Well, it seems another Minti member has been reported.  I don't like it, but sometimes it just has to be done.  We have to protect our families and the integrity of Minti and as some of the admins have said, it is mainly left upto the rest of us to do this.

I feel uneasy about what is going on, it has left me with quite a bad feeling and I can't work out why.  I get feelings like this alot, and they are very really wrong.  Must be the witch in me.  I just can't work out exactly what is making me feel like this, but I don't like it.

As person who likes to have as many of the facts as I can before making my mind up about something, I am finding in this case that I have already got as much as I'm going to get.  I really don't know what to think and that is bugging me! I am always quick to resolve my feelings and to form my own opinions.  I just hope it gets resolved soon.

Hello all,
 
This is just a test pic to see if I can get it to work.  The instructions the site gave me didn't work.  Got grumpy with Les because he was telling me one thing and the computer was saying another.  Anyway, seems I've got it now!!!

I never thought that asking one question could lead to some much fun!  Now I can be like lots of you other Minti members and have fun pics etc to add!  Just spent almost an hour installing all the software.  So much to see and so little time!  Oh, well.  I'll get my laptop out tonight, link it to our network and relax on the couch while learning what everything is all about.

Thanks for the responses I got to my question.  I'll even get Les to use some of them on our family webpage. 

Well, not much to add, only that I wish I could go to sleep like Laurel just has!!!!.  almost 4pm and she has decided to have a nap!

Wish everyone a great day and smooth sailing for the rest of the week. Just for now!

Just stopping by to say I'm finally catching up on the washing!  Yay!  Weather finally good enough to give washing machine a hammering.  Ok, best get back to it.  See you all round soon!

Hello all,

I know it has been a few days since I was last here.  Well, we've had major problems with computer security.  Don't worry, it was to do with my ebay trading and has all been sorted out now.  As it is midnight now, I will log in sometime later in the day and go into more detail.  I will also probably be adding an advice piece on it too, and posting something in the ebay group blog.  This one is really serious and really needs to be put out there.  By the way, I need to change my password just to be on the safe side ( been doing this all weekend with everything else) and don't know how to do it.  Any suggestions?

Thanks to everyone who stopped past my latest advice www.minti.com/parenting-advice/7225/Being-Postitive-Towards-Other-Parents/.  Thank you for your wonderful comments. I am glad I put it out there. Good practice for my studies too! lol. Still trying to get back into it but at least I can write! Sorry link so long. Still trying to work out how the rest of you 'change' it

The rain is back!  With high winds!  Now there is a storm outside and one inside! lol.

I love it when it rains.  It clears the air and makes everything feel fresh and better.  Not much washing gets done but who wants to spend the day in the laundry anyway?  Not me!

The garden is getting a good soak so hopefully I will be able to get my flower bed ready for my seedlings.  This is going to be hard work!  So overgorwn with weeds and grass.  And the ground is so hard.  Last tenants not very good in the garden, left it for too long!  Never mind, I love ripping the weeds out!  Great stress relief!.

Well, I published that advice today.  Hope it is well recieved.

I have just read a comment from a Minti member against another Minti member that has me fuming!

I have reported the comment and wasn't the only one to do so. The person knows who they are and I hope they have a less than pleasant day because of the comment   (positive energy gets positive energy and it will bite you on the bum at some stage). It is unfair to be nasty to other parents. We all do the best we can and all have the right to improve on our skills without the negative feedback.

I am going to ponder this for a while and then write an advice piece. I think it needs to be done so that you Minti members can see where I am coming from and it will be wider read in the advice section.

I can't stand narrow minded and shallow people and I am going to say so. They are the ones who miss out on life. They are the ones who are jealous. They are the ones who need to take a really good, long hard look in the mirror.

I'm not a b***h by nature, but I am sick of people treating me as a door mat. Over the last few years I have learned that sometimes being a little less than polite can be better than sticking your head in the sand and hiding. Enough is enough! I will always write what I feel, and I will be as sensitive as I can but still try to get my views out there.

I know, second blog of the day but I write when something bugs me and this bugged me.

Everyone has financial troubles from time to time.  Me and my family are not different.  We have had plenty of problems in the past.  And I thought they were in the past.

We used to have an account with a rental company for  a fridge and a TV, and it was great.  We kept the payments up to date.  Until we were forced to move and had no where really to go.  Our landlady was a real b***h, and was trying to evict us without reason, only that she wanted to sell the house.  She never went through the courts to get us out.  Just harassed and abused us, so we left.  And because she told us we had to be gone in like 2 days, we kind of left the place in a big mess.  At the time we had Ayla and Willow and I was 6 months pregnant with Laurel (Acacia was not even thought of yet).

So we left.  Just packed our lives up, shoved in storage and left!  This was ok for awhile.  We stayed in holiday houses and bumped from one to the other.  Then things really fell apart and it caused Les and I to be apart from each other for awhile (not because of our relationship, he was having a 'social time out', because of financial problems).  Really hard on me and the girls.  By then we had 3 and Acacia was on the way too.

While he was gone I had it really rough.  No car, no drivers liscence. and no public transport.  We were in a caravan and it was a 5km walk to the supermarket.  Couldn't go everytime I needed something.  Taxi was $6 each way and I wasn't even getting the benefit I was entitled to.  Getting some of it, but not all.

None of the help services could help me.  I didn't need money.  I just needed someone to help us to move somewhere better so I could look after my family properly.  I rang the Salvation Army but they wouldn't even let me explain what was going on.  I was told that whatever the problem was it was my responsibility and that they would not help me.  I was devestated.  The one organisation I had always helped in the past was telling me to get lost.  In the end I had Lifeline calling me all the time to let me talk and to make sure I was ok.  The local youth services were the ones who got the girls and I out of there and into a house.  They were great, and I am thankful to them for everything they did and I have told them so.  Will be trying to do some volunteer work for them in the future.  They were the only people who could help us, and I didn't even qualify for their services.  I was too old by about 6 months.  Wonderful people who I am eternally greatful to and in debt to.  I owe them so much and not just financially.  They are the ones who are responsible for things going well now!  And I do mean that, if they hadn't have helped, I don't know what would have happened.

During Les' absence I had to deal with everyone for him.  This rental company included.  I was as helpful as I could be and the lady I was dealing with was very nice.  She told me that because of the circumstances, they were only wanting the goods back and that there would be no more heard from them about the money we owed.  As I couldn't get to the storage unit, they had to come and get the keys and get it themselves.  That was fine, they sent the keys back really quickly.  I didn't hear from them for awhile.  Until now...

We are finally in secure housing, through a community rent scheme, and making it our home.  Nice things and furniture, something we have severly lacked in the past.  (On a budget of course).  There was no contact from the rental company and that was fine.  I thought that they were happy with everything.

Here we go, this is where the real problem is.  Sorry it has taken so long to get to this, but I needed to set some of the scene ( the rest is still a bit of a blur).

Their debt collection agency sent out letters of demand, and we don't know how they found us.  We have hardly given our info to anyone.  Then the phone calls.  And now the threats of law suits.

I have agreed to pay for the back amount of the rent, but not the extra and horribly inflated fees.  It amounts to almost $1000 in total and we were only $450.00 behind in rent (Les' absence meant no pay from his job, which he lost anyway.  Another story.)  Now they are telling me that they are going to come to our place and take goods to the amount that we owe.  If they did this, they would have to take all the furniture (none of it is brand new), all our clothes, bedding etc.  And then they would be luck to get $500 for it all.

I keep telling them that I had already made an arrangement back in Nov 07 with the lady in Sydney (National Head Office) and that there was to be no follow through.  They were satisfied the goods were returned in good condition and that because they had to be amongst our belongings unsupervised, the money owed would be wiped.

I'm not shirking responsibility, I have the money now to pay for the arrears of rent on the goods.  I told them this today when He called again.  He wouldn't even listen to me and said that they were going to start legal proceedings right away.  Taking both my husband (who was the contract holder) and me to court. 

I did what they asked.  Co-operated to the best my circumstances would allow.  I trusted that they would leave our pocessions in the storage alone ( and they did).  I cried on the phone with the lady in Sydney, and she was so nice.  Very sympathetic.  She was so wonderful and calm and everything He is not.

Now, I'm not even allowed to speak to her to clarify the agreement we had made and have only a few days to pay the money in full or to start making regular payments.  They want $50 a week.  We don't have a spare $50 a week.  A month maybe, but not a week!

He told me he deals with single mothers of 3 kids all the time.  But I bet they have a car and don't have to pay for taxis just to go shopping (public transport really sucks here.  Sure bus stop out front but only 4 buses a day.), they don't have 4 kids 4 and under and they probably have a few friends and family around them who can help out.  We have to rely on taxis or unreliable buses, we have 4 kids 4 and under and we don't have any friends or family who can help us (I don't know anyone here at all).

I am willing to pay the $400 odd, and I can pay it right now.  I can just log on and pay it, not worries.  But I am just so upset that they are not listening to me.  I listen to them and what there needs and demands are and am trying to do right by them.  All I seem to do is listen, and listen and listen.  I just never get heard and it is so frustrating.

Sorry this has been so long.  I really needed to let it go and I do feel a little better.  Box of tissues rapidly going down, but at least I do feel a little better.

Thanks for reading.

They say the weekend is for unwinding and spending time with your family.  A time to forget the stresses of life and to indulge in those things you can't indulge in during the week.  Sound good?  I wish my weekend was like this.  Peace and quiet are a thing of the past in this poor house.  Noise and chaos rule supreme.

Saturday Willow jumped off her bed and twisted her ankle.  She has spent the last few days hobbling around the house.  At least she was unable to run around and get into mischief on Saturday and Sunday, but she was back to it today.

Les has managed to hurt the bottom of his foot, and I suspect it was on one of the girls building blocks, so he is hobbling around too.

Laurel, ever the little imp, fell off the back of the couch and smashed her face on the table behind, before landing with out dignity on the floor.  She now as a wonderful shiner across one eye and her little nose.  Choose when the posty was here too, and I had packages to sign for.  Les was standing in the doorway when it happened.  We have been waiting for her to take this tumble, as she is always climbing to grab at the computer table.  Hey, it's not like she doesn't do it when I am sitting here typing my boring life for you all to see.  She is just such a cheeky little girl and doesn't like being told what she can and can't do and she is only 18 months old!

gotta love the things those precious little darlings put us through.  When you put it into perspective, only half the family is injured, the other half of us keep out of the way.

Kids will be kids and I can't watch them every minute of the day.  I wouldn't go to the toilet, eat, do washing etc etc.  I am always close to them, and I try not to be constantly hanging over their shoulders.  I prefer to trust that they are going to behave and play nicley and if they don't, then I step in.

Gotta get the pump out again.  Need to get my supply back.  Not sure why it is low, nothing has changed.  Same diet, same amount of water etc.

Love to you all. Arna

Nothing is going right today.  When I try to type anything (not just Minti) I end up hitting the wrong keys!

I am really tired today, more than usual.  Thought I was finally over the flu, but maybe I need the recovery time to go with it.  Like that's going to happen.

Our girls are having a reasonably good day.  Not too much yelling and fighting, so my ears are happy.

Gotta get Ayla's enrollement for school started soon.  Scary to think my first baby is going to school next year.  I think that will be a tissue day for me.  I know it will be great for her and that she will love it, but do they have to grow up at all?

Yeah, I know, you've all been through it too!  Not helping!  Scares me to think how quickly time is flying buy.  Year after Willow will be joining her.  Then 2 years and Laurel goes then 1 year and Acacia goes!  In 5 years I will be at home twiddling my thumbs and madly typing away to stop myself mopeing around.

Washing is a mountain again, so I had better climb and conquer it.

Best wishes to you all.

Well, we've had maintenance done on our house by Energex and that was fine.  They have put new wires going to the house and a new meter which means we can keep an eye on our electricity usage a lot better.

What I'm not impressed with is the electricity bill.  Over $800.00 for 3 months!  I am not happy that we have used so much electricity.  I have half a mind to demand the owners of the house pay half as there is no insulation in the walls, ceiling or floors and this is why we use so much electricity.  Gotta keep my family warm.

Thankfully I have already been paying for this bill.  I was smart enough to have $40 a fortnight taken out of my account to give us a head start.  Still a lot to pay though.  Never mind.  It just means other things will have to go on the back burner for a while.

At least the next bill will be quite low and then the summer bill will be in between.  I hate being the bill payer.  I pay one and the next one is already in the letter box waiting for payment.  It never ends.  At least we don't get the bills all at once.  We usually get one a fortnight and that is ok.

The other thing I'm not impressed with is the cost of electricity went up by almost 12%.  To me that is absolutely rediculous, even excessive.  Why such a big jump in cost?  Now low income families are really going to struggle to pay their bills.

What is the world coming too?  It is true what they say.  The rich are getting richer and the less financially secure are getting poorer.  True for us.  We are saving less and less.

Enough whinging.  Back to my family.  Sorry this wasn't really about parenting.  Just on my mind.

I thought we were finally over the flu.  All 6 of us have had sniffles and the likes and were on the road to recovery.

Funny how things can bite you on the bum again.  I have the next round and it is terrible!  I can't stop sneezing, I have a sore throat and my nose currently runs faster than I do.

When will it end?  The next thing will be hayfever and I hope to be over this before then.

Les had it bad too, though much better now.  The girls?  Barely even touched them.

Something wrong there.  They haven't been around as long as us and should have weaker immune systems.  Still, they don't smoke.  Not that we smoke inside either.  Always outside.

I just wish it would leave and stay gone.  I never invited it in and it certainly isn't paying rent or board.  One of lifes little tribulations I guess.

Washing needs to be done... again.

Arna

Hello all,

It has been a few days since I was last here.  Not much has happened.

The girls have had the flu bug that is going around but it barely affected them at all.  Except for Ayla who was sick for a day with it.  Nice excuse for being in Daddy's study!

We hope to be going to Brissy next week to pick up our new car!  A 7 seater!  Then we will have the freedom to do what we want when we want.  As both of us have to sign the paper work the whole family has to go.  Going to be interesting as we will be catching the 6am train.  With 4 little kids, a pram and the carseats we are going to take up a lot of room on the train.  I just hope no-one makes comments about me feeding Acacia because they will really cop it if they do.  In NSW it is now illegal to descriminate against nursing mothers and comes with a hefty fine.  Now we need to get it here in QLD.

Well, not feeling the best myself, still clogged up and can't stop sneezing, so I am going to go and relax.

Have a fun weekend.

Arna

Ok, so this is what I should have posted yesterday.  Not as important as my warning about fenugreek.  Great responses by the way.

Monday was my birthday.  I turned 27 and now Les is saying I am almost over the hill!  Gotta love men, the way they state the obvious.

The day was a pleasant one.  I ended up with a lot of ebay packages arriving (got birthday pressies on Saturday), tax return arrived and we all went to Macca's for dinner.  It was a really pleasant day, though I was wrecked by bedtime.

At least I wasn't sick or in hospital like the last few birthdays!  And I hope to never be sick on another birthday as long as I can. 

The girls had a good day too, though they are all going through this bug now and so are we.

Well, laundry demands.  I can't seem to keep up with it all!

Hugs to you all.

My last post I said that my iron supplement was what was causing the problem.  Well, it's not.  I stopped taking it but still had the same problem.

My husband and I believe we have found the problem.  A couple of weeks ago I started taking fenugreek to help boost my milk supply, not that it has done any good.  Being a wonderful man, Les looked up the side effects of fenugreek and there were some I was having.

I have now stopped taking it, as not only has it been affecting me, it has also affected Acacia, and the problem seems to be going.  Thank goodness.  Now maybe we can get her back to sleeping in her own bed.

I will post this on the q's page and also on the advice page too, as I think it is important for nursing mothers to read.  I will also be providing 3 links that will give info on benefits, side effects and who should avoid taking it.

Here are the links:

www.breastfeedingonline.com/fenugreek.shtml

This site offers info on taking fenugreek as well as some side effects.  The next 2 are medical sites that advise caution in using fenugreek at all.

www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/31402/347265.html

www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsSideEffects/0,3925,552024%7CFenugreek,00.html

So, if you are taking fenugreek in the belief that it will boost your supply and is risk free, please read these articles.  I don't want anyone else to suffer what I have been through.

Thanks for reading.

I now have even greater sympathy for Acacia when she has tummy pains.  Poor thing, they must get such sore back muscles too.

Ok.  I've been taking an iron supplement, but over the last couple of days had terrible gas pains from it.  Les almost sent me to hospital yesterday morning as I was in that much pain.  You see, excess iron has to be removed from the body somehow.  Well,  I couldn't do anything to get rid of the pain and cried because of it for a couple of hours.

Our poor darlings!  And they don't know what's happening to them.  I've stopped taking the supplement and got a good nights sleep.  Will get a multivitamin instead.

The pain was that bad that if I had of been pregnant I would have sworn I was in labour.

So, if you are taking an iron supplement and having similar problems, stop taking it!  You don't need it!

Learnt my lesson.

Have a wonderful day.

I have kept my promise about the Lifeline link.  It is for Australia and I thought I would just post the national site so you can find your state.  Too many links otherwise!!!

www.lifeline.org.au/

And there you have it.  Nice and simple!

And here is the link for Playgroup here in Oz.

www.playgroupaustralia.com.au/ 

See, I kept my word and now you have more tools at your mouse button.

I am still trying to find the info for playgroup and Lifeline.  Will get to it when time allows.

I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN!

You know how they say that the more bubs demands the more you produce?  Well, the more my bubs demands the less I produce.

I can't understand it.  Sometimes her feeds can take over an hour and she is still demanding more.  I don't know what to do.  My milk doesn't satisfy her like it should.

To prevent this from happening, I started taking fenugreek which some of you mums recommended, but since starting on it a week ago, my supply has gone down.  All it's done is increase my thirst even more.

I'm going to try and contact a lactation specialist and see if  they can help.  I love breastfeeding and it is by far the most convenient option (read my introduction piece.) for me and my family.  We don't want to have to be washing bottles all day every day.

I hope I can sort this out.  Anyone else got any suggestions or found things that work for them.  At this point I would try anything.

Well, gotta luv you and leave you all.  Boobs in demand again.