Sleepover

Building a sleepover fort!

Violet has been begging for a sleep-over. When she turned four, we had her friend from school Emma spend the night because she couldn't make the party, but that's been it. During our roadtrip, the sisters got to sleep in the same bed, which was fun. And she's been promised a spend-the-night with her friend Taylor that just hasn't been scheduled.

I remember the first slumber party I went to. I was in first grade and I went to a classmate's house. Her name was Mandy. We ate pizza and Mandy was slightly appalled that I ate the crust. (I didn't know it was a culinary taboo... in fact, I went through a phase where I only ate the pizza crust. I believe I wisely kept this information to myself that night.) I don't remember much else from that night, and I don't recall a flood of slumber parties as a result. Most of my spend-the-nights were a direct result of my parents going out of town and needing a place to put me. Eventually in high school, once I was old enough to drive, the overnights took off in earnest. But enough about me...

So the neighborhood boys sleep over all. the. time. And why shouldn't they? They're the same age, they live next door and can conveniently walk over, their parents are lovely, trustworthy people who are just fine getting rid of a kid or two for the night. And poor Violet has to watch all this. The bed-headed boys trudging home, pillow under the arm, sleepy grins on faces, whispered plans of their next great night already in the works. Violet's been asking a lot, but it finally reached a fever pitch one night at dinner. I knew Matt and I needed to be on the same page about co-ed sleepovers, but more importantly, the entire tribe needed to be on the same page.

Now I'm no helicopter parent. And I'm not a free-range parent either. I fall fairly in the middle. Perhaps a common-sense parent? A do-your-best parent? We decided that a sleepover with the boys, in the playroom, would be okay. And I know it's not the decision every parent would make. But you take the information you have and make the best decision you can. The kids are young enough (for now), I know their families and values, we're practically co-parenting together, and honestly I like the fact that the boys were willing to accept Violet into their little crew.

Happy crew!

They ate popcorn, watched a movie, played with flashlights, giggled a lot, and finally fell asleep at 10:30. They were up early (stupid garbage truck and your 7 a.m. pick-up), but happy.

Funny side note. Annie had fun crawling around the fort and sleeping bags before I finally took her to bed. Once we were in her room, she put her blanket on the floor and announced "Annie bed." And she insisted on sleeping on the floor next to her bed! I had to send Matt up later to transfer her to the crib! Sweet girl, she wants to be just like the big kids!