How-to of the Month: How to disappear during rest time

Either you can relate to the following statement or you will one day be able to:

When you discover your child has outgrown naps, I can imagine it feels about the same as finding out you were adopted and nobody ever told you.

Astonishment.
Anger.
Betrayal.
A sense of being incredibly wronged by the world in general.

Bethany outgrew them first, obviously. Then James. Though really, I'm pretty convinced he gave them up way before he was actually ready. It actually was more of an awareness that Bethany was no longer napping. (since when there is an awake and energetic four-year-old in your house, it's pretty hard to keep that fact quiet)
Ben still naps. Most of the time.
He definitely switched to just one nap a day earlier than he was ready for the same reason James gave up his naps. Only add a three-year-old to the four-year-old. Impossible to enforce a nap for one sibling with those two playing (let's be honest, screaming) together!

So, anyway, what happens here now is rest time. This consists of us getting washed up after lunch (most of the time), getting settled in our "resting spots" with blankets, animals, and water bottles, listening to a story from The Friend (during which Ben stares at me blankly, James talks to himself, and Bethany listens intently, asking a million questions. Then, I close the blinds in the playroom, turn off the light and put in a Disney movie chosen by the lucky one whose turn it is. I then kiss them all and we have a conversation that goes something like this:

Me: Is it rest time?
Children: Yes!
Me: Do we get up and play?
Children: No!
Me: Do we talk loudly?
Children: No!
Me: Do we watch the movie and rest?
Children: Yes!
(then James likes to take over)
James: We play with toys?
Other two: No!
James: We get up?
Other two: No!
James: We be loud?
Other two: No!
Bethany: Do we climb on the table and get the remote and push buttons?
. . .
(silence
. . .
Ben: 'mote? I do it!
James: No Ben, I do it!
Bethany: I won't do it, I know that is not a good choice.
James: NO, Bethany, I do it.
Bethany: I know! I'm not going to do it! Climbing up on the table is danger! And then you are teaching Ben to climb.
Ben: Climb? I do it. (starts to get up)
James: No Ben! Don't climb! I'm going to do it!!!

. . .

and anyway...at that point, I settle them back down and tuck them back in with their blankets, kiss them again, and push play.

I retreat into the office to read from the scriptures, pray for my sanity (only half kidding), and move onto whatever of my many suffocating tasks I feel is deserving of some attention! Return emails, meal plan, make grocery lists, work on my preparedness project, work on the kids' chore charts, organize our office, research whatever is pressing on my mind that day, etc. Now that I write it all out, it all sounds a lot less suffocating than it feels! Hmmm...oh well, I guess that's what I get for being me.

On this particular day, JC was home...it might have been a Saturday...and on those days he usually either finds something random to work on as well or he will sit with the kids through their movie, dozing off snuggling one or two of them. On this day we were both in the office and he went in to check on them (this is most necessary!).

He found James' resting spot empty. No sign of him anywhere.
Looked around, he wasn't hiding in a corner playing with his animals (normal)
He wasn't standing directly in front of the tv (also normal)
He wasn't attempting to rile Bethany up into some form of a fight. (unfortunate but also a little normal)
Just gone.

Upon further investigation of his resting spot...
It appears he never actually left it.
When JC moved the couch cushion where James used to be, this is what he found folded behind it.

Sleepy James.
Animals still in his hand.

He was out COLD.
Squatting.

He is such a funny little guy! We were laughing so hard we could hardly catch our breaths and settle down enough to move him to a more comfortable spot! But we did. And he slept on.

I just had to share.

Now, I am a bit behind since I opted out of blogging last week and we've had a rather interesting week quarantined here at home with first chicken pox, then hand foot and mouth disease. (sounds a lot grosser than it is)
We didn't really have both. I just declared their illness as chickenpox too soon and turned out wrong!
And anyway, we even had Ben's second birthday!
But I am so sleepy...(how many posts do I end this way??) and even though everyone is feeling better, I'm already getting crazy vibes about the approaching week and feel that it's best I get my buns in bed. So, I just wanted to get this on here for something fun for now!

Maybe during rest time tomorrow I will push all that other nonsense aside and get some more fun stuff on here.

I guess that, even though they were sick this week, we all got a little sick of each other, and at one point I literally thought I might lock myself in a closet and stay for several days, I still get excited about sharing pictures and funny moments of my kids.
Because they are the best, cutest kids in the universe!
I don't care if I am biased.