Dirty Dishes

I know those of you out there with children understand, um totally, the absolutely nauseating complexity of their sleeping habits and the extensive arrangement this requires. If you don’t know what I’m talking about and your children have no problems in the sleep department, then I AM NOT TALKING TO YOU, ok?

Badger and Leo used to share a room. We have this set of bunk beds that actually belonged to Chris when he was little, along with a whole set of late 70′s early 80′s looking brown furniture that was FREE so I will not complain about it, that we felt would be perfect for the boys. Leo was very excited about getting to sleep on the top bunk, an excitement so feverish that it lasted at least a week until the top bunk magically started making him itchy. I changed and washed the sheets at least 5 times, but still he was itchy. The bottom bunk didn’t make him itchy AT ALL. Go figure. So down to the bottom bunk he went, which was fine because Badger liked to sleep on the couch.

When Badger was born, Leo and Sunny actually shared a room and the baby had his own room. Those two got along so wonderfully sharing that I was lead to believe that any two children could share a room and actually SLEEP. Just another in the long series of things that I have been shamefully wrong about. When Sunny started to school and Badger was finally sleeping through the night, we decided to switch them and for a time that worked very well. Badger slept in a crib, with its wonderful cage-like qualities and Leo was in a twin sized bed. Grant it we couldn’t actually put them to bed at the same time, but they shared and slept in the same room.

Then at some point Badger got too big for the crib and its wonderful cage-like qualities, so we got him a toddler bed. That’s when everything started to go to hell in a crying flaming handbasket, and our lives became ruled by the whims of a 3 year old. He didn’t want to lay down and go to sleep if he didn’t have to, by God! And there were no bars to make him have to go to bed anymore. I vaguely remember this happening with Sunny and Leo and the way we solved it was by shutting them in their room and MAKING them go to sleep, throughout the crying and the fits and the evil demonic possessions. This wouldn’t work for Badger though because it was tragically around the time that Leo started to school, and he was actually wanting to sleep and not really willing to put up with a nightly exorcism in his room until Badger learned how to sleep in his bed. The answer for us was to put Badger out on the couch in front of a movie of his choice until he fell asleep, then we would carry him to bed. It wasn’t long before we would forget sometimes to carry him to bed, so he would stay on the couch all night. Then it got to where we weren’t carrying him to bed AT ALL. So Badgers bed became the couch, for the better part of the last year.

I always knew I was being a lazy parent by allowing this to happen, but honestly for Leo’s sake I wasn’t sure what else to do. But recently it became apparent that this sleeping situation had to be changed. Badger became very possessive of his ‘bed’ which is OUR COUCH, THE PLACE WHERE PEOPLE SIT WHEN THEY COME TO VISIT. But no one was allowed to sit there, even if he wasn’t laying on it, because it was HIS BED. And he became very very possessive of the TV, which is actually Elliot’s beautiful 50″ flat screen TV, and no one was allowed to watch anything except Spongebob Squarepants, even when Badger was not in the room. He displayed this possessiveness by laying on the ground and screaming until everyone in the whole house had blood coming out their ears. It was obvious that part of the whole couch problem was the fact that he had become accustomed to falling asleep to the television. I realize that this is not a good habit for him to have, but I know for a fact that he is not the only person in the world with this particular affliction. I mean if I had a nickel for every time I walked by Elliots room late at night only to hear the latest Ronco infomercial or the sweet strains of the latest hip-hop disaster blaring from his television and almost, but not quite, muffling his snores, well then I’d be dead. And he is a full grown adult. Besides the bed switch is a big enough deal on its own. I’ll get him off the TV later. If I decide to at all.

So last weekend I went and bought Badger his own full sized bed. Then I took him with me to the store to pick out his own uber cute dinosaur bedding. I even bought him his very own little TV with built in DVD player, for him to watch as much Spongebob as he can handle. I set this all up in the little room I use for an office. It has gone very well, considering we have had it set up for 3 days and he has slept all night in here 2 of those. I am very hopeful the reclamation of my family room will be successful, and beneficial to all. Especially the kitties. They love sleeping on Badgers new bed too.