Who stole my bedtime routine?

I used to love CBeebies bedtime hour, they took the hard work out of going up the wooden hill to a bath, a snuggle in a fresh towel, stories and then multiple hours of me yelling "will you just go to sleep".

Even as she grew and baths turned to showers, snuggles turned into side by side talks before she read for a bit there was still time to squeeze in a few hours of "you've been to the toilet enough times already, will you just stay in bed and go to sleep".

Of a chill winter's evening I like to decamp to bathroom.  Up to my eyeballs in hot suds and good book.  By the time TeenAngel can be nagged into the nightly shower, which she insists she can't sleep without, I just can't be bothered.  I recall I sometimes used to slip in a late bone warming bath about 10:30pm when the house was finally quiet.  These days, when I know she's still awake it just doesn't seem the same.

I suspect we are now on a ladder to evening doomsville, only a stones throw away from 'I need to be in bed before her' which is simply a step away from 'I can't wait up for her any longer'.

Dear Santa, please can I have one of these for Christmas.  I used to think it was hard work, I used to think parenting young children was the hardest job on earth.  BWAHAHAHAHA.     Please feel free to do a straight swap.  Yours sincerely Mrs "can I go to bed now?"