Thursday, October 25, 2007

13 Things I Need To Accomplish Before My Parents Arrive


Edited because we're making progress - yippee!

My parents are arriving this Wednesday for a much-anticipated visit which means that in between everything else we've got going on this weekend (hosting a Halloween party on Friday afternoon - yes, we decided to go ahead and do one for our anglo friends even though Halloween isn't celebrated here in Israel, company for lunch on Saturday, and a host of other craziness) we have to make a serious dent in our "oh my god my parents are coming" to-do list, which includes:

1. Hang new light fixture in their bathroom, to replace the one I broke 6 months ago. Can't have them peeing in the dark!

2. Put all the pool bags away for the season, thereby getting them off of the closet door handles where they're hanging now

3. Shovel all my junk off the table in the guest/computer/storage/junk room and find someplace upstairs for it all

4. Take digital pictures of all the kids' artwork so that I can throw it all out put it away somewhere.

5. Find a place to store the highchair. Now that Maya has finally agreed to give it up it certainly doesn't need to stay in the middle of the kitchen.

6. Give that giant bag of used books to my cleaner - that one will happen tomorrow

7. Buy 2 new pillows - decided not to bother

8. Find and buy an English language road atlas - regional one apparently doesn't exist, and we've got a national one already

9. Get a sitter for the night of my parents' 40th anniversary (we've already got dinner reservations here)

10. Clear out the small dresser in their room

11. Rehang the big hanging storage thingie properly (instead of leaving it hanging from the handle of our stacked up suitcases - we're going to need those suitcases for Florence!)

12. Stock up on meat and good wine

13. Find decent map of our town (preferably in English so I don't have to start messing around with white-out or photoshop) and mark out all key locations so they can find their way around while we're away (did I happen to mention we're going to Florence for a week while they're here - with NO kids?!?) It wasn't in English, but I did manage to find an electronic copy that I could add English to without too much hassle.








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43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lots to do there! I hope you enjoy their visit, and have a great time in Florence.

Dreamer said...

WOw. Have fun!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I was wondering what you were going to do with the kids.

And yes, let your parents pee in the dark. The only people who really need to see to pee are little boys, and they're not watching, anyway -- unless they are watching the mess they're making.

Have fun with your parents!!!

Anonymous said...

Visits are fun, but the certainly are a lot of work.

Janet said...

oooh that chestnut, beans and truffle soup sounds GREAT!!!

Have fun, with them and in Florence, too!

Emmyrose said...

Sounds like you're going to be very busy, good luck! :)

Lori said...

Im lucky...my parents are local:) Good luck with all of that and have fun. Dont forget to breathe!! Happy TT.

Phyllis Sommer said...

wow...quite a list! i'm sure you'll get it all done because you have the incentive of a *vacation*!!!! good luck, tho:-)

Anonymous said...

No way--you're going to Florence? How totally cool. Can't wait to read all about it ;)

and good luck with the English map.

Robin said...

I'll have to do a list of what we eat there for you Janet. With all those little tapas-sized portions and four people I shouldn't have any trouble getting to 13.

Sadly, I just found out that no English map exists. Looks like I've got a very long date with power point...

Joyismygoal said...

please relax and just enjoy they want to see people and won't judge thehouse:>

Anonymous said...

Wow Wow..seems like u're going to be quite busy..

kristinaQ said...

oooh looks like you have your hands full... :)

Happy TT!

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

sounds like you have a challenge ahead - the journey starts with the first step ... enjoy your parents visit and that special holiday !

Anonymous said...

Just don't exhaust yourself so much that you can't enjoy the visit! (Fixing maps with white-out: really? It would never have occurred to me to do that. Can't you get one of those online ones that's in English or are they not reliable enough?)

Robin said...

Nope, sadly there aren't ANY available in English or I wouldn't even think of doing this. My parents are going to be shuttling the kids all over town, I have to get them something with at least the bare minimum - where is the school, where is Maya's gym class, where is hockey, or the doctor, or...

Gattina said...

Bah, just think you made a spring cleaning, lol !

Anonymous said...

:)...I just managed all of this and some others last week, when my family landed on me over the weekend, as always I left out quite a few tidbits on the list and some I forgot to put on the list! We never managed the get-away though. Florence sounds lovely, have fun.

Anonymous said...

That's alot to do. May you finish it all with time to spare so that you can truly enjoy them when they arrive.

Have a wonderful time in Florence. Take lots of pictures to share!

~X

Jo said...

Enjoy their visit.......you sound very busy.

Anonymous said...

You sneaky little minx. You set that whole I-need-to-get-so-and-so-done list up just so you could brag again about going away for an adult holiday to an exotic location.

What am I going to do without you? Will you have internet access so you can still come and visit me on my blog? LOL

Waaaa!!! I wanna come! Don't forget to take heaps of photos... of the outside of the shoe stores, inside, trying shoes on... yeah you get the point.

Oh, and hope you get everything done that you need to :)

Pieces of Me said...

Lots to do. Have a nice trip..Florence is an amazing city

Head Gaggler said...

That's great that your parents are coming to visit. I hope you knock out that To Do list soon.

Sparky Duck said...

Isnt the preparation of the arrival of guests just so much fun? You get yourself so tired you dont enjoy the first days of the visit. Good luck

Red Garnier said...

Lots of things to do, oh me oh my! ;) HAVE FUN ROBIN!

Anonymous said...

Number 4 made me laugh out loud. hehehe!

EHT said...

Florence....I love how you throw that in so casually at the end. :)

I'd love to go there to explore and take pictures. Maybe one day...hubby was there while in the Navy.

Thanks for visiting History Is Elementary!

Anonymous said...

I don't know about you, but even though I'm well into adulthood, having my parents come to visit always reminds me of being a kid and hoping I won't get ordered to clean my room because it doesn't meet mom-standards.

Great list.

Anonymous said...

I hope you can finish everything up before they get there!
Mine is up here;
Thursday Thirteen!
Happy TT!

Ann Aguirre said...

Yeah, I think leaving them peeing in the dark would be a bad idea. Messy too. Hope you get it all done!

pussreboots said...

Good luck on your chores. Happy TT.

Cecily R said...

I totally feel you on #4! We're over loaded here too!

Believer in Balance said...

I'm always more motivated to get things done when I have guests coming! I should do all that work and just enjoy it myself, but I never do!

L^2 said...

Wow, that's a lot of stuff to get done! Good luck, and hope you and your parents have a wonderful visit.

mother in israel said...

Hey, neighbor! Have a great trip.

Eimi said...

Stop blogging and get doing! ;P
have a fun time!!

Nicole said...

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you! Best of luck with that list.

Denise Patrick said...

Lots and lots to do. So, are you going to Florence and leaving your parents with the kiddos?

Hope your parents have a good time.

Happy TT!

Anonymous said...

I hope you have a great visit, and it doesn't turn into one of those fish and relatives things I always experience.

Thanks for stopping by my 13 English teacher bumper stickers list.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

The fluorescent light in our bathroom burnt out a month ago - we're quite happy with the glowing ambiance from the nightlight. Happens.

I just helped my mother-in-law do the same thing to her house before their 50th anniversary bash last Saturday. Scoop, stuff, stash, wipe, fluff, smile! Hug!

Anonymous said...

LOL I have a similar list - it is titled "OMFG My MIL is coming - WTF was my husband thinking telling her she can stay here?!?!"

She arrives on the 8th and I will be ready to see her leave on the 7th :)

The stuff I will have to do around here just to have it not be good enough...

Anonymous said...

Good luck getting everything done! Just think, once it's done, you can relax in Florence.

Have a great visit with your parents,Robin.

deedee said...

Okay, now you have me hungry. The fresh calamari with white beans and tahini sauce sounds very yummy!!