Let the craziness begin
Time has flown by since Carter has been born & before we knew it, the impending visit with the in-laws seems to have sprung out of nowhere. They are coming into town tomorrow afternoon & will be here for about 10 days. The insanity has already started.

First, I will always be on edge during the days before their visits. If I could choose to have my toenails ripped out or spend any amount of time with them, I would go for the toenails in an instant, no question. The anxiety prior to their visits is much, much better thanks to Bill & I being on the same page & knowing that whatever crap we have to deal with won't affect our home or our relationship anymore. At least now, I'm not having full blown panic attacks about them. However, I know that we will always have to deal with some issue while they are here & it's usually about boundaries, respecting our parenting choices or following "the rules" (like Grandpa L not smoking around the kids).

I'm especially edgy before this visit because it's the first time that they are meeting Carter. Even though things are different than when Logan was a newborn, I still feel uneasy. It's because things are different in our home, but the relationship (or lack thereof) with the in-laws is the same, if not worse. I don't trust them at all. So, Bill & I have talked about everything & we'll see what happens. I told him that when we all meet up, I'm not automatically handing Carter over. I have to warm up & be comfortable first. I'm also not going to be clapped at like a trained monkey while Grandma L exclaims "Come to Grandma!" every time she wants to hold him. There's going to be a little more respect given to me.

The smoking rule with Grandpa L is going to be in full force as well as some allergy-related precautions. Carter has been breaking out in hives almost daily & after speaking with his pediatrician yesterday, we have to go back to the things we did when Logan was a newborn - no wearing perfume while holding him, wash all clothes in Free & Clear & if someone is holding him & hasn't done this, then he has to be held in his blanket so his skin isn't exposed (more on this allergy stuff later). So, I know what Grandma L washes her clothes in & I question whether or not she'll be truthful just so she can get her way. I know that all of this will be met with exasperated sighs & the rolling of eyes.

Our first taste of what to expect came last night before dinner. Aunt Ju-Ju & Uncle J moved into a bigger temporary house while they get ready to build a new house. So, now they have room for the Grandparents, but they don't have any furniture. We have an extra mattress & offered to let them borrow it. They came by last night to pick it up. Everything was fine while they were here, but after they left Bill got a phone call from Aunt Ju-Ju. Apparently, they got the mattress they didn't want. When we moved into our old house right before Logan was born, the Grandparents bought a mattress for the guest room & practically moved in, pretty much claiming the guest room as theirs. When they left after buying the bed as a gift, Grandma L gave me "permission" to let my sisters use the bed if they came to visit & also instructed me as to not let the cat in the room & how to store the comforter. Needless to say, Bill & I did the opposite since it was our house & our gift.

Now almost three years later, we moved into the house we're in now. We decided to use that mattress as ours since Bill's back was geting messed up from our other mattress, we have guests over only a few times a year & the Grandparents were staying elsewhere due to the falling out. This was the mattress they wanted.

Grandma L attempted to take back a gift that was given to us almost three years ago.

She told Aunt Ju-Ju to bring the other mattress back, that they picked up the wrong one. Fortunatley, they didn't have the gall to tell us to switch. Bill & I just looked at eachother in disbelief while we waited for Aunt Ju-Ju to bring the other matress back - which she didn't do because they had to return the truck that they borrowed from a friend (but what really happened I'm sure, is that after another call from Grandma L they realised they wouldn't have anything to sleep on unless it was an air mattress & decided they would make due until purchasing another mattress for Aunt Ju-Ju's house). Bill & I had the "Oh no, they didn't!" conversation & since we felt the same way, laughed at the craziness that I'm sure is to continue for the next week.