Five in a bed and the little one said,
“Roll over! Roll over!”
So they all rolled over and one fell out,
He hit his head and gave a shout.
Please remember to tie a knot in your pajamas,
Single beds are only made for...

Michael shifted uncomfortably. An elbow was poking him in the side. Trying to wiggle away, he almost rolled over an  outstretched arm.

This was the last time Amy was going to let the kids watch scary movies. And Gremlins might only be rated PG, but it was pretty darn disturbing. And the company at night got a little annoying.

It didn’t seem to be bothering Maria at all. She was sound asleep with her arm flung out and Cody shoved up against her.

Which left Mary and Joey to cuddle up against him. Now, don’t get him wrong, he liked his kids. But five people in one bed was a bit much. Besides, he liked to sleep with just Maria better.

She didn’t kick in her sleep.

Michael winced again as Joey flailed about. He was beginning to suspect that his youngest was the most restless sleeper in the world.

He sighed and closed his eyes again.

Fifteen minutes later, he gave up. Doing some interesting body contortions, he managed to peel Joey and Mary off of him without waking them up. Sighing in relief, he grabbed a blanket and a pillow and hit the couch.

One, two, three, four in a bed and the little one said,
“Roll over! Roll over!”
So they all rolled over and one fell out,
He hit his head and gave a shout.
Please remember to tie a knot in your pajamas,
Single beds are only made for...

Maria woke up sweating.

She hadn’t had a nightmare. Her children were better than electric blankets. Unfortunately, it was almost summer, and no blankets were needed.

She tried to unwrap Cody from her side, but he wasn’t going to be budged. She frowned at the back of her son’s head as he started to snore.

Maria managed to kick off some of the blankets, but that didn’t give much relief.

She turned to look at her husband, and was surprised to find Joey taking up the majority of Michael’s side of the bed.  Without Michael.

Cody shifted a little bit in his sleep and Maria seized her chance to escape.

She almost fell trying to get untangled from the sheets, but managed to free herself without doing any damage.

She walked over to the window and opened it. She stood there for a moment, just enjoying the breeze.

She turned to go back to bed and discovered that Cody and Mary had expanded to fill her space. You wouldn’t think three small children could take up that much room.

She sighed, grabbed a pillow and went to join Michael on the couch.

He opened one eye when she tried to climb in beside him.

“Shove over,” she instructed.

He shoved and she cuddled up in his arms.

“Hey! Don’t steal all the blanket.”

One, two, three in a bed and the little one said,
“Roll over! Roll over!”
So they all rolled over and one fell out,
He hit his head and gave a shout.
Please remember to tie a knot in your pajamas,
Single beds are only made for...

Cody was startled awake by a whack to the head.

Mary now had her arm peacefully stretched out above his head. He made a face at her and looked around, absently rubbing his nose

Where had Mama and Daddy gone? It was cold in here without Mama nearby.

He shrugged and settled back down, one arm sleepily reaching for Bobo, his stuffed armadillo.

His arm closed on empty air. Cody looked under the covers. No Bobo. He looked under Mary. No Bobo.

He even <gulp> peeked under the bed. Still no Bobo.

Cody was getting worried. He couldn’t sleep without Bobo nearby.

Cody hadn’t been scared by that movie tonight. Nope, not him. But he had come in here to make sure Mama wasn’t scared. Maybe he had left Bobo in his room when he had come in here.

Taking a deep breath, and hoping no gremlins were nearby, he jumped off the bed and dashed to his room, leaping onto his bed as soon as he could.

And there was Bobo!

He hugged the armadillo tightly to his chest as he prepared to make the dash back to Mama and Daddy’s room.

Wait, he had checked under the bed in there, but what if there was something under his?

Maybe he better stay here and keep Bobo from getting scared.

One, two in a bed and the little one said,
“Roll over! Roll over!”
So they all rolled over and one fell out,
He hit his head and gave a shout.

Mary stretched out and yawned. She could see the sun beginning to come up. She always loved sleeping with Mama and Daddy. Daddy grumbled, but she knew he loved it when they all joined him.

Gremlins had been a cool movie! She hadn’t been scared, but had jumped at the chance to sleep with her parents in their bed. Their bed was huge, and having everybody in there was like having a slumber party.

But she was wide awake now, and she and Joey were the only ones left in bed.

What if they were off doing something fun without her?

Concerned by that thought, Mary got up to see where everyone else had gotten to.

Mama and Daddy were asleep on the sofa, with Mama having most of the covers all snuggled up to Daddy. One arm was flung over his face.

Mary giggled softly and debated going and jumping on them. But last time she had done that, there had been no cartoons for an entire week.

Mary decided the risk wasn’t worth it and went to look for Cody.

He was sound asleep in his own bed, Bobo tucked under one arm and his “monster gun” under the other.

Mary grinned, her brother had been scared of the movie. And he was a whole year older!

Mary got a great idea.

She would let everybody sleep, and when they woke up, she would have breakfast ready!

She skipped into the kitchen, humming softly.

Now, she just had to remember how Mama made pancakes.

Please remember to tie a knot in your pajamas,
Single beds are only made for one!

In their parent’s room, Joey lay sprawled out in the bed. He pulled the pillow closer and yawned. With a smile, he settled back down into a deep sleep.