It is 7:40 EST and both of my boys are in bed and asleep.

How, you ask?

Husband is on a business trip, and I had the brainwave of putting the two kids to bed at the same time. Radical parenting, yes, but it was just crazy enough to work.

You see, when Minor first arrived his and Aitch’s go-to-bed styles were so different (to wit, Aitch: read a few books, have a cuddle, and go to sleep. Minor: scream for two hours) that we naturally put them to bed separately. Minor eventually became a champion sleeper, but he crashed much sooner than Aitch, so we had to put him to bed first. Because their rooms adjoin, we were always afraid that Aitch’s going-to-bed antics would wake Minor, so we allowed an hour in between. After Aitch dropped his afternoon nap, though, it became clear to me that we were getting him to bed too late.

So by delaying Minor’s bedtime half an hour and moving Aitch’s back half an hour, we achieved Nighttime Nirvana. I do feel a wee bit guilty that each boy didn’t get his special alone time with Mommy, but then again I didn’t have to worry the whole time I was putting Minor to bed that Aitch had stolen down to the basement to disassemble the weed whacker.