of course I want to play with them

It happens almost every afternoon. They invite me to play on the rug with them.

And I don't wanna.

It is not that I don't want to play with them. Of course I want to play with them. Why wouldn't I? They are sweet kids.

It is that their invitation always arrives during my peak "extreme sleep risk" hours. And sitting on a rug increases the risk. 

These are the hours. Roughly:

This has to do with cortisone or seratonin or circadian rhythms or something like that. I'm not going to look this up for you because knowing the scientific reason behind something doesn't make it go away.

So the rug.

They lure me to it like Sirens. 

And I crash down onto it.   

Ahhhhhh. It feels good to sit. 

Sitting leads to reclining.

Wow. That feels even better. And then my arm falls asleep.

So I lay down. 

And then my whole body falls asleep.

For one blissful second. 

Children panic when adults lay down. It goes against their evolutionary programming. Just think what it was like for Paleolithic kids, "Mama down! No protect from lions! Up, Mama!"

We don't have lions in our family room. I pointed this out once. Explained it to them. They responded by jumping on my head, pretending to be lions. So I'm not going to point this out again.

The fact that they always jump on me is a good thing. Makes me feel safe falling asleep for two whole seconds. They haven't ever tiptoed away and smeared the walls with lipstick. Nah. They go for the lipstick when I'm cooking dinner.

So last Tuesday something else happened...

It starts out exactly the same.

Rug invitation. I sit on rug. Recline on rug. Lay down on rug. Sleep.  

Here I am, blissfully sleeping. Notice the kids are not in this picture?

I know what you are thinking and I would be thinking it too, except I'm, you know, asleep. 

Probably they are destroying something valuable. Probably they will wake me up by dumping a glass of water on my head. Probably they backed off the rug to get a running start to jump on me like a trampoline. 

Probably.

Wrong. 

Instead, I'm woken by a blanket being gently draped over me. 

And my toddler patting my back and asking me if I am "cozy" enough.

He asks me if I need cars.  

I'm not sure what this means exactly but I agree. I'll agree to absolutely anything this little guys suggests right now. If he asks me for a pony I will sell the family car to get him one. Immediately. But he doesn't.

He simply gingerly places two cars on top of the blanket.

And says, "there you go, Mama" and joins his brother, who is busy in the play kitchen across the room.

I am all set to nap. They are giving me permission! 

 

So of course I am totally awake.

And I get up to go play.

 Of course I want to play with them. Why wouldn't I? They are sweet kids. 

 

Comments

[Tilly]

Awwwwwwwwww! I get the afternoon lull too and usually dip into the coffee again.

[Amy E]

isn't that just exactly how it is. Wonderfully put :)

[Misty]

this is perfect!!!

[Jami]

Little tears. In my eyes. This was a good one.

[Jennifer]

Oh my gosh! So funny...my favorite game is where I lay on the floor in the playroom and they give mama foot massages! DONT judge me, they love it. Why would I ruin that for them? It just isn't right! ;) ;)

[K]

I have had this exact experience with my two boys. Except they may have given me wooden animals instead of cars. And then I was wide awake. Of course.

[Laura]

Aw :)

I had to lol- the rug/blanket is just soooo inviting for an afternoon nap!

[Kelli MW]

Funny & sweet... love it. PS - I highly recommend an afternoon dose of B12... always helps me through that 3p slump.

[Menuplanningmama.wordpress.com]

That late afternoon down time is killer. The worst part for me is that it typically hits after nap time is already done. :-/

[cath]

lol classic! makes me feel so much better that i'm not the only one that crashes haha :)

[Emily]

That is so cute I usually find my toddler asleep next to me on times like this.

[maggiemoo]

My daughter LOVES to play hair dresser...nothing puts me to sleep faster...:)

[Anna]

love!!

[Claire]

Awwwwwww :)

[Amber Dusick]

I have heard that (and then promptly forgotten it) but I will try this, thanks!

[Eve]

It's cicada o'clock over here too right now. Loopy smile and sniffle. Aww. *nod*

[Amber Dusick]

Genius.

[Angela]

Aw, that is so sweet! I had to share with my husband, since in our house he's the crash-on-the-living-room-rug parent. I'm the nod-off-after-reading-Goodnight-Moon-for-the-fifth-time-before-bed parent. :)

[Danielle Bell]

Kinda glad I'm not the only one that has that afternoon slump/must-not-close-my-ey...*snooooore* time ;) We call that "chill time" and I pop a kid friendly movie in the DVD player and we all snuggle up on the couch under blankies. I can usually sneak a 20-30 minute snooze in while the kids (aka my 5 yr old and twin 2.5 yr olds) watch their fav movie ;) (until my 9 yr old gets home from school...for some reason he makes more noise than my 3 younger kids combined!)

[Cortney]

I love it. What a sweet little toddler. Also so very true. It's the book reading between 3-5pm that gets me. Eyes...closing...asleep.

[Zen]

Once when mine were 4 and 6, I fell asleep and woke up to half-munched crackers all over the living room. I thought that was all they were up to until a few days later I was going through the pics on my camera. They had found the video record setting and had made many hilarious videos of themselves goofing around. They even made a "scary" video of "monster mommy" where they showed me in an extremely unflattering and drooling state as they tiptoed around me as to not wake the sleeping monster. I love that they did that, my babies were so adorable and still are of course, but now they know better than to wake the mommy monster because it gives them extra video game time lol.

[valleygirl]

Brought tears to my eyes. Sweet kids. Definitely. <3

[Katrina]

Zoe is just now starting to do that for me. She will cover me with a blanket and give me a stuffed animal to snuggle and leave me alone...until two seconds later when she decides it's a game and screams, "Wake up!" in my face. Either that or Paige tries to gouge my eyes out with her baby fingernails.

[Pamela Susan]

So sweet, and oh so true!! :)

[Jo]

That's just adorable. Now I forgive you for being thin and beautiful :)

What a sweet little boy! I do love the sweet little boys, thank god I have one too.

[Amy's Cooking Adventures]

That is so sweet!

[Blissful Herbs]

I was fine till I got to the part where he gingerly placed the two cars on top. :>

[Cheryl P.]

Stop it! You are making me cry.

[Morgan]

Exactly this with my 2 girls too :D EXACTLY

[Murasaki]

Ahh thats me too! I have developed the skill to semi sleep with children jumping on me or each other right next to me.
I was crying once, overwhelmed, fighting with DH, DD always screaming at me and DS came along and hugged me and said "dont cry Mum, I still like you, and Nana likes you!". ♥

[SF]

*tear* I miss this. My babies are 9 and 13 =(

[Ashley]

Tip: lay on your belly and have them drive the cars on your back and legs. Almost like a massage. Almost.

Great post!

[diana]

Ug...it's the sleepy time book reading that gets me. My four year old who is REALLY into sleeping beauty will come up and give me a big sloppy kiss in an attempt to wake me. :) I'm going to miss those sloppy kisses some day.

[Robin]

Ha! I laughed out loud when I saw the clock picture - and then I kept laughing all the way through. This is my life, every weekday afternoon. You are awesome. Thanks for sharing my life - hehe :)

[Kris]

This reminds me of my daughter's suggestion that I get some Ginkgo to help my memory. I told her I had a bottle Somewhere, but I couldn't remember to take them! She had no answer for that. LoL Love your blog!!!

[Kris]

Love this piece of advice...and it is SO true!!

[Jeannie]

When I read "dump water on my head" I immediately thought toilet water because that's all my little guy can reach.. haha.. your ending was much better. So sweet. I cant wait til my 18 month old says and does such nice things to balance the craziness. love the blog!

[Roxane]

So cute. My little guy naps from 12:30PM to 3-ish, so I guess when he'll stop napping I'll have to fight the snooze!

[Maureen]

mine are 14, 10 and 6, so I am past most of what you are writing about, but it does bring back memories. Love your blog.

[Karen]

I always know when I've dozed off as I wake up to my 2yo man fake snoring in my face :)

[Jackie]

Awww! This is too sweet! I love your blog. You're awesome

[Allyson]

So funny and true! Though my impromtu naps usually end with a, "MOMMY!! Sister flooded the bathroom. Again."

[Kimberly]

Those are the wonderful moments that get us through the tough times. Sweet!

[Nikki O]

yes. exactly.

[Jillian]

I can't even tell you what a smile this put on my face. :) My baby is still in her rough stage, not realizing that it sucks for me when she leans all her weight on my nose and throat when she's trying to stand. She just turned 1 :P Great comic. so sweet :)

[Tessa]

They can be SOOOOOO sweet when they want to.
When I was pregnant and on bed rest with my now 18 month old, my now 12 year old DD and 10 year old DS would come to me and bring me food and drink without me asking for it. It would almost bring me to tears every time.

[Stacy]

LOVE it! Precious! I love your blog and identify with so much of the day to day antics in your home! :)

cardigansandcrayons.blogspot.com

[Yowie]

Love it. BTDT (well, not with cars but with Yellow Teddy) and also have a great kid.

[Kris]

Oh see I just played "nap" with them. They got to put Mommy down for a nap and they loved it. I would lay down on the couch and they would cover me up with a blanket and bring me one of their favorite stuffed animals and pretend to read me a story and pat my arm and sing to me - all while I was blissfully dozing, waking only long enough to prompt them for the next thing to help put Mommy down for her nap.

[eandjomomma@yahoo.com]

That was so sweet! Mine are grown and gone away, and I miss those days :(

[Brittani Sigle]

Precious!

I often find myself illustrating my day to day activities in 'crappy pictures' format :) It brings a laugh to the most stinky situations, thanks!

[Amanda J]

My little ones have done that to me too on occasion. They'll give a blanket, offer a story, a song, pat my cheek. It's very sweet. :) Oh, the love!

[Jessie Smith]

This is so fun to read. Love it. :)

[Sally]

I truly Love this post! I have 3 little boys who come sit on me when I lay down on the play rug. I've always kind of wondered if other parents let their kids do that. I've tried falling asleep but I get a bum in my face every time.

[Rach]

Nawh, sweestest post ever!!

[0hMaria]

I may be way older than a little one, but I still make sure my mom has a blanket and is cozy when she falls asleep with my little one on the rug :)

[Melly]

I thought I was the only Mum who fell alseep on the rug while playing in the afternoon! And yep-get the "Mummys laying down lets jump on her" scenario! lol

[Sophie]

Oh my! I have passed out on the rug many times, only to wake up with 2 kids on my back yelling "boinky boinky boink!" I've also been tucked in many times :)

Kids are so sweet :D

[Marie]

Since about 12 months (she's 15 months now) my little girl grabs my finger, drags me to the living room, pulls my hand down to the ground and, basically, orders me to play with her. We have wood floors. So I usually grab a couch cushion to sit on. Which she takes from me. Then I try a padded blanket. Which she takes. I even try a book. She takes. There is something deep inside her that says, "Mama can not be comfortable." Sometimes I fight back, but mostly I give in, because I know if I get too comfy, I'll fall asleep. Maybe she knows that too. Another great post - thanks!

[vanessa]

This reminds me of when I finally started letting my mom nap in the afternoons (around 4 years old) how I discovered poking at electrical sockets! I got shocked but I was more afraid that my mom would find out and stop letting me roam the house freely than hurt at all. The 80's were a crazy, unprotected socket kind of time!

[Misty]

AWESOME. My five year old's current favorite-thing-to-do-for-momma is making coffee. Yep. She asked me how and I told her. She makes a pretty darn good cup of coffee. :D

[Misty]

Same here!!

[Misty]

That is amazing and hilarious!!

[Misty]

That is so precious!! <3

[Misty]

Hahahahaha!! I love it! And can totally identify. Currently, my five year old is into making coffee for me. Like, she'll grind the beans and everything. This turned interesting today, when her toddling 20 month old sister came to me with a handful of whole beans, grinned, stuffed them in her mouth and actually ate them. She then became a small human bouncy-ball for about 40 minutes. At the moment, she's out like a light. I'm thinking it'll be a good nap, though!!

[Rebecca Emin]

Aww! This is adorable.

[seashells]

"Children panic when adults lay down"....I snorted my water laughing.....So true!!!

[Goodynuffmum]

I often wonder what would happen if I fall asleep while playing with my baby. It's my safety I fear for, not hers though. I love your blog - I wish it was by me.

[DL]

I know!!! At this very moment I'm blinking tears out of my own eyes! (sniff). So sweet. Thx, Amber.

[DL]

Hahaha! That's awesome!

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=682691937]

It so figures that just when you assume the worst, the little buggers go and do something adorable. Like Rex the dinosaur says in Toy Story, "Great! Now I have guilt!"

[Amber]

It's so sweet to see them being loving. Great post. Save it for when you've cooked dinner and they found the lipstick!
My boys are in college, I miss these days you write about.

[stacey]

oh wow. just heard about this site from a friend. love it! i have not laughed this hard in a while. thanks for your creativity and real sense of humor! you've made me want to go into my kids rooms and give them lots of hugs. reminded me that even when parenting is difficult it is hilarious!

[Chris Wright]

We have a bean bag in our play area, it's practically impossible to stay awake. My partner got woken up by being smacked in the face with a balloon last week. When she said "That's not funny" my son replied with a grin "But it is a little bit funny", repeating exactly what she'd said to him the previous week when she'd sprayed him with the hose.

[Wendy]

That's usually my kids too Marie. Although sometimes they'll tuck me in. And then we get the bedtime routine - they tell me not to come out or they'll have to close the door. =) But it never lasts long enough for me to fall asleep. The minute I close my eyes, they yell, "Wake up, Mommy!"

Only recently found this blog. So love it! I love this stage of life!

[jess]

Very cute and you make me crack up as I relate completely! Just the other day my 2 year old caught me yawning (whilst lying on the floor) and he said "Oh no, you very tired mummy arent you? You need a dummy? And a teddy? I go get them for you, I be right back, I just a second" Trot trot, return - dummy shoved in my mouth - "There you go mummy, all better!"

[jess]

I'm totally stealing that move!

[Vidya Sury, Freelance Writer and Blogger]

How sweet. My son would put his face real close to mine and stare at me until my eyes opened. Of course I had his cheek at the perfect position to smooch it. Then he would be really happy :-)

[sarah]

mine does the bouncing on my head with her bum. I have no idea why she does, and equally I have no idea why I love it! Also I seem able to half snooze and keep tabs on her and still feel rested...AND, so good to know other people have that rug-in-the-afternoon-sun thing happening too...its SO nice if you can make it work.

[Mrs Bok]

Oh I love this! Totally absolutely love your posts, make me laugh and smile and empathize all at the same time :)

[cindy]

Great post. There's something special about your babies taking care of YOU instead of vice versa. Adorable.

[Pam]

that is so sweet !!!! I wish mine would do that once in a while... execpt that they are always jumping on my head whenever I fall asleep in front of them...

[Simone]

Oh that brought a tear to my eye :) And it's so true that of course when they leave you alone and you have permission to nap you're suddenly wide awake!

[Kelly Edwards]

So sweet! There must be something to sleeping with toys. Both my kids have toys tucked under their pillows that I find the next day.

[Jaclyn]

Your kids are RIDICULOUSLY cute. When Caitlyn sees that I've fallen asleep or god forbid my attention has been diverted for even a second, she either takes things out of the garbage and laughs maniacally when I yell at her or she pulls all the wipes out of the box and eats them. No blankets here.

www.hamburgercheeks.blogspot.com

[SuperHappyJen]

"They go for the lipstick when I'm cooking dinner." So true!

[Amanda Mason]

I LOVE your blog. You illustrate and explain so well what so many of us are going through. I sometimes read your blog at work and my coworkers must wonder if I'm laughing or crying since I'm grabbing for the tissues. Today, it was for both reasons. awwww

[Cynthia]

Too funny. I woke up covered in chocolate pudding one time.

[Janel]

Your boys are much nicer than my girls. If I get down on the floor with them, for any reason, they insist on trying to ride me like a horse. My two year old just said "Yee-ha!" to me last night.

[Amie]

You capture mommyhood better than anyone! Thank you so much for your blog!

[sarah]

aw lovely post Amber! So true :)

[Liz]

SO going to do this!! Thanks for the tip

and NNNaaaawwww Amber too addorable.

I also need to have a little girl so she can play with my hair - heaven!

[Mel]

So sweet! :)

[Jessica@LifeAfterPiggieSmalls]

Ohhhhhhhhhh my GOODNESS....I have a lump in my throat and can barely see the screen through my misty eyes lol!!!!!!!! LOVE this!!!

[Alison]

yes! tears. i've been haunting you in reader, but had to pop out to say you are the bomb.com.net.org.

xoxo

[muddledmom]

You missed out on some precious napping time! ; ) Get those kids trained early! The best is when you ask them to drive cars on your back. Then you get a massage too.

[Corry Jankowski]

This happened to me the other day with my 3 year old. I told him that I just needed to rest with my eyes closed for 10 minutes and that he should play with his trains in the other room. I woke up to the phone ringing; it was my husband. I felt awesome. I looked down to see that my little guy had tucked his baby doll in with me. Then I looked at the clock. I had been asleep for 2 hours! No wonder I felt incredible. Let's not tell my husband ;)

[CJ]

That's sweet :) sometimes my son gets e a pillow and one of his rescues :) mostly he jumps on me or satsuma wake up mummy! Don't close your eyes, lol

[CJ]

I mean teddies not rescues

[elin]

when I would babysit, we would make forts and "sleep". It was only for like 10 seconds, but don't think I am not going to try that one!