Wordless Wednesday - At Home and Steppin' Out

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Livid.

Okay, tell me if I'm over-reacting.

Last night, I picked Roo and Jasper up from my mom's house. On the way home, Roo said "You know what Grandma told me? A little girl answered the door and Santa shot her in the face!" She then proceeded to make up a song about the Christmas Eve incident in Covina. Bob and I were horrified.

When I got home, I called my parents to tell them that this was not appropriate. My mom said it was on the TV news and she had to explain it to Roo. I said, no, she didn't. That would be a mighty fine time to make up something innocuous and change the channel, in my opinion. Yes, I was pretty hysterical and crying because I just don't understand how you could NOT know that a four year old doesn't need to know there are people in this world who shoot little kids. Or that they would dress like Santa to go undetected. Way to tell that to a kid who only had her first non-terrified Santa visit this year…

Today, my mom came over and tried to get me to apologize for accusing her of not loving her grandkids. Not true. I have no doubt in my mind that she loves Roo and Jasper, I just have a nagging fear that she doesn't think about her actions and how they impact the kids. She even tried to argue about why I didn't let Roo spend the night the other night when I realized she hadn't been put to bed at 10 pm. It's not like we never see my parents, they live a block away and my mom is always here. Why does she need to spend "quality time" with Roo two and a half hours past her bedtime? Doesn't she realize that we're the ones who have to deal with the fall-out the next day? I didn't apologize and she left angry.

So, did I over-react? What would you have done?

***addendum, 1/1/09***

Thanks for everyone's comments, from those of you who were totally outraged by my mom's behavior to those of you who thought I flew off the handle. I think it's interesting that those who want me to sit down with my mom and work it out choose to comment anonymously, though. What's up with that?

I want to clarify that I waited to express my anger about this until after I was well out of range of the kids hearing me and that I didn't make a big deal out of it in front of them. I let Roo sing her "funny song" about Santa shooting little girls in the face and told her I didn't like it and that was that. Thankfully, it blew over and she hasn't mentioned it again. I haven't continued to bitch at my mom about it. I said my peace and let her know I was disappointed in her judgment.

She did the exact same thing two years ago, telling Roo and her five year old cousin about the Madeleine McCann kidnapping in detail, so there definitely is a precedent for her blurting inappropriate stuff out in front of kids. I'm leaving a comment below about her reasoning and mine, if you care to read more.

There is no rift in our family or anything like that, although I appreciate all of your concern!

Kimono cutie

This is my mom at a Japanese dance recital when she was about six. Oddly, she looks pretty much the same.

Although typically not in a kimono. More like tennis gear and a lot of diamonds. (Seriously.)

And I think I now know why she reacts so poorly whenever I cut straight bangs in my hair…

OMG

Roo leaves home looking like this:



And comes back from grandma's like this:



She smelled nice, too.

Yesterday.

My mom hates this pic but I think they look sweet.

Bad guys

Roo stayed with Grandma while I made a grocery run today and when I got back, she was totally inconsolable. Turns out she and her five year old cousin asked what the newspaper story about the cute little blonde girl was and my mom actually told them. Now, ordinarily, when Roo asks about something I will tell her in as much detail as I can. But my aunt and I were a bit aghast at my mother's honesty in this situation– she told them all about how four year old Madeleine McCann was abducted from a hotel room while she slept and her parents were out having dinner. Roo was sobbing, telling me about the little girl and the hotel and the bad guy stole her and now she's kidnapped... my imaginative three year old now knows what kidnapping is. Thanks, mom.

Hooker shoes

My mother bought Roo some see-through lucite heels with strappy white patent glitter flowers. Street corner hustling shoes! Very disturbing. Of course, my sweet three year old loves them. I keep trying to hide them but she just asks "where my high heels?" and makes me feel guilty. Mom swears they're like Cinderella's glass slippers but I think they're more like alternate universe Cinderella as a bar girl attire. Especially when worn with shorts. Yikes.



Did I mention the brand name on these is Innocence?



This is our entry for the Ugly Baby Clothes Contest. Does anyone know if there's a contest for the most inappropriate baby clothes?