Anatomy of a {Failed} Nap

I got so many nice comments wishing me a peaceful nap after my post on Friday! I got a little sleepy each time I read one in my email over the weekend! LOL! And each time a new one came in, I laughed a little about the way the situation actually turned out, so I thought I'd tell you the story.

First of all, to recap Friday, I was planning on going to Ben's preschool graduation and then home to take a nap. Graduation was super cute. The kids sang some songs. The teacher read a story and then each kid got a graduation certificate. The teachers also put together a slide show with pictures from the past year and it was so sweet to watch.

After the slideshow we had lunch. It was potluck and there were so many good choices, I got two plates. Ken had to leave after a quick lunch so he could get back to work. I wasn't in any particular hurry to get home and the teachers didn't seem to be in a hurry to get the kids finished either, so I just sat and talked with Benjamin while we ate.

As we were finishing our second desserts, I reminded him that I had to leave. He gave me another pouty face and said he wanted to come with me. That's when 11 years of parenting failed me. I told him he could only come home if he would snuggle with me and take a nap. He gave a very enthusiastic nod and promised that he would. I went over it with him a few times just to make sure. And then...I fell for it!

We told his teachers goodbye and they wished me luck. We drove home and I went to the bathroom while Ben kicked off his shoes. As I came out of the bathroom, I told him to get his stuffed animals and meet me in my room. That's when I saw him. He was sitting on the couch, pulling up Netflix on my iPad.

"Oh, no," I said. "You promised me to take a nap when we got home." And that's when it all went downhill!

He started whining that he didn't need a nap. (A sure sign to the contrary in my book.)

I picked him up and took him to my room.

"Just lie down with me and snuggle," I pleaded.

He struggled.

I turned on the radio on the snooze setting for an hour.

"Listen to the music and when it goes off, you can get up."

He actually stopped struggling. He put his head on the pillow next to me. I rubbed his back. He grinned. I gave him kisses. He closed his eyes. I started to drift off. He...sat up in bed and started playing with his stuffed animals.

"Oh well, at least he's quiet," I thought.

And I actually went to sleep.

Then, at the end of the hour the music went off. Being the responsible 5 year old that he is, Benjamin woke me up to let me know that the music had stopped. Thanks, Buddy! He left, presumably to go watch his movie on Netflix and I went back to sleep.

I probably slept for another 20 minutes before the cat started meowing. He does this constantly during the day. He stood right outside my bedroom door and whined for no reason whatsoever. I decided to wave the white flag. I got out of bed and did a few chores before we walked down to get Frances and Henry from their after-school program.

Did I get a nap? Two 20 minute ones. Does that count? I guess it will have to for now!