We've started toying around with a new evening ritual: "sleeping potion" before bed.
Can you excavate the desperation out of that statement?
Sometimes we have Nighty Night Tea, which is a mild herbal blend made by Traditional Medicinals especially for children, with milk and honey. But recently we tried something new I learned abut during my Spring Cleanse.
Warm Almond Milk
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
pinch of Cinnamon
I usually stir all the ingrdients together in a small pot with a little spout on the stovetop, but you can also warm it up in the microwave.
Most of the time I buy almond milk at the store but it really is easy to make. Try this recipe or this one or maybe this one or this one is good too. There are a lot of them out there and the main difference is amount of water and the sweetener used, if any. It's all a matter of persoanl taste. I did homemade when I was on my cleanse and it really does taste even better than store bought. Plus, you can use the leftover almond milk in all kinds of tasty baked goods, which many of the links above elaborate on. Despite all that, somehow making almond milk regularly just hasn't made it into my weekly schedule. Maybe this winter.
But here's what I really need to tell you about the new sleeping potion thing...
It works.
I say it isn't really "drugging" them if it's natural, but Stephen pointed out that opium and marijuana are 100% natural, too. So I guess I have to admit it, I'm drugging my children at night. I don't do it every night, just the nights when Mima has taken an afternoon nap or they seem particularly keyed up and we need something a little more ritualistic.
Besides the calming warm blend of milk and spices, you have to sit very still when you're holding a warm mug. This act alone is sometimes all that's necessary to let sleepiness creep up on them.
They also both love to have a scented eye pillow (seen above hanging over Mima's bed rail). It feels good, it smells good, and again, you have to be still to keep it on.
They've co-opted a few really old ones I had that don't have a ton of scent left to them. This fall I'm planning to cut up an old silk dress of mine (a size 2, so it has hung in my closet unmolested for about 10 years now!) and make them their own eye pillows filled with buckwheat, flaxseeds, chamomile and lavender. I think there are also instructions for eye pillows in Amanda Soule's Handmade Home.
