Adios nap time, it was good while it lasted...

My small people aren't napping anymore. I guess it was inevitable. Actually, I'm surprised Sarah has napped as long as she has, it's been a blessing. Recently, though, if she's taken a nap, she rattles around her room at bedtime until 9 o'clock or even later, so I guess it's time. Of course, now Jason doesn't want to take a nap either, and I'm thinking I really don't care. They entertain each other pretty well, and as Jason is the most even-tempered of the bunch, he's not overly cranky at the end of the day. Ready for bed, definitely, but not unbearably miserable to be around.

I don't think I've ever been in a situation where we haven't had SOMEONE napping. William gave his nap up at 3, right around when Sarah was born (of course!) and since then I've had one, if not two, taking naps every day. It's weird to think that I'm not necessarily tied to the house for that period in the afternoon, it will probably take me some time to get that notion out of my head and enjoy that freedom - and also rearrange the stuff I HAVE to do that I used to use that time for. Trade-offs.

The nice thing, of course, is that bed time is a bit easier - we can get the small two down earlier (or at least attempt to) and then spend a little bit more time with the big two. William has been asking for months, why HE has to go to bed with Jason while Evie gets to stay up later - I guess this will resolve that question for a little while (note to self, remind William not to slam into his room and turn the lights on when getting ready for bed...)

We're entering a whole new territory here. I was thinking, when Jason turned 3 last month, this is the first time we've had a 3 year old and not also had a newborn or a baby on the way. It's liberating!!!! Really - now that we're pretty much finished with naps, the only vestige of babyhood left - aside from the toys scattered all over my house - is the fact that Jason is still in diapers. And I really don't see him in them all that much longer. Imagine that!

The timing of all this is good - or maybe coincidental, who knows. About two weeks ago, after a full day of working around the house, for the first time in the 9 years we've had kids it really struck me: I just wanted to not have to cook, to be able to just say 'hey, let's get cleaned up and go out to eat!' and not have to worry about spending an hour waiting for a table at Olive Garden or wherever, feeling that it's too late to go out at 6 o'clock on a Saturday night, we'd never get back in time before they lost it and fell apart. You give up a lot when you have kids, and the freedom to come and go at will is but one example.

I look forward to the days when we can do stuff like that - I know it's really just around the corner, and please don't get me wrong - I will MISS having little kids in the house - there is nothing so sweet as cuddling and cradling your baby, or cheering your little boy on as he figures out how to do a puzzle - but it's really an awful lot of hands-on work, and besides - I'm enjoying the people they're turning into. Mostly :) A little more independence on their part will be fine by me, and I look forward to actually being able to TALK to them without having to try to figure out what the hell it is they're trying to say. (Sorry, that's just how it feels some days.)

Anywho - we're entering a Brave New World here at the house of Harried Mom, and I for one am looking forward to it! These kids are funny and smart, and they crack me up and make me crazy at the same time. I had too many of them & definitely deal with them better when they're divided up, but that's my cross to bear I guess.

No one held a gun to my head and told me I had to have four of them.

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Matt played Candy Land with the kids tonight while I cleaned up the kitchen - Sarah won! I love her victory smile :) You'll notice Evie is absent from the game - she'd stomped upstairs in a huff because I wouldn't let her play games on the computer, instead of playing with the family. I have nightmares of the teenage years to come with that one....

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In the interest of shaking things up a bit, instead of reaching for my habitual glass of wine tonight, I made a skinny margarita! I figured the vitamin C from the limes would be good for the probable sinus infection I've got brewing in my head, and I'd picked up the ingredients two weeks ago and hadn't gotten around to trying it yet.  If you'd like the recipe, go over to Becca's HERE and make them yourself! I couldn't find any fresh squeezed lime juice in a jug at any of the stores, so I bought a juicer for around $6 & did it myself. Worked like a charm, and one lime was enough for a double margarita all for me.

YUM. I need to make lots more of them and get the mix just right, but it tasted very FRESH. The lime juice was pretty tart, but mellowed out after a little bit of time so keep that in mind if you make them yourself or for company - maybe squeeze the juice ahead of time, then enjoy!