leise rieselt der Schnee - for all those lovely people in Germany and Austria or whoever wants to join us!

[Canella]

a new wintery thread in honour of Hupa's first snow of the season!

We got back on Saturday and had a great time. I was a bit doubtful about ds as he doesn´t like the cold and is a bit lazy, but he really enjoyed the skiing.

Sorry to hear about your hand Canella. How long will you have to wear the splint?

First day back at kiga and school here today. How I hate these early mornings - I´ll be pleased when ds starts school later this year and I can send him with dd and I can stay in the warm.

It's back to normal here too; the DC went back to school and kindergarten yesterday and DH back to work (although he's now in Turkey until Thursday), so I'm enjoying my quiet mornings again.

How's your hand now, Canella? Glad everyone enjoyed the skiing. We've enrolled DD2 and DS (plus a friend of DS's) on a course in the Semesterferien; DH will probably go off skiing with DD1 while they're doing the course and I'm hoping to get out of going altogether as I'm not a great fan of the cold!

After having quite a lazy time over Christmas, it was a bit of a shock to the system to be busy with afternoon activities and homework again yesterday. It felt like I spent the entire afternoon ferrying the DC around and supervising homework (it took DD1 two hours to do her homework yesterday!). Oh well, it's less than four weeks until the Semesterferien - my SIL and her DC have to wait almost six weeks until the Semesterferien in Oberösterreich.

Hi Everyone, As some of you might know I'm soon to be relocating to the Munich area I appreciate all the help/info you've been giving us. :)

We're currently trying to sort out accommodation and we had another idea (a rather crazy one) about bring our caravan down and living in it...but we'd need to find a campsite which offers extended stay (and would be cheaper than renting) Any ideas about I should be looking for- or anyone have an idea about a specific campsite on the Eastern side of Munich within commuting distance from Erding?

Here in Hessen we don´t get another holiday until Easter, which is really late this year. Seems a long time for the dc (and the teachers) to go without a break. Mind you after that there are so many bank holidays there will be lots of really short weeks and this year we break up at the end of June for the summer.

I´m meant to be filing away lots of dh´s paperwork - such a boring job and I just can´t motivate myself. I am actually employed to do this, but it still doesn´t make it any more interesting.

Hope everyone else is having a more interesting morning.

bebe - I´ve got no idea. My brother lives in Munich, so I could ask him, but not sure he´ll know any more than me.

I have to say I think you´re mad, it will be freezing in winter. Mind you I hate camping, so probably a bit biased .

This site lists all the camping sites near Munich which might help.

The word you need for long term camping is dauerecampen.

Sorry - dauercampen - an extra e crept in somehow.

Thanks :) it is nuts... this whole thing is a bit nuts

It was just an idea, the camper has a heater and we spent the weekend in North Wales this weekend and it was lovely and cosy despite the wind and rain and cold. If we could save a little money (because we'd not be paying as much for rent) and have the opportunity to take it away possibility on weekends we thought it would make things more interesting.
It's only a pie in the sky idea...seems unlikely to work out, but we're investigating choices as much as possible.

bebe...I am not in Germany so can´t really help but just being nosey...when are you moving? I can imagine living in a camper in spring/summer is different from living in a camper in a Munich winter...

Linzer- glad you had a lazy christmas and it is a shock to the system, isn´t it? did you all enjoy your stay in the uk?

hupa- easter does seem a long way away, on the other hand the Semesterferien are very close to Christmas, and far from Easter break.

I´ve had a dreadful couple of mornings since dc back at school. DD1 has been refusing to go to school. On Monday I sat in the back of the class for 3 hours and then brought her home. On Tuesday I sat there for 3 hours until the Frau Direktor (as she calls herself) told me to leave. Today I marched her up the stairs and left her there while the class teacher was restraining her (Frau Direktor said we should do this yesterday). Of course we have all explained why it is important to go, tried talking to her about fears and appeasing any she may have. She said she does not want to do music after school (so we let her drop it for once) she did not want to go to the hort (so we compromised on that too for the day). Then she says she does not want to be seperated from me...I am rather upset about it all. The Frau Direktor said she would get some Beratering to talk to her next week and then see if we need to get the Schulpsychologin involved. Today I am going to meet the woman who did the systematische aufstellung to see how she can help. Let´s really hope this is just a phase :)

So sorry to hear about your DD's problems at school, bananas - that sounds like such a difficult situation for both you and her. What year is she in? Does she has difficulties with the work or is it "just" school itself that she doesn't like? It's good that the school is arranging some counselling and I hope your appointment today is helpful too.
We had a good time in the UK thanks; I'm glad we didn't go before Christmas though, as it would have been chaos with the snow and icy conditions.

bebe I'm not much help on the Munich area, I'm afraid - or on camping for that matter (although I used to find German winters far harsher than winters in Wales, if a little drier!). Good luck with the move, though.

hupa We don't normally get a break between September and Christmas, which always seems like a very long time. At least the time after Christmas goes much more quickly with the week off in February, Easter and all the bank holidays - we usually break up at the end of June too.

Thanks Linzer. Glad you had a good time, and that the travelling was no problem.

DD is in year 2. She is doing very well at school and having talked to the teacher and headteacher there is no problem with performance or behaviour there (until this week that is!). She is ambitious and we are guessing that makes her anxious. She has mentioned a couple of times that she does not like schreiben because she is not good at it, and she is worried she will get a "2" in Deutsch.(They are getting marks for the first time this Semester). We looked through her book and there are hardly any mistakes in it so we reassured her she was very good, and that it was also okay if she got a "2", but still...There was some misunderstanding with the woman. I thought she was holding a time for me today and I would cancel if dd not at school, but she did not have time to meet today. Anyway we talked a bit on the phone which helped.

Off to do some cleaning, house is a mess as have not caught up after the christmas holidays. I think I might start reading my Flylady messages!

Hope you all have good times, lovely and sunny here...and rather mild for this time of year

Just back from my first English lesson with DD2's class, which went well although I ran out of teaching material 10 minutes before the lesson was due to end! Luckily the teacher had already mentioned that she had a song we could sing with the children, so that took up the rest of the lesson.

It's great that your DD has been doing so well at school so far, bananas. I think there's too much emphasis placed on grades here (DD1 has had grades for individual subjects since the first year), too much comparison and the children are often under a lot of pressure (DD1 was very upset about how many 2s she got in her 2nd year). DD2 hasn't started getting grades yet, but they do get a stamp if they do good work and she was very upset when she got her first tick (not as good as a stamp) recently!

You should join us on the fledgling flyers thread! Everyone is very encouraging and I find it very motivating. It also means you can unsubscribe to all Flylady's e-mails as everything you need is posted on the thread (I think I had over 1000 unread messages at one point...). You should come back too admylin - there are only two of us on the continent now!

We're leaving on 27th (after my prenatal booking in appointment here in the UK) for a start on 31st. We're going to drive so we have a car when we're there. We've given up on the camping aspect as it looks just as expensive as renting really.
We're trying to sort all the paperwork out currently. I hate filling out forms.

bananas - sorry to hear about your dd. It must be really worrying. Hopefully the Beraterin will be able to suggest some strategies to help.

bebe - really pleased to hear you´ve given up on the idea of camping. I didn´t realise you were pregnant - when is the baby due?

Linzer - glad the lesson went well. A song is alwyas a good time filler, although I´ve got a terrible singing voice, so always hope none of the other teachers can hear me.

Hi All,

Happy new year to all and especially to Bebe, who is in the midst of a big move.

I'm new to the Frankfurt/Kronberg area as my husband and I moved here only last week! What used to be our little one is now a whopping 8kg 7-month old, so things are a little challenging to say the least.

If any of you are in the area and are interested in meeting up, do let me know!

welcome neverbeenthere!! hope your move went smoothly! I'm in the north of Bayern so not that far from you but still 2 hours away at least! Are you or your dh german? how are you finding it?

Bebe - i'm no use to answer any of your questions but can still remember how stressful it was to move (and i wasnt pregnant!!) so can give you lots of moral support!

Bananas - life with your dd sounds hard at the mo! Did she go to school today? there is so much pressure on the dc here from such a young age but she needs to find ways to manage it as the pressure just keeps increasing! But it sounds like the school are being supportive which is great!

Linzer - cant believe your semesterferien comes round so quickly - the bayern kids arent off till the 7th March!!! Easter seems to cause problems every year - why cant it be on a fixed date!

Hupa - glad you had a good holiday! I'm not a fan of these early mornings either but its not been so bad this week since i've been home every morning!

Ok - i need a big moan!!! My hand in the plaster is driving me mad! its a nightmare to look after the house and cook etc with just my left hand!! I've got my finger and thumb free but i can only just about lift a bit of paper with them - anything heavier and it hurts! But to add to all this, the heaviest period i've had in months started yesterday and i've got the runs!!!!!!! MMMMMOOOOOAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!

(ok moan over - just a pathetic attempt for sympathy! dh doesnt do sympathy very well!!)

oh and sorry for way TMI!!

hi canella! we did a road trip to and around Bavaria and it was cool - you are in a great place :) if you should come our way let me know :)

Dh is German, I am British! So far so good as his parents are lovely and helped us A LOT in getting the new house ready. We need to babyproof it though! :)

I am sorry to hear about your physical woes - and don't worry, if anyone understands those types of aches and pains it is us women! Maybe you can get some part time help in while you convalesce?

Make sure you drink lots of water for the runs! It might make you feel bloated due to the Ms but trust me, it helps a lot!

Thanks everyone, last week I was feeling blissfully ignorant of all the troubles, and just imagined packing and going...hahahahaha sometimes I forget that it's not like moving from state to state, but rather whole new countries!! and all the lovely minute details that entails. (some day I'll learn)

Canella, sorry to hear abt you feeling so terrible :( When I hurt my foot a while back I was trying desperately to still do everything that needed to be done while chasing a 20m. In the end I needed to just let the house go...

Hope everyone's school days went well.

I feel terribly guilty, my little Moo sits in front of the TV or plays by herself while Dh and I make calls, fill forms, and do research on the web :( Poor girl when we get to Germany I'll run her around loads.

Hi Never and welcome! So are you actually in Kronberg? I went there on our school exchange a couple of times (it's now twinned with my home town in Wales too) and loved it; I think that's where I fell in love with Germany and the German language. I'd love to go back there, but unfortunately I've lost touch with the family I stayed with - and it's also quite a distance from us (we're in Austria). Maybe some day!

Canella Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time at the moment; you really seem to have had more than your fair share of bad luck recently. I can't imagine only being able to use my left hand; how much longer will you have to have the plaster for?

bebe All the paperwork can be a bit of a nightmare, can't it? Still, only a few weeks to go and then hopefully it will all be worth it (and nothing wrong with a bit of benign neglect in the meantime! I'm all for children learning how to entertain themselves, and it's not as if you've abandoned her - you're still there if she needs you.)

been to the hausarzt this morning (that was all the advice from A&E) who kindly gave me a nice clean banadage and obviously a referral for the fracture clinic type place! But I was told i'd need the plaster on for at least 2 weeks so i'm not going to go till next week.

Not feeling quite as miserable this morning - the flood of the first 2 days of my period is gone (sorry again for TMI!!) and my tummy has settled down! good start to my new year weight loss tho!

Neverbeen - I've not organised any help and my IL's have just gone on holiday for 3 months!! how rude!
glad your dh is german - as Bebe is probably realising it just makes life easier for someone native to organise things! how's your german?

Bebe - dont worry about your dc - they'll be fine! i agree with Linzer - a little benign neglect once in a while makes them stronger!

hi neverbeen! I am sure you are glad the move is over. How is the settling in going? I had to google Kronberg to see where it was in Germany.

bebe- it´s not long now, soon the boxes will go and it will feel good to be getting on. I did a big move (from germany to uk) when pregnant and it was good not to have to lift anything heavy but also frustrating to wait for other people to do it for me.Take it easy. How old is your dd? If she is anything like mine, she might be begging you to move more often so she can watch more tv! I am sure she will be fine. Are you intending on having your baby in the UK? Just wondering because she are booking in there...

canella - good to hear you are feeling a bit better today. It must be hard with only one hand. Hope the children and dh are helping a bit

Thanks for the sympathy on my daughter. She went today, tearful but fine in the end. I spent over an hour standing outside school talking to 2 other parents which was very therapeutic. They think the teacher is very ambitious (in comparison with other teachers their older children have had) and how that has affected their children. They also said that they often let their children stay home many days if they can see it is all a bit much for them. It´s making me wonder whether we should also take that approach at times. I just have a fear that if we do that it will be a slippery slope, but of course that is more a fear than a reality. I dunno. In any case, I agree there is pressure (dd also gets the stamps!) and she has to somehow manage it and also manage her ambition. I spoke the the class teacher yesterday after school and they have decided to get the school psychologist involved so am keen to hear what a professional has to say about it all....I feel relieved that there is help on the way!

And the house is still a mess....not sure I am brave enough to join a thread on housework yet! I shall lurk a bit :)

have a good day all!

We're due end(ish) of August. It's very exciting, however being ill all the time is not conductive to getting things done. The joys of pregnancy.

Canella- glad you're feeling a little better I always said that pregnancy was my best weight-loss tactic :( barring that the flu.

I need to organise some German ASAP. I've bought Moo some kiddy German vocab books which I've been looking at too hoping to at least be able to recognise some words when we go.

Oh, I forgot to ask those of you in Germany, do you know if they're offering the flu jab there to pregnant ladies? I called my surgery and they have none left so you have to call all the pharmacies yourself to see if anyone has them...wondering if it's something (more) I need to do here, or if I can just ask for it when we get there.

banana-so glad this morning went better for you. Hopefully it'll continue to get better day by day and the psychologist can help.

We're technically back before dc2 is due (should be back end of July), so I need to book in here...but I'm going to end up with pretty much all the prenatal care in Germany. But one never knows with babes when they'll decide to show up, so I thought it wisest to do it that way. Hopefully that works out .