Move It, Move It

Boxes...check. (A nearby publishing company has tons, all flattened, all the same perfect size--I filled the back of my minivan.)
Have realtor friend come over and do CMA (comparative market analysis)...check. (We'll be able to ask more than we thought--yay!! Final number to come.)
Have handyman friend over to decide what all he'll paint and repair for us...check. (He'll be back in a couple weeks to do the work.)
Buy "House for Sale" sign...check. (We'll put it out in the yard as soon as we have a price.)
Buy packing tape...check.
Call PODS (Portable on Demand Storage)...check. (to be delivered Thursday)
Pack up extra bathroom miscellaneous stuff; get all bottles, jars and tubes stashed in drawers and cabinets so countertop is clear...check.
Pack up all board games and move board game shelf from the staircase landing to the garage...check.
Pack up contents of plastic drawers in bedroom, move plastic drawers to garage...check.
Clear off worst section of kitchen countertop; pack up extra stuff from drawers...check.
Clear space in the garage; put umbrella stroller, dresser with the broken drawer, jogging stroller with the bent wheel, and extra booster seats out by the side of the road...check. (All of it got picked up--yay!!--except the umbrella stroller. Do folks all over the country do this, or is it just here?)

Not a bad day's work, I guess.

A friend said to me, "I'm a little bit jealous of you moving. I wish I had a deadline for going through all my stuff, deciding how much of it I really love enough to move and getting rid of all the rest!" I've taken her remark to heart, and am ruthlessly filling bags for charity with stuff no one loves. The sentimental side of me gets a severe talking-to nearly every time she tries to speak up. (She's triumphed in a couple of instances...but not many!)

And speaking of getting rid of stuff, remember the past weekend's used curriculum sale where I was disappointed to get back so much stuff that hadn't sold? Well, in the mail today came my check for what I'd sold and the price tags that had been removed--I sold 94 items and made 94.75!! I was PUMPED. Much better than I thought!

("It doesn't take much to make her happy," observed Papa Rooster to Blondechick14, after I'd exclaimed over this a couple of times. "It'd make ME pretty happy too!" Blondechick stuck up for me.)

In the midst of all this packing and sorting, we've had an old friend here overnight for the last two nights--Father Steve Hoskins, another AMIA priest serving in Ft. Collins, Colorado. He's been in conference meetings by day, but the kids have done their best to entertain him by night, and we've managed to get in some visiting as well. He stepped into a church plant situation when he began, and it's been great to hear how it's growing and taking shape. (He's willingly cleared his own path to the guest room bed, Sarah, like the easy-going, sleep-loving guy we've always known him to be! How wonderful to be with him--but it makes us miss your whole family!)

In other news, Bantams 8 & 11 played in their final piano recital on Sunday and today had their final piano lessons of the school year, since their teacher is leaving for a 6-week trip before the school year ends. They will really miss her. She let them switch from the silly beginner piano books to learning easy Broadway and Beatles songs, and it has revolutionized their attitudes about taking lessons--now they can't wait to learn a new song! For the recital, Bantam8 played The Pink Panther theme with finesse, not rushing the tip-toey parts, and Bantam11 played McCartney and Lennon's poignant "Yesterday" with the most expression that I've ever heard him put into it. It was riveting. In my humble opinion, it may have been the most musical performance of the afternoon.

OKAY. Time to wrap up this midnight ramble--more stuff to pack up tomorrow! I love it when I have nowhere I have to go. That's how I got so much done today, I'm sure. (Grandma took the boys to their lessons.) That, and God's gift to busy homeschooling moms--frozen pizza!