Bedtime drama and the permanent sleepover

Shortly before we moved, the kids wanted to have a "sleepover" in the boys' room. With all the craziness of moving, and being summer and all, we figured, why not? So we threw a mattress on their floor and Ella started sleeping in there. We thought it would be for a night or two, but they kept it up until we moved and asked if they could keep sleeping in the same room in the new house.

We figured it was a decent enough idea. They were going to bed (mostly) ok all together, and we figured we could have them all sleep in one room and put toys in the other bedroom. This house is laid out very differently from our old one, and the bedrooms are considerably smaller, so we were struggling a little to figure out toy storage (the fact that they have *that* many toys is not lost on me, even though I swear we donated a TON before we moved). Having a "playroom" and a "bedroom" seemed like it would solve some storage problems. What the heck?

No, seriously, what the heck?

Now that we're attempting to get back to a normal routine, which includes going to bed at a decent time, I am questioning my sanity in allowing the three of them to share a bedroom. We have not had one single night where they all went to bed, were quiet, and stayed in bed until morning. Usually it is Grayson and Ella (sharing the bottom bunk) who are up to all sorts of shenanigans and David is the one getting up to rat them out. But at this point, I'm getting ready to haul her bed up to the other bedroom and be done with it.

And yet...

Last night they came out together because their fan (for white noise) had suddenly turned off. They figured out on their own that the plug had simply come loose and fallen out of the socket, but it startled them and they needed some hugs. Ok, fair enough. And as I was inwardly imagining tying them to their beds with duct tape sighing a heavy sigh for yet another out-of-bed-after-bedtime experience, they all hugged and kissed me goodnight. They then all clasped hands and walked back to their bedroom together, giving each other little hugs and squeezes as they went.

And then...

The tiny, sweet chorus of "I love you's," not directed at me, but at each other, as the entered their bedroom and headed back to bed.

Those silly little people, they love each other a lot. They bicker a little and fight sometimes, like siblings can do, but mostly they get along and they really love each other. They even like each other, which is something else entirely when you're talking about brothers and sisters. They didn't beg us to keep sharing a room so they could get on my nerves with their bedtime antics; they simply like being together.

In this new place, they're taking comfort in each other. Now, the little turkeys need to sleep and they need to go to bed without so much drama, and I'm hopeful we'll get there. But I don't know that I want to separate them at this point. They need each other, and they know it, and I want to encourage those relationships in any way I can. I love how close they are.

Just when you're ready to tear your hair out in frustration, kids will do something so impossibly sweet, you can't resist them....