it's coming along!

It's been another busy yet productive week. I subbed two days this week (which always throws my routine) but the house is "detail-cleaned", the painter has done the trim upstairs and will return Monday/Tuesday to finish the trim and paint the downstairs. The carpet will be installed on Feb. 1 and we will be ready to list on Feb. 9. The house is moving along and looking good. Simple things like new drip pans on the stove and an actual futon cover on the futon (!) make a world of difference. We meet with the mortgage guy next Thursday, so we can be pre-approved and ready to go. It's crazy how quickly things start moving once we set our minds to it!

In home news, it is a challenge to try to maintain order amidst the chaos of workers coming and going. The kids are a bit snippy, which I'm sure is stress. I know I'm snippy too!

We ran out of dishwasher powder tonight, and rather than dash to Safeway for a box, I did a quick google search on "homemade dishwasher powder." So easy! So cheap! 2 cups borax mixed with 1 cup baking soda with white vinegar in the rinse compartment. We'll see how clean things get, but I like this almost as much as my simple soap nuts, and general cleaning with vinegar or baking soda. (Did I mention, thanks to my short hair, that I now shampoo with baking soda and rinse with apple cider vinegar? Laugh if you will, but it's dirt cheap, natural, and my hair, short though it is, feel soft and silky!)

Our meals are still coming from the pantry, freezer and basement "root cellar." So far, so good on that end. I shared a list of our most common "go-to meals" on my other blog. Those foods and squash soups are pretty much standards around here these days, and it's really fun (in a nerdy sort of way) to only go to the grocery store to buy (local of course!) apples and cheese.

The majority of "stuff" has either been donated or packed away. The kids each have an under-the-bed box with their "must haves" and the superfluous kitchen and family room things are also boxed. This weekend we will pack the pictures and move the Lego table and Paul's computer/desk to the basement. A quick switch of family room/living room furniture will pretty much be it and we will be ready for the final touches. Wow.

Ted has started on the Magic Treehouse series. He thinks it is easier than Horrible Harry because "they don't do that annoying hyphen thing all the time," which I can see would get old. He is reading 2-3 chapters a night and doing 15 minutes of multiplication homework on the computer (kids and computers these days! even the homework is on the computer!) He is officially off his ILP and "no longer eligible" for services. Hee. Love it.

*Update* Everything in the dishwasher was as clean if not more clean. Seventh Generation? Buh-bye.