By Becca Carnahan of With Love, Becca
We have two toddlers in our house so everything is sticky. Everything.
It’s gotten to the point where if a surface in my house is clean for more than 30 seconds I get uncomfortable and throw some honey on it. All of my shoes have Hot Wheels stickers on the bottom. One day both of my kids had jelly in their hair and I don’t remember feeding them jelly that day…
But I’ve found the solution that allows us to still entertain friends at our home and it’s not baby wipes, Swiffer WetJet, or Lysol (although I own stock in all three). It’s chocolate chip cookies.
Hear me out on this. I have fully researched this sensory-based theory and it feels airtight.
Smell
When you walk into someone’s house the first thing you’re doing isn’t inspecting the counter tops, but subconsciously you are taking in the smell.
“Oh hello, friends, wow it smells like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in here. You must really have your act together.”
(Insert maniacal laugh here.)
Sound
Moving onto sound. The sound of silence. Because your two-year-old is stuffing his face full of chocolate chip cookie.
The ruse of having your act together since no one is yelling about Curious George or juice at the moment continues.
Sight
Sight is hard because if everything is sticky that also means there is stuff all over your house. And super weird stuff, too, like corn on the cob under your couch. But if you greet your guest with the smell of chocolate chip cookies, and your toddler is silently eating one, then you have bought yourself enough time to explain, “The kids wanted to make cookies for you! Isn’t that adorable? We just finished making them so please excuse the mess.”
Judge my children for painstakingly baking you homemade cookies and getting some flour (and butter, and yogurt, and for some reason glue…) on the floor, I dare you.
Touch
Touch is also clearly a challenge because you don’t want your guests to touch anything or they might get stuck forever and be forced to move in. But toss them a cookie when they walk in the door, ideally two so their hands are full, and then keep them coming for the next 2.5 hours. Everyone leaves happy, slightly nauseous, and not stuck to the furniture.
Also, after you have eaten 12 chocolate chip cookies, who’s to say you weren’t the one that got the couch sticky, dear guest?
Taste
Taste doesn’t require explanation. It’s a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.
Guests are happy, you’re happy, the kids are happy, the good people at Nestle are happy…
Everyone wins. And no one had to pick up a mop.
This post was originally published on With Love, Becca.
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About the Author
Becca Carnahan is a mom of 2 small humans, freelance writer, career coach, and a humor enthusiast. Find her sharing stories about parenting and career development at With Love, Becca and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.