Introduce Yourself Here

I am 46 years old, have a wife and 2 children and we have been living (if you would call what we have been doing living) in Bournemouth, England for about 15 years now.   My wife is British, I am American and our children have dual nationality.  I grew up in a military family and have lived and worked all over the world.  I am a Divemaster and Mater Scuba Diver by profession but, due to circumstances beyond my control, we had to move to England where I have not been able to work for the last 10 years.   I have instead had to concentrate on being a stay-at-home father and raising the children properly which is very difficult to do in the UK, especially when literally all of your money is tied up in necessities like food and clothing and you have nothing left for anything else.

When I was growing up, my mother showed all the signs of what now seems to be referred to as Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome.  I only heard of this condition recently when it was mentioned to me by my doctor to explain the strange and somewhat unique circumstances under which I grew up.  My father was in the U.S. Air Force until he retired when I was about 14 years old.  When I was about 12 years old, I woke up in the hospital where my parents told me they had brought me after finding me unconscious in bed the previous morning.  I was in for about a week while testing was done on me with the conclusion that the cause of my unconsciousness was unknown as there was nothing wrong with me.  My mother claims to have been a nurse before she was married and has always been very eager to give medical advice to people even against the advice of their own doctors.  She was anxious to show that, even though she had not worked as a nurse for many years, she knew exactly what was wrong with me and came up with the bizarre conclusion that I had nocturnal sleeping epilepsy which, upon looking back, makes absolutely no sense especially since I did not have seizures.

This had a very devastating effect on the rest of my life because, as a trusting and well-disciplined child, I believed what my parents told me.  My mother used her connections in the medical community, an old doctor in particular, to somehow get me put on high doses of barbiturates and regulate the dosage to keep me just where she wanted me (mentally that is).  I was socially isolated for over 20 years until I met my wife, the only other woman I had ever known, who finally was able to convince me that I had never had epilepsy and should stop taking the medication I had relied on for most of my life.  I saw a neurologist who did some testing and told me that I had never had epilepsy and should have never been put on medication.  He told me that the drugs the doctor put me on are now known to be particularly dangerous to teen-age children as it turns them into mindless zombies and the dosages I was on and the length of time had probably done some damage over such a long period.

During this long period of isolation, my only friends were books and God, of course, and I read a great deal about science, ancient history and most of the world’s major religions.  The neurologist I mentioned previously took me off of the epilepsy medication 15 years ago but left me with no support, so I am just coming out of a long period of ‘waking up’ where my brain is trying to take in the world as it really is for the first time in my life.  I guess I have been going through a period of enlightenment and, between my duties as a father and husband, have been left with a lot of time to ‘think’ not only about parenting, but life as well, which has recently led to an epiphany.  I now feel, with a sense of urgency, that the wealth of knowledge I have gathered over a lifetime needs to be shared with the rest of the world.

• I'm Ashleigh
• I'm 29
• i've been married since June 24, 2004
• I have twin girls, Eve and Isabelle (September 12th, 2005)
• I also have two little boys, Griffin (June 30, 2007) and Aviv (December 24, 2010)
• I have 3 step kids from my husband's first marriage

Feel free you to contact me if you want to chat or become friends!

Hi, My name is Tracy. I'm 22 years old and I live on the Central Coast NSW. 

I got married to Blake last year in April and found out last week I was pregnant with our first child.  So excited!

I came across this website while searching for information and guidance.

Hi, my name is Rehana Slamdien, I'm 37 yrs old.  I am very happy to part of your wonderful world!  I'm just not too good at these things as I don't often find/make the time to correspond (I'm sorry).  Please don't take offense.  I've got a six month old boy, UZAIR!.  He is the greatest!  I waited ten years for him.  I wish I had the nerve to quit my job and spend all my time with him!  But I've got a cool job too!  I work for Old Mutual in Cape Town South Africa in the marketing graphics department.  I do powerpoint presentation reportbacks and various marketing material.  that's all i have time for folks.  warmest regards.  (not also sure how things work...)

Hi my name is Kelly I am 38yrs old and have joined minti to connect with other mums/parents outside my off line life!

I have a 5yr old DD and 18month DS.

I am finding it a challenge to go back to the toddlerhood days. I put in so much with my daughter and am so proud of her but today I am a bit overwhelmed what is ahead of us with my son. Now I understand why people do have their kids close together!! (to get the baby stage over and done with LOL!)

I am a part time paediatric nurse and I am currently studying massage therapy.

I am very blessed to have a very supportive husband and extended family. My husband does work long hours however. When we do get time together we love going for bushwalks, markets, festivals and camping (when the whether is a bit warmer than it is now!!). I also enjoy reading and cooking.

Looking forward to getting to know a few other mums

greetings to all ,

my minti name is gabeishgabe and my real name is rebecca

im 22 and have been with my partner dmitri for 5 years

i live in sydney and currently studying and working part time

still not sure what industry i want to go in

i have 2 cats and i love doing puzzles,playing bingo and photography

i joined minti for advice on miscarriages and ovary syndromes

and have found it to be a great site that i visit most days

My Name is Laura married to Blake

8 kids and pregnant with twins!!!

We also have 2 dalmations and our female is pregnant

Hi Everyone

I'm Raylee, currently a SAHM living in rural victoria, used to be  teacher in a previous life (well thats how it seems pre children) Married to Jason, have eight children DD13, DD12, DS7, DD6, twin DD 4,4, DD3, DS9months.

It is fun having a big family although not terribly popular I have discovered. Maybe I live in the wrong generation!!

Hi Everyone

My name is Sharon and I am 32 and from Western Australia. I run a Family Day Care service here which I have just started up and am really enjoying.

My husband and I have an 11 year old daughter.

We have a dog and two cats who all adopted us and live at the base of the perth hills.

Anyway hope to get to know you all soon.

Hi my minti name is dinky27 (dianne really) anyway i was googling today ways to get rid of NITS !!! I have two children one neally 10 and the other neally 8. I am married with the 2 kids, not my current husbands but my previous. Anyway i came across this website and thought i would join, as well as meeting some new people thought it might be nice for some advice too. i live on the central coast in Australia and have done for a while. I grew up in Sydney near the airport.