Bedtime

Bedtime in our family has always been a sort of ritual that we follow closely. The kids now even know that 8:30 is their appointed bedtime. When it rolls around, if the kids aren't already in their jammies, then is the time to go pick them out. The last kisses and hugs for the day are given to mommy and then it's the last call (or in Jonah's case, the last order)to use the bathroom one more time. That's followed by brushing teeth, picking out books and then the stories are read. Finally, daddy sings a couple of songs. There is even a sequence of songs and the kids know which on is the last one for the evening. Yes, we are that routine!! Bedtime has been something that I usually take a less active roll in and Reed takes over. At that point I usually start relaxing for the rest of the evening, if I haven't already started. I kind of enjoy it that way and I think the kids really like bedtime as their special time alone with daddy. Final kisses and hugs are then distributed by daddy and then he leaves the room. What happens after that depends on what pattern we are in (right now we are in a good one, thankfully!). The kids know that they need to stay in their room and go to sleep and after they go to bed it's mommy and daddy's time to be by themselves together to talk about their day. Most of the time, this is followed and we can hear the kids either talking or arguing as they settle in. Sometimes they will play around up there or read, but usually in good time they eventually fall asleep. I won't even go into what all goes on when they are in a different pattern and decide not to stay in their room! Trust me, those are some pretty rough nights at our house!! Any way,usually when it's time for us to go to bed, the kids are asleep and Reed goes in to turn off the nightlight. Sometimes I like to peak in there and see their little sleeping faces and grab a little "mommy moment". We never know what we'll find when we go in their room at bedtime. Last night,I could hear the kids were up chatting for awhile before they fell asleep and I could hear a bunch of rustling about. This is what we found when we went to check in on them at bedtime..I guess they just wanted to go camping instead of sleep in their beds! Priceless.