Bedtime

Bedtime at our house is chaotic...bedtime at our house is truly an unpredictable event...and yes, we bring it upon ourselves!  Mahir and I try to swap off on bedtime that way if we have time to read a story it's Turkish one night and English the next.  But, I'm going to sit here and admit, I don't remember the last time that we read snuggled up in bed.  It makes me sad BUT then again I know that we're doing other things that are important.  The girls get read to by Grammy, Grampy, Miss Becky, Miss Linda, etc.  Instead, I do different things with them that I think they'll also remember.  Time flies when we get home from work between 5 and 5:30 and next thing you know it's 8 PM!  Time to get clothes picked from tomorrow in a dire attempt at making mornings less crazy for Grammy and Grampy - and then into pajamas and onto the couch for snuggle time.  New to the routine is one episode of Full House - a show that really was a part of my childhood and one that the girls enjoy as well.  Then ATTEMPT to get upstairs and do all the teeth brushing, potty, tucking in, etc.  Some night we read, some nights we sing songs, and some nights we do none of that and say oh my goodness, it's already 9:30!  Don't judge - I'm a working Mom that if I didn't keep my kids up with me until just before my own bedtime I'd never see them and neither would Mahir.  In any case, the point of my blog today is about something that made me really proud last night.  In addition to Mahir and I taking turns putting them to bed, the girls take turns who gets to brush their teeth first.  It's always a competition, some nights better than others...last night it was Leyla's turn.  Hannah rushed up in front of her and started pushing her buttons.  I removed Hannah from the stool and proceeded to take care of Leyla - Hannah disappeared to go hide under a bed someone upset with me.  So I told her that if she didn't come out I'd be going downstairs.  She didn't so I went downstairs - or so she thought - I only hid a couple stairs down.  While I hated to hear Hannah cry she does have to learn to do what Mommy asks her to.  I hear Leyla get out of bed and start comforting Hannah and giving her this whole pep talk and everything that Hannah should say to me to have me come back upstairs "say you're sorry and that you won't do it again" all with this very soft and comforting tone.  If I learned anything last night it's that my girls will have each other's backs no matter what - yeah, I wish I had a sister but that can't be changed and I'm so lucky to have what I do have - but I also felt like I had done something right.  In all the yelling and all the frustrating times, I've done something right that makes Leyla a kind soul that takes care of her little sister more often than not.