For night fears, Mommy Magic Spray

Brady has only off-and-on been afraid of the dark. But this last time it was BAD. My husband I had mistakenly thought Coraline by Tim Burton was just a regular kids movie. But the "bad mother" in the movie, who was a ghost, really disturbed Brady. And a friend was in town from Florida staying with us. That kid woke up every hour on the hour all night long.

Previously when he had those fears, I'd just add an extra night light for awhile. But we were up to FOUR in his room - his lamp nightlight, the light on his magnifying glass, his electricity globe and his soccer ball nightlight. Sheesh! Or I'd give him one of my shirts to snuggle with. Forget it this time. Not working.

But my wonderful friend had an idea, one I'd heard before but had forgotten. "Sometimes people have a Monster Spray they spray around the room," she said. Huh. That just might work. Except I had to dress it up Brady-style. I made "Mommy Magic Spray" - a mix of water and my perfume, but vanilla extract would work too or powder - in a silver spray bottle from Dollar Tree (can you tell it's one of my favorite stores).

Every night I spray it in all the corners of his room, on every door and window, and one spray on him. I told him that bad guys don't like the mommy smell because mommas are the most protective force in the Universe. He asked me "Does it go away every day?" I said no, we just have to refresh it every night and then there are layers and layers of it in your room. "Does it stick to things?" Yes, it does, even to you. And, what do you think? It worked! It was a fantastic idea.