Instead of counting sheep...

...count Skittles!

After a spooked Niecey came downstairs this thundery and rainy night with a quivering lip explaining that she couldn't sleep for the old Joker's creepy smile invading her thoughts (courtesy of a sort of cartoon history book that used to cause me much lost sleep also, as a kid), me and my parents put our heads together and figured out this great way to get your mind off things.

She didn't bite at my idea of imagining new American Girl stories, or of general happy thoughts. But Skittles are one of Niecey's favorite candies, and since we all had some this afternoon, they were fresh in our minds. So we described creating Skittle mosaics in her head, then sorting them into lines or a rainbow and then creating another picture, then re-sorting, until she fell asleep.

It seemed like a good plan, but I had to go home so wasn't able to hang around until she fell asleep. I'm going to ask her in the morning if it worked for her.

Anyhoo, taking care of kids is not easy and I am rather pooped. So soon I'm going to count some Skittles of my own...