March 06 - the other thread ran out of space!!!!!

[laundrylover]

Oh no - the thread ran out of space so couldn't even post a link!!!

Let me know when you find it ladies.......

Agree with Uni there, sounds like a good plan.

Oh Astro! You have a lot of work and many decisions to make before the big move. I always hate that part. Despite the many, many moves I don't have brilliant advice beyond: If you don't love it--get rid of it!

Uni's advice is brilliant. Very hard but brilliant...

I am hoping that dh will be able to get an appt for dd2 at the dentist for today... All three of us were up for most of the night. Her in pain and us feeling sick with worry and guilt.

I hope you are all well and planning fabulous weekends.

DD2 has an appt at 5:15. Send positive vibes this way, please.

I hope that it goes as well as possible. I am so grateful that dh will take her. I can't stand the dentist and I am sure that it shows when I am the one with the kids.

Continueing my theme of hard advice.
If you love it but it can be replaced in AUS for less than the cost of shipping.... think hard.
I've not done an international move, but I have moved house more than 12 times. I'll confess- I'm not very good at de-cluttering tho. I still have a drawer full of climbing gear we havn't used for 3 houses. We were going to with this move, but then Dh had RSI problems and climbing made it worse, then along came the boy.

Bin the climbing gear then Uni or freecycle it at least!

Caddy sending dd2 good vibes how is she now? what did they do?

Anyone upto owt this weekend? we have Free Comic Book Day tomorrow at the store, and no one to look after the kids, so they're going to have to come in and somehow be kept busy dd1 not a problem, whether dd2 wants to help give out comics is a different kettle Sure we'll get round it somehow. And we have more work on Sunday, but Monday is a whole Day Off! hurrah!! a whole family day together, fingers x'd we have a nice time

That is good advice - I've been thinking along those lines, but its hard to bite the bullet and book the shipping man. Also hard to figure out how to value an item - take a measurement of a bookshelf, for example. When packed in a container, it will have things shoved into all the shelves, so how much space dows the actual shelf take up? And so how much is the shipping of said shelf costing, and how much would a replacement cost in Aus? Tricky. But yes, I need to just call the guy and be done with it. We have very little that is irreplacable really, and lots of stuff in storage in Sydney to rediscover!

DH imporoving slowly, but a boring day as I had another migraine, so we all hung around a bit. DD's birthday pressie arrived (not needed until June, but trying to get organised) - I won a blue mini micro scooter on MN before Chrissy, and it is FAB, so we have bought a pink one for DD, and will take them both with us in the van.

Uni - how is your DS getting on with his balance bike? Tried DS n his the other day - first time in a while, and he has grown and its really made a difference. Only his toes touched the ground before, but now he can get the balls of his feet down, and looks much happier on it! A bit awkward for him and DD to share though, as DD needs the seat much higher. Need to keep my spanner handy at the park!

Caddy - so sorry to hear about DD, am thinking of and praying for her, poor little mite. I hope you can get something sorted quickly

Friz, I hope you have a fab day on monday and get some nice weather to enjoy. We have no particular plans - maybe a visit to the park in town (arbouretum...you been? the playground is great), or to our friends enormous new play house.

xxx

Just popping by to say Happy Bank Holidays Ladies!!

Hope Astro DH and Caddy DD are feeling better by Tues...

We have had no kids last night!!![shcok]. Sitting here with coffee after getting up at 9am!!!! Much needed night out for us both as kids are hard work at themo and DP and I are very crabby....

We are thinking about going away for a couple of days - maybe on bike trailer (inspired by Uni) so not so far (Macclesfield??) but will be a nice break...

DD2 was a superstar at the dentist... DH was emotionally drained and thoroughly exhausted by the experience.

She is on anti-b's (for the first time in her life ) and will be seen next week by a specialist who will attempt to fix some of her teeth.

I am heartbroken and ashamed about the whole thing but the dentist didn't even attempt to make dh feel guilty and said that it is surprisingly common. I am trying to be pleased that we haven't had any other dental issues in 11 years of this parenting fiasco but mostly just sad and worried about dd2. It is little consolation for her that none of her siblings have experienced this.

Off to try and sort out the garden. It looks surprisingly BIG when it is time to drag the lawnmower round...

I hope that you are all having a good week.

Uni: tell the agents to SELL THAT HOUSE!!

Wish me luck- I'm running a 5km race this afternoon. Its part of the Great West Run weekend, We are eiher trapped in our road tomorrow morning or have to get out before 9am (half marathon race start time) I'm helping on a water station tomorrow - dh and boy will come along too if its dry, think boy will like the bustle and enjoy pouring water!
Packing for shipping- aim for maxium density in each box. Do you buy boxes or is it space in a shipping container? even if its space I'd be tempted to box everything for ease of handling and sealability.
Cricket season starts tomorrow too! so dh is playing in the afternoon. The club he plays with mid week have now decided to play on tuesday, argh, last 3 years its been wednesdays so i changed my yoga class to a tuesday one this term. Now have to ask very nicely if I can change back to wed mid term.

Uni, that's pain for the Yoga class, have fun on the water station tomorrow, hope that the weather stays good for you and the runners?

Caddy {{{{Hugs}}}}} your dd2 will be fine and will remember none of it in a years time. Its not your fault, these things just happen to some kids.

LL have a lovely time and very for your night out last night.

Astro, no, I've not been there? where abouts is it?? Scooter sounds good dd2 pearched herself on a four year old friends bike this afternoon, was a scarey moment for me! she loved it though We had a nice day this am dishing out comics, but the kids were very restless by lunchtime, so I bailed out with them

glad you had a night off LL

Caddy - why should you feel ashamed? You couldn't help that she has bad teeth, nor is it your fault that DH work stuffed up your health insurance! It must be awful to se your DD suffering, but she will be better soon, and in a coupld of months she wont even remember any of it.

Uni - how'd the run go?

Spent the day kicking round the garden here. DC had a picnic lunch on the lawn, I replanted all the peas that the squirrels dug up , DH huffed and puffed and was bolshy

Sent out another 3 requests for shipping quotes today - when I hear back on Tuesday I will make a decision and book them. We will measure and estiate the furniture (only a few smallish things anyway), then get boxes to the value of 8 or 9 cubic meters, fill them, car boot/free cycle/ebay the rest. Think I will book them for 2 weeks before we go...do you think that will be enough time to get rid of everything else?

Bought th kids 'holiday shoes' today, and I am rediculously excited about it (clutching at straws kind of thing, as life is otherwise very stressful with DH )...please indulge me...

Hunter Wellies - DD is having Powder Blue (so she can pass them down to DS...at that price!), and DS having red.

and

DD is having these and DS is having normal crocs in bright blue.

My plan was to set footware down to 2 pairs each, hence posh wellies and crocs, rather than cheapo ones as usual, because they wont have any 'proper' shoes at all.

Must hop off this and try and talk to DH. He was really mean to DD today, then went off in a huff. What to do> Likely I will cause an arguement

X post Friz, re Caddy's DD not remembering!

Glad you had a nice morning. Arbouretum is in behind Royal Crown Derby. It got a sand pit, climbing wall, great playground for littlies and another for bigger kids, plus bike track all around. Its very underused though...shame, but nice for us!

Will pencil that in for a visit then Astro, had no idea about it

for your dh being grumpy with dd, hope its just cause he has the pox and is feeling lousy himself, not that, that is much of an excuse.

Oh Astro... i am sorry that things are so tense with DH and the kids even. I am sure that it is not overly helpful to hear that the stress of moving must also be a big factor for your DH. I hope that things settle down and that you are better able to communicate soon though.

As for the moving: It sounds like you have a good plan. 2 weeks should be plenty to sort things out. We only had 3 days in Ottawa and that was when dd2 was only 4 months old so constantly feeding. The best thing we did was an impromptu car boot sale. We were about to start taking everything off to the charity shop (on our very last day in Canada) when it occurred to me that we may as well try to sell some of it first. We made over $200 and we didn't need to take it anywhere. The prices were ridiculously low and we resorted to giving things away but it was well worth the effort.

Quotes for shipping can vary greatly so be sure to get references too. (Also ask about hidden costs like storage in customs if it takes a while to clear etc)

Friz, LL and Astro: Thank you for your kind words about DD2. I know that I am being a drama queen. Many families endure much worse... I do feel heartsick about the whole thing though. She is taking her medicine beautifully and we should be hearing from the dentist about an appt with the specialist tomorrow. (DH is dreading the final cost which never helps... I hate money!)

OK. This is now a novel and I have managed to say next to nothing. I must tackle the dishes and sort school things for the week. I am not supposed to be on MN!

Thanks for your lovliness Caddy

DH and I had a BIG talk last night, resulting in much understanding. Think he finally gets that his time is not his own - it 'belongs' to the family, unless other wise negotiated, rather that belonging to him unless otherwised negotiated. He has also owned up to lacking courage in dealing with his issues surrounding work and lonliness etc, and says his failure to sort himself out has cost us in our family relationships. So he is going to talk to our Vicar (and good friend) when he is feeling better, and talk some issues through with him.

HURRAHH!!!!!

I'm sure it snot an overnight fix, but I think he does see that he has let things get to rock bottom. He said how much he loved our Scotland holiday, and how much he is looking forward to big trip.

We have been chatting about it tonight, doing a budget. A bit disapointing, if we are realistic we can afford 3 1/2 months just, and I've (very graciously ) given up Copenhagen, which was my whim destination, but too far off the beaten track if we are being sensible. Still, all th more time in Italy, where the food is better!

Thanks for the shipping tips Caddy. The hot contender is £130 per cubic metre, plus £500 ish 'packing fee', plus £40 'customs fee'...does that sound about right to you? Its a reasonable amount lower than some others, but not frighteningly so. Should have another few quotes this week, then I will decide.

Hope you are all planning something nice for tomorrows holiday.

Caddy, so glad your DD is taking her medicine well and hope you get an appointment very soon.
x

Astro: It sounds as though you and DH are moving in the right direction. Great to hear that the big talk ended on a positive note. (We have similar issues here but with roles reversed and I suspect that my DH really despairs when I am uncertain as to how to proceed.) Going to the Vicar to talk sounds encouraging. (I wish that we had similar here. ) I hope the Chicken Pox have nearly run their course.

Good going on the budget and planning for the big trip! Sorry about Denmark. We have only been once because the cost is quite prohibitive. (DH's family are from there.)

Italy sounds so great that I am thinking about packing up the camping gear and going this week-end. The kids are out on Monday and DH has also taken Tuesday so I would have help cleaning everything up. Where should we go?

We are trying to make plans for our trip to Canada this summer. I don't know why I can't seem to bring myself to hit send on the flight reservations... The UN owes us home-leave and it has been AGES since dh and I were home together so I know that we ought to go but I can't get my head around the logistical nightmares of where to stay and for how long without causing offense or leaving anyone out.

Another CadNOVEL. Sorry!

Off to help DS1 with maths.

Morning chatty ones!

Just catching up whilst Tilly tidies the dining room!! She isn't at school as I let her sleep in 'til 9.30am due to having such a tiring weekend. Will take her to playgroup with a packed lunch soon....

Astro - so gald that you and DH had a big chat, sounds like a step in teh right direction. I wondered if you would consider a week or two of wwoofing here to make your budget go further...there are some lovely places....

Uni, have you returned from your 5k yet????

Well, on the spur of the moment we dedided to drive up to Scotland and cheer up my sis!! Set off Sat night after BBQ at friends and stayed in a Travelodge in Stirking after 3 hours tanking it up the M6!! After breakfast we did another two hours and met sis and BIL at Landmark (fab little theme park). Up to their's for tea and then a day of forest walking and beach. Drive home was SLOW and we didn;t get back until 12.30am but was a great weekend!

WOW LL that was a spur of the mo weekend, but for it, I do miss doing spur stuff these days, what with being tied to the shop. Still LARP for me this weekend in sunny (hopefully) Wales.

Great news re you and dh talking Astro, sometimes its hard to get them to realise things, but its great when they do. Would put a smiley, but have had to turn light out, so dh can sleep.....ahem...

Caddy, I can imagine a trip home could be a logistical nightmare, could you just turn up somewhere and invite everyone to one big party? then do what you like for the rest of your time there?

Uni, hows it going?

erk- life got a bit busy. sorry.
5k- was fine, hard work, thought I'd made my target time but didn;t... 32.29 min by offical clock. so its PB but I wasn;t very happy, wanted to do 30.
sunday we were on a water stataion for teh half marathon, didn;t get to see much of teh race, just lots of cups that needed filling, were on un glam back of table jobs, so boy could wonder about with cups. Think he enjoyed teh bustle of it all and I like being involved.
Then off to cricket for teh 1st friendly of teh season, had a lovely afternoon, managed to score the whole game - bar an over or two taking boy to the loo.
Monday- did nothing. yoga last night. Boy broke his bed today,have bodged and propped, so I've got to do a proper repair tomoorrow OR ,move him on to the big bed ( 3ftx6ft single) which will take up half his bedroom.
That weekend in scotland was V spur of teh mo, nice when you can do it tho.
HAve fun LARPing if I don;t get back to you before w/end.

Caddy, you saved me £500! I asked about charges for storage in Sydney whilst our stuff clears, and, lo and behold, they had forgotton to mention that cost! Not only that, delivery is not included, so another £100 or so for that . Back to the drawing board...

DS, having been dry on and off for a few months, is now wetting the bed EVERY night without fail Heading back to nappies soon I thnk, as I am sick of washing sheets. Nappies are much smaller!

DH has taken the kids out this afternoon! Both of them! Amazing! Must get on and do some jobs though, as I need to set an example for him to follow (ie, when you're in the house alone, it's nice t get a few jobs done, not just faff on the internet all day ).

wheres everyone then?

al off in teh sun I recon. just back from cricket here. boy to bed at 9.30 pm!
Have just freecycled a load of stuff, hope they all pick up. no answer to my wanted tho :-(
Boy has broken his cot,I have repaired it but need to move him up to something sturdier before he does it again. Am on the look out for cot bed or junior bed 2nd hand.

Ohhhhh - cross fingers for us, we have a veiwing of this house ( the 1st ) at last, tomorrow ( monday) 10.30 ish. Boy is going to play with his friend J so I can sell teh house, not have small boy hanging round my knees.

Fingers very x'd you get an offer Uni

I've been playing in Wales lovely time had by all, even if dd2 did end up inbetwen dh and I half way through Sat night, as she woke, in the dark, on her own.....dh had a bad night on the friday with them on his own as well, dd1 had growning pains, so ended up in bed next to her dad, as it was easier than him keep getting up

Great Thunderstorm Friday night too circled for 2 hrs, before finally raining, did anyone else get one?

Astro for Caddy saving you lots of cash too!

glad you had a nice weekend Friz. Any luck Uni?

Well, we have the pox all over again - DS this time. He was realy ill yesterday and last night, but sems a bit better now. His eyes went really red, anfd I rang th GP and was refused an appointment , but the pharmasist saw him and was very helpful and kind.

Have two new shipping companies coming round next week to give quotes, and have told the dodgy guy to bugger off.