Frühlingserwachen - spring finally seems to have arrived in Germany and Austria...

[LinzerTorte]

... or at least I hope so.

For everyone in Germany and Austria, and anyone else who would like to chat!

Well, it turned out that the OP's DH had been posting under her name a lot - and not just on that thread - but it was all very suspicious (esp. the way her writing style suddenly changed). It was my own fault for clicking on active convos; if I stick to the threads I'm on, I can only waste a limited amount of time on here!

I think it needs to be well over 20° here for children to stop wearing hats - DD1's bobble hat is a bit over-the-top admittedly, even for here. The girls' piano teacher was laughing at them a couple of weeks ago, when it was another warm and sunny day; DD1 was dressed up in all her winter gear as usual and DD2 was just wearing a top and skirt.

admylin How can an English shop not have marmite? They must have had a run on it after a lot of people realised that theirs was out of date.

Banana What languages do you translate from? My MA was theoretically in French and German, but I only took the German courses as I'd always preferred German to French (although I did use French in my first job).

hupa The bee sting sounds nasty - I've only ever been stung by a wasp, and also when I was little, but I've heard that bee stings can be much worse.

How can I be back on here again? I'm working my way through my morning list, but only very slowly - I wonder why.

Ah I'm feeling so much less guilty now that there are others still on here, avoiding housework etc :)

Admylin Where DOES the dust come from? We have the same problem here. I can dust, hoover, wipe, polish for hours on end and 10 mins later, there is a new layer covering everything and mocking me with its potato-growing thickness!

Hupa Ouch! Bee stings are nasty - I remember my little brother sitting on a bee by accident when he was little. He screamed for hours, bless him. Actually this is the same brother who is now in his mid 20s, built like a house, Mr Sarcastic, yet runs a mile screaming like my 5 year old niece when a bee/wasp has the cheek to fly within a few metres of him. I know it's cruel to laugh, but.... (sudden realisation that I am a terrible sister!)

Linzer Same! My MA was in French and German, and although I used French a lot in my first job, I've been quite slack with it since then and am nowhere near the level needed to translate into French. Into English wouldn't be such a problem I guess, but I'm sticking with the German for now and am hoping to pick the French up again gradually as I go along. Thank heavens for TV5!

Another one still sitting here.
The sting was really painful for about an hour. It was between 2 fingers as I´d accidently grabbed the bee in my hand when weeding. I probably looked ridiculous jumping up and down shaking my hand because the bee was still stuck to my hand until dh came to the rescue. He then poured vinegar over it because it´s meant to help, but unless I get stung again and don´t use vinegar I can´t really say how much it did/didn´t help.

I've heard the vinager one before! Ds used to be given a cool pack thing from the kindergarten fridge (that's where he always got stung).

Lol at the shop selling out of marmite because of everyone checking their sell by dates! Wonder if there are a few more Hannoverians lurking on here...There seems to be loads of you in Austria and around Munich now.

OK, off to do some tidying up. Would like to do something with our balcony but not sure what yet, it's big enough for a smallish table and 3 or 4 chairs that we still have to buy. Looks as if Dänische Bettenlager has a good choice, any other ideas where to look?

Am now having a coffee break (I have been getting on with other things in between MNing, honestly!). Still no sign of any work, thank goodness, although the agency I mainly work for tend not to send me jobs until around midday - just as the DC are starting to come home from school.

Banana I used to actually prefer working with French - I used to check translations against the French/German original, and French was far easier as I didn't have to spend hours scouring the page for the verb! However, I've completely lost confidence in my French now and can't imagine translating from it again. Do you translate into German as well, then? I only ever translate into English (translating into German seems like too much hard work! plus most agencies will only send you jobs into your native language).

hupa Will have to remember about the vinegar if one of us ever gets stung by a bee. There have been so many wasps around the last few summers that I'm surprised we haven't been stung yet.

admylin I bet we have loads of lurkers. 99% of our furniture is from Ikea so I don't really know anywhere else to recommend, but we've had a few bits and pieces from Dänisches Bettenlager and it's definitely far easier to negotiate (and get to) than Ikea.

Aargh, have just realised I forgot to put water into the coffee maker before switching it on - that's another coffee machine that will probably give up the ghost before too much longer.

Good idea thanks Linzer, didn't think to check ikea for balcony/garden chairs and tables.

Hope your coffee machine survives!

A friend of mine lives near Hannover - I bet she's lurking! (She has two DC and will definitely know who she is as I give far too much away about myself on here.) Next time I'm in touch with her, I shall casually ask whether she's bought any marmite recently (I know she likes it).

My inbox has stopped pulsating when I have a message - most disappointing! (It only did it for about a morning.) I think the fact that I can get excited about wine glass emoticons and pulsating inboxes is probably a sign that I spend too much time on here.

Well, the coffee maker is still OK at the moment - but I quite often switch it on without any water in it, and we're onto about our fourth model now. My MIL OTOH has exactly the same coffee maker and still has the one she originally bought, so I'm assuming the fact that ours don't last very long is probably my fault!

Well I've polished and hoovered the flat, think it's definitely time for a bit more MN!

Linzer I'm still doing the course, I'm not actually translating properly yet. The course is 50-50 German-English so I translate both ways at the moment, but am much more confident translating into English. I think once I start looking for freelance work it will be the same as you, translating into the native language. I did a fair bit of unofficial translation work in my old job (translating powerpoint presentations, emails, user procedures into En, Fr, De etc) but nothing that would officially class me as a translator yet.

Hupa I'm sure my dad used to tell me it was vinegar for wasp stings and bicarbonate of soda for bee stings. Something to do with wasp stings being alkaline and bee stings being acidic. I'm now doubting that memory though!

Just had to make a mad dash to the kitchen as the smell of burning toast turned out to be the smell of my burning toast.

I think we've all been there with the coffee machine! I thought I had solved the problem when I treated myself to a Senseo, but the amount of times I've forgotten to put a pad in, or not closed the lid properly so the kitchen walls have had a good wash. I'm sure DH thinks I'm doing it on purpose sometimes!

morning all!!
tsk tsk looks like you lot have been slacking this morning and spending way too much time on here!! shocking!!

hupa - i made the ouch face when i read about your bee sting - wonder if they are worse than wasp stings? have seen loads of really big bees around the last few days! will remember the vinegar thing! people sometimes use onions round here for wasp stings - not sure if it works!

admylin - also think ikea might be a good place! or do you have xxxl furniture shops or is it just a Bayern shop? how far is Goettingen away from Hannover - will that not be a really long day for him? dh has applied for a place at some conference in Chicago - wish i could go with him but then wonder if it would be a bit dull wandering round on my own all day! Will just store it up as brownie points that he got to go for when i want to go away!!

linzer - too funny that you're dd is out in her winter clothes!! i had to surgically remove ds1's warm woolly hat from him the other day! but the weather is tricky - its still quite cool first thing in the morning but it quickly warms up!! ds1 was actually sweating yesterday!!! but he did have a vest, long arm tshirt, cardigan and gillet on!!! and it was 17 degrees!

feeling a bit grumpy this morning (and yesterday!). Could not be bothered with the swimming lesson - going twice a week is turning into a proper hassle! but think i'm grumpy and a bit miserable cause i'm missing speaking to dd! i've never gone this long without contact with her - never imagined before she went that it would be me i'd need to worry about! thought she'd be homesick but i'm dd-sick! but she's back tomorrow! Think i might give my german lesson a miss so that i can be here for her coming back!

aw, canella, sorry to read that. Not long to go now. I would miss a german class to be there for dd! Esp if it is hard going and you need a break from it. Is it a new group and teacher? It makes such a difference to have a good group and teacher. Put the TV on for a couple of hours and call it your german listening comprehension exercise - on German tv channel that is.

dh goes to conferences but he sees it as work so I do not get any brownie points for it. good that you do!

hupa- hope your sting is better, sounds sore. I have only been stung once - trod on it, never found out whether a bee or a wasp but it was on a beach in Spain, didn´t think those things had much to do on a stretch of sand.

Jealous of balconies and gardens...hope you get some nice furniture admylin.

MN has caused me some embarrassment just now. Searching for the 32 yr old granny thread (because I saw it mentioned above) I stumbled on the frying pan and silly things Mn have done thread. I was laughing away when the phone rang and without thinking I picked it up. It was someone to invite me for a job interview and my head was in the wrong place...she sounded a bit concerned by the end of the phone call. The job is in Baden, Linzer....be on bananasananas alert! And I heard on the radio that the good weather is not to last...so your dd might need to keep that hat on after all.

Right, off to pick the little ones up and take them to the Kinderarzt. I hate that place, takes ages, and don´t have a particularly good rapport with the dr. But dentist suggested we take dd1 because she breathes through her mouth and that is damageing her teeth and ds is a bit knocked kneed.

Oh dear, bananas - but at least they still invited you to the interview! I hate it when people phone and catch me off guard; it's worst when the DC are around as they're constantly trying to talk to me and ask who I'm on the phone to, which doesn't give a very good impression if it's a work-related phone call!
Yes, I also heard that it's supposed to be getting much colder at the weekend; I despair of ever being able to put DD1's winter clothes away (22°, and she's still wearing her bobble hat).
I didn't realise that breathing through your mouth damages your teeth. I'm sure I breathe through my mouth more than my nose, but don't have any dental problems.

Canella I'm sure you can't wait to have your DD home again; not long to go now.
I used to get very fed up of taking the DC swimming too. I really should start taking them again as DD1 is the only one who can swim well, but I'm not sure if I can face it! Will probably wait until the summer when the Strandbad is open, as it's only a few minutes' walk from us.

Banana I feel a bit better about the coffee maker now, knowing I'm not the only one! (And at least we have about the cheapest one you can get.)
It sounds like you have quite a lot of translation experience already, which is always good on the CV (esp. when combined with your translation qualification).

Have finally persuaded DD1 to turn the TV off so must help her revise for her test on the Romans now. I'll be very glad when it's out of the way!

Hello, haven't been on here for ages as just get through reading everybody's posts then S wants feeding again. Wish I could get ds1 to wear a jumper, never mind coat, hat and gloves. It's not made it above 44F here in weeks! He's also struggling with the baby and asked me to take him back to the hospital today.

Hope everyone is ok and is having a great evening. Has anyone followed any of the Goethe Institut courses? I looked at an online one and wondered if any of you had any experience of them (not necessarily online).

DD1 has just got back from the neighbours and has announced that their oldest DD (8) is getting a mountain bike for Easter and the middle DD (5) some Nintendo games. I don't think a chocolate egg is going to cut it somehow.

Jenny Sorry to hear that your DS1 is struggling with the new arrival - he's the middle one, isn't he? They call them Sandwich-Kinder here (actually, they may well call them sandwich children in English but I've no experience of having a middle one in an English-speaking country!) and I do think that middle ones don't always have an easy time - they've never had your sole attention like the oldest child, but often don't have very long as the baby of the family either. I'm sure that DD2 felt like she'd been usurped as she reverted to babyhood after DS was born - she often said she wanted to be a baby again, would talk in baby speak, is the only one to suck her thumb, etc. Despite being a very easy baby, she's definitely the most temperamental of the three now and I sometimes wonder whether she ever left the terrible twos behind! I wish I had some advice for you, but I still struggle with her behaviour sometimes (although I don't think she's jealous of DS any more). OTOH she and DS get on so well now that he's a bit older and it's lovely to see them play together; they're actually quite similar personality-wise.

I don't have any experience of the Goethe-Institut either, I'm afraid - what kind of course are you thinking of doing?

I haven't lived in Germany for 13 years or even been to a German speaking country since pregnant with ds1 4 years ago so wanted to brush up on some skills. In all honesty I am trying to distract myself from the fact that dh's visa renewal application does not seem to have been received by immigration and it runs out next week. We really don't want him to be here illegally as that would screw up the green card application, not that we've decided to stay forever. I don't want to be here on my own either as they have received mine and dc1 and 2's application and ds2's US passport has not arrived yet. The situation is a bit hairy! Sorry for the me me me post. Just a little agitated!

Sorry about the Easter egg escalation!

That all sounds a little scary Jenny - do you know what you'll do if he doesn't have a new visa next week? Is he allowed to leave the country while he's applying for a green card? (I know a friend of mine wasn't.)

The lawyer seems to think that the application has been received as the cheque has been cashed. I'm still not 100% convinced and feel quite unsettled at the moment.
Yes ds 1 is the middle one and spent a lot of the day trying to hit or kick the baby, alternated with kissing him. I hope it's a phase he quickly grows out of.

tadjennyp, that does sound like stress if they have cashed the cheque but they are leaving it so late to say yes or no. It's one of the handfull of things that scares me every time dh gets a job application going for the US. He's been in contact with scientists this week at a conference and has talked non-stop about Houston, Texas...would be a hard life in that climate and then health insurance and visa worries on top. I'm quite happy to stay put at the moment!

How much age difference is there between baby and ds? Mine were 16 months apart but had no problems, dd's first word was her brothers name, she followed his every move as a baby and laughed her head off when he came next to her. NOt that they don't fight now of course, wish they would go back to being tots again!

Linzer, yep even a bag of cadbury's eggs can't top a mountain bike! I've got mine marzipan shaped like fruit and a small marzipan rabbit and some chocolate eggs and rabbit, that's enough.

BananasAnanas how did the doctor visit go? Can you change doctors?
Canella, I bet you're counting the minutes today! It'll take ages or does every time I'm getting one of my dc back! Hope they give then their mobiles on the bus to let you know exactly when they arrive so you can be there.

I hope it's all sorted out soon Jenny - have they actually told you that they haven't received the application?
I'm sure it is just a phase with your DS; it's really not that long since the baby arrived so he must be getting used to the new situation. As everyone kept telling me, they'll have great fun in a couple of years when they can start playing together properly - I know that must feel like ages away at the moment, though. How is your DD reacting?

admylin A 16 month age gap must have been hard work for you, although I've heard it's great for the children - they virtually grow up together and there's often less jealousy than there would be with a bigger age gap. We often get comments about our DC being close together but to me, a 2/2.5 year age gap seems about average.

It's another lovely sunny day here - thank goodness, as the washing seems to be never-ending at the moment (DS's bed was wet again this morning).
Have just remembered I was supposed (on DH's request) to be doing some last-minute revision with DD1 in the car on the way to school, as she kept getting Patrizier, Plebejer and Proletarier mixed up, but completely forgot in the usual morning rush. Oh well, too late now!

tadjennyp - wow your life is a bit stressful at the mo!!! hope it all gets sorted out soon! the thing with the dc will sort itself out but it takes time!! i'm another one with a short age gap between dc (22 months between ds's) and although there were times when it was hard it, the good times def make up for it - sometimes its nearly like having twins!

linzer - yeah i think there might be some moaning at easter in your house!! not sure what the story is at ours - my IL's come back next week so wonder if they'll keep some africa presents back for easter? have learned just to let them do what they want with presents - cant be bothered to argue!

bananas - how funny about mn getting you in bother on the phone!!! hope the interview goes well!! how did the kinderarzt go?

well admylin - you're right i am counting the minutes till she's home!! she doesnt even have a mobile with her to let me know when she'll be back! but i took her and a friend to the school on monday and the friends parents are picking them up so will have to wait that extra half hour till they get back to the village!! too excited tho! going out to breakfast with a friend tho to destract myself!

but need to tell you about my weird time at the spielplatz yesterday - its our village one and there were a lot of dc there and quite a few parents. Then one of the little boys parents dad's turned up to meet the mum there and they just started full on snogging in the park!! And then kind of didnt stop - they were there together for about 30 mins and could not keep their hands off each other the whole time!! i was dead uncomfortable!! didnt say anything but then as we were walking home was laughing about it to one of the other mums!! do you not think thats a bit full on?

Morning!

Canella hope you and your daughter have a lovely reunion this morning and she has had a great time away!

hupla ouch at the bee sting - last time I was stung by a bee was in my teens, on a car journey in summer wearing shorts and my leg where the sting was got hugely swollen - it was pretty painful!

Linzer a mountain bike or computer games for Easter is crazy! So that's Christmas, Easter and Birthdays all requiring big presents! I am glad that doesn't seem to be a tradition locally to us! It is hard on kids if they see all their friends getting big presents and they only get a choc egg though, so I can see it could feel mean both to you and them to be the only family not going the present route - eek though!

jenny I am rather dreading that possible phase when my baby arrives - we have a roughly similar age gap to you from soon to be middle DS, I do think small age gaps are actually easier, for all some mums make a big deal of "2 in nappies" or 2 under 2 or whatever. I could leave DD alone with DS while I quickly popped to the loo when she was 24 months and he was newborn, but am less certain I will be able to leave DS (3.5) in a room alone with the new baby! I am not sure it's middle child so much as the age gap, I guess the reason doesn't matter in the end! Hope your DS's feelings about his little brother even out soon! We visited a friend with 10 month old twins yesterday afternoon and DS was great with the babies, esp the boy who he really took to (he was very conscientious about not letting the little boy near toys with small parts and swapping them out for chunky baby toys, whilst explaining to the 10 month old why he was doing that!) however it is a whole different thing when the baby takes over your house and mummy's attention long term I know!

I have kept both DCs home this morning as DS has a hacking cough and keeps thinking he is going to be sick - DD could have gone to KiGa really as she only has a slight cold, but it didn't seem worth making her go on her own tbh - lazy! It is only KiGa though, won't be an option when she starts school in Sept! She has a birthday party to go to this afternoon anyway - a really long one from 3-6.30pm, so she won't be stewing at home all day.

I really should do some cleaning and laundry but seem to have fallen into the kids' duvet day mode - it is nice to have them home but being peaceful, they are usually very loud whether they are fighting or playing happily!

Canella blimey at those parents! That is very full on - I have never seen anything like that in our village, maybe they had a huge fight and were making up...?

That is a bit weird, Canella - if they've got a little boy, they must have been together quite a few years at least, so should be well past that stage by now! (And 30 minutes of public snogging is a bit much in any case, no matter how long you've been together. At the playground too. ) I wonder what the German equivalent of "get a room" is.

I'm also thinking of giving up with my ILs as far as presents and pocket money are concerned; it's not worth the effort as they're never going to change. I'm not quite ready to give in on the sweets just yet, though!

2and1 Hope your DS is better soon; DS often gets awful coughs that make him sick. Yes, I think age gaps make as much of a difference as position in the family - and then there's personality as well, of course. I can only just start to imagine leaving DS (4.5) in a room alone with a baby, but there are not going to be any more babies in this house so that shouldn't be too much of an issue!

oh jenny, hope it gets sorted, fingers crossed. How do you hear that is has been renewed - post? As for little ones fighting, it will pass of course but it does not make it any easier for you at the moment. Does distracting him work? I keep meaning to get that Sibling Rivalry book that is often recommended on MN- anyone got it?

canella - in the village spielpltz?!?!?! wow. Did the children say anything? We passed a full on snogging couple last week and the dc stared and stared, told dh all about it and dd2 wanted to kiss me "Like those people on the street" at bedtime. Reminds me of those hilarious signs in swimming pools in the Uk which said " no running, no jumping, etc....and no petting". Know what I mean? Maybe you should get one of those for the spielplatz?

linzer- you´ve got a tough one there. Easter eggs versus mountain bikes and nintendos...hmmm. What are youg going to do? Billa sticker 143 in my purse too. I am not sure about breathing through mouth and damage to teeth either. The dentist suggested it, but the thing is that dd1´s teeth are shattered. Dentists we have seen say they do not know why, maybe because she took antibiotics when little or she could just been born like that. Luckily the other 2 dc have better teeth.

dr visit was okay, thanks. We had to wait for an hour in a really hot room - dc decided to play football - luckily it was a soft ball and nothing was broken. dd and ds referred to ETN specialist and ds is fine at the moment but should see the orthopaedist before we get him winter shoes in a few months. So, more drs to see.

I´m off to pick up a bike for dd later today. Got it second hand as do not see the point of spending a fortune on a bike which only gets used to go to the park or for short trips. Until ds is a bit older I can´t see us doing long bike rides.

Oh, and Herr Sigrid invited me for an interview too. So next week I have two interviews and the university entrance exam. I am breeeeeeeeeeeeathing deeeeply.

Have a good weekend all!

bananas What I am going to do is turn back time and insist that the DC only ever have a bit of chocolate (and some sweets, if the ILs really really must) for Easter but no big presents. Even without the neighbours though, it's too late - my PIL giving them bikes etc for Easter four or five yeras ago was the thin end of the wedge. DD1 has already written to the Easter bunny (it really is like Christmas, but with a rabbit instead of the Christ child bringing the presents) asking for an Aquaplay thingy costing over ?100! (Just googled it to check the spelling and the first thing that came up was an Osterhasen Set...)

Great news re Herr Sigrid; here's a link just for you.

LOL linzer- I shall copy that out 100 times (like doing lines at school) and take it into my interview!

Gosh, really is like christmas. I hope your strategy works.

I hasten to add that the bike is dd´s birthday present from October 2009 - we saw no point in getting her one as winter was approaching, somehow never got round to it last spring or summer so finally poor deprived child is getting one.

House cleaned, fridge full, off to explore the suburbs to find the bike.

hope you joined the children under the duvet 2and1 and that they get better soon.