Waking up too early

We all go through adjustment periods. Our kids started waking up too early. WAY TOO EARLY. Anyone who knows my husband or me in real life knows this is one of the worst things they could do to us. We love sleeping, especially in the mornings.

I know other people who had tried clocks that turn green when they should wake up. However, the clocks all needed to be plugged in and set on a shelf. We have no shelves in my kids room. We can't have anything plugged in and as I've mentioned on here many, many times, my kids will destroy anything/everything. Then I saw a sale (50% off) on these:

Here I'm introducing them to the kids. They each got a cute owl. They are soft and cuddly, which is perfect for sleeping. When you push their stomach they hoot, turn orange, tell you something, and then play a lullaby. If it's a long time to sleep they tell the kids to go back to sleep, they will also say things like "just a little bit longer" when it is almost time to wake up. When it is time to wake up, they turn green. They don't play music unless you push the button. The change is just enough to encourage waking up, while allowing them to sleep if they really need it. You can set them for overnight and for nap time. These seemed like the perfect solution!

My kids immediately took off the soft, cuddly part and slept with the really hard inside. You can see them sleeping here with the bright green light. This worked really well for a few months. Now, a year later, they at least know they can't wake us up until their owls turn green. Not exactly what we had in mind, but I'll count it as a win - at least since I have redefined win. haha