the blue blog archives: brownout

I'm getting a lot less knitting done these days, as it seems my boys have given up taking an afternoon nap. They used to be in bed for about two hours every day and I got to clean up, eat, relax and do a little knitting. Yeah, they also used to look tired around 1pm every day. Now they look like this all day long. So no more daytime cleaning/eating/relaxing/knitting for me. While I adjust to not having any break in the afternoon, I'm experiencing a real energy drain. Result: a knitting brownout.

After several days, I finally managed to knit enough of hubby's hat so that I could turn up the hem. I wanted the hem to be nice and deep, covering his ears entirely. That meant that I had to knit enough for practically a whole hat just to make the hem.

At least the hem is high enough that I was able to start the decreases pretty soon after. So I'm slowly creeping towards finishing this hat. Another couple of energy bars and I just might make it.

posted by alison at 8:43 am | in a christmas story

Comments

I still miss my kids' naptime. :0

Now I understand more why my mom was still trying to get me to take naps when I was 4 years old!

Posted by: Leigh at December 13, 2003 9:03 AM

Yikes! Hang in there. The hat hem looks perfect!

Posted by: Stacy at December 13, 2003 9:32 AM

Can you still have "rest" time every day? (For you, not them) I had 45 minutes after lunch everyday. Your sons could watch a video and you could knit.

Posted by: Debra at December 13, 2003 1:36 PM

My kids all took naps until they were 5. I insisted on it. Otherwise, I would've killed 'em. *teehee* It is so hard being home all day with active little ones, isn't it? Hang in there, A. The color of your hubster's hat is beautiful!

Posted by: Kerstin at December 13, 2003 1:43 PM

Bless your heart! I sure hope Caroline doesn't stop napping anytime soon . . . And that hat is lovely -- how tiny are those stitches?

Posted by: Maggi at December 13, 2003 3:16 PM

Love that picture!

Posted by: Dava at December 13, 2003 8:14 PM

I know how you feel Alison... Diva is hit and miss with the naps nowadays. She is tired around 1pm, but depending on what is going on during the day, she will force herself to stay awake. Just keep your chin up and you'll get out of the funk (I am kind of going through this right now...)

Oh and count me in for one more gift finished!

Posted by: Rose at December 14, 2003 12:43 AM

When my twin boys decided to give up on naps....at the same age as Stefan and Benny... I decided, in desparation, to lie down, after lunch, with them, in my bed. We read a story and then drifted off. I learned how to take 20 minute naps and they slept for a couple of hours. I think that the trick was that they focused on me (sleep, sleep, sleep)instead of each other(play play play!) This lasted for at least a year. Worth a try!!

Posted by: michel at December 14, 2003 1:42 AM

My four-year-old twin girls haven't taken naps since they were three and they *still* wear me out! You can try to insist on quiet time maybe. We try to sit down and quietly read books for awhile or I might even make them look at books by themselves so that I can actually rest on the couch!

Posted by: Karen at December 14, 2003 8:15 AM

That gauge is *AMAZING*. I bow.

Posted by: Rachael at December 14, 2003 1:07 PM

Naps......... Erika naps like a charm at daycare but on the weekends at home with us..... not a chance or at a real useless time so that her bed time gets really screwed. I used to quilt or sew during nap time.... no more.

Posted by: Uli at December 14, 2003 3:12 PM

Thanks for the sympathy about the naps, folks. Good tip, Michel, I'll give that a try! I'm willing to try anything at this point. ;)

Posted by: alison at December 14, 2003 11:29 PM

I swear by all that is sacred that no experience of mothering (so far) has been as dreadful as Giving Up the Naps. Not birth, not weaning, not potty-training or first days of school. Nothing. When my oldest quit taking naps I was pregnant with my second and I thought I was going to die! Now that my second is going through this, the only benefit of experience is that when she's being a pain, she shapes up quick at the merest hint of a nap! With twins, well, my heart goes out to you. Good luck!

Posted by: gwyn at December 16, 2003 10:41 AM