Monday, January 18, 2010

Quiet Time is working!

Ever since Noah gave up his nap, around this time last year, he's had mandatory Quiet Time while Nate sleeps.  He's required to spend half an hour by himself in the bedroom.  Mostly this is so Mommy can have 30 minutes to regain her sanity, lest the afternoons be filled with yelling and hair-pulling and general grumpiness, but also so Noah, who typically hangs on our every movement, could have a chance to learn to play by himself.

So for months he would pop out every five minutes or so, wondering if quiet time was over YET???  He would take books to read, because reading is just about the best entertainment ever, but he never wanted any toys, since if he can't play with Mommy or Daddy then it's just no fun.  Half the time when I'd go to tell him quiet time was over, he'd be sitting on the bed staring dejectedly into space.  The guilt was extreme, but how else to keep from losing my mind?

The past few weeks, though, it's changed.  Now when I go to check on him, he's got his nose stuck in a book and ignores me for a quarter of an hour.  Or he's built something elaborate:  a utility truck/helicopter, a rocket/apartment building, or today's creation, an ice cream factory, complete with conveyor belt and delivery van.  He's having fun!  By himself!!!  And I get to sit and center myself for half an hour guilt-free, and then go enjoy pretend lime sherbert with my big kid.

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