Setting the Stage...

Next week is going to be a rough one for me... Jerry goes back to school on Thursday, which means Maddy starts going to MIL's house all day. This makes me a nervous wreck. I know that she will take good care of Maddy, and that's not the issue at all. I'm just afraid of how this is going to affect Maddy, and my relationship with MIL. So far, I must admit, MIL has been a lot better about respecting my role as "mommy" and not really over stepping any boudaries (aside from the pears episode). I just hope this continues when she watches her full-time. Before this happens though, and before I start posting about this situation, I wanted to give you a little bit of background info on MIL and my relationship with her to this point.

Jerry and I have been together since we were 16. I was his first and only real girlfriend. At first, his mom thought this was great and pretty much a cute little thing. Well, when things got a little more serious (especially in our senior year of high school), I started getting the sarcastic jabs and the constant attitude from her. (I think she was afraid I would affect his college choices and future-determining decisions). When Jerry was named a captain of the football team, she was pissed off that he wasn't dating a cheerleader. There was a cheerleader that he was friends with that she thought was just so perfect and beautiful... TIMEOUT.

I can't post all this shit, it will take me ten years. Here's the key points about MIL:

• She has not always been my biggest fan.
• She tried to hook him up with other girls b/c I wasn't a cheerleader
• When I showed her my wedding dress, she said it looked like his sister's prom dress (which it definitely did NOT)
• When we moved in our house, she was "completely surprised" that I could pull it all together, and they just didn't think I had it in me to keep a house. Nice, hah?
• When I got pregnant, and we told everyone, she hugged me out of obligation and said, "I'll be more excited after we hear a heartbeat"
• She's never worked outside the home
• She's probably one of the world's greatest cooks
• She's the spitting image of "Marie Barone" on Everybody Loves Raymond - personality-wise. Think of Debra and Marie's relationship - that's us to a "T"
• She has absolutely no concept of what I do at work, and she really doesn't care to know - all she knows is that I'm not a teacher, like Jerry and his sister. I do something in "business"
• She is the biggest fashion nightmare you have ever seen
• She has been waiting to take care of her grandchildren since both of her kids moved out of her house - it's her life's dream.

So, that's her in a nutshell. Now you know what I'm dealing with, and how hard this is for me. My saving grace is that she will have Jenna too, and can't completely focus on Maddy. And, Maddy is a really happy baby so there's not too much she can say I'm doing wrong :)