Fleur de Lis Homeschool Blog: Packing July 7-12, 2014

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Packing July 7-12, 2014

We couldn't take our big aquarium with us, so Giz and Grampy agreed to babysit our Sucker Fish....they had no idea just how big our Sucker Fish was!!!! They were impressed!

Dh use to keep part of his collection of cooking books above our cabinets--now Dd is cleaning it up!

Giz sat there and ordered Dd around, and they made great progress!

A baby Preying Mantis!!!!

Our backyard.....usually the only sound you hear is birds tweeting!

Saturday---Realtor Day!
We had an appointment with the realtor to come and take pictures on Sat. at 1:30pm. So we all busted everything we've got and actually got it done in time. It is SO, SO, SO nice to see the house 'perfect' for once! No clutter on the floor AT ALL! No strings, bows & arrows, lego's, books....nothing---spotless! It is nice! I asked Dh and Dd 'wouldn't it be nice to live like this?' and they clearly stated "NO!" They think empty is unloved and not any good at all! They love their "stuff" Anyway, the house goes on the market TODAY! Please pray with me that it sells quickly and if possible, for the asking price, so we can find a new home (and move out of the apartment!!!).

I just hope that I can do a better job of getting rid of some of their stuff in the future. they really like to keep each and every thing they get...regardless of any other factor than "G gave me this, or R gave me this, or I got this on that...detail, insert story!" I do admit I had a few boxes that I put a few of my favorite rocks in and as I wrote the contents of the box and was writing "rocks", I thought...Hmmmmm, I don't think my mom would be boxing up rocks on any of her moves! So, I guess I am guilty too. Not that I boxed up a lot of rocks, but just the fact that I am bringing my "collections" of rocks, pinecones, acorns, and numerous other nature findings means I don't have a lot of ground to complain! Did I just tell the world how weird I am???!!!

Friday: We had an appointment for Dd's dermatologist in the morning. It took the whole morning. Then we took our magazines to the library, for their magazine section. I had to mow during the hot part of the day. Dh came home to help us clean and pack!

Thursday: Dd potted a few plants in pots to take with us.

Wednesday: All in all, a good day--but I didn't get as much done as I should have. I had to pay some bills and make some calls and that took a good 2 - 2 1/2 hours. It all had to be done. We first ran our errands, dropping of paper recycling, going to Aldi's grocery store, and then dropping some more stuff at Goodwill (and forgetting one bag at home!). The whole morning and early afternoon was shot.

The best part is that the past 2 days my Dd has been doing a better job helping. The change----me writing the things she needs to do down on paper in list form. She happily does each task and marks a line through each thing as she gets it done. I know she likes lists, but it hadn't occurred to me to do it in this scenario.

Today was another day of packing the weird stuff. For example, when Dd was 1 years old, for Christmas, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Peggy gave her a "Bear Chair"--a cute light brown stuffed animal chair. This is a big stuffed animal/chair. It took up a whole box! I managed to squeeze in a red bag in the corner, but it was tight! Then there are the odd pans and silicon molds that Dh has in the kitchen--that he has never used, but hopes to! There is no more room in the garage, unless I give up my walkway. So, I have been trying to stack things up high--and am getting close to being out of options. I might have to start putting some things in the house closets!

Finally, I should mention our highlight of the day--the "L" family picked up Dd at 2:45 and she got to play all day with her buddies! I went over at 6:30 for dinner with them and had a fantastic time. We didn't leave until 9:10! She made a tomato dish, fresh sliced tomatoes with lemon basil on top that was so good. A ground pork with string beans, brown rice, and a red cabbage with a different green bean. For dessert--"A" and my Dd made a cake, and the frosting, and decorated it with basil flower blooms. Such a happy, happy night. I am so thankful to have the "G" and "L" family as friends, and it makes our move so much harder. It took me years to develop a good trusting, sharing friendship where we all know and confide with each other. I know I will keep in touch with them online, like I do Christie and Chelle---but I will miss the hugs and face to face chats so much!!! I should be saying how thankful I am for the internet and free access to friends. I have lost touch with my camp and college friends b/c we didn't have an established communication after I left and have never really begun a dialog with those old friends...and now it seems too hard to do?!

Tuesday:We had H.G. visiting me and her daughters visiting Dd---so we had that to look forward to as we worked in th
e morning. Dd had to clean out her room again! She had been bringing things to it. Tuesday was one of the hardest days so far. I didn't feel good physically, and mentally I was worn down. The visit from H.G. definitely got me a re-charge and we were able to work together and wipe down some of the floor molding/trim upstairs.

I put some "staged" furniture in the dog/junk room to make it look a little better than an empty room would look. I cleaned off the counter in front of the sink; sort of a bar area, where you might sit on bar stools and talk to the people in the kitchen--but the counter is too high for stools (imvho). It looks so different to have that counter cleaned off.

I'm still feeding the birds--just more sparenly. They say to "ween" bird feeder birds slowly so they don't starve. We have been having HUMMINGBIRDS here each day. They are loving the Hosta blooms right now. The purple cone-flowers are perfect right now, as are the daisy's, and the Black-Eyed-Susan's are just starting to open up. Of course, I loved when the poppy plants were blooming so very much--but this time is also very enjoyable. Our sunflowers are getting so big, a few are 8-9 feet tall already. It is hard to sit here in the morning and hear the birds all cheeping and enjoy the little nature preserve I have made, and know these are very numbered days.

Now that Pappa Kitty has moved to the farm, the rabbits are just down right spiteful! Laying in our yard in the middle of the day, without a care in the world!

Monday:

I got our master bedroom's walk-in closet done yesterday. It is about the same size as our kitchen, so that wasn't as easy as it sounds. I had forgotten I had some stuff still in the dog/junk room...so that is done. And about 8 more boxes of the weird stuff in our living room that has been awkward.

The worst part, is I have a habit of keeping boxes---empty boxes! Sometimes it is practical--we know what we own! But, some of the empty boxes are Dd
s shoe boxes from when she was 3,4,5, 6 (years old)---those cute little boxes. I only bought 1-2 pairs of shoes a year, so there isn't a lot---but I still couldn't bring myself to get rid of them.....yet.

I also got our kitchen pantry cleaned up and made our canned vegetables look pretty. I plan on leaving some of the canning jars, full of veggies on the shelves to make it look nice. We have a nice pantry room, and it took quite a while.

I also got about 8 boxes packed and out to the garage with our odd stuffs...a real mix match of things. Dd scrubbed Dh's bathroom and got it looking tip-top.

Our realtor called and went over some of the basic's with me...I had no idea how much money realtor's charge...yikes!

Dd finished the Reader I gave her:

Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

and is now focusing on:

Little House on Rocky Ridge by Roger Lea MacBride and David Gilleece

and we are still reading this book together:

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller

Sunday: I piddled around a little--I couldn't resist weeding a little in the garden, putting down some mulch around the flowers, plants, trees, and bushes. We filled Dh's car up with as much stuff as would fit and sent him back to Michigan for another work week without us. He was really tired after working Friday and Saturday. With his parents being here on Saturday, he really tried hard.

Audio's:
We spent our days packing and listening to our favorite audio's....that we have already heard over and over! Still great, though!