"The hardest people to convince they are at retirement age are children at bedtime."

I never realized how many bedtime traditions we had until I tried to send my kids to bed on their own tonight. Being the brilliant mother that I am, I thought I could kiss them goodnight and send them upstairs while I stayed downstairs working on my resume. After the third trip upstairs I gave up that foolish notion and just went up to stay. Our bedtime routine has become ridiculously long. Sometimes I feel that they spend more time getting ready for bed than for sleeping! It consists of...

1. Showers, first The Girl and then The Boy. Complete with arguments over washing hair and why The Girl should NOT have to let the water touch her head in any way.
2. Picking out pajamas (which is a surprisingly long and complicated task, as each child feels compelled to discuss the merits of each potential item of clothing before settling on what to wear for the night
3. Brushing teeth- all three of us- following by The Girl asking at least half a dozen questions about why we brush our teeth, what will happen if we don't, why is her tooth brush green, why is The Boy's toothbrush orange, etc...
4. Picking a bedtime story-which is generally a 20 minute debate with the kids running from room-to-room. The Girl will select a book from her collection, The Boy vetoes it, so they traipse into his room and The Boy selects a book, which The Girl then vetoes. Back to her room and on-and-on until Mommy announces that if they cannot agree in 5 seconds Mommy is going to read a dictionary to them.
5. Once the book is finally selected, they grab a stuffed animal and blanket, and we cuddle on the couch upstairs and read it. Relatively short books (which should take only 10 minutes to read) can drag out to an hour some nights- as both The Boy and The Girl have to discuss and ask questions about each page.
   
6. Singing Danny Boy to The Boy (with The Boy's name substituted into the song in place of Danny) which started when The Boy was 2 months old.
7. Singing "the too rah song" to The Girl (quite honestly, I am not sure what the name of the song is, or how to spell it) which started when The Girl was still using my ribcage as a punching bag in utero.
8. At least 15 minutes of good night hugs and kisses, tucking in, catching The Girl sneaking out of her room, tucking in again, etc...
   

In some ways, I would love to cut down on our nightly rituals. But, to be perfectly honest, I am no more ready to give it up than they are. Both kids are growing too fast, and I know that soon they aren't going to want so much attention from Mommy- so I might as well enjoy it while I can. Tonight I decided to take a few pictures, and I thought I would share them.

The Girl in her "nightgown". What? Isn't it perfectly normal for a three year old to wear an Eric Draven t-shirt to sleep in?












The Boy in his pajamas. Spiderman boxers that That Guy bought him 3 years ago and are STILL too big (the reason That Guy is no longer allowed to clothes shop for the kids without supervision.) and an old Halloween t-shirt











The Boy with his blanket, toy, and book of choice.










The Girl getting ready to snuggle in for a story with her blanket and a Care Bear that is almost as big as she is.