Three out of our four children are at school all day. I have been left with just one child, for the first time ever. It is a strange feeling to take care of one child all day, without the other little ones around. I am getting quite a bit of Melina-time in, but to be honest, it is hard work! I am more wiped out now than I was during the summer, when all the kids were home! I guess I need to thank the other three for helping keep Melina amused! Thank goodness she is good about playing by herself at times. We wouldn't eat if she didn't!
I do have to be honest, though. In some ways, I do look forward to naptime. Do I need a break from a very loquacious 3 year old? Yep. Do I want to eat some lunch in peace? Yes. In other ways, naptime isn't all that, as they say. During the time that Melina naps (or doesn't), I scurry around here trying to get everything done that didn't get accomplished in the morning. I rush to finish dishes, clean up the kitchen, sweep the bathroom, and get the laundry in the dryer. I check my email, frantically, in case there was some appointment that I missed. The stress level goes up during naptime, not down, and I need to fix that. Perhaps that will be my project for the fall.
Sometimes, naptime just doesn't happen. I posted this elsewhere yesterday, but I need to share the story with a few others. So yesterday, Melina tried to take a nap. She chatted for a bit with her manatee (I listened over the monitor) and sang a few songs. To her credit, she was upstairs for an hour. Clearly, she wasn't tired. Eventually, I hear: "Mommy! I need to go potty!"
Melina doesn't tell me that unless she really does need to go. I took her to the bathroom, took care of the essentials, and told her, "Maybe you should try to take a nap again." She looked back at me and said, "Dude, I am seriously done with that!"
I about fell over. Her posture and facial expression weren't belligerent and I think she was just being funny. My first thought was that she has watched far too much Scooby-Doo! She sounded like Shaggy, to me. When I told Tim the story, he thought of Aunt Tara. No matter where she heard that line, it was funny to me coming out of her mouth!
I do have to be honest, though. In some ways, I do look forward to naptime. Do I need a break from a very loquacious 3 year old? Yep. Do I want to eat some lunch in peace? Yes. In other ways, naptime isn't all that, as they say. During the time that Melina naps (or doesn't), I scurry around here trying to get everything done that didn't get accomplished in the morning. I rush to finish dishes, clean up the kitchen, sweep the bathroom, and get the laundry in the dryer. I check my email, frantically, in case there was some appointment that I missed. The stress level goes up during naptime, not down, and I need to fix that. Perhaps that will be my project for the fall.
Sometimes, naptime just doesn't happen. I posted this elsewhere yesterday, but I need to share the story with a few others. So yesterday, Melina tried to take a nap. She chatted for a bit with her manatee (I listened over the monitor) and sang a few songs. To her credit, she was upstairs for an hour. Clearly, she wasn't tired. Eventually, I hear: "Mommy! I need to go potty!"
Melina doesn't tell me that unless she really does need to go. I took her to the bathroom, took care of the essentials, and told her, "Maybe you should try to take a nap again." She looked back at me and said, "Dude, I am seriously done with that!"
I about fell over. Her posture and facial expression weren't belligerent and I think she was just being funny. My first thought was that she has watched far too much Scooby-Doo! She sounded like Shaggy, to me. When I told Tim the story, he thought of Aunt Tara. No matter where she heard that line, it was funny to me coming out of her mouth!
Comments
Your days really have changed drastically this year! I will be interested to hear how your feelings/experience shifts as time goes on. This has been kind of a weird week for Michael and I - I am ready for him to go to school next week. Naps have been veeery short between lunch time, school pick-up, and flat tires!