Step 1b: Sell Stuff

While Dan was off enjoying a peaceful, relaxing drive across the United States (yeah, right), I was home, frantically getting ready for a garage sale (Fri/Sat) and open house (Sun 1-4).

As the week's focus had been on getting the RV ready to go to Baltimore, we didn't do anything to prep for the garage sale. To top it off, I pressured our new real estate agent in to having an open house on Sunday, 15.July. Oh boy. If anyone can over-commit, it's me.

Had a series of errands to run Thursday afternoon. Of about 5, only 2 were done, since our nanny forgot to leave the car seats with the grandparents. (!) Urgh. The kids had been promised a visit with "Passive" (our old cat) - so being the good ol' mom, I took an unplanned drive out to Issaquah to deliver car seats.

Made it home in time to gobble some dinner, then off to my 6pm appt. Home again around 8pm - informed the neighborhood has only one garage sale sign board, not the 2-3 I had expected. Charlotte arrived with the girls off at 8:30 and stayed so I could run out and get more signs at Home Depot.

Thursday night - pulled as much stuff down to the garage as I could.

Friday morning -

• 7:00 am - continued pulling stuff down to the garage - nothing is priced.
• 8:30 am - crud! It's 8:30. Gotta get signs out (still nothing priced).
• Posted signs backwards (from our house to the street) - by the time I got home, had three sets of people already at the house (still nothing priced... nanny outside trying to figure out what I'm thinking)
• Rest of the day pretty much went the same - every time I thought I could sit down, something else happened.... a phone call, a test drive of a car... another garage sale shopper
• Pulled more stuff downstairs - kid's toys, furniture, etc. At some point, Sophia was sitting on the front porch pointing to stuff and saying, "...and that's mine, and that's mine...." aww - poor thing.

Saturday -

• 9-4 same story except I was by myself with the two kids until about 10:30. Huge thanks to my mom for coming up for the day to help me - I don't think I could have done it without her.
• 5 - Oh! I have an open house tomorrow. Criminy. Start moving (keep moving?) - cleaned off the bookcases that are being picked up the next evening; cleaned off Dan's work bench (covered with electronics stuff); cleared out one bay of the garage and move Dan's car in.
• Bedtime - Sophia walks into her room and realizes virtually everything is missing - "Where my kitchen? Where my rocking chair?" ...
• 1:30 am - Fall in to bed

Sunday - Open House Day! Goal is to leave by 12:00....

• 7:30 - feed kids (neither eats) - put on cartoons
• Start frantically doing stuff .... dishes, vacuuming, making beds
• Make brownies (which don't cook through as I find out at noon)
• 10:30 - oh! gotta mow the lawn ("girls, I'm gonna be outside...." dull, TV-glazed eyes briefly blink at me, then return to the brain drain)
• 11:00 - I stink - gotta shower
• 12:00 - crud! brownies are goopy and look gross
• - pack up the kids,
• Shoot! Forgot about the bags of stuffed animals and miscellaneous bedding I moved out into the driveway - quick - cram it in the M3 - will it all fit? Is there still room for the kids?
• Run to the store, buy stuff and run home.
• leave kids in car (yelling at each other and me) ... put snacks out... call Andy to open the gate (which was still closed)
• 12:55 - jump in car and start down driveway - almost hit the realtor as he's coming up

At the end of the day all this effort results in lots of stuff being sold, 3 parties walking through the house, and the first proclamation that I ruined Megan's day...

After having promised the kids that we would go out to lunch (yes, Megan, you may have pancakes) and to the Children's Museum, I had to cancel the plans. We head north... traffic is bad. Finally get to Denny's at about 1:45 (what does this say about us that our kid's favorite place for breakfast is Denny's? I'm kind of embarrassed). I realize that by the time we finish eating lunch, we will have only about an hour to play.... for $15 admission? That's insane.

Breaking the news results in a total melt down and the first ever Megan proclamation of "You ruined my day. Why did you ruin my day?" Tried and failed to reason with her. Park + ice cream kind of helped, but not really. Oh well. Life is tough and I'm tired.

Got home to two messages from my sister, asking if they could come out and pick up the bookcases - sheesh. Yes. Come on over. Disassemble, finish clearing off --- guys arrive and move it out.

As I'm getting ready to fix dinner, a family that wants to rent the house shows up for a tour. Oh. This will never stop. Fortunately their son is 6 and he and Megan hit it off - manage to keep each other amused for the entire visit.

See the entry "Step 1: Ship RV" for how the rest of the evening went. Needless to say, I slept well and Monday morning came all too early.