A night-time glimpse

Last night, I walked into the kid's room to do my pre-bedtime check. They were all sound asleep, fully covered by treasured quilts and blankets listening subconsciously to the background "white noise" of the rain forest. Joe and Louisa share bunk beds, rotating each month so that they each get a turn on the bigger bottom double bed. Their heads are barely discernible underneath the mound of pillows and animals. I think they both try to employ my sister's favorite trick of hiding beneath so much stuff that a potential burglar would bypass them in favor of a more accessible child. Nate and Savannah sleep side by side in matching Disney toddler beds. They, too have an assortment of comforting items. Savannah has become a fan of small stuffed dogs and pooh bears of various sizes. She carefully places them underneath her blanket and quilt in what can only be described as a "Mommy Dog with her puppies" arrangement. Her hair is braided, just like her sister's in a somewhat successful attempt to limit the dreaded cotton like tangles that spring up each morning. Nate sleeps in a gray, much loved polar fleece hat, rubbing the tag of the same fleecy cloth baby doll that has comforted him since he was 4 months old.
Their room is an assorted mess of new and old treasured toys... a large wooden castle sits in one corner with various Playmobil, Imaginext, Schleich and generic army guys arranged in different battle scenes. Rogue detachments of soldiers and bands of fierce animals are strategically placed throughout the room, which can make these night time checks a bit tricky for a mother in bare feet. Louisa's desk is covered with her "science equipment" and secret journals. Her reference books lean up against a framed picture of Liana and Naomi. Joe's desk is sparse in comparison. A large two headed dragon looks over his bottle top collection and a library copy of the next book on his reading list... Little Women ("Mom," he says after reading the first chapter, "I thought this was about miniature people.") His wooden staff, leans against the corner. A train table that doubles as a duplo station dominates the middle of the room. Cars, trains and duplo creations are scattered around with wild abandonment. New shiny hotwheels are side by side with Kev's boyhood favorites. Nate refuses to use any block that is not red, while Savannah builds really, really tall multi-colored towers that topple over and leave blocks in unexpected places. A riding horse juts out near one of the windows, a throwback to my childhood and a great favorite of all four kids. Nate's sleeping beauty dress is in an elegant heap at the foot of his bed along with one tap shoe, one cowboy boot and several of his favorite truck books. Savannah's harmonica and magnifying glass lie in the middle of a wide assortment of Louisa's make-up and fingernail polish. Clothes of various sizes and states of cleanliness lie here and there, some peeking out from under a dresser or bed, others blantantly thrown in the very middle of the floor. Sigh. All in all it is a disorderly kid's room that oozes with the comfort of well loved and heavily played with toys. The birds of the rain forest chirp loudly, someone sighs and rolls over and just as I am ready to walk out, Nate reaches across the toddler rail and holds Savannah's hand. As I watch, she scootches closer and drifts back off to sleep with a contented smile on her face whispering, "Natie, you're my best friend."