Anonymous wrote:My mom says this about my children, too, and it drives me nuts, b/c she's said in the past she doesn't think I'm a very good mother and she'd do a better job with my kids. Ummm, no. She's crazy and will never spend unsupervised time with my kids. But when she says it during Skype sessions in front of the children, I just laugh and say, "that will never happen! You're so crazy!" And then change the subject.

I just want to say that this is just TERRIBLE. So sorry your mom said something like that OP. I can relate because my mom is also crazy. I'm impressed that you still Skype with her. I haven't even spoken to my mom in ages.

Anonymous wrote:We use "silly grandma" and "silly grandpa" a lot! my parents say off the wall things all the time. The kids now will say "silly grandpa" themselves!

I like this approach, and will probably adopt it as my own from now on!

OP, I can somewhat empathize because my dad says obnoxious things ALL the time. I think the 'silly grandpa' thing might work.

Why is your DD confused?
Why does she even think that going to live with MIL would ever be an option?

My mom says this about my children, too, and it drives me nuts, b/c she's said in the past she doesn't think I'm a very good mother and she'd do a better job with my kids. Ummm, no. She's crazy and will never spend unsupervised time with my kids. But when she says it during Skype sessions in front of the children, I just laugh and say, "that will never happen! You're so crazy!" And then change the subject.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if this is just family lore, but in my husband's family a few generations back, one older relative was joking that he was going to take a little girl home with him, and that girl's brother got a hunting rifle and shot him dead. That story is my gift to you, OP, to share with your MIL.

OP here: i love you and your post. thank you for making me laugh,


yes, dd really said "where's the door?" MIl sometimes has pressured speech and she was going on and on and on and i think dd was trying to figure out what was going on with the conversation. weird little random comment.