Friday, May 8, 2009

Friday High Five


Angela, over at Angela's Adventures and Minor Mishaps, is hosting Friday High Five. If you would like to join in the High Five fun, run on over to Angela's blog and link up.

FIVE CLUELESS COMMENTS MADE BY MY INLAWS

  1. "Kelly, you have curly hair?" This comment came from a woman who knew me for over 10 years at the time. She does notice all the little details in other relatives' homes. All of a sudden, the light bulb went on and she noticed my crazy curls. When I was in my twenties, the curls were really obvious. I wonder if she would have noticed if I had a mohawk?

  2. "Maybe he'll try an olive." My super fussy son doesn't want to eat bread. He sticks to what he likes when it comes to meal time. I've tried every type of method to get him to diversify his menu. It's a losing battle. Gratefully, he is healthy and well fed anyway. Every time we go to a family function, I get grilled about why he doesn't eat this or that. What makes her think that an olive would all of a sudden make him open to eating? Sure, an olive is up his alley :) Why didn't I think of that?

  3. "Kelly, you have to check your cushions carefully. I found a cheerio." Thanks for the advice after I broke my neck cleaning the house top to bottom. Of course, she had to find a cheerio. Glad that she didn't see my minivan that day. She would've been horrified by the cheerio explosion in the back seat.

  4. "What jar sauce did you use?" I'm an Irish girl who married an Italian. I had to learn real quick how to make "gravy" or tomato sauce. After many years, I think that I have my homemade sauce recipe down pretty good. So here we are at the table and she loves to slide that jar sauce comment in. I can't win.

  5. "Kelly, maybe you need to read to him more." Kids' books are in every room of my house. I love to read to my kids. I have read to them countless times at my inlaws house. Sometimes it's a good way for me to escape too :) She suggested that I read more when my kindergartner son was chosen for an assisted reading program at school. I guess she thinks I let my kids roam around free like animals without any intellectual stimulation :)
My husband's family seem to know how to push my buttons. I've known them for 22 years, and I'm finally realizing that I should just smile and watch the clock waiting for the visit to end. I try to avoid too much casual conversation when I visit with them. Keep it light and fun. I can do without those "helpful" comments. As I get older, I have more fight in me. If I get too worked up, I'm sure they will say, "she was always so emotional" and "she is so sensitive". It's better for me to run around with the kids and show up at the dinner table. When it comes to conversation, I know that we will never be on the same page! At least, they don't live with me :)

Happy Friday!

17 comments:

Kim said...

OMG this post is so speaking to me Kelly!!! My inlaws just told me last Saturday that they found a cheerio in Deaglan's stroller. Well good for you I wanted to say. I am so struggling in this department and it helps just knowing that you are there too. If my blog wasn't regularly being read by them, boy oh boy would I have some heated posts on THEM! I'm having Deaglan's baptism this Sunday (what was I thinking) and they will all be there. I have such anxiety everytime there is a function involving them. Anyway, I could go on and on but won't. Thanks for speaking my mind for me:)

T Rex Mom said...

Funny!!!

I have the best in-laws so I cannot relate but I can still feel sympathy for you.

I hate it when any one comes over and I've spent hours cleaning and they notice one thing out of place. So frustrating!

I loved the curly hair comment! That's funny.

Happy Friday.

kisatrtle said...

I too find it best to keep my mouth shut and often times it is not easy. I have a sister-in-law who doesn't vacinate her children, has a 22 month old who still can't walk yet and she is refusing to have any tests done on him and she planted her placenta in the garden and offered us the tomatoes....Seriously

Heather said...

Oh, good grief!! Don't those bug the heck out of you? I'm so glad I have no in-laws. Even if my boyfriend and I wind up married, his dad is super laid back and his mom... well he hasn't seen her since he was 12. Which is sad. But from what I've heard about her, he's better off without her around anyway.

Mari said...

Oh my! Those are quite the comments. My MIL used to say things that bugged me but she has gotten much better as she got older. I hope yours does, but judging from those comments, you may have to stick with running with the kids!

Annie Wicking said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Annie Wicking said...

How wonderful! I can see a good 'How to book' in your blog. 'How to survive the in Laws' By SeptMom: After surviving 22yrs, SeptMom writes her bestselling book, from her experience. The blurb on the back would say.
'My secret,' SeptMom said, 'Is to doing with a smile.'

Best wishes,
Annie

Unknown said...

ugh, family! Can't pick 'em.

Very funny though, it's the bestw ay to look at it. It indicates THEIR issues though, so it's easy to see humour in it all.

Pegsy said...

That was very entertaining! I can totally relate! The worst part about my in-laws is that they hardly ever say anything directly to my face. They make `suggestions` to my husband (he`s an only child) and then I hear about it later. Or the steady stream of child-rearing type books and CD`s that we receive as gifts on a regular basis! My MIL never tells me my house is messy, but if left here to babysit the kids for awhile, she cleans and straightens EVERYTHING! I find it very insulting and an invasion of my privacy. Why can`t she just leave things like they are!! Anyway, thanks for giving me the opportunity to vent! My in-laws read my blog too!

Wendy said...

this post cracked me up. my favorite was the curly hair comment!

Court D said...

Hi, popped in here from somewhere... can't remember where now... you are so patient I swear if my inlaws had said any of that they would have got that gravy or sauce all over their big heads! And I love nonobservant people... mine is my eyes. They don't match and they change colors. So when they are brown and blue people who have known me like ten years are like whoah! what is up with your eyes!!

Joanne said...

Kelly, You say in #4 that you can't win, but you're wrong. You already have won, by not taking the bait looking to cause conflict. You have risen above it all with graciousness, knowing that only insecurities drive comments like you've been dealt. Kudos to you.

Dani said...

Oh my goodness Kelly! I would totally have a huge load of stuff to write about my MIL but I'm so afraid she'd read the post. I might could get away with it at the Daily Drop, but I don't want to risk it. I think she visits my family blog and I don't know how often. But man there are crazies out there and I have no idea how my hubby ended up the way he did with parents like his but he did and I'm grateful. I try my best to just keep my mouth shut as much as I can. I made the mistake once of not doing that and it took her months to recover! Whew!

Becca said...

HAHA! I feel for you! I got very lucky with my mother-in-law. I don't think I could handle those types of situations without exploding or stating the obvious!

shabby girl said...

I got such a kick out of your list today! Especially the olive! and the cheerio. How hard does one have to look to find a cheerio in the couch cushion!!!

Beth Kephart said...

Oh my goodness, this was funny. My own mother in law is Salvadoran, and we have had, shall we say, interpretation issues over the years. For example, her first gift to me (we met just three weeks before the wedding) was at least two dozen towels and pillowcases embroidered with two letters: B.S.

Hmmm.

Jenners said...

I'm sorry to laugh at your expense but these were just too funny! And urrrrggghhhh! Sounds like a horror show!