March 15, 2011

polaroid tuesday: week eleven

week eleven
Soul had her first bubble bath a few days ago and this picture pretty much sums up what she thought about it. Nevertheless, all the girls will look back at this picture one day and have a lot of laughs!

Thank you for the well wishes and prayer. Soulie is still running a fever (and not eating much), so we will have to continue riding this out. Maybe tomorrow will be better since my good friend Heather comes to town and my sister is coming to clean all my bathrooms and vacuum the house (don't worry I will buy her something nice for payment). Maybe one day Soul will be going over to True's house to clean it for her because True will be too tired from cooking a baby, that's what sisters are for after all?!!

Though it is nice the sun is out much longer now, it is also more difficult to put the girls to bed at their normal 7pm bedtimes. Man oh man, my sanity times are shrinking like the night!

As a kid, I didn't have a bedtime and I remember driving my parents up the wazoo because we were up with them, so I vowed that when I had kids they would most definitely have a bedtime. Parents need quiet time to talk to each other without distractions and just to have some peace. What time do your kids go to bed or what time did you go to bed as a kid?

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30 comments:

  1. That most definitely is what sisters are for! :) My older kids are in bed at 7:30 and can read quietly until 8. Lights out at 8pm for all kids. My youngest sleeps a tad later in the mornings than her brothers do since their school starts earlier so she usually isn't asleep until 8-8:30. Yay for bedtimes and mama's sanity! :)

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  2. both my girls go to bed at 7:30pm... but not looking forward to the forth coming days when the sun will still be up at that time! i guess i will just shut the blinds really tight?!

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  3. My kids go to bed at 8:00 and it definitely is good to have alone time with the husband, and just relax or craft:) so so important for everyone:)

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  4. our kiddos go to bed by 7:30, 8 at the latest.
    My inlaws don't get it and would keep them up until eleven all the time if left to their own devices!
    they need their rest and we need some adult time- they are happier for it and we treasure our evening peace :O)

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  5. elise- oh my parents aren't used to our kids' sleeping times either. when they sleep over there, there bedtimes are just whenever they fall asleep! haha...

    deborahjustine- i like the book reading thing. maybe i will let them do that for a year.

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  6. deborah justine- haha... i don't know what i meant by "a year". i meant just let them do that. that's what happens when i pregnant women leaves blog comments while on the phone, things end up funny!

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  7. Oh look at her face. It is so very adorable!
    Arrah (our daughter) is two and a half and still hates bubbles on her skin (I think she just likes clear water to swim in)

    If she has an hour nap during the day she's pretty good and goes to bed around 8pm but any longer and she becomes a night owl.

    We pray Soul recovers asap from her fever.
    p.s All of your girls have thee loveliest hair.

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  8. younger sister as maids are an amazing idea. mine does my dishes. :)

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  9. I just love that photo! A treasure for sure! I hope your Soul feels better quick!

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  10. My goodness. Amazing picture! I was looking for a birthday card for my fiance's birthday today and they had a whole section of cards made from photo submission winners. I think this would win and there is the perfect caption for it somewhere out there!

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  11. My kids zonk out early, all my friends are jealous because of this (joke). Before the time change they were in bed by 8pm, now it's around 8:30. I have a friend who's children won't go to bed before midnight.

    I don't remember my bedtime as a kid. My (single) mother was so passive, we probably didn't have a bedtime.

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  12. Ha ha, we have a photo of me, my sister, and our four cousins all in a bath together when we were little - and I am standing up pouting because there "wasn't enough room for me"! It's a classic family photo and every friend/boyfriend/plumber/delivery boy that's ever been to my mum's house has been shown it :s

    PS: Well done for sticking to your bedtime routine - it's so much better for them!

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  13. My son is in Kindergarten now, so he has a strict bedtime routine on school nights. At 7pm we go upstairs, he gets a shower or bath, then we read (either a picture book or a couple chapters if we're reading a chapter book.) Then I turn out the lights, sing the same 3 songs to him that I've sung for the last 6+ years and he's almost always asleep by the last song. On the weekends, he's allowed to stay up a little later, but he always falls asleep on the couch by 8:30pm. In the summer, I just push everything by an hour.

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  14. Hello, I am new to your blog, and I love every bit of it!!!
    Bedtime is the best! No, really, I enjoy my whole wonderful day with my 3 little girls, but when 7:30 rolls around it is time for Daddy to start the bedtime routine for our two older girls. They love the special time they get with him, and I couldn't live without the "alone" time with my hubby that follows. (It's a bit less alone these days since our youngest is only 5 1/2 months, but she doesn't seem to mind our grown up conversations!

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  15. My kiddos are in bed by seven too. It's a necessary time for my husband and I- but I totally agree with grandparents not getting it. Also, babysitters. :) We have a lot of college student friends (we're 21 and 22, so it's not that much of a stretch) and when they babysit they are always shocked that the kids go to bed so early. I always get the feeling they think we're being mean. But you know, kids need the sleep too. A pediatrician in our church told us that kids, especially babies and toddlers, should have 10-12 hours of sleep a night.

    I love the bubble bath picture! We have an almost 3 year old and 18mon boy and girl and we've been doing bubble baths for a while. They love making bubble beards and hats. It's our favorite time of the day.

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  16. i didn't have a bed time when i was growing up either. what were our parents thinking?

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  17. It is encouraging that so many moms of young children understand the necessity of sleep! Now... if only I could convince my teenagers that they still need to get to bed early! Sometimes it's 10pm when all prayers are said and they are tucked in! Too late for me! Is Soul running a low grade fever? If not and it's 101 or more, she should probably see a doctor. It could need medicine.

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  18. Hope your little girl is better soon! I didn't have a bed time either, i used to sit up with my parents reading...my son didn't really have one either and now he is 18 he stays up the latest xx

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  19. When my girlies were little I felt the same as you do...they needed a bedtime that wasn't too late - although I did let them look at their books as long as they wanted!

    I remember when I was young being put to bed and I could hear the other kids outside still playing! Obviously my parents believed in a bedtime also.

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  20. I hear you with the daylight saving change in bedtime ... I only have one almost 2 year old but I certainly look forward to that 7.30-8.00 timeslot but it hasn't been so fun this past week! Can't wait till she is back on a routine of some sort :)

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  21. we've tried several times to set up a night routine & ada tries her hardest to resist. i don't know if it's too late to keep trying now that she's seven, but i feel we both need the space. her to rest, me to unwind.

    what seemed to work for you?

    i have a pic of my sis & me in the tub & it makes us laugh thinking about the fun times playing with barbies & our imagination. :)

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  22. I cannot even imagine a life without a bedtime for my little one. She starts her bedtime routine at 7:15 and is in bed by 8. I really love her, but I NEED some me time!

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  23. So cute. I hope Soulie get better soon so Mommie can rest. Take care Ruby. Your pictures are always so adorable!

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  24. The twins, they are 19 months, go to bed between 8 and 9, depending on when dinner was (hubby works 3rd shift so we eat dinner late just before he goes so we can eat together as a family) and how tired and cranky they are. The older ones (except my 13 year old) go to bed between 9:30 and 10. The oldest I send her to bed by midnight. I'm a late nighter (1-2 in the morning usually) and once the rest of the kids are in bed, the teenager reads or uses the comp. We homeschool so it allows for a REALLY flexible schedule like this one.

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  25. i saw you today in anthro and should have said hello (but i was too shy!). :) you are such a wonderful mama and i love reading your blog!! cheers to you and your adorable girlies.

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  26. Ruby, what a blessing to have a sister that desires to bless you and help you. I'm praying this little one in the oven quickly stops having mommy get sick.

    As for bed times....every week I say "next week they will have a bedtime at 8pm", does is ever happen? No. We always have something or other going on, or company that breaks my desire to have quiet and alone time :( I'm glad you get to have it though, maybe it will actually happen for us one day and I'll be able to relate as to how nice it is :)

    Have a blessed rest of the week!

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  27. I definitely want our children to have a bedtime so that we still have time to put marriage first! It would be hard to know how flexible to be though, because I also want them to be able to stay up if we are at someone's house.
    Growing up, our bedtimes fluctuated with age but were pretty steady. My parents still have dessert together most nights when everyone's gone upstairs :)

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  28. hello deary! we are early nighters...up to bed at 6:45pm, with the 7 year old getting to read in his bed until 7:30. (the younger one falls asleep right away) moving from canada where the sun can be out super late, I have gotten used to the need to "simulate" night time, now that the time change has arrived. Blinds are drawn, lights are turned on...it's the only way for me to get their bodies in shutdown mode. Then it's back to opening the curtains once they are in bed :)

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  29. Goodness, if they go to bed at 7, what time do they wake up? Audrey hates sleep. Bedtime is 8, but she often wakes up at 4 or 5 (instead of 6 like we prefer).

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  30. ivy- they wake up at 7:30, so it isn't bad. we are usually awake by 7.

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