What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Middle grade fiction book, I read it circa 1984-7. Main character is an early teen named Noah, who wears glasses and has acne. Next door neighbor is a girl his age, not really his friend but bugs him. She wears Chinos pants and her hair in braids and hangs from the top bunk of his bunk bed, watching him while he sleeps. Neighbors' infant is named Hastings and dressed in green, so Noah can't figure out whether it's a boy or girl. Noah's father is obsessed with efficiency, draws diagrams of how Noah should cut grass with the mower or what order to go thru grocery store aisles. Noah's mother is working on a thesis and wears ear plugs while writing, so Noah is completely on his own during the day. At one point when Noah's father's boss visits their home, Noah's mother mistakes the boss for a vacuum cleaner salesman.

This sounds so familiar!! I will be trying to remember!

Did you ever figure this one out? It's bugging me now.

I don't know if this is it (I couldn't find a good plot description online, sorry!) but I found a possibility. The cover is small, but looks like a boy with glasses who is mowing the lawn! (haha) Published 1983ish.

Time's Up! by Florence Parry Heide.

Worldcat description: Noah is afraid that life in the suburbs will be boring until he meets a clever girl named Bib and an unusual house painter named Bruce Dooster.
Google description: Noah expects a lonely summer because his mother never listens to him, his dad always gives him chores, and he is friendless in a new neighborhood, but the summer surprises him.

EDIT: looks like there's a sequel too: Time Flies!.

Great guess, Holly! I think you may be right. I found this description of Time's Up

...Noah spends half his time trying to avoid his pompous, slogan-making, efficiency-mad father's chore assignments and the other half enjoying his father's frequent business-related absence. Mom's a good egg but not much good at present, as she's writing a thesis and wearing ear plugs to help her concentrate. The preschooler next door seems unable to talk, and his sister Bib, Noah's age, is assertive, nosy (they meet when he wakes up to find her in his room), and overtalented. But suddenly all the things that haven't happened start happening, hilariously. Father is being promoted and transferred to Indiana, to Mom's and Noah's dismay. But then he brings home his irritated boss (they've missed a plane), whom Bib mistakes for the pizza man and Mom in her earplugs dismisses as a vacuum-cleaner salesman....

Hopefully, Emily will come back to confirm

That sure sounds like it :] Hopefully Emily will see this!

And depending on where that description is from, maybe someone can update the Goodreads description (in case someone else wants to look for this book one day!)

Yes! The author Florence Parry Heide sounded right as soon as I read the post. I have been trying to remember this title for about 15 years. I am so grateful to Holly and Tab!

Holly wrote:
And depending on where that description is from, maybe someone can update the Goodreads description (in case someone else wants to look f..."



Yay!

I found the above description in the Kirkus Review
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

I'm not sure if GR librarians use reviews for the book descriptions, but I posted the link just in case.