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!

I went to IKEA about 2 weeks ago on a Saturday and it was utter madness. Luckily they have those self serve scanners if you´ve only got a few items, so I didn´t have to queue to long.

Linzer - thanks for the explanation for the mousse - very interesting, but still unappetising.

bananas - I think you asked about recepies for Christmas biscuits. I´m afraid I just google Plätzchen (maybe in Austria they have a different word)and it comes up with thousands of recepies. Needless to say I still haven´t bought anything and we´re meant to be baking tomorrow.

I´ve been doing some supply this week because so many teachers are off ill. Mind you half the children were coughing like mad, so it probably won´t be long before I´m ill aswell.

admylin - have you tried out the drive in Real supermarket yet? There´s a Real in Kassel which isn´t too far away, so I´m hoping the Hannover one will be successful and then they might try it in other stores?

We managed to find bargain Christmas crackers in TK Maxx the other day which was great as they´re usually impossible to find in Germany.

Oh, very good news about the TK Maxx as I've noticed one has opened in Hannover. Westvan, number one on our shops to visit list on Wednesday? Have you been in it yet?

Quite alot of teachers are ill at school, my dc have had loads of lessons cancelled an donly a few with Vertretung teachers. The German teacher has been ill for 2 weeks now.

How old is your DD, admylin? DD1 seems very childlike and innocent compared to most of her friends; even some of DD2's friends are into Hannah Montana (Henna Montenna) and the like. One of DD1's friends asked her not long ago if she liked Justin Bieber, but DD1 didn't have a clue who he was.

Are you a teacher then, hupa? DH was ridiculously excited to find Christmas crackers at M&S, but they probably weren't such a bargain as the TK Maxx ones - not that we have TK Maxx in Austria anyway, I don't think.

Linzer - yes I´m a teacher although I usually only do a couple of hours a week at the local Grundschule. In Hessen we have something called Unterrichtsgarantie plus which means all lessons will always be covered and children won´t be sent home, have free lessons etc. You don´t necessarily have to be a teacher to do this, but some experience with teaching/education is obviously an advantage.

I find with TK Maxx there is an awful lot of rubbish with a few gems hidden in between. Lots of the brands in Kassel were from the UK.

Do you teach a particular subject hupa, or is it all supply teaching? I vaguely remember hearing that you weren't allowed to teach in Germany if you weren't German but maybe that's very out of date/incorrect information. Perhaps it was just that you had to have studied in Germany to teach there.

I think the closest we have to TK Maxx in Austria is kik (what annoys me about kik is that you pay higher prices in Austria than in Germany) - not much point point looking in there for Christmas crackers though, as it's a German company. Although you never know, they may well make it here eventually - I heard a while ago that the Christkind is gradually being driven out by the Weihnachtsmann, much to the annoyance of some Austrians.

The snow is coming down thick and fast here now, so DH has taken the sledge to go and pick up the girls from school. DD1 has to go to her Lernstunde this afternoon but thankfully DH has said he'll take her, as I really don't fancy driving in this weather.

Linzer - I tend to mainly do a bit of English or this week I´ve done some Christmas activities.
My qualifications would be recognised, but I would also have to have the großes deutches Sprachdiplom before I could officially work as a teacher. This is why the supply job is ideal- I don´t need the diplom and still get to keep my hand in at teaching.

admy..we used to try that out as kids too...Father Christmas and then the Spanish tradition of the Three Kings bringing presents on the 6 Jan!!! I guess it was easier for ma parents to decide how to do it because parents and UK family presents were opened on the 25th and the Spanish family came over on the 6th to celebrate and brought presents. I mean, Mum and Dad did not buy 2 sets of presents.

what is kik? Must go and google that ...give me something to do as stil sitting at the computer at the AMS course. Oh and Plätzchen recipes too...

Had to laugh at Henna Montenna...my DC are singing "shingle bells" and "we wish you a heppi christmas" -argh.

Still snowing,I know snow is snow but I much preferred it in Finland. The country is built for it - my favourite snow item was in the kindergarten where they had a "hot fridge" (as we called it)...it looked like a fridge but it was hot air in there, all the clothes would go in there and dry ever so quickly. And it had a special section for gloves. Wonderful! Plus I loved watching the kindergarten staff brush off the snow from the kids as they came in from playing...with a big brush that is used for cars here.

bananas, we live centrally too, so everything's pretty much here - but it drives me mad having to go into 20 different shops. In fact, having to go food shopping pretty much every day seems to be the norm.

What I would give for a Boots! And Tesco/Sainsbury's/M&S. We haven't made it to Bratislava yet... think I will go when db is a bit older, it just seems too stressful at the mo. Likewise with Ikea - we've been meaning to go for ages but sort of lose the will to live when we start thinking about it.

Christmas crackers... I usually get them at Bobby's, but last year I found them somewhere else - damn it, where was it...? Hmmm. Must rack brain.

This is kik, bananas - mainly cheap(ish) clothes but quite a lot of other "non-food" items as well. I've bought clothes for the DC from there but am not keen on a lot of their designs. You can occasionally find something nice/worth buying, but it takes a lot of looking!

Snow in Finland sounds wonderful. It's quite a winter wonderland here now; ideal snowman-making conditions! I wouldn't be surprised if DH decides to build one when he gets back.

The DC are always annoying me by singing heppy birsday, although they're perfectly capable of switching to a British accent. Helloween is another one that grates, but I've probably moaned about it on this thread before.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Bobby's - DH occasionally goes past it if he has to go to the TU. They have Christmas crackers at the Christ Church Advent bazaar too, but they're very expensive; we bought some one year but won't overly impressed with the quality.

I would avoid Ikea until after Christmas at least. The Wien Nord one is supposed to be much quieter (although smaller too, I think) but it's the wrong side of the city for us. Which district do you live in, whatever?

Right, DD2 is now being entertained by CBeebies so I really must get back to work.

Well, we made it back and it wasn't crowded at all. Couldn't believe it. We got a new office type chair for ds14 because his old one was falling apart, plus a few bits and pieces. The kids both have tiny bedrooms (what were we thinking when we bought this house?) and it's hard to find furniture that doesn't overwhelm everything. Ds17 says the only solution he can see is to move out!

I've been into the TK Maxx in Hannover a couple of times for a quick look. Haven't explored everything yet. Real Christmas crackers would be wonderful. We'll have to look for those, Admysteltoe.

The Kiks I've been to have been very cheap-ish but dh did buy a couple of pairs of jeans there once that were OK.

Oh, and I just heard that Primark is meant to be coming to Hannover some time in 2011. Are they any good?

Primark are supposed to be very cheap but not great quality. I've never been, though - there are virtually no decent shops where my parents live. It's easier for us to get to M&S here than in the UK.

Another day at the computer... DD2 and DS are at the neighbours' and DH has taken DD1 to Baumax. It has finally stopped snowing but is apparently very cold outside (I haven't ventured out yet). Hope you're all having good weekends.

What is Baumax Linzer? A Baumarkt? What needs fixing?

My 2 have tiny rooms aswell Westvan, so really only a bed, desk, shelf and chest of drawers fit in there. They realyl need more storage for clothes but I put some of their stuff in my wardrobe. We have such a waste of space in our bedroom, it's too big.

I'm pleased with my Stadtteil today. There is a shopping area at the centre of it with a mini Kaufhaus and a few chain store shops like Kik, Rossmann, Edeka, Netto, MacGeiz, Teddy and Aldi and also 2 Lidls - one at each end of the town so can get everything within walking distance, there's also a Fressnapf and a Dänische Bettenlager. So I managed to get ds a pair of boots in the Kaufhaus shoeshop and then some stuff at the Turkish shop and all the toiletries for dh to take on his trip to Berlin, only problem was on the way back the bakery had closed at 1pm as it had sold out!

Have aching arms today from clearing the snow on our slope, it was packed solid and the ground isn't even so the shovel kept hitting a tile. Took me over an hour to clear the drive but I can get my car out atleast. Dh is bringing a bag of sand and grit today for future use.

Yes, Baumax is a big DIY store like Bauhaus and Obi (if you have either of those in Germany). I'm not sure what DH actually went for, but it was 25% off Christmas decorations today so they came back with a big lantern type thing for outdoors and also a snow saucers for DD1.

Love the name MacGeiz btw - I've never heard of it before. So they actually manage to write it all as one word? Everyone here seems to be convinced that surnames starting with Mc or Mac should be written separately, e.g. Mc Donald. (I think I may have complained on here before about people calling McDonald's Mäccy - I've also discovered that their children's magazine is called Mäccy too. Aargh!)

I've just had a welcome break from work, as a friend of DD2's arrived an hour or so ago (to stay the night) and her mum came in for a coffee. DH is now outside in the snow with all the children (I think they're sledging down the slope in the neighbours' garden) so I'd better make the most of the peace and quiet and get back to work.

Hi all,

my sil is here with her 2 dc atm (aged 15 months and 3) so I've not had much time.... Dd is poorly AGAIN - this time she has some sort of tongue infection which is really painful, she can't close her mouth, barely eat or drink and her beloved dummy is almost impossible, so she's just whimpering in pain constantly :(

DN ear drum burst last night, so I was at emergency doc am with dd then emergency childrens dep in hospital last night

Starting to panic, as have now done no prep at all for CHristmas. My sil would be a brilliant help, but her dd is really demanding wanting constant entertaining, and her ds isa total nightmare into (literally) every drawer, you can't take your eyes off him for a second, so the house is rather going in the wrong direction....

Is anyone else prepared?

I dunno what to do exactly regardiing decorating the house, as all our decorations really were hanging from the curtain rails and here we have none. Is anyone else festive yet?

I am going to make some crackers, but i think that's as far as it goes.

Ad, love the name. Is it a new one or the same as last year? Your poor arms must be killing you, I had to clear snow and mine were aching, but I didn't have the additional challenge of slopes and uneven surfaces. Hope you don't end up with one giant arm :)

Ds got his Schulaufgabe Note in English on Friday, he got a 1, so am now going to have to sort out the meeting with the Schulleitung. His teacher told me at the parents evening that she doesn't make him do the lessons, he just sits and reads a book under the table, and depending on his mark, she wants to de register him from English. I said I would prefer he actually did something, eg instead of filling in the gaps in 'the - is on the -' maybe he could write an essay/letter etc, as he needs to improve his written work. I even offered to mark it so as not to add to her workload. Her response was that she was against him improving his written english as then he would be even better than the others I pointed out that as a native speaker, he was inevitably better than the others and always would be, but she was adamant it would only make the gap wider and he therefore shouldn't improve his written work so as not to become EVEN better than his classmates. Ho ho. So she wants to meet with the Schulleitung to request he is de-registered. I however with attend the meeting to request he is actually taught something.

On that note, can anyone suggest any books I can use for teaching English to ds or on line resources?

Phew, that was long, sorry.

Anyone going away for Christmas?

sorry not had time to read the whole thread properly but ernest you are having the crappest time at the mo!! can feel your worry/panic thro the internet!

i'm not prepared either for xmas - only got dd's presents sorted! think i'll be doing a mad dash in the next couple of weeks!

about your son's english - the teacher sounds remarkably stupid about the whole situation - he will AWLWAYS be ahead of his peers because he is a native english speaker - no amount of school lessons at his age will make his peers have anywhere near the amount of English he has!

i had some problems with my dd a few months back - think i had started another thread about it - her teacher was trying to force her to join in the class while they learned to say "my name is xxx!!".

i'll try to find you the link to the books we bought her - i photocopy the pages a few in advance and she now does them in her English lesson and we go thro them together at home. not sure her emglish teacher would even know some of the words or their meanings!!

this book

dd is 9 and is unsure of some of the words so its been a good starter. And it encourages them to write little stories of their own.

Its number 4 and i also bought number 5

Sorry to hear all the bad luck you've been having ernest. It will all settle down eventually and you won't know what's hit you!

Be really careful about your ds not joining in the English class. You plan on staying here and I think English is one of the subjects you have to take. So double, no trople check that he will be allowed to sit the exam in year 10, you have to pass it to sit the Abi I think. Germans can be so beurocratic and if he hasn't attended the number of hours required they might not make an exception higher up. Don't trust one teacher saying it'll be OK either.

One example to show you what they can be like: my dh enrolled to study in Germany when he was still Indian nationality. They said he would have to sit the German test before they would let him in. Half way through the course, his German passport came through. On the day of the exam they wouldn't let him sit the test because it is a test for foreigners! However, they still wouldn't let him enroll as they said a German has to have Abi, he had to get his MSc from India recognised as his Abi but he only managed it all with the help of a lawyer. Everyone kept turning him away. THat's only the short version, it was a mighty headache, all of it.

Also haven't got anything special done for Christmas except ordered 2 laptops as that's what the dc are getting. I don't think they need much more but guess I should try and make an effort with a tree or a few decorations!

Took dh off to The Bahnhof today for his 2 weeks in Berlin. It was so cold and blowing a snow storm I couldn't bear to go out in it so the dc didn't get further than the nearest toffee apple stand near the Bahnhof door then back in the car and directly on to the sofa under blankets. I have a really sore throat and cold coming on now so off to bed early.

I've worked virtually non-stop all weekend and am about to call it a night as I just can't concentrate any more. The end is in sight, however: I've just got 5 pages left now so should get it finished tomorrow.

ad, it's ridiculously cold at the moment here too; -11° earlier. I haven't actually ventured outside all weekend as I've been glued to the computer, but DH and the DC have been out in the snow quite a bit. I translated a recipe for toffee apples today btw! Hope your early night helped and that your cold doesn't develop.

Canella - that book looks good. I keep meaning to do more English with DD1 as her spelling is awful. Then I think that DH does so much extra work with her as it is, I don't want to give her even more on top - although she's going to need to write in English at school sooner or later, so the sooner I start the better. DD2 is much more interested in reading and writing, so her English spelling is quite good and I try to encourage her to write letters and postcards to friends and family, etc.

Ernest - sorry to hear you're not having an easy time at the moment. What a strange attitude for the teacher to take; it's almost as if she wants to hold your DS back.

We'll be in Austria for Christmas (do the school holidays start on 24th December in Germany too?) but are flying back to the UK for 10 days on the 27th.

Must go and check that DH has got the DC's shoes ready for tomorrow; they were quite excited about Nikolo coming when they went to bed.

Morning, it's got me. I'm full of cold. I have a deep voice and will probably have a bright red nose by tonight. Went back to bed for a couple of hours this morning andfeel abit better now except for a slight headache on top of all the other symptoms.

Dh phones, said it's wet and cold in Berlin, snow melted to slush. He set off to start work at 8am and no one was there. The people in the next door lab said oh that group never turns up until about 11am. He was abit mad - but I reminded him that they were always like that, party people in a party city. Work was always something that got done 'eventually' but second to the latest celebration.

I thought it was quiet on here today! Hope you're feeling better soon, ad. I've been trying to persuade Cinders to join us, but I'm not sure whether she's found us yet.

I've had a sore throat for the last few days as well but I think it's due to a lack of sleep rather than the fact that I'm actually coming down with anything (I hope). Still, the translation is virtually finished now so I'm hoping I can have an earlier night tonight. I thought I'd finished earlier but suddenly remember I still had some text for the website left to translate, clicked on the link and... it wasn't working. On top of that, the proofreader apparently has a Trojan horse and can't get online at all so it's not looking good for tomorrow's deadline.

Right, must get something done before I pick up the DDs from their piano lesson. The house has been in a bit of a state ever since I started working on this job, and I really must start to get organised for Christmas too.

Hi!

Admysteltoe - So sorry to hear you're not feeling well. What do you think about Wednesday - would it be too much? Should we leave it until next week? Just let me know.

Linzer - Wow, good for you, almost finished. How long do you have now to get it done? Schools in Germany have different holiday start times depending on the state - they try to stagger it to avoid big traffic jams and such. The last school day in Bavaria is the 23rd while here in Lower Saxony it's the 21st.

Canella - sounds like everyone's doing the mad dash this year but I read in the newspaper this morning that the stores are running out of toys and can't order more in time so I guess someone must be buying them.

Ernest - I can imagine what kind of stress you must be under. I find it unbelievable that the teacher is suggesting that you de-register your son from English class. I've never heard of it happening, actually and I can't imagine what good it would do. Seems like the teacher is just too lazy to deal with him or involve him in the class and that's pretty sad. Hope you can work out a compromise. As Admylin said, taking him out of a class could have repercussions later.

We've had a nice Nikolaus so far. I baked some small fruit cakes and hung a wrapped one on our old neighbour's door. He's always giving us produce from his garden or jars of homemade jam.

Off to the docs tomorrow to see what's what. I was sure I was having a relapse on the weekend but I feel better now so maybe it was just something I ate. Must go easy on the Christmas treats!

HI westvan, good that i've got you, I'd written 22nd down as last day of school. That makes it even more annoying that we didn't book anywhere. We could have gone away for a good couple of weeks.

I emailed you just now - I hope I feel better by Wednesday. I'm so cold, can't imagine wandering around a Christmas market in this cold, even my bones feel cold.

Nikolaus day OK so far, ds reported back that a couple of friends got nintendo ds games, dd's classmate got a new basket for her bike but my 2 seemed happy with their goodies. I always find it funny when I give them a bag of nuts and orange they really enjoy them. If I leave a bowl of oranges and nuts in the kitchen they wouldn't touch them!

I'm just checking it again to make sure - yes, first day of holidays is the 22nd according to one of those online charts. I can never remember when things are either and have to check about 5 times.

Got your e mail - will reply in a while! Stay nice and warm. At least it's thawed a bit now.