Poopy Pickle: Dedicated mommy time

Isaac has been having a difficult time at preschool lately -- clinging and crying at drop-off. Again. After a whole year of nothing but good times. I figure at least part of his troubles are due to his officially giving up his luxurious 3-hour afternoon nap. He hasn't taken one at all in over a month.

I have been in a quandary over what to do with this time, what I would usually use to work or clean or cook or sleep myself. I've been making him play by himself for most of it, feeling lately that I need to stop hovering over him so much. I wondered if, in his preschool acting out, that he was reacting badly in another part from my pulling away from him in the afternoon.

I'm trying a new approach, then, to help he and I understand what to expect of this huge window of unstructured time. The first hour he must either rest or play quietly in his room. The second hour, I have told him, I will give him my full and undivided attention; he can boss me around as he likes. If Jake is still asleep after that, he must play by himself around the house or on the computer while I take care of mommy business. We've tried this approach this week and so far we are 2 for 2 days with no outright fussing or tears.

I wanted to document what Isaac wants to play during his dedicated mommy time. We re-enact his upcoming movie, Playmobil Guys vs. Aliens.

The kids and their daddies are playing peacefully on the playground...