When do I do laundry?

Honestly, since we listed our house last week, we have had a whirlwind of showings. Thursday through Saturday were the worst. I felt like we were banned from our house more than we were there, and when we were there, I felt like my poor kids couldn't pull one toy out of the bin without getting a "You have to put that back as soon as you're done" lecture. It's exhausting--physically and emotionally. And then, when can I do laundry or actually cook for my family?

Part of me is torn too. I really want the people who live in our house to love it the way I have. I want people to walk in and fall in love. The way I walked in the model home twelve years ago and just knew this was my house. I'm not sure if it was a premonition for all the years of growing and love that would happen in this house for my family, but I think it probably was.

I'd love to get an offer right away. But then again, part of me doesn't want to be kicked out of my house so quickly. After all, I will be driving my kids to their current schools until the end of the year anyway. Then I could take a load of stuff and unpack it each day after our closing, which is March 7 (about a week away). It's so close it stresses me out and excites me all at the same time. I'm trying to stop now and then, take a deep breath (between all the straightening and cleaning) and accept that what will be, will be. No use losing sleep.

Here's my beloved home on the market:

http://www.utahhomes.com/property/details/222971/MLS-1077395/13834-S-Crimson-Glory-Ct-W-Herriman-UT-84096.aspx

Be sure to tell your friends, if you know anyone in the market.

Science Fair 2012

Yippee--my favorite time of year, Science Fair. I'm kidding. I actually despise Science Fair and thought we were getting out of it because Bianca had to do History Fair and Debate this year.  But no such luck. The principal decided he wanted all the classes to do it.

This year, Bianca decided to soak pennies and dimes in different types of liquids to see which would rust the coins fastest. It was fine. Definitely not a winner but we knew that going on. Bianca and I both were okay not winning since she's having to go on with History Fair this year and that's already been so much work.

Since she knew she wasn't going to win, Bianca thought she'd go with funny instead. She included a picture of our cat, Jillyboo, because we had to stop the experiment when the cat kept drinking the white wine. What were we supposed to do? Add "cat saliva" to the ingredients? Jillyboo also seemed to take to the vinegar too. Strange cat. Here is Bianca with her "participation" ribbon. Ah, science fair--we have to do it but we don't have to like it.

On a side note, when I walked into Bianca's class on Friday for science fair, a bunch of the boys in her class were sitting at a table and asked me if I was someone else's mom. I told them, "I'm Bianca's mom." One of the boys--one who I happen to know is kind of the class bully--said, "Bianca's...scary." This surprised me a little. Sure Bianca's a little grouchy now and again, but scary? She's the smallest person in the class!

I talked to Bianca about it when she got home. Is that really the way you want to be known? As scary? She assured me that since he's so mean to everyone, she's mean back. I used the old mom adage "Two wrongs don't make a right." I convinced her to apologize to him and start being nice, whether or not he's mean. We'll see how this goes.

Valentine's Day

I love being a little bit nutty about holidays. I especially make sure I have a dress/outfit designated for each holiday for Portia. Here was Portia the day of her Valentine's Party at preschool. It doesn't last long (I know because Bianca won't wear anything I pick out for her anymore).

So Portia's hair is actually a lot longer than it seems (the curls seem to shrink it up) but here are the braid hearts I put in her hair for Valentine's.

It's official...

We're moving. Closing date March 7.

History Fair--District

The district level history fair was Friday. Bianca did her same skit--as a music professor teaching History 101 and a lesson on ragtime music. Bianca talks a little fast (how do you get her to slow down when she's nervous?) but she went away with the first prize in her division (presentation) and is going on to the Regions next month. We're going to work on slowing down, enunciating, and stop playing with her necklace for crying out loud--which is what the judge told her to work on. (The funny thing about this is that these are all things Eric and I had told Bianca not to do when she was rehearsing the night before.) I swear Bianca thinks I don't know what I'm talking about so it's nice to see this confirmed (to her) sometimes. Still, I'm very proud of her hard work. On to another month and a half of rehearsing the same skit.

Bianca and two friends from her class