Summer! .....and aliens

It usually happens between two and three in the morning: a bed creak, soft footsteps, my bedroom door banging open against the wall and a little body squeezing into bed next to me, stealing my pillow. The usual question, "You OK?" and the customary answer, "Yeah. The dark just makes me a little afwaid. I'm OK now."

Elephants love peanuts.

For the last two years, Dee has gone to sleep with her bedroom door wide open and the hall light on. Her bed has to be right in front of the door so the light is in her eyes, otherwise it's too dark. When I go to bed, I turn off the hall light and turn the bathroom light on. It's still light for her, but not so bright.  That worked OK in the beginning. The middle-of-the-night visits only happened a few times a week. Slowly, however, it was happening every night. I'm not complaining. There's nothing better than two small arms around my neck and a tiny nose snoring in my ear. I was getting a little worried about Dee, though. It doesn't feel nice to be scared every night.

Like sister, like brother (and Daddy's playing WoW).

I'm 30 years old and I'm still afraid of the dark (a bit better at faking it, though), so I know how she feels. I don't want her to feel like that. I started wracking my brain: what can I do to make it a bit better?

Princess Dee and her Ladies of the Court - Princess Tea Party

Taylor Swift helped for a number of weeks. I loaded a bunch of songs onto a thumb drive, plugged it into the stereo in Dee's room, and had it play all night. Taylor's voice has won hearts the world over - including the monsters under Dee's bed.

Princess Dee getting ready for the ball - Princess Tea Party

We tried letting her stay up at as late as she wanted, so she wouldn't wake up. Again, not because I mind the middle-of-the-night wakings myself...but I hated the thought of her waking up and being afraid.

Princess Dee at the ball - Princess Tea Party

Next up: letting her stay up reading in her bed, however late she wanted. No dice. She was visiting every night. She was getting tired, I was getting tired. Something had to change.

Mr Man at the Teddy Bear Picnic...All he needs is cars.

But what? What else could I try?

Facepainting! - Teddy Bear Picnic

Did anything help me feel better? Well...I crawled in bed with my little sister every night until I was 15 years old! ....Not a terrible option, but that'll have to wait until The Littlest Lord is out of his crib, at least. What to do in the meantime...?

....still with the cars - Teddy Bear Picnic

Aha! A lamp. But not just any lamp...a lamp for her bed. One that she can turn on and off without having to get out from under the covers. Just quick reach up and all scary things disappear literally at the flick of a switch.

Digging for fossils!

So we set out, looking for the perfect clip-on lamp. The ones at that store were too small...the ones at that store were too big...but the ones at WalMart were just right. Unfortunately, they were sold out of hot pink lamps, so Dee chose a grey one. She said it'll match the pink her her Disney Pwincess blanket. She already knows more about colours than I do. Does she take after her fashionista Titi? Or maybe her Aunty Trinny-Bo-Binny, who is probably the world's best amateur interior designer?

Dee and three of her favourite guys had front row seats to the Bartown Days Parade

We get home, put a bulb in it and turn it on. Immediately, Dee is overjoyed.

The Littlest Lord loves parades, too!

She jumps into bed and pulls the covers over her, looking around her newly lit room with wonder.

Have I ever told you that Dee is half-fish?

"Do you like it?", I ask. "Is it OK? Is it bright enough? Too bright? Can you reach it alright?"

Momma's Little Man has no fish in him. (He gets that from me.)

"It's PERFECT!", Dee assures me. "I love it. LOOK! Over dere!", she exclaims. "Those are my dirty clothes! It's not an alien. I always look over there and think it's an alien, but now I can see it's my dirty clothes!"

I think she'll sleep just fine tonight.