Bedtime at Bracken's

Sort of like Weekend at Bernie's, only just slightly less entertaining due to the fact that everyone has a pulse.



Bedtimes are a tad stressful sometimes at our house, and when Jake's out of town it can sometimes be even more so. So tonight, with Jake on his way to Chicago, I just decided to kick back and go with the flow. We played a few games, read a few stories, put a big NIX on the TV, and I slowly put them down for bed. I couldn't believe what a difference it made to my sanity to not look at the clock and just let them naturally wind themselves down. And I can hear all you contenders for "Mother of the Year" saying, "duh, Beka. Haven't you read all those articles in Parent magazine about giving your children a bedtime routine they can count on so they know what to expect?"But they have a routine. It just involves more threatening and menacing pointings of my finger than than any good mom would do.This all reminds me of something Dan told me this weekend. Something about how men need to run (Or do some other form of physical exercise) in order to have an outlet for all of the destructive things they're hard-wired via testosterone to think about constantly. I thought about that as I got home to my messy house and sick kids. Normally I would be stressed and panicked that things weren't perfect. But, ladies, here's a secret...after 14 miles of running you don't care a flying flip about what your house looks like. And it's not just the physical exhaustion. It's like a literal chemical reaction in your body that makes you feel high.For like, 2 days. So just as working out makes men less barbaric, I believe it also abates a woman's unnecessary striving for perfection. At least that's been my experience. Why all this? Because instead of stressing over the kids fighting and stalling tactics at bedtime, I really stopped for a second and decided to just enjoy them. And to take pictures.Copious amounts of pictures.I'm throwing in some pics from a few nights ago as well. Sometimes I can't resist getting out my camera even with the horrible light just because I love to capture all their little antics.
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Lily really wanted to wear these goggles to bed, and I was all, duuuude, whatevah. (remember...high)

ge ok, so when I walked in after getting my camera I found her laying right next to Pooh with their goggles on, but I couldn't get the pic fast enough, so I did what any self-respecting (if not mildly obsessed) photo-documenter would do... I posed them after she fell asleep.
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What can I say. My kids are heavy sleepers.
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I know this post is a tad "Lily" heavy, but only because she still wants to wear goggles to bed. I seem to remember lots and lots of pictures of Alex running around on summer evenings wearing nothing but goggles. Some stages are just more photogenic than others, what can I say. But he's still adorable, nonetheless.
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Night, All!