Can somebody pack for me???

Okay, so I am sitting here writing on my blog when I should be packing. I have been busy today, really... I spent most of the morning working, then the afternoon organizing... I usually try to avoid working on the weekends but there is so much to wrap up before I leave for 18 days. Now I am making stir fried rice for dinner. The brown rice is cooking right now... My kids love brown rice, yea! They are pretty good about eating healthy food so that makes part of my life easier!

Usually for trips I pack the night before. I know I really need to at least pull the suitcases out or something. Instead I have been organizing the house. Right before I leave on a trip I do this crazy deep cleaning, sanitizing - clean out junk drawers OCD type of cleaning. I have two reasons for this. First one being that I like to return to a clean house after my trip. Second, and this is morbid, but I think if anything happens to me on my vacation, I wouldn't want anyone to see my house messy - yes, that means my junk drawers! Yes, I do this for every trip, not just because I am heading the Middle East! I do clean my house every week and even pay someone to do it for me on occassion, but the junk drawers are not a weekly thing for sure! I couldn't believe how many pencils I found! I am talking about the ones for kids with characters, holiday pencils, and pencils from party grab bags. I am talking over 100 pencils!

I have been doing laundry too! In my book that counts as part of the packing process. Because if it is not clean it can't go in the suitcase! I am still working out the whole different climate issues, and what to bring because I hate overpacking! Plus the few more formal things I have to pack. I have to go find our adapters and may need to go buy a few more. Between the cell phones, ipods, cameras, nintendo ds's and of course my hair dryer and flat iron we have a lot to plug in.

Well, off to finish making dinner and spend a nice relaxing evening in front of a movie!