Christmas gift bean dipping!

[Lady Snowdon]

My DH and I visited my parents for Christmas this year.  Just before Christmas, DH and I received a card from his grandmother, with a check for him and surprisingly, a check for me!  A very generous check, I might add!  DH saw the amount, laughed and said, "Welcome to the lucrative *lastname* family!".  I thought it was funny, so I told my parents what happened while we were visiting.  The conversation went something like this:

Mom: So how much was the check for?
Me: A pretty nice amount.
Mom: How much is that?
Me: More than I expected.
Mom: What is that supposed to mean?
Me: I didn't expect anything, so getting a check was more than I expected to get! *laughs*
*Mom and Dad both laugh*

Conversation moves on to other items. 

It worked!  Amazing!  My mom can be very very nosy, and I usually don't mind telling her some personal stuff, but I really didn't want to tell her how much DH's grandma gave me, as it's truly none of her business.

[newf]

It's nice you got the check.  But if you really didn't want to tell your mom how much it was for, knowing full well she would ask, I think you might have been better off not mentioning the check at all.  It seem like your behavior is kind of passive aggressive to me.

[lilfox]

Eh, I think it's fair to mention "hey this amusing thing happened" (like getting an unexpected gift) and not be obligated to disclose *all* the details (like the exact check amount).  I like the turn of phrase Dogzard used too, not quite beandipping but it is intended to remind the asker that the information they're after really isn't germane to the story (or any of their business).

Personally, I might have gone with "Why does it matter?", as long as you can say it in a way that sounds like "oh the number isn't important" and not "stop prying, rude person".

[artifical sweetner]

i tell my mom everything but hate when she asks nosy questions after the fact that i have no desire to answer, so i can relate

least you were able to change topics