Our drama was limited by me biting my tongue. We drove 8 hours with a van full of gifts to spend 50 hours with the family before driving home 8 hours so DH could get to work this morning (after he took off time between Christmas and New Years last year he was told never to ask for it again.) Anyway, my mom stopped talking to me in May. I have spoken to her twice since, once on Thanksgiving and once last week for about 5 minutes trying to break the ice so Christmas wasn't uncomfortable. Both times she was "too busy to talk." Anyway, she repeated 3 things to me over and over but I never took the bait. I was determined not to fight. We wern't even going to go to Christmas this year, but at the last minute my aunt and uncle decided to come with their 2 kids, my only cousins, who I had not seen in 3 and 6 years and our whole family was going to be together for the first time in 10 years, and the first time since my DD8 was alive. My grandma who is 73 and my great grandma who is 98 were so excited by the whole family being together that we couldn't say no. BTW, we all, 16 of us, stayed in my grandparens house. Each family got a room. Cozy for my family of 5. A full bed for DH and an air mattress with a small leak for my 3 girls.
And we all got to share 1.5 bathrooms.
Actually, it was OK. It was an adventure for sure.
Anyway, the 3 things.
How fat I have gotten. My mom is a rail, aneroxic skinny, I wish I was kidding. My aunt, her sister looks at least 20 years younger then her and they are 4 years apart. My mom's husband does not like any meat on her bones so she doesn't eat to please him. For dinner she ate a little bit of yams and then ate parsley. I didn't even know people ate parsley??? So yeah, I have some meat on my bones but I enjoyed a great meal and then after cuddled up with my meaty, wonderful hubby and bit the H**L out of my tongue! I was not going to bite, and I didn't. I was told probably 20 times how fat I am...yep, fat and happy!
How spoiled my kids are. Over and over how they have too much, don't appreciate anything, on and on. Over and over she said how she is going to write a letter to Santa saying only one gift per child next year, only fruits and nuts in their stockings and we shoudn't give them anything. DD8 was near tears. My kids got 5 gifts each plus stockings and a few shared games. They were thankful and grateful but she feels kids shouldn't have more then one gift each so that is the way it should be. My DH told her to stop the Santa talk, that they are only young once and we have 2 older ones and that if his wife enjoyed being Santa while she could, he was willing to fund it. Since he didn't ask her to pay for the gifts to let it go. She really didn't other then the Santa talk, but that was good enough for me.
That my DD11 looks like a tramp. Yes, her words. Over and over again. About her granddaughter, and to her face! She started middle school this year and like many of the girls has started wearing makeup. She doesn't wear an excessive amount, what she wears is pretty natural looking. I have absolutly no complaints. She is a really good child most of the time. Good kid, helps out, does community service projects, if wearing some makeup and "big earrings" (another complaint along with the makeup) makes her a tramp then I guess I am really proud of my trampy daughter! This one bothered me the most so I did stick up for DD11 but again, mostly left it up to my calm mannered DH so a fight didn't start. He is so good at handleing my mom. I wish he didn't have to be, but boy am I glad I have him or I'd snap.
. Yikes.
So at about 30 minutes late, my dad says "oh well, they can eat when they get here" and starts bringing out the food.
and you don't have all day...
). It was part of one of their Holiday Blockbuster kits that contain like a million various beauty items. Even worse, it was a kit from 2008. Guess those were the 3 random items she didn't like and hadn't used over the past 2 years. 
