Tears at Bedtime

Insofar as knitting goes, I don’t have much to report. I have been working on the front of the Ravelympic jumper and it’s going well. I would like to have the front finished by tonight, as I want to start something new tomorrow, but more about that in tomorrow’s blog.

So todays hot topic is Bedtime, and how much it stresses me out on a daily basis. Mischief and Mayhem are 4 and 3 years old. They share a room, and sleep in bunk beds. They don’t nap during the day (well, rarely) and are kept pretty busy, so according to all common sense they should be tired by bedtime and at least agree to read or watch their tablets quietly until they fall asleep. That, however, is not the case. Bedtime in The Busy Knitter household is a dark and fearful place, where good men fear to tread. It is the time when my children come to life and begin their nightly routine of running around, fighting and refusing to stay in bed. Bedtime is 7pm and they usually go to sleep around the 9pm mark. It doesn’t sound too bad when it is written after the fact (my health visitor is very fond of telling me it could be worse) but two hours every night of cajoling, bribing, shouting, crying and putting them back over and over (and over) again takes its toll. Apart from it being exhausting, bedtime is when I send my reports – which is how I get paid -and its very hard to concentrate on customer service standards while trying to persuade two pre-school boys that they have to stay in bed rather than bounce on the top bunk. Even worse, it interrupts my knitting…. and we all know there is nothing worse than having tout your knitting down mid-row!

After some discussion with Mr Busy Knitter a decision has been reached. I am not entirely happy about it, but in the spirit of adventure, I have agreed to give Mischief his own bedroom and split them up. I had an idea that they would be in the same room for a lot longer, until they needed their own space. But something has to give, and this is it. The playroom – which is a room off the living room -will be decorated, a new bed will be bought, and it will become Mischief’s bedroom. Their current bedroom will be Mayhem’s. It will cost money, and I’m not convinced they will be happy away from each other and it will create a new problem, but I have to concede there is a chance that it will calm them down at bedtime. And that’s a good thing for all of us, particularly with them starting a new school in September. The next step is getting a quote for blinds up at the window, so stay tuned for updates.

Right now, they are happily playing so I am going to finish my coffee, sort out the mountain of laundry and get on with some knitting.