Bedtime Rituals

I make it sound so easy.  Bedtime rituals for young children, as I always tell parents, should be consistent.  Toothbrushing followed by a story or two then good-night kisses and lights out.  Parents need to establish a routine and follow it.  Very simple.  Somehow, though, I can't parlay my advice into reality; in my household, bedtime has become such a long, drawn-out, often stressful process.  First, there's the cajoling to get everyone upstairs, then the pleas from us to cooperate with tooth brushing, then the kids' agonizing choices of which books to read, then our begging them to lie quietly in bed.  Getting Sophia and Max to bed takes at least an hour every night.  I tell myself this is not going to last forever; I know that someday I will want to turn back time to when my children needed me to brush their teeth and read books to them.  But right now, in my present day, I wish I could get some advice on getting MY kids to sleep.