the in-laws

We're going to visit my in-laws this weekend with the guys. We're leaving (in theory) after their doc appt friday afternoon, driving the 3 hrs up to the middle of nowhere, MI & staying til monday morning. yay. my in-laws haven't seen the kids since the day after they were born, & can't even open pics on their ancient computer, so it should be a bit of a shock to them. i'm hoping it goes well, visits with them are always a bit of an crap shoot for n & me. sometimes they go great, & other times i leave in tears & n leaves cursing. (example: when we announced our 2nd pregnancy, his mom accused me of trying to "trap" n. in front of me. we had been married 3 mos at the time, & n said nothing, while i tried my hardest not to explode. things have improved a bit since then, but you still never know what you're going to get on any given day.)

they weren't the most enamored or doting parents, so i'm a bit nervous about them as grandparents (& i am a little protective of my dudes... i like things done MY way, you know? i know, it's a control thing. whatever.) anyways, they seem to be into the grandparent thing, so i'm hoping this trip involves less beer & less b****ing about absent family members than we usually have to deal with. it sounds bad, but i'm hoping the boys are a good distraction. usually an hour into our visits n has reverted to his child-hood role, & starts stalking around the kitchen talking very loudly & getting into bizarre pseudo-arguments with his dad, while i smile & nod & listen to his mom rail on everyone. the person n is when his family is around is NOT the person he is in everyday life. it drives me nuts, & he doesn't even realize he does it.

have i mentioned they live on a farm? in the middle of nowhere? the nearest "town" to them just got a stoplight in the last 5 years. n's graduating class had 50 people in it. there is NOTHING to do there. & n tends to just randomly leave the house & go tramp around the fields. great for him to blow off steam, but it leaves me stuck in the house (even more so now that we have the dudes). & this will be our first visit since his little sister took off with a man her folks disapprove of. drama, here we come! sigh... i'm praying for peaceful, pleasant visit. don't get me wrong, they can be very nice, they are just VERY different from N & me.