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MD, I have looked back on old threads a time or two - the last pregnancy thread is a mind bender! Yip, it sure did whizz by :(
Amelia got a talking hamster toy, barbie car, doll highchair (Erin is getting the doll cot next week), dora dvd, schleich animals and a wooden food set (velcro bits that you can cut).
Cass, the water at the beach is still freezing but it is fine for playing in the sand or running in the shallows.
Wishing a Happy Birthday to MD and Marta!!
Isn't it funny how you never realise something exists, then as soon as you find out about it you see it everywhere. DH brought back a Moomin dvd for the kids and now I see MD's cover pic is of Moomin's.
Cass, hope that you are finding some comfort in your whale stage of pregnancy :hug: You are gonna have a teeny tiny baby soon!!
I have been thinking of pregnancy with nice nostalgia - the big belly with bub moving around inside, how special it is to grow a tiny new person. Then I lifted some timber while making a new sandpit and hurt my sacral joint where I had heaps of problems when preg with E - now the rose coloured glasses are off and I am remembering I didn't waddle slowly because I was simply big, it was because every step hurt!! Crazy how easy it is to forget the bad parts!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MD!!!
:happybirthday:
Arte: yeah, for me this is the first time that pregnancy is actually reaching uncomfortable! i mean, i had the whole sore hips thang the last two times but only MUCH later in the whole gig (like last coupla weeks) but this time, with her head firmly wedged there is no hope lol. thankfully my IM is coming over today to drop off a tubi-grip in the hope that it might provide enough support to guide her up a bit...my poor muscles :rofl:
Marta is two....my gosh.
MD: I just read in The Age the news about Bryce Courtenay....far out.
Thanks for the birthday wishes, ladies! Cass, did my little birthday buddy have a lovely day too?
Is the tubigrip making some difference for you? Hope it's not too bad. xxx
Arte: There's a moomin DVD?!! Awesome! I've been revisited by the pelvic-laxity fairy a few times in the years since so I'm pretty sure I'm never gonna forget that pain... LOL.
Well only 3 days until my baby turns FIVE... ah sooo not ready to make that mental leap. She'll be thrilled to get a Lalaloopsy doll (has been hankering for one for the longest time) and DH has bought her a bike which I suspect is actually too big. Le sigh. Totally unprepared to be doing parties or anything at this stage. Better get my A into G I suppose...
Re Bryce - I must be the only person on the planet for whom this is not a surprise... I had put all the pieces together already, one of the reasons I was so keen to get along to the masterclass when i did - but I hoped he had a couple of years rather than just months in him. But I knew earlier this week when I saw he was running another masterclass in Sept instead of next year that his disease had advanced . So sad. Had a little weepy watching the teev last night. :(
Arte - good luck with your mega-party today!!
Looks like there will be sunshine out there today - FINALLY coinciding with a weekend. Yippee. A victory for all Vitamin D-deprived South Aussies. LOL
MD I'm not ready for A to be 5 either. DH doesn't understand it when I try to tell him about it. As much as I'm looking forward to the future and having older children, I think 5 is such a significant milestone for the youngest child kwim? I'm sure Miss E is going to love her presents too and she will be zipping around on her bike in no time. What size is it? A can ride P's 20 inch bike with ease and he can even ride L's mountain bike, but he can only ride it standing up and pedalling - he cant' sit on the seat and peddle so he can't ride it too far.
We're not having a party, but I was going to make a cake to take to preschool for him. He will have a part next year. We were going to get him a bigger bike, but we thought we'd get him one next year. So he's got a new dump truck, a flatbed trailer for his tractor and an assortment of smaller things.
We had our football presentation last night so I can finally relax now that I know football is 100% over and done with for the year. Even though football had finished, it didn't feel completely over for me until the presentation was done. So now I have slightly more room in my head for other things :lol: I'm still pretty much treading water though but the end is in sight. I"m on prac atm at a pretty tough school so it's not been as enjoyable as my first one. Still worth it, but it's been a real eye opener.
Cass, I hope the tubigrip works, it sounds soooo uncomfortable to have her so far engaged at this stage. :hug:
That's really sad about Bryce. I know he could be quite polarising and people either loved him or hated him, but regardless of what you thought you couldn't deny the man has an amazing talent. I will miss there not being any more Bryce Courtenay books on my shelf.
Hi all
Party went well, after a mega stress this morning at getting the house cleaned and food ready by myself since we forgot that DH was working mornings this weekend when we planned the party. The weather cleared for 10 minutes so we did a quick treasure hunt outside and the rest of the time they were eating or entertaining themselves.
I have just wrapped W's presents for tomorrow :)
Oh no Arte! I would have been stressed too. Glad that it all went off well and the kids had fun. What did you get W for his birthday?
He got a RC Helicopter, model internal combustion engine, electronics set, watch and a few little bits and pieces.
Trill, yay for end of football! I know a lot of mums here were relieved when the rugby season was over - they were totally over having to travel 1.5hours minimum every weekend for their kids to play.
Hope your placement is going o.k.
MD, there is Moomin everything apparently - ipad covers, cups, cutlery, books, diary's, pretty much anything you can think of has a Moomin version. They are finnish, so in Finland there was apparently a mega Moomin store. Even the hotel letterheads had Moomin on it. I can try to burn you a copy of the DVD. It is hideously boring and a bit painful to watch though lol
wahoo for a great party!
and big happy birthday to Mr W for today!!! such a busy month :lol:
Even my big 3-0 birthday didn't make me feel as old as having a 5 year old does!!
Must be Miss E tomorrow, K on the 13th and A on the 18th? Then L on the 2nd Oct?
W got his name on the birthday list scrolling over the telly on one of the afternoon shows. He was very impressed :)
Happy Birthday W!!! What brand was the engine? L got one for christmas off SIL a few years back and it's clear blueish plastic for the outside of the engine. It was a great gift - I'm sure W and DH are going to have heaps of fun building it.
And Yep, Miss E tomorrow then K and MP's N on the 14th and then A and lucky last is L.
L had the regional finals of the Premiers Spelling Bee comp today and came 3rd. There were only 3 of them left in the last round and he bombed out on 'enamel' because he thought she said 'inamel' so he spelt it with an i not an e. He was pretty pleased with himself though - there were 40 kids in it and the other two got out right after him. So he's on the reserve list for the Sydney state final.
happy birthday to all the beautiful kiddies. i cant actually believe that they are all 5. it has gone so so so quick.
i will pop back in later for some help with L's party planning if that's ok? i need help!
we love to help!!! I am in a minor freakout about the girls' birthday plans. i always start out saying it is going to be small but then we ALWAYS make the mistake of asking Miss L who to invite and 14 kids later....arrghhhhhh!!!
Arte: IKWIM about suddenly feeling old lol. i cannot believe that i am a mother of a 5 year old. i mean seriously, that just happened....MD was sooo right, it goes by way too fast!
Cass, at least you have a new baby coming soon - mine are all just turning into big kids now :(
G, the hit of our party was a bunch of planes with launchers from the $2 shop. I wrapped them and hid them around the yard for a treasure hunt and they spent the rest of the party shooting them everywhere/having plane races etc. Good value. I didn't do a booty bag, but they took their planes home with them.
Trill, it was Haynes brand. It is clear plastic to see the workings. It should be really good. Can't compete with the RC helicopter atm - lasted about 3 minutes before W landed it on the roof and DH had to get the ladder out lol, but then they went down to the school field to play with it.
Well done to L for his spelling bee!
By some miracle E has decided that DH can cuddle her to sleep so I went out to a quiz night tonight. We bombed, but it was good anyway. And on Wednesday we have a dessert night that I can go to. So liberating to be able to go out and do stuff again!
Hi all
Happy bday to all the kids - I also can't believe they are 5! Are they going to let us keep this group?
We had noahs party on sat - we did a gym/sports party with one of his kinder friends - as always 40 kids so crazy but loads of fun. It was quite easy to arrange and all went smoothly so happy with that! He had an awesome football cake (I had it made by someone - you can see on Facebook)
Arte - that's so great you can get out, makes a massive difference hey! Enjoy!
All is well here. Noah had a bot if an accident on Friday night w his cousin that has resulted in a lot of blood and wobbly teeth. Am hoping it will all be ok...
Gotta go will try to come back later
X
oh no! hope N is ok?
i might have to look for these planes arte, sounds like a great idea. maybe they might have them on ebay?
Arte, is the talking hamster toy driving you nuts yet? LOL. Oh and you've just added to my reasons as to why I need to write a book that's so FAB that it gets translated in squillions of languages including FINNISH just so I've got a good enough reason to go to Finland and visit the Moomin Megastore. PMSL!!
Trill, yep 5 is such a significant milestone for our babies. I can fully sympathise with you re the prac in a tough school, a long time ago when I started a teaching degree I got sent to a pretty crazy school, the extra effort/multitasking required from the teachers was really noticeable, very disheartening when you've got grade 1 students who still hasn't twigged which end of the book the story starts at (!) let alone knowing all the letters of the alphabet. BTW there will be one last Bryce book, it's due for release in November.
You must be so proud of your spelling bee champ!! How thrilling. There are a couple of spelling bee docos that did the rounds a couple of years ago, very entertaining, I always wished for spelling bees when I was younger but it wasn't really a thing in the NT.
Ginger, I'm in a world of birthday party planning pain too. I've had a couple of really full-on weeks (incl stuff happening at work) so we decided in advance that E would have to wait a couple of weeks for her party. Now it's coming and like every year I'm torn between doing something really simple and doing something fabulous (and then going overboard). GAH! Anyway, what are you thinking of?
MP - wow the teeth thing sounds so scary. Fingers crossed they heal up ok. I'm in awe as always of your prodigious entertaining capabilities LOL.
Turns out the 20" bike WAS too big, even with the training wheels she was sitting too high and overbalancing - too much potential for injury. So I suppressed my "I told you so's" and DH is collecting a smaller one this weekend.
Hi girls!
Arte: ohhhhhh a dessert night???!!! really?!!! I wanna be there too!! om nom nom. i just want sweets and cake. i think it might have something to do with the fact that i have a cupboard full of yummy sweets for the party and i cannae touch them...oh and a yummy cake baking away.
MP: how is Mr N now with his teeth? I hope they aren't going to fall out??
Did you have the party at a gym place? or set it up at yours? 40 kids?! wow, i am impressed i am having conniptions at the 23 that are coming...i had visions of 6-12 before Miss L and DH got busy inviting all of Victoria hahaha.
MD: i always aim for a small intimate party, then end up with 2 cakes, 2 kinds of cupcakes, cake pops, 6 different kinds of lollies, 3 types of sandwiches, sausage rolls, pies, chicken pieces....i am feinting. and *of course* i had to commit to making a castle in the clouds cake...with persian fairy floss of course...oh and 'dragon eggs' :rolleyes:
thankfully Miss L made a pinata at kinder and we can use that, and we have a pin the wings on the dragon that we made....
Trill: what a great achievement in the spelling bee! you should so see that US doco on those things...totally awesome. it was on TV just recently...argh, what is the name of it??!
G: when is Mr Ls birthday party?
AFM: house full of sick people :( lots of snot and coughing. i am just hoping like crazy that it is better before the party on sunday. i think all of us will be better except that Miss L only started getting unwell 2 days ago...so that could be cutting it fine.
hi girls
L's party is in a couple of weeks. im actually being lazy and outsourcing it LOL having a catering company come and do spit roads, potatoes and salads etc. we are having parse the parcel and a piñata. i have bought whoopee cushions lol to go in the kids' lolly bags but thats about it so far!
agggg we are actually having second thoughts about our choice of schools for L next year. typical dh decides at the 11th hour that he wants to change so now i am doing a mad scramble.
Why the change of heart Ginger? You were so set on that school, if I remember rightly there's a whole thread where you raved about it?!
oohhh G, I LOVE the idea of outsourcing...especially when there is spit roast and salad! oh gosh, i want some roast lamb right now lol!
What reason did DH give for the change of mind??
it is a lovely school, there's nothing wrong with it...
dh just wants the kids to go through from p-12 at the one school- rather than having to be split from their friends at the end of year 6. it sort of seems kinder to do the split now.
there are other reasons too of course- it is a lot more convenient to my work for when i go back
to be the devil's advocate though...many of the kids would be split at the later stage no? and i would think that many would probably head for the same highschool?
you're right- they do all head to the same high school, but the problem is that it's not the one our boys will be going to.
i am going through a lot of turmoil over all this at the moment. can't sleep. why do these decisions have to be so hard.
can u guys help me if i tell you more?
I know that I will try to help you in my best way to nut out a solution :hug: i can't imagine having this stress so close to the end of year ITMS. Do you actually have time to change enrolment?
Fire away Ginger. Sometimes just putting it down in writing helps make the issue clearer, kwim? It is a big decision.
BTW spit roast etc sounds awesome!!
Allow me to add, sometimes it's a good thing when they all split up and go to different schools. Even though H went to the feeder high school for her primary school, a lot of the kids got sent to other places. There's a lot of social mobility in years 8-10 so not a bad thing for them to be mixing with other (new) kids. I still have really strong friendships with people i met in high school, we've been friends for so long that sometimes I forget we weren't at primary school with each other. And having to reassess your high school plans when they get to grade 5ish is good because you have a better idea of their strengths and which school will meet those. Just my 2 cents without knowing any of the other back story. :hug:
thanks guys :)
yes we have time to change the enrolment. have an interview at the new school on thursday and can get him in (he is number 21). they dont start any transition or info nights or anything until term 4 so we havent missed anything. just in the nick of time really.
ok, so school 1 is the local public primary. the facts are:
-cannot walk there, but about a 6 minute drive
-all his friends from kinder going there- also knows older kids going there. his 2 besties going there
-lovely school with good community links etc.
-wasnt overly impressed with the grounds, use of technology etc. but i guess thats normal in a public school?
-in an extreme bushfire danger area with huge mountain ash trees overhanging.
-20 mins drive from my work
-if there was a bushfire, the one road in would be closed and i would not be able to get to them.
- the feeder high school has a terrible reputation
school 2- private school. runs from kinder to year 12.
-10 mins drive from my house
-10 mins drive from my work
- is known as a alternative type of private school, the steiner of privates itms?
-a few of my friends went there for high school and absolutely loved it. has a great rep
-facilities are wonderful. on 32 acres of natural bush. perfect for boys. even has its own vineyard and runs a viticulture course!
-is extremely hard to get into at year 7 level
-if you are already in the primary school, you are guaranteed a place at year 7 so it would eliminate this worry
-he only has one friend there, she is in the year above (currently in prep) so would be in the same area. other than this, he would know no one.
- there is a bus that goes past our house for when they are at high school
-not in a bushfire zone. in the case of a fire i would be able to get there
what would you do?
also must add that i think part of dh's main push has been that he has some concerns about J and feels that J would be better suited to school 2's environment. L would do fine anywhere.
I agree with how hard it is G :hug: I can see your DH's point. Even though it's L starting now, you do also have to think about J and what his needs will be - it wont be that much longer and he will be at school too. The second school sounds lovely though and was that going to be the highschool you wanted them to go to anyway? The technology thing is really hit and miss from school to school - not only depends on if the school has it or not, but also if the teachers are prepared to use it. I know teachers who are really into it and use their smartboards all the time, and I know others who barely use it because they just aren't that interested technology kwim? But there is no 'better' way to teach and a teacher who doesn't touch the smartboard can be just as in-tune and just as effective as a teacher who does use it. Plus sometimes it's good to not use technology all the time and become reliant on it because they do stuff up and they do take ages to fix. I've just finished prac and not once in that whole time did the smartboard work - the problem was logged to be fixed two weeks before I got there and still isn't fixed. So that's a long time to be without it if you use it heavily in your lessons. Anyway I digress. I also understand what you mean about friends. When the first three went through preschool, all their best friends that they had all went to the catholic school and ours went to the public school. And they all had no trouble making new friends. L is going to be the same. He's a gorgeous boy with an awesome personality so I can guarantee he will come home on day one with new friends. Plus you said he hasn't missed the orientation days so there will be ample opportunity for him to start making friends during that period. And then all the other stuff does make sense. You want it to be easier for you, not harder and this school does sound like it will be easier for you to get them to and from especially once you start working yourself.
G, it is a really hard decision. I think made harder by the fact there is no right or wrong answer, just different choices. Without a crystal ball it is hard to see which is going to be best in the long run. If L will do alright at either and J would do better at the second then I would go for the second. L doesn't seem like a kid that would have any problems making new friends so it would only be an issue for the first couple of weeks then he will have a new bunch of besties.
Happy Birthday to Elisabeth, Katie and Noah!!
MD, the talking hampster has been pushed aside because A only wants to play with E's presents (and E prefers some of A's). A whole lot of scrapping going on here!
The big news around here is LAMBS!! So exciting! We picked them up yesterday. W has named his one Woofstin (he thought long and hard about the name and is quite happy with it!). A has named her one Boy. Trill, you are my go-to person for dumb lamb related questions now :) DH fed them double because they still looked hungry but they seem alright. (Ignore this Trill lol) They looked cold this morning and were shivering so I made them little jackets lol.
A couple more questions - can you catch anything from lambs? Like, just as an example, if your baby happened to drink out of the sucked on bottle while you weren't watching, could she get anything? And one of them has weepy gungy eyes - can we get bung eye from it?
G: option 2 would probably be a winner in our house...like Trill has mentioned, if L would be ok anywhere, but J would be better suited to the steiner, then i would be inclined to go with what J will need ITMS.
Does this steiner have good mentors? do you know any kids that have gone through? Do the costs freak you out?
Arte: awwww you have widdle wambs!!!!!!!
AFM: totally shagged baby. made bucketloads of cupcakes, a cake, party decorations, buttered the bread all ready for tomorrow and I tell you what i can barely keep my eyes open lol. unfortunately i was going to go the easy option on the cake and use marzipan instead of fondent...big mistake...tastes like crap :ROFL: so ended up chucking it all out and wasted a whole lot of white chocolate sourcream ganache :wall: now the icing job is really poor, but i figure there is enough sugar and colourant in it to keep the kids amused lol.
thanks for all your advice everyone. i do really appreciate it.
i guess i'll see how i feel after thursday. i should say here that it is not an actual steiner school. it is just not as conservative as some of the other privates so has a rep of being kind of alternative.
yes the costs totally freak us out, but with me going back to work in 2 years time it will definitely help. we are 100% on no more kids so this really helps the decision too.
hope youre having fun today cass!!!
Cass, they kids wont care what the cake looks like - but I'm sure it's not as bad as you're saying it is :lol: You're probably in the thick of things now though?
Arte, they wont get anything from the lambs like a mucky eye, but worms would be one thing to be careful of. Just make sure the bottles stay out of reach and that the kids wash their hands after feeding them etc and they should be fine. Keep an eye on the weepy eyes though in case it turns into pink eye, which is basically just conjunctivitis in sheep. you'll know if it gets that bad because their eye will get milky.
ETA - G, make sure your Dh goes with you on thursday if he can - he is the one pushing for the change and I think it's only fair that he goes with you so you can both be absolutely certain this is what you want. Don't worry about the fees - they are payable each term and sometimes they will let you pay weekly - I know our local catholic school does weekly payments.
Hello girls!
G: let us know how the meeting goes on thursday! You'll feel a vibe straightaway and no doubt that will be the factor tipping a decision either way IYKWIM. I am all for alternative schools, it was the reason that the girls are going where they are going as it was as off the beaten path that we could find (and afford). there is a gorgeous school that only has a handful of kids but it is $12k a year :( we just cant do that for 3 little munchkins lol.
Trill: you are so right! the kids LOVED the cake hahaha! i heard a number of them say that it was the BEST cake they had ever seen...i'm guessing that day hahahaha
AFM: well the Partay went really awesomely! :dance: 21 kids...
pin the wings on the dragon was a big hit as was (literally!) the pinata lol. i used sooo much persian fairy floss for all the cloud themed cakes and cupcakes it wasnt funny! but all was eaten...including the bowl of apples and bananas (see, some healthy stuff stowed away in there hahaha).
Well done Cass! Sounds like you pulled off the 5 year old party of the year!
Thanks Trill :) Looks like we might be up for a dose of worm treatment after the lambs are grown lol.
Tantrumville here. But I think that I have made the right call about starting school next year. I found a note in his bag the other day saying 'I love to go to kende [kindy] ok mum'. I doubt I would have been finding notes about loving school. He is also just getting his head around being 5, it seems to be a big adjustment for him.
will definitely let you know how it goes on thurs
congrats on the party cass. tell us more about pin the wings on the dragon. sounds great!!!
arte- awesome that you have made the right decision for him. this decision making thing is so damn hard!!!! i just dont know which way to turn sometimes
G: haha, nothing too exciting with the dragon...i drew a dragon on some butchers paper, unleashed the girls on it with some paint and voila! we had a dragon! then i cut some red cardboard for the wings for the kids to stick on (ala pin the tail on the donkey). IT WAS HILARIOUS watching them trying to find the right spot :rofl:
Arte: oh we have to swap tantrum stories hahaha. Miss M is really pulling off some beauties lately...Miss L has NOTHING on her.
that sounds great! i was thinking of doing pin the tail on the donkey lol
not sure what other games to do- doing pass the parcel and a piñata. any other ideas?
A treasure hunt is fun, just something small wrapped up and hidden around the yard.
Cass, A's tantrums are nothing compared to what we are still getting from W. The other day he had a massive one in the morning that was still going when we got to kindy, he was in the entrance yelling and screaming and trying to hit me!! The other mums had a look of sympathy and kept asking if I was o.k lol. Unfortunately it is a daily thing here, it just doesn't often spill over to kindy for everyone to see.