Not much longer...

I'm desperately hoping that Butterfly takes after her biggest brother, Lion, who kept up his daytime naps right up until he started school.

Dragon stopped them about 8 months before he started at school... I could handle that too.

Monkey.

Monkey, Monkey, Monkey... He was 3 when he decided this wasn't working for him any more.

My thought now, even though she's not even 2 yet, is that even if she does keep having naps until she's starting school it just feels, some weeks, like that's not all that far away.

So today I am thankful for daytime naps.

I'm thankful for my big girl and for baby dolls and for naps in tutus and for bruises on shins and for her wispy hair that gets in my mouth when I kiss her sleeping head.

Things I know for sure...

It's not nap time until someone is in tears.

If you can get all kids napping at the same time there will be exactly 20 minutes of overlapping nap time.

20 minutes is how long it takes you to get yourself sorted and lay down to join in the napping fun.

If your head has actually hit the pillow the disappointment at missing your own nap is infinitely greater.

Chocolate makes you fat and you caffeine makes you thin (okay, I've dumbed that right down to the basics).

Chocolate and coffee/coke must stay balanced. If I have too much of one I must increase my intake of the other.

You should never forbid your child to flush the toilet until you know if it's gonna be a #1 or #2.

Dragon has become obsessive about toilet flushing... right when I have a baby sleeping near enough to be disturbed by a flushing toilet.

Dragon's toilet routine runs like this... go into the toilet, look in the bowl, no matter if it's clean as can be say "eww, gwowse", flush the toilet, use the toilet, flush the toilet again. Things like remembering to return his undies and pants to their right place on his bum are optional.

Long story short... he did a #2 and because I forbid him to flush it he was adamant that it NOT be flushed until he can do it after Monkey wakes up.

Monkey love being outside as long as it's not too bright.

Lion is sensitive today.

The list of things he has cried over is unfortunately rather entertaining...

• it's not his birthday today


• it was clown day at playgroup


• it's not his birthday today


• it wasn't truck day at playgroup


• it's not his birthday today


• it's not his birthday tomorrow


• it's not his birthday today

He cries EVERY DAY that it's not his birthday today.

I only have to deal with those tears for 13 more days.

He is still deffiant that "you can't stop a boy from having a birthday, because they need to get older... but I will always be your boy, even though I will be old enough for big boy lego"

I will cry on Lion's birthday.

And on Dragon's birthday.

My OB said yesterday not only that if we want to we CAN have more kids (aparently I'm a great healer after 3 c-sections) but we SHOULD have more kids. (he should be careful, saying that kind of thing to mothers of 6 week olds could be enough to have them committed!)

I make a point to not ask mothers of kids under 1 if they are going back for more (I usually try not to ask people at all unless I know them well).

Mothers of kids under 1 are unpredictable and may punch your lights out if you ask them something like that on the wrong day.

I braved groceries for the first time by myself with 3 kids yesterday and survived.

God cares about things like doing the groceries for the first time with 3 kids.

Monkey fell asleep as we drove out of our driveway and woke up as we pulled back into it an hour later. Answered prayer!

We can't justify spending our money on real Crocs for fast growing feet so sometimes it's okay to "fake it 'til you make it".

Wait until your images have uploaded before you hit publish post.

Dragon Naps

Dragon has been a bit of a pest to get down for bed lately. He is just testing the limits again to see if we have changed anything, perhaps we will suddenly not be such mean and horrible parents and let him get away without any sleep. Unfortunately for him we are still mean and horrible and he still have to sleep occasionally. This was nap time today, I am not sure which one is my Draon, I think he is the one in the middle, except I dont think he usually has big black floppy ears...

A List and an assortment of other stuff...

Things you would think a three year old would have picked up on by now but obviously hasn't.
1. Mummy will not buy you something in every shop you go into.
2. Mummy will not take you to the toy section every time you go into a shop.
3. Mummy will not buy you a pie for morning tea when everyone else is sharing a marked down Woolworths cake.
4. Mummy will not give in just because you keep begging for a pie and to go to the toy section and to be allowed "just one hot wheels".
5. Mummy will not buy you a coffee from Gloria Jeans
6. Or a pie so give up!
7. Mummy is right.
8. There is no chance that mummy will change her mind on issues like wearing seatbelts and wearing undies.
9. No I still won’t buy you a pie.


We got home at nap time and both boys were awake, I got out of the car, unlocked the door and put the key inside, I came back to the car and both boys were asleep. I wish it was that easy every day. No it wasn’t carbon monoxide poisoning, I took less than 30 seconds.


Lion McT - Mummy I have a sore throat.
Mummy McT - Oh, can I kiss it?
LMcT - No, I need something to eat to make it feel better.
MMcT - Can I kiss you?
LMcT - Yes, (mummy kisses his neck) on the outside because you can’t kiss the inside my brain is on the inside.
MMcT - Oh, is it? (Looking in ear) I can’t see it.
LMcT - I’m just going to go have a look in your mirror to see if I can see it LMcT - (comes back) yes it is on the inside I can see it in you mirror.
MMcT - Okay, that’s good.
LMcT - 10 minutes later (obviously concerned). Now can you see my brain, it is in there.
MMcT - Oh, I can see something, that must be your brain.
LMcT - Yeah I did just feel it when I poked my finger in my ear, I did just feel it.

Lion’s guide to the human body. “Our tummies have sharp things inside them for when we eat our food.”

Background… Mummy McT needed to squeeze the toothpaste all down to the end this morning so that Lion could get some out for brushing his teeth.
Lion was getting a little stinky so I suspected something was moving but he didn’t want to do a poo… When he was walking around with his hand on his belly I suggested it might be time to do the poo we had been discussing. He agreed and sat on the toilet making some weird movements and straining noises. He did the job and I asked what all the strange actions and noises were.
“I just toothpasted my poo down.”

And all of that other stuff happened while I was writing the list at the start. Some days there isn't much, others you can't keep up with it.

Makes sense to me...

Okay, it's nap time here in the McTavish household. Lately it's a time of day that is tantrum filled "i don't want to have a nap", then once the tantrums haven't weakened mummy it's bargaining "I need an easter egg to help me have a nap", then that doesn't work it's on to 3yr old logic...

I have tried boring Lion to sleep with a lecture about why sleep is so important… “your body can't grow unless it gets enough sleep and you used a lot of energy this morning playing so now to have more energy for this afternoon you need to have a nap. Then while you are napping you body will get more and more energy so that you can run around this afternoon but if you… and on… and on…”

I have tried straight out bribery… “We aren’t doing anything fun this afternoon unless you have a nap”
And a few other things.

It finally went quiet in the Lion bedroom so I assumed he had lost the battle and was finally sleeping, and then he appears beside me…

“Well I think I need to stay up just in case I sneeze again”

Made perfect sense to him!