Moving prep

For the past week, we've been getting ready to list our house. While it is exciting with the prospect of a new town and a bigger house (without so many stairs), it is also a little sad. I did shed a little tear when I watched the sale sign go up on Monday. But, on to the saddest part of moving...getting the house ready!

Our realtors came over and told us the house was in great shape and nicely decorated. That made me happy...until I learned we had a list of 75 things to do to "prep" the house. For those of you that have not moved, here are some of the major tasks that were somewhat surprising.

• Closets should be 1/2 to 1/3 empty (nothing on floors or upper shelves)
• Bathrooms should be empty (no rugs, no tissues, nothing)
• Kitchen counters should have no more than three items (on the ENTIRE counter space)

Today was our interior picture day, so we got everything done (except a few hidden things like cleaning out the fridge and oven). Our house officially goes up for sale tomorrow and I'm hoping it goes well. I'm not looking forward to random visits by home buyers and having to pack up Katie in a moment's notice. I'm also not crazy about people snooping around the house, but what can you do?

I've learned a lot about moving. Here are a few tips for future sellers:

• Uhaul has the lowest prices on boxes (although you can try to get some free ones using Freecycle), but they also have some great supplies.
• Get a storage unit. We are using EZ storage and it is very clean, big and secure. We got a 5x10 unit and have it about half full. It is $1 for the first month and about $85/month after that. Not too bad and definitely helps you empty the house.
• Make a list to get ready for listing...and cross things off. Like I said, our list was 75 items long. We did a little every night and finished yesterday.
• Make a list of "daily tasks" to get ready for visitors. Everyday, before you leave the house, bathrooms must be spotless, lights on, windows open, sink empty, etc. We'll start doing this tomorrow and will probably need to get up about 30 minutes early to get it done. Hopefully it won't be too bad if we split the jobs.

Please keep your fingers crossed that this works out for us. I think the stress is getting to me and I hope it will be over soon!

School pictures

Katie had her "school pictures" a couple weeks ago and we were told that she was quite a poser! What a ham!

16 week appointment

All is well with Baby #2 and they were able to find the heartbeat right away, this time. Heartbeat was in the 150s and I'm scheduled for my 20 week anatomy ultrasound in mid May.

Other than that, my blood pressure was great and I lost 5 pounds (combo of being sick and eating healthier foods). The doctor said I should probably start to feel movement in the next few weeks, so that will be exciting and possibly make up for my sore body and lack of sleep.

Grandma has been so kind to point out that the baby is now growing toenails and urinating. Lucky me!

Spring Break: Part 2

Happy Easter everyone!

Before Katie wakes up, I'm going to attempt the rest of our spring break recap.

Since we were only 10 miles from JMU, we had to go visit, take pictures and get some JMU goodies for Katie. Our first stop was the arboretum, where the flowers were in bloom and Katie was thrilled with the ducks and geese.

She even took the time to stop and smell the flowers...so cute!

Our next stop was the quad. It was 11:30 in the morning, but it was a Sunday...so the students were still in bed. Katie had the quad to herself and loved running around and going up the steps of Wilson hall. I think she fit in very well...future Duke?

Look closely...can you find my peanut?

Later in the week, we traveled an hour south to the Natural Bridge zoo. I don't think Katie could believe she was looking at real animals, but enjoyed feeding them nonetheless. Yes, it was difficult for me to watch unknown animals touch my child, but I did disinfect her after the visit.

"Hi llamas, please don't eat me."

The giraffes were awesome and you were even allowed to touch and feed them...which I thought was a little odd.

The goats were just the right size for Katie and they love food, even though I'm sure they get fed plenty. They followed Katie up and down the fence, hoping she'd drop more food their way.

Before we left the zoo, we came across an alligator that Katie loved. It may have been her favorite thing at the zoo...and it wasn't even real. Let's hope she isn't this friendly if she comes across one in the wild. "Algate algate!"

"Buh bye algate, I wuv you"...

We had a great time on our week away and sadly had to come back home. Hopefully we can plan another vacation soon!

Spring Break: Part 1

We just returned from a week at Massanutten Resort (near JMU, in the mountains) and had a very relaxing time. It was nice to have a week where we were not preoccupied with chores hanging over our heads. We even took naps...it was great!

Of course, Katie had a great time at the numerous playgrounds. We had a few really nice days and she ran around and took charge of the playground. She especially loved the curvy slides and is getting better about enjoying the swings.

There was even a "race car", so she pretended to be Uncle Mikey and zoom zoom away (nevermind that Uncle Mikey only rides bikes now).

Massanutten also has numerous pools and a kiddie pool. At first, Katie was nervous and clung to me...which made me regret not keeping her in swim classes. Then, once she saw the other kids, she started to splash around and act like she could do anything in the water. She was quite the swimsuit model!

This little girl kept coming over to Katie to tickle her. I like this photo because I imagine that Katie is standing up to her and telling her to back off!

We had lots more adventures, but thats all I have time for now. Will post Part 2 later!