07-20-15 Stalling Tactics

It has been a lazy evening tonight. I don't mind really, as today was so hot and the window units have not been able to keep up. So we are having a quiet evening. The kids are playing on Mobigos and Baby E and I have been making faces at each other. There is a timer set and the kids have about four more minutes to play before we all head upstairs. 

I was able to pull them away from their games long enough to force mommy selfies out of them.

Ok, timer is going off! Bedtime! 

I'm guessing difficult bedtimes are a normal ritual for most people with small children. I'm half convinced my kids spend most of their day planning bedtime stalling tactics to use on us the second we tell them it is time to go up. All of a sudden everyone is hungry, or thirsty, or just too tired to climb the stairs! These approaches never work, however they are executed nightly. One current favorite stall tactic is to keep adding things to their list of prayers. This one is particularly tough to combat, because do you really want to be the parent that says, we've prayed for enough already!!! 

Let's see, there is also the changing pajamas technique, the over brushing the teeth, and the I have to go poopy even when they clearly don't need to. 

These are just a few in a long list of interactions that push Tim and I a little closer to madness each evening. Are there any such rituals in your house? What are your kids' favorite stalling tactics?