Humor Parenting

10 Things I Meant to Do During Nap Time… (And What I Really Did Instead)

While we aim to be productive during our kids' precious nap times, we often find ourselves doing a whole lot of nothing. And it feels amazing.

By Rachel Capiz of Mommy Lost in Translation.

I always have grand plans for nap time or when the kids go to bed; however, it doesn’t always turn out as planned. Here are 10 things I meant to do during nap time, and what I did instead.

1. Plan: Clean.

Reality: I folded one load of laundry while binge watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix. I didn’t even put the laundry away. I just folded it and put in the basket and it just sat there next to me on the couch the entire time.

2. Plan: Meal plan.

Reality: I pinned a bunch of stuff on Pinterest that I’ll never get around to making and didn’t even make a shopping list.

3. Plan: Read a book.

Reality: I read a page and a half and fell asleep.

4. Plan: Catch up on email.

Reality: Spent most of the time stalking people on Facebook.

5. Plan: Craft project.

Reality: I spilled glitter everywhere and then I glued my thumbs together with superglue. I ended up tossing the entire project in the trash and watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

6. Plan: Work out.

Reality: I made margaritas.

7. Plan: Clean out my car.

Reality: I vacuumed the driver’s side and said “Meh, that’s good enough.” Then I left the vacuum in the garage. I’ll get it tomorrow.

8. Plan: Garden.

Reality: It was hot. And dirty. And there was a lizard. I’m just gonna fill the flower beds with gravel. It’ll be great.

9. Plan: Work on my novel.

Reality: Wrote this list instead. What? I wrote SOMETHING, alright?

10. Plan: Organize the kitchen cabinets.

Reality: I did! I did one! I organized one cabinet! And the stuff that didn’t fit or that I don’t want anymore is on the counters and the floor but I will deal with that later. I am SO PRODUCTIVE.

OK, so maybe I fail at nap time productivity, but is it so bad if I need spend an hour or two doing nothing in order to maintain my sanity? I’m a much better mom, playmate, and wife when I take some time to relax instead working myself into a frenzy every time the house is quiet. And frankly, productivity is relative. Those margaritas ain’t going to make themselves, you know.

This post was originally published on Mommy Lost in Translation.

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About Rachel Capiz

Rachel Capiz is married to a foreigner and is a mother of two. She doesn’t really know what she is doing, she’s just trying to survive motherhood. You can follow/stalk her on the Twitter machine @MommyLIT or see what she is rambling about on her blog at Mommy Lost in Translation