The Creme Egg Appreciation Society...memberships expire June 08

[debinaustria]

Good morning all you creme egg lovers ( and those weird ones amongst us who don't appreciate them)

Good luck for all the scans coming up this week, and next.

[ChinaSurprise]

ktpie - that is indeed the book i've got. have done the hooded cardi so far and now it's (probably) a girl am also doing the lace edged cardi.
managed to get some debbie bliss wool cheap on ebay so will make the smock coat once it's born (as long as it's a girl) and the chunky ribbed cardi (although not in that hideous stone/ navy colour combo - ick)
am actually quite a fast knitter, but god is it boring! my top tip is bamboo needles - much lighter and easier on the fingers!
no time now to catch up properly - freelancing to do and freecycle stuff to pick up, but will have a proper look tonight.
matb1 is after 25weeks i think btw...

[ernest]

lol deb-s yes we do have internet connection at last, but not got a chance till today, cos frantically researching ........ our move to Munich!!!!!

Hurrah, I have got an 11th hour stay of exectution. I cannot believe the most brillinat thing ever - I don't have to move to Milan I cannot tell you how happay I am about that.

I suspect this was all a big ploy to make me happy to leave Switzerland, cos I am so bloody pleased to be going to Munich, after looking down the barrel of a gun called Milan.

But he starts in Milan in .... 3 weeks , so mucho to do.

Am checking out international schools still, as although language is no longer an issue and the boys could go to local school, need to be practical in case we do move back to uk in 2 years (suddenly gone from insisting we go back to considering a life in Bavaria, lol)

Also now considering having baby in Munich (was out of the question to have it in Milan, but Munich is to me acceptable) so maybe even move before the birth, if we get our house sold etc.

Oh, and Deb-s, snap - at my scan also couldn't tell flavour, but my 2 of my 3 boys were bickering and annoying me, I was dog tired and too busy wondering if we were going to move to Munich or Milan so had so much on my mind I couldn't pay too much attention to scan myself - if he'd told me it was dr who's 2 hearted love child I'd barely have flinched. so still wait and see here too.

hello to everyone and all the new 'faces', sorry had no time to read through, all a bit hectic now. Back home at weekend so I'll be back on Monday I guess xxx

[Upsidedownegg]

Ernest, fantastic news re Munich and also re scan. What a rollercoaster!

Dramaqueen, good luck with your scan

[debinaustria]

Ernest - at last!! What great news, I'm so pleased for you, shame about the Italian lessons though!!I'm sure there are lots of MNers in Munich , have you posted in the overseas forum asking for school advice?You must be sooooo relieved

And the scan - lol, my boys would be most impressed by Dr Who's 2 hearted love child!! Glad all went well.

Enjoy the holiday and catch up onMonday

Deb (less to type without the s)

[looneytune]

Hi everyone

Feels like forever since I was last in this section, I had trouble finding the new thread to start with!

I've closed today as not well and although I should be sleeping (had 45 mins last night), I can't so thought i'd pop on here.

How you all doing? If my head clears enough later, I will try and read through what everyone's been up to. I've got my scan tomorrow morning and hoping to find out if it's a boy or a girl but obviously, depends if 'bubba' behaves!!

Hope you're all well, will try and catch up properly soon. Can't believe today I'm officially half way through. I honestly never thought this pregnancy was going to work out and now I get all the movements to remind me it's real Shame about the damn SPD though, I'm having big trouble with that and the job I do!

Right, off for a lie down whilst I have no kiddies. Speak soon.

LT xx

[nh101andhertwinbeans]

Hey Chinasurprise! Can't believe you are a deputy ed. I am a sub-editor on Star magazine and production editor on Hot Stars (which you get in OK! mag). I try to eat organic but it is so expensive at the supermarket. I reckon it puts at least £10 a week on our weekly shop if not £15 or more. When I go on mat leave I am going to get organic boxes delivered or go to our local farm shop. Surely that will be cheaper.

DebinAustria - love the pics of the bump.

Thanks for all your comments about my pics. I think I am looking pretty good so far but wonder what I will be like in 8 weeks when I will still only be 7mths gone!!

We have been out hunting for a bus new car this weekend. Think we are going to go for Honda Accord estate. It is massive but got to fit all that twin stuff in somehow. A big change from my Toyota Yaris!!!

Glad everyone's scans seem to be going well.

[makecakesnotwar]

Hi all- LOL at all your antics...the joys of pregnany that none of the books mention...

Having a tough day because baby has decided to wedge his/herself against my pelvis which makes me feel very heavy and unbalanced, not to mention making it bloody difficult to walk, so have taken a sick day (there are moments when i love being self-employed!) and am encouraging my ebay and creme egg addiction. I even wrote about creme eggs on my blog, which is a bit sad...one comment was that I should develop an addiction to diamonds instead!!!

Fab news ernest- so glad you are moving to Munich...I much prefer Germans to Italians, so glad you are having a German (baby, if you see what i mean) but so much to do, so good luck with that. Still willing our house to sell/someone in my family to win lottery....

[dylansluckymum]

took me almost ds' whole nap to catch up on the weekend!

upsidedown thanks very much and i don't really feel different but i have to say we've been getting along brilliantly the past couple months. compared with last pregnancy that is a whole new world! i do forget about the pregnancy often although not as much now as the bump is growing and starting to get in the way. will def have to check out that digger dvd as ds is obsessed with any and all 'trucks'. hope you're feeling better after your fall - i broke my foot when 8 1/2 months preg with ds so it was not a fun final month (esp when you consider we live up 4 flights of stairs!).

deb - congrats on your new oven! i cried a wee bit when i read about your day and then your dh suggesting a creme egg. i find it hard to be canadian over here at mum and tot groups sometimes, no language barrier but it's still an issue at times and i end up sitting alone. dh is fantastic about bringing me home 'treats' when i'm feeling miserable. ah they do have their good points don't they?

wigeon i guess it's different for everyone and i'm not working this time but with ds i started mat leave at 36 weeks and was bored, bored, bored. of course for the last 2 weeks i had a broken foot so was housebound but i would have worked right up to the end this time, just to make it go faster!!

nh101 your bump looks gorgeous, mine hasn't quite filled out yet so still looking slightly fat instead of pregnant. i'm sure you'll feel enormous but you'll look amazing right to the end!

katyjo so funny you say that about J&J breastpads. my sister swears by them and i can't stand them. i love the bigger, thinner lansinoh ones. i convinced her to buy a pack to try them and she thought they were horrible! must have something to do with boob shape...

[Upsidedownegg]

China, NH101, I'm in a similar industry too. I used to copywrite government communications on pregnancy and health. Now I'm more on the strategy side, and plan and commission them! (Sadly I don't work on 'pregnancy' any more.)

I spent ages thinking how to share what I did with China, NH101, and you went for it, so I thought I should too!!

[PregnantPenguin]

Great news Josie, am impressed by your will power in not finding out the flavour. I am too impatient to wait another 4 months and hope they can tell when I go for my scan on Thursday. Knowing that DramaQueen is having hers now is very exciting.

Glad you're feeling better Upsidedown (oh dear, your nickname may be a bit too appropriate!).

Afraid that working from home actually means I keep web browsing for buggies, cots, etc...! DebinAustria, the links ask me to log in as a guest, which prams are you looking at? I am thinking of just getting a relatively cheap one, so that when I actally know what this whole baby is about, I won't feel guilty about upgrading. Does anyone have any opinions about the Mothercare Trenton?

[ChinaSurprise]

Afternoon all. Am having a manic day so thought I'd take a break. Thanks to the publishing types for sharing. I used to be a news editor on a daily, but it drove me insane. Monthly mags are much less stressful plus I get to ride bikes for a living! (when not pg)

NH101 - re the organic thing - have you got time to shop locally? Organic supermarket food is often flown half way round the world so they tend to use tougher, less flavourful varieties and the time it ages robs it of its flavour and nutrients. That's why people who buy organic at supermarkets often say they can't tell the difference.
You're actually better off just buying British produce from your local grocer - chances are it will have been picked that morning, or the night before and will have many more vitamins and minerals in it. Yes, there will be perhaps some pesticide residue, but it will be less than supermarket standard veg, and it will be fresher than anything you can buy in Sainsbury's - organic or not.
Added bonus - grocers are ALWAYS cheaper than supermarket veg, and some are getting organic sections now.

If I had to put fruit/ veg in a hierarchy it would be
(1) Organic veg box (grown locally)
(2) Organic from grocers/ farmer's mkt
(3) Standard from grocers
(4) Organic supermarket
(5) Standard supermarket

An extra tip - if supermarket shopping is the only way you can manage then go for value fruit and veg. This is often organic produce which hasn't met size/ shape standards. Not many people know that!

Another novel I realise, but am v passionate about this subject

[claphamkitten]

Found you! Blimey,m so many posts already!!! It's going to take me a couple of days to catch up... x

[dylansluckymum]

china surprise what about a store like fresh and wild or better yet bumblebee which is right beside my house?

[dylansluckymum]

we usually buy ocado organic but most of their produce is local... do you still reckon it's quite old?

[bitofadramaqueen]

gosh how many posts since lunchtime!! Scan was fab - although little beggar wouldn't play nice and pose for a photo . However, everything as it should be at this stage which is the most important thing.

Can read all the posts now - will catch up later!

[debinaustria]

Oh Bugger - my link to the pushchairs wouldn't work - Teutonia Spirit S3 or Hartan Skater S, but you'd have to search for them !!

Looney - hope you feel better soon and good luck with the scan - hope baby behaves!

Makecakes - hope baby unwedges itself soon!

Dylansmum - sorry to hear that you feel left out too sometime despite the same language. I'd talk to you!!

Penguin - the Trenton looks good, looks like my Graco that I used to have and I loved it, but those double wheels at the front are no good in the snow for me!! I've been looking at which and if you pay £1 you can subscribe for a month - they've just reviewed the trenton deluxe. I was going to subscribe to read the reviews, but they're mostly UK based pushchairs or ones I don't want.

Dramaqueen - glad everything went well

[goingfor3]

nh101, I had an organic fruit and veg box delivered every other week but it's not cheap. A supermarket would be cheaper but not as nice and it's like getting a present every couple of weeks9yes I realise how sad I am!). We don't have any local shops near by, all chains and e don't seem to have any farm shops either despite being in Herts. DLM - Fresh and Wild is lovely but really expensive!

[ChinaSurprise]

Fresh n Wild/ Ocado/ Bumblebee all good - but watch F&W as they have a tendency to fly a lot of produce in.
General rule of thumb - the closer to you the fresher it is - but bear in mind this doesn't count for packaged veg in supermarkets as they're often picked locally and then sent hundreds of miles to be packaged!
So, buy local or buy loose and you should be okay.

[dylansluckymum]

i do find that bumblebee is a bit more expensive than ocado for some things but many veg (the avocados particularly) are much more flavourful. obviously this country can't grow everything though so some things are going to be imported no matter where you buy them!

[ChinaSurprise]

This is indeed true. If you try to stick to what's in season you'll find it easier to get local stuff, but I don't think they grow many pineapples in Kent!

[mellymell]

Also Riverford fruit and veg boxes are great - huge amounts of the green stuff. The majority of it is local and they are really nice.

Find Fresh & Wild prohibitively expensive but good if you need stuff like goats milk formula.

[Upsidedownegg]

We used to get a box from Abel and Cole. We loved the fact that you never knew what you were going to get that week. Without that box, we would never have tried Jerusalem artichokes or persisted with celeriac!

We also found the fact that you could opt out of certain f&vs really helpful. After eight weeks of red cabbage, it was nice to say 'No more red cabbage ever ever ever.'!

In the end, we started going to our local farmers' market - which we find cheaper and it also cuts out the middleman.

But I miss the weekly fun of guessing what would be in the box.

[TaurielTest]

Hello, I've been reading this due-in-June thread for a while and thought it was about time to de-lurk! Some things about me:
age 32, live in London, first baby, due 24 June, I have PCOS and s/he's a Clomid baby,
don't know the sex (scan on 14 Feb but probably won't ask unless DP wants to). Pregnancy going fine atm apart from SPD (waiting for a physio referral). Oh, and I don't much like Creme Eggs, but I did eat nearly a whole 125g bar of Galaxy today

Look forward to joining in the discussions. (I am also "puddock" on Verity (PCOS site) and Ravelry (knitting site).)

[ChinaSurprise]

Evening all
re organic etc, I also tried Abel and Cole for a while - felt v luxurious (esp their lovely milk), but I ended up going back to the farmer's market as we never used up all the veg and it just got wasted.
Puddock - welcome! i just looked at that knitting site - ace! Will have to tell MIL - she's obsessed. Am currently half way through my third cardi for LO but sometimes find books a bit dull - will give ravelry a go
Off out now to collect more freecycle goodies. DH has made shepherd's pie. Mmmmmmmm.

[ChinaSurprise]

ps - puddock - can you invite me to the site or can only the admins do it? I'd love to join