Nap time

1:00 pm ish- arrive home after going to the airport, playing at frying pan park, getting a little lost, having lunch, and lots of fun. I told him it was nap time as soon as we got home.
1:15- Harrison convinces me to play with him 'for a few minutes' outside (and this ends up being like 20 when I promised 5)
1:35 - I put carter to bed while Harrison plays silly games on my phone.
1:55- a little longer while I do the dishes.
2:05 - upstairs- and I read two chik fil a comic books about superhero cows
2:20- he is so hungry he must have a snack. Now. He wants applesauce. He doesn't know why he wasn't hungry before but he must have a snack now.
2:30 I bring him applesauce
2:31 applesauce is too messy. He wants cereal. After a fight and my obvious desperation I bring him a little cereal.
2:40 where is my applesauce? No applesauce. I Sit there while he eats cereal and clean dust out of his fan.
2:42 can I have another story? NO child you are not getting a story. No more stories. Nap or quiet time. I go downstairs.
2:45 in my face while I 'try' to start working ....
2:46 scream/cry/etc about a story, a nap, whatever.
2:50 5 min time out (this is huge for him. I had had it.)
2:55 skips out on last minute and sneaks up to his bed.
3:00 discussion about reasons for time out. Please take a nap now.
3:02 asks for story.
3:03 I'm broken. You've broken me. Read. The story.
3:06 song. Blankets fixed
3:07 maybe he's asleep. Can't believe carter is not up after all that screaming. Try to do some work, unfocused.
3:50 write blog during precious kid free work time...

And in ten minutes I need to think about getting him out of bed.........

I see all my errors in this whole process but I hate to have knock down drag outs about something like reading a story or playing for a few minutes. And who cares if the kid gets a handful if cereal before his nap?? Seems so wrong and not worth it. And mean. And yes, I see I shouldn't try so hard for a nap but he is awful by 6:30 without it. And the hours between 2-4 trying to work with constant questions drives me bonkers. BONKERS. He does not do quiet time well. He will not 'read books in his bed' and I will not let him sit in front of a screen for that long.

I guess my problem is I expect some degree of reasonableness. Four year olds don't respond to reason. ......

Happy Monday!!!!