All Quiet On This Southern Front

I can now sit back on my couch and listen to the sounds of parental silence -- my son's anti-nap yelping and daughter's coughs --  thanks to my in-laws' departure. I've moved all my glasses and plasticware back to their rightful cabinets. And I'm trying to figure out a way to get rid of the very loud talking Dora book without somehow tipping them off all the way from Philadelphia.

I "accidentally" (ahem) threw out this weird gnome-flower-fakerock garden clock that they sent us for our yard and I heard about that all weekend. I'm pretty sure they'll notice if one 99 cent Dora book goes missing.

They did love our house, so much so that my mother-in-law couldn't stop talking about it. She envied my large "great" room and pined for my kitchen cabinets. But when someone says "If I had cabinets like that I'd spread all my stuff out neatly and not pile it up" (and then proceeds to "accidentally" move your shit around) it's hard not to wonder if she's being complimentary or passive aggressive.

Eh. They're my cabinets and I can organize them how I want. Nya nya nya.

I suppose I would have been more interested in talking about which color I wanted to paint my bedroom and what kind of window treatments I wanted in the guest room if I wasn't moving Saturday.

SATURDAY! ACK!

Thankfully, my FIL ran defense for me when the firing squad got a little out of control.

"She's thinking about MOVING!" he said to my MIL after she asked me if I had thought about what kind of kitchen table I wanted.

"Oh three months is nothing" she replied.

Right. For you. Since you don't have to move.

But it's true. Three months is really a small inconvenience in the long scheme of things. And oh how I've always wanted to live in Arkansas!

Ha. Okay. That's a little too optimistic and peachy for me. But with this small inconvenience comes many conveniences -- a dad home every night, an air force base full of kids and things to do, an already friendly SINK (single-income-no-kids aka military spouse) who loves to babysit, and a plethora of new adventures and blog fodder.

Besides, you can't beat the irony of me living on a street named for one of my most favorite Southern states.

(If anyone has major connections and can get me a cheap one-way mini or passenger van rental from Atlanta to Little Rock, please email me).

Comments

[Advice on kitchen cabnets]

Learn how to build your kitchen cabinets by yourself. It's not that hard. It we can do it, you too can build your kitchen cabinets

Editor: Perhaps you should learn how to spell them first.

[Kate]

When my MIL comes, it's all I can do to keep from saying anything about this weird towel habit she has. She uses hand towels to wipe food off the kitchen counter--and uses a new, clean one every time. So by the time I'm finished cooking a meal that she has "helped" with, there are about 20 food-covered hand towels all over the kitchen--and no clean ones left to dry our hands on.

[mothergoosemouse]

That clock sounds like it will make a fabulous white elephant gift.

[Daisy]

My MIL came to "help" us move and was ridiculously unhelpful. "Where would the bedding be? Would it be in a box marked 'bedding' or 'sheets'? Um, I left for work at 6:30 this morning, it's 9 PM now, and I just got home. What makes you think I'd have any idea where it's packed?
She simply didn't get it.

[joy]

ok. I have just sat on my ass for the last hour or more catching up with you and this whole 'will she, won't she?' move thing. looks like it's you, a rattling minivan, and two kiddies heading for LR. Laaawwwdy!

April will be here before you know it, dude.

:)

[FishyGirl]

My FIL is the guilty one here. He's well over 6 feet and, well, you know how short I am, and he takes all our stuff and moves it up high. You know, where I can't even SEE it. Then I spend weeks looking for stuff, until someone taller is around and says "Well, it's been up here for weeks!" Yeah, thanks.

Good luck on the move - I HATE moving, but it is worth it to be together and maintain some kind of family time.

[Oh, The Joys]

You will be missed.

[BOSSY]

Bossy was just mulling the theory that us bloggers happily put up with so much shite because it's Blog Fodder. Ack - whatever, two months is an inconvenience and four months is tedium: three months is an adventure.

[Gwen]

Wow, it must have been bad for the FIl to come to the rescue. Good luck with the move.

[canape]

One day I came home from work when my MIL was visiting and she had painted my bathroom purple. Like pastel, lavender purple.

Yay.

That was the night I stopped caring if they were Baptists and cracked open a big bottle of red wine just for little ole me.

Good luck with the move this Saturday! I hope it all goes off without a hitch.

[caramama]

Good luck with the move!

I, too, have to move all my stuff back around after my in-laws help out. And I have to rearrange the dishwasher every time my MIL helps load that. Ugh!

[the weirdgirl]

Oh, P.S. good luck on your move! I have to admit I lost track of where, when, and for how long you were moving. Have fun with all the kids and cool parents!

[the weirdgirl]

That crap drives me crazy! My in-laws no longer try to "help" with anything in the house after ruining several loads of MY clothes trying to do laundry. Just my clothes. I was nice (even though it made me cry) and didn't say anything for a really long time but then my husband (god bless him) yelled at them for just spouting off their opinion of our housekeeping one too many times. Yelled long, with details. They have left me in peace since then.

[submommy]

Don't you hate that? Put my stuff away where I want my stuff put away, not where you THINK it should go! My house! Not YOUR house!

When my MIL comes over to "help" I find that she just tosses things in my drawers & cabinets randomly. There's not even any forethought as to "this is where I think they should go." It's just - "silverware - ok. Toss!"

Good luck on your move. I have no experience with ARK, (should I be glad?) so I'm no help. :)

[Christy]

Good luck on the move. I would LOVE to move back to LR...and I'm not being sarcastic. It's where all my family is, and I miss them desperately!!