Success!

Sweet victory! My Wednesday scheduling woes have been conquered.

For some odd reason, Reese's preschool administrators neglected to contact me to see if a pick up time of 2pm on this particular day, or any other day for that matter, was conducive to my other childrens' naptime before developing their program.

I was ecstatic when we received the news last winter that Reese did, in fact, get into preschool for the Fall semester. I was thrilled she would be going the three days a week I am off, so transportation won't be an issue. I wrinkled my nose at the Wednesday hours, however, when I saw they went until 2pm. But I tossed the paper aside and figured I'd worry about that when the time came.

The time has come people...and that wrinkle of my nose has turned into a LARGE pain in the patootie. Tate and Drue nap from 12:30 until 2:30 like clockwork 7 days a week. (Well, Sunday naps are all over the place, but God is about the only person I even consider rearranging the nap schedule for.)

For years I prided myself on not being a Mommy Nap Nazi. I didn't want to miss out on life, thinking my little ones would turn into pumpkins if they weren't in their crib within a one minute window. I expertly put the girls on a sliding scale nap schedule and they did fine. Then along came our bouncy rough and tumble little boy who exhausts me so much some days, the ticking of the clock mocks me that 12:30 is still a looooooong ways away.

Of course, he used to take 2 naps a day...back in the good ol' days. But that wasn't all it was cracked up to be, because when he woke up from his morning nap, it was time for Drue to go down for her nap, and when she woke up, it was time for Tate's afternoon nap. It made running errands impossible, and it made getting any cleaning with just one child awake at any given time impossible.

So it was almost a relief when Tate and Drue got onto the same one nap a day, my blessed two hours of semi-freedom to conquer clutter and cleaning. (Thankfully, Reese can entertain herself for a bit and I don't have to follow behind her making sure she hasn't fallen head first into a toilet somewhere.) Momma IS NOT happy when something gets in the way of naptime.

First Wednesday of Preschool: I kept Drue and Tate awake until after we picked Reese up, then put them all down for naps so we could go to the circus that night.

Tate needed quite a few pep talks and water tossed in his face to keep him up. I wasn't quite sure what to do with the little darlings after lunch. Their eyelids were getting droopy so I threw them in the van and went to Target. It took much prodding to wake them up when we got there but they behaved acceptably. (I'm not sure, but Drue may have been sleepwalking through the store.)

Tate and Drue both napped well when we got home. I had to lay down with Reese for a few minutes but she fell asleep quickly and slept the longest of all of them.

Second Wednesday of Preschool: I mapped out a brilliant plan to get naptimes in plus individual quality time with the younger two. We ate early and I put Tate down at 11:30. Drue and I bonded...my poor middle child who will never have Mommy all to herself. We all went to pick Reese up and Drue fell asleep on the way. So she was a big grouch when I had to wake her up to traipse into the building. She took a great nap when we got home, but Reese never did fall asleep , leaving me frazzled because she had to go to choir practice at church that evening.

And let me tell you, it is next to impossible to keep an active 16 month old boy quiet for 2 hours straight in the house. What was I thinking? He apparently hadn't been paying attention when I explained to him the finer points of my plan.

Don't get me wrong here. We are not the quiet as a mouse house during naptime, holding in all coughs and sneezes lest they wake the sleeping babes. We have always vacummed around our sleeping newborns to get them accustomed to noise. But the occasional creak in the floorboard or barking dog is minor compared with Tate running up and down the hallway, in and out of the bedrooms with the doors open, and banging on the doors if they are closed.

I had forgotten all about our usual custom of having a supper meal that evening. Plus I had to finagle getting a shower while making sure Tate was supervised. I couldn't shut him up in his room alone because it's right next to Drue's, and he would beat the wall down to get out. I finally tossed a wide eyed Reese in there to play with him with threats of no more candy ever if she acted up in choir out of her sheer exhaustion.

I slapped some peanut butter on a spoon for Reese with a slice of cheese on the side and flew out the door with her as soon as David came home, grumbling about my day from the underworld as my stomach growled for some supper of its' own.

So that theory got tossed out the window as well. Good-bye individual quality time.

Third Wednesday of Preschool...today - Dropped Reese off, ran some errands, fed the little ones at 11, had them both down by 11:30, cleaned til' 1, showered, got the little darlings up and loaded into the van by 1:40, arrived at Reese's preschool with 2 happy campers by 1:55pm. I wanted to shout my accomplishment through the rafters. I wanted to inform loudly to all the yuppie moms arriving from a day of playing golf and sipping St*rbucks to pick up their one and only child, that I just cracked the code. I figured out how to have a productive day that included rearranging naps, lunch, sidestepping any meltdowns, taking care of my own personal hygiene, and having something planned for supper (it was a frozen dinner alright...give me a break) all within mere hours.

The kids were fed, I was fed, and Reese and I leisurely strolled out the door to head to choir when David came home.

I'm not even going to think about next Wednesday right now. I am just going to bask in the glow of my day today which ran like a well oiled machine. Because I'm sure next week, my day will spring a leak and the oil will spray me right in the face...