Roll Call

[MujerMamaMismo]

I'm just wanting to get an idea of who is out there in our wide brown land?

I'm Jess, from the inner north of Melbourne - not a mama yet, but planning for a baby next year.

anyone?

[BrookeC]

Hi Jess :o

I'm Brooke from the Outer North of Brisbane. My partner and I have a 15 mth old son and we will be looking at TTC #2 next year.

[jbie]

hi jess =)
another jess here, due end Jan, living out Chadstone way in Melby
=)

[MujerMamaMismo]

wow...if this roll call is anything to go by, we are gonna be seriously late for school! Surely there's more than 3 of us?

[Liam'sMama]

Hi, I'm here :) Jayne, mama to Liam 5 and Sienna 20 months. I'm in the outer east/south east of Melbourne. I co-run some AP playgroups in Melbourne, and we have them currently in Chadstone and Alphington if you guys are interested in real life meets with other AP mamas? Check out www.maap.asn.au :)

[emmaline]

I'm here too, but not often, MDC is too big for me to keep up with these days! but you can see me irl at Alphington playgroup!

[beingsimone]

Hi

My name is Simone. I live in Hughesdale, which is near Chadstone/Oakleigh.

I am 33 yo and have two darling daughters aged 6 and 8. They are in the Steiner Stream at East Bentleigh PS.

I see Jess and Jayne live near me. :grouphug

Simone

[mamamelia]

hi, i'm lena - mama to two girls aged 29 months and 2.5 months. i live in sydney (inner western suburbs). :)

[the_queen]

G'day cobbers, I'm just here boilin' my billy before I go outside and start de-balling some kangaroo's with me teeth... :D

*ahem*
Hi, I am Kerrin, I have a ridiculously stupid sense of "humour". I'm in rural SA.

[weRnatural]

G'day cobbers, I'm just here boilin' my billy before I go outside and start de-balling some kangaroo's with me teeth... :D

*ahem*
Hi, I am Kerrin, I have a ridiculously stupid sense of "humour". I'm in rural SA.

LOL! Love that "the queen" My dh is from SA.

Hi I'm Tracy, I have 2 dd's who are 4 & 7yrs. We live in springwood Brisbane. Into the all natural remedies in the home, no chemicals. Love the vege garden although we have limited space. My 7yr old dd has asthma & many allergies which include colors flavors & preservatives. Nice to meet you all!
:loveeyes:

[ApprenticeMomma]

Hi there!!

I'm Angie, and I live 2 or so suburbs south of you, Tracy :lol

Nice to see you all.

[SMoody]

My name is Shirena and mom to a 14 month old girl McKayla. We recently moved to NZ. (Auckland off course.)

[k-smiley]

Hi there! My name is Kylee and I live with my partner and our 7 month old son,Yoshi, in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I have lots of current resources on books, classes and am linked in with a community of people dedicated to home-birth and natural parenting.
Love K-smiley xxx :)

[mama naturale]

I am in Melbourne and have no hope of keeping up with this forum. Haven't visited for a few months til today.

[aussiemum]

G'day cobbers, I'm just here boilin' my billy before I go outside and start de-balling some kangaroo's with me teeth...



:lol

That is too funny! It's enough to make me want to visit rural SA, just to witness such a sight. ;)

I'm here. And there. And in North Queensland. More green than brown right now. I sure wish I could send some rain down south your way, though. :)

[Gunter]

I am in the US right now but should be in Perth by the end of June!

[pishajane]

Hi everyone! I don't get much time to myself at the mo, so haven't been to MDC for a while. I'm Trish, and live with my dh & 8mo dd in Freo (Perth) Nice to meet you all!

[Gunter]

Hi everyone! I don't get much time to myself at the mo, so haven't been to MDC for a while. I'm Trish, and live with my dh & 8mo dd in Freo (Perth) Nice to meet you all!

maybe i will see you this july!

[Linda in OZ]

I am mid north coast NSW, recently separated living with my 3 awesome kids :D

[Gunter]

do you perth mamas get together often?

[iri hasel]

Hi, I'm here :) Jayne, I co-run some AP playgroups in Melbourne, Check out www.maap.asn.au :)

the link didn't work. but a playgroup in Alphington would be a total lifesaver!!


Willow, and DS Nick, 5mo, inner/outer northeast Melby and missing my momfriends from Canada:( which means we need new friends!!)

[pishajane]

maybe i will see you this july!
Hey that'd be great! Are you going to be living near Freo? (Not that it matters!)

do you perth mamas get together often?

I have an awesome bunch of mamas that I meet up with every Mon - love for you to join us. We meet at each others houses or at local cafes, whatever works at the time. We're all pretty different I guess, but that just keeps it interesting. I met them at a pregnancy yoga class in Freo (a really good one if you're into it - it's at the E shed) but none of us have the time to go anymore, so we meet for cake instead!! The best cake in Perth of course... made by my dh who's a fab pastrychef!! Lucky me huh?
Anyway, let me know when you're coming. The more the merrier...

[Gunter]

Hey that'd be great! Are you going to be living near Freo? (Not that it matters!)

do you perth mamas get together often?

I have an awesome bunch of mamas that I meet up with every Mon - love for you to join us. We meet at each others houses or at local cafes, whatever works at the time. We're all pretty different I guess, but that just keeps it interesting. I met them at a pregnancy yoga class in Freo (a really good one if you're into it - it's at the E shed) but none of us have the time to go anymore, so we meet for cake instead!! The best cake in Perth of course... made by my dh who's a fab pastrychef!! Lucky me huh?
Anyway, let me know when you're coming. The more the merrier...

sounds fun! i will be in perth, near the north east sort of side as far as i can tell from the google maps. do you know that area? maybe you could help me pinpoint it a little better.

eating cake sounds more manageable than doing yoga every week, at this point! having a toddler running around keeps me busy.

i am doing training as a traditional birth attendant and will be traveling to thailand for three months after my stay in perth. my dh will be a sahd to our now 16 month old babe. we will definitely have to meet up!!!

[kyliew]

Hi there

I'm another who lives in Australia. I'm mum to 3 girls. :)

[maika]

I'm Kate, a solo-mama extraordinaire to the now nearly 10 and a half year old Maia.

Right now, we live in Bathurst, but are looking at how to make a huge move within the next few years to Kampala.

[aussiemum]

Bathurst, eh? How long have you lived there?

ANd where is Kampala?? I have to admit, I don't know much about NSW geography, but I do know that Mudgee is a lovely & friendly community, & I do love the Blue Mountains. :)

[moppity]

Hi! I'm Lauren and I live in Sydney :D

(sounds a little like, Hi my name is Lauren and I'm an alcoholic :lol: )

[CariOfOz]

Hiya, Cari from Brisbane here! (well.. almost Ipswich really :lol )

[maika]

I've been in Bathurst since 93, and Kampala is the capital city of Uganda.

I have a soft spot for both Mudgee and the Blue Mountains too...and not just for the amazing food and wine.

[aussiemum]

Wow. Uganda, eh? I wondered if that is what you meant, but thought it maybe too outrageous.... Not at all, it seems!

Anyway, why Kampala?

I know some folks who were there (Uganda) in the late 90's, I am assuming things are different now politically??

[majikfaerie]

Hi, Count me in,
We've just moved to melbourne from O/S (been traveling the past 8 years).
I'm a natural birth attendant and I write for a new age magazine from home to make money... DH does something technical with code on computers and 4yo DD is training to be ambassador of pink to the world ;)
nice ta meecha!

[kylena.aus]

I'm so glad someone initiated this. I am also very excited about how many mums’ there seems to be in the inner east of Melbourne. My small clan of Hubby, 1yr old and myself are there next year. We are currently in Lakes Entrance and i have been straving for like minded mums to talk with and share experiences with. It was not until I had my son and was trying to figure out what I could do to help him to sleep without control crying that I discovered a wealth of information about natural parenting. I am just starting to get through and gradually put into practice as I change my ideas about parenting.

What expereices have you all had with discovering AP.

Glad to meet you all:grouphug

[kylena.aus]

Is there any other forums that you visit more regularly? There are many months between posts at this one.

[majikfaerie]

okay, someone help me out here, I'm drowning!
we've been 2 weeks in Australia, and I havent met a single like-minded soul. Admittedly, we havent gotten out of the werribee environs, most of the other 4yo kids in our neighbourhood are in kindy and the mums turn up their nose a bit when i explain that we are homeschooling (I havent even mentioned unschooling yet!)
Do any of you in melbs want to create some kind of meet-up, or is there something happening that we can join???

[aussiemum]

That is a tough one, majikfairie. Can I be honest here?

I think you may be expecting too much to think that the Werribee mother's mafia is going to be open-minded about homeschooling (much less unschooling) & be instantly receptive & supportive. Homeschooling is normal here in rural areas, but in metro areas it's unheard of & a bit weird- sad, eh?

If you want to meet people locally you will probably have to deal with the fact that most families send their kids to 'school' of some sort of another. Doesn't make it any more right or wrong than your choice for your child/children, just means that you need to be aware. And some of those schooling families might even be pretty damn cool, too, you know. :)

I reckon it takes at least 3 months after moving to a new place before you even start to get to know people. It's hard, no doubt about it. :hug: But if you persevere you will find your niche soon, I am sure.


.....................



I hope that helps a bit, anyway, & doesn't come across as know-it-all...... :o

[mama naturale]

I am not far from werribee. So I know what you mean. They may be harder to meet. Just keep being an example cos then by that you may find some understanding. We get odd looks but slowly slowly ppl start to get it. Start a trend be a pioneer. I think werribee needs it! :o

[MujerMamaMismo]

okay, someone help me out here, I'm drowning!
we've been 2 weeks in Australia, and I havent met a single like-minded soul. Admittedly, we havent gotten out of the werribee environs, most of the other 4yo kids in our neighbourhood are in kindy and the mums turn up their nose a bit when i explain that we are homeschooling (I havent even mentioned unschooling yet!)
Do any of you in melbs want to create some kind of meet-up, or is there something happening that we can join???

wow - werribee! i'm not yet a mama but am not surprised that you are somewhat of a pioneer in werribee. good luck! i hope you find some fun mama's to hang out with.

[Anna V]

Try joining a couple of the Australian homeschooling lists and you'll find people locally. Homeschooling in Victoria is not all that out there and unknown. There's a lot of them on the AHS yahoo group. Of course not all of them are crunchy but some are.

[Le Bec]

Hi I'm Bec, I'm from Brisbane's inner north. My husband and I have a 7 week old daughter currently in the NICU.

[majikfaerie]

hey,
well, we bought a van and we're going to move to northern NSW... at least for the winter.
not that werribee isnt wonderful ;) i just cant handle the cold. and I think being around Mullum will mean finding like-minded families shall be as easy as opening the front door...
so, anyone up there?

hi Bec, all the best for your DD

[aussiemum]

I know several families in that area. However, I'm not sure it's going to be as simple as rocking up in your family caravan & expecting community when you open the front door....


In the background, every paradise has a lot of people working hard to make sure it all flows together for everybody. It's a lot of serious, hard work- there is no easy path to community & kinship, in my experience. Kwim???

Start slowly & be as self-sufficient as possible. And slowly but surely you will get to know like-minded people. imo. :)

[sling_dad]

Hi Everyone! :wave

I joined this forum a long time ago when we were still living in the US with DS1. After we moved to Brisbane almost 3 years ago life just got busy and I rarely had time to get back here except to do occasional research here and there. :blush I hope to be more active now as I need to do more research on educational options (DS1 is in Montessori school ATM) and tips/tricks for parenting an active preschooler :dizzy: while looking after our 8mo DS2 (thank goodness for babywearing!). Anyways, good to see other Aussies (and some Brisbanites too!) here! :D

Cheers,
-Paulus

[Gunter]

i will be in perth by the first of july!!! woo hoo!

how can i get together with some of you all for playgroups and such? my dp will be a sahd.

[pixilixi]

Hi all,

my name is Brooke, I've only just seen this thread - great idea! I live an hours' drive or so east of melbourne - not quite close enough for going to any of the melbourne ap groups. Hi to Kylena, I am not too far away from lakes entrance (well, still a couple of hours drive...)

I am an almost sahm (I work very very casually, the less, the better!) to 14 month old Toby. I go to a local Steiner playgroup. I would be interested to hear of Simone's experience with a steiner stream in a mainstream school, as I think that is where some local folk want to see happen in my area.

I recognise you Jayne from some ABA articles you've written!

Cheers for now

[Peppermint Poppies]

Hi all,

Thought I should introduce myself in here too, even though I'm not a hugely prolific poster yet.

I'm Cherie, mum to my sweet boy Jambin who is 15 weeks old atm. He is my first, conceived after infertility treatment. I live on the Brisbane northside. Jambin was born via c/s, but I'm hoping my next one will be a HBAC.

Cheers,

[aussiekiah]

HI all
I'm Kiah, I live in Orange (freezing!!!!)
I have 2 gorgeous girls - Abby is almost 3 and Sienna is just over 5 months.
I have a lovely hubby, Clint.
Glad to meet you all!
Kiah

[aussiemum]

A big g'day to all the new folks! :D

It is so nice to see more AUssies on this board after all these years. And Kiah, I'm freezing here in the north, I can't imagine how cold it must be in Orange. A dear friend of mine grew up in Cudell (mostly), that's near you, right?

[aussiekiah]

Hi
Yes 'Cudal' is near here :wink
Well, not long til summer.....then we can shut off the heater!
xo

[majikfaerie]

well, come visit us! we live near mullumbimby, and its been hot enough to get in the pool! I've been sunbathing yesterday :)
We had a cold snap in mid-july, and I freaked out and chopped a HUGE amount of wood, so we would keep warm during what I assumed with be a freezing august... but its been BALMY! i havent even lit the fire for about a week!

[aussiemum]

You are not in the pool in Mulimbimby!!! Get out. Or should I say, fair dinkum. :lol

Seriously though, you're tougher than I am, if the water is under 21 degrees I'm hypothermic in about 5 minutes. The ocean is okay up here now if you are moving around a lot, but diving requires a 5 mil wetsuit & even then I'm cold after 1/2 hour or so! But summer is coming for sure.... I can feel a shift towards more humid air, & my kids' hair starts to go curly again. No more chapped lips, either, which is nice....


AH, it is so, so lovely to have other AUstralians here. I've been a bit lonely over the years here. :shy

[majikfaerie]

okay, admittedly, we're mostly just lying around the pool soaking up the sun. The kids splash around in the shallow end. I'm the only one who is tough enough to actually swim a few laps... the water is... bracing! but I like that skin-numbing invigorating feeling :)

[mimee]

Hi!

I'm Natalie and live in Campbelltown NSW.

I have a DS 13, DD nearly 3, DD 1 years and step-son also 13.

So happy to see other Aussie's here!:lol

[momtoafireteam]

I am a displaced Aussie, living for now in the US but hopefully moving back some time. I am from Attadale, a suburb of Perth. I almost burst into tears seeing Freo and the E-Shed markets mentioned! :lol

[it's KTK]

Hi guys, I'm Katee, I live on the Central Coast (smack bang in between syd/newc)

Hope all are well and all the chrissy shopping is done......

[majikfaerie]

HI all!
DD and I just got back from a trip to NZ. mamas, that is one freakin beautiful country. but far too much rain! :lol not to mention the sandflies

back home to mullumbimby now :)

[purple peaches]

Im sarah and im in the western suburbs of nsw. Mumma to Tyler and joshie 2 and 8

[Greenmama2AJ]

Hi :)

I'm Mel, proud mum to Aaron born June 07.

We cosleep, breastfeed, babywear, attachment parent and generally just hang out together loving our LO. We also have a grand dream of creating an organic utopia in our backyard with chooks, vegies and yabbies in our aquculture pond. We live in suburban Perth, WA.

I'll have to check out that Yoga at the Eshed Pishajane & Gunter

Best wishes

[Anaed]

Greetings I am Dee, I live in Brisbane with my husband and two little girls, L who is 3 and A who is 5months :)

[helen_emily]

Hi!

After ages of being on MDC to get tips on GD and anything else that crosses my mind I finally had the thought that there might be a thread like this! It's so nice to see other Aussies on here :)

I'm currently living in Brisbane, in the Western suburbs.
No bubs as yet, but I do a lot of nannying which is what drew me to MDC. I was just at the point where I needed some validation for the way I interact with kids, and luckily I found it.
There's so much good advice here on EVERYTHING I have ever looked for!

In 09 I'm planning (tenatively) to move to northern NSW, Billinudgel area (nearish to you majikfaerie!) and hopefully get on with having my own babies. Either that or study more at the SAE there... I hope it's babies though! My partner and all our housemates grew up there so I feel like I already have a lot of friends in the area. It seems like such a great place to find people with a similar... outlook on life, I suppose.

majikfaerie, I'd love to hear how you've found moving there. It seems like they have a very tight-knit community in that area and I could end up quite lonely if things don't go well? I definitely have to get my licence before we move down that way, at least! :wink

Also, it's great to see some other Brisbanites on here. I love our city!

[majikfaerie]

hi helen emily :)
nice to meet you! yay, move to billy! that's really near to us.
moving here was great. there is such a great community here. yes, it's tight-knit, but pretty easy to get into, and there's lots and lots of parties and events that are very kid-friendly.:)

[Lizzi G]

Hi I'm Lizzi and i live on the gt Ocean Rd in Vic. Just new to this and love what i see. I have a 9 yr old son and a 15 mth old. I finally got to have the homebirth a wanted, even though i didn't find a midwife tll 2 months before due date. Hospital is one hour away and the midwife had to travel 2hrs to see me. Now i'm happily breastfeeding my gorgeous ball of energy and would love to hear of other homebirth stories..

[helen_emily]

hi helen emily :)
nice to meet you! yay, move to billy! that's really near to us.
moving here was great. there is such a great community here. yes, it's tight-knit, but pretty easy to get into, and there's lots and lots of parties and events that are very kid-friendly.:)

Aw, thanks for sounding so welcoming. Yes, almost every event I've been to down there has at least a few kids running around (and always a few dogs as well hehe).

I guess my worry is that I'm really not into the going-out-every-weekend scene that most people my age seem to be, it's so expensive for one thing! I imagine that the boy will want to be into it for a while at least, so that could cause issues.

Also, I really love all the families I babysit for here in Brisbane, some are quite nice and crunchy and it doesn't seem like I'd get much babysitting work down there.
In fact, work in general seems a little scarce which frightens me - I don't think we could both live off my boy's first-year-apprentice wage AND build a little house...? It's important to me to be able to support myself in case I need to run away back to the city! :p

Ah well, these things have a way of sorting themselves out :treehugger:

[majikfaerie]

Aw, thanks for sounding so welcoming. Yes, almost every event I've been to down there has at least a few kids running around (and always a few dogs as well hehe).

I guess my worry is that I'm really not into the going-out-every-weekend scene that most people my age seem to be, it's so expensive for one thing! I imagine that the boy will want to be into it for a while at least, so that could cause issues.

Also, I really love all the families I babysit for here in Brisbane, some are quite nice and crunchy and it doesn't seem like I'd get much babysitting work down there.
In fact, work in general seems a little scarce which frightens me - I don't think we could both live off my boy's first-year-apprentice wage AND build a little house...? It's important to me to be able to support myself in case I need to run away back to the city! :p

Ah well, these things have a way of sorting themselves out :treehugger:
i'm not into the going out every weekend thing either. it's not a pre-requisite. about work, well, I have a WAH job, and I'm a lay MW, so it's not an issue for me.
but around Mullum and Byron there's PLENTY of wealthy folks moving around here, who are vaguely crunchy and can employ baby-sitters. There's definitely a lot of money around the area, which is an interesting contrast to all the poor hippies :lol

[innle]

I just realised that I never searched this out! :duh

But anyway. My name is Kathy, and I live in Sydney (formerly ... well, lots of places all over NSW :p) And I love our wide brown land, although I could do with some warmer weather as I have misplaced all my winter clothing! :cold:

:wave:

[aussiemum]

Hi I'm Lizzi and i live on the gt Ocean Rd in Vic. Just new to this and love what i see. I have a 9 yr old son and a 15 mth old. I finally got to have the homebirth a wanted, even though i didn't find a midwife tll 2 months before due date. Hospital is one hour away and the midwife had to travel 2hrs to see me. Now i'm happily breastfeeding my gorgeous ball of energy and would love to hear of other homebirth stories..

Hi Lizzi, I had my homebirth almost 8 years ago, it was quite an adventure. Mine was very sudden, & I am so glad that I had the assistance of my midwife.

[majikfaerie]

:w

[bandtmum]

Hi from adelaide, my name is emma, I have been in oz for 4 years (from England) and work part time as a midwife. I am mum to tate 6 and brielle 2. Anyone else out there in adelaide/

[abadine]

Hello! I'm in Brissy, near the bay. I am only new to MCN, but not new to forums :)

[Peppermint Poppies]

Welcome Abadine :D
I'm in Brissy too. We'll have to catch up sometime ....

[abadine]

:thumb I'll see you Wednesday...

[2jays]

WOW, lots of VIC ladies..Just thought I would intro myself here first. Long time lurker from Sydney but will be making a tree change to Braidwood soon. I have 4 kids including a set of twins who are 8 and my youngest who is 20 mths. ( Also the 5 year old in between) .. Just saying Hi, maybe a few more NSW/ACT people will pop out of the woodwork???

[majikfaerie]

:w 2jays

[Peppermint Poppies]

Welcome 2jays :D
It's great that our little Australian section keeps expanding.

[clothmumma]

Hi everyone. I currently live in Brissy, but hope to move out of here in the next few years. I am a SAHM with Skyler and Jasmine :) I would love to know of some meetups or playgroups :)

[majikfaerie]

welcome clothmumma
there's heaps of happenings in brissie, but i dont personally know them, just of them. definitely a lot of HSing going on there.