"I'm not tired."

Anyone who has talked to me recently knows I am going through withdrawals--and am kind of freaking out. Up until recently I have been accustomed to at least 2-3 hours (sometimes more) of quiet, "me," get-other-stuff-done-time while the boys are napping. Now the three-year-old (who will not be named to respect his privacy) has determined that naps aren't a necessity anymore. Unfortunately his behavior and emotions don't quite agree with this yet. So by about 3 or 4 in the afternoon we are experiences more frequent, intense meltdowns than normal (notice, I did not specify that those were coming just from the 3-year-old...) and by dinnertime I am counting down the minutes until we can put him to bed! In the last 2 weeks, I think he's probably had one nap; maybe two. I don't even think I'm exaggerating (Chris can correct me if I'm wrong).

Ian's usual reply to my efforts to get him down for a nap is: "I'm not tired." Well, the one day I was able to get him down, this is what I found when I went to check on him and wake him up so he didn't sleep too long (I know. I never want to wake a sleeping child. But Ian tends to sleep too long during the day and then wants to stay up late...so what do ya do?):
And yes that probably is drool on the blanket (for Chris' sake--Ian gets that from his mom, not his dad). Another Ian funny on that note--the other day we were in his room and he noticed his pillow was kind of yucky. He started making faces and commented about it. I tried to explain to him that sometimes he drools or sweats at night and that it gets dirty. Mostly Ian just looked more disturbed. Maybe there really are some things children don't care about or need to know...even if they ask...
I love that little bum in the air! I've been trying to put him on our bed in our room during naps, since Cooper has been so finicky with noise and I want to have at least one well-rested child! Notice the big, red, fleece blanket underneath Ian? On a slightly off-subject, but related note--if your 3-year-old has had a few dry nights and woken up with a dry Pull-up, the first night to try leaving him in big boy underwear isn't the one when you put him to sleep on your bed...without any extra protection between him and your down comforter...

Now our new "naptime" is quiet time on mom's bed reading stories and attempting to have Ian fall asleep. I, on the other hand, would be happily taking a nap during this time if it wasn't for Ian kicking me and then telling me very decidedly that he is done having quiet time (and Chris thinks I wear the pants in the family...).