It's 11pm- Parents, do you know where your children are?

No nap yesterday for Sam= early bedtime. I was looking forward to it. That and Grey's Anatomy. The plan was in place- now it was time for the execution.

Brush teeth, check. Pajamas, check, Snack, check. Drink, check. Medicines, check. To bed my sweet little muffins.

Sam was relentless- over and over he kept coming back out into the living room. He lost a marble, he needed his bag zipped, he was 'firsty', he was no longer in bed.

I was on the back deck on the phone and I saw his light flip on again (I can see his window from the deck). But when I came in, there was no noise so I blew it off. A little bit later (it is now well after 10pm folks)- I glanced over and saw this:

And then this (please disregard all of the *crap* on my floor- it is in need of love, without a doubt- but you knew that):

And this:

What is this? A photo shoot. Child- it is almost 11pm- what are you doing? Why are you not sleeping. How can you not be tired you cyclone with bleach blonde hair? Then- in his 'Sam' language (he is so dutchy) he encouraged me to see the others, and when we rounded the corner into the hall, this is what was waiting:

Whatever the reason, he was just simply not sleepy. So- since I am not going to allow my children to develope any bad habits around here, it was time to put my foot down and show this child who is boss. We curled up in the recliner and watched 'Max and Wooby'. Within a few minutes he was asleep- but it felt so good to just hold him that we stayed there until after midnight. I have probably bought and paid for the future nights with a little man who won't stay in bed- but I will take a moment just to say IT WAS WORTH IT.