Naps are for Weenies

Two days ago the baby decided he was sleepy very early in the day-9:45 am. The older kids were in a rare state and actually playing together nicely so I decided it must be a gift from God and took the opportunity to rest. Naturally, after only about 2 minutes Sarah came into the room asking me something and I silenced her in a rush and gave her strict instructions to "do whatever; just don't bother me".

So she went into Luke's room with Patrick and they were talking amongst themselves; it is not uncommon for Sarah to use the baby's room as a nursery for her dolls so I knew that was what they were doing. For 45 blissful minutes I snuggled my little guy and smelled his fading baby scent.


I never heard any arguing, crying, objects smashing into the walls, or furniture being dismantled. I was a little unnerved, but I was enjoying the peace and I was afraid to interrupt the play because they almost NEVER interact together for that long without incident.


Luke opened his eyes and squirmed and so our siesta was over. Hours passed and eventually I needed to go into Luke's room for something. This is what I saw:



I had already started cleaning when I snapped the photo-it was much worse. Anyone who knows me knows I have a touch of OCD: all of the clothes are organized according to size and season. Not anymore. The crib is usually quite inviting with stuffed animals and cozy blankets (as nobody ever sleeps in it). It was was stripped bare to the mattress and covered in cookie crumbs. The tiny jackets and cute clothes which need to be hung are kept neatly in the closet in order from smallest size to biggest and, of course, season. They were scattered all over the floor and about a dozen hangers were snapped because they tried to swing from them on the closet rail. What really scares me is they were able to completely ransack the room so swiftly and silently. I honestly was fooled into thinking they were playing house.


My 45 minute rest cost me a days' worth of work. I realize that the children are old enough to know better-they know that tearing stuff up like that is NOT okay. However I didn't know how I should react since I clearly told them to do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't wake Luke and I up. So the next morning we started re-organizing the clothes, putting the crib back together, and getting the diapers back on the shelves. Each time they asked to get into the pool I answered, "We can't play in the pool today because we have to clean the baby's room that you destroyed." Believe me, they asked literally every 3 minutes. But I never gave in. Finally order was restored and we could do something fun. I'm hopeful my technique worked at least a little because I heard Sarah telling Patrick if he messed up his room "mommy will be mad and then...no pool!"


Dear Lord, Please don't ever tease me with a nap again. It's just not right. Amen.