Bedtime Woes

I knew Tralee was getting tired last night when the whining increased at an alarming rate. I finally had enough, and announced that it was bedtime. As you can imagine this announcement was met with more whining and some tears were added for extra unhappy emphases. I got down to Tralee's level and said something like, "We're not going color right now. Do you see how grumpy you are? When you get this grumpy is means you're tired. When you're tired, it means you've got to get some sleep. That means it's bedtime." Tralee looked at me and said through her tear stained face,

"Oh! You've GOT to be kidding me!"

I had to turn away because I started laughing and I wondered, "Where did she hear that one?" I finally got Tralee in bed and she was out 2.4 seconds after her head hit the pillow. I knew she was in deep slumberland when the soft snoring stared. I love her snores. Little kid snores are so cute, and also so nice because you know you have several hours before the snores turn into little voices demanding their breakfast requests. After Tralee was out, I put Hunter to bed and had a precious few hours to myself before I finally needed some shut-eye.

I miss having Jim around to help with the bedtime routine. At the same time, I'm getting used to him being gone. The kids and I have developed our own routine, but having Jim here would be much nicer. I'm counting down the days before I can see him again. There are still too many.