Where have all the naps gone?

When I had Aidan in 2010, at 34, never having been lucky enough to be a SAHM for the older boys, did I have it easy!  Granted, I didn't know it at the time.  Every second was spent on the baby.  I didn't know how to cook and clean (which was good because neither were a stong suit).  Holding the baby, playing with the baby, taking pictures of the baby, and NAPPING with the baby.  Oh, how I treasured those naps!  Cell was turned off, we would nap anywhere, the bed, the couch, I think it might have happened on the floor a few times.  

Along comes Gavin in 2011, and a slightly bigger home.  Aidan finally had his own room, while Gavin slept in our room, both still waking up several times in the night.  We started with a housekeeper once a month, but I was soon able to wash the floors on my own, keep the kitchen clean with Rick's help.  I had a laundry schedule (and face it, having a part time nanny to watch them a few hours a week so I could get things done didn't hurt either).  Aidan was still on two naps a day, Gavin, being a preemie, slept all the time, so I was still getting one good nap in a day.

And now there's three.  Isaac was born in 2012 and we've moved again.  Aidan fights tooth and nail to avoid  his half hour rest time.  Gavin has quickly gone from two naps to one, and Isaac finds it humorous to have awake time during the others' short quiet times.  And guess what?  Now that I've proven I can get some housework done, I'm expected to tidy every day, sans nanny!   I've even made the mistake of cooking a few times, not without the question of it being edible, but suddenly I'm super mommy, with expectations of cleaning without a nap at all!  

Ladies, here is where the warning comes in.  If you must create a family planning binder, do NOT show it to the hubby!  Where you can have entire conversations completely one-sided while the TV drowns out your voice, they will actually memorize your chore chart and come home expecting your list to be complete for the day.  When the newness of the chore chart has worn off, they will remind you of what chores were scheduled for that day.  

And naps?  While I am lucky that, for the first time in 3 years, I am able to sleep all the way through the night, naps are a treasured gift that need to be earned from a loving spouse.  I am currently owed 5 sleep-in days.  Yes, I am keeping track.  I was owed 6, but I cashed one in a few weekends ago while having a bout of stomach flu.  I will just look forward to napping when I am old and grey and no one can stop me!