No rest for the wicked!

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments on L's nap situation. She actually stopped taking them when she was 17 months so it's been quite a while. There are a few problems. The first being that because I came to this Montessori stuff late L was already sleeping in a cot. Now she is certainly ready for a bed but because we are hoping to move to Canada very soon she won't be getting one until we move. So leaving her in her room on her bed is not an option. I couldn't leave her in her cot as I'd feel like I was just putting her in jail.
Secondly my husband does different shifts every day and always has done. As you can imagine this has made having a proper routine almost impossible. We always do meals and bed time the same but everything else really depends on when daddy is working. Although it gives L and daddy lots of time to spend together I hate not being able to have a proper schedule.
Anyway I think naps for us are a thing of the past. I was "cheeky mommy" today though as L had a nap in the car after a play date and then I took Making of a Montessori Mum's advice and got L playing with sand while I continued to read my book! love it!
I think sand and water are the way to go! Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Edible activities and a Mommy at the end of her rope!

Here are some activities we did today. They both seemed to have a snack theme which L really enjoyed. The first was making a pasta and Cheerio necklace. I'm amazed she actually made this as she ate about 3 Cheerios to every one that she laced!

We also shelled peas. This was fun for both of us. I love fresh peas. I helped L open the pea pods and she took out the peas and put them in the bowl. This was a really good sorting activity.

Now this is not very Montessori but I have to share. L has refused to take a nap for quite a while now. The problem is by about 4 she is really tired (not to mention I need a break!). She turns from a charming little girl into a wild banshee (well it seems like it at the time anyway). I can only take so much before I loose my patience as I'm really tired as well. So for the last two days I did the "sneaky mommy" and hauled her into the car and got onto the motorway as fast as possible. Less than five minutes and she was fast asleep! Yippee I drove to the park put on Classic FM, rolled down windows and read my book for half an hour. That is all I need to be a good mommy again and L was back to her normal self. We played in the park when she woke up. I did this at 1pm by the way so it wouldn't effect her bedtime.

Does anyone else have any suggestions? or am I doomed to be driving up and down the motorway to protect my sanity??