Putting Kids to Bed

Why is it so hard for a child to go to bed? I didn't train myself to put them to bed AWAKE as infants, so I have no one to blame but myself. Sam was put to bed asleep, about 10 minutes later, I can hearing whimpering. Aaron convinces me the light sounds of crying is background noise from the surround sound. As soon as the mysterious noise cries louder, "MOMMY OUT", I know it's not the TV! I reminded myself of the last time I got him out of bed and tried to rock him back to sleep - he was raring to go at 11:48pm, well past MY bedtime. As soon as I felt the urge to SWEAR, I threw him in bed, shut my door and that was it. I will NOT go thru it again! As for the other 2, they are old enough to know going to bed is a good thing. Max, 8, was playing PS2 and would NOT quit. Aaron gave him an ultimatum, finish your game and go to bed immediately, or turn it off now and watch some TV. He chose the first option. When it came time to GO TO BED IMMEDIATELY, he acted dumb founded - he said, "It's not my fault..." Are you joking??!! MY mother-in-law and 5 month old dog are here (their furnace died), so it's been quite the show going on with Rebus (dog) and Rosie (cat)....TIME FOR BED!