So today and yesterday I was plagued with little girls who refuse to take a nap. Ultimately I end up closing their bedroom door which is like an open invitation to get out of bed and start goofing off. Fortunately for me (and while I know I'm fortunate, sometimes it is still just annoying) the girls do stay in there for a good chunk of time, depending on if someone ends up crying. Then they're stuck playing with each other and can't ask for tv or computer time since they didn't nap.
Anyway, what often happens to me is I get thrown off by their unwillingness to nap. Even though I usually end up with "me" time, it's tainted by my frustration by the fact that they're not sleeping. When I write it down like that it really sounds so stupid. But it's true nonetheless. So that happened yesterday. I got in this big funk since they wouldn't sleep, and I had fought with them for a little while about that fact, and it totally tainted my afternoon for a while.
Well, today was the same deal. Giggling, not sleeping, girls. I still gave them strict warnings, and even a consequence (no computer time for Munchkin while Monkey and I do preschool tomorrow morning) which I fully intend on following through with. However, since I could see the pattern emerging, I decided to change my response. It made all the difference in the world. Not for them really, but for me. I still finished up my "me" time, and then I got on with the chores I had to get done before picking up Moose from school. By accepting the fact that they were not going to sleep, but would play in their room (though not nearly long enough. Yesterday felt like an hour. Today was more like 15 minutes) it made it easier for me to just get on with my day. I knew that I wouldn't be entertaining them, as I had a lot on my plate, and so I just decided that if they didn't sleep it would make them real tired tonight, but didn't need to ruin my day.
It's amazing what a little self-talk can do. :) And seriously, broken routines like this have ruined my day. Sometimes they get all cranky and needy when they don't get a nap. Or they want to be entertained by me or the tv, neither of which I want to allow. But they're getting older now and it's just something I have to let go. For my sanity.
So yay for adjusting, and making sure a not-so-ideal situation doesn't make my day not-so-great.
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