That I'm Christian.
That I didn't potty train my son at 18 months or so.
That I let him get tan during the summer.

I like to talk through family problems, they like to just sweep them under the rug and forget them.

I work part time (they feel I should be SAHM)

I like to have fun and joke around. They are soooo serious.

I don't like to gossip.

I am opinionated, and I like to debate.

I don't think Billy Graham has the answer to all of my problems.

I don't like drama, and go out of my way to make sure that they curb their antics in times of family crisis.

I put my SIL in her place regarding her poor treatment of my children and I.

Anonymous wrote:That I continue to breathe.....

THIS!! if we lived in a different country i'd be dead by a mysterious kitchen fire.

Breasted=breastfed

I too stole my dh from them, even though he won't even call them on a weekly basis to say hi. I try to force him to do this much at least but he dreads it
I don't drench everything in butter
I didn't allow my MIL to give my 9 month old a blow pop
I breasted even though my MiL could tell my ds was "just dying for a bottle of formula"
I don't have Fox news on our tv 24 hours a day
I have tried (and failed) to get dh to quit smoking-they insist I should stop nagging him

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am quiet and conscientious. I diligently write thank-you notes. I don't drink as much as they do. I have nice table manners. I speak grammatically and can spell well. We do not have tv at our house. I do not follow sports. I am religious and go to church. I like to read. I prefer not to use swear words in conversation.

Do you think they dislike these things about you, or do they dislike like you because you judge them for not doing these things?

I think they think I judge them. I just do my own thing, and it makes them feel bad about themselves, I think.

I am an introvert (which is the reason behind some of the behaviors listed above in my original posting) so try as I might to be more outgoing, participatory, etc. while I am there, it exhausts me and gets me really upset and I just end up hating the whole entire experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am quiet and conscientious. I diligently write thank-you notes. I don't drink as much as they do. I have nice table manners. I speak grammatically and can spell well. We do not have tv at our house. I do not follow sports. I am religious and go to church. I like to read. I prefer not to use swear words in conversation.

Do you think they dislike these things about you, or do they dislike like you because you judge them for not doing these things?

I think they think I judge them. I just do my own thing, and it makes them feel bad about themselves, I think.

Anonymous wrote:I am quiet and conscientious. I diligently write thank-you notes. I don't drink as much as they do. I have nice table manners. I speak grammatically and can spell well. We do not have tv at our house. I do not follow sports. I am religious and go to church. I like to read. I prefer not to use swear words in conversation.

Do you think they dislike these things about you, or do they dislike like you because you judge them for not doing these things?

what a timely thread as my MIL is flying in tomorrow night. While she has always been very pleasant to me, I get the feeling that:

I don't cook healthily enough for my family (we can have pasta 2 nights a week)
I am to blame for my husband's weight gain
We (DH and I) don't jog 5 miles a day

I am sure you saw a theme and that is because my MIL is VERY aware of food and weight. She will come and bake brownies that don't have sugar! I do cook healthy meals for my family, but not every single night. I will sometimes keep the skin on the chicken. She loves to come into my kitchen and take over and since I see her rarely, I just let her as I know if will be over in a week.

Other than that - we have a great relationship.

I forgot the religious part in my previous post. We don't even discuss religion in our home. My in-laws are really involved in their church. I'm sure they'd like it if we were religious, but neither of us has really believed in a long time. Not saying we could never believe again, but we don't really need church in order to form our opinions on belief/faith. I'm glad they enjoy their church community and get so much out of it. I would never mock them in any way. We just don't really discuss the topic with them. No need to - we only see them for a few days a year since they live halfway across the country.

I am a highly educated white woman. I don't have a warm family. They are fairly cold and, well, WASPy. My definition of family is much different than theirs. I don't speak Spanish with my children (it even bothers DH to some extent.)

My inlaws cannot stand that DH married me--actually not me, but that he married anyone. Thus, they no longer have control over his considerable earnings and no longer have control over his life. He has a wife and children and they take precedent over their BS and it drives them crazy. The have tried for years to tear our relationship apart and all they have done is destroyed their "relationship" with their son/brother. BTW, it is only DH's mom and sister that feel this way. His brothers and dad mind their own business. What is it about woman and the need to possess and dominate their sons and brothers?

FIL dislikes that:
I am not athletic, in great shape or obsessed with health, vanity, presenting a facade of perfection.
I am smarter than than he is.
My husband and children prefer my company over his.

That I continue to breathe.....

We all get along pretty well, more so than most in-laws I think - but of course there are things that annoy me, and them I'm sure.
I think my in-laws would prefer it if I were more religious. My husband's family is boisterous, so they think I'm too quiet. I bet they would like it if I were less particular about what I eat, too. My MIL is a competent cook but has a very limited repertoire and couldn't be bothered to take too much trouble over it...I on the other hand go all out when I am entertaining.