Out-Of-Town Guest Anxiety

I love love love having our family members from back home in South Carolina come to visit. Really, I do.  But I swear sometimes it causes me so much anxiety and stress before they get here! Ever feel that way?

Especially when it is one of the moms, mine or my husband's.  I go into total freak-out cleaning mode.  And I rally the troops, AKA, my husband and the kiddos, to help!  Things in my house that haven't been cleaned in a long time get cleaned!  Closets that haven't seen the light of day in months, get organized!  To do lists a mile long and not nearly enough time to complete them! The last time my mom came to visit, I actually scrubbed the grout on our tile floors with a toothbrush because it wasn't clean enough!  And our ENTIRE downstairs is tile floors!! LOL!!

Both of our moms are very tidy people.  My mom actually get PAID to organize people's houses. Her "junk" drawer is labeled and sorted.  It's in her blood.  But not in mine!  I want to be organized so badly and I have so so so many good ideas to keep our home organized and neat all the time, but I swear my kids have different plans!  I guarantee my mother-in-law has never uttered the words "pardon the mess" when someone showed up at her house unexpectedly, but I do.  Every.  Single.  Time.

Well, my mom is coming next week.  EEEEEEKKKKK!!!  I am in FRANTIC mode!!  But I seriously can't wait!  I haven't seen her since last March! Really looking forward to talking to her in person and getting hugs!

Besides feeling the need to deep clean everything, the 2nd most stressful thing about having out-of-town guests is keeping my kids on a schedule.  They still have to go to school, so they still have to get up at 6:30 in the morning, even if we stay out late sight-seeing.  So I am always torn between entertaining my guests and keeping the kids on track!  It's always so hard for me because I love being out, showing my family our new city.  Coming from a small town in SC and now living in Las Vegas, it's a big difference!  Lots of shiny lights and fun things to see and do! 

Guess I better go clean something!  Luckily, I know that my mom knows me well enough to know that my home will never be perfect, but it will always be fun and welcoming!  And I'll take that any day!

Nicole