Bedtime Battles

Bedtime...that quiet peaceful time of night full of snuggles and bedtime stories.....that is until I turn out the lights.

Most nights are quite peaceful and sweet and I love reading to the kids and snuggling up with them but then there are other such nights like tonight were things don't go quite according to plan.

Madelyn and Joshie share a room and have bunkbeds...Maddie sleeps on the top and little Joshie on the bottom. Madelyn is usually the first to fall asleep and when she does everything else goes smoothly. but on the nights that she doesn't fall asleep that means that Joshie isn't going to sleep either. You see Madelyn is what I like to call a "flip flopper" she flips and flops all over the bed until she's out cold. So I take Josh into my room and snuggle with him and sing him lullabyes unitl his little body relaxes and his eyes start to slowly close and open again...right before he falls asleep I take him into his room and lie him in the bed then tip toe out and I'm free! This is the best way I have found to get them all to bed. Well tonight Madelyn didn't fall asleep first, for some reason or another she was having trouble getting to sleepy town. As I was just getting Joshie to that point of complete relaxation and heading to his room with him Maddie comes running out saying she needs to use the bathroom...jolting Josh to wide awake status. So I patiently wait for her to finish, but it seems to be taking a long time and I grow more and more suspisious that she's milking the time. So I go in and tell her that I know she's done and it's time to get to bed. I tuck her back in and at her request say her prayers with her agian then head back to my room to start the whole routine all over again. Finally I get Josh settled back down and head back to his room where I find Madelyn gleefully throwing her stuffed toys over the side of the bed (and here I thought she had fallen asleep). I quietly tell her to lie down and go to sleep, slip Josh into his bed and then it begins...the long list of reasons why Madelyn can't sleep "my leg is itchy, I'm thirsty, I can't sleep with the music on (the music she listens to go to everynight), and on and on. Finally she gets real serious and says "mom, I need to tell you something" "what is it Madelyn" I ask trying not to sound too exasperated "well my teddy bear ate my good girl brain and that's why I'm not behaving" "oh" I say "well lucky for you I keep an extra good girl brain in my pocket" so I take the imaginary brain out of my pocket and place it on her head. "Mom" she says, "my good girl brain doesn't go in my head it goes in my heart silly" Ahhh....so I place it in her heart and she smiles and goes right to sleep. AMAZING. My daughter understands that goodness comes from the heart and once her heart was in the right place her mind would follow. I love being able to see the world from their eyes, they have taught me in their own ways so many valuable lessons and as I try to teach them to be good people they in turn help me to be a better person.