Hitting the Ground Running

In only 42 days I am moving to Japan and I think I am starting to hit a slight panic mode. Okay maybe more than a slight panic mode.

There is so much I still need to do here, not just before we move next month, but before they pack our stuff for the sea shipment on December 18. I have been busy stocking up on medicines (you can't find simple items like Tylenol very easily and medicines are 1/2 the strength in Japan. And speciality items such as Leptovox) or Viagra, you might as well forget it), food (cereal, granola bars, canned goods, dressings, peanut butter, mac & cheese, oatmeal, pancake mix, etc) and household goods (laundry soap, shampoos & conditioners, soaps, dishwasher liquid, Kleenex, paper towels, etc) I have picked out new master bedding, kitchen rugs and towels, bath towels and area rugs for the kids bedrooms. Even though our dining room is already full of stuff, I still have a long list of things I need to buy this week.

1. Shelves for linens to put in the storage room
2. Shelves for toys to put in the storage room
3. Baskets and bins for the kids closests and the bathroom cabinets
4. Some type of storage/drawer unit for Chris's closet (We are not taking his dresser)
5. Spare sheets for Chris's & Emily's beds
6. Extra razor blades & Emily's face wash
7. Picture frames
   
8. New kitchen dishes (We are keeping ours here to use and then put into storage)
   
9. Blank DVD Disks
10. Extra boxes of contacts
11. Artificial Christmas tree
    
12. Some last food items
    

This weekend I managed to sort Sam's bookshelf, Barbies and all our DVDs and VHS tapes. Although Sam has outgrown many books on her shelf I just cannot part with them. Some of them were mine and Matt's when we were kids, and others have been passed through all three of my kids. So into storage will go a whole tub of board and toddler books. I figure someday my grandchildren can have them.

Besides shopping for the above items, I have a whole list of things that needs to be done before next week. Just a few of the most important things include:

1. Mail Visa paperwork **MUST DO BY TUESDAY**
   
2. Starting to pull out clothes and items that we will be taking with us on the plane and put into suitcases.
3. Finish Christmas shopping & wrap gifts.
   
4. Sort through toy closet, dress up clothes and doll basket to take stuff that kids no longer play with or have outgrown to Guardian Angel store.
   
5. Organize office, purge magazines, file paperwork, sort through supplies.
   
6. Backup laptop and burn photo CDs.
   
7. Pick pictures to print and place in frames.
   
8. Clean junk drawer in kitchen.
9. Clean out dining room hutch and sort recipe books.
   
10. Call boat storage place and find a storage place for van.
    
11. Call painters for quotes to get bonus room and master bedroom painted.
12. Call rental agent regarding paperwork for January to get our house rented out.
    
13. Sort through game closet to decide what goes and what will be stored.
14. Organize coat closet.
15. Make hotel reservations for Dec. 19 - Dec. 22 and then Jan. 16 - Jan. 19.
    

All of the above needs to be done while I have to get the kids to school, homework done, get groceries for this week, gymnastics practices (everyday this week), laundry, cleaning the house, 2 Japanese classes, finish work for one client and set up meetings for another client. I am way behind in my blog reading and I apologize. I promise I will get to them soon. I am also going to get a small real tree for the kids to decorate so we have something "Christmasy" here. Plus it will be a nice surprise for Matt (who will be here in 9 days!!).

Things are crazy around here right now trying to get things done, but it is probably a good thing. It keeps me from worrying about moving 7,200 miles away, the transition, the kids, missing our friends and family, and just being scared/nervous about this whole adventure we are about to embark upon.

Oyasuminasi! (Means goodnight in Japanese)