In October, Ellie wanted to be sure there were no ghosts in her room at bedtime. Promising her that they are just pretend seemed to do the trick. We’ve had to tell her every night since that there are no ghosts in her room. The list has grown and our goodnight routine now consists of the following conversation.

Ellie: Mom, can you tell me all the scary bits.

Me: There are no stinging bugs, scorpions, aliens, ghosts, or monsters in here, Sweetie Pie. Have sweet dreams.

Ellie: Thanks Mom. I love you

A few nights ago Ellie must have had a bad dream. She asked me if there were such things as mean mittens. I told her no. Only soft, squishy mittens that keep our hands warm. Apparently, last night (which in her world means any period of time prior to present day), when she was older, she heard a noise on the wall. It was hopping mittens and they tried to tickle her and she didn’t want them to. So now, when she has to go potty, she won’t go in the bathroom until I answer her question, “Are there any hopping mittens in the bathroom?”.

This playbook gets trickier and trickier by the week.