I love summer - the late sunsets, the night games, the lingering in yards visiting with neighbors, the swimming, the flowers...I could go on and on. My kids love it too.
Usually the first few weeks we are pretty lax about bed times as we shift our routines, but now it's time to reign it in. It's sort of like grabbing a greased pig though, or getting that proverbial 'cat' back in the bag. It's pretty darn near impossible.
So tonight I announced the new going to bed dealio. Some nights we might be staying up later than others, but on the nights mom and dad say it's time for an earlier night - IT'S TIME. And just so everyone knows it, if we hear the kidlets talking, laughing, or whispering after they've been tucked in, bedtime will be 15 minutes earlier the following night. If the carrying on persists or we are met with protests, the bedtime magically moves up another 15 minutes. So far tonight, we are up to 30 minutes earlier bedtime tomorrow night. Now, if I can just remember that and follow-through.
And when they start crying tomorrow night about what a mean mother I am, I can always tell them about the "olden days" when I swear my mother put us to bed at 6:30 in the summer and we could hear the neighborhood kids choosing up sides for a pick-up baseball game right outside our window.
I'm thinking that gal was on to something.
