Peace

For the past 3 years bedtime has been a dreaded event. You can't fully understand how bad it really was but to give you an idea I will tell you a few things. If we put them down at 7:30-8:00 they would be up until around 11:00-12:00 EVERY night. This included them opening their door every 2-3 minutes and pulling stuff off of the walls, their closet,etc. It was bad. It was starting to cause me and hubby problems because we were so stressed and exhausted that we would argue over how to handle it.

So you get the picture right? It was HORRIBLE! Well the other day I said enough already. I decided right then and there that this was it. We were not going to have that going on in our home anymore and I choose to do something about it.

It all started with a garage sale and a $3 basketball lamp. One of the problems with them was that they couldn't really understand that bedtime was time to calm down. Nothing worked with them. Until now. I found this really cute basketball lamp at a garage sale next to
my in-laws house and bought it. Then I came home and re-arranged their room making it feel a lot more cozy. After that hubby and I sat down with them and had a long talk. For the first time in forever we felt in charge. Our attitude was different and the kids listened quietly and understood what we were saying. We told them that we were not going to have unpleasant bedtimes anymore and informed them of their new bedtime routine.

You can not believe the turn around. Bedtime is no longer a dreaded event that makes me want to cry before it even gets started. It is a calming, bonding time for the kids and us now. This is how it goes:
Dinner
bath
pajamas
brush teeth
story time with mommy
then lamp on and more stories pulled out for them to read quietly together while mommy goes in the other room
then lights out. Books put up. Kisses, hugs and songs.

I completely regret not doing all of this sooner but we had just come to our breaking point. And now we are less frustrated with them during the day too. The turn around in our home is amazing. I can't even begin to say how peaceful and loving it is now.

Here is the girls side of the room. Oh and the curtain was $.50 on Clearance at Wal-Mart. Once I bought the curtain rod it cost a whole $2.50!! SCORE!!