Skittles!

Bedtime is a bit less strict than it used to be and by that I mean if they are in bed at 7:51pm instead of 7:45pm I don't have a heart attack like I used to.  We don't waver too much, though, so we must keep to our schedule for bath and all the pre-bed stuff.

I'm noticing that around 7:00pm all three of the kids kind of lose their minds.  They begin chasing each other, playing crazy rowdy games, all the opposite things I'd like in the 45 minutes before they go to bed.  It's not as if they haven't had a full day of busy-ness and togetherness.  

This is my new thing:  "If you have your clothes in the basket and your shoes in your cubby by the time the big hand is on the 2 you get a penny!"  It's bribing and I'm ok with that.  It's time management of sorts, too.  They can play and do whatever for the last few minutes before it's time for bath and if they keep their eye on the clock and manage their time they get a penny to get Skittles!