Theresa, that is too funny about the clothing! i know what you mean though. That is what she used to get me, thank god she finally stopped.
She used to judge what to get me by her size. She figured that since I am thinner than her she should get a smaller size for me. Well, that would be okay, if it wouldn't be for the fact that I am a little more than a foot taller than her, and I have what I call monkey arms(very long arms). Needless to say every year, I had new shirts that needed to be given to Goodwill because the sleeves were either way to tight or half way up my arms.
You know it is the thought that counts, and in this situation it would count more if she wouldn't ask in advance! I hate to sound ungrateful, really I am so happy that my kids are so blessed and able to be getting a nice Christmas, but I really wish they would all be getting the same nice Christmas.
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Karen
When I was young, I always said I wanted to be someone...I guess I should have been more specific!
I was told eons ago, no matter what my MIL thinks of me, even if I were a ax murderer, there is no reason to treat the grandkids badly. That really opened my eyes. There is no reason to treat your grandkids badly.
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"Do the best that you can where you are, and be kind." by Scott Nearing
Karen, I am so sorry you are having problems with your MIL. Could you call her before you come over and tell her the "rules" and the conciquences of breaking the rules? For example, no telling secrets to the children, no playing favorites, etc... Then, tell her that if she does, you will NOT bring the children over again. It seems that you and your children could have a better holiday season without her. I know that grandparents have some extra privilges, but there is a line that shouldn't be crossed.
I would've been upset too. I had to deal with problems like this at the beginning of my marriage as my 2 older boys are my dh's stepsons.My mil always showed favoritism towards her 1st grandson when we had our 1st son together. I easily resolved it because my dh has a stepmom and I showed the favoritism when it came to gifts towrds her and my mil quickly got the hint. Then she treated everyone equal and I do as well. We've all been happy since. I hope you can find some way to get the point across to your mil. How sad that she has to be like that. She doesn't realize she is only hurting the kids. I know it's hard but if you have to quit going over for awhile then it may be what it takes.This year my younger 2 did get a card with money from their great grandma[on my dh's side of the family] and my older 2 were only given a card. My mil hand delivered it to me and said that grandma Jane said it was because she doesn't know my older boys. That really ticked me off because she knows them all the same, none of us really see her much. So, I politely put it in an envelope with a note and told her that I'm sorry but the kids wouldn't be able to accept her monetary gift since she didn't give to them all as this was unfair being that she knows us all the same. So, if she felt she didn't know the boys, then I felt she didn't know any of us and she didn't need to send money to strangers.I thought I would get a call from my mil over this but so far so good. That means she too knows I was right for speaking up to grandma or I would've heard something by now because that was about a week before Christmas. My dh said I should've just split the money between them but I wanted her to know how it made me feel as their mom.
You have every right to be mad. That is so wrong to treat them that differently, especially from the same family. At least try to make it fair, but she was making it obviously unfair.
My son loves getting money and gift cards then he can get his own things.. usually video games. He's bought his own electirc guitar, Nintendo DS, and some other big money things. He just turned 11 last week.
My mil used to get some odd gifts too, like freebies from the fair, but I just looked past it. He was the only grandson and youngest grandchild. The other 4 grand daughters are 20, 22, 29 and 30 years older than him. They did buy him some things that were nice too, but never did they treat him like your mil. I miss her dearly now that she's gone even though it wasn't a ton of money spent on him. He enjoyed the gifts though.
