Ex-pat Mums in Oz??

[yummimummy]

Is there anybody out there......?
(Apart from me)

Bouj, yummi, and anyone else - we could do the high tea in the botanical gardens in the city - looks good - haven't done it BUT it looks great!

\link{http://www.citygardens.com.au/\home page}

\link{http://www.citygardens.com.au/Pages/City_Gardens/Menu/menucg_tea.html\afternoon menu}

Wow that looks divine, and what a menu. Sausage and mash for my cardboard cut out please

a treat for us is Sunday breakfast there - even the girls love the food. We seem to be going through a few places - we find one we like - great food then it gets taken over - food is crap and we have to strike it from our list BUT the gardens is consistently fab!!

scrummy menu - I've chosen already!

Bouj, sounds like you have a busy time ahead (just think of joint parties in the future though!). Well, mum is over the manic phase (only lasted a day ) mainly because I made her walk up the local big hill. Off to the pool this morning to make the most of all this outdoor swimming once she has been to parade at ds1's school.

Have fun at your meet up - looks fab. We are spoiled for eateries here - another thing to add to the list of what we'll miss...

Yum, looks good! Ds loves to 'eat out' so might have to take him there one weekend. Mmm, and sparkling wine, bring it on!!

2 random questions:

1. Brissie mums - mum will have a bit more than half a day there before she heads home to the UK (check in from 3pm having been there since the night before; she'll check her luggage through first thing in the morning from the airport hotel). What would be good to see/do in Brisbane?

2. Has anyone taken their small children (boys will be 3.5 and 5.5) to Uluru? Is it doable? Can see lots in Alice that will be good and dying to see Uluru but not sure how much they will get from it judging by the travel agent brochures. Anyone have the real story?

Thanks

Hannahs - don't know about Uluru with kids but:
Brisane:
Random wander around the city taking in the Botanical Gardens; Southbank ( museum and art gallery there - IMO musuem is not really that great but does have a current Egyptian exibition on which sounds quite interesting; art gallery is quite good) Museum of Brisbane ( city centre) has temporary exhibitions (not sure what current thing is).
McArthur Chambers ( Edward St I think) was the wartime command centre and has a small exhibition about that ( quite interesting if you're into that sort of thing) - takes about 45 mins to complete.
All walkable and easy to do in 1/2 a day.
\link{http://ourbrisbane.com\brisbanewebsite
Anyone else??
Maps are available from the TIC on Queen St Mall.
Hope this helps.
I have been to Uluru years ago well before kids and was not really trying to imagine how it would be to have kids there , but I think it would be fine. We camped on one of those camping trip thingys for backpackers so I'm not sure about accommodation options.
It's well worth a visit.

sorry the link didn't work
www.ourbrisbane.com

ditto everything yummi has suggested - for last minute souvenirs in the queen street mall - Darryl Lee choc and Australia the gift stores.

City cat trip up or down the river.

you could stay in Alice springs and jsut do a day trip out to Uluru. Friends of ours from the UK did that and they said - trip out during the day adn then a sunset trip was more than enough. I know at the moment they have suspended climbing out of respect for an elder of the aboriginal group who has recently died. Not sure how long that ban will be in place.

Thanks for the tips

Basing ourselves in Alice sounds like the thing to do with a day trip or an overnight to Uluru. No worries about climbing the rock - all the brochures say that people are asked not to and it seems awfully rude to tramp all over someone's cultural heritage when it's so significant; rather like refusing to respect dress codes and the like in mosques or the like. Sounds like a plan!

Off to pack for Sydney - hooray! See everyone in a week...have a good one.

Hi folks

Please excuse me interfering in your thread but am in the process of applying for a Visa to immigrate to South Australia.

Thought I'd drop in for a chat - getting jealous about the weather in Brissy though!

Just thought I'd drop ion and say "Hi everyone".
Sorry I can't offer any advice about Uluru or Brisbane. I've never been to either. I think I've seen more of the UK than of my own country... embarrassing!!!

YM - this is number 4 baby for me. dd1 is 5.3, dd2 is 3.7 and ds is 11 months.
DS has a really bad cough today. The beginning of the winter cold season, no doubt, so I'm not expecting much sleep tonight, I'm off now to fold some washing then get to bed. Have a happy day!

Hi Latz - good luck with your applic for SA. Are you applying on the skilled migrants visa?
My sister is applying a the moment - a bit of a long drawn out process. How are you finding it?
SA sounds really nice actually.
And Adelaide seems like a lovely place to live.

Xos - wow 4 kids. Sounds like a lot of fun ( and hard work). How do you find those age gaps??
I'd quite like 3 I think but am really old (37 ) and so we'll see how we go. DH thinks 2, but I think that's a bit too neat.

yummi - I am as old as you and we have two but are deciding on whether we want to try for a third.

ooooooo are you eids????
how exciting

I'm 38 and stopping at 2

It seems that when you are our age the 2 vs 3 kids question is a tough one.
We've got a few friends who have gone for number 3 in their late 30's ( and a few who've gone for number 4 in their early 40's).
I guess you're as old as you feel and I still feel like a teenager at heart ( don't look anything like one unfortunately). Having my first baby at 36, my creaking joints and lack of fitness seems normal unlike friends who started their families in their 20's or early 30's and are considering more kids.
I just feel really lucky to have a gorgeous DD and whatever comes along next is great.

adore my two dds and if we do not have another then that is okay but if we do - that is okay too. I face not only being an older mum but also have an increased risk of having another child with down syndrome because I have dd1. So that is something to consider - how would we cope - well we would but would it be fair on dd2 - she obviously adores her big sister and vice versa but still...

We are applying on a Skilled Independant Regional Visa as we are 37. This means if we get this visa we can stay for 3 years on a temporary visa and then apply for permanent residency.

Just starting the process as hubby just made redundant and needs to get a job before we start the application process.

Suzy you must be able to apply for citizenship soon ?? We have been here two years in Jun and so dh is eligible to apply for his citizenship.

The whole visa thing is a bit stressful isn't it?
I thought they'd increased the amount of time to before you cn apply for citizenship to 3 years in an attempt to foil would-be terrorists.

Hi...I'm in Perth with suzywong....
just read the last few posts...and was wondering....is it still 2 years before you can apply for citizenship...i thought it had changed to 3 yrs????....we will have been here 2 yrs in sept...if its 2 yrs...maybe we can start the ball rolling now.
suzy...hope your well...sorry I havn't been in touch...just been so busy with work and family.

Hello Israel, nice to see you on the boards again

We should aim for a meet up next term.

Didn't know they'd changed it to 3 years

i wonder as friends of ours - same mix - pommy husband, aussie wife - he just applied recently for his citizenship. Mmmm will have to look into that - not that dh is in a hurry.

Yeah, not sure what difference it makes practically.
I can queue in the Aussie queue at the airport as I'm with an Aussie family member.
So no advantage there.
I guess it would make a difference to how you feel living here if you consider youself an Aussie too ( I'd always barrack for England though ).
Eids, I agree of course that the older mum - higher risk of problems ( esp Down's) thing is an issue. And that most people would probably want at least 2 kids and so be prepared to risk things for number 2, but not necessarily for number 3.
And for you it will feel like even more of an issue, I'm sure.
I've a few friends who have pondered the issue and some have gone for it and others not.
My sister's friend's mum had her first baby at 37 and went on to have 7 girls! (none were twins)
Don't think we'll go that far.