I love my MIL. She is a wonderful woman, generous, kind, loving. I cannot imagine she would ever snoop thru our house, or rearrange anything.

But we both agree on the old adage "Relatives and fish have something in common: After 3 days, they both begin to stink."

So, whenever she comes to visit from out of state, she stays at a hotel.

Wish the motel was an option - live out in the middle of the country not close to motel - taking her back and forth to a motel would be a royal pain.

How about a tent in the woods?

Just kidding...sorta...

You're letting her come back in May? ARGGGGGGGH!

Why is it that some people can respect boundaries? I would not tolerate someone like her in my house. My home is my castle, my PRIVATE castle. and I'm very, very picky about who gets to visit. My house is little anyway and barely big enough for the 3 people who LIVE here. Personally I really perfer to stay in a hotel when I go visiting and think more people should quit being so cheap and do the same.

Anyway, it seems crazy that you have to lock everything up to keep her nose out of your business. Can you start a remodeling project in May and tell her it would be better if she stayed at a motel.

OP - your DH needs to man up and tell his mom in no uncertain terms that snooping through your stuff is NOT okay and that if she does it again she will no longer be welcome in your house. Yeah, she might get upset and act all offended, but don't let her get away with it, she's the one in the wrong here. Unfortunately, some people need boundaries spelled out to them in blatant terms.

No way, no how. I would go off. I hate it when my husband does dishes and puts something in the wrong place. Rearranging my kitchen is a big no-no. As for the rest of my house, and going through my private things...on no she didn't. Me and MIL would be having at it. I don't go into her house (or maybe that is what you should do) snooping through her private things. And say, "well I was just trying to help you get organized." I don't play those games. She wants to go snooping in my house, she's going to hear about it.

sweet mother of God.......

(oops, hit enter too soon!)

Funniest post EVER! I remember my Mom came over and started going thru my digital pics while she was waiting for me to get ready. She put it on slideshow, lol, and then kicked back..... little did she know I had taken a nice close up of my husband the week before and totally forgot about it.

A 5 megapixel camera on zoom can be a scaaaaaary thing! We still laugh about this as she will go NOWHERE near my computer now!

First, I would be just furious but my mom wouldn't go through anything and my MIL would never even have thought about it. Sweet lady closed the curtains one day so she could want Dr. Ruth then had to call her daughter and ask her what some of those things were Dr. Ruth was talking about.

My grandparents used to have a building on their property that they used for storage. We used to love to go out and go through the old clothes and stuff. One day, when I was a teenager, me, my mom and my grandpa were out there just going through some stuff. My grandpa opened a drawer and pulled out a long white "massager". Mom and I just looked at each other while my grandpa rubbed it along his arm saying that might feel pretty good. Poor grandpa had no idea what it was.

i'm going through something similar and am stressing to the nines about it right now.

my il's always stay with us once or twice a year for 4 or 5 days at a time. they irritate me by bringing coolers full of food they've gotten on sale that is really nothing but non name brand items that's lowfat or fat free, cheap cuts of meat and dented cans. who the hell goes to someone elses house and plans out the menu? i don't even like her cooking when i visit, let alone when i'm in my own home and am recovering from a csection!!!

then she tries to help by doing my dishes and does two things that drive me crazy every freakin time.

1. she uses a dish towel and sink full of soapy water to wash the dishes. she doesn't scrape the plates, so there's food floating in the water, and she ends up leaving food on the plates. then she takes the dishtowel that has this bacteria all over it and wipes off my countertops when she's done!!

2. although this last time i quite bluntly asked her to wait and let me put the dishes away since i know where they go, she still insisted on putting them where she thinks they go. i couldn't find my favorite pyrex casserole dish for two weeks...opened up my oven and there it was...the oven???????????

now here's why i'm stressing extra nowadays...i'm having our second child, a little boy, on friday morning, and we just got the news about 3 days ago that my 44 yr old husband has to have open heart surgery within the next month, as soon as we can get in...all of this means a housefull of people for the next month, but especially my mil who will insist on staying for weeks at a time, since she lives 8 1/2 hours away.

i just got done labeling every cabinet door in my kitchen with what goes in it...i swear, they'd better live by it!!!!!!!!

mixinvixen - ooh I feel for you. Good luck with the new little baby. I hope everything goes well for your husband. I can't imagine the stress just of those two, but then to add all the other people plus a mil in the house.

As to my post - finally told husband about her going through things - he didn't know about the papers and such. Thankful I was cooled down from reading all your posts. So I was able to explain thing to him with out yelling. Well HE suggested "well if she does come back in May - maybe she should stay at the motel" And unknown to me - I think she had asked for money to help get out here - He said he would no way be giving her any money to come out. WELL I can guarantee she's not getting any money from me and I control what goes in and out of the check book!!! She can quit support her almost 50 son and his family. I mean she still goes out to the barn to milk cows at 70 something after knee surgery, because poor "sonny" can't do it his self - and his wife is too lazy to help!