Made In Nap Time with Sandy Gillman

Does anyone else get a bit stressed about what should be a simple outing with a child?

I'm meeting a friend for coffee this afternoon. Nothing major. We're catching the train because it'll be easier than dealing with traffic and parking.

But suddenly my brain is full of questions.

It's further than we've ever gone on the train before.

It's at 3pm, which isn't a time we'd normally be out. Will my toddler wake up from his nap in time?

Will the train ride go smoothly?

Will he sit happily at the café while I catch up with my friend, or will he decide that screaming is a much better activity?

Before becoming a parent, meeting a friend for coffee felt simple.

Now every outing seems to come with a hundred little variables that could go wrong.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who mentally rehearses every possible scenario before leaving the house!

400 followers! 🎉

I'll be honest, I've been hovering around this number for days.

One day I'd gain a follower, the next day I'd lose one. Then gain one. Then lose one.

But today we finally made it! Hopefully by the time you see this post, I still have 400 lol!

When I started Made in Nap Time, I had no idea if anyone would be interested in the random mix of parenting stories, writing adventures, and thoughts that somehow appear while a toddler is asleep.

So thank you to every person who has followed along, liked a post, left a comment, or simply read something I've shared.

400 might not sound like a huge number in the world of social media, but to me it's 400 real people choosing to spend a tiny part of their day here, and that's pretty amazing.

Thank you for being part of this little community. ❤️

Update on my “any guesses what I’ll be doing?” post…

Well, a few people were close, but no one actually guessed it.

I’m officially back in the workforce after nearly 3 years… and I now pick up dog poo for a living 💩

Funnily enough, I actually wrote a joke piece about this exact type of job about a year ago. At the time it was just a laugh… now it’s my actual job.

If you want the full story, I’ve shared it here.



https://vocal.media/writers/when-dreams-actually-do-come-true

One of my favourite things about toddlers is their imagination.

Last night, my son spent about 20 minutes happily playing on his own. He'd dragged out his travel high chair, climbed into it, and somehow involved a toy Santa Claus in whatever game he was playing.

Every now and then he'd turn around, hold up a little blue heart keyring and announce:

"Heart for Santa."

Then he'd carefully place the heart on Santa and continue playing.

I have absolutely no idea what was happening.

But it seemed very important to both of them. ❤️

Today's nap time creation:
I assembled a balance bike for my son because he outgrew his tricycle.
This could either make or break the afternoon depending how much practice it takes to master it.
Wish me luck 🙏

Fun Fact Tuesday 💡
When my husband and I went on our Australia road trip, we visited Uluru (Ayers Rock) for the very first time.

It’s a place that’s usually dry and red and dusty… and it almost never rains when people visit.

Of course, the one time we went, it rained.

And not just rain, we got to see something incredibly rare: waterfalls running down Uluru.

Only around 1% of visitors ever get to see Uluru like that, when heavy rain turns the whole rock into flowing streams of water.

Definitely one of those “you had to be there” moments ✨

The entire sky is clear except for the one cloud sitting directly in front of the sun.

My solar panels would like to file a formal complaint.