Kids vs Friends

My friends are absolutely lovely. And so are my kids. But the combination of friends and small kids is not always the optimal for friendships. Kids are needy. They are loud. They can be bratty. (They can be cute as well). Most of my friends like my kids, I'm very lucky about that. But I am also not naive about what the reality with us 2 adults and 3 small kids is like, especially if confined to a small place. Kids are messy, they spill things, they interrupt conversations - no matter how well-behaved. I notice that I've increasingly resorted to leaving the kids with my husband when I meet a friend for coffee (one without or with kids), as I can finish more than two sentences in half an hour. I fully understand that for friends with small flats, and especially ones that place high value on tideness, inviting us 5 may mean just one other guest can fit in an addition. Coming over to our place is sometimes like entering a zoo. I'm lucky with my friends. I'm grateful I dont need to choose friends or kids, but I have to admit it is pure luxury to at times separate my kids and my friends. The funny part is, I think every parent finds their own kids more disrupting than other's kids. I absolutely adore my friends' kids. They are adorable, I get so unhappy that I cannot see many of them that often. So maybe my crazy zoo is only bothersome for one person at these times: me....