It's that time of the Night- BEDTIME

It is the pumpkin hour, no not midnight, it is 8 o'clock. When Wee willie Winkie runs through the town looking for kids out of bed, I'm lingering on my knees a little longer after family prayer praying for the strength to get through BEDTIME.

We have two children with special needs, a toddler, a nursing baby, and three older children. I have an intense bedtime routine for the sake of keeping them in bed. It works, it's just long.

We begin with pajama time after baths. This is quickly followed up by one chapter in the scriptures unless it's a really bad night. A really bad night means Madi, who has possible autism, is having a long fit and I'm restraining her, while the baby tries to crawl on me and Madi is trying to punch or kick her, and Meri is screaming too. All this while my older children are reading and Makenzie is sneaking off getting ice out of my freezer to chew. On nights like this we'll read five verses and call it "good." If we are having a "good" night we'll even read some in our family reading book.

Next, I file them all upstairs just to get overwhelmed by the mess. Every morning it gets cleaned and throughout the day, but by bedtime we're back to messes again. By messes I mean laundry, toys, books--the usual. I assign pick-up tasks and then read one to two books to the younger three girls. I end up reciting Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers on the average of ten times.

Then I say a prayer with Meri (2). If I try to cheat on a night that I'm tired and lie on her bed, she gets mad and reminds me to kneel. She then promptly crawls off of her big twin bed and kneels to remind her forgetful mother how to pray properly. Next is a song of her choice which is usually "Popcorn Popping". Then a kiss and a quick reminder that I'm not going to put the baby gate up unless she gets out of bed.

Next is Madi. She gets the Rescue Remedy cream on orders from the natropath she is seeing. Then I say her prayer with her, sing her a song which is usually "Popcorn Popping", have a quick discussion about how the sandman isn't scary and only sprinkles disappearing sand or reciting Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers three more times. It is whichever she insists on, and then I kiss her good night.

Bella (9 months) is usually crawling or walking around me, fussing or climbing me like I'm a jungle gym while I attempt all of this. Next is Makenzie (6). She is quicker to put to bed with a quick prayer and song.

Thank GOODNESS the older children can do this themselves or it would take me all night. I'm usually so tired after all of this that I sit and check some emails and then read before I go to bed myself.

It never hits me that I have to do all this until after dinner and I have to start mustering up the courage to begin. Why do I do it? My first answer is because I feel that I need to do it for them. I feel that it gives them the personalized one on one time with me that they need. I do it because I can teach good principles and enforce the others that I taught throughout the day. I also do this because after eleven years (almost twelve) of parenting I have found that my children respond better to going to bed, sleep better throughout the night, and we have fewer instances of bad dreams or getting up out of bed after they've been lovingly tucked in.

To all of the mothers out there struggling to muster the energy to endure bedtime, I understand because I'm going through it at the same time!