Such a helpful tip there Bath about your DD's school as my DP & i have spoken about the 'not' wanting to send our DD to a regular public secondary school here in Ballarat as the 4.5years we have lived here we have come to realise that lower/middle class & basically the ferals can ALL go to the same school here ... Let me explain what i mean ... um, lets just say in Melb the ferals live suburbs away from you BUT in Ballarat you can live in a really nice pocket here but have ferals living in the rented house next door (truely the *only thing* we simply can't stand about living here)

So, DP & i have considered maybe a Catholic school as my older sister & BIL are secondary school teachers and have their son at a Catholic secondary school (which is not where they teach). DP & i are not religious so it's not the religion of the school we are primary interested in ... it's just from my nephews wonderful experience & the recommendation of my sister & BIL that has encouraged us also. DP has a co-worker that neither her or his wife are religious & there DD goes to a Catholic school in Melb. Anyway, i'm don't how it all works ... see how we go when the time comes

Bath what can i say about 'our' Mums ... WE AINT LIKE "EM !!!!! ... That makes you & i the lucky one's ... and more importantly we have survived & are still here. At 16 i nearly ended my own life because of my very own Mother making my life so unbearable in every aspect, i had NO escape & at the time it seemed like the best option ... how damn sad for a teenager to have to consider that ... also i had to prove to myself i was strong & never went through with it ... also i had a younger sister to protect whom when i was 19 tried to get custody of her (she was 14) but couldn't as i wasn't on an adult income & couldn't afford a two bedroom place on my own BUT at least i tried ... and she moved out when legally old enough & lived with me

As for older sister she was too caught up in her own life out of home & visited us only a few times a year, never asking how i am, etc ... Well, as the old saying you can pick your friends BUT you can't choose your family !!