I wish my mind came with an on/off button

I learned quickly that the first thing you look for in a toy is an on/off button....preferably one in an inconspicuous place as not to be easy found by your toddler. This is closely followed by a volume control button and if the toy doesn't pass these 2 criteria, it is NOT purchased! I wish my mind came with an on/off button or at the very least a volume control button so I could turn it really really low and as long as I was truly tired, I could sleep through the noise. You must be thinking "poor girl... it's 4:23 in the morning and she hasn't slept a wink. She must be really upset or anxious about something." Nope! I'm actually quite chipper and the only thing on my mind is making a good impression tomorrow morning hosting my 1st coffee play date.

Here's the deal... when you're a stay at home mom, you thrive on play dates! Don't be fooled. Play dates aren't really for the kids. They're for the moms and it just works out that we all have kids to entertain each other. I NEED play dates. You see, I'm a social butterfly and I need adult conversation. I LOVE being a stay at home mom but if I "stay at home" more than 2 days in a row, I start to plot the death of Dora the Explorer, Max and Ruby and Sid the Science Kid... Sid goes first. (side note: as a zoo keeper, shouldn't Ted "the man in the yellow hat" know better than to raise Curious George, a monkey in an apartment?) Anyways, you get the picture... play dates are really important to me. In the last few weeks, I've been "invited" to these coffee play dates where you come in your jammies/yoga pants for coffee and muffins. These ladies are SO fun and the kids get along really well! I love that they all live one street over and the kids are so close in age, I feel like we're "doing life together." Anyways, tomorrow morning (well... in 3 1/2 hours) is my first time hosting coffee play date at my house and I really want it to go well! I'm making chocolate muffins and blueberry muffins. I hope to have them made tomorrow before they come and hide the evidence they they're from a box! The kids are getting the shaft with eggo mini pancakes and bananas. Confession... as a coffee addict, you'd think my coffee maker would have a lot of brews under its belt.... nope... I buy overpriced coffee at the Starbucks at my grocery store everyday so I can get out of my house. I know every one of the employee's names, most of their kid's names and half their life stories... they're my friends and often my only source of adult conversation. SOOO... today I did a test brew with the instructional manual and everything... I hope I did it right. I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Having people to my house is a big deal because it requires a multi-hour cleaning spree prior the event. I am so proud of myself that I kept my cleaning to under and hour for my coffee play date. I dusted with my hand and I didn't even Windex. This is huge. I want to be able to just invite people over any time and be very laid back (which I am getting much better at!) but the 1st thing I always say when someone walks in the door is "please excuse my house." The truth is, I'm struggling as a homemaker. I even borrowed a book called "The Fly Lady" to try to sort this whole homemaking thing out. The mom thing came naturally but keeping my home in order is a daily struggle. Don't get me wrong, my house doesn't come close to being on an episode of hoarders... quite the opposite. I threw away most of my decorations when I was nesting and the idea of "stuff" that I don't use seems completely wasteful to me. My issue is things like my grout is stained, my baseboards are dirty, the ironing pile is huge, there are marks on the walls... those sorts of things cause me anxiety to invite people over. One week, I really committed to this whole homemaking thing but when it came to dinner time, I'd spent the whole day cleaning and straightening that we ended up eating hot pockets for dinner which pretty much negated any pat on the back for my efforts in homemaking. Basically, it boils down to this.... I have to let it go. Not the house... but my desire to please with perfection. My house is cleaner than most people's I go in and I doubt anyone is judging me for the cleanliness of my baseboards. I have a toddler. His toys are in my living room and I just have to be ok with that for a while. Bri Van de Camp makes it all look so easy.

Hi, my name is Taylor Wise and I am a recovering people pleaser.