Farewell banana cake for the flat

Farewell banana cake for the flat, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Jules made a banana cake to say goodbye to our flat and use some of the excess bananas at the weekend.

We still have 7 bananas and the people who were refusing them when they were just a little bit ripe are now even less inclined to eat them now they've got black spots.

Packers arrive tomorrow - my friend Ali is kindly taking W away for most of the day and Sofia has a playdate after school so it should work out ok.

Next blog post will be from the new house. Roll on Friday!

Full flight in the relay!

Full flight in the relay, originally uploaded by Racmol.

I must not drop the egg!

I must not drop the egg!, originally uploaded by Racmol.

First ever school sports day today, and despite days of pre-match anxiety, Sofia did not drop the egg in the egg and spoon race or the baton in the relay.

Her team (Saturn, the yellow house) won the overall day and although her own mini-team of four didn't place in any events, she had a good time after a few nervous tears at the very thought of the sack race.

Inexplicably, the day finished at 1.30 - all very well if you're a stay at home mum but incredibly inconvenient otherwise. So glad Mr W was at Hopscotch - he would not have coped well with 2.5 hours of not being allowed to participate.

Last chance to relax in the garden

Last chance to relax in the garden, originally uploaded by Racmol.

It's our last weekend in WInchester Avenue so we got out the sunloungers and the swingball, ready to relax and enjoy it.

The weather didn't really cooperate.

It's a bittersweet time for us - we've been really happy here. But we're all excited to be getting a whole house - roll on Friday!

Lots more photos are up on flickr - click on the photo to go straight there.

Exchange of contracts!

Exchange of contracts!, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Yay - it actually happened! This morning we exchanged contracts. Our lovely flat is no longer ours and the new house has our name on it.

We are relieved beyond words. As you can see, I stuck closely to Jules's new diet for the first course but out of shot there was a thick wedge of Brie de Meaux and a sticky toffee pudding in the kitchen. So delish!

The hard part's over - now we just have to physically move.

Willy has spent most of the day asking what is coming i.e. 'Is Mr Dinosaur coming?' 'And the cars?' 'And the toy chest?' 'And the toilet?'. I try to reassure him as best I can, but anyone can see that for him it is a huge deal.

Sofia is a bit distressed that she still doesn't get her own room (we're using bedroom 3 as a study) but thrilled about having a cat (after our NZ holiday).

Moving day is next Friday 29 June. Hooray!

Flat out Saturday

Just had a little nap while Jules did bedtime stories and woke up dazed and confused at 9.15pm, saying 'Is it morning?' Must have been a tiring day.

Started with a long run at 7.30am, then breakfast in front of the rug-berry, then off to Primrose Hill to take Sofia and Willy to best-friend Leah's Stagecoach (performing arts school) birthday party. Willy fell asleep in car so missed most of it but we had a nice walk down to Camden with the pushchair while Sofia was rehearsing the show for the parents (to be performed after the cake).

Found a completely amazing Whole Foods store where we got coffee for Leah's mum and dad and me - could have happily spent up large on the fabulous collection of champagne truffles and the like. (In what way are champagne truffles whole food? Lentils and other pulses I get, but surely some processing is involved in a champagne truffle, even if the chocolate is organic!)

Then back for the birthday cake and the show. Willy joined in the show despite having missed all the rehearsal and just sat in the middle of the floor smiling while everyone danced around - very funny. They sang 'When you wish upon a star' and Sofia couldn't stop jumping, she was so excited. Apparently she likes drama - drama day is Wednesday at school and she always looks forward to it, unlike PE day (Tuesday) which she seems to dread.

Wildlife spotting - juvenile fox in our garden this afternoon right down by the clothes line and also I saw a rat under one of the bridges over the canal this morning.

Morning visitor to our garden

Visitor to our garden, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Jules was out picking up Sofia from her sleepover, but William and I had a good long look at the fox through our french doors in the kitchen. We looked at him and he looked at us for several minutes, until Funnyfoot, our next door neighbours' cat, ran him out of town.

William and the Queen

Willy and the queen, originally uploaded by Racmol.

School tea party with Jubilee cupcakes

School tea party with Jubilee cupcakes, originally uploaded by Racmol.

View down the river over Embankment Gardens

View down the river over Embankment Gardens, originally uploaded by Racmol.

The Royal Barge

The Royal Barge, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Watching the Diamond Jubilee boat pageant

Sofia, Willy and Olivia watch the boats, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Today we all trooped into central London to watch the Diamond Jubilee boat pageant on the river from the comfort of Jules's office.

Willy fell asleep at Piccadilly Circus and woke up again as Jules put him down on a couch, having carried him all the way to the office from Charing Cross. It was quite busy but not impossibly so - I guess the rain must have kept the numbers down.

Jules's office has great long windows so even the little kids had a great view. We were allowed out on the roof terrace but I found I just got too nervous about the kids trying to climb up on chairs. And the windows near Jules's desk were actually closer to the river.

Also, when we were out on the roof terrace Fia kept saying loudly 'Why can't we stand on the tables? That man's on a table. What's he doing up on that table?' (That man was a founding partner of the firm.)

We got quite wet coming home. Now Fia has gone off on her first ever sleepover at her best friend Leah's house. Jules dropped her off and apparently she didn't even say goodbye but just squealed with delight and ran up the stairs so I think she'll be fine.

More photos of the boats to come.