So...What's been going on lately?

This was the question posed by an old friend and neighbor who I haven't talked with lately, but who ran into me  last week at the Pinewood Derby.  So, I casually, but inaccurately replied, "Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that." I just couldn't bring myself to shout over the din of 50 Cub Scout families, "We're moving to Arkansas and I have 4 months to sell two houses.  What's up with you?" I thought it might be a bit much for her to process.


It has been a bit much for me to process,.  Now that we are closing in on the deadline for listing our home, the reality of having to pack and transport 8 persons' belongings is becoming a bit too much.  I have been slowly discarding books, unwanted toys and some leftover baby things, but I realized today that  I will need to empty and store entire rooms full of stuff just to get the house listed.  


Rob and I stopped by a neighbor's open house this afternoon just to get a look at something comparable in size and yard. They had the house professionally staged through their realty company and it looked great, in that "pretending-that-no-one-lives-here" way that real estate agents encourage.  We could see that we would need to pack up a number of the boys' toys and give everything a coat of paint, but we already figured on those things.  What really struck me, though, was the kitchen.  It wasn't new, but it was immaculate.  There was nothing on the counter but a bottle of dish soap and a decorative pitcher. Nothing else.  On my counter is the toaster, the blender, the standing mixer, the coffee grinder, the kitchen scale,  the bread machine, the dish drainer (full, of course), the napkin holder, the mug rack, the espresso pot, the St. Martha candle, the St. Joseph candle, the box of clementines, the basket with the bad bananas, the chipped cookie jar, the paper towel holder, the butter bell, three or four bottles of wine and the broken mug holding plastic teaspoons. Those are just the things that are supposed to be on the counter, to say nothing of the stacks of papers, the legos,  the watches, wallets and i-Pods that are left there each day. 


I am supposed to stow all this somewhere? This is the main room that we live in, and these are things that we use every day, so I am not sure how to do this yet.  We need to eat and clean and do homework still. Or, can I put the kids in storage, too? Hmmmmm...