4 of us. MIL claimed she didn’t feel comfortable in our kitchen, and she didn’t like our electric stove.
When I gave birth, do you think she came over to help? To let me take a shower, a nap, to maybe cook a meal for us? Nope, not even one time. I think she might’ve brought food over once? And she lived here (in the same city as us) for the first 7 months of DD's life.
When I was going back to work and DH was going to be at home with the baby, she said to my face “oh don’t worry, I’ll be here every day to help him!” Wow, thanks.
She’s also made digs about breastfeeding (I had to stop earlier than intended, around the 6 month mark, because I’d gone back to work and pumping wasn’t working out for me) and how daycares are scary and she never sent her kids to daycare (she worked as a school bus driver since DH was born so she just took them with her).
She has 7 kids. The first two kids she had when she was 14 and 15 and claimed she got pregnant via Immaculate Conception. I shit you not. Then she had two girls and a boy with some other man. Those kids went into foster care for a period of time (not sure exactly). The oldest daughter doesn’t speak to MIL. The son doesn’t speak to MIL anymore. Her daughter and her have a telephone relationship, but when DH paid for MIL to go out and visit her daughter, they got into a massive fight and the son had to come and rescue her. She hasn’t talked to the son since she left from that trip. She doesn’t talk to her two teenage grandchildren from her son. She never got along with her son’s wife. She doesn’t get along with FIL’s sister or his three adult nieces. She didn’t get along with her MIL for a very long time. And her personality is… very unique. She’s about 72 now, but you wouldn’t know it. She definitely acts younger. She’s very hyper, probably has some undiagnosed ADHD or something going on. When she gets excited she jumps around and stuff. She doesn’t hold her opinions in. we were at a store one time and she asked the teenage boy who worked there if he “liked his hair like that”. I almost died.
I’m probably forgetting a bunch. Good lord. Good thing I kept a journal about this stuff because I honestly forgot a lot of it.