Fixed

No big people allowed!

Coming ready or not.

Daisy does her best Muffin McLay impression whilst reading Hairy McLairy

In a move sure to please the Grandparents, Andy has found a work round to get the camera updownload working. Phew!

Bx

Up and down

Sheikh Zayed Road

Emirates Towers

Dubai Creek. It's a pretty big creek.

Hey hey, I found one of Daisy. Trike star, Ibn Battuta Mall

We've had a rough week. Daisy has been unwell with a tummy bug since Monday which has resulted in much worry and very little sleep. She hasn't been eating and has been very sad. She's only little and is now even littler. We took her to hospital on Thursday and she checked out ok although there was some concern over her low weight. It's tough being little!

Andy has been getting frustrated with the pace of the job hunting and I've been racked with guilt about all the upheaval we are putting Daisy through.

However (and it's a good however) things improved yesterday. The Middle East is having freak weather (snow in Jordan! I keep hearing) and we awoke to a desert sandstorm. Which sounds exciting but was just lots of wind, dust flying everywhere and 38 degrees C. Despite this we headed out to the Jebel Ali Beach Club to meet Janet, David, Christopher and Oliver who are members there. Janet is a friend of one of Andy's old workmates. David is her husband, Oliver is their 11 month old son and Christopher is David's 13 year old son. The storm made things a bit dusty but we had a fabulous day lying on the beach and swimming with tennis and beer as bonuses for Andy. Daisy was feeling perkier and had a great time playing with Oliver and tearing around on the grass. Andy is now eyeing up membership.

This afternoon we headed to The Mall of the Emirates where Andy met David who was kindly donating some of his alcohol allowance to us. They sloped off to a hidden little liquor shop in the carpark whilst I got to allaying my guilt about Daisy by shopping up a storm for toys. Hurrah! One of the things I got her was a playhouse tent which she was very excited about. Andy nearly choked, pointing out we are in a one bedroom apartment but girls (even little ones) need their own space and she loves it.

We are now enjoying some of today's sneaky booze shopping. It's Mother's Day tomorrow and Andy has just said he'll amuse Daisy so I can have a lie in as a Mother's Day treat. Yay! Now where is that bottle of wine....

Oh no! Disaster strikes. I've just gone to download some photos and can't as the camera isn't compatible with Windows Vista which we have on the new laptop. Andy is trying to find a work round but in the meantime, here some pictures of some buildings. Wicked.

Bx

Two years today

Isabella and Daisy seeing who can stand up best in the bath, all casual like.

Sam and Georgia at the Honest Lawyer pub.

Daisy hanging out with the big girls.

It's our second wedding anniversary today which is cotton. Quite fittingly we celebrated by going clothes shopping at the Mall of the Emirates. Which it has to be said is huge. Really proper get lost big. Andy coped by parking up in a bar and enjoying a beer whilst I bravely shopped. Pre shopping, I went to a weekly coffee group which is held at the mall. There were heaps of mums and babies there and it was really interesting talking to so many people from so many places. It's great getting so many viewpoints on living in Dubai and things in general. I'm loving how multicultural it is here, I'm meeting people from so many new places which is great. It's also very nice to talk to other antipodeans and brits too.

Thing are going well on the job front for Andy. A good thing as someone has to pay for all the shopping! He had an interview yesterday which he now has a second one for and he had one this morning which also went well. Fingers crossed!

We've been a bit slack on the photo front so I've posted some from Nelson instead.

Bx

New numbers

Just testing blogging with a new sim. We both have new mobile numbers which we will distribute shortly.

Sunday is the new Monday!

Heading downstairs for a swim.

Daisy hopes daddy is unemployed forever.

Jumeirah Mosque. When the prayer call was broadcast Daisy happily sung along.

Jumeirah Beach

We had our first toe dipping in the Gulf at Jumeirah Beach today. Much to my surprise the water wasn't the warmest! Not that it was exactly cold but it was on the refreshing side.

For the most part we are just taking things slowly and mooching round The Greens. Daisy has been a bit out of whack due to the trip back but seems to be coming right. We're a bit on the shaky side ourselves. It's quite confusing getting used to the weekend being Friday and Saturday so Sunday being the start of the working week. It's also quite confusing that it feels like summer but is actually winter. I keep having to remind myself that it is winter and that is why it starts getting dark at 6.30pm. It's also strange getting used to not being able to have a drink when out for lunch. Poor Andy is gasping for a beer!

Andy has had a few meetings with recruitment consultants and has been having very positive feedback which is a huge relief. He has his first proper job interview next week, scary! I'm quite relieved that I don't have to do the whole job interview thing although being a stay at home mum here has it's own set of challenges which are a little daunting. On the positive side, when out for coffee this morning I met a woman who told me about a weekly coffee group she goes to and said everyone is really nice so I'm going to head along there next Monday. It will be great to meet other mums who have lived here for a while and I'm sure Daisy will enjoy hanging out with some other kids.

Bx

Looking back to Auckland

Daisy kicking back at our hotel. The girl knows how to relax.

Daisy and Ellie at the Bellini Bar.

Blake and Sam on our hotel balcony.

At a pub with the bros.

Before heading to Dubai, we had two nights in Auckland where we had a good time seeing a few people. Oli came up from Wellington and the other boys and their girlfs were there also. We also had a lovely afternoon catching up with Nic and Ellie from my London NCT group who were in town on holiday.

Bx

We're here!

Oh no! Emirates lost my buggy!

But they found it again. Phew!

Under the night time Andalucian sky. Actually, it's inside the Ibn Battuta Mall during the day.
Spooky.

And so far it's fabulous! We arrived early Wednesday morning and after a slight hiccup when the airline lost Daisy's buggy (but found and delivered it 4 hours later) we headed out via duty free. It was quite exciting to discover that you can buy alcohol at duty free. Not to mention premium spirits were only 8 pounds a bottle! A driver was waiting for us and we were soon heading to The Greens where we are staying for a month.

Our impressions of Dubai. Firstly, it's waaay bigger than we thought. Everything is super sized, the building, the developments, the roads, everything. What looks on the map like just next door is actually miles away. There is still huge amounts of development going on, the scale of it is mind boggling. It's also greener than I thought with lots of pretty pink flowers around. The people aren't super sized however, and the women are very glamourous. People are really friendly which is great. It's very car based and not easy to get around walking. Not in this area anyway, the beach area might be different. Another thing that we have noticed is that there are screeds of people working in shops and stuff. Restaurants have loads of waiting staff and supermarkets have people to not only pack your trolley, but unload it and (as I discovered yesterday) take your basket if you are also pushing a pram! All in all first impressions are definitely very good which is a relief.

The Greens, where we are staying is nice. It's quite new and has lots of apartments grouped around a recreation area with pool, gym, playground etc. It seems very relaxed and has a small mall with cafes, restaurants and shops. To my delerious joy, next to the mall there is a fabulous organic supermarket and cafe. It's quite big, rather posh and has everything to keep me happy.

Speaking of happy......yesterday we went to the Ibn Battuta mall. It was incredible. It is divided in to six zones and each zone is based on a country. China, India, Egypt, Tunisia, Andalusia and Persia. I think Persia was my favourite. Words can't do it justice so I won't try but I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. Apart from the mall itself, the shops in it were also amazing. There were lots of UK stores which made me alternate between being less homesick then feeling like crying. Daisy was agog at everything to look at although was slighty disconcerted when she got scooped up by a young arab couple for a photo with them. She's getting a lot of attention which she's enjoying.

Bx