And Another...

I clearly posted my previous entry too soon because tonight's bedtime incident certainly belongs in the "things I never thought I'd be doing" category. I'll start by saying that bedtime has just been disastrous around here. It's not the bedtime routine, per se, it's the constant needs after bedtime (which is around 7:30)  that continue until well after 9 p.m. most nights. Jillian is our biggest culprit right now, because she constantly "needs" some more art supplies from the craft closet downstairs, or wants a different CD, or needs water, or decides life isn't fair, or whatever. She quickly figured out that this is not cool with her parents, and began sending down her little accomplice. It's pretty easy to know when Adrienne comes downstairs to ask for something like tape that it's really Jillian who wants it. Well played, Jillian, but your parents are smarter than that. Adrienne comes down the stairs for things like wanting her robe tied, or a crazy bow put in her hair. She also "needs" us because she is the master of assuring us she doesn't need to poop before bed, but suddenly needing to go after we tuck her in and are downstairs enjoying our "peace". Then Jillian happily trots down the stairs to do her good deed and report that "Adrienne had snakes!" Yep, still calling poop 'snakes' around here....we are a regular circus show, I tell ya. 

So tonight. The girls had been in bed for about 30 minutes and Jillian proudly came downstairs to report that "Adrienne did something REALLY bad". I started to sweat a bit, because I still haven't recovered from all her poop-smearing/hiding incidents of days gone by. Then Jillian assured me that she "just" washed her legs with toothpaste. Say what? So I trucked it up the stairs to find my second born in her closet playing, with toothpaste all over her pajama pants. I soon realized this was because she had so much toothpaste on her legs that it soaked through and onto the pajama pants. A whole tube of blue kids toothpaste was on her legs, on the bathroom floor, and the counters. Now, in true Adrienne fashion, it only takes a very calm and stern questioning to reduce her to tears (consistent from when she was a nursing baby and would bite me--all it took was a "no no" and she sobbed. And Jillian laughed just for comparison!). So as I was undressing her and scrubbing her in the shower she was sobbing, "I"m sorry Mom! I still love you Mom!" Over and over and over. Then the questioning began when Matt arrived upstairs. And soon it was revealed--"I saw Jillian do it before". Mmmm Hmm. So of course when we asked Jillian if she ever had done this she very demonstratively tucked her hair behind her ears and talked with her hands as she danced around the question..."Well, I don't know. I mean maybe I did it when I was little, but I just can't remember". Mmmm Hmmm. Jillian not remember something? Not a chance.  So after the toothpaste artist was cleaned up and back in bed we informed the girls that the doors to the bathroom would be locked at bedtime, and if they need to go after we tuck them in they will have to come downstairs or use the guest room.  I'm sure this will only begin a different sort of problem. After all the drama lately I've decided it's the perfect time to begin something I read about recently in a great book--weekly family meetings. First item on the agenda will read 'bedtime shenanigans'. We'll see what kind of solutions our family can come up with for this problem. You can bet I'll be taking notes.