Have changed my name for this one as may be ostracised by Mumsnet if I don't!
I have what can only be described as an up-and-down relationship with my mum. She's not the most stable of people - in that I don't mean she's unstable mentally or anything, but she says one thing and does another if you see what I mean. She's sometimes in a really good mood when I phone (it is ALWAYS me that phones never her), sometimes is really short with me. She is on her own and I am an only child so there is no-one else to dilute things down abit. I told her a couple of months ago that we were all going to inlaws for Christmas as we've had her down the last two years and we felt they ought to see the children at Christmas (she doesn;t get on with them AT ALL - refers to them as the Gremlins so we can't all get together - she does have plenty of friends to see at Christmas and we told her we wanted to come up to see her on Boxing Day) and she didn't talk to me for nearly a month - slammed the phone down when I tried to call.
First thing - am I unreasonable to want children to spend Christmas with their other grandparents?
Second this is that I think she is mean. For dd's 4th birthday all she bought her was 3 pairs of socks. Admittedly they're nice socks and dd liked them, but she can't have spent more than a tenner. In-laws normally spend £25 and have 6 grandchildren and are not that well off. My mum only has my children as grandchildren and is very well off. Is she being mean or should I be grateful she got her a present?
Thanks for allowing me a little rant - feels good!