As anyone who has ever stepped into my home can attest, I am a pretty easygoing mother.
My house isn't filthy (most of the time), but I'm definitely not a clean freak. I'm laid-back, I like to say...not one for strict rules or schedules.
Except for one big thing: nap time.
Just being able to sit for a moment without someone asking me questions or to get them something or without someone crying because someone else is sitting on my lap and they want to--it's bliss.
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love and adore and worship my children. Being the mother of these amazing young 'uns has made me happier and more fulfilled than anything else in my life ever could have.
But.
But, but, but.
Sleep is amazing. And quiet time is also amazing.
Hence, I am a nap time Nazi. I force my 4-year-old (who claims that he is getting too old for nap time) to at least play quietly in his room during the time that his younger siblings are sleeping, and I take some quiet time. for myself. This is when I usually read my scriptures, get make up on, occasionally shower or do my hair, or even sometimes (GASP) I'll take a nap myself.
I find I'm a lot better of a mommy when I've had a little bit of a nap time to myself--to do whatever I'd like, without kids awake.
When I skip nap time?
Mean Mommy comes out.
Mean Mommy yells at her kids. Mean Mommy turns on the TV and uses it to let her kids veg out while she hides in the other room. Mean Mommy is less than patient.
And if you want to see Mean Mommy for yourself, come and ring my doorbell during the precious allotted nap time I have. Just ask the poor salesman I turned away heartlessly because he woke up my sleeping baby with his loud, obnoxious knocking--he definitely saw Mean Mommy that day.
I read a quote online that made me laugh out loud. "There is no mother so good that she doesn't breathe a sigh of relief when the last child falls asleep."
I was hanging out with a friend who is pregnant with her second child, and who was, understandably, a bit nervous about the stresses that come with multiple children. She asked me if I had any advice.
Without hesitating, I said, "Nap Time. More often than I'd like to admit, nap time saves my sanity and my childrens' lives. Use it wisely. Cherish it. You will be grateful."
C'mon, people--I have three children born within 3 1/2 years of each other. I have to do what I can to survive. Any of you have any survival tactics that you'd like to share with the class?
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