Panic on the streets of London

Hurrah the Smiths are talking again!

Double hurrah Blur are doing two gigs in Hyde Park next year!

But really this song words title refers to the fact that we have only a few days before we leave for Australia and I have to:

Dig out summer clothes for all 3 of us
Check Olive's summer shoes still fit
Finish writing and sending Christmas cards
Finish buying and wrapping Christmas presents
Stand in line at the post office to post Christmas presents
Pack
Make Olive's nursery teachers' Christmas presents (note to self, this was not the year to get all crafty, should have visited SpaceNK like every other year)
Pack
With Olive write and distribute her Christmas cards
Pack
Clean and tidy house for friends who are staying here while we are away
Stop worrying that temperamental boiler will cause them havoc while we are away
Stop asking Matt "Have we definitely got a child's meal for Olive?" 3 or 4 times a day
Stop asking Matt "Can we check-in on-line all the way through to Adelaide?" 3 or 4 times a day
Stop asking Matt any other questions to do with our flight
Pack
Make lists of what we need to pack
Chase FedEx for delivery of new Charlie and Lola wheelie case for Olive AGAIN
Pack
Ad infinitum

Matt and I woke up this morning and decided that we would pack, sort out our list and be very organised so there is no last minute rushing around.

So what did we do?

Downloaded Christmas carols from iTunes, built a bear cave with Olive and ran around the house growling, then spent most of the afternoon in The Prince Arthur eating moules and drinking and laughing at Olive playing with her dinosaurs and her new found skill of mimicking people's voices. Then lit the fire and watched The Muppets Christmas Movie.

And what will I be doing tonight?

Sitting in front of a roaring fire with a glass of something fizzy watching the X Factor final.

There's going to be lots of last minute rushing around.

And Olive says that she will most definitely not be sleeping on the plane.

But here is a pic of an earlier industrious afternoon. Despite both of us being full of snot Olive potato stamped, then decorated a huge batch of Christmas cards. She looked at her labours and said "I do good work Mummy".


PS I need suggestions for books to read on the plane. Something light and relaxing as I'm not a good flyer. I spent my last long haul flight pregnant and worrying about the fact I couldn't help myself eating peanuts, and worrying about the fact that they sprayed insect repellent around the cabin when we touched down while reading a proof copy of Saturday by Ian McEwan.