In my house, we have a very specific bedtime ritual. It starts around 10:00 p.m. each night with, not so subtle nudging from Lily. You see, Lily is a bit chubby and can't jump onto the couch and standing beside the couch she can barely get her nose over the edge. Each night, she comes to wherever I am sitting, places her chin on the edge and whines. Well, its more like an "Ummm, Ummm." She'll continue to do this until she has worn me completely down and I start towards the bed. As soon as I stand up, all three race to the bedroom.
One of Max's favorite things to do is jump on and off the bed. He leaps on with his baby, springs off to get another baby, jumps back on, rolls around, jumps off again. Over and over. I am not one to make the bed in the mornings so instead I make it up before I get in it and all this ruckus could make this pretty difficult. However, I all I have to say is "wait Max" and, believe it or not, he will sit ever so patiently in the doorway while I make the bed. I then say "okay" and off he goes again on his bedtime steeplechase.
Now Vinnie doesn't follow much of a ritual of any kind. He's just happy to be part of the action. So if everyone else is going, he trots in, tail wagging and springs into place to join the fun. At this point, with all the attention on Max and Vinnie, Lily is spinning herself into a tizzy. The Princess Lily has to be lifted to the bed. She'll run around one side of the bed while I make it, then chase me to other side, run through my legs, look over her shoulder, backup and pickup one paw, just in case I forgot exactly what I am supposed to do. If, Lord help me I am a bit slower than usual, she starts with the "ummm" again.
Once I have them all on the bed, I can actually get myself ready. So, I brush my teeth and all that and head in myself. This is what I see when I turn the corner.
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"Hey, Mom! Are you coming?" drawn in iPad Mini in iDraw with Bamboo Solo stylus |
Before you say "oh, that's so sweet," I didn't tell you a very important part of the bedtime ritual ... they get a treat when I come to bed. Lily is basically about to fall off (she actually has on a number of occasions) and Max is drooling profusely.
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| "Thanks for warming my spot," drawn on iPad Mini in ArtStudio with Bamboo Solo stylus |
I usually go to bed a couple hours before my husband comes in so I can read awhile and love on the babies. First, Vinnie snuggles in under the covers and gets his little light bulb head rubbed.
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| "Ah, the wind in my hair," drawn on iPad Mini in ArtStudio with Bamboo Solo stylus |
Lily, after finally being satisfied with getting us all in the bed, her hugs and kisses and her treat (the emphasis on treat) heads down to the foot of the bed. She being the furriest, stakes her claim to closest point in front of the stand-up oscillating fan and settles in for her beauty sleep.
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| "You expect me to move?" drawn on iPad Mini in SketchBook Pro with Bamboo Solo stylus |
My buddy Max has a hard time getting settled. So he makes a round of laying ON me, ON Vinnie who is now all the way under the covers, aggravating Lily to get a bit of fan breeze and throwing the baby he brought to bed up in the air several times before he will finally settle in. By now, you may have guessed there isn't a lot of real estate left on the bed. So where does Max finally decide to get comfortable? That's right, my husband's pillow! Do I move him? Well, no!
The moral of this little story ... if you want the most room in your king-size bed ... sleep with your dogs and teach them that the best place for them is on your spouse's side!
I hope you enjoyed my first full length blog for Sit.Stay.Sketch. Please visit again to find out what other interesting things my pets have trained me to do.
