Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Bedtime and bathtime.

I love bedtime and bathtime for my kids.  For many reasons.  In fact, I'm usually a little sad when I can't be there for bedtime for my kids.  It's like our little family time.  We start bedtime at 7 pm (which is early for a lot of families, but perfect for mine).  After gathering the necessary water bottles, stuffed animals, and books, we all head upstairs (including my husband, assuming he isn't gone for a meeting) and put all 3 of the kids in the bathtub together.  There is probably only about 4 inches of water in the tub, and we don't even always use soap or shampoo.  Really, it's more about calming down and having a little transition time before they have to get in bed.  We tell stories, play guessing games where I'll say a line from one of their books and they have to guess the book, and everyone gets to just sit for a few minutes. 

One by one, we get them out of the tub and dressed in pajamas. Then it's time to brush hair and teeth; I brush their hair while they brush their teeth. It's time then for family prayer, after which they each get to choose a book to read as we sit on the bottom bunk bed.  We sing "I Am a Child of God", give hugs and kisses, and Dad leaves while mom helps them say their personal prayers, reads a chapter from a book (Charlotte's Web right now), and then sings a song, before leaving them.  I love it.

Granted, there are times when all 3 kids are screaming before, during and after the bath, and you just want to shut the door and run away.  But those aren't the norm.  The norm is that I get to sit in the relatively quiet with my kids, and just enjoy their company.  I know that they will only be little for a short while longer, and I'm trying to soak it all in.  This is one of those times when I can do that.  Far too soon, they'll have to just shower and get dressed and ready by themselves.  They won't want to sit on Mom's lap and read a story before bedtime.  But for now, I get to enjoy these little ones every single night.  And I do.

1 comment:

  1. Wow Christie I love all the effort you put into family time at bedtime. It is all the effort we can put together to get everyone on the sofa to read the scriptures and say prayer. What sweet memories they will have of all those nights with the parents around the tub.

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