Well that was a total shot in the dark.

Our girls have been staying awake more than an hour after being put to bed. Whenever they are put to bed.

Granted, we haven’t put them down before 8 p.m. (and one book I have says you have to have littles down by 7:30 or they hit their second wind), but they’ve never been to sleep less than an hour later.

I find this highly irritating. And I’m sure they do too.

I’m out here, working on my novel or reading a book that takes some thought, and these poor kids wander out every 20 minutes or so to remind me they exist and they’re bored out of their skulls.  (Really, 20 minutes is a long time for kids this young to do nothing, so relatively speaking they’re doing well.)

Tonight I offered to let them read in bed while they were awake, hoping it would wind them down, and give them a way to occupy their minds until they were tired.

In the back of my imagination I knew there was a chance they could fall asleep while reading, but I wouldn’t bank on it, because I know I *never* fall asleep reading something of my own choosing. My eyeballs dry up and I finally choose to put the book away before sleep will come.

And here we are 2-hours after I gave them their reading lights and they’re both awake and asking for the end of their bedtime routine (snuggles before I become the ogre and growl at them for being out of bed).

As preschoolers they really have no concept of the amount of time that has passed, but I do, and it’s more than the time they would have had awake in the dark.

I guess we’ll try again tomorrow (I’ve started waking them in the morning and from nap) with a *much shorter* time of reading aloud, and see if they sleep sooner or not after solitary reading.