Their sixth sense

On those days when I am able to get both kids down for a simultaneous afternoon nap, which is still most days, the following are the things I do with my resulting free time. They're in no particular order, except for the first item, which always tops the list:

Sleep

Vacuum - our playroom honestly needs it twice a day

Scrapbook, edit photos, or work on other crafty projects

Bake (this one used to happen during naptime a lot more often, but now Liam gets upset when I bake without him, so I try to schedule this into his day, too)

Watch The Mom Show and Cityline on TV (always in the background, while doing other stuff)

Surf the net and check email

Read magazines, if I was lucky to score some good ones that morning at the library or grocery store

Watch Tivo'd episodes of The Hills or chick flicks - i.e. TV watching that does not involve Chad

However... this house-building project of ours is creeping into every corner of our lives. We have a master list of fix-ups we want to accomplish prior to listing our house for sale. Most of these things are minor (about 90% involve touch-up paint) and most are things that would best be left until the last minute; no sense painting the baseboards today if they will be subject to Liam's cars and trucks, and the highchair wheels, every day for the next six months. But... there are a few things we can do now. Some of these involve exterior paint, the kind that, once done, will last many years before needing to be repeated; and since we really only need for it to last for the next year or so - why not get started now? Well, that made a lot of sense when we first talked about it a month ago, and now that it is mid-October... it's almost too late. But we decided to make a play this week while the weather is still warm, and so this morning before our grocery run I hit the paint store. After groceries we made an excursion to the park - you know, the kind intended to really tire the kiddos out - and then after lunch they went down for their naps.

Except that they didn't. I put Liam down, then fed Mallory, and put her down, and once upstairs with her I realized Liam was running around in his room, so I put him down again. And then again, ten minutes later. Ten minutes after that it sounded like all was quiet, so I went out and got started painting the garage door, and about two minutes after dirtying the paintbrush and roller (with oil paint, not even easy-cleanup-latex) I heard Mallory start to wail over the baby monitor. I gave her a couple of minutes, to no avail, so I went in to get her, and found Liam still not sleeping, either. The one day that I try to get some serious work done rather than indulge in 'me time' - and this is what I get.So Mallory sat in the stroller, and Liam ran around the yard while I painted. Well, that was the idea, anyway. The reality was that he was unable to stay well back as I asked, and he has a sleeveful of grey paint on his shirt now that I won't likely be able to wash out. Ah well. The garage door is done - one job crossed off the list. It's supposed to rain on and off all week, but I'd like to tackle the garage trim if I get the chance, too. There are several interior paint jobs that can be tackled any time now, too; and with any luck, Mallory will start sleeping longer at night, I will require less daytime sleep myself, and I might be able to make some headway on these jobs before my maternity leave runs out, so that we're not quite so stressed when it's time to list the house next spring.