Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Bedtime

There is some serious weirdness that happens around here all day long, but sometimes it's the worst at bedtime.  These two are usually the biggest culprits:
 
Their weirdness knows no bounds.
 
 
They read together in Grace's room every night.  I think Joey started doing that a couple years ago to help Grace feel comfortable.  She gets scared at night and doesn't like to be all by herself.  Since she shares a room with Matthew, she isn't alone, but Joey is the one that makes her feel safe.  He is her protector.  He screams at her if he thinks she's doing something dangerous, but only because he loves her.  They are best pals, and I love it.
 
***
 
Matthew, whenever I am gone, refuses to go to bed.  He will try to wait up for me on the couch -- we snuggle every night before bed, so when I'm at rehearsal or out with Ben, he just waits for me.  And he falls asleep every time.  And every time, Ben has to carry him to bed (while muttering "he's getting too big for this").  But I love to come home and see him passed out on the couch, waiting for mommy.  Someday he won't do it anymore, so I want to remember him this way:



 
And for a bonus picture of weirdness, here is Matt with his shirt on his legs and his pants around his head.  I really don't know why he thought of this, but who needs a reason to be weird?
 

April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day is one of our favorite days around here.  Usually, we plan for weeks.  The children scheme and plot, trying to find ways to get me.  But I always win.
 
This year, I bought a bag of balloons and spent all afternoon blowing them up.  I hid them until the kids went to bed, then went downstairs, gift wrapped the 2 bedroom doors downstairs, and put most of the balloons in between the door and the wrapping paper.  When the kids opened their doors in the morning, they were met with an avalanche of balloons.  I considered using popcorn, but decided it would be too hard to clean up afterwards.
 
With the leftover balloons, I filled the upstairs bathroom floor so the little ones would have to wade through a sea of them to get to the toilet.
 
 
And then I pulled off my classic pranks: drawing mustaches and eyebrows on each of the kids' faces, and painting all the fingernails and toes I could manage to reach.  They are always so happy when they look in the mirror April 1st.