Hi I'm Carmen 

The 'About Me' short version.

I am a mother, a teacher, a New Zealander, an ex-pat living in Dubai and the author of baby-books-guide.com.

• Learn about how I created this website!
• Learn more about the idea behind this site.
  
  

The 'About Me' lengther version.

When I sat down at my computer trying to work out how to introduce myself to you I found it difficult to work out where to start.  I guess that is because over the years, like most of you I have worn many 'hats'.

The 'hats' I wear today are quite different from the ones I used to wear but they have all helped me get to the point where I am right now - writing a website about baby books. You can learn more about the ideas behind my site here.  Also you can learn about how I created this site.

But I guess the best way to tell you about me is to describe a few of my many hats! 

My Kiwi hat

I was born in New Zealand and lived there for 25 years until I decided to venture overseas, so although I return there every year it is only for a holiday as I am now more of a global nomad.

My Teacher hat

I completed my primary school teaching diploma in New Zealand and then a few years later went on to complete my Masters degree in Education in England.  I taught for 10 years, in three different countries.  I am most comfortable teaching early childhood and spent 6 years teaching the first year of school.

My Wife hat

After teaching in New Zealand I got a job teaching in Bali, Indonesia at an international school.  This was where I met my Scottish husband Graham.  He is my rock and a wonderful support!

My Ex-Pat hat

Graham is an architect so  our careers are the perfect match as we have managed to live and work in 5 different countries together so far!  At the moment we are living in Dubai in the Middle East which as you can imagine is a very interesting and fast paced city to be in right now.

My mum hat

Then my dreams came true and I became a mum to Jamie who is almost 2 years old now.  My mother hat is the most comfortable one I have ever worn and I love my role as 'at home mum' to Jamie. He is the inspiration for my site and mostly the focus of the content so I would have to say we are doing this together!

My friend hat

My other wonderful source for my site is my friends who I am sharing this parenting journey with.  I have one busy little boy on my hands and like his mum, he is also very sociable so we fill our days with many other toddlers and mums.

My sister hat

When I was 10 and 12 years old my sisters Kate and Emily were born.  So I have been around babies all my life it seems.  I had my very own living dolls and while today they are all grown up,  they are still my babies really! We are all kept in line by our brother Simon!

My daughter hat

I am also one of those truly fortunate daughters who has a mum and a best friend rolled into one.  My mum loves to share our nomadic lifestyle and comes and stays with us several months each year. Mum is a counsellor and the parent I model being a parent on, and thankfully she is sharing her years of knowledge as a parent and counsellor in her own website:  consistent-parenting-advice.com

My web site designer hat

For those of you who are also choosing to be 'at home' mums you will understand….you get to the point where you need to get your brain back into gear.  I felt like I was suffering a little from nappy brain so decided that it was time to re-connect a few cells and learn something new.  So I began to learn all about web designing and e-commerce from SBI and from that came the birth of this site. Now I am able to work from home and learn something new too, it is perfect for me.  If you are interested to learn how you could do the same click here.

• Learn about how I created this website!
• Learn more about the idea behind this site.
  
  

I hope you enjoy the site. Please feel free to contact me to contribute to this site or pass on your thoughts and comments I'd love to hear from you.
 
Carmen

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