Then, I'll try to come up with a few activities they can do with less-than-optimal supervision, just to get us to lunch – maybe first, it's puzzles and then it's blocks and then it's . . . I don't know, stringing beads onto pipe cleaners? They don't have to be gems, they just have to get you to the next thing. It's smart to do something that expends energy, too, like dancing or building a couch-cushion fort or playing fetch down the hall with the dog. After lunch, my kids thankfully still take naps, but for those who don't, it's back at it with the activities. Maybe set a personal benchmark that one activity each day is something you fully engage with. Let that be when the messy paints come out or when you play a round of Candyland or read them a chapter of a Ramona book.
Basically, if you can figure out how to give some structure to the day, instead of just taking every minute as it comes, you'll be a lot less stressed. Because every day may be different, just settle on a general plan of attack in the morning before you have to start working.
Image Source: Getty / d3sign