Single parenting and getting things done...

I have the utmost respect for single parents.  Seriously, you guys are amazing.  A was gone all last week to TX for a conference.  We got a serious snow storm just after he left (seriously like an hour later) that dumped about a foot of snow.  Thankfully I had good friends come to help us dig out because our driveway is HUGE!  We got another 6" or so on Saturday afternoon/night...  Needless to say, I'm looking forward to not shoveling and dealing with snow next year.  Luckily, being a single parent for a week didn't completely stop me from getting some things done.



I've been trying to be less task oriented.  It's not my nature to just sit back and relax, but I'm trying.  By trying, I mean that I force myself to stop and play with my littles, I force myself to shut the "get 'er done" part of my brain off (for a while).  It's really hard for me to do, but I'm making progress.  I was raised in a very German family, which is what I attribute my busy-bodiness too.  I remember always hearing my Grandma say that "idle hands are the devil's playground."  That was our cue to get moving.  I've actually been working with a therapist on dropping this particular personality trait.  Well, maybe dropping it is a bit harsh, a balance is more what I'm looking for, because at times it serves me well.

Preparing for a move overseas with two littles in about six months has pushed my getting this done habit into overdrive.  In fact, within two days last week I'd nearly cleared my to-do list from my last post. 

1.  I called the car company about buying back our vehicles.  I talked to a guy named Tim..  He was uber NOT helpful.  In the meantime, we've talked to a few friends/family that might be interested in taking over our van and/or car.  We're hoping to go that route vs the dealership to avoid paying any large sums of cash for either vehicle.

2.  I called the new realtor and met with him on Thursday.  Let me just say, A-MA-ZING!  Seriously..  He was super.  He isn't a salesman, which I liked the most.  Our current realtor is your very typical salesman.  Initially, this caught my attention as he made a lot of promises.  I guess that's what it's supposed to do.  Unfortunately, he hasn't really come through on all the promises he made.  The new guy seems very knowledgeable and had some excellent suggestions.
               a.  Change our learning room (which is the first room you see upon entry) to a simple sitting
                    room.  This required a lot of moving around, patching, painting walls, getting a couple
                    of small chairs, and clearing out the office for our learning room (I LOVE craigslist).
               b.  Get better pictures up on our listing.  The ones that our current realtor has are very dark
                    and not attractive. 
               c.  Have an open house and get the word out with his contacts.
I've excited.  Of course, this means we need to get our current realtor to cancel the last 3 months of our contract with him.  He wasn't thrilled when I gave him the news, but I'm hopeful.

3.  Vaccines...  More on this later.  No, I didn't schedule anything.

4.  No progress yet on passports.

5.  Scheduled my mammogram, but now am considering cancelling until I have a chance to talk this http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/confirmed-breast-screenings-cause-more-harm-good
over with my nurse practitioner. 

6.  Started checking on housing on craigslist, but there's a ton out there, it's just a matter of selling these houses first, and going from there. 

So, the new list for this week is pretty much wrapped around getting the new sitting room ready.  P and M have a play date with a friend tomorrow morning, so that will be a good time to force a break.  The only other thing I want to get done this week is to cancel our listings with the current realtor and start our listing with the new guy.  I'll post a link to it when it happens.