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!

morning!! yip i've been out already this morning - i just find it easier to go out straight after i drop off the boys at the bus stop - glad you've been out too linzer!! especially after so little sleep. I'm not surprised that your dh is disorientated - he gets about!! But you musnt feel silly running - no-one is probably looking at you but the leafy streets also seem like a nice place to run if their quiet. I only ever run in the forest (since its at the end of the street) and never meet another person ever.

My legs are also aching today - but thats maybe cause i've been doing C25K and then shred straight after!!!!!!! and i did shred yesterday too - everything is actually sore but especially my legs. But i want need to lose at least half a stone if not a stone so all that exercise combined with the myfitnesspal app on my ipod should help me on my way.

silken - i also wouldnt be finding time to run if i had a 22m dc at home - i only find the time while they are all at kiga. Is she ready for kiga? are you ready for her to go? When will she start?

bananamad - hope your feeling better. Glad all is ok with the baby - with my first i was about 26 weeks before it really showed i was pregnant but i then only ever had a football type bump so maybe you wont balloon like you think you will. But what happens to your body when your pregnant - you dont have much control over so you just need to go with the flow! Did you find out the sex of the baby? I loved my 20w scans - you can just see so much detail - fascinating!

Got to go later to register dd at the gymnasium. She's excited about going but cant make up her mind about whether she wants to go to the Ganztagschule or not. I really think she should since she'll have access to so many opportunites in the Pause - ie music, sport, drama which are not as easy to access for us since we live in the sticks. She'll also have time to do her homework but she says she's heard that she'll still have a lot of homework to do in the evening too. Think i've managed to persuade her to try it for the first 6 months and she can always change back. Any thoughts?

Hi Everyone - wow at all the running going on, very impressive!

Canella I hope your exam result comes through better than you expected, it is always hard to judge how a written exam has gone I think - well done on the oral mark anyway!

Banana glad to hear your 20 week scan was all good news despite the food poisoning!

DH and the in-laws have taken the kids to Bayern park for the day (special treat and a day off Kindergarten) and Henry and I are sitting in the garden at home in the sun (well he's not sitting, being 2 weeks old, he's lying asleep in the shade) Lovely, except that next door's rat tiny dog has just started yapping away as close to our hedge as it can get - touch wood it doesn't seem to be bothering him yet... He is a very chilled baby actually, much more so than the older 2 were as babies - I am sure he will become more demanding soon, but for now he seems to sleep an awful lot, both day and night, like other people claimed newborns do and my first 2 never did, especially DD who clearly never read the books on newborn behaviour whilst in the womb and was awake and alert for hours on end right from day 1! He also feeds an awful lot and at the midwife's last visit was well above his birth weight - she won't be coming again as there really isn't much point, though you are entitled to a huge number of midwife home visits under the health insurance!

Hope everyone else is enjoying the sun, sorry I am a bit out of touch atm and have probably missed commenting on major things from further back on the thread!

Hi everyone! Oh my goodness, we got back from Denmark two weeks ago and I'm still not back to normal. House has imploded, stuff everywhere, ds18 had his final (oral) exam and did very well, ds15 still struggling through the 9th class but it looks like he'll make it. Vacation was lovely and restfull and I got to watch the wedding on CNN so all was well.

Far too much exercise going on here! I plan to do some myself this evening on the elliptical trainer if I can get myself organized and finish all the stuff I need to do today.

Hope everyone's well - nice reading about new babies! I'll have to go back and read all the new posts later.

Linzer - i wont be running today - had hoped to fit it in before i went to meet a friend for a cuppa but i've woken up with a shocking sore throat (thanks ds1)!!!! Can hardly swallow my saliva so dont think running is the best plan! Will try to fit it in over the weekend instead.

Sorry its a post and run - need to get up and get going!

Hope you're feeling better soon Canella - it definitely sounds like a good idea to skip the running today. I've just got back from my run and am very proud of myself for finishing the first week. I spent too much on my new running shoes to allow myself to give up, though; I have to see it through to the end now!

Sounds like you had a lovely time in Denmark, westvan. We thought about going there (to Copenhagen and Legoland) next month, but the flights alone would have been ridiculously expensive and we didn't realise quite how far from Copenhagen Lego actually is.

2and1 I hope Henry continues being an easy baby for as long as possible! FWIW DD2 was my (only) low-maintenance baby and she stayed easy well into the second year; it was only when she was about 1.5 that things started going downhill (she was and still is the worst for temper tantrums).

I need to go and buy a new bike tomorrow as my old one has given up the ghost; I've really missed it this week, as it would have been perfect cycling weather. I may borrow DD1's old scooter to pick up the girls from school, as they've taken their scooters today - so much quicker than walking, but I do feel a bit silly.

I used to pick the dc up on a scooter when they were in Year 1 Linzer, so much faster than walking. Hope you find a nice bike. I'm still thinking about getting one -the old one is going to cost too much to fix. I've seen really cheap offers for bikes at the moment too and I'd only need it for quick trips here and there (no long distance cycling around the country) so think one of those would do me.

Hi westvan, glad your holiday was good, did you get your boys to watch the wedding too or did you just have that day to yourself?

Canella, hope you feel better soon. How many days of the Shred workout did you do? Either I'm doing it wrong or I'm not as unfit as I thought as I'm finding it too easy on level 1 but you're meant to do it for 10 days. Just been for my asthma check up and they want to send me to another doctor to do another lung check, too much doctor for my liking. I never go to the doctor so I'll have to think about the neccesity of it.

Morning all!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoyed slightly nicer weather than we did here. Saying that, DH was away for the weekend so all slobbed out on the sofa - my leg tanning plans ready for the summer were somewhat scuppered by all the rain.

Canella Hope you're feeling better! Did you get your DD signed up for the Gymnasium? Sounds like the ganztag system has a lot to offer. Is she your eldest? I bet it's a weird feeling.

Linzer Did you get a new bike in the end?

How are all the fitness programmes going? I feel I could do with raising my fitness levels somewhat but as I was fairly inactive before the pregnancy the Dr wasn't too keen on the idea. Another cream cake it is then.... :)

I've spent the morning battling with various German officials on the phone (rental agency, dr's surgery etc) - it really is like banging your head against a brick wall sometimes!
I spoke to someone at the local equivalent of the DVLA, I knew exactly what I wanted, just wanted confirmation and where I need to go with all my documents once I have them and was on the phone arguing for 15 minutes. I then had to phone the DVLA in Swansea, had no idea what I wanted but had sorted it all and paid for it in 4 minutes!!!

Time for a cup of tea I think!

The weather wasn't great here at the weekend either. A friend of DH's and his two children came to visit yesterday, and DH was planning on having a barbecue but it didn't stop raining all day, so they went to the Haus des Meeres in Vienna instead. I stayed at home and worked; there wouldn't have been room for all of us in one car if I'd gone too, and I wasn't desperate to go anyway.

At least I got a chance to try out my new bike before the rain started. I only had a choice of two or three as I wanted one with a Rücktrittsbremse (it took me ages to get used to being able to brake by pedalling backwards, but now I can't imagine not being able to do so!) and it wasn't exactly cheap, but at least I saved 20% as the sports shop had a sale on. I wanted to buy some running gear too, but the prices were extortionate so I've ordered a few things online from the UK instead.

Hope you're feeling better today Canella and can get back to C25k soon. I'm on Week 2 now and got a stitch on my first run - I think I must have overdone the brisk warmup walk! Other than that, I didn't find it much more tiring than Wk 1.

admylin My leg was killing me after picking up the DDs on the scooter on Friday - it was far more exhausting than going running! The scooter was so noisy and the handlebar wouldn't stay up either; I'm very glad I have a bike again.

Banana I really don't like speaking German on the phone to officials either, and usually delegate it to DH - I don't feel too guilty about it though, as I always used to make all the phone calls when we lived in the UK and USA.

Anyway, must get on; the entire morning was taken up with C25k and then coffee at a friend's, so I'm very behind with everything - I haven't even unloaded the dishwasher yet. At least I have an extra 1.5 hours to myself on Mondays while the DDs are at their piano lesson and before we pick up DS.

Afternoon! after a very rough weekend I am finally on the mend! Haven't had a sore throat like that in a long time - had my tonsils out when I was about 20 and it was similar to that kind of sore throat - coudnt even swallow my own saliva without it being awful. But thankfully after friday night, the fever stopped so was able to get out and about and managed to eat a little bit if the ibuprofen kicked in. Hope no-one else in the family gets it especially since a friend from the UK is coming on thursday. Too excited about that.

Bananamad - I havent experienced the german officials - I always get dh to sort it out but i do listen to him moaning about it. Glad you got some of it sorted. You dont need to worry about your fitness levels - preganancy is the ideal time to keep healthy with some walking but not feel compelled to do anymore. I registered dd at the ganztagschule (after much deliberation). Yes she's my eldest dc so its all new to me.

Admylin - have you sorted out an appt for the other doctor yet? I sometimes think here they are over happy to refer you to another doctor - think they probably get some pay for it. But if it gets your asthma well controlled then I would go if i was you. I also find level 1 of shred quite light - i also wondered how long i was supposed to keep going before moving up a level? going to go out running this eve while the boys are at sport then do shred after and think i'll move up a level tomorrow.

Linzer - how's the running going? i've obviously not been out since last week but will get back on track this week.

Westvan - glad you had a good time on your holiday.

We still havent organised our August holiday - originally wanted to go to Sued Tyrol but cant find any decent accom on the internet so the choice is between Kaernten in Austria or Slovenia. I feel slovenia is a bit of a random holiday destination - has anyone been? Any advice would be gratefully taken!

sorry x post linzer - glad you've been out and glad you got a new bike! Enjoy that extra time today!

Canella, good that your throat is better and sorry no help with holiday planning as I'm the world worst planner! Never been to Slovenia either. Are you having a trip back to UK with the dc this year?

Linzer hope you enjoy the new bike! I'm not a fan of the Rüücktrittbremse here. Both dc have got bikes without it too.

Bananmed, sometimes it's awful on the phone here isn't it. I can manage it now but I remember getting really fed up and frustrated with nasty people who I couldn't answer back to or stick up for myself to due to language. Are you getting a German Führerschein?

My iron broke yesterday so went out and got a cheap deal to replace it - I'm not prepared or in the mood to buy good stuff as we are on a 9 month contract now and then dh still has high hopes for the Canada job or any other permenant academic job anywhere in the world!

Not sure I want to go to the Lung check up programme thing that the doctor wants to sign me up for. They want to cause an allergy to start my asthma (controlled) but I can't really see the point when I know it's dust and pollen that I'm allergic to. I also know that the emergency medication works so no need to test that either..

Ds will be 13 next weekend. He doesn't want a party so we'll just go out for a meal but he also doesn't know what he wants as a present. Have to think of something soon.

Hello, sorry haven't caught up for ages but ds2 has been feeding like a demon. Hope the weather is ok for you all. It has just finished snowing again here. That's enough of that I think! I've looked at that C25K podcast and will probably start it when we get back from holiday. A friend has invited me to a baby and me spin class tomorrow so might try that! Wish me luck. Hope all sore throats and lurginess clear up really quickly!

Glad you're starting to feel better now Canella; how did the run go yesterday evening? I don't know Slovenia at all (or even anyone who's been there - everyone here seems to go to either Croatia or Italy), but Kärnten is lovely; we've spent a few long weekends there.

admylin Can you get out of the lung check-up? I wish I'd never had the Lungenfunktionstest (not when I had a bad cough, at least) as the doctor was then convinced I had all kinds of problems. I really didn't have much confidence in her anyway though, and have decided to stop taking DS to see her. We'll stick with the specialist paed for the time being, as the medicines he prescribed have finally helped to get DS's coughing under control.

jenny You must be glad to see the back of the snow; it seems to have gone on for ages. Where are you going on holiday? Hope the spin class went well!

xxx hope you're all well xxx

Good days and bad days here, but we're managing ok even with the bad (because I just stop trying so hard to keep 'doing' and relax now) :)
Have got the nesting 'need' and have nothing proper to do so I'm feeling frustrated. Going to look for some sort of baby sewing project I think; or maybe I could weave up a blanket...tho I already own lots of woven blankets.

Hope everyone who's been ill is well and the new babies are joys and the exercising is going well. (I've still not put on any weight in this pregnancy and have definitely managed to lose some of the way extra fat I was carrying around- all while eating healthy (most days)! which makes me very pleased :) )

Canella Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better! It's awful when the lurgy hits, isn't it.

Jenny I can't believe the snow is only just clearing where you are! That must have been one long winter.

Admylin When do you think you'll find out about the Canada job? It sounds very exciting but I bet it's a little frustrating not knowing where you'll be in a few months time.

I'm swapping my UK license for a German one as the photo runs out on my UK one next month and it just seems like less hassle (touch wood) to get a German one as I no longer have a UK address. I did learn a nifty piece of vocab though which might come in handy for anyone else who does the same:
Karteikartenabschrift The lady in the German Führerschein office was happy to tell me that I need one, but not what it might be. So after a lot of googling, dictionary searching and random guesses I tried to describe what I thought it might be to the lady at the DVLA in Swansea and it turns out the English equivalent is Certificate of Entitlement

I'm now off to the Dr's to get some insurance forms sorted. This week is the week of bureaucracy! I find it really helps build my confidence speaking German though, I've even started to used words like 'irritiert' and 'genervt' when arguing with people on the phone, something I don't think I'd ever do in English!

Very good words Bananamed, irritiert and genervt could come up quite often! Never heard of that Schein either and everywhere I've read about changing over Führerscheine it sounds so easy. It's on my long list of things to do actually as I still have my UK old scraggy pink piece of folded paper ohne photo.

Bebe, did you ever meet up with any English speaking mums and toddlers? How is dh's work going? Shame you can't satisfy your nesting urges - could you substitute with shopping for cute baby clothes?

Linzer, yes I think i can just drop out of the asthma programme, I really don't fancy the allergy induced asthma just so they can get some measurements for their statistics or study!

Jenny hope you get warmer weather soon. How has it been getting out and about with new born in depths of winter weather?

Having one of those days today. I hate cooking and tidying up the kitchen, fed up of it and nothing I have cooked today tastes as it should - I would bin it all but then I'd have to cook again to feed the lot of them. Why can't we just not eat today? Anyway, atleast we've found a present for ds's 13th birthday - he's getting a new mobile touchscreen style like all his mates have. Ordered this morning and hope it comes by the weekend.

Admylin- no in the end they had no more places available in the play group and I've not found any others really. But Moo and I find ourselves out at the parks playing and we try to have a picnic somewhere once a week. And when I'm not able to walk we just sit and watch movies and have carpet picnics in the house or on the balcony.

As for nesting, I would buy things if 1) I had the room to bring them back home and 2) I needed anything, sadly I don't have either. :(

Dh is terribly bored at work. They keep taking away things for him to do because other people cannot keep to the deadlines so other bits of the work aren't going to be finished in time so they need to cut back on what's supposed to be done by when. When he finishes things ahead of schedule they say how quick and efficient he is, but he's told me he spends so much time surfing the net it's a joke. But when he finishes a job it takes them ages to get him anything new to do again... He says it's very silly overall and the system he's working on is ancient and inefficient and really needs to be redone (but in typical fashion if it were re-done than people would be out of jobs because you wouldn't need so many people working on it...)
They've asked him to stay on and since we've no other prospects he's going to, but he said that we had to go home after this bit so I could have the baby so for 2 months they're going to allow him to work from London (still not ideal as then he'll actually be gone during the weeks again leaving me and Moo and dc2 -when born- by ourselves), but after that we need to return... neither one of us feel this is ideal; but we have no other options and so shall do what needs to be done. Our only hope is something manages to come up in the next month before he signs the new contract.
I'm trying not to think abt it because it stresses and worries me. If we come back here we're going to look for a house to rent rather than apartment as it's just no good like this.

Bebe, I can really sympathise. Wouldn't it be great to have a permenant job and a nice little house somewhere!! It sounds good that you can come back to UK atleast for a couple of months and then if you do have to come to Germany (if nothing better comes up) you can plan towards it. Also if they really want him to come back he has the card sin his hand and can maybe get a better deal with relocation compensation and insurance thrown in!

I've stopped trying to settle as dh has just been given another 9 months then we have to hope he either gets a permenant offer after that and we stay put. Anyhow he's applying for jobs the whole time (permenant ones) as he can't be sure this one will work out. He keeps mentioning Texas and there are a few jobs there for him but I hated the climate there when we went to visit. Not sure what the CAnadian climate would be like (Manitoba) but he hope to get news of that job at the end of May.

Your DH's work situation sounds very frustrating bebe - and an additional source of stress that you don't need at the moment. I hope everything works out for the best, anyway.

Sounds like you have a lot of bureaucracy to deal with at the moment, Banana. I?d never heard of Karteikartenabschrift either, and would just have assumed it meant a copy of an index card. It took me ages to get round to swapping my British licence for an Austrian one ? despite the fact that DH told me no Austrian policeman would believe my GB licence was valid as a) it had no photo on it, b) it still had my (parents') Welsh address, and c) it had been scribbled on by DS. Once I?d finally got some new passport photos, it was all quite straightforward though ? I just had to fill in a form and take it to the local Bezirkshauptmannschaft along with my British licence and photos. I was sent a new Austrian licence a few days later, although then had to send it back as they realised it entitled me to drive lorries of up to 12 tonnes rather than "just" 7.5 tonnes. (DH thinks it?s hysterical that I?m allowed to drive tractors and 7.5 tonne trucks; they asked me at the BH whether I?d taken all the tests on the same day.)

admylin That sounds like a good present; I?d love a smartphone too. Oh well, only another five more until my birthday.

DH has just said, "Mami [aargh!], ich hab schon Durst, ich verdurste!" so must go before he expires of thirst. Although I should probably wait until he's asked in English.

Lol Linzer, when my 2 were smaller if they asked something in German I always repeated it in English just to make sure!

Ds just came home with a 1 in English Klassenarbeit - the only one in his class (there's another English boy in his class too but he doesn't get good grades) and a Turkish boy got a 3 and was saying 'that's it I'm grounded and no more computer until the summer holidays' - for a 3?? I'm never that strict. Do you go mad when the dc get a bad grade? It's maybe a method of a sort but I usually try to just go back and re-do the test with them to make sure they've understood it.

Bebe Sorry to hear about your DH's work and that things aren't going so well. When are you off back to the UK to have the baby? I agree with Admylin - if you do decide to come back your DH may be in a better position to negociate health insurance, relocation costs etc, which might mean that things go more smoothly next time (if that is what you decide to do). I have my fingers crossed that it all works out for you.

Admylin Congratulations to DS on the 1! The punishments the other boy was worried about for his 3 do sound a little harsh to me, but ask me again when this baby is in school and I might see things differently :)
(And by the way - just grab a few takeaway menus, sod the cooking for one day!)

Linzer Your story about the 12 tonne lorries made me laugh! Did your son survive his bout of dehydration?!

It seems swapping a UK license for a German one is fairly straightforward as long as you have the relevant documents, it was just getting the woman to confirm the details and tell me where to take them which was the problem. Some people really do like to make you work hard for tidbits of information, don't they!
I think most of the bureaucracy is sorted for now - it only piles up all at once as I'm so lazy the rest of the time.

admylin Yes, if the DC speak German to me, I'll usually repeat what they wanted to say in English or occasionally ask them how they'd say it in English. It's only DS who really speaks much German to me, but the DDs quite often German words in their English sentences.

Well done to your DS on his 1! Punishing a child for getting a 3 seems very harsh to me; I don't think it's that bad a grade either. DD1 got a 3 in her last SU-Test (the one on the Romans) and it never crossed our mind to punish her; she did loads of revision for it too. We've always told her that as long as she does her best, that's the most important thing. OTOH I don't agree with giving presents/money for good grades either, but I'm learning to pick my battles with my ILs and am focusing on sweets rather than Zeugnisgeld!

Banana Hope you get your new driving licence soon. The only document I needed here was my old UK licence, which I was quite glad to see the back of as it was taking up far too much room in my purse! I found all the information I needed about swapping my licence on the Internet, which was far easier than having to phone anyone up (esp. for someone like me who doesn't like using the phone anyway), but sometimes there's just no way round it.

Strangely enough, DS didn't die of thirst by having to wait an extra minute or two for his drink while I finished writing my last post! I took them all to the playground after we'd picked up DD1 from her computer class, which has hopefully tired them out. DH is out this evening so I really want to have them all in bed by 7 (it's been more like 8 recently and they've been ridiculously tired in the mornings) so that I can enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet. I really don't want to leave the tidying up until they're all in bed either, so must get off MN and make a start on it.

Congratulations on getting the Behoerdengaenge done! That's always such a relief! A 1 in a test is also fantastic!

Sorry about your husband's job not being secure bebe. We have felt the same since we've been in the US as our visa is linked to the job. If he loses it, we have about a month to leave (still don't have a green card). I hope you can negotiate a better deal when you come back. You will also have a new gorgeous bundle in your arms!

I guess Manitoba's climate is a bit like ours: long, cold, snowy winters and short hot summers, but with probably more snowfall. Dh is a bit fed up that his plants are not even thriving in pots (can't plant until the snow has gone from Black Butte, local legend has it). We didn't go out much at all for the first couple of months with ds2 but have tried to make the most of the sunshine when it's come!

Got to express some milk so I can go to my Spanish class this evening. Apologies if I have missed anyone.

Oh I'd love to learn Spanish Jenny. It's another thing on my list of things to do!

What sort of computer class is it that your dd goes to Linzer? I remember reading somewhere that learning touch typing on PC can be good for mild dyslexia. I have 2 programmes for dd to try out so we'll see if it helps. Anyway, if not I do know that later in school they can use computer and a correction programme to work on their spellings so won't be a bad thing f she can type quickly.

Well off to finish the wine before bed. Got a very nice Bordeaux on the way back from picking dh from work and we've just had the whole bottle!

Evening everyone - I have name changed from 2and1ontheway as somebody pointed out the 1 is no longer on the way!

Sorry I am still hopelessly not caught up!

Bebe I hope your DH can at least get health insurance for all of you properly included with his new contract if you do have to come back, and you can rent a house with a garden - will be a lot nicer with children as you say.

Linzer I always make DS ask me in English if he has slipped German in or forgotten to switch if he has just been speaking German to DD or a friend- its just the same as he has to say please! He is used to it. I don't think DD has ever spoken German to me except when her friends are 'round and she wants them to understand what she is saying to me - I wonder if its because my German is undoubtedly worse than yours (and also nobody at KiGa would understand the kids if they spoke English) that they don't often come out with the "wrong" language. On the same note DS and I ran into an English speaker we know slightly today and she spoke to him in English - he replied in English but when I mentioned the meeting to DH over dinner DS English he insisted she hadn't spoken English! I don't think at 3.5 he even notices what language he is speaking!

Baby Henry is continuing to be a fairly "good" baby but is definitely more awake and alert now - obviously a good thing, but he is also having a growth spurt I think and wants to feed loads and doesn't know when he is full and literally overflows! I handed him to DH half an hour ago as when he is on me he is constantly looking for milk and won't doze off, and he wasn't wanting to lie down on his own (as in without lying on somebody).

Glad the pregnancies sound as if they are going well, and glad Jenny's snow has finally gone! Really will catch up properly soon!