OK, so what would your perfect family life be like?

[Lorien]

I woke up this morning with a cold and dh is away on business all week and the car wouldn't start and I was late taking ds1 to school, and anyway I'm sure you've all been there.... But then I just started wondering what my PERFECT family life would be like. You know, what would seem the ideal way of balancing time with kids/with partner/ with job/with anything else. I think mine would be something like this (of course totally impractical given my real world...)
KIDS - 4 (no preference on sex)
HELP - At least one full-time nanny, preferably two so that I could have
PART-TIME JOB (used to be a journalist) and exercise my brain cells a little and earn my own MONEY which I could spend with abandon if I wanted and also I could keep up with interesting FRIENDS who didn't talk about babies all the time, and have time to arrange to see my friends with kids at least once a week, and to do something useful to society like visiting an old people's home or cleaninhg up rubbish in the street.
And on top of all that I'd like my dh to take at least 25% of the responsibilty for llooking after the household and the kids. So thats my first thoughts on my perfect life. What about other mumsnetters?

Sobernow, you do make me laugh! A rich fantasy life is a wonderful thing I think

Can't think in terms of "ideal family" -- but if we were what I like to call "financially comfortable" I would like to

Own outright a lovely big old house, in a nice old neighbourhood, near the centre of a nice town/city.
Have an au pair.
Eat almost entirely organicly grown foods.
Travel first class everywhere.
Buy all those consumer goods we can never justify, like a video camera, an LCD screen for this computer, a breadmaker, a folding bicycle.
Never suffer from morning sickness in my next pregnancy, and still deliver a perfect baby!

Most of that should be possible, one day.

ps: and give lots of money to all my fave charities.

Love Aloha's Fantasy Family.

I think I've got it all ... or at least had it at some point. Had the Flat in Paris (4 to be exact over 12 years), old house in Burgundy, jet-setting job, hotels and dinners galore - hard work but good fun. And now ... a wonderful DH, an even more wonderful DS, a comfortable home with fab views and the ability to stay at home to bring up DS. What would I change - wish my mum was 6 miles away not 6000. Wish my Dad could have seen my son. But as my grndmother always said : if wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets! Ho Hum.

just to second suew- there are a lot of support groups at yahoogroups. Well worth a search. Some are very busy, some less so.....

SueW/JJ Will have a look now, thanks v. much.

yes JJ it is chronic lung disease (but not CF, asthma or the other well knowns) ..at the risk of boring you !!!..its rare in babies that aren't pre-term. Those that are pre- term tend to get it from the ventilatoring due to undeveloped lungs etc,and they get over it with a shot of steroids, but my dd has had it since birth with no given cause or treatment (except chest physio). Would love to know more about your friend, as I just don't know what to expect in the long term (oxygen cylinders haunt my dreams!). Hope you don't mind finding out for me, I know you've got plenty on your own plate.
lots of thanks .

Oh wow, I've found 2 groups already.
Hugs and kisses JJ and SueW

Lil, I'm thrilled for you. Hope they can help you. Often they have information in Shared Files areas which consists of pointers to research/treatments/personal histories.

Hmm my initial enthusiasm has died somewhat as of the 2 sites, one has hardly been used, so no info and the other I can't get into. Hey ho!!

Lil, do hope those sites give you info and help.

Just been reading this thread - sobernow, you made me laugh!

Me? well I'd settle for Paula Yate's life before I all went sour for her.

Also I would love to preserve my 8 year old in aspic, and revive my mum so she comes back her exuberent, vivid and energitic 60 year old self. I'd bring back my father as the dashing and intelligent pilot he apparently was in his thirties before illness overtook him. I would revive my dh's 5 great uncles, all brothers, lost in the first world war. And my uncle, killled in the second. What a lovely huge extended family we would have.

Hi Lil

My firend's ds has/ had cld- but he was premature (born at 25 weeks I think). Basically he spent almost the first year of his life in hosital (because of the cld) then was allowed out with oxygen. However it's got a lot lot better as he's grown older. I remember when he was first out she had to be really careful- and I wouldn't see her if DS1 had a cold or anything but after about the age of 2 it hasn't really been a problem. He did get RSV when he was about 15 months and had to spend some time in hospital- but as his airways have got larger he's been fine. I know they are keeping an eye on his for asthma but he's fine now (at three and a half). She's kind of a friend if a friend and I've moved away now- but next time I speak to my friend I'll ask how he's getting on.

I know that she's also found osteopathy really useful- cranial osteopaths are very good with children- and also very good at clearing mucus etc. The Sutherland Society can supply you with names of registered ones- I don't know their address, but they do have a web site.

Jimjams thanks for a good news story!! I just managed to log onto the specific yahoo site for my dd and was shocked to read a couple of letters from mums, that could have been written word for word by me. I had to go and recover in the office toilets.

Its all so sad, but I must remember that the success stories don't need the web and so don't make it there, I guess. Have you found the sites a help or do they scare you even more??

These are making me laugh. My fantasy life for a long time was for me and my daughter to go and live in Milan where I would teach English as a Foreign Language. At that school, I would be asked to teach some of the players from Inter Milan English (why not?). The then manager would request private lessons and, realising that he had, of course fallen madly in love with me, turn up at my gorgeous little scruffy but stylish flat to tell me that he couldn't live without me. Fabulous (but not tacky!!!) lifestyle would ensue invloving spending summer at his family's rustic but homely house in Tuscany where I would be adored and welcomed by his huge passionate family. I would, of course, be completely fluent in Italian and be constantly amusing them and frighteningly intelligent at the same time (but always approachable). Then, by accident, I would discover I had a real knack for writing hit songs that, despite me realising weren't works of art, were sort of appreciated and could sell bucket loads worldwide. I would, of course, receive many awards for these but I would be modest with my fame and still able to walk down the street. I would, occasionally appear in the press and be interviewd by Parkinson (asked back many times because I was such a popular guest) and my wonderfully sexy Italian husband would always be seen beeming with pride at my side, not remotely jealous or threatened by my success.

God, that's a bit revealing isn't it? Oh, I love having fanatsies and daydreaming!

beaming even

You're a star Tinker, We're having a cr*p week with tonsilitis & ear infection and cough which all = mummy having sense of humour failure after 3 nights of zero (well feels like it) sleep.

You have made me laugh !!!

But I know I shouldn't moan, many of you have far, far worse to deal with.

Lil- funnily enough my friend rang tonight so I asked her about her friend's ds. She said that basically he's fine. He seems prone to chesty coughs but that's it really. She says that she has a nebulizer but hardly ever has to use it. He had realy bad cld as well. As I said earlier he was in hospital for prett much the whole of his first year.

Was your dd elective c-section- I've heard of cld when they've delivered kind of too early (although really it should have been term).

The support groups were and still are a godsend. Especially befor dx when dh didn't want to talk about it and everyone told me I was imagining things. Also met someone on a list and then moved a few streets away- we're now best friends and see each other all the time. Teach me loads as well- about fighting lea's, educations law, interventions, diets the lot- really learn a lot. One absolute pricelss bit of advice was that when autistc kids get very anxious you have to get very strict (this advice came from an aspie so I believed it). This would then lower anxiety and life would return to normal- and by god it works- brilliant. No they've been my godsend.....

lol, tinker!