Niranut

Have just seen the Christmas schedule for Toys 'R Us here and doesn't look like Santa is on the schedule this year, although you can stop by and say hello to Barbie and Mr. Monopoly... You may try to give them a call and see if they have anything lined up that's not on their schedule.

Also thought you may get in touch with BAMBI as they are pretty in the know on these types of things.

I haven't seen the Christmas activity schedule for this year yet, but in the past Toys 'R Us has had a Santa weekend, usually a week or two before Christmas. I remember it being at the Central World branch. If you check the Toys 'R Us site (www.toysrus.co.th) a little closer to the holidays, they should have their schedule posted and you can see what's set for this year.

I don't know about BKK branches, but here in Lopburi, Tesco & Carrefour do NOT carry the pack and go variety.

For that, I have seen the Graco Pack 'n Play at Toys 'R Us in BKK (at the Central World and Rama IV branches). Priced around 3,000 baht.

If you're not in any rush, you should can also check the classified ads on the BAMBI site (www.bambiweb.org), as I see pack and go type cots on there often. But know the pricing, as sometimes the second hand prices there are more than if you go out and buy a new one.

Agree that there's no need to do anything to formal or serious at this point. I homeschool my kids who are a little younger than yours, but I've found the following resources to be quite good.

Starfall (free online phonics program)

www.starfall.com

* This is a great online phonics program that is designed for kids to use on their own. So just help him with it the first day or so and then let him have fun with it. Lots of great stuff from the very basic up to elementary reading.

I don't think the Leap Frog videos are available here in Thailand, but I could be wrong. I ordered mine from Amazon, and they are great supplement to the Starfall if you have the budget. I Just have the "Letter Factory" and "Talking Words Factory" right now and both are good for beginners; both are just 30 min. so perfect to watch every day or so. Your son will be singing his letters AND the sounds they make in no time.

Leap Frog Letter Factory

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Factory-Roy...6920&sr=8-1

Leap Frog Talking Words Factory

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Talking-Roy...0/ref=pd_cp_d_1

Leap Frog Talking Words Factory 2 (Code Word Caper)

http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Talking-Wo...U/ref=pd_cp_d_3

Leap Frog Learn to Read at the Storybook Factory

http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Learn-Stor...d_bxgy_d_text_c

Hope that helps.

I've gone through 3 pregnancies with Samitivej. The only times wait times were awful were Saturdays and Sundays. Perhaps choose a weekday mid-morning when there is more time for discussion.

The 3 most popular doctors at Samitivej are Sankiat, Nisarat, and Yaowalak. They do most of the births and have the best outcomes.

Agree with all of the above. I also came in from another province and had one of my three with Dr. Sankiat at Samitivej. My first visit with him was on a Saturday morning and it was a zoo. Had to wait ages, but he did take all the time he needed and answered all of my questions and what have you.

I discovered that the best way to go with Dr. Sankiat was to schedule for his first appointment of the day (on a weekday), which is 8:20. He gets in around 8:00 and if you get there at 8, he'll see you right away, even it's before 8:20. Plenty of time with him and the nurses, as the waiting room is literally empty at 8 and just filling up by the time you're done. No problems at all. I used him for some prenatal for a subsequent pregnancy and this sign-up-for-the-earliest-appointment strategy worked great then, as I would leave home at 6am, drive in and see him right away and go about my day.

I would suggest trying another doctor at Samitivej (and getting there bright and early) to see how things go.

Will I need to do anything differently when steaming brown sticky rice, as opposed to steaming the white sticky rice?

I usually rinse and soak the white stuff for an hour or so. And then steam it for about 25-30 min. in one of those basket/pot arrangements. Comes out perfect every time.

Anything I need to keep in mind when doing it with brown sticky rice?

Is it a prerequsite for something?

It is required if you plan to apply for Thai citizenship, which is my long-term goal.

In general, I anticipate it making things a bit easier for me since I do not live near either an immigraiton office or my embassy. So, in addition to the citizenship requirement, also plan to use it to get my driver's license and renew my status as a board member with a Thai charitable foundation.

If you're not going for citizenship and don't mind getting address certification from immigation/embassy, then may be more of an optional thing. All depends on your specific circumstance, I think.

Got mine this week in Lopburi, and was fairly painless and straightforward.

Inquired at the amphur when we did my youngest daughter's birth certificate, and was pleasantly surprised when the staff knew what we were talking about and also exactly what we needed. In addition to the basic paperwork, it was important that I have some sort of official documentation (preferably from my embassy) which included my parent's names and my U.S. address.

While I didn't have exactly what they were looking for, I took in what I did have to see if it would be ok and save me the time and trouble of going to the embassy. And they were happy with what I gave them. They got one copy of each of the following:

* my husband's Thai ID

* name page from my passport (in English, not translated)

* Thai marriage certificate (just a copy, nothing official/certified)

* my birth certificate (in English, not translated)

* Marriage Affadavit from U.S.Embassy (this was a copy of both the original English & Thai translation of the document we used to register our marriage. It was several years old and included my maiden name, but did have my U.S. address on it)

We went on a Saturday morning and the staff knew of what I was talking about, but hadn't actually done one. So they called the lady who did know what was up, spent some time finding the right forms, and took care of things.

In addition to submitting the paperwork listed above, I also had to submit 1 photo of myself, fill in a simple form with my name, parent's names, address in Thailand, birthday and such, gave them our blue tabien baan (which they copied by themselves), and they interviewed my husband. The interview took the longest only because the guy was typing it up as he went along and that took time. They had pulled the paperwork from another foreigner's application and were just typing up the same thing they did for him and adding my information. Interview was just a handful of questions like "Do you swear this woman is who she says she is?" "Where do you live?" "What are your kids names?" "How long has she been in Thailand?" (just said 'about 8 years' and that was fine, although I was prepared with all of my entry and exit dates if they wanted more) "Why do you want do add her?" and that was about it.

The only snag we had was that they wanted to have the phu yai baan for our neighborhood come in and confirm everything, but we had no idea who he was. So they looked him up on their computer and pulled up his photo and we still had no idea who he was. So then they wanted to have anyone else remotely official that we knew come in. But finally as we were wrapping things up and trying to figure out who would be best to drag in they had a quick huddle after which they let us know that they didn't need to talk to any witness or corroborating official, since my husband is a fellow civil servant, so they let that slide.

They did ask that someone (could be anyone, we didn't have to go if it wasn't convenient) go back on Monday to pick up the book cause they wanted to have the lady who knew what she was doing look at everything and make sure they had done it correctly.

Husband went in on Monday and picked up the book, no problem and no charge.

If you are in BKK and haven't already, I would recommend looking into becoming a member of BAMBI (Bangkok Area Mothers and Babies International) They have a twins support group along with a host of other activities and resources that you may find helpful. Can get more information here: www.bambiweb.org

Also, for further online reading, I would recommend the Mothering Forum at www.mothering.com/discussions. They have several sub-forums there that you may find helpful which include "The Family Bed and Nighttime Parenting", "Parenting Multiples", and "NICU and Preemie Parenting".

As for working out the sleeping arrangements, that is a complex issue that will include personal and cultural considerations, among other things. A good read is "The No Cry Sleep Solution" (there is one version for babies and one for toddlers/preschoolers). The book has lots of good suggestions and tips for helping kids develop a good relationship with sleep and sleeping, regardless of where they are sleeping. I believe BAMBI has a copy of this in their library which you could borrow, but I'm not sure on that one.

Technically, this vehicle seats 7. It came with 4 seats that have belts-- driver, passenger, and two in the middle row (one by each door, the seat in the center of the middle row does not have a belt). There is also seating for 2 in the back (need to climb in behind the middle row). The back seat can be folded up and hooked onto the headrest of the middle row to free up room in the back. And when it is down, it there is a hook in the floor which it connects to. We would like to have seatbelts installed for the two seats in the back. After stopping by the Lopburi Toyota dealership, they said it was not possible for them to do it and that we would need to take it to one of the car accessory shops in town.

I remember seeing an ad for a used Sportrider that said it came with seatbelts for all 7 seats, so I'm fairly confident that it is possible.

I would like to hear from anyone about their experiences in having seatbelts installed at the car accessory shops. Do these shops know what they are doing? (i.e. are they going to do it properly so the belts will serve their purspose should the need arise?)

And are there any other Sportrider owners out there with seatbelts in the back row? If yes, were they there when you bought the car (and where did you get it)? Or did you have them installed later (and where did you have this done)?

Yes, I have seen the video baby monitors at the little baby shop on the ground floor of Samitivej Hospital (Sukhumvit branch). I can't remember if it was 4,000 baht or 6,000 baht, but it was way cheaper than another video monitor that I had seen at Central Chid Lom, which I belive was 10,000 baht or something like that.

So I'd start and Samitivej, and then try the more upscale department stores.

Mothercare has Moses baskets (www.mothercarethailand.com). I also see them fairly regularly in the BAMBI Classified Ads (www.bambiweb.org).

Not sure what the deal is with the phone number there. I've had to call a few times, most recently was around the end of 2008. Someone picked up everytime, except once when it just rang forever. Haven't gotten a fax yet, but who knows...

And thanks for working out the location on the google maps-- it took me a while to get oriented, but what is marked there is definitely correct!

No problem. Hope it will be helpful for others at some point. For us, just didn't have the budget or time to be going to BKK/Ayuttaya to track things down. But in the end, and after several chats with neighbors and shopkeepers, were able to track down most of what we were looking for locally, and learned a lot in the process!

When I had my baby at Samitivej, I stayed at the Civic Park Apartment complex, which is about a 2 minute walk from the hospital. It's fully serviced, furnished and all of that, so it may be more than you're looking for. Cost was 15,000/week (as I only stayed for 3 weeks) for a 2 bedroom. If I had stayed for the full month, it would have been a bit cheaper.

For electricity, at Civic Park it was 7 baht/unit and we ended up paying about 2,500 baht per week-- that was with the air on almost non-stop, and the air was an older model and not very energy efficient, I'm sure, as we pay 2,000 baht per month for air on all the time here at home They have a 24 hour free shuttle to the hospital, which is what I took when I was in labor as it's just a 30 sec. trip in the car (2 min. or so if there's a bit of traffic). It was good for me cause I had a 16 mo. old at the time and liked that Civic Park had a little garden with some playground equipment as well as a pool on the roof.

Again, probably a little bit fancier than what you had in mind, but it's an option. Also, the hospital also gave me a list of accommodation options in the area-- I think that's how I first heard about Civic. Did you get that list?

Hope that helps & feel free to PM if you need more details or anything.

How expensive can home schooling be?

I am by no means an expert, but cost will depend on a lot of factors-- what type of teaching method you're going to use, if you're going to put things together yourself or go with an already put together curriculum, if you're going to go with a comprehensive program (meaning you don't need to buy/borrow any additional books/materials), etc.

Generally, it can be done here for about $500/year at the low end, with prices going up from there for the primary school years; preschool is around $100-300/year. Another advantage is that you can use the same books/materials for other children so you wouldn't need to spend $500/year for every child, but would just need to purchase the consumable items (like workbooks and such) for any successive children. And despite the reasonable costs, your kids are getting a great eduation which will rival any international school here at a fraction of the cost. There are also many other reasons people choose to homeschool as well, of course.

For us, we're planning to start my soon-to-be 3 year old with a pre-school homeschool program later this year. We're using Sonlight (www.sonlight.com) which is one of the pricier pre-school programs at $270, but it is all-inclusive so we don't need to purchase any additional books/materials, and it includes detailed instructor's guides with day-by-day plans for what to do (for those of us who need that kind of help . Pricing goes up from there: second year of pre-school is $330, kindergarten is $800, 1st grade is $860, and so on. But again, this is just one of many, many options out there, and known to be one of the pricier ways to go.

If you're at all interested, I agree with a PP who mentioned googling "homeschool" and such. There is a wealth of information out there. And each curriculum site will have its own forum where you can learn what other people are saying. This link may also be helpful: http://www.sonlight.com/before-you-start-homeschooling.html It's a very brief overview of the pros & cons of homeschoolers for anyone just looking into things. I'd also be interested to hear from other homeschoolers here, as I'm just getting started myself!

You can start by contacting Allison Coley (see contact details in my previous post). She will be able to direct you to the right people for the BKK co-ops.

Just out of curiousity, what type of teaching method are you using? Are you putting things together on your own or using a specific homeschooling curriculum?

Best of luck!

Thanks, Crossy.

We tried the tarp thing before and it was a pain to get it secured properly as the cats were mighty determined. And never did find a solution for the ants.

Like the idea of trying to do some sort of table setup. Will take some photos to the local woodshop here and see if they can put something together for me, as they did a decent job creating a table for my son's train set not too long ago from a handful of photos. Then should be no problem to keep some bowls of water under each leg. I know if I put the whole thing over water, the kids would just get distracted by the water and never bother with the sand...

Must be just got a lazy one then, because AFAIK, its required. Lucky you. Getting my husband to deal with the govt bureaucracy is like pulling teeth.

You should be aware tho, that if you ever want to apply for citizenship, income tax payment on a certain amt of income (sorry can't remember the amt) is required.

I'm also curious about the tax payment requirements, as my husband (Thai) and I (farang) have never had to present any tax documents when applying for visa extensions. We've done our extensions in BKK, Chiang Mai, & Ayuttaya. Although for my situation, I am guessing this is because he works for the government so they would know he's paying his taxes. Or something to that effect maybe?

Don't have access to any of the fancier, covered plastic sandboxes available in bigger cities, so just curious if others have done sandboxes for their kids and had success in keeping the critters out. If so, what did your setup look like?

Yes, very doable. And as of a few years ago, now officially legal for Thai children to do as well. It wasn't clear from your post of your kids have Thai citizenship or not. If yes, then you just need to be sure to follow the guidelines for homeschooling. A good resource that I've found is the Thai Homeschool Association (www.thaihomeschool.org). Lots of the basics for registering and what you need to do can be found on their website (you have to scroll down a bit, as the registration requirement link is on the left toward the bottom). They also do lots of activities and such with other Thai homeschooling families.

If your kids are not Thai, then you'll need to check with your home country to confirm any requirements they may have. Normally, it's minimal if you are living overseas.

And if the kids have dual citizenship, you'll need to follow requirements for both countries, if you want them to have to option to on to higher education in either country.

In addition to working out the requirements, you'll also need to decide what type of curriculum you would like to use (classical, literature-based, unit studies, eclectic, Charlotte Mason, etc.) I'm most familiar with English-based materials, so don't know what Thai homeschoolers use, but I do know there are materials available in Thai.

And I know there are co-ops in BKK and Chiang Mai, and possibly elsewhere.

One other resource that will be helpful to get you started would be to contact the Bangkok Area Homeschool Network. The following information is from the BAMBI website (http://www.bambiweb.org/supports.php):

Bangkok Area Homeschool Network

A support network for home schooling families. Designed to provide parents with a network to discuss teaching methods, curriculums and available resources, and to give home schooled children regular contact with others, including field trips, play times and group classes / educational activities. For more information please contact Allison Coley on 08 9782 3478 or [email protected]

As for high school equivalency, for international (UK/US/Candadian/etc) homeschoolers, yes there are tests and such that can be done and homeschoolers are just as qualified as others when it comes to getting into university. However, I do not know the specifics if your kids would like to go on to a Thai program at a Thai university-- I'm sure if you contact the Thai homeschool association, they can answer that for you.

One last link that you may be interested in can be found on the Ministry of Education website and is an article on homeschooling which appeared in the Bangkok Post earlier this year-- that article is here: http://www.moe.go.th/new_site/node/18/480/...sec_detail/7807. There was also a more recent article in the BKK Post (as mentioned in PP), but I haven't seen that yet.

My oldest isn't quite 3 years old, so we haven't gotten into the actual homeschooling yet, just me researching the different options and such. Hope that helps!

It's been a while, but just wanted to update this thread with what I found out regarding options for purchasing major appliances in Lopburi. In the end, we did not get a clothes dryer (could not find a gas one, Power Buy carries several electric models) or garbage disposal (not available in Lopburi, as far as I know). So just went with the built-in stovetop (they call these hobs, a new term for me) & oven. I found several shops locally and did not need to bother with the trip to Home Pro (nearest branch is in Ayuttaya). Here are the shops:

ESBO (located in Saraburi, if you're coming from Lopburi, it's on Hwy 1/Pahonyotin Rd just past the intersection where you would turn to take the BKK Bypass. Just go straight through the Bypass intersection and Esbo is on the right about 400 m past the intersection)

* the store is similar to Home Pro with usual construction & home improvement materials, but without as extensive a selection of products. Ended up buying my crystal (enameled glass) hob there-- it was a 3-burner one for 6,000 baht, marked down from 7,000. Exact same hob available at Power Buy for 16,000 baht.

* also got my hood here (90cm model with light for 6,000 baht, again, Power Buy had similar model for 12,000 baht)

* they have 3 different gas ovens available, but price was 18,000-20,000+ baht-- much more than we were looking for, but nice if that's what you needed; these need to be ordered special and take about 7-15 days.

* discount varies from 3-10% for members (membership is free) and discount is only for in-stock, regularly priced items.

Wood & Ceramic (located in downtown Lopburi, again on Pahonyotin Rd., across from Ford, and just east of the Krung Thai Bank, shop name is in Thai & they've got the big "Kohler" sign which you can't miss)

* again, carry the usual contruction & home improvement materials; are known for being a bit expensive on some things; carry a range of what I would call "luxury" items (i.e. very elaborate shower/bath/whirlpool setups)

* many hobs available, ranging from 2,000-6,000+, but didn't like the designs as they had flowers and birds and such on them.

* lots of ovens available, but only one gas option. Electric ovens ranged from 18,000-45,000+ baht. Only gas option was 44,000 baht (again much more than I need); these need to be special ordered as well.

* 3% discount on everything (membership costs 80 baht)

Suralerk Shop (by the Phra Narai Palace, across from Seng Heng shop)

* this is where we finally found basic ovens (both gas & electric), priced from 5,000+

* we ended up with a 8,000 baht model which works great for what we need it for (occasional baking)

Power Buy (ground floor of Big C)

* They have a good selection of all major appliances, but most are not on display. Just need to ask a sales associate for a book and they'll let you have one to take home. Prices are as marked and quite high for some items (their hob & hood was more than double what I paid at ESBO for the same thing, but they had several dishwashers available for around 20,000 baht which is less that what I have seen elsewhere)

* They also had several electric clothes dryers, but I really want gas, so no luck.

* All items in the book need to be special ordered from BKK and arrive within 3 business days.

* One note on the difference between service/warranty help at Big C/Lotus & Power Buy is that Power Buy will handle all repair/warranty issues for you (even for the smallest items), whereas Big C/Lotus only help with larger items. I bought an alarm clock at Big C and was told that if I had any problems within 7 days, I could bring it back, but after that I was on my own to contact the manufacturer about the warranty. Saw the same clock at Power Buy later and was told that if I had any problems ever, to just bring it in-- still under warranty and they would give me a new one, out of warranty and they would contact a certified repairman for me. After the clock purchase, also had a power strip still under warranty blow a fuse a burn a bit-- took it back to Power Buy and got a new one, no problem-- told to keep the receipt for the rest of the warranty period. Washing machine (out of warranty) was having a little trouble and Power Buy contacted one repairman for me and also gave me information for two others. First guy worked out fine, and Power Buy people followed up with me before, during, and after repair to make sure everything went fine.

Big C & Lotus

* Don't carry ovens, clothes dryers, or built-in hobs (both have the counter top burners available, but was looking for a little more than that).

Our regular pediatrician is on maternity leave, and so we met with a regular doctor today for my 13-month-old daughter's scheduled vaccination appointment.

This was her first dose for the JE vaccine. The doctor was confused (at first asked if we were there for a HIB vaccine...) It was the regular pediatric nurse who finally convinced him that it was in fact the JE vaccine that we needed. Anyway, he said nothing to us directly other than to ask if my daughter had any problems. And then sent us on our way to have the nurse give the vaccine.

When we were checking out, I noticed that the next scheduled appointment for the second dose was 10 Dec-- in 3 months. I asked about this, as I know when my son had his JE vaccines (which was just last year), it was 3 doses with the second dose two weeks after the first, and then the third dose one year after the first.

They checked and told me that my daughter had received a new vaccine which only requires two doses, with the second dose given 3 months after the first. I then confirmed that she was given the "CD.JEVAX Inj" vaccine. After checking around on the internet, I can find nothing about a new 2-dose JE vaccine. Everything re: the CD.JEVAX Inj indicates the standard 3-dose series.

So does anyone know if this new JE vaccine, which only requires two doses??

EDIT & UPDATE: Was able to get in touch with a pediatrician I have used in the past at Samitivej and she confirmed that there is a new JE vaccine, and that the second dose is given 3-12 months after the first. So please disregard my previous question about the dosage, and hope this may be helpful for others.

I'm curious as to whether or not DHA supplements are available in Thailand???

I would prefer plant-based, but would also be interested to know if animal-based are available as well.

If they are available here...

Where?

How much?

What type (capsule, liquid drops, etc.)?

Can confirm there is a Christian Montessori school in central BKK. I believe there are also others in the greater BKK area, but can't confirm that. As stated before, a quick google search should help get you started.

As "Montessori" is a term that is used rather freely, both here and abroad, it would be a good idea to research the school well to see where the teachers were trained and just how Montessori the school really is in its educational philosophy and implementation (if you are particular about some/all aspects of the Montessori approach, that is).