Newsletter December 17 2010
This is our last newsletter of 2010 and despite Spain’s economic problems, we hope that you & your family have had a good year. MumAbroad has had an extremely busy 12 months and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your contributions to our site, which we hope, if not invaluable, has at least been useful! We are ending the year on a high with the launch of our brand new site, MumAbroad France. It has been many months in the making, and we still have a long way to go but thanks to our brilliant team of researchers, namely Anna, Rachel, Jodie, Birgit, Victoria, Lisa, Geraldine, Tessa and Sophie, we believe the site will be a key resource for the English-speaking community living in or relocating to France. If you have friends or family living in France, please tell them about it, or if you have a holiday recommendation, please tell us!
LATEST RECOMMENDATIONS
Thank you to Harriet in Madrid who has given us three great shops for kids including Cuore Rosa which offers absolutely everything ‘Hello Kitty’. Steph, also in Madrid, recommends a children’s dentist whilst in Catalunya Sonya has told us about an organic fruit & veg home delivery company. Maxi recommends Fantasy Cakes in Sitges, Sonya tells us about two great child-friendly cafés in Barcelona - La Mama Vaca and La Nena and in Sant Cugat Rachael has told us about Karate classes for kids. Finally Adele on the Costa del Sol has given us a ringing endorsement for Princess studios for aspiring dancers and, in our Moving to Spain section, Nihu tells us about AFerry, an online service for booking cheap ferries to Spain.
Don´t forget you can easily access all the latest recommendations from the regional boxes on our homepage. You can also take a look at our featured contributors by clicking on ‘recommendations’ in the top right hand box on the homepage.
LATEST INTERVIEWS & MUMS IN BUSINESS
Five years ago Sandra Europe had a terrible fall and was told that she probably would be paralyzed for life. She made the decision to undergo life-threatening surgery in the hope that one day she would walk again. Not only did she manage to walk but incredibly she qualified as a spinning instructor just 18 months later. She puts much of her recovery down to the support of her two sons and her Mums & business networks initially in Mallorca and later on the Costa del Sol. Read more of her inspirational story here.
Amanda tells us about life as a parent in the beautiful town of Deia in Mallorca. She tells us why she believes children grow up on the island broad-minded and accepting individuals given their exposure to so many different cultures and nationalities. Amanda is one of the latest additions to our Mums in Business section after setting up spa@home as is Sandra (above).
Finally Julie shares her experiences of life with 3 boys just outside Sitges and how her kids love going to the local school, La Riera, where she feels their natural curiosity is stimulated and encouraged. Jule runs the Company Jump King, which is offering a 10% discount on any trampolines bought before Three Kings. Click here for more information.
If you are a Mumprenuer and would like to feature in this section or if you are already there and would like to change your details, please let us know.
SPOTLIGHT ON MENORCA
Menorca takes its name from being smaller than Mallorca (i.e. the Minor island) and has a population of around 90,000. The two official languages are Spanish and Balearic Catalan. Natives to the island speak the variety of Catalan called Menorquí, and they typically speak Spanish as a second language. Many immigrants are monolingual in Spanish. Lots of fiestas take place throughout the summer in different towns around the island. The International opera week, the International organ festival in Mahon, the summer music festival and Capella Davidica concerts in Ciutadella are the main events. Whilst many of the locals have adopted modern attitudes they still uphold certain old traditions like chivalry, courtesy and hospitality. We have been asking mums in Menorca about their experiences of pregnancy & birth, activities for kids, shops for kids and family-friendly restaurants. Please tell us if you have a recommendation for the island including any family holidays. We would love to hear from you.
FEATURED EVENTS
There are loads more festive events this weekend suitable for both big and little ones including Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree in Sant Pere de Ribes, the Rock Academy Christmas gig in Javea, Father Christmas visiting Fish & Chips in Barcelona and the Baby Sensory Christmas Party in Sitges. Both Barcelona & Madrid also have popular Christmas markets where you can buy anything from Mistletoe to Caganers. For details please take a look at our Events Section.
Other Events:
WHAT´S HOT ON THE FORUM
Our latest forum posts can now be viewed on the homepage, and you can choose to view the most popular threads and also all the posts we have placed. Thanks as always for all your posts. Many of you are continuing to sell items: Chris is selling an electric piano, kids table & chairs and two carseats. Also for sale are some bookshelves, office units, kids’ ski stuff, a Moses basket, a Barcelona apartment(!) and a Maclaren stroller. In Madrid Belen is wanting to get rid of several baby items for free. Elsewhere on the forum, Edelweiss would like to meet up with other Mums in Sant Cugat, ‘mumtobe’ has just found out she is pregnant and wants to find an expat community in Castellon and Tia is after anyone who knows of child-friendly hotels in Girona. Please do keep your posts coming in.
READ ALL ABOUT IT - NEWS ROUND UP
Genetic and inherited disorders have been detected from the womb after a pioneering test by researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The new test works by separating the babies DNA from the blood of the mother. At the moment the only way to scan for genetic defects in the womb is to carry out operations which involve scraping away a sample of cells from the placenta or by removing fluid from the womb (amniocentesis).Both involve a one per cent risk of triggering a miscarriage or infection and so are only carried out if the probability of a defect is high. Read more.
New research has shown that only-children are more likely to grow up overweight than those with siblings. The (UK) study suggested youngsters may be less active because of a lack of brothers and sisters in the home. Researchers also suggested the differences may be down to over-protective and over-indulgent parents. Read more
And finally you no longer have an excuse for not being able to learn a foreign language, say British neuroscientists. The team of researchers discovered that everyone has the ability to learn a new word every 15 minutes by listening to that word a minimum of 160 times. Apparently the process happens far quicker than they previously thought! Read more
That`s it for now. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and all the best for 2011
Love Carrie & Rebecca
