bedtime

Bedtime at our house goes a little something like this:

Give kids a bath.

Warm up towels and jammies so kids will get out of the tub happily.

Brush teeth and hair.

Read scriptures.

Say prayers.

Read stories to Miss Pink and Mr. Orange in Mr. Orange's bed.  (2 stories each, or 2 stories for Miss Pink and a few chapters from a "big book" for Mr. Orange.)

Sing 2 songs to Mr. Orange.

Rock Miss Pink in her room.

Sing her a bajillion and ten songs.

Sing more songs in hopes that she will fall asleep and not run around for the next three hours.

Sing a few more songs.

Put her to bed.

Several hours later her room looks like this:

(Yes, she has pretty much emptied out her bookcase and has "read" every one of the books.)

Exhausted, she passes out in the rocking chair.

It's nights like this that I take a deep breath and repeat with gritted teeth, "in a few short years I will miss these moments" over and over and over and over and over and...

Of course, in a few short years she'll keep me up late at night because she's out with friends, or on a date, or...