'Tis the season for school plays, and we've just found out that instead of being a chicken (last year), sheep, star, shepherd or whatever, Sarah actually gets to be Mary this year. So, fame and fortune, at last! I doubt that at age 5 they have to do much beyond stand around, but still...

The other news of the week is that Olivia has got a place at nursery for January - we didn't expect a place to be available until September, so that's good news. It's an afternoon place, which is fine - two other kids in our road go in the afternoon, so we may even be able to share the dropping off duties, which is an added bonus. She'll stop going to playgroup, as we've decided it will really be too much for her to handle, as it would be like all day school, and I don't think she's quite up to that. We will, however, try to find a different ballet class for her to attend (her current one meets in the afternoon, so we can't continue with that). Thalia attends one locally on Saturday mornings, so I'll go along tomorrow morning and have a word with the teacher there to see if there are places - Lana thinks there almost certainly will be, so that should work out ok. We will also try to get a morning swimming lesson one day a week, so that should make Olivia happy, even though she'll be sorry not to be able to go to playgroup any more.

Not much happening lately, or at least, it seems that way to me - I suppose someone on the outside of my cycle of school runs, after school activities & errands might think I was really busy. And I suppose I am, but it's often nothing you can put your finger on. And of course, this time of year, there is also Christmas shopping to be done, Christmas presents & cards to be made, and so on. I managed to avoid getting roped into working at the school Christmas Fayre (they always seem to spell it that way, don't they!) - one advantage of being pregnant is that you have a much easier & more obvious excuse for turning people down &/or not volunteering. We will still, of course, attend the fair, but that's okay - there's not nearly as much energy required in attending as there is in organising or running a stall. I did make some table runners, etc from various donated scraps (a simple matter of some hemming), and I'll probably knock up a dish or two of rice krispie treats for the day, but neither of those things requires a large amount of time or effort, or long periods of standing up, which is probably the worst thing.

It's remarkable how different kids are from one another, even ones who share parents and styles of upbringing... We went to Ikea today, which Olivia really enjoys now that she's 3, as she can stay in the play area while I do some shopping. The minute we get there, she starts taking off her shoes to get ready to go in. Sarah never would go to something like that without me, and in fact, still won't - when given the option a few weeks ago, she declined. And it's not as though I've approached the whole issue of leaving them places any differently - both went to a childminder from a very early age (6 months or so), for instance. Sarah is getting better about things like birthday parties - she always enjoyed them once she got into it, but it took her a while to warm up - it still does, but it's a lot shorter time than it used to be. As opposed to Olivia, who would be off like a shot the moment we got there. It will be interesting to see what happens with this next one, as he won't have the experience of a child minder at an early age.

Another Tots Tap & Ballet class today. I had to collect Olivia about 10 minutes early so we could dash off to get Sarah from school (normally my friend Lana would get Sarah on Thursday, but as her own daughter was off school ill, that didn't work this week). Poor Olivia didn't want to leave early (but was readily consoled with a lollipop) - but collecting her early meant I got to see a few minutes of the class, and I'll tell you - you never saw anything cuter than a room full (must be about 15) of tiny little girls in ballet costumes and other cute dresses all dancing around in a circle, doing spins and so on. And they love it. I don't know what it is about that age and the appeal of frilly pink things and dancing, but it's sure sweet to watch. Of course, like Olivia, most of them are probably a real handful when they're at home with their mothers...