Strobe Light Dance Parties

 You know how "they" tell you to try to wind your kids down before bedtime. Yea in our house we do the opposite. We get them as hyped up as possible, tire them out really good. After showers are done, pajamas are put on, and teeth are brushed the girls wait outside their bedroom door. Some nights they have tickets in hand. Other nights they are trying to remember what the secret handshake is to get in.

While they wait I usually take a few seconds to clean up anything on the floors and get their beds ready to sleep in. Straighten out blankets and fluff pillows. Stuff like that. Then I turn off the lights and turn on the strobe lights. I can usually hear them whisper "Its starting! Get ready" Mom's gonna open the door soon.". I turn on Pandora on the iPod touch on the speaker stereo thingy that sit on Phi's dresser. I make sure its on the "Disney's Shake It Up" station and then turn it up. Way Up

I open the door just a crack and the girls get all giddy. In my best bouncer voice I yell above the music things like..

"you here for the dance party?"

"if you don't have a ticket you ain't getting in" 

"you know the secret handshake" 

They either hand me their tickets are give me the handshake just easy enough for an almost 3 year old to remember it. Then I let them in one at a time. Then for 1-3 songs, depending on how late it is, in the flashing strobe lights, we get our groove on. Selena Gomez and Austin Moon songs shake the walls, while my girls shake their booties. Phi loves to watch herself in the mirror and she tries to imitate the dance moves she sees on the Disney channel. And Louie uses the chaos as an excuse to get to the top bunk, sit and dance with her arms. I use it as a time to bust out my best junior high dance moves, the cabbage patch, the running man and the roger rabbit. That last one always impresses The Phi. I find that it is a great way to warm-up before I get on the elliptical. Once in a while Joey will join us with his award-winning robot.

It is quickly becoming a nightly ritual. 10 minutes or so of loud music, flashing lights and dancing like no one is watching. Who knows how long they will want to do this for. I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.