After much badgering, I finally agreed that her friend could come home with us after kindergarten pickup...
I don't recall a playdate ever being this much work...
It became obvious to me 5 minutes into the car ride home that I am much more of a disciplinarian than she is used to...
The minute she came in the house, it was a bit of a free for all...
There was much running, hooting and hollering to be had!
As the glee fest was taking place, I decided to make a special lunch for everyone...
I've been wanting to try out the muffin tin lunch and thought today was as good of a day as any--
It was a huge hit!--except for the fact that the only thing our guest would eat was the fruit snacks and ham--(pray tell me WHO in their right mind does not like cheez-its?!)
I even served them punch in tea cups WITH SAUCERS!!!
After lunch, the festivities continued and there were requests to do everything from painting to jumping on the couch, (a big no no in our house) and then to spray windex on my glass garden room door and then wipe it up with A SHOW TOWEL!!!! (a towel that is meant for looks only!-) please don't judge me! :(
they got out the playdough (AKA..."the devil")
this lasted for about 10 minutes...
then barbies and dressing up, trashing the girls room, several more snack requests!, and a fashion show...
Finally they started asking if I could call her mom so they could go over to her house...
I'm so self conscience about the lack of fun that we have going on at our house...(rainy day fun, that is!)--We've got a pond with lots of frogs and critters, and a big yard for romping, but when it comes to indoor things, I struggle with high maintenance playdates, because we don't have a basement and we don't have a Wii. The most high tech thing we own is a DVD/VCR player and a microwave!
Ellie was so forlorn that she was without a playmate that I called her little friend, Bella, who lives next door, to come over...
They played so well together...and then it hit me what everyone has been telling me all along...
"If you think you've got problems when they're little, you just WAIT until they get older!"
(P.S.--I've always hated those people who tell me stuff like that!)
I'm hoping that this playdate was just an isolated incident and not a glimpse of what is to come!
**Have you ever tried a "muffin tin" lunch?
**Are you as exhausted by just reading this as I am?
**Do you have "play date" phobias?
**Am I the only one out there that has "show towels"?
I know mom 'appreciates' your show towels. and by appreciates, i mean 'uses'. :)
ReplyDeleteugh. usually, i don't do anything for playdates- it's neighborhood kids dropping by and eating our food. and i'm not nearly creative enough to do a muffin tin. :) i wonder if kids just leave their manners at the door when they visit new homes. it seems like every child who walks into ours is immediately in my fridge and cupboards begging food off of me and complaining that i don't have the right snacks (ok- less so since i've gotten on the oreo wagon).
ReplyDeletei WISH i had show towels. again- not that together. :) maybe in a few years.
I hate cheeze-its. Sarah calls them Cheez-nits, which makes them all the more disgusting.
ReplyDeleteThe muffin tin thing looks fun.
hahhaha, (to katie's comment). wow, that girl is high maintenance!! (by that girl, I mean Reilly's friend:-)
ReplyDeleteall i can say is --- i'm glad i've already raised all of you- whew!!! playdates.... it was different back then. i love your microwave comment!! heh,heh
ReplyDeleteholy moly the play date from hell!
ReplyDeletethis is NOT normal, not in my book anyway... I have not done the muffin tin lunch & I LOVE CHEESE ITS!!! that kid's crazy-
WE do have play date friends who have caused such a ruccus before, but they don't come back- with friends like that- who needs enemies?
When my older boys were younger they saved up their own money & bought a nintendo- I mistakenly said the only way I would allow it was if they paid for it. Who knew they could do it? after a couple of years... it wasn't tooo awful, one night, hubby out of town, I couldn't get the now missionary off it- I picked it up & threw it- not my best moment- but then I did break it & the misery was over. This is now one of my kids favorite stories to tell. They laugh their heads off... remember that time when mom went crazy & smashed the nintendo???
we did buy a wii last Christmas- but I love that thing- totally interactive & no hypnotized brats, not yet anyway, the missionary's not home yet, we'll see? ;)
I have show towels that were used by inconsiderate people during our open house in San Diego! I came home and had to make beds because people can't control their kids, flush toilets because people can't flush and like to leave me thank you packages, they use my show towels when I have a roll of paper towels right on the sink for them to use!!! UGH people can be swines.
ReplyDeletePlaydates from hell, yes we have all had them. I told one little boy to "grow up" because he wanted to do only what he wanted to do and not do anything my son wanted. He ran home to tell his mom, "miss Pam told me to grow up"
i always imagined playdates in the "country" would be better because you tell the kids to go outside & keep on eye on them through the window...
ReplyDeleteplaydates are painful. maybe you could spend the next playdate teaching them to iron show towels
I love that muffin tin idea. It is what we called hor's d'oevers (did I even spell that right). Yours looks much more fun, though.
ReplyDeleteI used to have "show" towels, now I have teenage boys. Maybe I should have taught them to respect those show towels, but it was too much work, and by the time they are teenagers, it has become trivial to me.
Never really liked play dates. I can't say I don't like them all because sometimes there are those kids that just click and it's like they are one of your own. But, more often than not, they don't.
When my daughter was about 7 years old and we were living in Washington State, the little girl who lived behind us came for an "indoor" play date one day.
ReplyDeleteAt one point, I noticed them both coming out of the bathroom and jokingly asked my daughter if she had needed help. Her response???
"No, Alyssa had to pee at the same time I did...so she peed in the sink."
Yeah...she wasn't ever invited inside again.
No fear, I also have show towels. And I'm not even remotely able to do home decor at all.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, if your house is going to be in a MAGAZINE that you get asked to autograph (!!), you'd better be dang sure you have show towels! :D
I haven't tried the muffin-tin lunch yet, but I think it's a brilliant idea!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to deal with friends you're not familiar with, especially if they're used to doing whatever they want. I would NOT have been keen on all the messes or the short time spent playing with each thing. I always make them clean up their mess before they start a new one, but it's still a pain sometimes.
i love show towels, no judgement from me. but i don't love cheeze-its, sorry. they are one of those "never again" foods because of morning sickness association, you know the ones.
ReplyDeletethe wii is great becuse it's so interactive and you can't be a couch potato to play it - even i like it. :)
sorry about the play date from hell - it is hard to try to keep them busy. but i'm not one of those people who say, 'just wait until they're older', because i have thoroughly enjoyed my teenagers - so far, (knock on wood). one good thing about having older kids is that they "hang out" and totally entertain themselves. it's GREAT.
better luck next time!
oh p.s. i love the muffin tin, i do it all the time with snacks that i leave out on the table all day(ish) so i don't have to retrieve snacks for the toddler every five minutes. i love using the cupcake liners though - i hadn't thought of that - so cute!
I've never tried the muffin tin lunch but it looks like a great idea and I probably will try it.
ReplyDeleteUm, play dates. I have to have them planned and I do feel a little on edge with other people over. period. BUT there really are some kids that are high maintenence and picky and just not kids I'd invite over twice. My kids are pretty well-behaved. Some other kids are not. Don't feel bad. I'm sure there are other kids that do NOT want to jump on your couches and who DO like almost anything to eat.
I do have "show" towels. But there is nothing in my house that if my kids used or destroyed that I would cry about. I couldn't live under that kind of pressure. I'm just happy when they take their shoes off at the door!
Love cheeze it's and show towels:)
ReplyDeleteThe play date sounds like a bad one...I think the trick with playdates is to find that one playmate that "clicks" with your child. They will play for 3 hours and you won't hear a peep (almost). The only problem is they are few and far between. Don't give up hope though! I know there is one out there for your Reilly:)
I'm in LOVE with that muffin tin idea! I have 5 girls and i've never given one of them a muffin tin lunch/tea party? We are having one pronto:)
I love the muffin tin idea. I dislike playdough, too many bad play dates with play dough. I think play dates can be so exhausting, but it is nice when you get comfortable with a friend that your child has over and you don't have to worry about it. It takes a while to get to that point. I also have show towels.
ReplyDeleteYou and I would get along just fine. I often feel that our house is the Boring one. No couch-jumping, round-the-clock snacking, running and screaming in the house around here! This entire post has me laughing and feeling your pain at the same time.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the play date drama and show towel trauma. I guess it was a sign when she didn't know what a Cheez-It was, her loss though. I could live on them--so tasty. Good for you for hosting--sorry it was so exhausting.
ReplyDeleteEvery time Eva has a friend over, it's exhausting and somewhat traumatizing. ARgh. She is a big fan of the muffin tin lunch, though.
ReplyDeleteI read through your comments and now I'm feeling grateful that at least no one has ever tried to pee in my sink!!
does everything have to be organized? baseball, dancing, soccer, church activities etc. Playdates, a stupid term in itself.
ReplyDeleteAt 37, have you forgotten what it was like being a kid? why do you traumatize yourself by focing what you perceive to be fun on the kids. Kids will find their own fun. Let the kids be kids. kids want food, on a paper plate works fine and it can't be broken. "kiss" is an acronym that means-keep it simple stupid.
show towels on a towel rack scream "use me". paper towels work fine on a construction site but seem tacky in someones bathroom.
you always refer to bella as elles little friend. why is that? Isn't elle little too?
kids don't want to play in a home that isn't kid friendly and I'm guessing your analness doesn't help either.
send them outside in the rain, the'll have a great time getting wet and muddy.