the "big news" revealed, to-do list, and meet fran

So, a while back I wrote that we might have big news coming up. I'll bet some of you thought I was pregnant. Boy would that throw a wrench in my marathon plans! The news was that we were preparing to put our condo on the market, try to sell, and possibly even relocate. However, for the fifty millionth time we've ended up deciding against that. The housing market is so, so bad right now, especially in our area and especially for condos which are (almost literally) a dime a dozen in our town. So yet again we're just going to wait longer, put more into savings, and hope that we can sell next year. I'd like to have another bedroom so we don't have to worry about space for guests and an eventual second baby. We'd love our own outdoor space and to be out of a homeowners' association. But, our condo is beautiful and new, we do have plenty of space for now, we do have a small outdoor area, and most importantly- we have good jobs and are not under water with our mortgage like so many people are. I can't imagine how much more stressful it would be if we had to pay to sell our place. We are very lucky, and we need to remind ourselves of that when we start feeling antsy to move.

Now that I know for sure there aren't any big changes coming, it's really time to get into high gear for back-to-work readiness! I have a long list of things to get done before next week. Some, luckily, are already done and Celia loves to "help" me and play on her own when I'm doing projects upstairs.

• Get lunch boxes for Celia and me. Done
• Order prints so we have updated pictures of Pita. Done
• Assemble a bucket of cleaning spray, rags, toilet brush and cleaner to keep downstairs. We have three levels, and having separate supplies for the bottom level will make it much more convenient to clean down there. If everything's there it only takes a few minutes to clean the bathroom and hall.
• Declutter bathroom closets. We have so many things that should be thrown out. 
• Go through my closet and donate anything I won't wear this fall, or haven't worn all summer. Done
• Declutter the kitchen drawer I use as a catch-all.
• Make dinners to freeze for the school year. 
• Sign Celia up for a fall music (or maybe gym?) class. Done
• Pack up my things for work (which means going through everything, organizing, deciding what toys and materials to bring/get rid of) 
• Appreciate and enjoy my last week of being a full-time stay at home mom for the summer! 

And now, it's time to introduce you to someone. She's the newest resident of our garage.

Fran Freezer!

Fran is my birthday gift from my parents. We went to get her yesterday, and as we were getting back in the car I said "I'm so excited!". Chris gave me a strange look. "You're excited?" And I realized that I truly must be getting old if I think a freezer is a really exciting birthday present. Fran is going to make life so much easier! I can stock up on things we like to have on hand and freeze more dinners ahead of time. During the school year dinner time is so much easier when I have something already made in the freezer. I would have liked to have gotten started making things a lot sooner, but if there was a chance we'd be moving there was no sense in getting the freezer. Now we have it and I can get started.

What's on your to-do list now that the season's changing and school's starting up?