(source)
It's been a long day at the end of a long week so I'm looking forward to mine already. I don't mean the makeup removing and teeth cleaning, who ever looks forward to that? Although the pajamas and lying down bit is nice I'll grant you.
I mean with your children. Apart from wrestling them to the floor to try and get a toothbrush near their teeth, our ripping their clothes off them and throwing them into the bath in a desperate attempt to get the soap dodgers clean.
Nor giving up and going to bed before them, nor getting them to read a story to their teddies because you have lost the will to breathe, let alone make up silly voices for the Gruffalo and his mates.
Sending them to bed early on some feeble excuse of punishment doesn't count either, " how many times have I told you not to step on the cracks between the tiles? - No story for you tonight young man".
Going to a PTA meeting and leaving the other half to pick up the bath towels might be lovely at times, but I really don't think I have the strength to invent a meeting, and then go and sit in the car in a car park for a couple of hours, even though it's quite tempting.
What I actually mean is your ideal bedtime routine, the one you offer to qualify in the mommy olympics, the one you blog about and pretend happpens every night of the week, come rain or shine, because it's important never to let the sun go down on an argument or a grumpy face, although I may have to turn the light out and shut the door if this carries on much longer
Here's ours:
I still read to my kids, although at 9 and 12 they could easily do it themselves, or for me now I think about it. There's something quite relaxing about having to concentrate on the story, and I have to, if not I don't I get the names right, they thought Harry Potter's sidekick was called Rob until they were old enough to watch the film. it's also probably the only time I don't multitask all day.
Then we always (even if I've found an excuse not to read) do best bit, worst bit, where - as the name would suggest, we tell each other about the best and the worst parts of our day.
We occasionally do "what I learnt today" but I have been known to fall asleep on one of the kid's beds while racking my brain to find something postive that I've learnt that day, rather than "I've learnt that year nine a a bunch of *******" (random number of stars there, so don't bother counting) or "I've learnt that I should never have married a man who leaves his socks on the floor".
Whatever you do, and I'd love to know, there's something comforting about the bedtime routine, I still remember dad coming to "see us nan-night" as kids.
I'm off to practice now, as I've said, it's been a long day.
