Parenting Fail

Parenting Fail #1,000,000,000,196
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Sophia's normal bedtime routine doesn't vary much. All the kids gets their pj's on, including Sophia. She goes to her drawer, pulls out the pajamas and comes running to me, holding the pajamas behind her back. Then she says, "I have a surprise!" I ask her what it is and she pulls the pajamas out from behind her back like she's performing some kind of trick. I get all happy and excited, she puts them on, goes to the bathroom, brushes her teeth and then I turn the tv on for her. She watches one half hour show of either Paw Patrol, Dora or Umizoomi while the other kids are getting tucked in. She'll even tell you, "One Paw Patrol. That's it!!!" Of course, when it's over, she still wants to watch another one.

But even with the smallest, cutest child, I usually hold firm with one episode and make sure she goes to bed at 9pm. She always requests that Steve carry her to bed with a piggy back ride or flung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Being the good dad he is, he complies with her request, takes her to her bed, gives her a back rub and lays with her for a while. If he's not home, I let her lay with me until she falls asleep and then I put her in her own bed.
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So last night, I was at church with most of the kids and didn't get home until 8:30pm. I was supposed to drop them off at 6:15 and then go back home. Lets just say I started talking to people and didn't stop. So when I finally got back home, Steve was already in bed. At 8:30?! So I made sure all the other kids went to bed and Sophia got her pj's on and then I turned on the tv for her. I even turned it off at 9:30 after one episode. But by then, I had been laying in bed and I was really tired and almost asleep. Sophia went and got her pillow and blanket and put them down on the floor beside my bed. I was fine with that. She would randomly talk to me, kick the wall, talk to herself, etc. I drifted off to sleep. Eventually I realized she was quiet. I was so thankful that she'd finally fallen asleep. I sleepily rolled over and saw that her blanket was empty. She had wandered away.

I decided she'd be fine and I rolled over and went back to sleep. Pretty sure a good parent would freak out a little and go check to see where their child was and make sure they went to bed and were safe. Not me. I just went back to sleep. If it's the least little bit of consolation, I did check on her first thing this morning and she was sleeping peacefully in her bed. Ok. That was a lie. I checked on her after I made some coffee ;) Still not as bad as my tooth fairy parenting fail, right?
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