Well that's just GREAT!!

This is a purely non-infertility related rant. I'm pissed, and need to vent. Feel free to skip this post, if you so choose.

Next week is my daughter's 7th birthday and accordingly, we have planned our traditional birthday BBQ to celebrate. We always hold this BBQ on the Saturday closest to her b-day, on which ever weekend is NOT Mother's Day.

This year, way back in January, my MIL called to confirm which weekend we would have the party. She was trying to plan all of her summer camping trips and wanted to make sure to avoid LJ's special day.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I noticed on her calendar that she had marked everyday between the 13th and the 17th as "camping". When I asked her about it, she said that it was the only weekend that my FIL's schedule allowed for them to go camping during May. I was really irritated, but decided that there wasn't anything I could do, and to let it go. The main reason that it was frustrating to me (besides the fact that I had told her about the party months ago) is because we are much closer to my DH's side of the family than we are to mine, and that is the family that our daughter has grown up with. They are the ones that are most important to her and I knew how disappointed she was going to be.

In spite of my inlaw's being out of town, we decided to keep our original date of May 16th (LJ's softball games nix anyother weekend), and I mailed out invitations at the beginning of this week. We sent them to all of my brothers and sister-in-laws and their kids (14 people total), my parents, and 2 cousins. We figured that even with my MIL and FIL being gone, we'd still have a decent turnout.

This afternoon, my MIL called me to ask if it would be okay if she got a b-day cake for the Munchkin so that we could celebrate her birthday on Saturday during our Mother's Day BBQ that was planned for DH's grandma. She said that she knew that some of them couldn't make it to her party so she wanted to do the cake instead. When I asked who couldn't come, she named 10 of the 14 people we had invited! They had invited them all to go camping with them! (She hadn't heard back whether the other 4 were going also.)

I am so frustrated, and just plain hurt about it. I am grateful that she wants to acknowledge LJ's birthday, but I am so angry that they are even going. We have had this same tradition EVERY year since she was born. I already felt horrible when I had to tell LJ that her Nana and Papa couldn't come, but to tell her that most of her aunts and uncles, along with the only 2 cousins she has aren't coming is going to be awful! LJ has a very close bond with all of them, and I'm dreading her reaction. She is pretty sensitive, and this is not going to be fun. When she found out that the grandparent's couldn't come she asked me if I though they loved camping more than her. SERIOUSLY! She knows that they go camping for weeks at a time all throughout the summer, with their last trip being the first weekend in October and I'm sure she's wondering why they couldn't just skip this ONE weekend (hell, I'm wondering that myself!).

I just feel like they've kind of stolen her party, and it pisses me off royally. I'm wondering what DH will say. He didn't really want to go clear down there Saturday, and then have to do it again on Sunday for Mother's Day. I'm sure he's not going to be happy.