We got to see the professional photographer’s pictures of our home yesterday. Pretty shnazzy, if I do say so meself. He even added gorgeous blue sky (despite it actually being a dark, dreary, rainy day), cozy fires in the fireplaces (despite the fact that in our 9 years of living here, we’ve never once had a fire in them), and he added a Seattle skyline ‘movie’ to the TV screen! We saw the flyer for our house – the realtors did an AWESOME job! And we’ll be listed early tomorrow morning. Basically, “we’re live and it’s show time, people!” Showings could start tomorrow. So, I decided since exiting our home with three kids is always a time-consuming affair and we’re usually leaving the place in a slight state of mess and general chaos, we should have a couple of dress rehearsals seeing as starting tomorrow, the house needs to be spotless EVERY time we depart. Wow. Crazy.

I figured it would take us three hours to get out the door. All counters need to be wiped, window blinds opened, drawers/closets/cupboards closed, toys put away, pretty props out, beds made, baby gate removed (so that they can actually get in since the whole toddler-lock system seems to stump most people), sinks cleaned, mirrors, floors, etc. etc. etc. We managed to make it out the door in about 30 minutes without any major tears, screaming or loss of limbs. I was proud. I was impressed. Then we got home and discovered that Zachary had left a pair of his underwear on the middle of their bedroom floor. Nice touch. I’m sure the stager would approve. That’s why they call it a ‘dress rehearsal,’ I suppose. And lesson learned: get the kids in the car and do one final sweep before we actually leave.