After School Special

I wanna be the cool mom. I wanna be the house that all my kids friends love to come to. The one with the yummy food, fun games, awesome hideout, and laid back parents who don't get in a tizzy when popcorn is dumped on the floor or water spilled on the bed.

I guess I kinda grew up that way. All my friends Luuuuved my mom, thought my dad was cool, and we had fabulous sleepovers. The kind where we "sneak" into the kitchen at night and make candy, or eat cold pizza, or prank call the cute boy at school. We lived in a tiny house, a three bedroom ranch, probably around 1600 or 1700 sq. feet. My parents knew every breath we took, but turned their heads and let us free unless it interrupted the straight and narrow path of our morals.

After school today, I entertained these three handsome fellows. While they watched a movie in 3-D, I popped popcorn and baked them chocolate chip cookies as big as their faces. I let them eat it all on the couches and then smiled when they stampeded up the stairs to play flashlight tag in Alec's darkened bedroom.

Sound nice?

Well, at the same time, I was potty-training Ava, conducting diplomatic negotiations between Benji and his friend, cleaning up from the cookie baking, thinking about dinner, and trying to de-clutter my kitchen closet to make room for craft supplies.
Hm mm. . .I just want to be the cool mom, not super-mom! Gotta find that balance somewhere. . .

Anyone have that house that everyone comes to? What's your secret?