To Do List

I know that this time of year, it is a popular notion to have lists of what we are thankful for.
Gratitude lists, lists of all the blessings.

And while I have that list ready to go, for today I have something much more time consuming and dreaded.

A To Do list.

Why? Because I am hosting Thanksgiving this year.

Thankfully and gratefully hosting Thanksgiving because our family who lives on the other side of the mountain pass, graciously agreed to come here instead so that all of us "coasties" wouldn't have to travel over a snowy, mountain pass in our cars that are only equipped for rain.

But because I am neurotic (have we met?) I have created a huge list for myself of what I need to do to have my house ready to host such a fantastic holiday.

Are you ready for it? I'm sure many of you have similiar lists.

1. Clean all the bathrooms.
-Guests must be able to wash up for dinner without stepping on toys or UNDERWEAR and without gagging when they see the condition of the sinks and toilets.

2. Thoroughly clean kitchen floor.
-This way gravy and turkey juice spills will have a clean place to land.

3. All laundry clean and put away.
-Guests should not be witness to the mound of laundry buildup that includes UNDERWEAR. Clean, but UNDERWEAR nevertheless.

4.Last minute grocery shopping.
-Ham(for my allergic hubby-yes, he's allergic to turkey), drinks, butter, sweet potatoes.

5. Last minute shopping for table display.
-We are inheriting a 12 person table, and I am only set up currently to decorate an 8 person table. So off to Joanns I go.

6. Wiping down all appliances.
-This one came to me this morning. Who wants to cook in a kitchen with drip marks and handprints on everything?

7. Clean all windows.
-it's supposed to be sunny and 40 degrees here on Thanksgiving. We should be able to see the light streaming in unfettered by sticky hand prints and what I can only guess is a strange smudge from someone licking the window.

8. Vacuum the stairs.
-When my inlaws head upstairs to go to bed, they should not have granola bar pieces and "stuff" sticking to their socks.

9. Clean all children's rooms.
-There will be cousins here. And nothing is worse than trying to play when you have to step over garbage, toys and especially:UNDERWEAR. We have a theme going.

10. Wash sheets.
-Although the inlaws love us, I'm sure they would prefer to sleep on clean sheets, and not the ones we've been sleeping on.

11. Clean my oven
-When you have a turkey cooking for 6hours, you really shouldn't be smelling the burning smell of pizza cheese stuck to the bottom of the oven.

12.Clean The office -dun, dun, dun, dunnnnn
-Yes, the dreaded office. The dropping off point for all things without a home. The spot for piles of bills and papers that need to be shredded but haven't. The place of dead computers and toys that have lost their way.
-And if any guests need to use the computer, they should not be stepping over all of those things. But at least this is one room in the house with no UNDERWEAR! I think.

13. Clean My bedroom
-We will be lending our bedroom to Jeff's mom and dad, and for sure they will want to rest in comfort and be able to get up in the middle of the night without stepping over all the clean laundry that has found it's way into our room. Including, you guessed it, UNDERWEAR.

14. Clean the rest of the house.
-The parts of the house already not mentioned usually stay pretty tidy. But for this event, with lots of family and a NEW BABY, I want everything sparkling, sanitary, and clean.

So there you have it. I haven't even started yet and I'm tired. But excited. I love this time of year, I love the preparations (including the cleaning, so don't feel sorry for me) and I love gathering with our families and sharing what we're thankful for.

So I am off to begin my list, and if you need me, I'm sure you will be able to find me.

I'll be picking up UNDERWEAR.