Since when did the slumber party even involve the parents? Besides throwing some food on a table, I don’t recall my mom being around. If she came near us, I’d shoo her out of the room. I know I certainly didn’t seek her out for fun, as the entertainment of the evening, yet here I sit with three giggling girls sneaking up on me every 30 seconds. They try so hard not to breathe heavy, breathe at all, lose control of the laughter bubbling up inside, and then I have to go and do something silly like scratch my back and they erupt like a shaken soda. Girls with too much sugar in their systems—who on earth would do such a thing?
I turned on the sprinkler. I fed them dinner. I snapped too many pictures. I set out bowls of metallic beads so they could string bracelets. Then I punched out shapes and let them make flowers with pipe cleaner stems. Finally, I let them loose so they could play and I sighed with relief that my part of the evening was done.
Only evidently it wasn’t. Now I keep turning around to a trio of girls clad in dark sunglasses who think they are stealth enough to sneak up on me, loud whispers echo behind me after thunderous footsteps and a chorus of giggles announce their arrival. “She doesn’t even know we’re here.”
I keep thinking that if I ignore them, they’ll go away. They keep coming back. “Go play,” I sing. “OK,” they promise. Darn it all if they don’t keep coming back. Didn’t they all bring dolls to play with?
Purses slung on shoulders, they sneak into the room behind me and wedge themselves behind furniture. I think they’re taking notes. Detectives. Someone bumps into a bell. The cover’s blown, kids. “Why don’t you play with your dolls?”
If it were my own kids, I would have finally made threats that I’m selling their toys, anything for just five minutes of peace. What is so funny about boring old me sitting in this chair? This game got old twenty minutes ago.
Up and down the stairs they go. My word, here they come again for the hundredth time. Give me patience. I won’t move. I’ll just sit here until they leave. I’ll ignore the snickering and throat clearing.
Oh. They’re ready to watch a movie. Now that sounds like a good idea.
Mom in the Muddle 
I have been pondering this same thing the past couple of years….ALL of my daughter’s friends want to come hang out with me…sometimes by themselves while my daughter is still in her room playing! I don’t remember as a kid barely uttering a word to my friend’s parents! I think it’s so funny because I’m not very exciting at all!
I’m not sure that’s a good or bad thing! I guess that means you are very kind.
It’s not just girls that do this. I find this happening to me every time my son has a sleepover. They are older now which in their minds make them cooler yet they want to sit on the couch next to me telling me all their stories. I cherish these times as I am realizing that my son is getting older and it is only a matter of time before I am completely non-existent!
The boys so far are a different story. If I say anything to my son’s friends, they act embarrassed and in pain. They clearly want me to leave so they can talk about potty stuff or something. Glad to see there is hope!
I have yet to experience a slumber party but I hope that for boys it will be different (pipe dream? I don’t know. Do boys even have slumber parties?) Hope you enjoyed some alone time during their movie. 🙂
There is much less giggling involved and a lot more yelling and shouting. Unfortunately, my alone time was spent doing work and then thinking, “When are they going to go to bed?? Aren’t they tired yet?”
You have no idea how much I needed this post. My new nine year old is having her first birthday slumber party on Saturday. Thank you for the play-by-play. Of course, if the girls ignore me, I’ll feel like a failure and if they don’t, it’ll bug me too! Win-win for everyone. What movies should I get? Also, I mentioned you in a post this morning in case you want to check it out!! 😉
Oh, hope they ignore you! You’ll know they’re having a great time. I went for something rated G. My daughter picked it out, one of the horrid Alvin and the Chipmunk movies. But the girls loved it. They’re 7 and 8 though.
Thanks for including me in your hope post. I’m going to try to do it. That’s a challenge! I have to really start thinking about that. Loved your post about it. It was great.
Sometimes, well occasionally, I miss the pitter patter/THUMP THUMP of little feet now that the kids are grown and doing their own thing. I remember it fondly, looking back.
I try to savor it all, I really do. That helps me get through the tiny annoying moments of motherhood. I sit back a minute and think, “One day I’m going to remember this and cry big stinking tears over it because I miss it and right now it bugs the hell out of me.” That gives me perspective. I literally sat down to check emails and the girls started spying on me, so not long into it I wrote that post as it was happening.
I have been wondering about this same thing! The point of having friends over for my daughter is so they can entertain each other, but somehow they always seem to feel the need to get me involved, too!
Yes! I invite friends over thinking they’ll leave me alone and I am constantly shooing. I am downstairs and I hear, “Let’s go ask your mom.” I want to go hide.
At least they acknowledge your presence lol. My oldest two are now teens and when they have sleep overs the boys come over, stare at my boobs (yes, they are at that wonderful age), and eat me out of house and home.
There’s an age I am looking forward to. Also hoping my son doesn’t turn into one of those boys. Ugh.
They all do lol.
My boys had a slumber party last year. It was me who was doing the sneaking! Unintentionally of course, as I sat at my computer, I could here them all talking about GIRLS. I nearly died of silent laughter.
That had to be a good conversation. My son lets go of some killer “observations” sometimes that make me realize he’s going to need a lot of prayer when it comes to girls.
i have three boys who are constantly dressing in black and being spies!! they are so funny, but the rule when friends are over, is they are your playmates. mommy is going to disappear now…. 🙂
That’s my rule too but evidently friends are convincing. Of course, the next morning it became an even better game when older brother was home and they could spy on him!
I’d sooooo rather have the boys for a sleep-over than the girls. They just go back in the family room and play video games…for HOURS. I throw pizza at them, some sleeping bags and pillows, and eventually they just crash. I never even know they’re there. Then there’s the girls…
So far, that’s been my experience too. But I don’t have much.
I bet they were wishing the brother was home so that they could have sneaked up on him for the evening. I can hear their screams now. MoM
LOL…you should teach them to play MASH and then they’ll be out of your hair forever. Remember that game? Pretty much every slumber party I ever went to was a MASH marathon.
I have never heard of that game. I’ll have to look into. Once they get into boys, I won’t have to worry. Or actually I will because then someone will have a crush on older brother. Maybe this age isn’t so bad.
This is good to know. We’ve never had a slumber party at our house yet. I do remember going to my own as a kid though, and we NEVER bothered the parents back then. We were always expected to go off on our own and entertain ourselves. I do have a pool party today with about five kids and I hope they don’t get ‘bored’ two hours into it!
Yes, let’s hope you don’t have to be the shark or something. Fingers crossed that you can sit and read. 😉
I am hoping against hope! I will try to sit outside in a lawn chair and not get my Kindle splashed…ha!
That’s what you get for being a cool mom.
I agree — you must be way cooler than you give yourself credit for. 😉
I don’t know, kids. I don’t know. You try to be the meanest mom on the block and it backfires.
I don’t think my parents were ever involved in my slumber parties until the boys wanted to sleep over too.