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A few weeks ago, my husband and I invited another couple and their two children over for dinner. Because our friends live quite a ways away, we offered to let them crash in our guest room and the kids sleep over in our kids' rooms.

Now, these are friends of the adults - their kids had never met our kids. However, they have a seven-year-old son, just like us, and a three-year-old daughter, close in age to our four-year-old daughter. So we hoped the kids would play and the adults could hang out and talk.

Oh, wow. The minute the two new kids walked into the house, they had their shoes off and were running upstairs to the playroom. We didn't hear from any of the four kids until dinner time an hour later! Each pair acted like best friends at first sight - it was very cool to watch.

So we all hung out, chatted, and listened to music. Around 10 p.m., we decided to put the girls to sleep. They were still playing nicely together, but they did seem tired and went to bed fairly easily.

The boys, though, were wide-awake and playing. Since they were getting along so well, we parents just shrugged and said, "Okay, I guess you guys can stay up later!"

Around midnight, we checked on them again. Still awake, still playing, still cooperating. In fact, together they had taken out every book, toy, and other item in the playroom and had built a massive city - complete with schools, a jail, stores, an airport - you name it, the city had it. The boys took the parents on a tour of the city. We marveled at their creation and said, "Well, I guess you guys can stay up a little longer."

Around 2 a.m., we parents were getting tired. We told the boys - who still claimed to not be sleepy - to put on a movie and chill out. We turned off the lights.

At 5 a.m., all four of us parents were sitting in my family room, half asleep. We would start conversations, then let them trail off as we dozed. We looked at each other and agreed it was time to actually retire to the bedrooms.

But first, we checked on the boys. STILL AWAKE. STILL GETTING ALONG. Who are these kids?

"We want to see the sun come up!" my son exclaimed.

Hmm. The sun doesn't really come up in Seattle in the fall; it sort of just gets lighter. But...okay. After all, is going to bed at 5 a.m. really all that different from staying up?

The parents and the little girls slept until around 10 a.m. The boys: not at all.

I was surprised at how alert and well-behaved The Boy, my son, was the entire following day. I know I'm a zombie if I don't get sleep; even the five hours I got wasn't quite enough. But he was fine!

Until we went for a ride in the car. Then, just like he did when he was a baby, he fell asleep.

I guess it's not excellent parenting to let my kid stay up all night. But I knew we didn't have much going on the following day, and I was curious as to what would happen. I knew that both of us - not just he - might have to pay for my leniency.

But it was okay! I wouldn't let him do it often, of course, but it worked out. He got to see dawn, and I got to be a cool mom. Sounds like a win-win to me!