So I'm pretty sure Reagan is clever. As in evil genius clever. But really sweet evil genius clever. She may also be a mind reader. She senses when I've planned out our day, and schemes on how she can make me feel foolish for even trying.
(Disclaimer: This is a really boring day and a really petty rant. But it's funny to me. So here it is!)
Today we had to be out all morning. Madison had her Gymboree class, and I had to run to Stop and Shop to use coupons and get gas points. Yes, I've become a little obsessive. We'd come home, eat lunch, and the girls would take naps while I did some household chores. Then they'd wake up in time to get us to the pool for Madison's swimming lesson in the late afternoon. Reagan could power nap on the way home, I'd make dinner and feed her, and we'd eat, take baths, and be in bed by 7! Perfect stay at home mommy day. Playtime, nap time, structured time, home cooked meal, chores!
I was hoping to go to Stop and Shop first. Reagan's typical morning routine is to wake up around 5, eat, go back to sleep until 7 or so, then nap from 8-9. After that I'll make sure she's dressed and fed and we go to our playdate or class, or whatever is on our plate. Because Gymboree doesn't start until 10:30, and we can leave the house a little after 9, I try to do errands first. By the time class is over and we leave, both girls are usually starving and tired, which makes for a really long 10 minute car ride home. But again, I digress.
Anyway, that was my plan. I did not share this plan with anyone, but Reagan seemed to read my mind. She woke up at 5, ate, cooed at me until around 6, then slept until 7, when she and Madison woke up simultaneously (they do that ALL the time...no staggered wake up for these girls!). So far, so good. Reagan ate again, then tasted bananas for the first time (which she seemed to enjoy). A little before 8 she was ready for her nap! Fantastic! We were right on schedule!
Reagan went to sleep easily, and I spent the next hour feeding myself and Madison, getting us dressed and packed up, loading the car, chatting with my friends (who also have young children, making 8:30 feel like the perfect time for a "mid-morning" chat), straightening the kitchen. At 9, we were ready to go and I was fending off Madison's urgings to paint. After all we didn't have time. Reagan was about to wake up!
At 9:15, I made sure to give Madison a snack. Because I was about to start nursing. And she still really wanted to paint. But we were about to leave.
At 9:30 I was pretty impressed with the cleanliness of the kitchen. But I made sure not to start anything else (or let Madison start painting). Because I would need to get Reagan any minute.
At 9:45 I made sure Reagan was OK. And once again, held off Madison's increasing insistence that she be allowed to paint. I didn't mention that she could have painted after all.
At 10 I had no choice and needed to wake Reagan, who was sleeping soundly and peacefully. She wasn't happy about it and I got the confused and sad eyes. She didn't really want to eat or get dressed, but somehow I managed to convince her to cooperate and we made it to Gymboree a mere 5 minutes late. Since we obviously didn't make it to the grocery store before class, I threw a quick lunch in the car for Madison. That actually worked pretty well. She happily ate the turkey and cheese I passed back to her, and we managed to get in and out of the store without issue. As we were about 5 minutes from home I started to get pretty happy with how things had turned out. Both girls were tired at the same time! I would get a quality double nap time in!
The girls went down within minutes of each other, full, tired and (relatively) happy. I was so excited about how much I'd get done. Adam was golfing, I'd also eaten lunch in the car, so I had NO distractions. I started with the girls' bathroom and had it sparkling within 30 minutes! My Thursday chore was done! I could actually work on one of the several "projects" that were beginning to pile up!
I checked on Madison. Sound asleep. No surprise. She might fight going down, but she'll sleep a couple hours.
I checked on Reagan. She's a bit of a wild card. Some afternoons she'll sleep for an hour, some afternoons three. But she too was sound asleep. I even "checked" her level of sleep by moving around her room, then seeing if she wiggled in her sleep. Nothing. She was out.
Excited, I picked a project. I was going to organize some of Madison's outgrown clothes that I had basically thrown into the attic this fall and winter with no regard to season or use (in my defense, I was pregnant and then had a newborn, and I was much more focused on creating a bedroom, not organizing). But NOW I had naptime!
I pulled the clothes down from the attic. Checked on the girls. Sound asleep.
I spread the clothes ALL over our bedroom floor so I could sort them effectively. The SECOND I completed the transformation from pile in the closet to complete floor coverage, Reagan let me know that she was WIDE AWAKE. Big innocent eyes, giant smile when I went in to see if I might be able to get her back down.
After 15 minutes of rocking a completely alert baby, I gave up, put her in her bouncer, and worked on the project anyway. Every once in a while, I tried feeding her and rocking her, but she was having none of it. Oh well. She was alert and happy. And even with her "assistance" I did manage to get half of it done. Yay!
Madison woke up,and Reagan was still alert and happy. I got the girls dressed for swimming lessons, and got us in the car....right when Reagan decided she was exhausted and needed NOTHING more than a long, cozy nap in her crib. And since she had to come to swimming with us, she decided to express her displeasure throughout the lesson, primarily while I was IN the pool with Madison. She realized that while I was IN the pool with a non swimming two year old I could absolutely not hold her. So she decided that the only thing that would make her happy was being held.
We made it through the lesson. Since she had been awake for hours and was clearly tired, I figured she'd sleep in the car. I could get dinner started and Madison changed while she slept in the car seat.
So she didn't sleep a wink in the car. Can you figure out where this is going?
Genius. Total genius. I have to give her credit!
