Ack.

Yes, this little fellow created by my sister once upon a time perfectly describes my state of mental and emotional stress right now.

The cause?

Uh, huh, packing for our big trip.

I wish it was all done and we were on the plane with our bags packed, checked and dumped in the cargo hold of Air Canada flight 15 next Saturday.

Feeling like I was teetering on the edge of a full-blown panic attack, I came home from a day of errands to the voicemail of one of my good friends and travel mates indicating that all her laundry was done, daughter's clothes tried on and sorted and a good portion of the packing planning complete.

Ack! I suddenly felt like if I didn't get a handle on this RIGHT NOW, the girls and I would be heading to China with only the clothes on our back (okay, slightly exaggerated, but STILL).

So, we quickly ran through some of the more significant items we would need and I threw the laundry in too and at the same time worked with Cassidy on sorting her clothes. Her stuff is actually in great shape now...you can't tell from this photo, but under the jackets thrown on top, 90% of her clothes are organized, folded and piled in her suitcase...with room to spare.

Bryanna was already organized and had been laying out her clothes in piles before I even got to her...it looks like a lot, but this won't take much to finish up.

But then there is my room - good thing you can't pan 360 degrees from this vantage point and see the rest of the room. My bag is not organized in the least...I just throw things in that general direction as I think of it...and see the scale on the floor? That's to make sure none of our bags go over the 20 kg baggage weight limit allowed per person on the in-China flights (of which there are four on this adventure).

stressing ... stressing ....

Big breath...in...out...six days to go...