New bedtime routine

Tonight marks the start of a new and improved bedtime routine.

If you read my bedtime rant (check it out here) a couple days ago, you're probably not surprised.

To sum things up, for the last couple weeks getting them to sleep at night has been taking longer and longer.  They used to go down at 8:30, then it was 9, and lately it's been 9:15 (Fin) and 9:30 (Bub).  This is troublesome for a myriad of reasons, but mainly because ...

no matter what time they go down at night, they still wake up at (relatively) the same time in the morning.

And also because ...

it leaves me very little time to do anything that isn't kid-related.

Partly we're going to stick with the same sequence of events (letting them play in each other's rooms, letting Bub watch a DVD) but with some new rules.

1.) PJ's on and upstairs by 7:45.

2.) No going back downstairs, not even for a snack.  (This one applies to me more than anyone else, seeing as when it comes to Bub and food it's nearly impossible for me to say "No".)

3.) In their own rooms with the doors shut by 8:10.

4.) Lights out (or at the very least on the lowest setting) and DVD player off in Bub's room by 8:40.

5.) Mom and Dad out of their rooms by 8:50.

No promises, but I'm hoping all of this will inspire them to go to bed sooner, and maybe even sleep longer.

Stay tuned for tomorrow morning's update.