A Toddler's Bedtime...

As a 35 year old woman, I'd give my right arm to be able to sleep 11 hours a night. Really. I love sleep. I could sleep anytime and anywhere. It's been about three years since I had a night of uninterrupted sleep. It's really been that long. For the last three years, I've been waking up at least once a night to tend to Itty Bitty or Little Mama. Don't get me wrong, I love them and have no problem with the waking up part because they need their mommy. However, what I can't understand is why my almost 3 year old just won't go to sleep at 8pm. It's a struggle every night. She has to pee. She's hungry. She wants another story. She wants to give me a hug. She wants to give me a kiss. She wants to tell me something. While it's great to be wanted like this, I know she needs more sleep than she's getting. In the morning, she refuses to wake up at 6:30. I'm practically getting her dressed while she's sleeping. I really hope that this is just a phase. In the meantime, I'm going to have to come up with something to make the 8pm bed time work...if I think of something and it actually works - I'll post it here. If you're reading this and have any ideas to try - please let me know.