When Nap Time Ends, Rest Time Begins!

"I don't want him to stop napping," she says with a groan.

or

"I dread the time that my daughter quits her nap," she says, shoulders dropping, wondering if she'll ever have any time to herself. ever. in her life.

Have you ever been in one of these conversations?  Every parent laments the termination of naps; how precious are those 1-2 quiet hours in the day?  It's a wonderful time for everyone to have a break from one another, perhaps especially if you are an introverted mom that really needs time to think!

I'm thankful that I had a friend* with a daughter several years older than mine who told me a little secret about rest times!  Okay, it wasn't really a secret, but it is one GREAT idea.

If your child is ready to give up his or her nap, that's fine.  They do grow out of it at some point; it's developmentally normal and reasonable.  But every person, regardless of their age, benefits from a little rest in their day.  Enter:  the rest time.

the general plan:

Nap time is replaced by some time alone in their bed or bedroom.  Provide your child with a special box or bag of things to do (quiet toys, games, drawing supplies, books), set an alarm so they know when the time is up, and leave them to it!

It can take some time to learn to stay in their rooms, but be consistent and they'll get it.

at our house:

Elizabeth takes a 45 minute rest and then I let her watch one half-hour television show.  During her rest time she has access to a large bag of library books (so they're constantly changing), markers and paper, and really anything else she wants.  She has her rest time on our bed, because our children don't have their own rooms.  Ironically, her rest times are rarely very quiet; she sings and talks to herself a lot!  Nevertheless I notice a negative difference in her evening behavior on days that she does not have this alone time.

For the record, the transition can take some time.  Early on, you may end up finding your resting child fast asleep.  I present to you Exhibit A:

There's no dread about Brian dropping his nap in the coming year or so, simply a plan to teach him to spend some time alone in his bed after lunchtime each day!

*Special thanks to Mary Kathryn for giving me this idea so many years ago.

The Circus

If we're FBFs (Facebook Friends) then you know that we got tickets to the circus as a surprise for our daughter, who didn't even know the circus was in town! It was on Sunday evening at 5, so we told her on our way home from church that afternoon, to give her a little prep time. (She's at an age where she cares what outfit she has on to go certain places.)

Her reaction was pretty emotionless. She informed us that we couldn't go to the circus because there wasn't a circus to go to. Logical argument, when you're unaware that the circus is in town.

Fortunately, she had recovered from her shock and was excited to go when the time arrived, and Brian ate it up too (though maybe it overwhelmed him a little.) I had pitched the idea of going to some new friends of ours, and they were only a handful of rows behind us for the show. We totally hung out at intermission and walked to our cars together!

It was a fun couple of hours: horses, zebras, elephants, & dogs, many insane-o tricks by crazy acrobatic people, and very funny clowns.

I love the circus!

Malachi 3:6a

This week's catechism question (in a cool, new devotional book we've recently begun reading at breakfast) is What is God?

The answer: God is a spirit, Whose being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.

Monday's reading included lots of scripture passages. But the one that stuck with me was the last one they cited, Malachi 3:6a.

I the LORD do not change.

I contemplated making that verse alone the body of this post. Perhaps I should have, but I wanted to let you know where it came from and why I shared it.

For me, this verse is comforting and stretching: Comforting, because in this world where the winds of change and circumstances whip us about, sometimes relentlessly, I'm thankful to be anchored in the Lord Who is not capricious, unchanging, steadfast, secure. Stretching, because that means that the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament is the same God and His actions, commands, and ways don't always make sense to me.

Abiding in this unchanging God will surely change us!

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:17

How about you, what's your response to Malachi 3:6?

I Really Like These Guys!

This is a straight up, shameless, "aren't they so cute?" post; Photos of my kids, because I just plain love 'em!

THE GIRL

THE BOY

THE GIRL AND THE BOY

THE GIRL, THE BOY, AND THE MAMA

I know, it's disgusting.

But, don't you feel the same way about your little ones (even if they're already all grown up)?

What do you love about your kids? Tell them, today, what makes you delight in them! Yes, they sure can drive us crazy sometimes, and sometimes a lot of the time ... but what would our lives be like without them?

For myself, I can't even imagine.

Reading

My daughter is almost six-and-a-half and really beginning to read.

This is SO MUCH FUN!

As our first child, she's our first reader, which adds to the excitement. Oh the possibilities that open us to us when we learn to read!

What I've learned over the last year and a half:

Learning to read takes a lot of work;

teaching someone to read takes a lot of patience.

This book has helped me to take it all in stride and let Elizabeth learn at her own pace.

These books really got E started confidently reading whole books:

Now we're going to try to read all of the Beginning Readers that the library has to offer!

Teaching someone to read is cheap! There's really no need for bells and whistles. BOB books are inexpensive. Using purchased or homemade flash cards are great for practicing sight words or word families. (I did a group of 5 - 10 most weeks throughout last year.) And the library has lots and lots of books - it's kind of their thing.

Keep reading good wholesome books TO your child, as well. This book is a good resource for quality, age-appropriate literature for the whole family!

Time for a cup of coffee and some personal reading time while the kids rest!

Fun & Nutritious Kid Breakfast

I don't know where I got this idea; it was taught to me years before I had kids. It's a fun way to liven up breakfast; a little surprise for the wee ones!

What you need:

• bread
• eggs
• butter
• cookie cutter
• pan & spatula

What you do:

1. Butter both sides of a piece of bread and cut a shape out of the middle with a cup or a cookie cutter.

2. Remove the center cut-out.

3. Place the bread ring into a preheated pan and crack an egg into the middle.

4. Flip it over when it seems cooked enough on one side (after about 2 minutes) and cook about a minute more.

5. Fry up the cut-outs. (This doesn't take long on a hot pan. If you have a larger pan, you can do it at the same time as the egg & bread - just don't burn 'em!)

6. Call your hungry kids to the table!

Serve with some juice or fruit, and you have a quick, entertaining, and balanced breakfast!

What Are You Storing Up?

Last week on K-LOVE one of the deejays quoted these words of Jesus from John 7:37b-38

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

I thought about the verses the following morning, meditating on how Jesus not only quenches our thirst but makes us a "water source" for those around us. What an amazing privilege that he who puts his faith in Jesus becomes a vessel of the Holy Spirit! And the Spirit is not only there to change us from the inside out, but to enable us to pour into the lives around us.

Then this verse came to mind:

Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:34

I had to look it up in context and discovered the verse that follows.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him,
but the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in Him.

This verse has been on my mind all week.

And this question: What am I storing up in me?

God gives us all kinds of opportunities to store up on good things! We can store up on His Word when we meet one-on-one with Him. There are authors who have written books that fill us up with good things to ponder in our hearts. Gathering with other believers on Sunday mornings - to hear the Word preached, sing God's praises, confess our sins, and partake of the Lord's Supper - is another way God provides us good things to store up in us. Discussing the word and praying together at a weekly Bible study or prayer meeting is an additional option.

What else can you think of?

Storing up on the good things of God changes our hearts and enables us to "bring out" good things from them. Imagine the impact this can have on those around us: our spouses, our children, our neighbors, our friends! (Not to mention the blessing of being filled up to fullness ourselves by our Savior and Lord!)

I leave you with these questions that I have had rattling around in my brain this week:

• Are there opportunities to store up good things that I am not taking advantage of or making time for? Should I make any changes in my life?
  

• What things am I currently storing up on that I need to let go, to make room for better things God has for my heart and mind?

May the Word of Christ dwell in you richly today!