LKC

Eldest just has a sandwich for lunch, and that usually comes home with just a bite or two out of it. She has fruit break at 10.30 (fruit or veg sticks), recess at 11.30 (usually some crackers and cheese, boiled egg, sometimes a biscuit) and lunch at 1pm. I used to do her a full packed lunch with sandwiches or a little wrap, yoghurt, fruit or veg and a biscuit or something, plus water for a drink, but it always came back uneaten, and eventually she asked me to stop giving her so much for lunch. She doesn't have time to eat, too busy playing with her friends. She eats like a sparrow and is absolutely tiny, but never seems lacking in energy so I don't worry too much. Kids will usually self-regulate and eat what they need. I would be most upset if I had gone to the trouble of making a lunch like those pictured and it had come back uneaten every day!

Bulli is nice. We live in Sutherland Shire and often go down that way to the beach. It is a beautiful area, and had oh not wanted to be closer to work in Hurstville we would have seriously considered moving there. As it is, because of the hours he works, and having young children, the commute would have added too much to his working day and he wouldn't have seen the children in the evenings.

It probably depends a bit on when his birthday is and how mature he is for his age. We started our eldest when she was a a bit under 5 (she has an April birthday), and to be honest, my overall feeling is that we may have been better to hold her back for a year, although that would have been difficult in other ways because she wanted to start school and it was becoming more difficult to keep her occupied. She is getting along fine (actually she is doing extremely well) academically, but I do frequently worry about her because she is tiny in terms of her size when compared to most of the other kids, and because she is less emotionally and physically developed she does come across as being ever so slightly babyish in comparison to some of the others in her class. Having said that, she has been more than able to cope with the work that she has been doing, and even got through to the finals of the school public speaking competition which was a fantastic achievement. Our youngest daughter turns five next February, and I have made the decision to send her to school 2013 rather than 2014. My main reasons for doing so are that out of the two of them she is far more confident, she is taller than Sophie was at her age, and she is already reading, and I think that to keep her back would be detrimental. It has been funny how differently I have felt about school between the two of them. With eldest, I still have these huge pangs of guilt at having sent her because I don't think that she was physically or emotionally ready, but with youngest I know that she will be fine. What I am trying to say in a roundabout and totally unhelpful way, is that it depends on your son and how you think he will cope with full time school. In pre-school/nursery (which is non-compulsory) they tend to do more learning through play type things, whereas in Kindergarten they are at school and so have formal lessons and learn to read and write etc. It may be worth thinking about placing him in a pre-school near to where he will go to school so that he has a bit of an easier time settling in and can make some friends who he will go to school with.

I only get mild hay fever these days, but what I have noticed is that I seem to be allergic to mould spores. We seem to live in a mould-prone area and sometimes find a fine mildew-type mould on things like the back of furniture. That gives me a stuffy nose and mild asthma type symptoms. Not too bad if you keep your eye on the furniture and clean it with bleach if you spot anything.

We are a family of four (two adults, two children, 4 and 6) and manage on $65k per year in Sutherland Shire. Having said that, we did have a big deposit for our house so our mortgage is relatively small, and we bought cars etc outright so we don't have any loans or credit cards or anything (other than the mortgage). It totally depends on your lifestyle and whether you can cut your cloth to fit. We don't have things like Foxtel and we don't go out to eat and so on, but then we wouldn't do those things anyway so there hasn't been much change in the way we live our life.

We have been to Sutherland Hospital in Sydney a couple of times and have always been treated pretty quickly. First time youngest and I were taken in by ambulance because she had suspected meningitis. Seen promptly, the staff could not have been more helpful. Second time, again with youngest who had fallen and smacked her head on a low wall and was out for a few seconds, the doctors were great. Short wait, but there were a couple of emergencies in. Third time the children had left a small toy on our wooden stairs which I didn't see, and I slipped and landed awkwardly on my hand which proceeded to swell to twice its size. This was on a Friday evening, I was seen almost immediately by the x-ray dept, and then just a short wait to see the doctor afterwards. Whenever we have been, we have seen the triage nurse first (except when we went in via ambulance), so I guess they prioritise patients so that the most urgent cases are seen first. I don't mind waiting my turn, one day I might be there as an emergency and need to be seen ahead of others, so I guess it is fair.

Hi! A 457 is a four (or less) year temporary visa. You would be able to go to Australia as secondary applicants on your husbands visa, but would need to be included on the initial application I believe. If you want to stay permanently, then your husband (or you) would need to qualify for and apply for a permanent visa. These can be independent or employer sponsored, but there are some big changes coming up in a couple of weeks which you may want to check out. Citizenship comes much later, I think that you have to have lived in Australia for four years with at least one year on a permanent visa to be eligible for citizenship. As far as I know a UK credit rating won't have any effect on your borrowing ability in Australia, but I have heard that it can be difficult to obtain credit at first. We didn't take a credit card or car loan or anything, so I have no first hand experience of that. You might want to check out http://www.immi.gov.au for loads of info on the visa etc. Good luck with it!

The best places for info are http://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx, the ATO http://www.ato.gov.au and also a forum that I got tonnes of info from before I started my business is http://www.flyingsolo.com.au. I have a small business and import items, so if you need any help give me a shout. If I can help I will.

If I shop at the supermarket, it probably costs about $300 for the week excluding cat meat which we buy fresh from the pet shop in bulk and freeze down. That is for two adults and two small children (4 and 6), who eat a 'primal' type diet with lots of meat, fish and veggies, butter, eggs etc. Don't use processed food, but that amount also includes loo rolls, washing powder and cleaning things etc. if I buy at the butcher, green grocer etc, I probably spend about $80 per week on meat (always decent meat), $70 on veggies and fruit, about $60 in Aldi on loo rolls and so on, and then about $60 in the supermarket on other bits and bobs, and $30 on fish from the fishmonger. So it actually works out about the same, but I spend more on the meat (but for nicer meat) and less on the veggies and other things so it balances out. It depends on how busy I am though, because going to the separate shops does take far longer than buying all at the one place.

I am not sure about the mortgage, but you would probably be best going through a broker. We did this when we bought our house on a 457 (we had a large deposit though, so I am not sure about that side of it). As far as I know you can buy any house providing it is going to be your residence. The rules were abolished for a short time in 2009, so we didn't have to apply to the firb, but I believe they have been reinstated. This is the website http://www.firb.gov.au/content/default.asp.

I had a pantry moth invasion a couple of months ago (weevils are the same thing). I threw everything 'loose' such as cereal, sugar, flour etc out (and unfortunately it was everything) and made sure that the pantry cupboards were thoroughly washed with a solution I made of water, washing up liquid and vinegar. Then I bought some jars for the flour etc which I didn't have before, and when I bought new flour and things I put the bag in a sealable ziploc bag and put it in the freezer for a couple of days to make sure that there were absolutely no chance of new eggs coming in to the pantry. I would imagine that the eggs have been laid in nooks and crannies in your cupboards and are getting in that way. They are an absolute pain in the backside!

I am waiting for the day when our two start asking. There is a house that we walk past on the way to school, where there is a beautiful white rabbit running free range in the front garden. It is all properly fenced in, and it has shade and a hutch etc. Every day we have to stop and look for the bunny, and I know that they will ask for one of their own at some point. Like you, I know what will happen. They will promise to help look after it, and maybe help clean the hutch once or twice and then it will be left to me to do. So, I have decided that it will be a no. We have cats and some tropical fish, so we don't need any other animals.

I have two sisters, I am the eldest. I haven't spoken to my middle sister for about seven years because of the way she has chosen to live her life. She has had 10 (yes ten) children and each and every one of them has been taken away from her due to her neglecting them. She is more interested in the boyfriend of the month. Most families have little things like this, you are definitely not alone.

We love it here too. We have been here for almost 3.5 years, firstly on a 457 and now PR, and I can 100% honestly with my hand on my heart say that it is the best thing we have ever done (apart from getting married and having our children, obviously!). We have had our ups and downs, particularly where finances are concerned, but we knew the score before we moved here. We are on a very low income because hubby was effectively taking a five year step back in his career. Consequently, the bonuses that used to make up half of his salary stopped. They should start to be paid again very soon, so we should be fine from now on. That isn't Australia's fault, that is a decision that we made, and it hasn't been so bad. What is the absolute worst that could happen? You could hate it, not find a job, spend loads of money and have to go home. That is all. Nothing worse than those things. That is how you have to look at it.

A cat person definitely, although I grew up in a dog family. We have two cats here (inside cats, I don't believe they should roam free) and they are quite honestly the most loyal and loving creatures. We got them both from a pound (they were both death row kittens). Molly was only four weeks or so old when we got her (they had told us she was older, vet said she was younger), and she was pretty poorly for a while. I had to feed her by hand and give her rehydration fluids every hour day and night, the vet was absolutely astounded that she made it. Hard work but definitely worth it. She is the most affectionate cat that I have ever come across. She is very fond of our eldest daughter and sleeps outside her bedroom door until the morning when she pats on the door until Sophie lets her in so that they can have their morning cuddle! When I am working here during the day she sits on the chair next to me, or if I am in the office where there isn't a spare chair she sits on my feet. The other cat, Tabitha, is a total lap cat. If there is a lap available, she is on it! She is also very loving, although she does take herself off somewhere quieter if the girls are being noisy. Molly sits and watches the girls play which is lovely. I don't know what it is about dogs that I am not keen on. I have never been bitten or anything. I don't like how they smell, they have a strong smell to me whereas cats don't smell at all. Maybe it is that.

I feel the same way about driving here. I love Australia and I hate moaning about the driving, but I feel like I am taking my life in to my own hands when I drive. I think that the thing that irritates me the most is the lack of courtesy and forethought. If there is a lane of traffic merging in to the road (such as a slip lane) and you can safely move across to allow traffic in, do so. Don't speed up purposely so that no one can merge in to the traffic in front of you. If you are turning or changing lanes, would it really hurt to indicate? The indicator is right there on the thing you have to hold to steer the car! Could you please put your lights on when the weather is shocking and/or it is getting dark. Headlights and rear lights aren't just there to look pretty and so that you can see where you are going, they are also so that I can see you coming in the dark! Why do you have to sit on my rear bumper? You can't force me to go faster by doing so, because I know that even if I speed up you will still be too close. You don't need to overtake me in a right turn lane when I am going at the speed limit, particularly when there is a rubbish truck pulling out of a side road forcing you to swerve inches from my front end. Why, oh why, do you speed up so that I can't overtake a slow vehicle. I check my mirrors, nothing there. Indicate and check my mirrors again, nothing there. Check my blind spot and oh, there you are all of a sudden. It is almost like driving is viewed as being a competition. I like to think of myself as a careful but confident driver (no accidents, points or fines or anything to date), and I do enjoy driving, but sometimes the things that I see make me very cross!

We submitted a decision ready application to the Melbourne CE through our agent. It was submitted on Wednesday 11th April (the agent delivered it personally), acknowledged on Thursday 12th and then granted one week after submission on the 18th April! We used My Australian Visa (I can PM the name of the actual agent if you would like) for ours. I can't tell you how much it cost because OH's work paid. You could always complete the online contact form and ask for a general idea of how much it would cost. The only thing that I will mention, is that the agent thought that it would take the usual four to five months that the DIAC website quotes. He was surprised as to how quickly ours came through, so maybe ours was the exception rather than the rule.

I'm with you. There are a couple of parents that I know whose kids do things every night of the week. I tried a couple of things with our two, and the only thing that they enjoyed was swimming so that is what we stuck with. They do it once a week at the moment, but I am thinking of upping that to two lessons a week next term because they love going. At the moment, youngest is in daycare three days per week in a different suburb, so on those days we don't get home until about 4.45 anyway, so trying to fit other things in along with homework and reading that we have to do, is just impossible. Plus, all kids need to just have some chill out time in my opinion. I have purposely stayed away from activities that require classes and things at weekends because OH only has a Saturday off, so we like to do family things then. I don't want to spend our one day off per week together dragging the girls round to classes and things. My two are not competitive either. Sophie (eldest) is tiny and she doesn't have any anterior cruciate ligaments in her knees (congenital thing, doesn't affect her day to day but she is clumsy on her feet sometimes because her knees give way), so she always comes last in sports etc at school just because she is that much smaller than most of the other kids. thankfully it doesn't really bother her, but I would imagine that it would if we did other things outside school. She took to swimming like a duck to water (!) though, probably because it doesn't involve weight bearing on her knees.

I have never hosted with them, but I use Netregistry for my domain names and have found them very helpful whenever I have had to deal with them. I have no idea how they compare price-wise with other companies, but for the domain names they are always competitively priced.

Our children would choose Australia, but they were very small when we moved here (1 and 2, they are now 4 and 6), so this is all they know. They have a good life here, and because they are not used to having family close by, they don't miss that. I don't imagine that we would move from here. We are happy in Australia. However, I think if we did decide to move away for any reason, we would be one of the families that would try somewhere else rather than move back to the UK. I think that we would struggle to be happy in the UK and would probably ping-pong. Not because we don't like the UK or anything like that, but I would say that we both now have that expat mentality and would find it difficult to settle back at home.

We didn't have double luggage because we were coming on a 457, so we had to be careful about what we bought. We bought with us clothing and shoes, one towel each, a sheet and duvet cover for each of the children (so they would have something familiar), a few small toys, laptop, important documents such as marriage certificates, paperwork that we might need for arranging rental, bank accounts etc (100 point identification), external hard drive with a back up of both our pc (which was on the boat) and our laptop (which we brought on the plane). We also paid for four tea chests to be sent by air with http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com. I think it cost us about 500GBP for four 32kg large boxes filled with more toys and books for the children, other shoes and clothes, bedding and things like that. It was way cheaper than taking excess baggage, and arrived within a week.

I feel the same. Was telling hubby the other morning that I have lost my mojo! I am finding it very hard to get out of bed in the mornings at the moment. I used to be far more of a morning person, but now even though the kids wake me up at 6.30, I stay in bed dozing until the last possible second that I can! I reckon it is something to do with the winter. I did get up a bit earlier yesterday morning, and was rewarded by seeing a wallaby on the fire trail behind the house for the first time. Unfortunately, by the time I fetched my camera, the bloke five doors up had let his dog out there and it hopped away back into the bush.

Lovely photos Kev. I have let photography go over the last few months because I've been busy, but I would like to get back to it at some point. There are some beautiful places round here to photograph. Might even make the effort to get up early and do some sunrises over the sea.

Bobj, your photos are always wonderful! Here is my contribution. These were taken out the back of our house. The big tree in them is sadly no longer there (infested with termites and rotten right through so we had to have it removed).