Let me start by saying I absolutely know how lucky I am to have a village! But I also get so frustrated, and feel the grass isn't always greener.. sometimes it's hard too, cause I can't "vent" or "complain" without being jumped on for being ungrateful.

My parents want to be around my kids all the time, which is fine for the most part.. but we never get to do ANYTHING just us. Our oldest is almost 10, we have gone to Disney 1 time without my family other than that, everything is all of us together.(my parents and siblings) My mom involves herself in EVERYTHING, I'm not exaggerating.. zoo trips, camping, vacations.. anything and everything she wants to be apart of.

We moved about 40 mins away from my family 3½ years ago (before moving we were at my parents house every single weekend, the entire weekend Fri-Sun, since moving we told them we need at least every other weekend off and we only go down to their house on either Saturday or Sunday and spend the day, no more entire weekends... well, that has turned into the weekends we don't go to them, they come to us on either Saturday or Sunday) I'm exhausted and have been for years, I can feel my mood shift on days I'll see them. I finally tried to put up that boundary over the weekend thing, and that was honestly still more than I actually wanted to give them.

Anyways... the reason for this rant, we are going down to their house on Sunday for a Halloween party. My hubby and I have planned to take our kids to a pumpkin patch on Saturday, just us since it feels we never get the chance (I didn't mention our plans to anyone). Well my mom called my earlier today and asked if we wanted to go down this Saturday as well, that way we could all go to a pumpkin patch with my sister and her bonus kids where they all live in the evening. I said we'd pass cause we were already planning to go to a pumpkin patch up here on Saturday, she instantly asks what time we're doing that cause she hates to miss out on things with the grandkids and maybe she'll come and do that with us and then head home and go with my sister in the evening with the other kids. She also tells me she could take my older kids for a sleepover since we'll be down Sunday already. (Which, is another issue I have, that I have a hard time saying no to. She tries to take my older kids for sleepovers all the time! Which again is great, but I want my kids with me! I don't need "breaks" from my kiddos.. which is how she always suggests, like she doing me a favor and when I do deny a sleepover, she let's it show all over in her face/tone ) Anyways, for this pumpkin patch convo I stayed quiet hoping she'd get the hint but when we ended the phone call I srarted to doubt that she got the hint. She mentioned she'd see us Sunday, unless they get bored then they might have to come up and follow us around Saturday. It's very hard for me to tell her no, I hardly ever do and when I finally do say no or make a decision opposite of what she wants, she acts like I'm being ridiculous or treats me like I'm being overly mean (which I don't necessarily do, I do think when I finally do stand up to things, I'm trying to hold my ground so hard that it does come off as a little pissy but if I don't do it that way she ends up getting her way, if that makes sense)

Ugh, this rant is one big run-on sentence that is ALL over the place, If you read this far and/or even understand thanks!