How to Survive an Encounter with Your Monster in Laws (giveaway)
Friday, November 11, 2011 at 06:48AM A&E has a new reality show that focuses on in-law relationships. Monster in Laws airs Monday's at 10 pm ET, and features real married couples whose relationship is struggling because of their relationship with their in-laws.
I'm sure many of you can relate. Whether it's an in-law giving their unsolicited advice, or one spouse feeling caught in the middle, in each case everyone is left feeling angry or resentful.
Monster in Laws highlights some unconventional methods that are used to get both sides to communicate. It's not always the elder in-laws fault either. Sure, you migh relate to duct-taping a mother-in-law's mouth closed just so she'll listen. But how about forcing a daughter-in-law to take her jewelry to the pawn shop so that she can finally repay her mother-in-law?
Relationships are difficult and require open communication and, most importantly, honesty, to work well. Everyone will relate to something in Monster in Laws, so everyone deserves a shot at winning this in law survival kit!
The In-Law Survival Kit includes:
$50 Body Shop Gift Card
Spa Wisdom™ Japan Yuzu & Green Tea Bathing Salts
Total Body Massager
Here's how to enter:
1. Leave a comment telling me a funny or crazy in-law story. Feel free to post anonymously and note that your email is not visible.
2. Extra entry - share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or public Facebook page and leave another comment with the URL of your post
Contest is open to US residents 18 years and over, and ends November 25, 2011 at 11:00 pm. I will choose a winner via random.org but the prize is provided by Lifetime / A&E. I will notify winner via email and give 48 hours to claim with a response.
Be sure to watch Monster in Laws on A&E Monday nights (10 Eastern /9 Central) and follow the chatter on Twitter with #monsterinlaws.
Disclosure: I have a wonderful relationship with my OWN Mother-in-Law who occassionally reads this blog along with her other relatives. We are one, big, happy, loving family with no issues whatsoever. That said, even I can enjoy this show...it's THAT good. The giveaway prize is provided at no cost by Lifetime / A&E. All opinions are my own and this post was neither reviewed nor approved prior to being published.
Janine Nickel
THANK YOU to everyone for sharing your in-law stories. I had a number of giggles, snorts, and "oh my" s reading all of these. The winner (chosen via Random.org) of the prize pack is.... Giant Sis - who actually covered her mother-in-law's mouth with her hand to shut her up in the back of the car. Something I now a few of you have dreamed about, no doubt!
Monster in Law, giveaway, tv in giveaway 
Reader Comments (48)
I went on my first vaction in years with my son, sister-in-law and mother-in-law. We were going down south to visit the rest of the family. On our return home she took a wrong turn, and we were halfway up Wisconsin, before she realized we weren't in Michigan.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I only have a grandmother in-law. I guess the funny story that comes to mind is that I purchase certain items for her as needed- she is in her 80s. I always feel like I need to explain myself at the register when in addition to my normal purchases of items like pizza, juices and sweets I have several bottles of antacids, stool softener, etc.!!
Shared giveaway on FB
http://www.facebook.com/#!/kellywcu/posts/255854694464011
When my baby was first born, my mother-in-law said he looked like her husband. I thought that was funny.
2dogs5catscrew@att.net
When my baby was first born, my mother-in-law said he looked like her husband. I thought that was funny.
2dogs5catscrew@att.net
posted to facebook as Amy Orvin
https://www.facebook.com/#!/amyorvin
2dogs5catscrew@att.net
My Ex MIL was a piece of work. She was a woman who had little to no self esteem to begin with, and was lorded over by her domineering, Army Lt. Col. husband every second of every day. Her only vent was to pick on me for EVERYTHING! I didn't cook nutritious enough meals, I didn't do my dishes right, the wash wasn't done enough or correctly, we didn't call enough... it never ended! The final straw was when my then husband and I went away for the weekend. We hadn't told her(didn't see why since it was a 2 day get away.) and she went wack-a-do! First she hounded our landlord to let her in our house so she could poke around to see where we were, and when he wouldn't allow her in, she called the state police to report us missing so they would break into our house to let her in! I have to say, I don't miss that crazy woman one bit!
My grandfather-in-law to be can be quite nosy! He grew up with seven siblings, always knowing each others' business. Once, I had gone to get a pap smear so I was late meeting my fiance and grandpa kept asking me what had held me up. I didn't want to lie but I didn't want to tell him where I had been because to me that was personal. But he wouldn't stop asking. I felt so embarrassed, and my beau ended up telling him later where I had been!
My crazy in- law story starts with my mother in law was a substitute teacher for a lot of the classes I had in high school. I was friends with the prankster of my class and I remember that I was laughing at a lot of the jokes and pranks that my friend pulled on her. I was never behind the pranks because she also worked part time with my aunt and word would get back to my parents. I always thought she was mean in school so when I found out who son I was dating and it scared me that when we met, she was going to raise hell like nobody's business but she never said anything until after i married her son and she had me all to herself one day in the kitchen and she talked about all the things that happened in school. I felt so embarassed and was like a little kid knowing that she is being busted. I couldn't wait until my husband came back in the rescue me!
my mil before she was my mil told me she wasn't ready to become a grandma...good thing i wasn't either
http://twitter.com/#!/vivaciousgold/status/136467024774840320-tweeted
My father-in-law licks spoons and then puts them back in jars. It drives me crazy. We have to replace all the condiments after he leaves.
OMG - some of these are hilarious! The spoon-licking tho - ewwwww. Keep them coming!
- Janine
My MIL resets my Thanksgiving table. Every, single, year. For 20.
tweeted!
I started dating my husband in college. The first time our parents met each other was at a dinner in honor of our graduation. My (then future) MIL gave us gifts at the dinner table. I opened mine up and found a mug she'd bought at the university store...It said "Schoolname Mom" on it!
It was totally a mistake on her part, but it shocked the heck out of my parents - and me and my poor then-boyfriend!
What a fun giveaway!
i have been blessed with the most amazing mother inlaw.. i know i am lucky..
my one memory of her that stands out is.. she flew up to ny to drive down to florida with me.. i had my car packed full of everything i owned.. she had this lamp i love on top of her the whole drive down.. it was so silly and we were laughing so hard.. you think a long road trip like that would have sucked but we had the best time and got super close =)
dollhousecreation(at)gmail(dot)com
My son was only a couple of weeks old and my MIL wanted to change him. I was all for that. He'd been peeing on all of us! After a minute we heard a yelp from the room. He had peed on her :) We laughed but stayed sitting. Then we heard screams of help. Apparently as she tried to cover the pee he pooped in her hand :)
My in-laws are super healthy and once we gave our then toddler leftover pizza at their house...whole-wheat pizza that my brother in law had made. Our pediatrician had said to just get our son to eat whatever he could to "fatten" him up while still encouraging healthy eating so we thought pizza would be perfect, but we got a lengthy e-mail from my father-in-law lecturing us on how to feed babies. My husband quickly e-mailed back and explained about the pediatrician and we all had a laugh about it but it was an interesting experience.
Tweeted here: https://twitter.com/#!/judywhatilive4/status/139109521871212545
Fed up with the TV in my home, I cut off the cord to my TV, only to have my mother in law buy a TV three times larger. Did I mention she also bought us cable?
the.inbox(at)yahoo.com
When I first met my MIL I did not know that she was afraid of escalators. When we would go shopping and I went on an escalator she would stay at the bottom while I was going up. She finally told me that she was afraid of them.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
I was riding with my mil in her car once when she attempted to enter a highway in a big city (a city in which she lives, so this traffic is not new to her). She couldn't find an opening in the traffic that suited her, so instead of merging with the traffic, she pulled off into the little triangle of space in between the entrance ramp & the highway & stopped! So then not only did we have a full highway speeding by on one side of us, but a full lane of merging traffic on the other side & we were literally stopped in the middle! Thankfully she didn't cause an accident!
My husband and I were having dinner with his parents the day before Thanksgiving. He was making jokes about cleaning the kitchen, and said, "They should just call it the kitch-lean." We chuckled, and then he said, "Or the Cli-tchen." (Say it out loud.) I turned beet red, his parents stared at him and then burst out laughing. He actually ran out of the room and left me to deal with his parents!
I tweeted about the contest here: http://twitter.com/#!/kcindyloo/status/139581114309296128