As I sit here typing, my husband and his friend are taking off the carpet tack strips that go around the edge of my living room. They have already removed the carpet and the padding. Today is the day we lay laminate flooring down in our living room, dining area and hall.

Nate, the 3 year old, is going around trying to "help", but is mostly getting in the way. I am typing furiously, trying to get as much work and blog posting done as possible before I have to shut my computer down for what will undoubtedly be the rest of the day. It’s times like these that I really wish I had a laptop, but I suppose my wireless router will be shut down as well.

I grew up on construction and remodel sites and I remember vividly how boring it was to not have any TV and nobody to play with. My parents or my general contractor grandpa were busy working, and my biggest job was just to stay out of the way. It was long and lonely, those construction site days.

You know how you say you’re going to be different from your parents but then do the same thing they do? I caught myself just a few minutes ago telling my son he needed to stay out of the way. I’m not so different as I had hoped to be. The good news is, as soon as I am finished with this, I really *am* going to be different. I’m going to take Nate to the playground while his dad and friends work on the house. See? Not the same at all, or so I will keep telling myself.