Afternoon naps are for the lazy. I guess that makes me lazy.

The secret to getting through my day is a little thing I like to call "quiet time".  It started when Anna was only two years old and thought it would be funny to skip out on those afternoon naps I depended upon for my sanity.  Back then it was sheer survival - read her a few books and give her a couple of hours in her room while I geared up for the second half of my day(usually by conking out like the dead for at least an hour).  Well, the kids are older now, but quiet time is alive and well.   With the exception of Saturday, we enforce a bit of time each afternoon for reading, sleeping or doing anything that doesn't disturb mom or dad.  It's often met with moans and groans, but the girls have learned that mom is infinitely happier when she gets even just a 10 minute power nap to recharge.  They learned that one the hard way, of course.

On weekdays during the school year, it's just me and Eve in the afternoons now.  Quiet time has evolved since its early days.  She reads a book or two to me, and I one or two to her.  Then I scratch her back, hoping she'll nestle down for a nap so she doesn't lose it by 5:00 in the evening.  Most days she pops up and asks, "can I go play computer?"  To which my fluttering eyelids respond in the affirmative, knowing that my chances for sleep hinge on her being either asleep or plugged into technology.  Every once in a while, she listens to her body, telling her that her napping days are not entirely over and allows herself to fall asleep beside me.  These are cherished moments, few and far between and I can't help but snap a picture of those chubby cheeks pressed against the pillow.  She's no longer a baby.  But she's still MY baby.