single parenting with Amber Jones

 Picture this - after working all day, coming home making supper, picking up after the kids, doing a load of laundry, and watching the news I finally collapse into bed.  After a few hours of sleep in comes an intruder into my bed…… my beautiful blue-eyed baby girl…who I might add doesn’t seem so beautiful to me at 2:00 AM.  Without the energy to pick her up and take her back to her own bed she ends up sleeping in my bed the rest of the night.  Unfortunately what I just described to you seems to be the norm in our house.  Which I guess is fine if I never want to have a male companion in my room at 2 AM - since I do I have decided it probably isn’t the best habit to keep. 

Therefore, in my infinite wisdom I decided that I would put together a calendar and give her a sticker for every night she slept in her room throughout the night.  To increase the stakes I also told her that once the calendar was filled we would take a family night out to Chucky Cheese. She was so excited! 

The first night went great - she slept in her bed the entire night.  In the morning I gave her a hug and kiss and immediately let her pick a sticker for the calendar. (By the way I even bought Dora and Mickey Mouse stickers for her to use.)  The second night…..failure…. she came in to my room just like usual.  Not to let that slow me down I told her, “Its okay - new things take time.  You’ll do it tonight though, right?”  And she immediately looks up at me and says, “No, I decided I don’t want to go to Chucky Cheese.”

Any suggestions?L