Great expectations

Ava is not one to fall asleep in the car. Rarely would you ever see her curled up against someone's chest taking a nap, even when she was just a baby. Sleep in bed with us? Forget about it- she just thinks it's a big party. Her crib has always been the only place she could really get some Z's.
I had the brilliant idea of skipping naps today so I could catch up on some fun stuff like cleaning and laundry after I put the kids in bed around seven. So when they were all tired out from playing outside in the hose and making peanut butter granola balls with me, I gave them baths, put their PJ's on, and let them watch Caillou (an annoying show about a whiny four-year-old and his little sister). Thinking I could get a head start and begin sorting the laundry, I left them alone for ten minutes.
Silence is never good when it comes to kids, right?
This situation wasn't quite the "I sorted through mommy's purse and am chewing a whole pack of gum and used red lipstick for some carpet art" devastation, but it was about to sabatoge my plans for the night.
I walked in and saw this:




No! It was only 5:32 pm! Five minutes of hard sleep is known to make a kid stay up an extra two hours.
Scooping her up and scurrying to the kitchen, I offered her one of life's greatest pleasures (in the minds of my children), a sippy cup full of milk. All I got was this on the kitchen floor:





Something more drastic was necessary. I quickly rifled through the pantry for a sweet treat that we call a "sometimes food" at our house... something they really only get for a birthday party, an airplane ride, or going #2 on the potty. Candy! The bag of Smarties had to wake her up.
I carried my floppy child and the candy over to the dining room table to show her the unexpected treat and I got only this:







There was no more bribery that my desperate mind could come up with so I sat her on my lap, cuddled her up, and enjoyed the snooze for five minutes.
Then I let Mason loose on her and she was up and irritated within 30 seconds. Negative reinforcement was the answer this time. (: They quickly figured out how to bond again over Caillou swimming with his sister and surprisingly, they were both OUT by 7:27 pm.