starting to freak out a little

[Amanda and Josh 12]

So we are nearly through the NVC now, just waiting for CC and interview (plus medical which i will do shortly), and I am starting to freak out. I have done nothing so far to get ready to go, not sorted the house at all because it was all taking so long and felt like it was never going to happen! We are moving with 3 kids (and 2 cats)and they start school on MOnday (the kids not the cats lol, at least the schools said don't buy them books). We think we will probably arrive just before spring break, I am worried that then they will not be in school for a couple of months and how will they make friends??? This is going to make them more homesick! Also I am having a baby (We are dead excited but i am so sick, sorting out the house is going to be a struggle), so i won't be going to work anytime soon. I am worried about making friends myself, do they have mothers groups and stuff, how do I find all that information? I know I am probably being irrational but I feel so overwhelmed today :-( Please tell me some of you were just as overwhelmed?

[Dan & Jenni 457]

So we are nearly through the NVC now, just waiting for CC and interview (plus medical which i will do shortly), and I am starting to freak out. I have done nothing so far to get ready to go, not sorted the house at all because it was all taking so long and felt like it was never going to happen! We are moving with 3 kids (and 2 cats)and they start school on MOnday (the kids not the cats lol, at least the schools said don't buy them books). We think we will probably arrive just before spring break, I am worried that then they will not be in school for a couple of months and how will they make friends??? This is going to make them more homesick! Also I am having a baby (We are dead excited but i am so sick, sorting out the house is going to be a struggle), so i won't be going to work anytime soon. I am worried about making friends myself, do they have mothers groups and stuff, how do I find all that information? I know I am probably being irrational but I feel so overwhelmed today :-( Please tell me some of you were just as overwhelmed?

a pregnant woman being irrational... ive never heard of that before!?!

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Which state are you moving to? because it will be spring break there could be a lot of activities and such being held for children. I'm not sure where you would start looking for that type of stuff, maybe hit up google, lol. Also, maybe you could get in contact with the school that they will be attending, maybe they will know of spring break activities that are happening in the area.

Congrats on the pregnancy by the way

[Deb+Steve 13]

Not sure how old your kids are, but have him look at the day camps in the area. There is always ots of activities for the kids as well that are run by the towns etc. and so much cheaper than vacation care activities in Australia. Once your kids make friends, you will make friends. I have found there are lots of mothers groups around.

Congrats on the pregnancy! Things will fall into place when the time comes. Best of luck.

[Amanda and Josh 12]

Thanks guys for the great ideas and the congratulations :-). I am still in shock about the baby because we have had several rounds of failed IVF and then BAM got a baby all by ourselves! So much going on at the moment I occassionally lose my cool lol

[KLS2010 30]

I freaked out a few weeks before I moved - and I don't have kids, nor was I pregnant! And I had already moved my 2 dogs, 3 cats and 2 guinea pigs to the US long before I moved lol (hehe - so much easier for animals - they don't need visas lol ). It is completely normal to be a little overwhelmed, and it's probably being compounded by being sick/emotional due to pregnancy (congrats on that by the way ).

Depending on where you are moving to - it shouldn't be too hard to find mother's groups in your area. You can find pretty much anything with google lol. Money may be tight since you will only have one income for awhile - but maybe look into sports or activities that your kids could do - this will help them

(and you) make some friends. I don't know if you are religious or not - but if you are - churches always have activites/events for both adults and children.

Good luck with everything

[Amanda and Josh 12]

Wow KLS2010 I can't believe you moved all those pets, that must have been stressful not to mention expensive! WE are moving to Ohio and I do intend to find a church I am comfortable with early on. My kids are older (18/13/10) so mainly worried about the younger 2. I think I am worried about friends because my kids are to old for play group and until I actually have a baby of reasonable age I won't be able to go to any of those kinds of things. Money isn't really an issue, but it might be if I spend all my time being bored and shopping lol!

[Deb+Steve 13]

I can only tell you at those ages, they will be extremely popular and not bored at all. Look at the summer activities for them, there is always something going on and it does not cost very much. My daughter is 11. She was 10 when we moved here. We also arrived in July so it was the middle of the school holidays but the school we enrolled her at set us up with 'parent mentors' who had a child going in to the same grade and they had a little 'welcome' summer BBQ for us so we did get to meet people.

Her social life is better than ours and she wants to play more sports than she did back in Aus. We've had to cut her off or I would spend all my time running her around. I am already wishing basketball season would just end already! She does still get homesick but the novelty and the fact that she's a novelty is fun for her. She even gave a presentation on Aus to the 3rd graders at her school because they were doing an art project on Aus, so she's loving the attention.

[Amanda and Josh 12]

Thanks for that, it makes me feel heaps better!