Tetris

Finally, the Boy Grown Up's obsession with computer games has paid off. Packing a car has never been so easy! Obviously I was supervising which made all the difference... One doesn't want to interfere too much with this things. Let the experts do it is what I say.

So we are at the airport hotel entering our last 24 hours on British soil for a couple of years. It still seems a little unreal, but this time tomorrow we'll be in the air on the first airborne leg of our journey. So far there are no ash clouds, but at this point I'm counting nothing out. Unless there's a major delay, my next post will be from Africa. farewell UK!

ps - there's a tiny, slightly disturbed, part of me that is enjoying the increasingly grumpy face of the Boy Grown Up as he sees all the England flags festively draped EVERYWHERE in preparation for the big Kick Off. The Girl Grown Up thinks that this is VERY funny :@)

A bit of Blondie never goes amiss...

but I can live without hanging on the telephone!

A list too far

How many lists is too many? Perhaps the fact fact that I have a list of lists is an indicator that this may be getting out of control! Maybe a list for where I've left the lists would be a good idea...

The great (un)escape

It is now 10 days before we fly out to Africa, two days after we land the World Cup starts in South Africa. Precisely how far do I have to go to get away from football?

Too early for toast

I was awoken this morning to The Girl and The Boy playing happily in their beds, making up a game together. It's so sweet that they get on so well.

Just not at 5am.

One more spanner

Whilst in the last stages of packing for moving our worldly possessions tomorrow our beloved high street bank (whom shall remain nameless) has decided to throw a spanner in the works for letting the house. All together, deep breaths... I am significantly calmer about this than I was twenty four hours ago, thank goodness I have wonderful friends.

I'm not a mad mother

I have finally managed to convince a medical professional that there may be a reason why my children's injection sites are not healing and it may be a good idea to get them tested as sending young children to Africa with open wounds is certainly NOT a good idea. After tests lo and behold they are infected. I would like to thank the medical professional for believing me (see, mother knows best) and admit that yes, I do feel slightly smug.

Two weeks and counting

After the stress of the last few days I have adopted a 'you can only do so much' attitude. However, this does not stop the 'what AM I doing?' thought resonating in my head and I really don't want to have my blood pressure taken at the moment. Tomorrow afternoon is the first weekend day in about a month that we do not have any prior commitments or invitations - I have never been so popular in all my life!

Ah, bureaucracy

Where would we be without it? I'm learning lots of patience though! I think I may need a PA, or at least someone to keep me straight on what needs to be done. Any takers?

Best laid plans

It's 3 weeks 'til Z-day and I'm slightly concerned about the amount of packing still to do. I'm also seriously questioning some past purchases that have been relegated to the loft and are now seeing the light of day. What did I really expect to do with a miniature clothes line style photo frame? Other items on this list include 3 board games I've never played, a bag with a broken zip and half a pair of earrings. What was I planning? To complete an apprenticeship as a silversmith and make an exact copy? So it's back to the packing, remembering not to seal my 4 year old in the case too, tempting as it may be.

So it begins

If you ask anyone I grew up with what the least likely thing I was going to do in life is I would guess that this is fairly high up on the list: in 1 month I will be going to Africa for a couple of years while my husband teaches in a school.

I'm terrified of spiders, I used to check my bedroom with a torch for snakes before sleeping (when I was 8 - stop laughing at the back!) and I don't do well in the heat. God has a sense of humour!

We're in the final stages of packing up and shipping out - wish me luck!