Carry

Hey ladies,

I read the topic on washing and how to keep towels soft, no problems there

But what seems to be a problem is keeping the white laundry white!

Of course I wash colors separately, use hot water and tried Hyter bleach, nothing seems to work ?!

Any one got a [grandmom's] recipe to get my stuff white again and keep it white?

Waiting for replies in my grey-was-once-white-favorite-shirt!

Hi, I brought a maxi cosi from Europe when coming over with my 3 month old daughter.

Now she's one year, we bought a facing forward seat since she is well over 70 cm and 10 kg...

Facing forward is more easy for the passenger in front and/or driver to keep an eye on the baby.

But do agree with a post above stating that seats facing forward, are in an upright position and obvious your baby must be able to support itself properly.

We have a thai style machine [the ones where you put a water hose to supply water and a spinner for drying, you can lift the thing easily...] using cold water isn't good either.

So I add hot water to towels and shirts and steam iron them as somebody mentioned before...no softener directly on towel!

You're right about not saying anything about the birthcertificate, complicated enough as is!

Well I do get they want some info on my husband to be, but whats a bit over the top if u ask me is for the embassy to demand a paper from the Netherlands that has been approved by the embassy before they can give me another one...they gonna see the same birthcertificate twice for two different papers with the same goal..getting us married...bit much but very Dutch

The embassy wants: My birth certificate, a paper from my city hall in the Netherlands to state I was a citizen of the town [both cost around 10 euro's each more if u want them in english]

Yhey want a contract of capacity to marriage, I can get this at my hometown city hall but then my hometown city hall will only give me the paper if i give them a legally translated and approved of by thai foreign affairs and the dutch embassy in Bangkok birth certificate of my bf and a thai paper also translated and approved that he isnt married already.

still with me [im almost lost by now?] I go to the dutch embassy in Bangkok with all of the above and then they will give me this one paper that we need to get married on any amphur and there they only want my pasport, the paper from the embassy and my bf id card.

I dont know why they make it this hard, not my best friends, they wouldnt let my bf come to the Netherlands to be at the birth of his first child because they were affraid he wouldnt go back to Thailand [even though we had all the papers to show he has his own business, owns land and a house and many family members to return too...]

well the dutch embassy needs to give us a paper that has to be shown at the amphur, otherwise the amphur cant marry us.

We want to get married here in Thailand [although Im starting to think getting married in the Netherlands is less of a hassle]

So in order to get that paper from the embassy they ask all of the things iwrote in my previous messgae before they gonna give it to me. so first city hall, than embassy and than amphur...I dont know why they make it so hard in the Netherlands...

well my hometown city hall wants my partners birth certificate and a document stating he's not married legally translated and approved by the Thai ministry of foreign affairs and the dutch embassy, I need this all to get the certificate the embassy asks for otherwise they wont allow a marriage between a dutch citizen and a Thai.

So first to city hall with papers translated from Thai to English and than back with papers translated from English to Thai...and thats just to get married after that comes applying for a marriage visa and the passport for our child.

Well my bf, the father of my child is Thai but because it took us 8 months to get him a tourist via to come to the Netherlands to be at the birth of our daughter [something that ended with me being in a courtroom 2 days prior to giving birth and finally getting him a emergency visa] and in the end he was 2 days late for birth, he is not on the birth certificate.

So we're trying to get married, living in Thailand as a family but the Dutch embassy needs a whole lot of paperwork, of which all of my bf's needs to be legally translated before I can apply for a certificate to contract marriage at the city hall of my hometown in the Netherlands, a document needed to get legally married here in Thailand.

We havent got to that yet, Im going back to the Netherlands with my daughter next month, hoping to get all the paperwork done so we can get married and get him on the birth certificate, this is the easiest way to do it.

I am looking into getting a marriage visa as well, so that would make things easier, in the meantime I wondered if I could let her overstay until she will have her own thai passport, hopefully later this year.

A few years ago a friend of mine would come and visit Thailand a couple of months a year with her daughter [under the age of 5] she would not buy a new visa for her child and the overstay wasnt a problem.

I cant seem to find any information on that, since we have our own daughter now, I wonder whether I have to bring her to the boarder for a visa run [she has her own pasport or do children really get to overstay without consequence?

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

I usually try not to generalize but since that is the basis for this topic, here goes;

Many mixed (Thai/Westerner) kids have moms who are uneducated and have no idea how to raise a kid; usually just letting them do whatever with no boundaries while the dads are very rarely there (or sober) to raise their kid, and many can not even communicate with their children.

So of course the kids are wild animals and will grow up to start a dismal future, not being accepted by dad's or mom's culture.

Not everyone, of course

Woah nice generalisation...Im raising my kid in Thailand my husband is Thai and we're both educated, I dont think it has so much to do with intelligence as with tradition and culture!

I do agree though that some thai kids run free at all ages, so I see my neighbour running after her 3 year old, trying to make him eat, he screams and kicks at his mom when she tries to make him come in and wont listen EVER...there's another girl in the village age about 3 who bites...she bites other children, dogs [that didnt go well since she got bitten in the face back by a dog] and when she bit my child with her mom standing next to it her mom just smiled, <deleted>?!?!

Our baby is 8 months now and has been travelling around to visit family and on holiday, not to mention for a visit to europe, she is coping well, adores other children and was really fast with crawling and sitting up, mainly because she is on the floor a lot, as someone mentioned some thai kids are carried around for the first few years and hardly touch the ground...

I refuse to let her sleep in our bed , she sleeps in her own bed and goes to bed [almost] every night at the same time, also she doesnt get any milk anymore once in bed [she sleeps through the night since 3 months old, generally normal where Im from] this is magic for some of the thai parents....I also noticed that the thai kids mainly eat rice and eggs and milk.

Hardly fruit or veggies, such a shame really.

Not easy being the only western mom around, especially when visiting the thai family, the stuff her with sugar....trying to find a way to not offend them and keep my child from being high on a sugar rush 24/7!

its not easy ig both parents are from same counmtry and it is sure not easy when u need to find a name that sounds good in two languages [three in our case] before I was pregnant I always had some names I thought I would name my child if I ever got one...but that al changed once pregnant....!

J is a nice letter to start with Ruefang! Sure your baby will have a lovely name, dont give in too much none of you two should and your child needs that name for a lifetime!

gave our girl a Western first name and a thai middle name, the thai name is also the nickname people in Thailand call her, our baby has my surname since my hubbies surname is so long and unpronounceable...we figured might be easier for her in the future having mine.

The two name thing actually is a result of us not agreeing on just the one name so we figured she could have two...

good luck naming your boy!

Oh the addopting part has nothing to do with your motherhood skills, my husbands family offered to take my baby until our next visit [3 months later] so I could have some time for myself and all.....?!?!?!?! At this stage my baby was 4 months old and I thought they were making a joke but they didnt.

It had been a long time since there had been a baby in the family and us only staying 3 days was waaaaay to short so why not?

My baby is seriously afraid of water since our last visit because the whole family would gather and put her in ice cold water at least 3 times a day, poor kid.

And yes my baby got 4 bottles of milk in 24 hours at the age of 4 months and slept through the night from 8 in the evening till 7 in the morning, my husband wasnt sure about this because there's different ways in Thailand but seeing her being all chubby and happy and well not having to get up 4 times a night or walking around with a bottle of milk all day made him realize it wasnt too bad...

To be honest the most moms around here are nice young women and I learned some stuff from them and the other way around...luckily we dont live to close to the thai family, great people but I think I would go nuts having them around day and night, good luck with that one...follow your own path

Well a true Sex & the city carry came in to our bar last night....wearing a very nice satin dress and high heeled sandals, she didnt look very comfortable and most people were just staring [rude but well she was like a car crash...u cant help the staring....]

I do have to admit I am not into the lets look grubby backpacker style...

Wear some of my hubbies fisherman's pants out of sheer laziness!

But for visiting family in Thailand I try to be more considered and will wear loose fitting shirts and the women in the family gave me many sarongs over the years so when on visit I dust them off and wear them, which is well appreciated.

Patsycat, I have to admit that walking on high heels is sort of an art and it only looks 'sexy' when a lady knows how too...the pottering around [lol] looks a bit silly! it really does on an island with no paved road...

And yes Boo for practical reasons its flipflops for me too, to be taking of shoes every time you walk in a house...halleluja!

For me I try to find a balance between comfortable, easy and looking nice!

I was talking to another mom and she cut her hair short and walks around in sweatpants most of the time because she is so busy with the kids she cant be bothered [her quote!] I thought that was rather sad, I like to look nice for me but also for my husband [well have to admit sometimes I think I could wear a tiny bikini and a bright red wig and he would be so busy he wouldnt notice ]

In our household its also about our kid and sure thats important but so am I is what I figured!

I dont want to be just a mom but also me, a wife, a friend, myself...

And I have to admit I was never a big fashionata when still in Europe...but it got me thinking even if your choices are more limited and the climate you live in very different that doesnt have to mean you cant have a nice style...

Well i miss dressing up sometimes...I mean its not that since Im a mom I just let it hang but there's no occasion here to dress up for!

When Im wokring at night in our place I make sure I look nice some make up earrings and nice top but not the same...

Ah well I guess it depents on where u are and what you do in Thailand!

I flew back pretty early in pregnancy about 4 months.

Good point having to live in uk must be pretty expensive...lots of things to take into consideration, not easy!

I am wondering if Im getting old fashioned...Nowadays I see a lot of tourist dressing up even when strolling the beach [ I saw two goths walking down the beach in 35 degrees the other day ] nothing wrong with that but when I first came to Thailand it was all about long sleeves for at night, comfort and protection against musquitos... good things change but I wonder, do you dress differently than back in any Western country besides the weather over here?

So its a good thing that people wear what they like but for me, in Thailand I never wear high heels, since half the roads on the island are not even paved yet and I would be taller than my guy.[and it just doesnt feel appropriate on an island, at hoem I would always be in heels]

I do see even with our staff there's somethings you wear during the day and there's things to wear at night time, so for me goes I will wear the occasional fisherman's pants in day time and when not to hot my jeans at night time.

Since having a babe, I discovered long skirts and dresses [not the granny style!]

What do you do to still feel feminine or pretty?

Edit spelling

LOL poor thing, def. a toiletseat!

I gave birth to my daughter last year and considered all option, I live in Thailand with my Thai bf so considered any hospital close to out home and in Bangkok, in the end I decided to go back home...

Home, my insurance would cover everything, I would have a midwife of my choice and not for the least if I ended up in hospital all doctors would speak my language.

I could choose what kind of birth I wanted [water, home, hospital...I delivered at home] and the presents of my partner was no question of course he would be there, also baby products, lamaze classes [pregnancy yoga or whatever classes you would like to take] and in our case family [and than espec those who are not able or going to fly to Thailand to come and see your kid]

I dont know if thats an issue in your case of course.

When my baby was 3 months old we flew back but I guess this can be sooner.

Now Im raising my child here, I notice all the differences in upbringing between Thai and western culture, some good things some bad, looking back Im glad I gave birth at home and spent some time there to get more confident with my baby before coming out here again!

Good luck with conceiving and planning

Well I dont know where your kids go to school but the school nearest to where we live has these hours, I would def. consider it when the hours would be 8.30/3.30

I know my healthcare insurance I have in europe would cover the NICU in case I deliver a baby abroad....but that is up to your insurance...it is a good thing to figure out before hand!

I double checked it, school for all ages is 8 to 5 here...which I think is ridiculous for kids so young.

Fi

ne your toddler goes a few days [half days] or even 5 if it can function as a daycare for some parents and sure they learn while playing and all that.

And its wonderful if your kid loves it and handles it well but not whole days and no learning with books as they do here! and although Im sure they play a lot too and yes the kids have a nap in the afternoon imo ti be actually writing and reading that age is way to young it requires them to sit and listen for more than a little bit and not many of the young ones seem able to do that and they shoudnt have to that age! Thai parents are very proud and convinced their child will be smart when it grows up due to going to school so young.

Surely they do it with the best intention.

Not my kid...

Going to kindergarden that age is fine, starting school at 4 is fine but anything but playing at the age of 2 is just not fine in my book.

But than again every parent should decide what their kid is up to on which age.

Where Im from toddlers go to preschool two mornings a week when they're 2 years old and 3 mornings when they're 3 years old, they play learn basic things with kids same age...fair enough good thing but in Thailand soem kids go to school 5 full days [8 till 5]days a week on the age of 2,5 and learn to read and write amongst many other things and playing is not really one of them....sick brain who is telling me that that is a good thing, because it is not!

Talked to a Thai parent the other day and the teacher had complained that her boy was not paying attention well enough....no kiddin'!

Kids should go to school, nothing harmful in that but def. not on such an early age!

My wedding is coming up soon...but we're just gonna sign the papers no ceremony!

Take the witnesses for a nice dinner, dress up the babe in a cute outfit and that will be it but now you mention it, might go out and have some vodkatini's the night before! bloody good excuse

Well I feel for this kate, I mean she prob. knows sort of what she gets herself into...but what a price to pay a life in the spotlights for loving the guy you love...bless them!