Monsters in the Toy Box

At 3 children really start to develop an imagination. This is supposed to be a good thing. Generally I agree unless it's 3 o'clock in the morning. At almost 3 a.m. on the dot I hear angry grunts coming from William's room. When I walk in to check on him... Wait, did I say walk? More like when I stumble groggily into his room he's pointing his princely finger toward his CD player and giving a forceful "uh uh". Now my son is 3 and has been talking clearly (at least to me) for almost 2/3 of his life but it's too early in the morning to reinforce "using his words" and I turn on his music.

Back to bed. Ah, warm cozy. Hello pillow. Moments later I hear "Mommyyyyyyy". Back up, glasses on, and more stumbling. And his sweet little boy voice finds the words "I'm having a bad dream." Upon asking about said dream he tells me it's about monsters and there is one in his toy box. Again, not one to argue at 3 a.m. I fail to point out that most people are familiar with monsters in the closet but not in the toy box. Which, just happens to be the type with open bins. How a monster could hide in there is a mystery to all. But being a mommy of sleepy mind and body I ask William if I should chase away the monsters. Of course he says yes. We have developed this tried and true system for monster removal where I stand in the middle of the room, flick my fingers, and say "Poo poo go away monsters." Gets rid of them every time. So I flick, I poo, and the monsters are gone. Everyone goes back to sleep and I realize once again that there is nothing in the books that prepare you for those moments. This is parenting. Enough said.