Hello all

ok, I am going to have to put in my imput/opinion to my lovely wife's thread, in regards to what I see as the challenges that might be faced with 4 kidlets.

House wise....house size isnt always factored by bedrooms....yes one could get by with 4 kids in 2 bedroom.....large bedrooms. My problem being is as a child I shared a bedroom my whole childhood with my brother, and to be matter of fact it sucked! And I bet if you asked my brother the same, he would say the same! It was ok when we were younger (or more so I was younger, he is 6 years my senior) but as I got older it was 'draw a line int he sand and dont cross or die' sort of thing.

So ideally, 4 beds would be best...though some kids would still need to share.....5 beds.....just too expensive!!!

Also when I say house size isnt factored by bedrooms.....with 6 people in a house, then you need a big house, not massive, but good space & well designed (I work for architects so this is all my world so to speak). And especially here in Tasmania, when the winters can make you sorta 'live indoors' types.

I agree Trillian, big yards a must....and unfortunately the property we have just bought is little yard wise. (though this house is a 5 year plan)

Car wise, its not just having 2 cars or a 7 seater thats the issue. We will get another car down the track, but this is how i see it. If you have 5 people in the family, then you can have the big car (like our 7 seater) and then a smaller to mid range car as the 2nd one, because 5 people can still fit into it. (for eg Mels brother and his wife have 3 kids, and they have a larger people mover style vehicle, and then a Toyota Echo as the second, and they can fit in that (tightly though).
If you have 4 kids, I see you then need two 7 seaters, cos I feel it is pointless having another car that cannot transport everyone in the family.

Why not just get two 7 seaters?
Cost, and also, when we had 2 cars until recently, 1 of them hardly got driven (like once maybe twice a week?) so it is hard to justify the extra cost of a big costly 7 seater for not much 'drive time'.

Reading Trillians comments on schooling reminded me of the costs etc of public system....my parents sound like you! Though I was very tough on shoes.....being 6'7" tall now, and growing 5" in 1 year, I went though shoes fast! At one point I had a new pair every 2-3 weeks!! Mind you they were copping a battering from all the basketball I was playing too!

and btw Mel......I was a pretty good hockey goal keeper in my day!!!