Because bedtime snuggles are important.

The very fabulous Mir from over at Want Not has partnered with GoodNites a Special Bedtime Moments contest. Because I haven’t been able to speak briefly about anything in my life, my contest entry ended up being blog-length instead of comment-length. Huh, go figure. Anyway, go check out the contest and rules over at Want Not for your chance to win some truly awesome prizes!

Bedtime is pretty sacred at my house. It’s simple, it’s structured, it’s my favorite time of the day. Barring extremely special occasions, bedtime is always at the same time and always follows the same structure. My girls brush their teeth (to avoid toothpaste slime from spilling on their pajamas), get pajamafied, and then we read stories.

Two books. Each daughter and I read two books together, snuggled up in bed. I love that special time we spend together; often it’s the only time during the day when I get one-on-one time with my sweet girls. My three-year-old goes to bed first and needs only a minute to choose her book. More often than not it’s How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight? (known in my house by its alternate title, Good Night, Little Dinosaur) by popular tween author Jane Yolen. If it’s not dinosaurs, then it’s Goodnight, Moon, a book Bee loves because she knows it by heart; Mom loves it because it’s so short.

The second book – for Bee and for Gracie – is one that I get to choose. It’s a tradition that started waaaaay back when Gracie was a toddler and was notorious for picking the two longest stories on her bookshelf, or maybe the two books I hated with the passion of eleventy fiery suns. My solution was to divvy up the book allotment: Gracie could choose one bedtime story and Mommy could choose one. That way at least one of the stories wouldn’t make me want to pluck out my own eyeballs rather than read the story one more ever-lovin’ time. A cherished tradition that has been carried out night after night, time without end.

So Bee will pick her story, I pick her other story and off we go to snuggle (very cozily) into her teeny tiny toddler bed. We read our books, whisper our sweet nothings and share kisses and hugs, and then we pick out a happy thought for Bee to dream about. Some times it’s a happy something from the story we just read; some times it’s a party that’s coming up; some times it’s something utterly random that gives me a peek into Bee’s thoughts, like “Penguins!”

About an hour after Bee is tucked in, it’s Gracie’s turn. Unlike her sister, Gracie will take ages sorting through each and every book we own (a veritable mountain of books) before carefully choosing. It might be Fancy Nancy, or a Little House book, or maybe Corduroy or Mooncake. She has her favorites, but she’s just as likely to pull out a book that’s been neglected; Gracie understands that books have feelings, too. Once we have our books, we’ll run to my bed and pretend to fight over who gets what side, and then we burrow under the covers. I read books (letting her read the words she knows) and I stop every sixth word or so to answer the 80 gazillion questions she can’t hold in anymore. I can’t lie: the questions can be exasperating. But I hate to stop them – how else will I know what that crazy girl of mine is thinking, and what better way is there to foster her curiosity? Not that it needs fostering, mind you. Her curiosity is better than any ten people I know. And after stories it’s off to bed with kisses and hugs and maybe a piggy-back if she’s not feeling too grown-up-ish.

It’s a simple routine, this bedtime circus of ours. It’s not always this picturesque, but somehow the three of us always feel like it is. It’s our winding down and stitching together kind of time. Family time. What’s better than that?

Tags: bedtime routine, children, literature, parenting, reading