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Hello.Again.Kitty

Hello.Again.Kitty
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Latest post on 26 July 2011 - 15:55
[url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Caketastic-Dubai/111813822218118?ref=hnav'>Caketastic[/url'> also do themed cakes.
Hello.Again.Kitty
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Latest post on 26 July 2011 - 15:54
I've never seen any low fat cocoa powder. In all my ramblings, the range seems to be Green&Blacks, Bournville, Hersheys and Waitrose own. Never, ever seen chocolate flavouring either. The range is quite limited to fake fruit flavours, rose, almond (on occasion) and vanilla. For a long while I couldn't find any peppermint, but Waitrose stock(ed) it.
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Latest post on 26 July 2011 - 01:13
aww bless! 2.5 years old? They don't need a reason! As for what to do, ride the wave and don't worry. maybe go for a shaggy hair do for your son!
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Latest post on 26 July 2011 - 01:11
Here in Dubai I pay AED743 or 123GBP per month for OSN with sport/broadband/landline, calls are extra. For the same kind of package in the UK I am paying 19.50GBP for a very similar service. Why, seriously, why is it so expensive here??? Am I missing something?? BT charge 13.00 quid for the line, not sure about cable, so I think you may have your figures wrong!!!! I used to use AOL for internet, the cost as I remember was about 14.00 a month, Sky for total package was 34.00. Where do you get the 19.50 figure??? be good to know. Lets be real here, UK are a total rip off too, wages dont really compare. lol - there are other companies apart from BT! I get my phone and broadband from Talk Talk for £18.75/ month. Telly is Freeview... sorted! Council tax in the UK is £130/month (3 bed), Housing Ta- [i'>Fee[/i'> is 450 here on a 2 bed. I can't really compare utilities because we've got a 3 bed semi (aka a "villa") and a 2 bed apartment here... saying that, our gas/ elec water comes to about £100/month and if what other villa-people say is true for their 2000aed+ DEWA bills, I know which I'd rather have. Thank goodness salaries are better here - else I would have told any LL wanting £25k/year in rent where to go and wouldn't have to fork out £10k in nursery fees which only operate mornings and term-time! Still, as I said, it'd drive you wild to constantly convert and compare, so I try not to!
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Latest post on 25 July 2011 - 12:02
not strictly speaking extortion. Be careful how you say things. You always have the choice not to take the package if you don't think it's worth it. We don't take the telly part and only pay about 250aed for the phone and broadband, which is still expensive by UK standards, but so are half the things in Dubai. For your sanity, it'd be best to just stop doing the conversion and comparison... I mean that in the nicest possible way because you will honestly drive yourself wild otherwise. <em>edited by Hello.Again.Kitty on 25/07/2011</em>
Hello.Again.Kitty
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Latest post on 25 July 2011 - 10:39
Yup, DS is the same - just turned 2 and here we are with the protests. Still, can't complain - DD started her "Terrible Twos" at 13 months! Just keep your boundaries clear and stick by them, even when they don't appear to be "getting it". 2 is so difficult because they need the structure, but can't quite deal with this very grown-up concept - they don't just accept it blindly as they did when they were babies, but don't yet have the capacity to understand why certain things are that way. Clear and consistent. Good luck!
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Latest post on 21 July 2011 - 10:32
Maybe consider also contacting IPSEA if you haven't already done so, and if your dd will need any of the specialist provision you mentioned. People can wait a very long time for any of the services you've listed and more often than not if you haven't got a statement then your chances of getting anything by way of extra help is practically non-existant. SALT for example even with a statement can consist of one hour with a SALT once a term in the presence of a classroom assisant who's shown whats what so to speak by way of helping the child with language/communiction. In fact a friends son who's profoudly autistic and who doesnt yet have his statement just had his SALT stopped - he cant really 'talk' you see so whats the point of him having SALT? I kid you not. Classroom assistants - they can be with your child one day and be gone to another child the next only for your child to then have to manage alone. At least with a statement, as far as I can recall, if your child has the need for a classroom assistant say 20 hours a week listed on their statement then the school has to make sure it happens. They will get funding for it and should another child in the class or school be needing help, then your childs classroom assistant wouldnt be allowed to be sent to cover the other child. If you havent joined any uk based forums relating to your dd's then now would be a good time to do so. You're going to need help venturing into the world of SEN after 4 years away from it and there really is nothing like other parents, perhaps even parents from the area where you will be living, who'll tell you just how good/bad a school or LEA authority is by way of doing SEN and provision. The people from both of these forums are really nice and there's very little they couldnt be able to help with. The latter has quite a few legal people on it who are parents of children who have an ASD and they have helped many a parent - I wouldn't like to be up against them if I was trying to squirm out of providing support for a child. http://www.asdfriendly.org/board/index.php?act=idx http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/ hth :) Thanks, DS, for the detailed explanation. However, I'm looking at DD's school from the other end of the spectrum - as in I need one that can and does observe the child and challenge them more, as appropriate. You know, a lot of places play lip-service to "we adapt to the child's needs", but it's good to find one that actually does! DD is very bright and my great concern in her schooling is that she follows in my footsteps and finds it all too easy, she won't learn how to learn, which seems wonderful, but can only take you so far before you hit a brick wall. In my case it was maths - winged it all the way until my penultimate year before the Baccalaureat, when I just couldn't get my head around the pure maths involved... and so I failed my final Maths exam. Oopa!
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Latest post on 21 July 2011 - 01:44
again... and always... this depends on how you've set your privacy settings and whether or not you accept random friend requests. For me, FB is personal and heavily policed, LinkedIn is for my professional persona.
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 22:12
my 8 year old has just been asking about having her ears pierced...i had to wait until i was 11, so i told her that is when she can have them done, but reading this, not sure whether i'm being a bit mean...! My nearly-4 year old DD asked if she could have holes in her ears so I replied "sure, when you're a mummy". She seemed fine with that, combined with a pair of very sparkly clip-on earrings!
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 22:09
i see... u have a point ladies but i always thought that it is an agressive way to spend time... i agree about the adrenalline rush... so which place do u recommend (jebel ali shooting club or sharjah shooting club) or any other? The adrenaline rush is the basis of enjoyment of all sports really... as for aggressiveness, that has absolutely no place in shooting. In fact, any good firing range, if confronted with an aggressive shooter, should ask them to leave straight away. It's a bit like a martial art in that respect - real aggression means a loss of focus and control so you have to exert a large amount of self-discipline in order to excel. Leave the movie image of bustin' a cap in ya a$$ well alone - they just fail to miss because it's a point blank range!
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 21:48
It's fun. Why would anyone enjoy running around after a ball? Hitting a ball with a stick? Prancing about in circles in a dimly-lit room? Sliding down a slope, only to take a lift back up to the top and repeat until, urgh, you get bored? It's about challenge and the enjoyment you get from "proving yourself" in any small way you fancy. Just like any other sport. Of course, you can always go and kill small fluffy animals with that skill, which is slightly harder, but not impossible, with a golf club.
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 21:35
coughs are always a right pain to get rid of and any medication out there just relieves the symptoms, rather than actually curing the cough. Soooo... it's about making him as comfortable as possible. If there's no infection, then don't use anti-biotics. There's an increasingly huge problem in the Western world with the over-prescription of anti-biotics and the fact that the bacteria are becoming immune to them, plus of course, they can wipe out the good bacteria in us at the same time. Try some home remedies too - honey-and-lemon in water to sip and soothe, Vicks vaporub/ menthol/ eucalyptus rubbed onto his chest to help him breathe and obviously keeping an eye on his temperature. There's a school of thought that says to leave off the medication if a child has a low fever, because it's the body's natural way to fight infection, so "a good thing"... but you would need to keep an eagle eye on him. I hope he feels better soon... I hate coughs above all things.
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 21:27
take the hard-drive out and smash it up. There will always be some trace of the files you delete, even if you format it (you may not be able to access them, but a specialist could)
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 13:42
Anywhere in the UK has to be a marked improvement on where you are now. Hmm... never seen Kidbrooke then? Anyhow, as a safe rule of thumb, consider living costs in London and the South East to be around about the same as in Dubai (based on a not very frivolous lifestyle) - some things cost more (petrol), whilst others cost less (clothes), so it kind of balances out. I spend approximately the same per week on food shopping as in Dubai, but get far more fruit and a greater variety of veg... and a greater proportion of organic stuff. Have a look at mysupermarket.com for an idea of prices (you basically enter in your shopping list and it'll give you a comparison between the 4 biggest supermarkets). I'm another one who thinks schooling (in the area where I am) is better than what I can access in Dubai. We're moving back next year so that DD can start school in the UK... in a normal, state school.
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 13:11
my own ears were pierced first when i was 3 months old and i don't remember a thing... I don't think anyone remembers anything much from when they're 3 months old - good or bad - so it's academic to advise doing it early on those grounds. I don't remember anything much of having them done at 11. It's a human trait that no-one can actually remember pain, as in the sensation. Think about being happy and you generally feel happy, think about pain and you won't be in pain. <em>edited by Hello.Again.Kitty on 20/07/2011</em>
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 10:41
I used to live in Eltham (the other side of the Kidbrooke estate to Blackheath), which was fine as a couple (2bed terrace was £750/month about 6 years ago), but I wouldn't raise children there. A lot of people (including us when we lived in the UK and when we will again) live outside the Greater London area and commute in by train. A 1h-1h30 commute is long, but quite easy because there's a good train provision, and it lets you live in cheaper areas, often with better school choices, less pressurised healthcare and, well, a nicer area. The main ones South and East of London (sorry, but North London is a bit of a mystery to me - hopefully someone else can fill you in) are as follows (grouped by train line) - Dartford/ Gravesend (not unless you can help it - lived in Dartford too!) (Kent... just) - Colchester/ Southend /Ipswich (Essex and East Anglia) - Cambridge (Cambridgeshire) - Tunbridge Wells (Kent) - Brighton -&gt; (East) Hastings/ Eastbourne // -&gt; (West) Hove all the way to Littlehampton (East and West Sussex) But there's also Surrey and whatever counties are "up North" (lol @ being such a southerner!)
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 10:26
I had mine done when I was 11 - again, my mum resisted until she judged I was old enough to make a reasoned decision for myself, for the right reasons... and save my pocket-money for it! She doesn't have pierced ears. It might be worth gently asking her why she wants it done. Peer pressure is one thing, but if she answers anything like "because it will make me prettier", then have a gentle chat about not needing to alter your body in order to be wonderful and delay for a bit! It doesn't really hurt though, even at an older age... certainly no more than a vaccination, if I remember rightly. It's the aftercare that's a bit onerous. Oh, and only studs or sleepers for school!
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 00:38
I think he might be a tad young for the science museum too - although they have a great pre-schooler section with loads of buttons and whizz-bangs. It's free entrance, in any case (as are all museums and galleries), so you may as well have a look in. I wasn't in London when I had children, so don't really know which parks are best. Alternatively, there's lots to do if you head South to Sussex - lots of farms, parks, pick-your-own fruit/veg and steam trains... as well as Brighton.
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 20:54
Yup, saw the first one last week (I'm in the UK)... looking forward to the rest.
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 16:23
Thanks ladies. The added complication is that we (and the made) are going on holiday in August and do not come back until 2nd September. Stupid timing /planning on my part I know. BUT the original plan was that we were going to stay where we are....so hadn't plan to having to move. The other added complication is that the DH is *&%#@&* fussy!! OMG, about location, noise, finish, state of the bathrooms, internet connection speeds!!:\: ^&%*&%&%&(^&^&690 Saltire - Do I know you? edited by Sugarbeach on 19/07/2011 Wellll... there's no nice way of putting this, but your holiday timing really isn't the LL's problem. I would imagine, since he does seem a bit intransigent, that you'll basically have to look to yourself, expect no favours and resign yourself to not being the most financially-efficient transition. I think that basically, you have to resign yourself to having a bit of cross-over, so you will find your new place, start up the rental on it (because they don't like to hang around), move house before your holiday and just finish paying the rent as per contract on your old place, even though you've vacated it. Alternatively, you vacate on the day, and move into a serviced apt until you find a new property.
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 14:01
I find there's a slight difference in taste, but it's still fine. You could just buy the little bottles of fresh and pop them in an insulated cool bag - when I was a nipper at school, there was free milk for all the kids at playtime and it just used to sit out at room temperature until we were allowed to drink it. Never did me any harm [twitch'> ;)
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 13:58
you have plenty of time! If you are worried about your fall, and are in the UK, just got to your nearest hospital A&E and take it from there. Once back in Dubai, go to a few hospitals or see who your current OB/Gyn recommends. There will be horror stories about every hospital on the planet, but all that counts is that you feel happy and confident that you are in capable hands. City, American and Welcare seem to be the ones that come up time and time again as "good ones". They will all be able to give you their prices too, so find out about them and then weigh up what's best for you. 30k seems steep for giving birth (although still possible). If you go natural then I'm pretty sure it's only about 15k... but then there are the antenatal checks too... hmmm... Government hospitals are cheaper too, so worth looking into. Basically, don't stress. Bubs will be born one way or another, even if you have to put it all on credit cards!
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 13:52
she's not going to starve herself, so just try and keep offering her meals and snacks. I always found DD would go off her food for about 3 days *before* she was ill.
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 13:46
yes, it sucks. If you've got a nice LL or agent, you can say "ok, consider that I'm giving notice, but I will let you know 1 month before contract is up if I want to renew or move out". At the end of the day, they shouldn't get all ar$y about it, because it boils down to the same thing and everyone has enough time to look for a new place/ new tenants.
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 10:23
34,000... that's a lot of clicking!
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Latest post on 19 July 2011 - 10:19
if you think it's worth it to keep the contract, then pay it. If you think it's too steep, then negotiate. Our agents wanted commission to renew, so we negotiated the rent down to what we wanted to pay and told them to take their commission out of that.
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 23:41
You'll need to apply in a few months to be in the system for the normal applications process I guess. Can you do that whilst in Dubai, or do you have a home address to use (as they'll be looking at catchment areas...) 4 years!! All the best with the planning and preparations. edited by Sugarbeach on 18/07/2011 hehe - it's all in hand, never you fear! ;)
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 22:53
Are you heading back to UK soon HAK? :\: yup - this time next year (that's kind of soon, isn't it?!) in time for DD to start school there. It will have been 4 years... wow!
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 22:38
Being the parent of a special needs child, my only concern is to make sure my child fits in a school or system rather than the school or the system fits the child.The idea of inclusion is very much a recent way for schools to avoid being done for discrimination (especially when funded with tax payers money). In practical terms, it does not mean much as every special needs child has by definition special needs so how can a school possibly cater for every type of special needs except on paper ?. edited by fjcruiser on 18/07/2011 I don't know where you call home, but in the UK I think the team involved in assuring special needs are catered for can be quite extensive, and certainly one-on-one - Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, SEN educators, pastoral carers... Of course, not every school, everywhere in the UK can offer this, but certainly where I am, it seems as if there's good provision (visited the school DD is highly likely to go to last week and was very impressed!).
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 19:02
The school DD will be going to is inclusive, but has specialist, trained support for those that need it, with some occasions when the children needing extra support/ stimulation will be in a focussed group, allowing them to concentrate on what they need to, as well as their usual classmates to concentrate too. I think it's really important for everyone to be exposed to people of all walks of life, all backgrounds and all aptitudes during their formative years. Just as Rebecca said, I'd have far more of a problem with a disruptive child in a class, than one with special needs. Oh, and just as an aside, "Special Educational Needs" also covers "gifted and talented" children, doesn't it? Yes, it does. I'm guessing the OP is just angling for opinions on those previously termed "retarded", since no one ever has issues with mini-geniuses influencing their children (even though bored bright children can be hugely disruptive to average pupils). :\: <em>edited by Hello.Again.Kitty on 18/07/2011</em>
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 17:01
argh! I wrote a lovely long post but lost it. I read "potty training in a week" and followed it... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha DD took 16 months to be fully potty-trained. Slightly less catchy for a title: "Potty train your child in as long as it takes them to be developmentally ready!" Anyhow, 3 things I learnt: - if they're not enthused or happy doing what you ask, ease off a bit. It's not failure, it's a tactical retreat. - don't expect miracles (regardless of what Gina Ford et al may suggest). It'll be small steps - they have never had to worry about how often they go, when they go, or where they go (or when and where NOT to go!)... and have to learn it all. Be prepared for loads of wees, accidents and ups and downs. - don't stress, get upset or angry/frustrated. It's not a case of you or your son not doing it properly and doesn't reflect badly on either of you. However, your son will mirror your feelings in his progress - if you are happy and enthusiastic, he will be... if you are frustrated at him, he will dig his heels in.
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 10:40
I could be wrong here, but isn't sudafed - or any drug which contains pseudoephedrine illegal in Dubai? no, you can get Sudafed here... one doctor I took DD to even prescribed the adult one for her. :\:
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 10:37
Oh wow! Thanks for all the detailed suggestions - all very exciting! We're planning on going in Oct/Nov and I'd completely forgotten about Diwali!
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 10:30
kill me for even starting this thread it's only because children and babies have died from overdoses of these anti-histamine-based medicines so the US and UK have changed their advice... but feel free to go ahead and self-medicate your child if you wish.
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Latest post on 18 July 2011 - 10:25
I'd also be a bit worried by his self-harming as "punishment on himself".
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 23:31
India,Where do I start??! Yes, Rajasthan ( Jaipur that MB mentioned below is the capital), full of culture, palaces, culture and steeped in history!?YUMMY food! Careful where you eat though :) Kullu Manali, Hill station, not much to do! Same goes for nainital. Beautiful though. Goa- fab, fab fab beach holiday! Kerala- Temples, beaches, greenery, house boats,ayurvedic massages! Sigh! I am assuming you want to stay away from Mumbai and Delhi and the like. Sri lanka, Candy is beautiful! HTH Thanks for the tips - Jaipur area sounds lovely. What do you mean about careful where we eat - I'm assuming it's "just" avoiding dodgy-looking street vendors or is it a bit more complex than that? I have a lead-lined stomach, but poor DH doesn't.
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 22:38
I did a master's via distance learning as well (Leicester! is yours also with Leicester, Hello Kitty?). Are you looking for a face-to-face course or distance learning, susa? Nope, mine's with Staffordshire. I think a lot of the ex-poly's (even though they changed to Uni's, what, 20 years ago?!) do DL because they need to be more flexible... plus they often do the more vocational subjects, rather than the pure academic ones.
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 22:34
Fantastic - thanks ladies! I'll look into all of those. We just want to make the most of being in Dubai and getting to see places we wouldn't otherwise have a chance to. I've never been a package holiday kind of person and think it's a bit of a shame to go and stay in A N Other Hotel resort somewhere and not experience the area/ country. Obviously India is vast - I guess we're looking for somewhere unspoilt, not prone to epidemics and generally beautiful, with interesting things to see... limited of course by our beloved children, so wonderful mountain treks or lengthy bus rides and whatnot are out. Budget is... average?! :cool:
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 20:45
anyone?
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 18:41
you are doing your master's in what? Design Management. :)
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 18:21
Well I'm thinking of doing my Master's in Museum studies, I'm sure there are lots of universities that offer this degree in the UK, so I would like to know which are the best schools for that. I'm sure there will be a few, although not many. They'll possibly be the older ones or London ones. The thing is, you'll need to find one that offers distance learning. Alternatively you can try the Open University which offers a flexible 0 attendance programme on its courses. Leicester seems to be the main one that does Distance Learning. Do a Google search for "MA in Museum studies online" and there'll be several to browse through. More often than not, it doesn't really matter which University is The Best, but or our criteria, it's about which one enables us to do what we want to do. Only one Uni did my subject in DL, so that was that!
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 17:56
There's a UK site called UCAS which lists details of all available courses and Universities. I'm currently doing a Distance Learning MA with a UK university which is basically a normal MA programme but with 0 attendence - everything is done online (yay - yet another forum!). I've just completed my first year and it went really well. What subject(s) are you thinking of doing?
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 17:05
oh dear, I did not even know that... I always thought that babies smell good no matter what. hehe! Bless yer! :)
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 16:29
milky? Normal.
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 14:04
I think it all harks back to boom time when a/ we all apparently had "mug" tattoo'd on our foreheads and b/ the tenants were the underdog. Poor Landlords... why should they have to pay out anything?! It's just dent the enormous profits they were making! I really did think that when the market crashed, tenants would have a bit more power than they do and would enforce it. the shoe was on the other foot (and still is really) and what with oversupply, LLs should be desperate to get tenants in. And yet, they aren't... or don't seem to be. This, I guess is because Dubai is particular in that a lot of LLs are/were cash buyers, so do not actually need the rental income to pay off a mortgage. In the rest of the world, most LLs have mortgages, so getting maximum occupancy is really important. But yes, there are so many things that are just weird here and shouldn't really be allowed to happen: - small number of cheques. What's wrong with paying monthly?! - "unearnt" rent not being held in a separate, safe account once the big fat cheque has been cashed. - commission - deposit cheque not being held in a separate, safe account. - tenant penalised if LL doesn't pay maintenance charges
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 13:55
I have a five week old who is now sleeping through the night and I think the secret is to feed them really well during the day and make sure they go to sleep on a full tummy. So that's what I've been doing wrong for the last 7 and a half months!!!! &lt;note to bad mummy... remember to feed baby during the day&gt; lol- indeed! Seriously though, small babies simply don't have to storage capacity to last them through the night, so feeding them up during the day will have little effect, nor will "topping them up" with formula. All babies are different - some sleep through early, some don't. It's more developmental than anything else.
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 13:44
5.3kg. But thanks for thinking of me! I plan to get the Pear upgrade for the iCandy and see how we get on with the container-ship manoeuvring, and if it's just too heavy then swap it for a P&T. I don't want to buy anything double until just before we leave to come home though - just in case. Honestly, save yourself the cost of that upgrade straight away and you'll have 2/3 of the cost of a new P&T! I just found it horrid - even DH found it difficult and it's so impractical in cars or planes - comes apart into 4 parts and will take up most of your boot. Plus, when fully up (but without kids) it really is about 18-20kg - they're clever on the site because they have every element's weight marked separately and so you go "oo, 11kg for the chassis? That's pretty reasonable"... but then have to add on 1-2kg for the adaptor, 4kg for each seat... more for the car-seat... I loved my Apple, but the Pear was a completely different beast.
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Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 12:48
It's not uncommon - if it's in your contract you have to pay otherwise not. If the agent is POA for LL then the LL is paying for that service. You shouldn't have to feel grateful! :0) I haven't got my contract with me, but I don't think the agent's fees are stipulated within it because it's a separate service. You pay for the "service" that the agent gives you, the tenant (even though it shouldn't be that way) - namely facilitating the contractual agreement between you and the LL, which is a separate contract.
Hello.Again.Kitty
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Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 12:35
could you have caught the tail end of it? In any case, I'd just Do It...
Hello.Again.Kitty
1861
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 17 July 2011 - 12:26
ours did this last year (and I'm sure will again this year)... we paid up because in fairness, they are actually *quite good* in that they chased the LL when he wasn't paying the maintenance charges, got our dishwasher replaced, got the washing machine fixed and wrangled the A/C maintenance to be reimbursed... ok, pretty standard stuff, but definitely over and above the average estate agent's level of service! lol But yes... it really is money for old rope for them.
 
 
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