five minute break before I start the day

I’m slowly managing to get myself onto a somewhat disciplined sleep schedule.  Mainly, it’s making sure I’m in bed every night by midnight unless Ben is upset and won’t sleep (but he generally nods off really well when I lay down beside him),  and getting up as close to eight o’clock as I can without using an alarm clock.  So far, it’s working, and I notice that I feel a little more able to get things accomplished through the day.  It still isn’t eight hours of sleep, what with the night feeds and all, but I’m getting an amazing amount of sleep, considering.  Definitely much more than I got a night when Chloe was this age. 

In about an hour we’re leaving to go get our taxes done.  I’m hoping we get a really decent refund, because I need to buy a new car.  Well, not brand new, but new to me.  I have a Pontiac Sunfire, and let me tell you, fitting a toddler carseat, an infant carseat, and a booster seat for Jacob in the backseat of that tiny car just is not fun.  The poor kids get packed in like sardines.  So, I’m going shopping for an affordable, good quality smaller SUV or minivan.  Then, the rest of my refund is going toward home improvements.  I decided that, instead of painting, I’m going to wallpaper all the rooms in the house.  It will be a tad more expensive, but will require less work on my part because my walls need sanding, plastering, patching, etc. before I could even think to start primering them.  My aunt (the former owner) painted on the wallboard without a coat of primer first, so the paint just kind of peels off the wall if you pick at it.  So, all that would need scraped and sanded, and that’s just not something I have time to do. 

I’m also on the lookout for a new tub for my master bath.  We have to replace it, and I’d LOVE to get an old clawfoot tub, or at least a more modern version that doesn’t weigh as much.  I don’t think my floors are strong enough to handle an honest-to-goodness old fashioned cast iron clawfoot tub.

Plus, I need to put up a clothesline, build some steps at the back door, or move the tiny front porch around back and build a new front porch, fence in the front yard so the kids can play this summer….Of course, I say "I" need to do this stuff, but in actuality Aaron and my dad will be doing most of it.  I’m happy to weild a hammer whenever it’s required of me, and I’m very good at the handyman type stuff, but I don’t see me being able to help very much with the kids running around underfoot.  I’ll probably have to have Mom come help me hang wallpaper when it’s time, just for that very same reason. 

Aaron’s got Chloe in the bath, so I guess I should be taking advantage of Ben’s early morning nap to get dressed and get my things together.  Off to get started….