Nap No More

About 2 weeks ago Jillian decided that she will nap no more. She quit that favorite habit of mine cold turkey, without warning. I was aware this would eventually happen, though I fervently prayed she would keep it up since she is such a routinized person. So here we are with an extra 2 hours of required entertainment at a time of day where I feel like I might drop. When you are sleep-deprived, that can feel like an eternity. I am coping with this sudden change of routine (the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree in that respect) by having an afternoon cup of coffee (unheard of), and working to institute mandatory rest time. The "rules" of rest time have changed since the initial trial of "you don't have to sleep, but you have to stay in your bed and read books" due to lots of thrill-seeking shenanigans that include dangerous climbing and jumping. My personal favorite was walking in to find her atop her tall dresser playing a harmonica. Pausing to take this picture helped me to keep my cool and remember to find the humor...even amidst the danger.

Today, I think I discovered a system that will work (at least for awhile). I bought an egg timer at Target and set it for an hour. We have used timers on cell phones for a long time, but she can't see how much time is left. This way, she can see how close the arrow is to the zero, and at least have a basic visual understanding that rest time is finite. I told her she doesn't have to sleep or stay in her bed, but she has to play quietly in her room without coming out. She stayed in her room the entire time (even with the door open), and was so excited when she heard the timer expire. I should have taken a picture of her room post rest time, however. Holy moly, it looked like the aftermath of an F5 tornado. Oh well, one thing at a time, right?