Thank you for the Carl Kasell videos!

Dana, that is way worse than my house woes today. Yuck.

Husband's not home yet, but it seems like the only options are to get another appraisal (which we'd have to pay for, and which would surely delay the closing, which is in a week), to walk away from the sale, or to eat the difference.

Ugh, Dana. None of those are fun options.

At 7pm my darling son, whom I love and therefore did not kill, said to me, "Mom, it looks like you need to do some laundry. The basket is full."

Ha. Are Casper and Dillo old enough to learn how to do the laundry themselves? I am so looking forward to the day when I can foist some chores off on the kids.

I'm sorry, Dana.

Laundry was my job from the time I was 9 or 10, at least partly because my parents have low standards. I mean, I just sorted the darks and lights and washed everything in warm.

Casper can do a load, with direction/reminders about settings. Dillo is too short still. The family I know with 8 kids set 10 as the Age of Doing Your Own Laundry (and as their youngest is now 11, presumably the mother now only does her own!)

Both kids can clean the cat litter box, do bathroom sink and toilet, and vacuum, although in all cases Dillo needs some encouragement. We've kind of fallen down on the dishes front. They can't make beds because apparently fitted sheets are mystifying.

Picking up socks from the living room floor remains a work in progress.

Homeowning, the American dream. I don't envy you your travails, Dana.

LeN! Your freaky shoes have earnt you money!

I came into the office today to two monitors (normally it's laptop screen and monitor). That means they're not going to fire me (soon) right?

Casper can do a load, with direction/reminders about settings.

Some advice I saw once about this: put little stickers (like the ones for chore charts) on the machines at the places where the knobs and buttons should be for a regular load of laundry.

The family I know with 8 kids set 10 as the Age of Doing Your Own Laundry

That was my family's Laundry Age, too. For some reason I think 8 was Washing The Dishes Age. (My mom even gave me this whole spiel about how when you turn 8, you get your very own Dish-Washing Apron! I was not impressed.)

Although I honestly don't remember if my brother had to start doing his own laundry at 10 or washing the dishes at 8. I feel like he at least had to do his own laundry, because my mom would not put up with doing her kids' laundry when they were damn well able to.

I cannot overstate the extent to which I do not want to keep working for the next hour and a half.

That is all.

No, wait, there's more. Either my allergies or the meds for them are making my eyes all dry and irritated, and every time I think "Ow, my eyes are dry" I get earwormed with What I Did For Love.