I totally understand and agree that having a couple of kids dumped on you without any warning sucks. My mom made it very clear from the beginning that she was very unhappy about having the kids stay with them. My husband and I tried to make it perfectly clear to her that we would find another place for them to stay if it wasn't OK with both her and my dad, and they insisted.
My relationship with my mom has always been strained. Actually, my mom's relationship has been strained with everyone in my family except my brother and his wife. She is not close with me, my sister, either of our spouses, or my dad. She is not affectionate, and I've often felt that we were all obstacles for her, even when we were kids. Having my kids placed in her home unexpectedly is a true obstacle. I think I would have been more accepting of her negativity if she hadn't treated me in the same fashion the entire time that I was growing up.
I understand that my mom is angry with me. She always is, and she pretty much always has been. I just don't understand how she could transfer that anger over to such a generalization that having my kids around for 13 days has ruined her entire summer.
My parents are leaving to go on vacation on Friday, and, if the kids are not placed back with my husband or me and my husband, we will be asking my husband's parents to watch them. It's not as nice for the kids and it's harder for us because they live further away, but we will make it work. I would have done that from the beginning if I had known that this situation would cause so much grief for my mother.