I have never been one to have crazy cravings during my pregnancy, it just seems to be a few things that come and go.

With Jackson, I remember craving pickle and cheese sandwiches, oranges, iced coffee/chocolate and sultana bran. With Ry it was KFC burgers, frosty fruit icypoles,sultana bran (again) and vegemite toast.
Both times however, I crunched ice the whole time I was pregnant. Like, bags and bags and bags of crushed ice. I ate it by the cupfull, and as soon as my cup was empty I was onto the next.

This time (so far) is different, I am not even remotely interested in ice. Instead, for the most part, something I LOVE today, will make me gag tomorrow. There are some exceptions though, and at the moment I am craving tomotoes on anything - sandwiches, vita-wheat biscuits, toasted turkish bread etc. The other thing is cold, fresh fruit, mostly berries, cherries and melons. Also, orange juice, I drink it by the litre!

So, i'm interested, what did/do you crave in pregnancy?

So, here goes.

Gez works as a mechanic in our little country town  in N.E Victoria. He's 37 years old, and left school to start an apprenticeship at the end of year 11 - more than 20 years ago!!! The thing is, he started his apprenticeship at the very place he works to this day. Now, he's had a couple of years off, working elsewhere in that time, but the reality is that he's been working for the same people, and quite a lousy wage for most of 20years.

He's been tossing up options for a change in career/job for most of the seven years I've known him, and never been quite happy with what he's doing. It's not that he doesn't like the work he does - It's just more the people he works with and the monotany of it.

Recently though, this has been starting to play on our minds a little. We are expecting our third bub, which will actully be the fourth child in our family, and I will have reduced income for 6mths, and after that will have to make a decision about going back to work. We need a bigger house, but this means a bigger mortgage and no flexibility for either of us to make any changes/reduction in our jobs. It was getting a little daunting to be honest, and I have been stressed about the whole schemozzle!

Last night, Gerard visited a neighbour of my parents who live on a farm out of town. They have offered him full time work of their farm and a huge farmhouse to rent at a good rate. The pay is not anything to party about, but it IS more than he earns now, with opportunities for overtime hours paid out as lump sum or time off.
The big plusses for us though, are the lifestyle and the schooling. The boys would attend the little country school we visited before the holidays and would have acres apon acres of land to muck about in, climb trees, keep baby animals and just be kids! 
I would be nearer to my parents (quite literally a few minutes away) but a little more isolated with the bub. There would be plenty of opportunity for making new friends with other school mums though, so I think I'd be ok, and let's face it, it's only 15mins out of town, so I can always just pop in!

I am happy about the prospect, especially for Gerard. It will mean he gets experience on state of the art machinery, and be out of the extreme temperatures of the mechanics workshop, which plays havok on his shoulder and back. He will do something different week to week, and be working for a hugely productive farm, where he can feel like he's valued for his skills.

We won't have a mortgage or car loan after the house sells, and will just invest the profit for later down the track, meaning that I don't have to worry about going back to work for as long as I want to be home with the kids and new bub - WAY LESS PRESSURE!

So now, all that's left is for us to look at the house and make sure we'll be happy living there, organise a new Captiva while Gez is still working for Holden and GIVE NOTICE!! We would wait till the house sells before we move to the farm (which is separate from where the owners live) and then just live there for as long as we need/want.

I hope it works out, it will be such a change for us, an really not a long term solution (we don't want to be renting forever, and will want to build/buy after a couple of years) but such a breath of fresh air to have the opportunity to just chill out for a while, knowing that Gerard's income will cover all our living expenses (rather than just-barely covering the mortgages and groceries), and anything on top of that will be extra.

So, there you have it folks, a sneak preview if you may :) We are hoping it sells soon, because an opportunity has arisen for us just tonight, which will mean lots of changes for all of us, bus especially Gerard. (Kirrily, if you are reading this at any point, WOW, are you psychic or what lol) More on that tomorrow.

Wish us luck!!!

Well I finally dragged out some (rare) pics of my preganancy with Riley from the dinosour PC Gez has hooked up to the TV

 aaaannnnddd....

Well, the results speak for themselves, and It looks like I'm not gonna have the cute little basketball belly some of my bitches beloved skinny-minny girlfriends.

Here I am at 21 weeks pregnant with Ry (note the stretchmarks likened to a tiger attack - Jackson is the culprit there, all 8lb7oz of him!) ;

And here, is the bump as of last week.


 Now, you might be wondering what i'm whingeing about. So, I'm gonna be brave here and show you the end result:



And if thats not proof enough of my enormity;



So, you can see, this is what I have to look forward to, no cutesy little bump for me. It's lucky I end up with nice big babies, at least I have something to show for it ;)