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Cass, I am glad you are feeling better xx
Only one more week until school holidays. Not really looking forward to it in the current whinge climate! And E has had a few whopper tantrums in the last couple of days. My sweet, lovely baby. I don't want to lose her to the terrible twos :(
Cass, I'm glad you're feeling so much better. Hopefully the lack of tonsillage helped your recovery (just thinking what you had to go through to be rid of the damn thaings) but SO. NOT. COOL that you still managed to get the nasties without them (!!). I reckon you could be a candidate for this new (old ayurvedic?) practice that I've just discovered... remind me to tell you about it some time. Sounds weird but I reckon there's something in it.
Yep they are proper big kids now, aren't they? Do you think the dreams are directly related to the games? Some therapeutic drawing/colouring in as quiet time in the period before bed might help her process it out before she goes to bed.
Arte, we get lots of "that's too boring" too. LE SIGH. I think it's just a call for our 100% undivided attention (like any of us have a lot of that to hand out these days LOL). ETA - re the FB stuff. It has been really interesting to me, as someone on BB since before FB even really became a popular thing - to see how much that whole FB dynamic has affected a whole sphere of internet life well beyond FB. This is going to be something that ppl like our kids are going to have to grapple with as they grow up. I had a stage an intervention weekend before last on DD1 re FB chats that were getting out of hand, and TBH this is what i think the main challenge is - when you talk face to face or even on the phone, you get an immediate feedback loop of how the person is receiving what you're saying, and so you moderate what you're saying while it's still coming out of your mouth. But when it's in text and there's any kind of delay - you miss all that feedback info. I think some of these younger ones are losing that awareness of how what-comes-out-of-my-mouth makes other people think/feel/react. Social Danger, Will Robinson!!
is that the oil pulling you are referring to MD??
Yes. The oil pulling. I don't believe for a second all stuff about toxins under the tongue but I think it would do wonders for levels of bacteria etc in the mouth, gums, throat, and purely the motion alone would give the whole Ear-nose-throat area the opportunity to drain properly. Where did you hear about it?
I got onto it for the oral thrush from all the ABs i was on for the PPH in December :) I googled lol. I was desperately wanting to avoid boob thrush so tried everything and you know what?? it WORKED. in one treatment I could taste food better and then by the second it was receding! i used organic coconut oil....are there other oils you can use??
There was a thread on oil pulling a while ago.
What??! How was there a thread on this but I missed it?
Cass that's awesome. Did you just use it for a short while or are you still doing it? From my non-BB reading, originally they suggested people to use sesame or safflower oils or a mixture. But I think everything we know about coconut oil says it will work just as well if not better. Plus taste nicer. I only wish I'd known about it after chemo when my teeth were so bad.
I have no idea what you are all talking about. Does it help headaches????
Edit: Have googled, sounds interesting, might add coconut oil to my shopping list.
I can't find the thread but there was one I am sure.
I am going to a quiz night tonight :)
Cally, just make sure it's oil extracted from a cold-pressed virgin ;). It could help with headaches, depending on what's causing them, but since the mode of action is unclear, I think a personal-experimentation approach is warranted. If you get an improvement, you get an improvement. And if you don't, there's no harm done. I'm going to start using coconut oil on my feet, which are crusty-as. Just need another jar.
I luuuuuuurve quiz nights. Don't typically do terribly well (my interests are much too esoteric and so I'm useless with garden-variety trivial) but I do love the challenge. You would make an awesome addition to my team. :p
MD, while I would love to have you on my team, you narrowly miss the selection criteria - I have created The J Team :) I too am rather useless when it comes to quizzes. While I have a head full of useless information, it never seems to be what comes up.
What do you mean, I miss out??! You know my name is Jngrid. :p
LOL, well in that case you are more than welcome to join my team. Doors open at 6.30pm (NZT) :)
i LOVE trivia nights!!!!!
there was a thread on oil pulling??! oohhhh must find it! wonder where it would of gone under??
Interesting day here. Last thursday P fell while running backwards and put her left hand out to break her fall. Naturally it hurt at the time and she was upset, but it didn't swell or bruise so we just iced it etc that night and didn't think anything more of it, just one of those things that hurt like the blazes at the time but you're OK. Last night after netball training she complained that it was REALLY sore and achey so I thought maybe there is something more going on. last night when she was asleep I ever so gently picked up her wrist and she flinched in her sleep so I knew then that it wasn't right. Took her to the Dr today and it turns out she has a buckle fracture in her wrist. She only has to have the backslab on for 2 weeks which is good considering she's already had the injury for over a week. I knew she was a tough little cookie, but putting up with a fractured arm for a week is beyond tough! Even when the Dr was checking her out she wasn't complaining that it hurt too much so we were surprised to see the fracture on the xray. So now I feel terribly bad for not thinking it was a bad enough injury at the time to do something about it, but I honestly thought she'd done nothing more than a minor sprain.
Trill, I hope she isn't in much pain, but it sounds like she is pretty tough! DH often tells the story of how he fell out of the top bunk and broke his collarbone and his parents sent him to school for two days before realising his whinging might actually mean something lol
We came in second at the quiz night. The other ladies had a really good time so I think I can muster up a team for the weekly comp one of the hotels run during the ski season.
Trill, don't feel bad. Sounds like the sort of thing anyone could miss, you werent getting outward signs that it was bothering her too much, kwim? DD1 has had a couple of arm/wrist fractures and one of them hurt a whole lot less than the other. Having a backslab for a couple of weeks probably means that theres not a lot of strain on the spot where the fracture is, if that makes sense. Anyway, I hope it heals quickly & that mummy takes it easy on herself!!! :hug:
Hope everyone's having a good weekend. I've got more cupboard cleaning-out & sorting to do, not very exciting. I'm not very good at keeping miss E happy & entertained when I'm doing a large and thoroughly boring household job like that, it would go much quicker if she would just stop diving into the boxes/cupboards/sorted piles to check stuff out. LOL.
Arte, well done on taking our team to penultimate victory. Bet you're glad now that I'm on your team, aren't you? Yep, I think we should definitely enter the weekly comp. :p
hi girls
trill- how is P going now? she is one tough cookie xox
too much to catch up on in one go so just a quick update from us. L going really well at school. has settled in really well and seems to enjoy it. he hasn't really clicked with one best friend yet, like he did at kinder, but i think maybe that's a good thing for now. we are amazed at how much he has progressed in terms of his letters and numbers etc.
J is doing speech therapy with an awesome therapist who he loves. the results so far have been remarkable and we are really aiming for him to start mainstream 4 year old kinder next year. he is on the wait list to start state based early intervention, which looks like it will start in january. so next year will be a huge year for him! i was planning on returning to work next year but it just won't be possible with all J's therapy etc. so my aim at the moment is for him to start prep at L's school in 2015 and me return to work part time that year. we are really pushing and aiming for him to go the mainstream route.
we have mainly just been spending heaps of time working on our house. we did have plans to renovate and move (sydney again!), but have decided that the best thing for all of us as a family is to stay in melbourne and stay in this run-down old house lol, so we are trying to make it as nice as possible. we really love L's school, and feel that J would be super settled and supported there so it is the best place for us all. so no doubt you'll all have to put up with me whinging all winter long about how freezing it is for another 20 years or so!
Ginger: yay for staying! i love your house! it is so open and the views!! definitely worth staying for and i guess renovating if needed...does it need it? I thought it all looked really nice?! what are you guys wanting to do with it? we are thinking of painting this place and redoing the bathroom. but then i think of the money and the work and pass out hahahahaha.
Trill: yeah how is P??
MD: *snap* i too have been cupboard sorting...bought an old trunk off ebay for the girls to put their dress ups in and then OF COURSE I had to then sort the rest of their room hahaha. I am totally boring for the girls when i get going as i get a *little* bit manic about the whole affair and cannot be interrupted lol.
Arte: whoot on the second place! what did you win?
No prizes for second place! MD, I think that the addition of the dentist to our team made all the difference - she is quiet, but apparently has a competitive streak and is very knowledgeable. The J that I first asked didn't have a babysitter but then she got one too late so she made her own team. In the book round (first lines of well known books), her team got a special prize "because, well, we just think you should read more" lmao. (I definitely felt your presence in that round - shame you provided no inspiration in the cuts of beef!)
G, I am glad that the school is working out well for your boys.
E is well and truly at the tantrum stage now. I hope she doesn't get as extreme as W did :( I don't really want to think of the next couple of years being ruled by meltdowns. Today she said "I wuv mummy and brother" :) She is such a sweet girl, those tantrums don't suit her.
P is doing OK. A bit peeved she missed her first netball game yesterday, but they have two weeks off now due to the next team we play having no junior sides so she'll be back on deck for the next game.
Other than that there's not much else going on.
Hello lovelies!
Trill: that seems good that it will heal so quick! does P have to do any follow-up phsyio or anything like that (can you tell that so far i havent broken a bone :lol:)?
Arte: what?? no second prize?!! darn it! we used to have as first prize a crap bottle of wine and as second prize an undrinkable bottle of wine and third prize was a jug of beer...so everyone wanted to come third PMSL.
All good here. off for a night away in castlemaine. trying to convince DH of a tree-change lol.
Cass, how far away is Castlemaine?
Not much happening here. I thought next week was holidays but realised yesterday that there is still another week to go. Must be the longest term ever!
Wow Arte, that is long. Holidays started here yesterday. I'm already feeling relaxed, even though I've still got work next week. Don't have to make lunches and only have to worry about myself in the mornings.
we back to school on Monday :o and here i was enjoying the not having to get up at bum crack of dawn to get the household ready to walk the entire 5 minutes down the road :lol:
Arte: castlemaine is about 120kms from Melbourne. so a real change. but one that i think i would really like. although i love so much about melbourne, we really arent in a position to fully enjoy all it has to offer IYKWIM. with housing so expensive and lifestyle so dependent on accessing things that cost money I dont know, feeling quite jaded about it all. we looked at selling here and moving further out. but once we did the maths of how much it would take for us to sell in terms of fees and then stamp duty we were looking at being close to $75,000 out of pocket...and that is just not a good move (ie., a still stupid expensive house, much further out from work and an even bigger mortgage lol). so the plan is to see what wonders the architect can do with a budget of $0 on this place to have us all kind of fit as the girls get bigger (it works for now) and then reassess. but in all honesty i feel ready for a more real change. a small bit of land to do our own thing while still tapping into the benefits of a close by like-minded community....dream dream dream.
made the YUMMIEST cake ever today. got it from the gourmet farmer guy (the IMHO slightly annoying guy on SBS lol). ANYWAY, i do love his cooking and found his book in library and got it out and just made his lemon yoghurt olive oil cake....Oh Em Gee. sooooooooooo delicious. my house smelt wonderful for ages. om nom nom.
Cass, can you do the rent out/rent thing? But I guess the distance isn't great if keeping the same job, that would be nearly 3 hours of drive time each day. Where is Albury? DH has a confidentiality agreement so he can't work in his industry in NZ for another 3 years so if he wants to change before that that is our Plan B.
We went up the mountain on the ski lifts to the highest cafe in NZ today. We have lived here for 5 years and hadn't got around to doing it yet so finally managed to get it off the to do list. I stumbled while getting off one of the lifts and then it hit me so E and I tipped over onto the ground. I wish I was one of those people with grace and style!
Albury is on the vic/nsw border. from memory about 3.5/4 hours from melbourne?? TBH...not the biggest fan of the place. just not my scene. i like either small country towns or big cities. big towns kinda freak me out...which is why i am worried that DH has just applied for a massive promotion...in wollongong. i have been trying to fall in love with the place, but it aint happening :(. it has so many lovely things but i dont know. big towns can be just a bit mono without the community ITMS....
BUMMER on the lift! that would so be me. those lift thingos freak me out lol.
ooohh castlemaine is beautiful. our dream is to move to echuca in a few years. if dh could get his hands on a maintenance position there in a few years time, then that would be our next move. for now though, we are staying put.
tbh i used to think the gong was really nice but the last few times we've been there (or the towns near there) it has totally freaked me out....
me too...there is a vibe there that I dunno...I'm just not sure that I want to bring my girls up there IYKWIM. I just think that our life choices are changing so much and for the better that to go there will not fit anymore...wah. i dont know! whatever move we make now will be a big one and i dont want to stuff it up. i feel safe where we are ATM but also know that it isnt life nourishing ITMS??:
yep totally get what you mean about the vibe. don't want to offend anyone, so i won't say what i really thought about it all....just not good. i did see northcote on the news last night as having the biggest growth or something? so at least you would get lots for your house? would dh commute if you lived in castlemaine?
If you moved to albury you'd be closer to me Cass ;) It's such a hard decision isn't it? I totally understand though when you reach the point where you are wondering if there couldn't be a better option. Look at us, we are both working now and travelling to do it, so it would make sense to move to town, but we just can't do it because we wouldn't be happy and probably not a lot better off.
School holidays only just started on friday, so I have 2 weeks to catch up on everything before it all starts again LOL. Are, does NZ still only have 3 school terms or do they have 4?
man. Northcote is going insane. I have no idea why. we looked at a house the other day (thinking that maybe we will sell here...we live in a more uppity pocket of northcote) and look at a bigger house in northcote but further up ITMS) ANYWAY, this house we looked at had been a rental for the last 20 years (!) and the owners were selling up so did a quick bunnings reno...all ok, not offensive really...until you came to the kitchen. they had tacked on (as in literally drilled it on with no real connection) the rangehood, there was NO space in the entire kitchen for a FRIDGE. like none at all. the stove was a small upright $150 job (yanno, the rental ones that we have all loved and loathed since time in memorial lol). and once you looked a bit closer you realised that there was not one bit of heating, could assume that there would be no insulation and the whole front and back 'yard' was concrete. all i could see were the $$ signs stacking up in what would need to be done. BUT, i thought that maybe the sale price would reflect those things...W.R.O.N.G. first of all they wanted around $830k :o took it to auction on saturday....sold for $950k!!!!!!!! Oh, and it was on a main road...
I actually couldnt believe it. i was like 'whaaat'?? i have seen crazy auctions, but this was insane, especially for what you were getting. and TBH the lifestyle may be really nice here, but dude, it aint really my cup of tea...mostly 'cause i cant afford it PMSL.
(sorry for the rant...i just feel pushed out a bit IYKWIM). there is no hope of bigger (ie more than a 2 bedroom terrace here). i could cope with that on many levels but i am not sure that i respect the housing market at all lol. sure, my house has just been valued at around the 800k mark, but if i have to buy back in the market, it still is worth nothing in terms of buying power in the area ITMS. thankfully we have a few inspections lined up in woodend (a small town 1 hour from us) and castlemaine...and they are all BIG and on at least half acre lots...
I was going to suggest woodend to you! I absolutely love it there. Totally beautiful, and imagine what you could buy with the money you would get from selling your place!!!
There's not much growth in real estate around here. Has been stagnant for about 5 years. DH is eyeing off a block that is on the market for less than it sold 4 years ago.
How would moving out that way affect work for your DH Cass - lots of travelling? Have little idea of the areas around Melbourne.
Must say, I loved Wollongong - but that was from a uni student POV, moving out of home for the first time. I have some academic friends there now that work at the uni - they're up in the northern area, always looks so nice on their shots of the beach.
i totally LOVE woodend...we are looking at a really idyllic place there on thursday....just to convince DH lol.
Cally: the commute is Ok. has a train that runs quite often and takes about an hour to get to the city. DH would go in 3 days a week.
that is crazy town about the block of land! would you guys build on it i presume?? that would be cool...get exactly the house you want!
Ginger: move to woodend too. that would totally seal the deal for me hahahaha! if you are curious we are looking at 8 romsey road...soooo cute!
BUT, i am concerned about caring for 1 acre (trill, feel free to LOL at me hahahahaha!). sooo many of my friends are telling me that it will be too much work. i know that there will be work involved, but that's kinda why i want to go there ITMS.
I was going to post earlier but I've only just stopped reeling at the price of that house!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: Far out, people have more money than sense don't they? that's just an insane amount to pay for a house like that. 1 acre isn't all that big really, I don't see why it would be hard to care for? If you're not the flower-gardening type you keep it low maintenance and just have lots of grass or large paved areas. But think of the vege patch you could have if you had a block that size...
I totally understand how it would make you feel a little depressed about the whole situation. I don't know how people in cities can manage to do it. It just seems so much easier out here. You see a house you like and you buy it. I reckon 95% of houses out here are sold without an auction. auctions just aren't the done thing and if they do have one, there is never a bidding war kwim?
Oh Cass, that place is just gorgeous! Love the flowers in the garden. Doesn't look that hard to look after to me, get a ride on mower and you're set. So much space for the girls to run around and Trill's idea of a vegie garden sounds awesome. My boss has a block about that size and he's got chickens, vegies and an orchard with all sorts of fruit and nut trees.
Trill - you probably can't imagine this, but the block DH is looking at is $546k. 1700m2 with views over the water...
We have an investment place that the long term plan is to knock down and rebuild a dream home unless something else pops up in the meantime.
Omg Cass! That house is totally amazing! Right up my ally. Love character houses, and the garden looks quite established, and the block is flat!! Do it!
We are stuck here for the long run, but the school L is at is so cool that it makes it all worth it. I love going for a drive to woodend though and checking out all the little shops and cafes
haha, i am so glad you girls like it too. it does need some updating but seriously, compared to what you get here for that price, well, let's just say that having something beyond a roof and four walls is a good thing lol.
Trill: see, this is what I was thinking re: the size of the land. it seems to have established gardens around the house and I am figuring that we will go hard on some serious vegie patches (the majority of the usuable land is north facing (yay) and have chickens that can rotate around the place and help us dig up and destroy the old, used up vegie patches as we rotate them...i figure it can work. it will take getting used to as it has been a really really long time that i have lived inner city but i kinda want that. i am a bit lost here in the city, not sure what i am doing ITMS. i relish the idea of having a home that is also my place to do my thang and a community that has similar outlooks and so forth.
Cally: man, no wonder your DH is looking at the block...views over water...nice! sell your investments and buy it and build baby lol! i am betting there would be lovely sea breezes too...oohhhhh!
MD: how are you going lovely?
Ginger: the school thing is so so important. we have such a luxury of choice were we live right now, so that is one of the reasons why i would be hesitant to move further out IYKWIM. i have checked out some schools in the areas just north of here and they are OK, but not commuity enough ITMS. i like a bit of relaxed free learning etc...BUT again, woodend would be perfect as i would be sending them to John Marsden's school :) (yes, i have been doing serious daydreaming hahahahaha).
back to school back to school! i forgot how hectic it all is. are you guys doing that mathletics thingy? Miss L loves it but TBH i find it really out of step with the rest of the school. I dont know, as long as she is liking it i guess we will do it, but i am so not going to insist lol.
Arte:
What? Where is this place everyone is commenting on?
Sorry Cass I should apologise. I laughed so hard the other day when I got to the bit about no room in the kitchen for the fridge that I couldn't intelligently read the rest of your post. We don't have room for a fridge here either. How long have we been here? 12 years of schlepping into the laundry everytime you want something :wall:
BTW I totally get the inadequate-housing dilemma. Our house is on the small side, in ways we didn't really imagine when we bought it. The cost of stepping up to the next bracket of housing is more out of reach for us than it was when we first purchased. so its looking like this is it for the foreseeable future. We could probably make some changes but in our case it's a humble little place at the end of known civilization so we need to be really careful not to spend more on it than we could recoup selling it. I don't think you would have that problem where you are - any improvements will pay off because of location,location, location. Use that to your advantage if you can :)
ETA - thought some of you will be interested to hear I am being "re-timered". I had a massive headache/nausea event after I used it the first time so that's evidence IMO that its doing something to the ole brain chemistry.