stalling

We put the girls to bed at 7:30 after a long day full of activities.

At 8:35pm, Roo emerged.  Usually it's a potty run.  Tonight, she just needed "a little kiss".

The stall was on.

Roo: How about a little nosey?
Me:  Goodnight, dear.
Roo: Well, what time is it exactly?
Me: 8:35.  Goodnight.
Roo:  I don't think that 8:35 is a good bedtime.  I don't think I need to get sleep to grow bigger and stronger.
Me:  Goodnight.
Roo: Because, I really just want to get smaller and smaller and live in a leeeeetle tiny house....
Me: *staring*
Roo: Well.  Um.  *closes door and goes back to bed*

RG Opera

Transcript

prior to this video starting, the opera began with the following:

Roo: I am not going to to school (repeat)

Em: I need to go-o

Ro: no no no-o

Roo: I not going

scene opens on this phrase:

Em: I going to take my toys...

take my red and ..

Roo: No no we are not going going

Em: yes we are

Roo: no we're not

Em: yes we arr-rrr-re

Roo: (in robot voice) I don't think we are going

Em: yessssss

Roo: now be quiet

Em: I am getting ma-ad (snaps her Nannie blanket at Roo)

Roo: (robot voice) I am too

Em: you know what I am going to do-oo (snaps blanket back)

Roo: NOOOOOOOO!

Em: NOOOOOOOO!

J: (bellows from living room) GIRLS!

Em: Hide! (dives under covers)

And, scene.

glue bones

Em and Roo have new favorite pajamas. Their glowing skeleton jammas. They ask to wear their bone pjs. And in case I'm confused, they clarify that they want the ones that glue.

I think they mean glow.

big girl beds

Once upon a time, a pretty little nursery with a single crib waited on two little girls to arrive.

When they did, they shared a single crib, snuggled against a wall in a giant room with plenty of growing room.

One day those 2 little girls got a bit too wiggly to share a single bed.

So, they got their own space.

They were happy.

Still right next door to their best friend, but with room to grow.

Not too much later, they sat up and smiled big smiles and it was time to move again.

This time, they went from the penthouse to the lobby. Plenty of room for upward expansion.

Oh, wow. That was fast.

So, off came the sides for outward growth.

Then, all of a sudden, one day those roomy beds seemed a little crowded again.

That giant room with space to grow was cleared out to make room for...

These.

Big Girl beds. Em and Roo both refer to them, simply, as "Girl Beds".

I suppose, because the former were baby beds in their estimation.

All of a sudden, they look tiny again.

But, their room does not.

one of the girls

Mo managed to get locked into the Rowdy Girls' room tonight.

Normally, the girls are a bit at odds with Mo dog because Mo gets in their space a bit too much. But, tonight, it was one big slumber party and Mo was the guest of honor.

By the time J and I figured out what was going on, Em had rearranged furniture to provide Mo a chair. She'd been given a pillow and blanket, too.

And when we ushered the dog out of the room, the twin sobs and wails went up in unison.

They wanted her to stay.

losing

Me: Tonight, no one will get out of bed.

J: Do you understand us?

Em: Yes.

Roo: Yes.

Me: If you get out of bed, your special bedtime books go into time out.

J: Do you understand?

Em: Nooooo! No books in time out!

Roo: Nooooo!

J: Do you understand what will happen if you get out of bed?

Your books will be taken away.

Finally, after much back and forth about specific body parts that might get out of bed, and no, no body parts were allowed out of bed, comprehension was acknowledged.

______________________________

15 minutes later the video monitor shows them both out of bed

______________________________

J busts through their door, flips on the light and lays down the discipline.

Em: *sobbing*

Roo: *wailing*

J: You lost your books because you disobeyed and got out of bed.

Me: If you get out of bed again, your music goes into time out.

J: Do you understand what will happen if you get out of bed again?

Em and Roo: *simultaneously* Noooooooooo!

Me: *snort laugh*

J: *turns around and swallows a laugh*

______________________________

5 minutes later, Em gets out of bed just long enough to push her bed flush with Roo's.

Now, there's no need to get out of bed.

______________________________

20 minutes later, they're giving each other pretend doctor exams and surprise parties.

______________________________

We are never going to win this one, are we?

milestone?

A new, and not completely cool, milestone was reached tonight.

The RGs were tucked in around 8:30pm. At 9, 9:30 and 9:45pm I was back in their room urging them to quit gabbing and go to sleep.

Apparently, they had a lot to talk about tonight.

At any rate, the final visit was prompted by raucous screeching and tormented crying.

All Roo.

Which always means Em is provoking her or messing with her stuff.

(Not that it doesn't happen the other way around. Just not tonight.)

When I opened the door, Em had barely made it back into her bed and was in the process of pulling up her covers. Roo had her blanket over her head.

Em smiled angelically at me.

I asked Roo, "What happened? Why were you screaming and crying?"

She pretended she couldn't hear me.

When I repeated the question, she mumbled some gibberish under her breath and then smirked. Em continued to look angelic.

So, no answer forthcoming, I admonished them, told them goodnight and closed the door.

Immediately, I heard Em apologize to Roo for messing with her dolls.

Roo told her it was okay.

They covered for each other!

It's a whole new world now.

bunk beds

After they helped each other finish a single prayer (filling in forgotten names, adding important blessings), Roo leaned over to kiss Em goodnight.

"See you in the morg-ing." she said.

Then, she climbed into Em's bed and pulled the covers up over them both.

Roo explained, "We in a bunk bed."

A brief reminder of what a bunk bed looked like did nothing to deter her insistence. They were in a bunk bed. End of story.

To give them enough room, I pushed their beds together.

Thinking over it, after closing the door, I remembered the book Roo's been pouring over of late.

The Best Storybook Ever.

In it is a tale of a baby bunny and what his family imagines he will be when he is grown. The final illustration shows the baby, all grown up, as a father rabbit.

He is lifting a bunny high into a four-tiered bunk bed. Below, sleep the baby's siblings.

Two to a bed.

Of course. Bunk beds.

from the heart

Tonight was the first time both girls said truly original bedtime prayers of their own accord.

Roo began by requesting that I pray for them. Em then volunteered.

So, we bowed our heads and listened to her completely compelling and adorable prayers for her friends, family, home and favorite things. Em ended it by saying "...and fank you for my fambily. My mudda, my fahder, and my twin sister. Oh, and bless Mama and Daddy. And Em and Roo. And Maggie and Mo. 'n Jesus name, amen."

Then, Roo volunteered to pray. She began by repeating some of the phrasing and key words from Em's prayer. That's typical for her, borrowing words when she's not sure what to say. But, then, she found her heart, and with it, the words.

Roo prayed for herself first, saying some of the things that J and I pray over her. She prayed to have good dreams, to sleep well and to grow in grace and might. As she began to use her own words, she started to whisper, a bit self conscience. I heard her pray for blessings for her family, naming Mama, Daddy and Em. She thanked God for safety at the swimming pool today and named a few friends and then signed off with her amens.

I was near tears by the time they finished. It was such a precious moment and milestone to witness.

Yes, they've each said prayers copious times, but the family prayer time, going around the room and each of us taking a turn... it was different tonight, beautifully different.

babaloo!

The RGs were prayed for and kissed goodnight at 7:30pm. As soon as their door closed, the slumber party began. It's this way every evening.

Tonight, the pillow talk morphed into a pretend birthday party. Em sang the birthday song to Roo, Roo sang to Em. They gave each other cake, blew out candles, offered ice cream and pizza to one another.

Then, the silliness amped up. Games of catch and release with their Nannie Blankets. Lots of giggling. Giggling led to shrieking which segued into screaming.

J and I put on our parent pants and broke up the party.

Upon closing the door, I heard them whisper, "goodnight Em" "goodnight Roo".

Immediately that was followed (in regular voice, not a whisper) by, "Do you want to sing?" "Sure!"

An hour later, they're still going. J's been back in twice to restore order and tuck them back in. I just heard someone sing the alphabet song and then scream "Babaloo!!" It's 9:43pm.

J's going back in now.

chicken littles

We love us some hats here at the Rowdy House. Daddy wears a ball cap nearly every day. The dress up trunk is packed full of every style imaginable. The dresser drawers have a decent selection of publicly acceptable head wear, too. Hats are tres chic.

Tonight, I rediscovered a long forgotton sun hat purchased for one of those loungy beach vacays we used to take. Much to Em's and Roo's amusement, I wore it during their bath time. As soon as they were out of the tub, they ran for the (current) favorite hats, cute pink crocheted newsboy caps. Then, they assigned J a felt fedora with a kind of oom-papa vibe.

So, there we were. Wearing our hats and prepping for bed.

The hats served as a gateway to imagination land. Somewhere along the line, little girls in hats morphed into baby chicks. Clucking and peeping chicks running about their room, flapping their arms wings. Naturally, J and I broke out in song. Well, sort of. We hummed the Chicken Dance.

You've not seen anything cuter than Em and Roo dancing the Chicken Dance in their nighties and pink caps. Most especially the finale with the booty wiggle.

Roo told me, on my way out the door, 'goodnight chicken mama'.

Goodnight chicken littles.

conversating

Bedtime conversations took a random turn tonight.

Roo's been curious about people's names and has been asking a lot of questions.

"What's Marmee's name? What's Mammaw's name?"

Roo's very clear on our immediate family's last name and that it ties us together. She assigns it to both of the dogs, as well. She, now, picks up on the same-last-name patterns from my side of the family and J's. She likes hearing the middle names and I'll also tack on maiden names to help her make sense of the connections. In addition, she's figuring out boys and girls and how to use 'he' and 'she' and 'him' and 'her'.

But, somewhere along the verbal path, things got all confused.

She named a cousin and stated that he was a girl. And just couldn't even be convinced otherwise.

Next, she went back through the family tree and added my maiden name to everyone else's names and wrapped it all up by explaining they all lived in Africa now.

Meanwhile, Em was prancing about, naked as a jay bird, but for a Nannie Blanket cape, monologuing. "I not kiss a frog! Ewwwwww! Blech!" Then, she told me she was a fancy lady and proceded to rip off the blanket and hollar, "TaDa!"

Things just keep getting stranger around here.

overheard

Em: close your eyes, Roo, nighty night.

Roo: ok, night night.

Roo: I'm awake!

Em: I'm awake! High five!

*silly giggles ensue*

*15 minutes of playing with dolls, blankets, tiny treasures and books*

*5 minutes of "I'm gonna gitchas" and "tickle my eyes/nose/mouth/hands" games*

Em: night night Roo

Roo: *rolls over and puts blanket on her head*

nursery fairy

Dear Ruby,

I'm sorry I got all choked up and cry-ey tonight at bedtime. It started out ok, you and I making small talk while I tucked you in. Em and Daddy were having a chat, so we just kept on conversing, ourselves. You asked about the illustrations on your walls. It's the first time you've really taken an interest in the pictures. I guess, because they've just been there as long as you've existed, there's been nothing to question. At any rate, the pictures in the frames are some of my favorite pages from The Velveteen Rabbit. Which is one of my favorite stories. I've read it a thousand times and still can't complete it without tears. The good kind, though.

So, there I was, telling you about those pictures, pointing out the nursery fairy, the rabbit and the boy.

Reminding you that many of the pictures of the boy and the bunny look much like the scene in your own bed... precious dolls tucked into tunnels made of blankets.

Then, I told you that I'd always planned to put those pictures on the walls of my baby's nursery. That the day I found out I was having two babies I bought an extra copy of the book to use for decorating. I told you about picking out the pretty green wall paint called forest light and how Daddy did all the painting and building of shelves in your room.

And, then, those big fat tears started rolling down my cheeks....

When I got to the part about putting together the framed illustations.

Roo, I've had that copy of The Velveteen Rabbit a long time. Maybe 12 years. That's how long I've been waiting to put those pictures on my baby's wall, decorating a nursery to match. I suppose that those pictures conjure up a touch of wistful and a bit of sad, longing, hope along with the mountains of happy. So, that's why I started crying tonight.

You sure were sweet about it. You smiled at me, touched my face and patiently asked another question. Then, you said you loved me and gave me a goodnight kiss. I sort of felt like you were tucking me in tonight. You're going to be a good mama someday. Maybe you'll even use one or two of the bunny pictures in your baby's room.

love,

Mama

photobomb

Bedtime tonight was a semi formal affair. Hats and footy pajamas.

J is home. The girls are beyond happy. He read to them from Olivia and the Missing Toy.

A tale of a girl with a toy that disappears because her dog chewed it up. *ehem*

(Yes, Roo did not miss the parallels. Foofa was mentioned a few times during the reading.)

While stories were told, I snapped pictures. I was zooming in for a close up on Roo...

...when SHE popped up on the screen instead.

Best. Photobomb. Ever.

kablabble

Right now, the favorite books to read at bedtime are Mo Willem's Knuffle Bunny series.

The girls know them by heart. Em and Roo have adopted the role of Trixy and chime in for all of her speaking roles. Pretty funny stuff.

GiddyUp!

Top Ten Reasons We're Thrilled Daddy's Home

10. After 3 days, you begin to dislike each others company... We went daddy-less 3 weeks.
9. Midnight Poopy-Pants Check... (Mama missed him for this!)
8. Drivin' the Car... he lets us
7. Airplane Rides at bedtime
6. Unlimited Outside Time on the playscape
5. Knock Knock Jokes... he never gets tired of them
4. Bath Time... he doesn't mind being splashed (Mama does)
3. ABCs fast and faster when he dries our hair
2. "I'm gonna git your bottom" chases when we're nekkid after bath time
1. Horsey Time

only missing the shopping cart

Em and Roo picked out their own pajamas tonight.
The overall effect was that of a colorblind homeless vagrant.
But, it sort of works, if you're under the age of 5.

Not one hat. Two.


A twinkle star, Mama!


Cheesing with her auto bingo card that she calls a 'puzzle'


Stories and prayers by Daddy.


"Caterpillar." "Cat-La-Pil-Yar"


She's mad about Madeleine.


Why choose when you can have both?

at last? outlast?

They were sound asleep by 8:30pm tonight.
This is the first time, since moving to toddler beds, that Em and Roo have succumbed before 10pm.

I'm going to pretend it was because they were so exhausted from our road trip and the wild fun at Marmee's house.
Not because they didn't have a nap.
We are not.giving.up.naps.
And by we, I mean me.

we'll dance ourselves to sleep (wearing our jammies)

Bedtime in the Rowdy Girls room looks a whole lot like this every night.


Em is trying to sleep and grousing at Roo for not letting her sleep.
And Roo is tap dancing with the boogie woogie sheep. Usually on Em's bed.