December DYK

Shawna, I'm jealous of your long weekends w/o the kids.  Although, I do enjoy being home with my kids and not having the pressure of having to go anywhere.

PopPops funeral ceremony is today, but we will not be there:-(  I couldn't find any available flights or trains with round trips that would work for me (I have to return to work on the 2nd or lose pay, and unfortunately that's when everyone else seems to need to get back as well).  I did consider driving down and taking a day or two to also visit Disney or SeaWorld, but DH wouldn't go with me.  I didn't want to leave the little ones home with him (I knew he'd just dump them on my parents - who can't really handle them right now), and I think the trip would be more than they could handle (24 hours of driving each way).  I don't even think I could handle all the driving either.  I called my Aunt and she completely understood.

Christmas was OK.  I'm actually kind of glad that is was a very scaled back celebration this year - the kids still got plenty of stuff.  DH is mad that I put together all the big toys and am letting the kids play with them - the living room is a wreck (but is was a wreck before that because he never cleans up or helps them clean up).

I've gotten to a new level af disgust with Bro and SIL - if that's even possible.  It's bad enough that their worlds revolve around their daughters "schedule", but now they are demanding it of the rest of the families at celebrations - and rather rudely too!  Christmas morning we were supposed to be at mom's house no earlier than 9 for breakfast and laid back opening of gifts.  But Sunday evening Bro informs them that his inlaws are coming at noon for lunch and presents at their house so we need to be done at mom's house by then.  Excuse me, we made these plans weeks ago!  So then we had to be there before 8 which was tough since I had to perform at the Christmas eve service the night before.  When we got there Bro, SIL and "the Queen B" had claimed the best seats and pushed my stuff into a corner where I couldn't get to and help my little ones.  Then as we were still eating they demanded that we hurry up and start opening gifts before his precious daughter had a melt down!  Umm, my kids were waiting patiently why couldn't his?  Then when it was her turn she wouldn't even open anything!  And at one point he screamed at DH to "Control your children, will you!" because Jesse was playing with a cardboard tube in the middle of the room and bro felt he was going to hurt someone with it.

I'm picking up signs that perhaps their daughter may have a blood sugar issue and maybe that's why they are so rigid with her schedule and eating habits.  On Sunday at my aunts house Bro kept saying (every few hours)that she was crashing, and when SIL suggested that he give her some water he told her, "no, she needs something with calories and sugar in it!"  Umm, she looked fine to me, but was pushing back her hair and rubbing her forhead.  She also never eats what everyone else is eating or when anyone else is eating.  She only eats (and is spoon fed, not self fed)those gerber baby yogurts or the little gerber tub meals.  They claim it's a consistency issue, that she doesn't like the consistency of other foods - but they've never even tried those other foods with her that I can see, they don't even offer then to her.  But, if it's a blood sugar issue it would make sense that those foods are portion controlled and have know calorie/sugar contents.  And SIL did have a bad case of gestational diabetes that required several injections of insulin daily - most GD can be controlled with diet if I remember correctly.

Also as they were leaving my aunts on Sunday, they told everyone to "take whatever cookies you wnat now cause we're taking them back home."  Umm...why would you bring them in disposable containers if you weren't going to leave them there, and since when do you bring a dessert to a party and then demand the left overs?  I thought it was very rude and tacky.  

DH actually had to step in a control "the Queen B" while the kids were playing with a new toy that evening - she was jumping on everyone and hurting them.  I heard him yelling at the kids to stop, but then realized that Jenna was next to me and Jesse was playing somewhere else in the room and not the one being yelled at.  She was jumping on my cousin's 17 month old daughter!  And when the kids opened presents that afternoon, she just tore all her gifts open at once!  In our family we take turns, going around the room opening one gift at a time each.  And only the kids were getting gifts, so it's not like it would take a long time to be her next turn anyway.

GRR.  they make me so mad.