Bedtime Battles

So tonight I fight. Again. Anyone else ever do that?

See, I know a LOT of people who fight bedtime battles with their littles! And it is never the same battle, or a certain age, at least not in this house!

I have four children. My oldest daughter is 13, almost 14, and she wants to push bedtime. Mean ole Mom has an 8:30 bedtime for Rebekah because I feel she needs her sleep and my husband and I need some down time to be husband and wife without the kids around. Plus it affects what can be watched on TV, etc.

My next daughter is 12. She struggles with bed. She has Aspergers and she really struggles to get her mind to turn off and allow her to sleep. Plus she tries EVERYTHING to stay up late. Not so much downstairs, but up in her room. She will read until the sun goes down. She will play. She will regularly stay up until 11:00 even though HER bedtime is 8:00.

My 6 1/2 year old is easy to get to bed, hard to keep there. "Mom, I need a drink." "Mommy, I'm hot." "Mommy, I heard a noise." "Mommy, when is Rebekah coming to bed." (And they do not share a room so it shouldn't matter!)

My son is 2 1/2. And I admit it. Spoiled! But I have worked hard to get him to sleep on his own. I have always put him to bed awake and he has always gone to bed fine. Okay, not as a TINY infant, but for about 2 years now! All of the sudden when he gets put to bed he screams and cries and freaks...except that it is a very calm and deliberate freak! I wish you could hear it! He will cry, then he will start talking...."I want Mommy. I want my blanket. I want a drink. I want a cuddle. Mommy I peed." Anything he can think of that MIGHT trigger Mommy coming back up to his room. Of course, even when I cave, it is never enough. He wants another hug, another kiss and even though he is calm enough when I am standing there, as soon as I start to leave the room again, he goes nuts! Of course, Daddy can walk up, tuck him and walk out and the boy sleeps! No problems! UGH!

I took advantage today and shared some of my favorite family pics from last year. I will be getting new ones done this year, but decided to wait until fall.  So bear with me as I share just a few more! :-)

And last, but not least! As you leave my blog today, I hope that you will return and leave me feedback on what your tricks are for getting kids to bed, what you struggle with (like my best friend who has a teenage son who likes to stay up WAY late on the phone or computer!) and what you enjoyed about my blog! Thanks!

All photos courtesy of Andrea Lortie Photography . She happens to be married to a school friend of mine and takes FABULOUS natural light pictures and has the cutest ideas for pictures. I love it!