It Just Makes Me Laugh

I think that it is so funny what I used to say before I had kids. Most of the sentences probably began with: "I won't let my children. . . " or "My children will never. . ." Then when reality hits and we are actually confronted with this little human, our entire belief system seems to shift. These little humans are basically horrible roommates. They never help pay the rent, they eat all my food, do a horrible job of cleaning up after themselves, and they can be very dramatic. So you have all these different personalities trying to live together in harmony under one roof.

All children are different, and their habits are different from their siblings. As a parent, I must learn to deal with each child differently. Some battles with one child are not worth fighting, while others you must take a stand.

One battle right now that is just not worth fighting is the sleeping arrangements. Having 2 girls and 2 boys makes it very convenient. In a 3 three bedroom home, we have the master bedroom, the girls' room, and the boys' room. This looks really good on paper, but does not seem to translate to real life.

My sweet little Jonathan who is 3 will not sleep in his bed. I actually do believe that he does not sleep as well in his room (but maybe I am just telling myself this). He actually sleeps, every night, in the floor of my closet on a bed of thick blankets that we have made for him. It is definately darker and quieter.

I would have never believed that my child's "bed" would be in my closet floor (before I had kids). But it definately makes him happy even if I can't get in my closet anytime after 8:30pm at night.

The newest addition to this unusual bedtime routine is a sword. As a gift, he was given a Nerf sword with a soft exterior so that if he hits a sister, the wound will not be too tragic. But in case of a surprise attack, he is convinced that he must sleep with this sword. After we put him to bed, we can hear the occassional outburst when he yells, "On guard Mr. Bad Guy!" After a few minutes, he quiets down and goes right to sleep.

If someone would have told me that I would let my toddler sleep in the floor every night in my closet with a toy sword, I would have laughed and thought they were crazy. And now I am asking myself who the crazy one is?