Defence Force Families

[QUOTE=Marydean;1728650] even though anecdotally Defence wives are overrepresented in needing help from Post-Natal Depression organisations.

Quick question - Where are you obtaining this information from? if there have been no studies? Are you able to provide a source?

I have been looking for studies on various area's of miliatry life and have come across a lot of studies from the USA, and a number of Australian studies, although haven't found anything specifically regarding spouse mental health.

Look forward to more info, the more I have the better the case :)

Maybe something about DHA and the amount of space in the rooms they expect little kids to share, the beds only fit a certain way, and when they are close in age it becomes hazardous for young children (ie. 1 in a cot another in a bed, the one in the bed climbs into the cot and smothers the baby) We can only fit the beds in an L shape, and that puts 1 of them under the window and the blinds which is also a strangulation hazard.

That's just from talking anecdotally to people who volunteer for organisations like PANDSII.

The point is - no one ACTUALLY knows because no comprehensive Australian cohort study has been done. But it doesn't take much asking around - or time spent on online defence family forums - to realise and awful lot of women are -or have been - on antidepressants. Often it's related to separations that occur outside of the deployment-model (long courses, training, time spent out bush).

Even DCO has never collected any statistics about it!!! They're supposed to be our number one port of call.

Hello fellow defence mummies, how are we all...does anyone have a partner deployed atm...My DH has been gone for almost 6wks now and i think the penny has finally dropped with the 2 boys, they have had enough and want their daddy, which is really disheartening at times. Every plane that flys over head DS1 yells 'bye daddy see you soon!!' and DS2 now just has the worst behaviour out of no where..Another thing he may only be 2.5yrs but DS1 whenever something doesnt go his way manages to throw the 'i want daddy' at me or he will ask 'mummy where is daddy' i reply at work, and oh my its like world war 3 has just errupted.
I must say though, i have not called DCO back but i got home from shopping yesterday and they had called to check in on me and the boys while DH was away which i thought was really lovely so i have to call back tuesday and get all the info from her.
My boys basically reduced me to tears yesterday while we were grocery shopping they were just so feral, screaming the whole time i was so embarrassed, i know that is just a typical kid thing but its hightened by dad not being around.

Anyway would love to chat to you all more :) shauna

Shauna, I think the 5-6 week mark is when it really hit our household as well. My DD was much older (school age) but even she went through a very rough patch - it was like she was grieving for DH not being there. I sooo wish there was more support for the kids - but because of where we were there wasn't *any* deployment support at all. Make sure you ring the DCO lady back - find out what's on and make the effort to go along to deployment functions...you might even click with some of the other families there.

The other thing you might like to consider (and I'm only suggesting this because it was my main coping strategy) is putting your boys in child care or family day care - either for a couple of sessions a week (if they don't go at all) or for a couple of extra sessions (if they already go) - then schedule those jobs you find hard with the boys there (ie grocery shopping, cooking up a big batch of freezer dinners, doing the paper work etc) while they are in care. It then means you can spend more quality time doing things you will all enjoy when you are not stressed about trying to get stuff done, kwim?

:hug: It aint an easy time.

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I must say though, i have not called DCO back but i got home from shopping yesterday and they had called to check in on me and the boys while DH was away which i thought was really lovely so i have to call back tuesday and get all the info from her.

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It wasn't Alison was it? She was our case worker with my pelvis issues and was really helpful, as much as they could do was done. I like her.

DH was meant to be going on course next weekend but will be taking his paternity leave and managed to get course postponed until Feb. He can't deploy until he has finished his course.

When DH was away on course before it hit at 2 weeks, and by 5 weeks I was ready to do something drastic, don't know whether that was more to do with my pain and not being able to do much or kid overload. You are welcome to pop around any time though if you want adult contact!!

Thanks ladies, Marydean, my boys go to daycare twice a week one of which they go together so i have a day to myself to do me things, but i am thinking of adding an extra day for DS1 as at the moment he goes mon tues and i think its a bit long between when he gpes again that he is starting to not want to go.
Ali it was jessica, i think she may be our case worker for DS1 special needs i cant remember, i will definately be calling them back though, my friends are great but i so need some contact with other people in the same situation, i did attend a relationships briefing just after DH left but noone else showed up, they did say they would be holding it every third wednesday but i didnt hear anything so i havent been back. Oh well i will just keep trucking along :)

I LOVE Nap times :)

hi there girls.
another RAAF wife here!

Alioops - check out the various loans available to service men for your new bedding etc... there's a thing called a chaplain's loann (used to be called anyway) and for $80 they'll give you up to $3200 (i think!) interest free... the repaymnts automatically come out of DH's pay every fortnight.

We used that loan to set up house when we first moved into together as well as for our new $2000 mattress... it just needs to be spent on home stuff that's all and you can take the loan as many times as you like so long as you only have one loan at a time.

As for housing, as what most girls said here - it's hit and miss. But we have found storage to be a BIG issue and a strange obsession by DHA with clover. but they have lifted the standards again and what you should expect is on the DHA website.

i'm born in cairns region and spent many years living in tvle as an adult. Cairns people hate tvle cos "it's really brownsville and too dry and everyone there are bogans. plus everyone KNOWS cairns is the capital of north qld and tvle tries to steal our tourists and our thunder''.
For Tvle people "cairns people think they are all that and they ssoooo stole our Strand idea. they don't even have a proper beach and what's with the mudflats?''

it's like any rivalarly between states/towns/clubs - is based on crazy stuff! lol.

back on topic - Tvle is a great city for its residents & very family friendly. if you have kids, like warm weather and the feel of country towns then you'll probably like tvle. I really enjoyed living there and it's come a LONG way from its Brownsville reputation as a bit backward! IF you are in a DHA place in tvle the chances are you'll be near other defence families... this is usually good. I remember one xmas packing the esky and DH and i went for a neighbourhood walk from Defence home to defence home eventally getting back to our home a litle worse for wear about 4am! heehee. Plus they'll feed your animals when you are away!

have also heard good thngs about darwin and brissy.

We are at Willliamtown now and it's very very different. not social at all and has been very hard to make friends.

defence spouses need to realise that they aren't going to get what they want. so long as you fully accept to live whereever you are told, are pretty postivie and can see the best in situations you'll be fine. I know some other partners who fight it the whole way from posting location, to housing, to posting times etc and they get really frustrated. Personally i just go with the flow, don't really mind where we end up cos i know we'll leave again in a while and have learnt to be self-sufficient. we see it as our way of travelling Oz, just going to take us 20 yrs lol

one other thing, I personally have found SOME (by no means all) partners are extremely cliquey and b**tchy. I've heard it's worse in the army. things like an officer's wife won't talk to an enlisted member's wife and crap like that. Just be ware of it that's all. I didn't come across it until last year (been with DH for 7 yrs) but it was pretty awful up til then every other partner just rocked.

when you get posted and arrive at your destination make sure DCO (the group that supposed to support families) provides you with a welcome pack etc. They are underfunded but do have some good resources IF you know they are there (i only found out bout them 18mths after we got here).

at the end of the day it's what you make of it. good luck and have fun!

ps sory if typing i s rbbish, keyboard playig up..bbbrrhhh

Hi everyone!

I just came across this thread. My DH is in the army has been for 10 years last Jan and we have been together 9 of those years. He is in Artillery. We have been very lucky to have stayed in Sydney (I've never lived anywhere else) all that time. DH was in the one unit for 8 years and only got posted out cause he was non deployable and couldn't jump (he got leukaemia) so he went to Recruiting and spent 2 years there, got back up to med class one and now is at a reserve unit. Which he hates. He is about to take his long service leave so is going to stay home with DD when I go back to work. I also work for Defence. I manage the ADF Transition centre in the city. So I help ppl discharge (mostly work with Navy being in the city, close to Fleet base east). I have been on mat lve tho. I go back in 5 weeks.

We have been lucky that a lot of our friends have stayed here in Sydney to. Though my best friend's husband is core transferring so will prob move. I'm not looking forward to that!! We have 2 and a half years left of this posting and then who knows!!!! I don't think we will be able to stay in Syd any longer. There won't be any full time artillery unit left here by then either (well that's what they say) I'm hoping for Adelaide or Brisbane.

hi grub17 and ezymay!!

Grub17, I have been told about these cliquey wives but havent come across any myself, i have alot more 'civvie' friends though as when we lived in Tsv a few yrs back DH was deployed and i got a job and never met any of his work mates partners etc, we werent even defcto so i got no help wat so ever...and when we left for perth for 2 yrs it was great but couldnt wait to get back here, guess the lifestyle just rubbed off on us..we arent bogans though haha!!
It is great to get other peoples views on the place..some HATE it but others never want to leave :o/
Anyway lovely chatting best get the kidlets off to bed now

Hi Ladies!

Looks like DH might be wanting to head down this path again...

He was in the army for 10 years, he has been out for a few years.
Now he has had the urge for the past year to join the airforce, mainly for stability.

So, what is it like being a 'family' in the forces? Now that we have the little ones to worry about?

We are thinking he will get posted north, maybe Darwin or Townsville...hmm?! I am a bit unsure of this idea.

Don't really know at this stage what I want to achieve from this post, just thought I would start with a :hello:.

hi daintree dream,

i just assumed from your name you were from cairns or the daintree?? but tvle as posting is very popular because it is a great place to live for the family.

it depends what area of the raaf DH will be going in - but for me i've always found the raaf very good. and my sil had a bf in the army - my impression was the airforce was 1000s times better in terms of stability and family. Mainly because they aren't getting deployed as much and have a completely differnt culture.

postings are about 3-4 years per location.

I can't speak about darwin but we may be heading there in 2011 and i'm hearing some very good things.

;) not sure if that helps and it's only from my limited point of view.

I'm from Melbourne, we are hoping one day to move to Cairns, or somewhere up there maybe the tablelands...

I am not really keen on Darwin, I think maybe because it just seems so far away but I have heard some really good things, well I have actually only heard good things so far, except for some of the housing, but I am not sure if that has improved?

I think if DH goes ahead with it all my prefernce would be Townsville, but lets just wait and see what plans they have, it not up to me!

DH is looking at airforce over army as now we have a family he is not so interested in being deployed, he has been there, done that and now wants to avoid it if at all possible.

We have been talking about it all alot over the last couple of weeks and the paperwork is filled out for the transfer, just have to make that final decision that this is what we feel is best for our family and that it is what we want to do.

I am not 100% convinced just yet though.

DD, what job is your DH looking to do in either army/airforce...there are some musterings in the RAAF that deploy, regularly.

Darwin is a fantastic place to live, if you don't mind the heat. The housing is just as hit&miss as it is anywhere else (have seen far smaller houses in worse condition in other places, some of the Darwin housing is gorgeous)! But the DHA there does not have a good reputation when maintenance issues arise - you can always get around that by contacting the DHA head office. These days you get remote locality travel & I think there is an extra allowance too. The RAAF tends to be more stable in terms of longer postings (lots of Army folk move year after year whereas you can expect a decent run of 3+ years in the RAAF) but there will be times, even without deployments when your DH will either be away (working on attachment, training or on exercise) and it's not always in your control when or for how long that is.

He is looking at maybe supply or communications tech.

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...but there will be times, even without deployments when your DH will either be away (working on attachment, training or on exercise) and it's not always in your control when or for how long that is.

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I realise that there will be times that DH will be away and that deployment is a possibility no matter what area he works in, this is what we are currently discussing and deciding upon. I am not sure that this is something I want with a young family that is still growing.
My head really hasn't stopped ticking, there are cons and pros, just have to decide which one outweighs the other for us IYKWIM.

On the plus side, it's potentially a really quick way to get to that tropical lifestyle you want :)! It's also fantastic when it comes to job security, which isn't to be huffed at these days. Re deployments, DH reckons they try to send the ppl who put their hand up for it and not the ones who don't.

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... Re deployments, DH reckons they try to send the ppl who put their hand up for it and not the ones who don't.

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Thats what my DH says as well. His brother has been trying to get deployed for years (he is in the airforce also) and they won't send him, apparently there are plenty of people willing, so I suppose thats on our side.

And yes, it will get us up to the tropics quicker, but knowing our luck we will end up in Adelaide :lol: I love Adelaide, DH is not a fan at all.

I think this would be rally good thing for you too do Dee, but tell him to go Navy that way you could get Cairns... plus the thing I liked about the Navy is that they have to post you near water so you are never in the middle of nowhere unlike the Army and RAAF...

Just want to say that my heart and thoughts go out to yet another digger lost his life yesterday...

Yeah Tali I am trying to look past the cons and see it as a new adventure in our lives, the stability would be great to as DH lost his job last month, there is nothing out there and with DD needing constant care and another on the way, it just makes things a bit hard at the moment as it isn't as if I can go back to work. DH has been trying to convince me for a while to let him go into the airforce but I haven't really seen the need until now.

Just a hard decision for me at the moment.

My thoughts are also with the family of the digger who lost his life, such sad news.

ETA: Ohh and DH is not so keen on the Navy, he says the only Pro is that you can go to Cairns!

ummm lets see more pro's for the Navy, training is only about 25 mins from where you are now... their most remote place of posting is Darwin... lol even though you dont want that, but they do have to go to sea and are away more oftern than not, so maybe with matilda not the best... but see as she does need constant care I would think they would only post you to Sydney/Melbourne anyway...

please dont take this the wrong way as I have no idea but would the forses let him re-join with a high dependent child? I think they will grill you both to make sure this would be the right thing for you both... you have a lot of soul serching to do... If he does join up I hope it all works out for you, You will find your feet where ever you are, make the most of each place you end up, see it for what it a big life changing adverture, your only young once...

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...please dont take this the wrong way as I have no idea but would the forses let him re-join with a high dependent child?...

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No offence taken :D. We are hoping that within 6-12 months she will no longer be classified as a special needs child. At this stage everything that classifies her as high dependant or special needs is fixable and we are working really hard to correct it before she has more obstacles to cross. We have no idea what intellectual disabilities she may have as she gets older but she seems to be going really well in these areas so I think that she is going to be lucky and it is not going to have to much of an effect on her. So based on that I do not think it will be a problem.

It is a big decision and to be honest I do not feel like we get much support down here (we are not near family as it is) so I do not feel like I will be missing out in that area. It is just a big life change from where we are at right now, we are both really independent people and love to travel so that side of things is a big upside, plus I said I wanted to be away from here by the time Matilda was 12 months, she is 14 months so I am feeling really ready to start a new journey, just now we have to wait for the next baby to arrive!

I'm sorry to blab all of this at you ladies, I was hoping you might understand some of my thoughts and reservations and possibly offer some advise but I know that in the long run it is up to me.

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I'm from Melbourne, we are hoping one day to move to Cairns, or somewhere up there maybe the tablelands...

I am not really keen on Darwin, I think maybe because it just seems so far away but I have heard some really good things, well I have actually only heard good things so far, except for some of the housing, but I am not sure if that has improved?
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hi everyone

I dont pop in nearly enough - but do read :)

DD - when we were in Darwin - we had THE MOST visitors EVER for some reason - it seemed like every month friends or family decided to come up - they never knew anyone who lived there before so had never thought of it as a holiday destination IYKWIM??? So yes, it is a long way away (I come from Melb area originally) - and it is remote, but we didn't find it all that bad ;).

We have just clocked up 6 years in Canberra, and I think I am about done - which sounds so dumb as things have been settled - I dunno, just a tired womans ramblings LOL We had no idea we would be here so long, ready for a new adventure for some silly reason .....

DD, it might be worth having a look at the Defence Special Needs Support Group's website and maybe chat to some of the reps from the Group to get an idea of what extra planning/challenges you might face from their perspective.

Hi :) I just came across this thread and what a great idea! I have been a 'Navy wife' for about 18 months. I met DH in Cairns (I was on holidays there), but unfortunately it was the end of his posting and we moved to Canberra together where he went to the Defence College for a year. We then moved to Sydney for 2 years - but I spent the first 18 months hating it :wall: Now DH's posting has finished and we are moving back to Canberra. I think from now on most of his jobs will be in Canberra and Sydney, so I guess that is a good thing.

We are just waiting for our lease to end (RA house) so DH just comes home on the weekends which is difficult to get used to. Oh well, only 8 more weeks. I like Canberra (was born there) but I find it a very difficult place to meet people. Even when I was living down there, people who had been there for 10 - 15 years said the same thing.. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

Hi mum2BXX

I am in Canberra - we have a regular group from BB that meets once a month for coffee, a goss and often lunch as well.

Here is the thread ...

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...DD - when we were in Darwin - we had THE MOST visitors EVER for some reason - it seemed like every month friends or family decided to come up - they never knew anyone who lived there before so had never thought of it as a holiday destination IYKWIM??? So yes, it is a long way away (I come from Melb area originally) - and it is remote, but we didn't find it all that bad :)...

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Funny you say that, when I told my Mum it was a possible location for posting she got a bit excited that she would have an excuse to visit there again, she has been there once before to my cousins wedding who was posted there at the time, she loved it!

Marydean - Thankyou for that link, it had some great information on there and they do offer some services that I may require, like removal of the gap for early intervention, I was a bit worried about having to go back onto a waiting list. Also assistance in getting equipment, but hopefully DD won't need that by the time we move, we are trying our hardest to get her feeding orally by the time our baby comes. I think I may contact them, the only other major thing I am concerned about is having to fly into a major city for specialist appointments, I am not sure if they can help there... thanks again :).

DD, you may be interested to know that Townsville is the pediatric medical hub for NQ. If you were to transfer here then there are specialists here. And I am dying to meet you :D

sounds to me like you have almost made up your mind Dee, remember if you do move to townsville, you better drop in to Mackay on your way though... ;)

for me the best thing about the defence was the moving when ever we wanted a change BHL would just tell his CO ( boss) and look at postings and bingo we would be moving within 6mth... :lol: I think thats why we now dont ever feel settled once I have been somewhere for 12mth I get very ichy feet, but now will have to learn to just live with the ich...

been Ex Army I would think they would love to have your DH back, did he stay on in the reserves, as that would make things easier... there are loads of speical needs kids in the defence, I know they do have a big suport network for them, and I know it makes you entilted to a better home than what your ranked... with in some areas is a huge bonis...

As far as I know when someone wants to join with children then the whole family must go in so that they can make sure that you know what you are getting into... which I am sure you do.. but its never hard most people know what they want to hear so if you tell them what they need to hear they are normally happy with that...

As the old saying goes if we wanted the boys to have a wife we would have issued them one :rolleyes: was told this by a very old salty sea dog once... in other words they want to make sure that if you DH is deployed you will cope, without having to ring them every 5 sec about little things... Sad to say I knew many of wives who ruined some carees do you always ringing up and getting their DH's sent home coz they couldnt cope on their own...

That is great to know Ali, could you imagine if I ended up in Townsville, when we met up we would have 5 little girls under 4!

Yeah Tali, my mind is almost made up, DH really wants to do this. I think if I find some things to do with the girls to be able to get out of the house and meet a couple of nice people then I will be fine.
He was in inactive reserves, they have already disharged him from the army in order for him to enter the airforce, the process has started, we are just discussing before he sends in the final paperwork really.

I am really aware of everything that we would getting ourselves into, that is why I am being overly cautious about my decision, if we didn't have young kids then the decision would be sooo much easier. I think my problem is I think to much and that I am too over cautious! I think I need to stop thinking and just jump (so to speak).

Maybe this is where everyone should tell me to be quiet, its not such a big deal and just do it :lol:.

Just do it Dee :nahnah:

Darling it's a very big deal. You keep having that conversation until you're sure it's right for your family. Just remember there's not anything you can do that you can't undo, if it's really a disaster he can always discharge again, kwim?

Just checking to see how things are going Daintree dreaming, have you guys come to any decions yet ?

Good Morning

Just wondering if anyone can help me with some info... I keep asking hubby to look it up at work but he says his been to busy and Im such a planner I need to know :)

We have our posting order and we are on the move in December. We have a dog and cat and I was wondering what happens in relation to how they get to our new place?
If our new house isn't available when we arrive does the defence pay for them to be put in the kennel?

We are going to drive there and apparently we get money for accommodation etc. Im not sure how much this is but was wondering do we just book where we want to stay?

Any other info would be very much appreciated as this is my first posting and we have two young children so I am really hoping things go smoothly!! :crossfingers:

TUP tell your DH to get his paperwork (Inventory) in as quickly as possible. Once that's in you will be assigned a relocation manager in the gaining locality, who is your best point of contact for any questions, etc you may have.

Re the pets, you will need to make their transport/kennelling arrangements yourself. We have found it easiest to fly them out before pre-pack and organise the kennel at the other end to collect them. Book as early as you can as it can be quite hard to find kennel vacancies over the school holidays. Check with your relocations manager that the quotes are 'reasonable' and then they reimburse you once you have paid for it all at the other end.

We drove and our accommodation at both ends was booked and paid for by the relocations manager, but you are given an allowance for the places you will stay during the trip and it's up to you how you manage that part of your expenses. Eg some ppl travel faster, spend less on overnight accommodation, visit family en route, etc. But you will be allocated a budget based on the trip length & how many family members, etc. Travelling with a trailer gets you more allowances because you are expected to travel fewer kms/slower with the trailer.

Good luck, feel free to ask any more q's you have. It's a daunting time!

Also meant to say - get your inventory in ASAP because they won't give you access to Homefind until you do. Homefind is the website where you look at what houses are available in your area. If you find one you like, lock it in ASAP because the good ones go quick. If there aren't any houses over a period of a few weeks, contact DHA because they might need to unlock a different band for you (depending on the housing stock in that area).

Hey there, how is everyone going? We are going ok almost 3mths down out of the 8 possibly 9mths away. Kids are really starting to feel it though and well i am at a loss as to how to help them. It is fantastic that my DH is in a job that he can email or call daily if he wanted too which is usually every couple of days and i think hearing from dad so often could be what is causing problems.
We just got back from visiting the grandparents (DH parents) in port macquarie for 2 weeks which the kids really enjoyed, but made me miss him even more. We drove down LOL, crazy i know but it was actually really fun and then my FIL drove back with me which was a huge help cause the kids hated the car by that stage so what i did over 4 days we did in 20hrs :o/ Tsv to Port Mac and back.

TUP, hope what i sent you was helpful :)

Daintreedream, have you and your DH come to any decisions as of yet. As the others have mentioned it is a big lifestyle change but we wouldn't change it for the world. We are a youngish family still planning on having more kids and although it sux sometimes not knowing where you will be in 5yrs time it is something you cross when you come to it. My DS1 is special needs as he has a form of bilateral renal dysplasia. Tsv hospital doesnt have a Paed renal doctor but because of that fact if he had to be seen by one (which they are happy atm to not have to) the govt would have to fly us down to brisbane and if they wouldn't defence would and so we took the posting to come back to tsv from perth. Whatever decision you make it will be the right one for you and your family.

Hope i haven't rambled too much, i apologise if i did. I hope everyone is well and keeping safe and i will talk to you all again soon.

Hi ladies hope you all don't mind me joining your thread. :D
My husband is in the Army he is a Combat Engineer at 2CER here in Brisbane. He has just been offered a trip to Afghanistan in March which they pretty much begged him to go on so we are currently waiting to find out wether he's actually going to be going or not which is really annoying because we were originally going to be posted to Sydney at the end of the year as he was transfering to EDD (explosive detection dogs) and we were both soo excited. So not too sure as to what is going on now but thats nothing new!!
We have a little boy Cohen and are currently TTC #2! :dance:

I'm glad I found this thread cause like you all know, it's really hard for "civvies" to understand our world on the best of days. Hope to hear from you all soon.

HOMEFIND..

I spoke with DHA relocations lady, she advised me that there are 8 more families moving into Toowoomba than moving out!!! Arrrrr There were 7 houses on Monday and in the 20 min hubby was checking them out they all went!! What The.

Nothing listed since which is why I rang DHA. Im such a stresser, esp over Christmas I really just need things to be sorted so we can decide if we are going to visit family, come back and visit friends or complete our move..

Plus Im moving a dog, cat & horse, and esp for the dog, who is nurotic as it is, a kennel is going to be so stressful for her..

Oh and to add to the stress Im basically getting there and walking into my job, irrespective of whether we are in a motel or house...

Sorry just needed a wee vent :)

So fingers and toes crossed for me, I will be spending the coming weeks sitting by my computer "refreshing" my homefind page in the hope for a house in the right suburb :pray:

Hope you all had a great weekend xoxo

hi tup,

i've only hd to endure one move but I really really hate the competitive nature of Homefind. We had the same issue... there were heaps of properties but we didn't realise that you need to pretty much instantly choose the first one you like the look of and then go and research the suburb later bbrrrhhh

we are getting posted next year so i'm going to be research lady this time and become an authority on our new location.

It's just so stressful. good luck.

i hope it works out for you :)

I second what marydean said and be aware you get more money if you tow a boat or trailer. We had a trailer (which helped with valuables i didn't want removalists packing and a few treasured plants) and got a huge budget for travel. we stayed with family and just did a couple of huge days then found cheap accomm in town before our defence accomm kicked in.

Also, the good thing about takin the trailer was I could pack up my pantry. I've found one of the biggest cost of moving is having to replace an entire pantry. So we take ours with us now :) plus you get to have your oown breaky on the road, which works out cheaper.

on the animal front we used Dog Tainers and found them very good. you have to pay it all and then DH takes your recepits in and you get the money back. DogTainers transported a cat, a restricted species bird and a snake from Tvl to Newcaslte for us and no worries.. the parrot in particular was a concern but he was fine. We kennelled them with dogtainers in tvle and then called when we were ready for the pets to arrive... the company dropped them at our door :) Very easy. It cost abotu $600 i think. but you do get the money back.

hi rusty girl - yes the uncertaintity of defence life can be difficult to understand. my family has trouble with the fact we get told nor asked where we live... i have to keep explaining to my mum that we are in the defence force and its' different to regular employement...;

hi to all the other girls :) I don't get on very often but do read your posts.

take care and have a wonderful week :)

Hey Rustygirl, all are welcome here :) Has he actually already put in his transfer to EDD, if so and they still want to send him o/s that's great they normally wont even give you a look in if your planning on leaving your current job. Also if that is the case you may still get posted and he can request the move for while he is away..just a thought.

TUP, if you want i can check homefind for you just let me know where you want a house :)

Our life is moving along just nicely now, kids are still asking for daddy but i am learning to deal with it now. Although sometimes i find myself thinking maybe i should have encouraged him more when he wanted to discharge and i wouldn't be doing this by myself or when he came home and said do you want me to pull off i should have said yes, if the deployments were only 6mths still he would be over halfway already, anyway i will survive it is what we do :)

Have a great week!!