Five Important Steps for a Successful Play Date

I host "play dates" on occasion.  Usually, I prefer to go to other people's houses for playdates because my kids and I all get stir crazy by about 9 AM.  However, I do love that I have been given a house that I am fortunate enough to be able to use for showing hospitality to friends (and their kids).  So, with ALL of my experience.  Let me share with you THE VERY ALL INCLUSIVE (slash not inclusive at all) list which I compiled in less than two minutes.  Five steps.

1. If you must clean your house, clean it the night before... no need to be ignoring your children while you clean the guest room toilet.  Plus, if you are cleaning the toilet the morning of your play date, your kids will likely find something to destroy while you are ignoring them. Or you could just not clean your toilet because really, who are we trying to impress?  Plus, chances are if they have a potty trained child there will be poop and pee all over the seat before the date is done anyway.  (Or your two year old will squeeze his brand new tube of toothpaste ALL. OVER. THE. BATHROOM. - not that it's ever happened to me.)

2. If you care about showering and looking pretty, go ahead and shower and blow dry your hair the night before too.  I usually skip the shower and the looking pretty, wear no makeup and put my hair in a ponytail.  This also works.

This would have looked much cooler on Instagram.

3. You MUST make these amazing blueberry muffins (recipe shared below).  Unless of course your guests have celiac disease or lactose intolerance, and then I have nothing for you.  There's a section in the grocery store for those people.  You must NOT make these muffins the night before the play date because your house needs to smell like freshly baked blueberry muffins when your guests arrive.  (Although I'm sure Bath & Body Works sells a good alternative.) But who wouldn't want warm muffins? You can, however, organize and prep the ingredients the night before so you aren't making a huge mess the morning of your play date (and so you aren't ignoring your children and so they aren't making an additional mess).

4.  Coffee.  There must always be coffee.  And get some creamer - don't be offering your guests skim milk for their coffee.  It won't cut it.

5.  And, if you REALLY want it to be a successful play date, hire a babysitter (or a grandma).  Then the mommies can actually talk, which is the point of the play date anyway, right?

Step 5 is a joke. Kind of. Now to the good stuff.

Blueberry Muffins - A recipe I adapted and healthified from a friend who adapted them from Alton Brown at foodnetwork.com.  Gotta give credit where credit is due.  Alton's recipe is linked, and I will post both my version and my friend's version for your pleasure.

Blueberry Muffins (Leah's healthier version)

1/4 C butter (half a stick) softened (since I didn't use a mixer, I almost completely melted it and it turned out fine- And you know I couldn't cut ALL the butter, I just couldn't do it.)
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C sugar + 1 TBS Honey (I prefer more sugar, but I was being healthy)

1 egg

1 C vanilla yogurt (I would use whole milk yogurt)

Zest of one lemon (I have found this to be the deal-maker with these muffins)

1 and 1/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 C blueberries (or as many as you'd like)

Preheat oven to 375, spray muffin tin. In mixer, combine the first ingredients - waiting

until each are incorporated before adding the next. In a separate bowl, combine the dry

ingredients and mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in 3 parts, waiting for each

addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Lastly, add the blueberries, folding them

in with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, increasing the temperature to 400 during the

last 10 min of cooking time.

And the first adaption courtesy of Amber (who has abandoned her blog)

The Best Blueberry Muffins

**modified from Alton Brown – FoodNetwork.com

½ C butter (one stick) softened

½ C sugar

1 egg

1 C vanilla yogurt (brown cow, whole milk is the greatest…)

zest of one lemon (if you’re feeling fancy)

2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

¾ C blueberries – fresh or frozen (frozen ones will sink to the bottom of the muffins

though, making the fruit distribution disproportionate… if that bothers you…)

Preheat oven to 375, spray muffin tin. In mixer, combine the first 4 ingredients - waiting

until each are incorporated before adding the next. In a separate bowl, combine the dry

ingredients and mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in 3 parts, waiting for each

addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Lastly, add the blueberries, folding them

in with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, increasing the temperature to 400 during the

last 10 min of cooking time.

*These are so quick I love to make them in the morning when I first wake up, then take a

shower while they are in the oven. When I get out the house smells delightful and I can

have a hot muffin, with butter…