Babies Born ~ September 2007 #74

MD, we are only going for a week so have to take a plane. Caravan trip was fun (enough time has passed for it to turn rosy in my memories lol). Then I found out yesterday that IL's are off to Australia the next week for a holiday - if we had known that we could have all gone to Aust and we might have had a good holiday rather than going to Southland. Think of the most boring town you can, add some crappy weather and that is pretty much where we are going lol At least BIL has moved away to a different town. Won't last long, but gets him out of our way.

You know all you need is plane tickets and you have an NZ holiday waiting for you xx

Aww thanks. Xxx

FWIW I've been to Southland & agree, it's not exactly a thrill a second. Most exciting thing that happened when we were there was when a herd of sheep wandered onto the road & we had to stop the car & wait for them to wander off again. LOL. Ah, happy memories....

Road trip sounds good to me at the moment vs plane trip. On our way up the first plane had mechanical issues so a new one had to come in and we missed our connection in Sydney. They had to redo our booking and in the process cancelled our return trip which caused some issues on the way back. Our 2nd return flight (had a Sydney stop over each way) our boarding passes got rejected so they had to do something to our booking again, then we spent an hour sitting on the tarmac while they rebooted the computer. So a trip where we just drove sounds great.

Arte - sounds like you're good with the tubes. Is the appt next week to do it, or just meeting the surgeon? Hope the recovery goes well.

Cass - that blackout does sound a bit full-on. I can't imagine what that's like when you're used to the lights of the city. I know what you mean about perks of the city, I missed them when I moved here (although Canberra perks probably aren't what Melbourne perks are!) but I'm really enjoying life here and get me perks every now and then.

Arte - how was your trip?

Cass - a big congrats on your house purchase. It looks lovely in the pictures, so much more space than where you are now I'm assuming. Imagine the size of your vegie patch!!

Back at work today. Very boring. I think K was ready to be back at school - we played a 30 minute board game yesterday and I think there were 5 sets of tears. Not impressed.

Hi all. Still on our trip. In dunedin and flying home tomorrow.

Cally, that trip sounds stressful! We chose to drive the extra two hours to avoid a connecting flight, which would have added several more hours with an inconvenient stopover.

Cass, just caught up on the goss - congratulations! I hope you love your new lifestyle. How is Miss E now?

Md, how is your holiday going?

Looks like we may move down south in the next year or so. Not my choice of place, but the kids need to be near family. DH has been warned the move requires both a pony and a puppy. No hurry on it, not much in the way of jobs so we will have to wait and see what comes up.

hello hello hello!

how is everyone?

Cally: yeah the new place is bigger...we worked out that it is 6 times bigger hahaha! we are so going to be rattling around in that place for a while lol.

O.M.G on your flight dramas! eewwww! what a horrid run of bad luck.

Arte: I am going to quote you next time you go on a caravan holiday...fun...hahahahaha! Nah, actually it does sound like my kind of holiday. hopefully with less offal next time though...i still giggle at the visual i got from reading about that lol.

AFM: so busy here right now. too many lawyers and too many bankers and way too many realestate agents in the last few days. i had a teary day today where selling this place and organising the move got all too much for me. but hopefully once the ball is rolling it will just get its own momentum. ATM i have just been putting all the pieces in place and that is frustrating as i just want it all done and know how much we sell this place for. although i am confident we will sell well, until you know, you dont know ITMS. and i *totally* hate the narky real estates slamming eachother when they come over and try to convince us to sign them up. basically i have chosen the RE agent that didnt complain about the others lol.
Miss L is feeling a bit weird about the move. on the one hand she is really excited but also a bit sad about leaving her friends. not helped by her stressed out parents. i better get on top of the freakout and start being more reassuring and get back to awesomely excited :D

Cass, we were just talking about the offal thing the other day - I wish I had taken a picture! All going well, you don't get to see streets running with blood often.
Take a moment and breath. Your house will sell in an instant. Go to auction with prior offers considered. At least you are close enough that L can still see her friends a bit after you have moved, a birthday party here or there maybe rather than instant removal itms.
Are there good schools in the new town?

oh man, i also wish you had of had a pic :lol: I told DH about it when it happened and we were both in hysterics hahahaha.

yeah, the schools up there are pretty awesome. in that hippy trippy kinda way lol. i mean, there are the mainstream schools but they are all nice and small anyway. but our closest is also the closest match to her current school with emphasis on self directed learning pathways etc. and they are building a new secondary college just down the street from our new place that ties in with that same model too. i know that it is far down the track but to me, it portends well in relation to the focus on learning ITMS.

although Miss L is not impressed at the thought of uniforms haha.

we have already organised a few sleepovers for friends and their families...so she is pretty excited about that!

Hi girls

Cass that is so awesome - your new place looks wonderful and I am sure it will work our beautifully for your family. When is your auction? I also hate dealing with real estate agents, it's always feels like it is hard to make the right decision but I am sure ou will. It's great you'll be close enough for weekend trips etc. so when is the move actually happening? How is miss e at the moment and do you stil need to see the cardiologist?

arte - what will a move south mean for you? Will you sell your house and buy there? How are the schools there and what will it be like for you?

well....speaking of moving..............

looks like there's a move on the cards for us too..... Very hush hush at the moment as we haven't really told anyone.... But we are moving to.... Vietnam! Dh has been offered a once in a lifetime kinda job there.... I am a little freaked out.. Will prob have to quit my job (hoping to get leave of absence but doubtful).... And they want him there when we get back from USA end sept... But we are negotiating that....we basically confirmed today (whilst I was at jury duty, yep just a normal day).. Have spoken with our parents about it but not the boys and not my work and no one else. Omg! We have said after 12 months we either come home or move somewhere easier for me to work (London, Singapore, Bangkok). Looking into international schools, houses etc etc etc now!

anyway don't say anything in Facebook as no one knows.. But I am bursting here.. And since we were o. The topic of moves...

OMG MAMAPAN!!!!

that is sooo exciting! it will be fabulous! i have friends that moved there about 2 years ago now. from all accounts it is a pretty amazing place to live. wahoo!!! amazing!

Cass - do they live in Hanoi? I am so keen to hear more about it as it's all happened so fast and I dont have much info

I am pretty sure that it was the capital they were headed. they had teenagers that were not impressed about the move lol.

I dont have much info further than that really :( she works in health services and he is a IT dude. they are fabulous...i can ring our mutual friend as she is always better at keeping in contact and see where they are at...they are so nice that it would be worth meeting them (we first met in Fiji 10 years ago!).

Wow, Vietnam! That would be cool MP.

No chance of us moving at any stage in the near future. Would love a new house though that actually got some sun in wintertime.

Cass - I'm still so excited about your news, the place just looks so fabulous and you and the girls are going to love having so much space and everything. It's really the best of both worlds, space and the country life with the city within easy travelling distance.

Arte - what sort of area is where you are likely to go to? Bigger than where you are?

Re tree-changes - how flippin exciting!! I very occasionally hanker after the simplified life we had when we were living in regional Vic for a while. Even though our house was kinda like an ordinary suburban house, we knew we were in the country because the people were very friendly and community-oriented. I just know you will fit right in and thrive.

Arte - wow a move, huh? I agree it's great for the kids to have a bit more contact with family. Does moving bother you now that you've got a bit of a little community around you? Do you think you be a bit closer to a bigger town/more amenities?

Cass - just keep breathing and take it all one step at a time. I'm sure you'll get a great price for your place because you've filled it with so much love during the time you've been there and people will feel that the second they step through the door. BTW I think you chose the RE agent on a very sound criteria!

MP - Vietnam! Wowsers. What an awesome once in a lifetime adventure! I was just talking yesterday to someone who took the opportunity to live in India for 18 months who absolutely loved it even though it was soooo far away from her normal life. You have exactly the right adventurous spirit and energy to make the absolute fantastic most of this opportunity. And jury duty too - freakout! I was just thinking of jury duty the other day (randomly) and wondering if I could hack it. I know you can't say anything about it but I hope if you're assigned to a case it's nothing too awful. xxx

Still no news on what's happening re DH's job later this year. Cally I'm with you - would love just to be moving to a bigger, brighter house without changing location substantially.

MD, is there some sort of change on the table for your DH's job? Is it originating from him or his employer? How did you go with your uni last semester? I ended up with a B, which wasn't great but it keeps my grade average still viable to do post-grad. I managed to get through 10 books on my month off, but have to put a reading ban on myself again now for the semester or I read my book and do no study. I just read two pages of text book and now I am on here lol.
I forgot to mention the sheep - you haven't experienced NZ until you have had to give way to sheep! It happened to us a few weeks ago. Of course it only happens when you are in a rush to get somewhere and all of a sudden you are travelling at 5kph against a tide of sheep slowly wandering in the opposite direction.

MP, wow at Vietnam!! That will be an awesome adventure. I hope you can sort out some long term leave. Would it be hard to find another job when you get back? I am sure you would stroll into something anyway.
Did that money ever reach you? I would hate to think it was lost in the mail and you were secretly thinking I was cheap lol

If we move it would be to DH's hometown - around 10k people so much bigger than here. It would be great for the kids, and for the IL's too. They have been on their own dealing with BIL for nearly 10 years now and it has drained them badly. Some support would be helpful. Still not sure if we will go - DH is on a really good pay here and probably wouldn't even get in the ballpark down there, but money isn't everything, but it enables a better lifestyle, but being around family is a better lifestyle, but, but, but…
I don't think moving would bother me too much. I only have one good friend here and she is hanging under a cloud of potential redundancy which may see her leaving the area soon anyway. Lots of say hello, have a casual chat friends but nothing particularly meaningful. I am used to wandering though life alone, location doesn't really alter much for me.

Speaking of BIL- he had moved out of town, but came back down on the day we arrived to see us. We didn't find out he was staying at the house until we were on our way there so we just had to roll with it. He was really good. He didn't talk to the children at all, but he let them play with his dog which is probably quite a big thing. He got a bit agitated at one point and was moved to a motel, but I think that overall it went well and hopefully we have mended fences.

And just for the cuteness of it - DH and E were having a cuddle and she looked up at him and said "I love you. And we friends too."

Yes, they are making noises about someone needing to be posted somewhere else and he's been here the longest - like that's a worthy criteria for determining who should be doing what job (!!!). It's highly alarming to me but I'm trying really hard not to go down that particular rabbit hole until it/if it actually happens.

I ended up with a distinction last semester, which I'm very happy with. I think the brain pills must be kicking in :D. I'm impressed with your book reading stats - any titles you'd recommend? I've just finished City of Bones on DD1's recommendation, not bad for a YA urban fantasy & the chick who wrote it hangs out with Kelly Link and Holly Black who are both good. I'm planning to keep up with the fiction even though a new semester has started - it's an important part of my sleep disorder management plan (ie it's an incentive to get myself tucked up in bed a earlier in the evening before the sleepy vague-outs start).

We thought the sheep moment was quintessentially New Zealand too. Not quite the gothic NZ "Black Sheep" horror film moment that you had in your camper van though :p.

MD: one of the mums at Miss Ms kinder is recommeding the city of bones books lol. we love sharing trashy YA books hahahaha.
oh dear about the move grumblings...nothing like that little cloud of stress hanging over you.

Arte: we are the same: so used to not having any extra support or any of our life-long friends around that it does make moving easier and adventures more appealing IYKWIM. but i find that as i get older, i want more stability and a known place ITMS. hopefully our next move is more long term than all of our others!

Cally: is there anyway that you could make more light? potential for sunlights or bigger windows? we were thinking of putting glass doors on the back of our place to let in light but stay warm.

Cass- that's awesome you have a trashy-read swap partner... of course in a few more years you'll have THREE of them. Trust me, mums of daughters, you will be diving into each others' bookshelves and even might find one day that you have been guilty of buying your DD a book for Christmas that secretly you are planning to read, come Boxing Day. (haha, I'm not admitting that I've done that, of course...)

Arte & Cass, I sooo agree that once you've been mobile & haven't had that support base on-tap 24/7 that it becomes sort of a strength in that you no longer depend on having that when you're making decisions. I know people who are paralysed by the thought of moving even 10 minutes away from where their parents have always lived LOL. But like you, Cass, I would like some geographic stability.