I was talking about kids’ bedtimes with another mom the other day and she told me her 6-year-old is in bed at 7:45 and lights are out at 8 on school nights.

After I had a disturbing, yet satisfying, fantasy about smacking her, I realized I’ve been drinking my own bedtime Kool Aid. I say the girls’ bedtime is at 8, but really that’s just when they are getting good and hyper tired and Miss A is starting to climb on to furniture and scream Hannah Montana songs and I start asking threatening them to put on their pajamas. Then we usually crawl in bed about 8:15 for a bedtime story and it’s about 8:45 before anyone is asleep. Miss A, especially, is a night owl and has been known to wander out into the hallway well after 9.

Last night hubby and I were determined to get the girls in bed by 8 as Miss C’s been fighting a cold. We have a beautiful classical music CD collection that I listened to while I was pregnant with both girls that Miss A even refers to as the “night nights music.” I started playing the CD pretty early and the girls were in their pajamas by 7:45. Teeth were even brushed before 8. Oh the insanity!

As I read the girls a Beatrix Potter book, The Tailor of Gloucester, hereby known as the longest freaking book in the history of children’s literature with words on every page, such as pippin, that I had to stop and define and couldn’t help but do so in a fake British accent, I noticed Miss C’s breathing was becoming heavier. I tucked Miss A into her bed and told her I’d be back in five minutes  to check on her.

Ten minutes later Miss C called out that she wanted the hubby to come check on her.

Twenty minutes later, after the hubby had checked on Miss C, I peeked in on Miss A. She was awake but in a thumb sucking trance so I snuck down the hallway to Miss C’s room, certain she’d be sound asleep.

“Mommy come lay down with me. I can’t fall asleep,” Miss C begged in her most pitiful voice as I popped my head in her room.

“Miss C I thought you were really, really tired. You need lots of rest so you feel good for Halloween night.”

“I know mommy, but we went to bed too early. I can’t sleep if I’m in bed too early. This is what happens!”

Kids…can’t get them to go to sleep before 8:30 p.m., can’t pump them full of Benadryl.

What time do your kids go to bed and what are their ages? I don’t get Miss C up until about 6:50 in the morning since I don’t take her to school until 7:40, so I supposed I could get her up earlier, but that’s my morning solitude with uninterrupted coffee time and it’s precious people.