Well, we've been working hard on the house--trying to get it ready to list this weekend with our realtor friend.

After the initial push...

we spent awhile painting the basement and the stairway leading down there...

and since then it's been a blur.

We've hung up closet doors, I know. I've mopped ceilings for cobwebs and rubbed marks off walls with Magic Eraser and used the vacuum cleaner wand extensively. I've washed 6-panel doors, front and back--shocking how much grime settles into those ridges...and how long it takes to wash one door well! I removed the rug in the bathroom and scrubbed the tile in there. I packed up almost all my homeschool curriculum and removed that bookshelf from the master bedroom. I've pulled a lot of stuff out of the master bedroom closet to sort, pack and/or donate. I've itemized and dropped off 4 more bags of stuff at the resale shop.

I packed up a bunch of picture books and removed a short shelf from the little kids' room. We put the twin mattress Chicklet4 has been sleeping on in storage and got the other crib mattress out of the attic for her--making that room look a lot bigger. We put Bantam16's bed in storage and gave him the bed in the guest room for now. I sorted and packed up a bunch of videos so we could remove the VHS shelf from the basement. I painted the two metal poles in the basement with oil-based paint, two coats.

I washed doors and some of the windows. I fixed two broken doorknobs. I rearranged the storage unit, which is beginning--finally--to get crowded! I've made meals and gone grocery shopping and done laundry and supervised kids...who have have dusted, cleaned bathrooms, carried boxes out to the storage unit, weeded, mowed, helped move things, help pack things, folded laundry, done chores, worked on school assignments still hanging over them, memorized lines and practice scenes for the production they're in, and dressed, diapered, fed and babysat littlest siblings.

Oh yeah, and for a few days there we had kids with fevers and headaches and one threw up. Like I said, it's been a blur.

Papa Rooster who hardly ever travels, has had to travel out of town twice in the past two weeks. Poor guy--missing out on all the fun....

We'd like to list it this weekend, so our realtor could show it on Sunday while we're gone to Kenosha. We'd like to sell it and buy something there before school starts up in the fall--and we're running out of time!

But there's still the basement bathroom to paint, that shower to re-caulk, that mildewed trim to replace and that corner of the basement rec room to paint. It's just the basement, so our realtor thought we wouldn't have to wait on that to list it. Our rehabber friend Jan from Kenosha is coming next week to work on it.

But now my carpet cleaner guy can't come till Wednesday so I don't know. You want to make a well-cared-for impression.

And I don't want to get to get the first available carpet cleaner in here, because I've had those other guys before. Trust me--this one is special. He's a cute little guy with a moustache who will probably look 17 years old till he's 60, and he's shy and quiet and serious. But the best part is--he's very reasonable, and he's a perfectionist.

Other carpet cleaner guys just want to get in and get out, but he takes his time. He won't quit till he's tried every trick he knows to get out that one. last. spot! He even throws in an occasional small area that I didn't ask him to clean--a step or two, maybe, or a bit of the landing at the top of the stairs--just because he sees it needs it.

Yep, he's the one for me. We go back 7 or 8 years now--how could I let anyone else touch my carpet?

Maybe we can post a big sign: PLEASE OVERLOOK THE STATE OF THE CARPET--IT WILL BE CLEANED NEXT WEEK! THE BATHROOM IN THE BASEMENT WILL BE FIXED UP AND PAINTED NEXT WEEK TOO. WE PLAN TO PAINT THE YELLOW BEDROOM WITH THE TEDDY BEAR BORDER. WE'RE GOING TO CLEAR IT OUT SO YOU CAN WALK INTO THAT OTHER BASEMENT BEDROOM SOON.

Hmm, maybe it would be better to wait another week to list it? But we're losing time here!

I'll ask our realtor friend this afternoon, when he's here to take pictures.

YIKES!