to be annoyed about these weekends away?

[SunFlower222]

MIL has just informed DH & I that she has booked to take DSC away for the weekend in a couple of weeks.
This happens 2-3 times a year, she doesn't ask DH if it's OK, just tells us once it's booked.
DH has two children from previous marriage (DSSs 10&9), and he has two with me (DDs 6&4).
These weekends away have happened the whole time I've known DH, I've lost count of the number of times we have had to cancel/rearrange plans because MIL is taking DSC away.
I've always assumed that once my girls were old enough she would start including them in these weekends away, but she has never once even suggested it.
However, DH always takes the girls and they all stay together in this caravan. So it's MIL,FIL, DH and all 4 children. The caravan only sleeps 6 but they squeeze 7 in, no room for me.
So I stay at home on my own.
I work 3 weekends out of 4 so I'm usually working whilst this is going on so I've always just gone along with it because there's no point in my girls missing out on fun if I'm busy working anyway.
But I always let DH know that I don't agree with the way MIL goes about these trips, that she doesn't check with us before she books them and she treats the kids so differently - DSC get far far more trips and treats than my kids. She's never even taken my kids for a trip to the park, let alone a holiday or big days out that DSC get. I do not understand how a grandparent can treat her grandchildren SO unfairly.

But he's never said any of this to MIL so it just carries on.

I'm even more annoyed about the upcoming trip as it falls on my weekend off.
I don't want my kids and hubby to be leaving me on the only weekend I get to spend with them in the month....but if I put my foot down and say 'no' then my girls will be missing out on a weekend away which they love and my DSSs would be gutted that Dad hasn't joined them.

I've priced up getting a second caravan but it's just too expensive, if we'd had more notice we could have saved up but I can't just pull a few hundred pounds out of thin air at the last minute.

WWYD?

It sounds like she's doing it on purpose so that she can get them all together.

I couldn't agree more - she LOVES playing Mum to them all.
When DH takes the girls I pack all their things but MIL always takes things for them too - clothes, shoes, swimming costumes. Maybe she's just being nice but it does feel like she enjoys playing at being mum to them.
When I was pregnant with DD1 I vowed to never let MIL control or play at being mum with my kids the way she does with DSC.

Filma - no I've not posted about this before. Glad to hear I'm not alone with this tho

Yes Filma I thought that!

Put your foot down sunflower- her wants do NOT trump yours. Have a nice weekend with your girls instead and make it known that this will not be happening in future.

Hope the talk is productive and that you both agree that you are. Family unit dad mum and four siblings gs
Thank the grandmother very much for ge offer but u less she can change it to an eight birth nobody can can as it's not fair that the family unit is split up up on a holiday like this
All said with smiles of course
Good luck

Your dh really needs to think about his priorities. Does he want to be in a family with you, or with his mum? It is a stark choice really, very simple.

The key thing that jumps out at me is that she is also like it with your DH's ex. So no YADNBU, she has 'form'. How about 'oh dear MIL, what a shame it's that weekend and my DCs and I are already busy. What a shame you didn't check first, or did DH forget to tell you, he's so forgetful' (tinkly laugh).
Stick to your guns and put a stop to it now. Your weekend off is sacrosanct.

Serious chat needed about her asking if she can take away any of the DGC. The exw needs to be on board with this so you're all singing from the same hymn sheet. No way should the grandparent be taking precedence over your dh's weekends with his DS, that's ridiculous. As for treating your dd's differently, I'd be bringing this up, as a pp mentioned: it's all of them or on a rota, not more the boys than the girls. The mil sounds like a goddamned trauma, frankly.