Hoping that you have all had a splendiferous Christmas and have a wonderful time with friends and family!
G: have a great time in Sydney!
A: We are also having a wonderful beachside holiday ATM. pity that it is all coming to an end in 3 days for us
AFM: we have had a really lovely time up here in townsville visiting mum. Marta has been a bit sickly so i am realllllly tired and she has been a bit out of it, but Leila has had a blast and we have been swimming everyday at all the free waterparks and pools.
i am bit worried about our return as we apparently have a cat MIA (he does usually disappear when we go away, but this trip was a bit longer). and also we have our car sitting in the airport carpark that is not undercover and i have all these visions of getting to it and finding it completely destroyed by the hail...(at 10pm at night lol). apparently our street got flooded but the houses do sit up a bit higher, so only minimal damage. thankfully the flood warning was a bit under in the end, but apparently our part of the suburb was cut off for the day
Cass, I hate things like that happening when you're away and can't do anything about it. I hope your cat comes home though once you're home.
G, that is great he's doing so well now!
So great to hear that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was good despite all 4 kids being sick in the lead up and on the day of Christmas. The kids were spoilt rotten as usual and it makes me glad that DH and I keep things simple for them otherwise we'd have no where to put all their stuff! So because of the vomiting bug, I've had what seems like 10 times more washing to do and it wasn't helped by the crappy stormy weather and the several hours long blackouts we had. But I've gotten on top of it today. P is still not well though - she had been sleeping on and off all morning and then threw up again after lunch. She is in bed asleep again now. When she's awake she's well enough though, she just crashes pretty quickly.
The only problem I had with Christmas day was SIL and her DH telling us all not to breathe just in case we woke up their DS who was asleep upstairs when we got to the IL's place. I felt like saying FFS! Get over yourselves! You're not the only couple to ever have kids and how the heck is he going to learn to sleep through minor noise if you can't make any? Slight exaggeration about us not being able to breathe but it was way OTT and as soon as the kids said anything they were shushed. I know for a fact that the room he was sleeping in is pretty sound proof and we wouldn't have woken him anyway, but then this is the couple who dismantled their sons cot and brought it with them because they are convinced that he doesn't sleep well when away because he's not in his own bed. Nevermind the fact that both MIL and I have tried to tell SIL that it's not unusual for kids to not sleep at home at that age - none of mine ever slept well when away from home and it's something they just grow out of. But no, they had to bring his actual bed down with them in the hope that he would sleep well. And the outcome? He slept just as ****house as he always does when he's away from home. I had to bite my tounge when she said that Buggered if I know how the hell she is going to cope when she has the next baby in March. The chickens will come home to roost then. You know,in the entire time since she's had her DS, she has not once been anywhere alone with him. She has never just popped down to the shops with him or had a day out with him on her own. She always waits till her DH can come with her. And if he is working away, MIL goes there and stays for a week or two till he's home. As much as I want to be supportive and understanding, I just want to shake her and tell her to get over herself, she's not the only person in the world to ever have a baby and sooner or later she needs to learn to do this on her own.She doesn't realise how good she's got it. So that's my rant for the day over LOL. I love her dearly but she needs a reality check.
Trill - yeah, she sure does need a reality check! Someone at work was telling me about his grandkids who grew up like that with no-one being allowed to do anything while they were asleep and they are crap sleepers now because every little noise disturbs them whereas the cousins can sleep through a huge thunderstom.
Cass - oh, I hope your car is OK, you don't want to be having to deal with that on top of all the packing and everything else to get ready to go to LA.
G - glad you are having a nice little holiday.
DH's birthday today and my sister, BIL and niece coming down for a couple of days. Shame the weather is pretty average - it's improving heaps next week when we are up in Canberra!
DD had a sleepover with MIL a couple of nights ago - had her first introduction to McDonald's and a happy meal.
oh trill! i feel for you guys lol! a shush christmas party
is your SIL ok? sounds like she might have some pretty major anxiety going on? very strange that she doesnt want to go anywhere alone with her DS...
Cally: i hope that the visit is awesome despite the weather! we have been super lucky in having glorious tropical weather in townsville and then leaving just before the cyclone hit, to arrive in melbourne to glorious sunny weather lol.
I hope that everyone is having a fab time!
AFM: well, no cat in sight. the neighbours have spotted him about 4 days ago, but not since . so strange as he practically hangs out at the neighbours all day everyday when we are home. i feel terrible. i though the petsitting idea would work and that with the neighbours also helping out.....boo hoo! the other cat is awesome, as is the dog, but just this boy cat. must be a boy thing
also, we had a nightmarish flight back. just as we were boarding the plane from brissy to melb, marta stacked it while i was holding her hand and she twisted and fell on her bum and POP! her elbow got dislocated!!!! my poor baby!!! she just howled and howled. i didnt know what happened at first as she was just so distressed and just kept holding her hand. i gave her some boob (thank goodness we are still able to BF lol) and she fell asleep the whole way only to wake briefly to cry when the plane hit intermittent turbulence). we made record time getting out of the airport as our bags were first off and we ran to the bus to take us to the carpark just before it left the rank. drove straight to the childrens hospital and thankfully (being so late at night...10ish) we got there super quick! nurse popped it back in and all good! phew! poor thing, it must of hurt so bad
Hi All
Hope you all had a great christmas and new years. we had a fantastic time away - it was only a week but it was just what we needed.
the boys are great at the moment, J has finally started to sleep through (touvh wood)_ in the last 2-3 weeks... he sometimes needs a v quick settle but generally is great. makes such a difference!
Am at work so bettrer go, but thought I would drop ypu a line and see how everyone is. its been quiet in here! x
MP: where did you go for christmas again? i have totally forgotten (i am sure that you mentioned it). I was thinking of you the other day as we were driving through malvern and i wondered how you went with the sale of the house in canberra? i hope that it went well!
i dream of the day if/when Marta starts sleeping through i had it soooo easy with leila (slept through from 6 weeks!).
AFM: well our good news is that we found our cat . he was hedging his bets and found a new home in the next street that had 4 other cats. i guess he figured that if we never showed up again, he had a safe bet at that place hahahaha!
the girls are really good ATM. Leila seems to be just shooting up though. i can barely keep up with her rate of growth, pants are suddenly all capris lol.
WOW!!! exciting times Cass!
We were in Red Hill from boxing day - divine! (mornington peninsula, not canberra!)
We are still in negs on the house, there is a fair bit of stress at the moment b/n that and DH business. our finances arent too pretty right now.
Bith mine slept through from 2.5 yrs. hmmmmmmmmmmmm makes me scared to ttc a #3 anytime soon. i am in 2 minds about it (not on agenda for a while though)
Hope Marta's arm is ok.
i hear you MP. that is one of the big factors in deciding whether or not to have another baby. sounds really shallow, but i do find the sleep deprivation world shattering! i quite like the pattern we are in now, but then the thought of another squishy baby to bring into our lives is still there
oh that would be hard re: the house. all that added stress
Cass, glad you found your cat. Is it only 2 weeks until you are away to L.A now?? Far out!! Very exciting - you better post heaps because I am going to be living though you. Hope M's arm is feeling better, lucky she slept through the flight or it could have been much worse.
Both W and A seem to have shot up lately - I was just noticing tonight that A's nighty barely covers her nappy now and W has just gone up another shoe size. Erin is looking massive - she is nearly the same size as my cousins 8 month old! They looked so odd together, E is pale, blue eyed and chunky and her cousin is olive skinned, brown eyed and petite. She is rolling both ways now and pushes her knees under her like she wants to crawl - doesn't want to stay a baby
Trill, when I read that I though your nephew must be a little baby, but then you mentioned that she is having another in a few months so the boy must be around 2ish? I couldn't imagine being stuck at home all day for that long! Why on earth can't she go out by herself? One toddler isn't that hard to deal with. She must be either very anxious or very precious!
MP, glad you had a good trip away.
Cally, I am amazed that K made it past 4 before trying a Happy Meal! Good on you, they are a huge waste of money and taste similar to greasy cardboard.
MD, you have been quiet. Hope all is well xx
So our trip was fantastic. Kids got super spoilt, still trying to figure out where to put everything. The first 6 days were amazing weather and we spent heaps of time at the beach. Amelia dropped her day nap which means she now goes to bed and gets up at a reasonable time and as a massive bonus she is now sleeping through the night and going to sleep by herself! On the downside, Erin was sleeping through most of the time before we went but now she is waking up nearly hourly I don't know what to do and am dreading it is the start of another couple of years of bad sleeping. I was really hoping that she would come right again when we got home but it didn't happen.
W really wanted to stay with the IL's but then when it came to the crunch he chickened out. Is he the only kid left that hasn't had a sleepover? That ends up in tears at the thought of it? He wouldn't even stay with them during the day, while Amelia barely looked our way if we said we were going and would have been happy enough to stay overnight with them. Isn't 4 a bit old to still have separation anxiety?
Hi ladies, yes I'm here and all is well, just having a major dive in the inspiration/concentration levels at the moment! Prolly something to do with having a house full of husband and kids LOL. No rest for the wicked... Prolly partly my own fault too as we've given the sales a good thrashing, although mostly household items and not lovely things for the kidlets.
Cass, I'm totally in denial about you moving to LA. I know I never actually SEE you but it still feels like we're losing you to foreign lands LOL. Wow. Hope your big uber-list is all ticked off re the organising. Who's going to look after your furries?
Trill that's crazy, I remember with DD1 I was so keen to get her to sleep through anything, we had a little basket and I'd just tow her around the house whereever I was and whatever I was doing, she slept. Has your SIL shown any other signs that she's depressed or not coping with mumma-hood? There was a whole patch there when I didn't take E anywhere by myself except for tiny little outings but hey that was during cancer treatment so probably a valid excuse but it wasn't a really flash way to live.
Cally, I had an oh-no I'm a terrible mumma moment reading about K's first happy meal. E has had the tour of fast food establishments pretty much as soon as she could hold a chip LOL. OK that's an exaggeration, but we've been doing the happy meals for a while, although she genuinely has a greater appreciation for other food sources.
Arte, I hope the sleeping kick with E is just temporary. E is having another growth spurt, it keeps coming in waves. We put a size 4 dress on her today (which should fit her since she has only just turned 4) but instead it was a micro-mini. LOL. She looks like a school kid now and I worry a little that people will assume she is older than she is and expect a different type of behaviour from her than a just-turned 4 yo can manage.
sorry I've been so mia again! happy new years to everyone I'm looking forward to this year
md- my kids are the kings of happy meals too. oops!!! they are just so darn easy sometimes, especially on long drives/travelling interstate. L is totally huge for his age too and is now wearing size 6 clothes. most people say to me 'is he in prep?'.
arte- um no W is not the only kid that hasn't had a sleep over. not only has L never had a sleep over but he rarely even has a night in his own bed these days! seems he;s gotten used to sleeping with me again when we go away and likes it back home now too. sorry to hear about E's sleeping. thats no good. at least A has improved i guess so you're not up for the 2 of them.
mp- red hill is gorgeous. my ex used to work at the winery there. lovely spot. i would really struggle going back to the no sleep thing now.
cass-glad the cat is back. can't believe you are leaving so soon!!! poor little M and her arm . what a nightmare
afm, well we are back home again but kinda feeling depressed and confused about what to do. we feel we have outgrown our house and want to sell it but don't know exactly what path to take next iykwim? all we know is that we both aren't really that happy here anymore and want something more for the boys. we are always going backwards and forwards over this issue and feel that its probably time we did something about it.
G, its a tough call isn't it? I know you said ages ago you wanted the boys to experience a particular lifestyle. Do either of you have anything in mind at all yet or just at the 'we need to really think about it' stage still?
MD, all the dresses I see for little girls these days are all just slightly longer T-shirts if you ask me! They just seem too short! For ages I was buying the girls a larger size than they really needed just to get something with a respectable length.
Arte, E is probably just wonder weeking too and making her sleep all crappy. But I do really hope that it is only a passing thing and not the start of it all again. I wouldn't worry about W not having had a sleep over yet. SOme kids just aren't that into it. Even now, L is very particular about where he sleeps and he's nearly 11.
Cass, I can't believe it's come around already! Is L getting excited about it or does it just seem like another trip to her kwim? So glad that you found your cat too, it must have been a relief for you to know he'd just found greener grass so to speak LOL. How is M's elbow now? The poor little thing, and I bet you felt just awful about it too
MP, I remember thinking on that first night when I had A 'Holy moly, what have I done?' because it all became very real that I would be getting up in the night again LOL. You'd think that being my 4th bub I would have been well aware of that fact, but I think I was in denial. Now it gives me the shudders to think about ever having to do it again.
Cally, I bet she thought that it was super special to have a sleep over and have maccas too. Our only saving grace on the maccas front is that we can only go to them when we are in Wagga or Griffith or travelling somewhere, otherwise they would want them all the time.
So many times I have been on here and wanted to post, but the kids are driving me to distraction! As soon as I try to type anything they start figting, or they need something. Only 4 more weeks till school is back LOL.
Yeah, SIL is both precious and extremely anxious. MIL and I were both really worried when she had him because she's had depression in the past and we thought she was so close to the edge of PND, but it doesn't help that her DH is a 'she'll be right' typer person who doesn't fully acknowledge that she has a problem and he just indulges her, which in her mind completely validates all the nonsense she goes on with. Her DS is 15months old and will be 18 months old when the baby is born and we have no idea how she will cope. We were talking the other day about swimming lessons and she said he's not having any because she doesn't want him in the public pool because of all the dirty people who swim in it. I have a feeling that she is going to inadvertently hold him back from doing a lot in his life because of her own issues.
Not much to report on here really. Had a quiet NYE staying at a friends place and we took the boat with us and then in the morning we all went on to the Lake skiing for the day. We managed to get the 3 older kids up on ski's too which was really exiciting for them. Will take a fair bit more practice though before they can actually ski, but getting up is the hard part. We don't have any real plans for the rest of the holidays because they will start swimming lessons on the 16th so that will take up the last two weeks.
And it's only a month till I am in Melbourne!!!!! I'm devastated that I'm going to miss out on seeing you though Cass But i hope MP and G can fit me in for a catch up. I'm flying down and my flight gets in on 6pm on the 6th of Feb and I fly home again at 9am on the 8th, so I have heaps of time to work in with you.
Hugs Ginger. We're in a similar situation at the moment except with us it's our car. DH had a very minor dingle () but the car's so ****ty and old that the insurance company wants to write it off (prolly think they are doing us a favor giving us money for such a piece of crap LOL) but we haven't recovered fully from me not working while I was having treatment (and there's some other stuff in there about not being paid insurance by my super mob which they should've but because I'd been on mat leave they didn't, and also not getting leave from work which could've affected my salary increases since then) and now H is starting this high school where the fees have gone up by $2K since we first applied a couple of years ago on top of shelling out childcare $$ for time that E is actually at kindy and then having to pay kindy fees as well - so basically the timing is really shiart because in one year when E starts school that'll take the pressure off and that was when we were planning on revisiting the vexed car issue and not right NOW. And I ****ing hate that I'm 40 years old and can't even afford a halfway decent family vehicle and have nothing monetary to show for the last 25 years except a fairly daggy house on the fringes of civilisation and an ever increasing level of debt on it BUT I don't hate it enough to want to give over the rest of my week to the statistical machine by working fulltime either. And our house really isn't big enough for us anymore either, but the plan here is to invest in better designed storage/furniture and be rigorous about getting rid of stuff we're not using and keep on top of the maintenance because I'm not convinced that a bigger house would actually add to our family happiness levels. (But I'd happily give over my newly root-canaled tooth for a pantry, if that was possible ). Anyway all of this means a whole lot of decisions and a whole lot of getting information and processing it and that just makes my brain feed exhausted. So TRUST ME when I say I HEAR YA SISTA. My answer to DH is we're not doing anything until we've investigated all the options and if this means he has to suck up the inconvenience of having only one car for a month or two then that's what it means. So I guess that's probably all you guys can do. Put your feelers out and start being open to a wider range of possibilities. There is a solution. There is *always* a solution. It might involve a much bigger change or a much smaller change than has occurred to you just yet but if you stay open to the possibility of unexpected abundance you must just stumble into something perfect.
ETA Trill your new year sounds great - much better than Chrissy with sick kids!
ETA - but the GOOD NEWS is I just heard from the surgeon's office and the breast implant I have *isn't* one of those nasty french ones that are in the news for having industrial (not medical) grade silicon plus a whole load of toxic contaminants. Very very big relief.
Last edited by AnyDream; January 5th, 2012 at 02:01 PM.
md- very happy to hear that about your boob. i saw those french ones and i worried!
thanks for your little chat. glad to hear that you 'hear me'. i hate decision making! especially when it involves three other people's lives directly now- not just my own. i can go into more detail with you all about the specifics of it all and you can help me nut it out a bit- but i don't want to bore the pants off you all! there is a particular aspect though that i think you could probably really help me out with md.
trill- that skiing sounds ace! we do have something particular in mind but I'm not sure if its just too big iykwim? but then dh docent think theres much point in doing something small. problem is that the housing market is so crap atm that we won't get what we want for this house. don't think black saturday really improved our house price much either!
where are you staying in melb???
MD I have been watching all the publicity about those implants on the news and wondered if you got one of them or not. I imagine there would be a lot of worried women out there because of it. The car issue sounds like it's nearly the straw that breaks your back we're skating close to the edge too. We changed our business structure to try to minimise tax, but atm things are so ****ful that it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just thinking about our expenses in the next 6 months scares the heck out of me. Every time the fridge and dryer make funny sounds I cross my fingers and hope that they last just a bit longer. So I completely feel your pain and share your worry
G, don't hold back - let it all out to us. Having the perspectives of other people can be so helpful. Yeah, living where you are might make things a bit harder, which sucks because it's not like things like that happen all the time. I'm staying right near Rod Laver because that's where the concert is and I can just walk there instead of getting a cab.
Re the dodgy implants - I was really hoping it was going to turn out that that brand was never on the medicare list for prostheses, because most BC ladies who have reconstructions get the implant paid for by medicare. But it seems like there could be some ladies who've had reconstructions who've ended up with those implants - crappy enough when you asked for and paid for them yourself, even crappier when you've been though the whole reconstruction process (which is so much more fraught than breast enlargement) and then to find out that they are probably falling to bits AND laced with toxic materials would just be devastating. The guy who was running the company has admitted it was a business decision and that particular clients based in wealthier areas were given a better quality of implant using the correct materials. I hope they find him and give him a good kicking in the goonglies, and then offer to reconstruct THEM with some industrial grade faulty silicon implants. As it is, there are still hints that there are problems with silicon implants for some women anyway (which I'm totally fingers-in-ears in denial about) but a lot of women who find themselves having health issues after rupturing an implant get minimal assistance and a whole lot of judgement for being so 'vain' as to get implants in the first place. Which rubs every feminist fibre of my body up the wrong way. Can you imagine the ****ing outcry if we were talking about testicular or penile implants and not breast implants?
Ginger - bore away with the details (after all I've been lavishing the tedious minutiae of my life on you all for the last 5 years ). Happy if I can answer any questions - here or elsewhere - to help you out .
Trill I can only imagine how much more complicated the financial stuff is when you're only thinking about your household expensives but all the business ones on top of that as well . I hope the changes you made pay off in the near future. We totally need a new fridge too, ours is using 5x as much power as it should be and probably on it's way out, but it's not making any weird noises yet LOL.
Did I mention I've started playing x-lotto? Not a reliable financial strategy but hey I'm open to the possiblity of a windfall LOL.
yeah things are tight here too. hope your fridge and dryer hang on a bit longer trill!!!!
we could definitely meet up, I'm assuming you won't have a car? we could come to the city though for sure
ok well i'll try to list some facts about our decision and you guys can help me, i'll try to be brief but if it si too much just skip this whole post. i won't be offended i promise!!! lol
so....we are sick of where we live. too boring for the boys, nothing really goes on here. extreme bushfire risk in summer and too cold/wet/snow in winter to do anything. when the boys are teenagers they will go crazy here. dh and the boys love boating/swimming/surfing but the nearest lake is 2 hours away and beach over 1 hour. surf beach 2 hours. just not suitable. over it!!!
dh is earning ok money here but not excellent.
if dh works in sydney he can earn massive money. an opportunity exists for him to jump into a business and start earning big money straight away. we cannot afford to buy a house in sydney, plus i don't really like sydney (sorry, no offence anyone) too busy, crowded, don't like traffic etc.
we just went on holidays to a town 2 hours south of sydney- right on the beach. absolutely awesome. small town feel, feels like home and away!
we can sell our house here and rent dh's parents investment property there for a very cheap price. and then eventually buy something once we find our feet/get to know the area etc. boys can walk to the beach. take boat out in river every weekend etc.
but.....dh would be working 2 hours away from the house. this means he would probably stay in sydney (at parents or brothers house) 2-3 nights a week...so i would be on my own.
the only thing keeping me here is my dad- but we had a good talk about it today and he has said he will come up every 8 weeks or so and stay all of january. i would come down here every july holidays. not the same as it is now, i know, but we would still see him a lot. i know if i here gave him the call he would be on the next plane and stay with us for a week iykwim?
so....what do you think? is it crazy or a good idea. i love the idea of the boys being able to walk to the beach. also a huge surfer/ holiday town next to this town that goes off in summer. I'm sure they would love it- when they are old enough they will be at the pub every friday night I'm sure! theres just so much to do there for boys.
do you think dh working 2 hours away is a major problem? financially it seems that we would be better off, and have a better lifestyle....
but it was way OTT and as soon as the kids said anything they were shushed. I know for a fact that the room he was sleeping in is pretty sound proof and we wouldn't have woken him anyway, but then this is the couple who dismantled their sons cot and brought it with them because they are convinced that he doesn't sleep well when away because he's not in his own bed. Nevermind the fact that both MIL and I have tried to tell SIL that it's not unusual for kids to not sleep at home at that age - none of mine ever slept well when away from home and it's something they just grow out of. But no, they had to bring his actual bed down with them in the hope that he would sleep well. And the outcome? He slept just as ****house as he always does when he's away from home. I had to bite my tounge when she said that 
Buggered if I know how the hell she is going to cope when she has the next baby in March. The chickens will come home to roost then. You know,in the entire time since she's had her DS, she has not once been anywhere alone with him. She has never just popped down to the shops with him or had a day out with him on her own. She always waits till her DH can come with her. And if he is working away, MIL goes there and stays for a week or two till he's home. As much as I want to be supportive and understanding, I just want to shake her and tell her to get over herself, she's not the only person in the world to ever have a baby and sooner or later she needs to learn to do this on her own.She doesn't realise how good she's got it. So that's my rant for the day over LOL. I love her dearly but she needs a reality check.
) but the car's so ****ty and old that the insurance company wants to write it off (prolly think they are doing us a favor giving us money for such a piece of crap LOL) but we haven't recovered fully from me not working while I was having treatment (and there's some other stuff in there about not being paid insurance by my super mob which they should've but because I'd been on mat leave they didn't, and also not getting leave from work which could've affected my salary increases since then) and now H is starting this high school where the fees have gone up by $2K since we first applied a couple of years ago on top of shelling out childcare $$ for time that E is actually at kindy and then having to pay kindy fees as well - so basically the timing is really shiart because in one year when E starts school that'll take the pressure off and that was when we were planning on revisiting the vexed car issue and not right NOW. And I ****ing hate that I'm 40 years old and can't even afford a halfway decent family vehicle and have nothing monetary to show for the last 25 years except a fairly daggy house on the fringes of civilisation and an ever increasing level of debt on it BUT I don't hate it enough to want to give over the rest of my week to the statistical machine by working fulltime either. And our house really isn't big enough for us anymore either, but the plan here is to invest in better designed storage/furniture and be rigorous about getting rid of stuff we're not using and keep on top of the maintenance because I'm not convinced that a bigger house would actually add to our family happiness levels. (But I'd happily give over my newly root-canaled tooth for a pantry, if that was possible 
). Anyway all of this means a whole lot of decisions and a whole lot of getting information and processing it and that just makes my brain feed exhausted. So TRUST ME when I say I HEAR YA SISTA. My answer to DH is we're not doing anything until we've investigated all the options and if this means he has to suck up the inconvenience of having only one car for a month or two then that's what it means. So I guess that's probably all you guys can do. Put your feelers out and start being open to a wider range of possibilities. There is a solution. There is *always* a solution. It might involve a much bigger change or a much smaller change than has occurred to you just yet but if you stay open to the possibility of unexpected abundance you must just stumble into something perfect.
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