We're like hairdressers on fire around here

As you can see, Sam has been busy lately. And the rest of us have too. Since matching a few weeks ago, we've been working on the following family task list:

I. Sell house.
II. Find apartment in Akron.
III. Arrange to transfer to grad school in Akron or Buffalo.

Looks like a short list, doesn't it? I thought so too, until I got to item I (sell house) A (clean house) part i (interior) subsection a (bathrooms) item 2 (upstairs) part a (chores that must be done while on knees scrubbing with a toothbrush) number 1 (grout). Then it didn't seem like such a picnic.

As exhausting as this process has been, I am happy to report that we have made progress on all of the items on our task list.

After contemplating selling our home ourselves, we decided to list with a local realtor. We followed her advice about tidying up a bit, and managed to transform our home from this:


To this (cue angelic choir):

Perhaps you recognize the chocolate cake displayed on the table in a completely un-staged, natural fashion.

We've had several prospective buyers come through this week. So far, I hate them all, because they insist on coming during Sam's nap, or show up half an hour late (after I've already awakened Sam and exhausted all his patience walking around the block in the freakish April heat (Seriously! 88 degrees! In Iowa! In April!)). But I'm sure I'll become fast friends with anyone who makes an offer. Unless the offer is too low. Then I'll still hate them. (Clearly I don't have the stamina to sell real estate professionally. This may be the last home we ever sell. Ever.) Anyway, I believe the point of this paragraph is this: we are making progress on list item I. I hope so anyway.

Now on to item II, shall we? We drove to Akron a couple weeks ago to look at apartments. While there, we were able to enjoy one of Akron's most coveted amenities: proximity to Grandma and Grandpa. This is how great they are: Mom promised to cook us breakfast every Saturday NO MATTER WHAT, and Dad ran all over the county looking for a book on CD for us to listen to on the way home. Nice, huh?

Mom and Dad also watched Sammy while Coach and I looked at apartments. They took him with them to General Conference, aware that he might not make it through the whole thing. ("He won't nap outside his crib," I assured them. It would be up to them to decide if they'd tough it out with a tired baby or take him home.) Of course, in the classic kids' tradition of proving their own parents wrong in front of their grandparents, Sammy laid his head down, told Grandma "night night" and snoozed comfortably on the chapel floor for 3 1/2 hours. No blanket, no backup blanket, no second backup blanket, no Bear's Big Blue House or Go Dog Go to read, no stuffed dog, rabbit, or bear--no sippy cup of water to clutch to his bosom. No crib. No--Sam slept without any of these necessities. And he has not done it again since.

I've digressed, haven't I? So anyway, we went to Akron, saw several nice apartments, and came back home and stewed for a week. Then we got online and found another apartment--a wonder apartment!--that seemed to have everything we were looking for for less money than any place else. Mom and Dad checked it out for us (see, I told you they're great!), and verified that the complex was neither built out of lincoln logs nor next to a sewage treatment plant. It seemed too good to be true. And it was, a little bit. Although the apartments are apparently nice and cheap, the property management company is a little, well, difficult, going so far as to insist that we sign an agreement promising to abide by all of the terms of their lease, but refusing to provide us with a copy of said lease. "It doesn't leave the office. Them's just the rules, ma'am." Yeah.

But anyway, managerial insanity aside, we sent in our application and the application fee (sort of a deposit on the deposit! How fun!), and plan to be spending the latter half of this summer by the pool. Come see us there!

As for item III, I persuaded my academic advisor to accept a class offered by another department so that I can have enough credits to earn my degree from Iowa but finish my classes at University of Buffalo so our whole family can live in the same state so I won't go crazy. (You can see why my advisor found my argument so compelling!)

And there you have it. That's where we've been. You'll notice that I made no mention of staying up-to-date with this season's 24, or working on the term paper that's due next week. That's because these are things I have not done. So no spoilers! (Unless you tell me what my term paper is about. I could probably use the help.)

And finally, have you seen this? This wonderful, fabulous, cozy little haven of a nursery that Coach created for Sam? If you haven't you really should, cause it's something else. I'm sad to leave it behind. And I know Sam will be too. He'll get through it though, as long as we bring along his blanket and his backup blanket and his backup backup blanket and his stuffed puppy and bunny and bear and all his favorite books and a sippy cup of water.