A day in the life of...

"Daddy, I don't want to sleep in my bed tonight."
Oh yes, bedtime. The greatest time of the day. It's the time of day when parents are looking foreward to sitting back with a good book, or watching TV, or spending quiet time with their wife. It's the time of day when children are looking foreward to a good beating. But Dad, you dont understand, we can't go to bed until we have had a beating. -Bill Cosby
"Why don't you want to sleep in your bed?"
"Because I don't like to sleep in my room."
I work nights, three days a week. Sometimes when I am at work, my wife will let one of the children sleep in the bed with her. Sometimes they will all get together and set up a campground in the middle of the floor.
"Well you need to sleep in your room. That's why it's your room. Because that's where you sleep."
"But I don't like to."
So I decided that instead of just pulling rank on her, I would help her realize that sleeping in her own bed was what she wanted to do after all.
"Where do you want to sleep? On that lumpy old couch?"
"No way, Daddy, I'm not sleeping on the couch. There might be aliens."
"Aliens?"
"Yes, aliens. I don't want aliens to get me while I'm sleeping."
"Well then where do you want to sleep?"
"With Mommy."
Ok, now we were getting somewhere. I could see that it would now be easy to show her that it just wasn't possible and she would have no choice but to sleep in her room.
"You're awfully big. I don't think there would be room for all three of us in that one bed."
"No, Daddy, you sleep on the couch and I'll sleep with Mommy."
"What about aliens?"
"Daaadddddyyyyyy. Don't worry. There's no such thing as aliens."
"Well then why don't I sleep in my bed and you sleep on the couch?"
"I already told you, Daddy, aliens."

I'm such a pushover. I don't know how I lost it. But how in the world can you argue with this kind of logic?