Wakey wakey!

How much easier it is to drag the kids out of bed, now there is the irresistible lure of the advent calendar!

I'd normally have to coax Luca out of the scratcher with an impressive array of pleading, threatening, bargaining, pretending not to care (but he's not very responsive to reverse psychology), joking, screaming (but he's not very responsive to psychology full stop), weeping and removing of the duvet (that's usually the one technique that works, although he can manage a pretty decent resistance to the polar cold in the bedroom by assuming a tight fetal position...)

But not since December 1st.

Now, he is jumping out of bed, closely followed by Mimi and they both chant "the advent calendar, the advent calendar! today is number 4, isn't it Daddy? Today is number for!"

I am searching eBay for a 2010 advent calendar that starts in March (with an interruption for the summer holidays...)

Let me know if you hear of such a thing (or where to find a dog-on-a-string)