DubaiCat | ExpatWoman.com
 

DubaiCat

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Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 17:24
Yay stovetop! Hope it all went as smoothly as possible and you managed to stop the tears in time for baby stovetop to pop out! :D xx
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Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 13:26
Oh, that's not good news :(. Do you have someone looking after you? I'm off to Ikea when DS wakes up so I could drop round anything you need if you're stuck. I think there's something wrong with me. It's the weekend and I just did day 6 level 3 :D. For anyone wondering if it gets easier, I thought about it today and compared how I do now with how I did when I first started. The first few days of level 1 I had to stop part-way through jump rope and some of the other cardio stuff, and now I can do it all. Some of the strength moves still hurt and I do phone it in sometimes with some of the harder ones (or change to Anita), but I'm so much fitter now than when I started and that's only after 25 days. See, there's hope!
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Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 13:22
I think there are a few on Dubizzle at the moment but yes, be careful. I went to look at a toddler/child seat for when my sister's here next week and the lady tried to tell me the seat was meant to be used with a normal seat belt - it was missing the shoulder/crotch straps. The Cabriofix is pretty much the same as the Pebble and also fits in the Familyfix base. It was the model sold before the Pebble came out.
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Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 12:16
Oh, I LOVE Soap & Glory. Even better value when you're back in the UK and it's 3 for 2 :D. Have you tried Scrub Your Nose In It? It's my favourite facial scrub ever - my face just feels so clean afterwards. I'm also dying to get my hands on Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter. Apparently it's the best thing since sliced bread for your face and is better than all the super-expensive moisturisers! And there's a waiting list for it in the UK... :\:. I keep meaning to pop over to Marina Mall to see if they have any.
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Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 12:13
Thanks, SB. Can you drop me an email? I can't read half your post thanks to that stupid ad! <em>edited by DubaiCat on 12/03/2011</em>
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Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 10:09
There you go - a red ear slider turtle. *off to tell DH he knows jack sh*t about animals with hard shells and four feet :D*
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 21:17
DC, you felt the episiotomy??? :\: The epi won't numb me till "down there"? Yes, it will - mine only didn't because of scar tissue where I had disc surgery. The anaesthetist told me there's a small risk it won't reach everywhere if you've had spinal surgery and I guess I just got unlucky. You don't need to worry about this!
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 21:15
Am logging off now but thinking of you and wishing you all the best. YOU CAN DO IT! Look forward to reading all about it ASAP :D. I'll be online again in the morning - post if you have any questions or need some more cyber-chivvying along! xx
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 21:03
Nope, I spent most of the afternoon and evening in tears. I knew I was having a baby but just not so soon! I was utterly petrified and cried for my mum :D. I had the gel at midnight then tried to sleep, unsuccessfully though. Then the doctor broke my waters at 8am, and they hooked me up to a drip. By lunchtime I think I was about 3cm and had the epidural, but that was recommended by the doctor as I had v. high blood pressure from pre-eclampsia. Then I lay back and chatted to the doula until it was time to push! I had a few contractions that were verging on super-painful before the epidural, but apart from that I only felt pain when I had an episiotomy and DS was born - and I only felt the pain because I've had two disc surgeries and the epidural didn't work everywhere because of scar tissue.
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 20:55
R u guys here? I cannot stop crying out of the fear of the unknown.... going to get admitted tonight for the induction. Have no idea about what part I am more scared about... but I cannot help being a weepy mess :( You've probably already left for the hospital but just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and sending you lots of positive thoughts. If I can do it, you can do it and you will. xx PS I did exactly the same the night I was induced. Bawled like a two-year-old, if that makes you feel any better. It's perfectly normal! <em>edited by DubaiCat on 11/03/2011</em>
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 16:10
Got some in Geant a while back for 13dhs. They were in the same area as all the car bits and hardware.
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 14:09
This is a subject close to my heart - I dinnae check to see when my Gold class expired, as I knew it was coming - and it expires [b'>literally[/b'> the day before I leave for vacation. That sucks! My Mum lost her silver last year because they changed the number of tier miles you get. Before, tier miles = exact miles flown and now, it's less so where she used to get silver every year with four trips over, now she doesn't as she only gets 24,000 miles for those four trips instead of 26,000 something she used to get. Luckily for me, she now uses that as an excuse to come more often :D.
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 14:03
We need to coordinate a rendezvous. Is that posh speak for 'do summat we're not allowed'? :D Uuuuuuggggggh. I wish I'd never gone out. I'd actually prefer to do level 3 Natalie style twice over today than feel like this!
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 14:00
Yep, that's about the size of it. CiD - I was rubbish at those problems at school! :D
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 13:28
No - your tier miles stay until the end of the 12 (or 13) month period. Say you travel 28,000 miles between January and December. You receive 28,000 Skywards miles and 28,000 tier miles. If you used 25,000 miles for an upgrade in June, come December you'd still have 28,000 tier miles even though you'd only have 3,000 Skywards miles. In a nutshell, your Skywards miles are gone once you've used them but the tier miles aren't usable in that sense and they don't go anywhere until your tier miles account is wiped clean at the end of the 12 month period. They're just a record of how many miles you've flown for tier purposes. Does that make sense?
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Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 13:19
Yep, I posted on both boards as there were no responses on here and I needed to know what to do in a hurry. It all gets a bit confusing when you do that though!
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Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 14:17
Thanks, I picked one up the other day in Babyshop in IB. He played with it once and now ignores it! Little toad!
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Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 14:16
I took him back to the doctor just now and he says it's either a minor tummy upset or teething. Phew! Poor wee guy. But the doc says he can't get it again now he's had it :\:. Will it be a different version of it?
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Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 14:14
Day 5 level 3 done. I gave in and went back to bed when DS did this morning because DH woke me up at midnight when he got in from his trip and DS was up at 6, so I wimped out and had an extra couple of hours in bed. But hey, my Shred is done now and that's all that matters. Didn't someone say you should take a break at least once a week? I'm no Mystic Meg but I predict tomorrow will be a break at Casa DC. I also predict the reason will be a rather large hangover. I got out of bed this morning and DH said, "Wow - you've lost tons of weight." RESULT! Off out to celebrate :D. <em>edited by DubaiCat on 10/03/2011</em>
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 21:59
He's nine months, and he's been clear of the rotavirus for a couple of weeks now. I was all set to get him back on normal formula :(. He's been off his food for the past couple of days but I'll stick to bland bits if he'll eat, thanks :).
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 20:40
I so wish they would. How anyone can consider an animal disposable in this way is despicable. Surely it's worth reporting them?
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 20:30
If you get one of those supernegative moods again, post on here and between us we'll sort you out! So pleased your DS slept a bit better today - that made the world of difference to me. I was at Children's Oasis today and it seemed lovely.
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 20:24
I opened this thinking, 'I know just the place' :D.
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 20:22
I don't think I can post what I want to without it being censored. People like this make me so angry I could literally scream. Can you post their number on here? Then we can take turns calling them every half an hour for the next six months to let them know what utter, utter pond life they are. ETA: I'm happy to pass on a little donation if you wanted to get him neutered before he finds a family. <em>edited by DubaiCat on 09/03/2011</em>
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 20:11
I know it's awful but you did the right thing. No more pain and misery, just tins and tins of Sheba (tuna flavour) and as many furry mice as she can chase over on Rainbow Bridge. xx
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 13:00
When you say 'fabric tie round her neck', do you mean one of those cowboy-style neckerchief things? I met a lady whose dog was wearing one of those the other day and apparently the groomers put it on. I can't remember the name but it might be worth sending the photo to the groomers to see if they recognise him? Someone must know which groomers does this!
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 10:03
Well, consider this a huge, HUGE cyber hug from me. Trust me when I say I've been there with finding a new baby challenging (and still am 'there', even though the little bruiser is hardly a new baby any more) and I totally, totally underestimated your post. For that I'm truly sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I've been punishing myself with a few extra Natalie-style moves in your honour :D. I did day 4 level 3 today and I suffered. Maybe because I'm tired - DS was up at 3.15am chatting away to himself in his cot, and decided to start his day at 6.30am - but I really couldn't be bothered and considered phoning it in altogether about 2 minutes into it. Thankfully I didn't and I am now so glad I didn't, but my butt just refused to get itself in gear and I ended up switching to Anita halfway through a few moves. Love running? Another thing I'm envious of. I've been telling myself for the past four years I want to do the Standard Chartered 10k and haven't done it. OK, I was pregnant last year, but this year and two years ago I had no excuse other than that I despise running. I give myself all these excuses then I'm just disappointed in myself afterwards. Does your LO sleep during the day? I ask because I've done my Shred in the morning a couple of times and I find it makes me feel so much better throughout the day. As long as I've done it by the end of DS's lunchtime nap I feel OK, but if I get it over and done with early I'm buzzing for the rest of the day. And it gives me more time to get stuck into the vino later on :D.
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 09:20
The only figures I can find aren't that current, so not too helpful. Child fatality rates in RTAs in Sweden 2.5/100,000, UK 2.9/100,000. THat'f between 1991 and 1995 so I'm not sure how relevant that is today. I did find another interesting bit, though; http://www.etsc.eu/documents/ETSC%20PIN%20Flash%2012%20Road%20Safety%20of%20Children.pdf [i'>Forward-facing child restraints questioned by consumer organisation ANEC Rearward-facing restraints offer a higher level of safety over forward-facing restraints to children aged up to four years. The study by the British firm Vehicle Safety Consultancy Ltd., commissioned by the European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation (ANEC), showed that children in forward-facing seats suffered head, neck, chest and abdominal injuries in circumstances in which a rearward facing restraint would have provided much better protection. Currently rearward facing restraints are used in Nordic countries up to the age of 3 or 4 years old, whereas in the rest of Europe children travel facing forwards already at one year of age or less, in accordance with the European legislation which implies that it is safe for a child to travel forward-facing from 9 kg onwards. ANEC is urging legislators to revise the law on the use of child restraints, and calls on the manufacturers of child-restraint systems and cars to collaborate voluntarily in order to make Scandinavian-style rearward- facing seats for children up to 4 years available to consumers throughout the rest of Europe. http://www.anec.eu/attachments/ANEC-R&T-2008-TRAF-003.pdf[/i'>
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Latest post on 09 March 2011 - 07:50
http://www.carseat.se/rearfacing/rear-facing-basics/ This is the site I've been looking at to buy a seat from. I need to find out just how much of a difference it actually makes, though - like you say, H.A.K, if it's one per cent or one in a hundred thousand.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 21:21
I did, and DH is being lovely about it. Even if it's not covered by our insurance we'll work out what charms I had and get it replaced. I kind of wanted to know one of the maids had taken it just so I knew I wasn't going mad, if that makes sense! I really, really wish part-time cleaners were legal.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 21:19
It will, honestly. I am amazed at how much more I can do now than when I first started. I'm also amazed at how much less I'm swearing at Jillian these days.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 20:53
I know there are going to be some fatalities that no amount of safety features would have prevented, but if rear-facing significantly lowers the risk of the child dying in an accident, is that not better? I'm asking as in 'why do parents choose forward-facing' - not in a critical way, but in an 'I want to know the answer' way so I can make the decision. Is it preferable for the child? I've noted the carsickness and that makes sense, as I get carsick facing backwards sometimes if I'm in one of those London cabs. Do kids get grumpy facing backwards? DS is my first so I have no clue, and my sister - normally the font of all knowledge for baby-related issues - never tried rear-facing. But she was the one who first told me about it... go figure! I really just want to make the best decision for us and I don't want to fork out a few hundred Euro getting a seat shipped from Sweden if the little blighter isn't going to sit in it without barfing. Or if he's going to scream the place down for hours on end so there's more chance of us crashing as I'll be driven insane!
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 20:53
ok, am i being thick? Where would the child's legs go ifyou were to get a rear facing seat? My dd is 6mo and her feet are already touching the car seat. Have i got major baby brain and im not understanding?? That's another bit I don't get.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 20:43
http://www.expatwoman.com/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=68964 There you go. Clear as mud!
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 20:40
From what I've read, it's to do with what happens to their heads and necks in an accident - their heads are proportionally too big for their bodies, so their necks can't take the strain of whiplash injuries typically seen in RTAs. So even though the forward-facing ones are European standard, they aren't as safe as rear-facing seats. Does that sound right? That's my understanding of it, but I still don't get why there aren't more options in the UK. Am I over-thinking it? Surely if it makes that much of a difference to fatality rates they'd be more popular and widely available? DH says what happens if we're hit from the front - it'll be the same as being hit from the rear in a forward-facing seat. Just to confuse the issue. <em>edited by DubaiCat on 08/03/2011</em>
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 20:32
There is a thread on here where another poster actually emailed the NHS and asked them. I'll see if I can dig it up.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 20:17
Philly, i can go to the Uk, but as far as all the info goes, as an Expat over 2 years out of the UK, i'll have to pay as im not covered on the NHS? Do you have inside info, would love to hear it if you do???? TIA Hello Mrs :D. Your big sister's ex-housemate here! We have a mutual friend who just delivered back home after living in Kuwait for a while. Bristol NHS tried to make her pay but I'm not sure what happened in the end - email her on FB and ask.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 18:47
Same as a normal one but a bit longer, and mid-way through they insert a cannula into your arm and inject dye. I'm claustrophobic and I loathe needles and managed it, if that helps?
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 18:36
Thanks - I'm very relieved to hear it! I was dreading a row at check-in. That's made me feel a whole lot better :). <em>edited by DubaiCat on 08/03/2011</em>
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 18:31
See, I knew there must be a reason I was skipping weekends :D. I eat low-GI as much as I can, but yesterday that included a Twirl and a Dairy Milk Hazelnut!
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 16:38
Yep, that feeling you get when you're onto cooldown and you know you've made it through another day is just brilliant. I'm resisting measuring myself again before the end of my 30 days, but I can see my arms are trimmer and I've lost fat on my top half and bum/hips/legs. My baby-induced jelly belly is still there, but I think it's slightly smaller. I know it's more toned because I've got my grooves back :D - I have a little dent either side, just under my ribs, where my tummy muscles start. Bit like the top of a six-pack, but I'd say someone pinched the bottom four cans. Hurrah!
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 14:09
I guess they must have done. I haven't done anything yet but I'm going to ask DH to call them and cancel, just in case they think I might want them back, and also get him to ask for a list of all the names. I really think that should be something the police should have done, though, and I'm kind of thinking it'll be pointless now because if they've already searched the accommodation anyone hiding stuff will have seen that and ditched it just in case.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 14:00
I got a call to go to the police station this morning to identify some jewellery. I got all excited, and it wasn't mine :(. They didn't find anything with the maid who comes every week or the one who came too last week, but they did find a whole stash of chains and necklaces taken by another maid. The guy I spoke to said if I ask the agency for a list of all the maids who have been to our house since we started using them, they can investigate further. Isn't this something they should have done?! When I gave my statement I said three or four different maids had been at the start until we started using the same one weekly, and I also said the weekly one brought two or three different ones with her over the weeks. The statement apparently says only two maids came. I wish I'd taken an Arabic speaker even more now :(.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 09:52
Day 3 level 3 done. I got up at 6.45am with DS and didn't go back to bed at 8.30am when he did - instead I stayed up and did my Shred! So that means his lunchtime nap is freed up for a sneaky little sunbathe out by the pool with a trashy magazine :D.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 08:52
Don't worry, they'll give up in the end. They'll all get the message soon! It's so annoying though. If we'd just moved in now and had the doorbell ringing at all hours disturbing DS's sleep I'd be letting the dogs answer it.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 08:51
Wow, that's amazing! That would do me nicely!
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 08:21
I'm pretty sure a poster on here did have, but I can't remember who. I did have her email address on my old work system but I left :(. Bumping for you anyway...
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 08:05
Well then, I would march up to that gardener and tell him you have called the police and they of course will catch the thief. Now, if he happens to know who stole the pots and plants from your garage and he tells the thieves to return them within (you pick the hours) then the police might not have to do an investigation. I bet those plants will show up. Not a bad idea at all. And as for thinking the police have better things to do than find your plants... let's just say they looked rather excited at the thought of an investigation when they turned up at ours on Friday!
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 08:01
Isn't it one of life's lessons that children need to learn they can't always go to a party if they're not invited?! As in, they don't always get exactly what they want and have to learn to take it on the chin sometimes? Otherwise they'll end up spoilt adults who have a paddy every time they don't get their own way, no? My sister has three kids, the oldest four and the youngest five months. Sometimes LO1 gets an invite to a party and LO2 isn't invited (LO3's too small to care!). LO2 knows it's LO1's day and his turn will come and if he makes a fuss, that's what he's reminded of.
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Latest post on 08 March 2011 - 07:45
Fingers crossed for you x