Bedtime has always been important. Not just because I can finally have an uninterrupted conversation, either. When it was just Buddy, bedtime was a way to reconnect, slow down. It took some time: story, Bible, prayer, song, snuggle. Then the girls came, and it took awhile to get a routine that fit everyone and didn't take three hours. So, I'd story Bible prayer song all three girls, put the Cuddle Bear in a separate room with books, and do it all over with Buddy. The challenge is Buddy and the Cuddle Bear need much, MUCH less sleep than Princess and Peanut, but the Cuddle Bear "staying up late" does not sit well with the older girls. As you can imagine.
Add to this Princess's newish-found desire to bond. She wants my one-on-one attention, but I've made it too hard to get. I've set up an unfortunate cycle where the surest way to get it is to have a rage. Not good. She doesn't really ask me to do things with her, and when I initiate a project, it tends to end with one or more of us becoming extremely frustrated. So. Two birds with one stone. A start, anyway.
Princess really needs to be in bed by 7:30. Peanut sometimes does, but not always. and Buddy and the Cuddle Bear have trouble falling asleep if they're in bed before 8:30. So I had a Brainstorm, and decided to try tucking Princess in solo.
Friday night Princess, Buddy, and the Cuddle Bear were playing Memory (the Cuddle Bear ROCKS Memory, by the way. Buddy kept trying to find a way to handicap her, claiming she had "see-through eyes"). Princess started getting tired, which meant she started cheating. I saw the warning signs and gave her the five-minute heads-up. The cheating and arguing escalated, until Buddy and Princess started throwing cards and lunging at each other. It was almost too late. I announced it was time to pick up, plunked myself squarely between Princess and Buddy, and started picking up cards. Princess was still grousing, but she did put away some cards. But then Buddy made a comment, and Princess picked up his five-box home-made WebShmooz house like she was going to throw it. Which I'm quite sure was the plan. I tucked a picture book under my arm, grabbed her firmly by her shoulders, marched her upstairs, and started changing her into pajamas. Miraculously, she did not fight me. I think it was the presence of the book. I stuffed her in her bed, laid down next to her, and read. Then I just held her while we listened to music. When I left, she was asleep. Not one word about going to bed first.
Now onto the next baby step. Sure wish I knew what it was.
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Genea goes to bed about an hour before Teena. We just never made a deal out of it although The Husband and I thought she would refuse to do it. We set it up that way and no one ever made a fuss. Of course that was a year or 2 ago so there's a good chance they didn't understand that this was a great area to fuss up about, lol. Genea needs more sleep and she gets up earlier, so that's what we do.
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