Lullabies

Everyone has a bedtime routine of some sort.  Sometimes I think bedtime routines are kind of like lucky socks.  You know, you win a game wearing the lucky socks so you always make sure you have those same socks on so you'll win again.  Or something like that.

Bedtime routines are usually a little more reliable than lucky socks, though.

One thing I have always done for my children is sing a song (or many) right before the final "good night."  This has always struck me as funny because I really cannot sing.  My lack of vocal musicality has been such a disappointment to me for as long as I can remember.  In third grade a classmate pointed out to the teacher that "maybe we all shouldn't be singing" while looking directly at ME, and since then I can't even happily sing along, oblivious to the fact that I am out of tune... I hear it!  And can't do a darn thing about it.  Such a bummer.

One of the wonderful things about having kids is that they think we parents are rockstars!  Just because!  So I can sing my off-key renditions and the kids are delighted.  No sneers, no snickers, no hurling of rotting vegetables.  In fact, there are copious tears if the song is not sung.  They will even try to weasel EXTRA singing from me!

Each child has had favorite songs, and there has always been one tried and true that we finish off with... until now.  Miss C is not into our usual finale (Barney's "I Love You"... I know you're thinking, "the girl's got taste"), and she does not want to hear any of the commonly-sung toddler bedtime fare.  Her current preferences are "Happy Birthday to You," the clean-up song (clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere...) and the theme song from Bob the Builder (which she has seen once).  A couple or three times through and she is reaching for the crib.  Not sure if it's because she feels drowsy or just wants me to stop.  Hey, whatever works, right?