Take a deep breath & stay calm!

That's what I'm telling myself today.

MARCH MADNESS!

Last week was a very crazy busy week. Our house was listed on Friday morning. Before the Realtor left, our Daughter in law's parents & Grandparents arrived from CA for the weekend and Ryan and Alishia's wedding reception here that we were hosting.

We had a grand afternoon, visiting & getting ready for the reception, a full house here for supper--In addition to Alishia's family, also Jana and her co-worker were here, Jeanne & Floyd and Mark & Relyssa. Jim and Lynisha & kids arrived later that night.

Saturday we headed over to decorate & set up for the reception, and it was a lovely day seeing so many & visiting. Of course a long day too, as we had a buffet lunch, & then clean up. By the time we got everything loaded back up and unloaded at home again, cleaned up, put away & the house ready for Sunday a.m. I was ready for bed!

I actually got a nap for a bit, the older kids loaded up everyone, down to the baby and went bowling for several hours and then to grab something to eat. Wonderful down-time for me!

Sunday was another big day. Our fellowship meeting here, then everyone (family/extended family) for dinner. By 3 p.m. I crashed again with a bad headache for a nap while everyone else went to G. meeting.

We reluctantly said goodbye to everyone...I have to admit it was a little hard to think about this weekend being our last big family party here! We've had so many wonderful weekends, potlucks & big family gatherings here.

Monday morning I hit the floor running. The whole house had to be clean & in order as Tuesday at 9 a.m. there was to be our first showing, and a Realtor tour plus two more showings scheduled for that afternoon. This means NO STUFFING OR CRAMMING IN CLOSETS, or like flylady says, "Stash & dash"! People who come to look at houses look in closets too!
Late in the afternoon I got a text from my daughter Lynisha. It said: "Supper will be delivered in 35-40 minutes. Enjoy"
I'm not sure anything could have made me happier at that point! What a wonderful thing to do!

I went to bed at 2:30 a.m., was up at 5:30 a.m. and walked out of a clean, totally in order house at 8:55 a.m.
I'm not a neat freak, I have 5 children plus the two of us parents living here. None of us do a very good job at keeping things picked up. This week has been quite the challenge, as along with Tuesdays showings, we had a showing Wed, Thurs, Friday and 4 on Saturday.
I don't think I would like to keep up that pace for very long! It was exhausting!

Saturday we got a call from the Realtor that someone had made an offer (one of Sat's showings)
We enjoyed our day on Sunday--a clean house & company for dinner too. On Monday we went to sign papers to accept the offer, along with 3 more showings during the day.

Tuesday I simply did not go anywhere, or do anything I didn't have to, and it was great to have some down time after having those crazy days behind me. I have to admit, I've never had ALL my house cleaned at the same time for this long! (it's kind of nice, but I really don't want to live quite this stressful!)

But today the panic set in.
I'm sorting, throwing & packing like crazy. I only have one month to get this done and be out of here!!

We are very excited to have a place in the country. I mentioned before it's been something we've wanted to do for a long time. NO regrets on moving--what we're leaving here, HOWEVER, We have lived here for a little over 17 years. We have 12 children who at one time all lived (or live) here. Our house is 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 laundry rooms and a huge family room in addition to the other "regular" rooms.
We still have 5 children at home, and we are moving to a house with 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen & porch.
Can you picture my problem? Oh yeah, and the fact that I'm a "save-a-holic" plus have several huge hobbies including about a gazillion books.

Nope, there is NO WAY. I cannot take it all, it will not even begin to fit.

Thanks for listening--I'll go back to work now. My panic has subsided for a while at least. I'll go back to Throwing, dumping, packing--along with my pile for probably the hugest garage sale I've ever had!