Schenk ein den Wein - as autumn comes to Germany and Austria

[LinzerTorte]

Der Nebel steigt, es fällt das Laub;
schenk ein den Wein, den holden!
Wir wollen uns den grauen Tag
vergolden, ja vergolden!

A thread for all those living in Germany and Austria, and anyone else who would like to chat.

Always good to have an excuse to open some , and this poem seemed quite appropriate!

I dont know that part of Germany but love your excitement (and the dc)! How old are they? When will you be moving? Is it with the army? Do you get any idea of how long you will stay? (thats too many questions!!sorry!)

DC are 7, 5 and 18 months and they haven't told us yet when we'll be moving. It should be for at least two years but you never know with the military! Are you up the other end of Germany?
The offer of supplies still stands if anyone needs anything - I'm sure I can handle sending stuff Deutschepost if need be!

I'm in the north of Bavaria. Miles away!!
I moved here when my 3 were roughly the same age as your 3 - its a stressful thing to do. But you're probably more used to it if your dh is in the military.
Will the eldest go to a local school or is there a school for them in the base?

Trying to persuade ds2 to have a nap - he was rubbing his eyes all thro lunch but is now having an energy surge after trying on his ninja costume for tomo. But really its cause I want a nap - this morning has been very very long.

Welcome Scootergrrrl - nice you are so excited about the move :) We are Bavaria too, my kids are 6, 4 and 6 months, so the same age gaps but a year behind you!

Did you get your nap Canella ? I went back to bed when baby napped as DH took the older two to the Mineralientage exhibition thingie in Munich to see the dinosaur and fossil exhibits - the exhibition/ trade show thing was only on for 3 days and he had been planning to take them for a couple of weeks, it wasn't specifically to let me nap lol but it came in handy! They left at 7.30am to go by train to the other side of Munich and get there when it opened, which was for the best as DS1 had a monster nap on the sofa when they got home about 2pm. DD is unstoppable though and was only home half an hour before she asked to go and call for her friend, and she was out playing til the boys and I went and dragged her home when it started getting dark.

I have all 3 asleep in bed now, big 2 at proper bedtime but baby a bit earlier than he has been going as he came over all over tired, so I hope he won't start the day at 4am again tomorrow, I can function but can't force myself to get a hustle on and get more than bare minimum housework done when I am sleep deprived, I can't help feeling I deserve to sit on the sofa and eat biscuits after a bad night or ultra early start!

Awake again at some stupid hour!!grrrrrr!! Hope your dc sleep later this morning 5more. sounds like they'll have been exhausted after they're day out.

So remember all the talk a few weeks ago about there being no headlice in germany..... Well dd has them and has given them to me!!!!!!!!!!
Spent hours yesterday going thro her hair with the nit comb then started on my own. As some of you know I have a massive amount of curly hair - its not been an easy task with a nit comb. But I got thro it all when it was wet and went to bed with olive oil in my hair. Will be straight at the chemist this morning. Was contemplating going to the hairdresser next week but cant do that so wonder if I might just lop loads of it myself? Have slept so badly thinking they're in there - I've never ever had them before. Any tips very welcome!

Nope, 4.40am here canella - and baby up almost hourly before that too, yay! :( It's a good job he's so cute as he's largely given up sleep...

ds1 responded to threats and went back to bed, but baby wasn't sleepy and by 5.45am everyone was wide awake so we all got up...

Still I've done 2 loads of washing already...

Sorry to hear about the nits, eeek, can't help, they are a joy still awaiting us I suspect!

Hi all, we got back early Sunday morning. Brought a stomach bug back with me so am recovering slowly. Dc made it to school this morning and dh back to work so we're getting back into routine. will be back later - off to lie down with a my hot water bottle.

Hi Admylin - glad to see you back. But for the tummy bug but I'm sure thats always a risk when you travel east. Hope it goes awake quickly.

5more - oh no! Not another early morning. When is it going to stop????

Went to the chemist and bought Nyda for our lice. Been thro dd's hair this morning and cant find any of the little buggers but think i'll use the stuff on her tonight anyway. And will definitely be using it on my own hair.

Wow, are you back already admylin? That went fast. Hope you recover soon.

Sorry about the nits, Canella. That's terrible. I hope you don't have to cut all your hair off.

Hope you got some sleep 5more. S has been waking up for more night feeds lately and I am struggling to function too.

Hello scootergrrrl. I hope you have a really smooth move to Gut!

Hi everyone. Been back from the UK a week now, but haven't got round to posting.

Sorry to hear about people's early wake-ups. DD is a very early riser in summer, but does better with the dark mornings in winter. (She'll probably wake at 5 tomorrow, though, after me writing that!)

Hope your trip went well, admylin and that your tummy bug doesn't last long. I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

Hello scootergrrrl. I've no idea where Gutersloh is, so presumably not near here (Thuringia). We're driving over to the UK after Christmas, so can stock up ourselves, but thanks for the offer .

I decided to potty train this weekend (yesterday was a public holiday here) and have sent DD to kiga in pants. I mentioned it to the teacher on Friday, but didn't manage to tell her this morning as she likes the drop-off to be as quick as possible. WIBU? (DD will wee if taken to the loo, but has failed so far to announce the need to go in advance).

Hi everyone - I hope you all managed to sleep a bit longer this morning.

admylin I hope you´re feeling a bit better today. I´m really looking forward to hearing about your trip.

canella How´s the nit removal going? The only thing I would say is to keep combing through with a nit comb every day for at least a week. I thought I must have killed or removed everything, only to find a few baby lice crawling through my hair a couple of days later.

silken How did dd get on today? Dd was a complete nightmare to train because she just wasn´t interested. Once she decided she wanted to do it, she was dry within a couple of days.

scootergrrrl hope your move goes well. We´ve just got back from England, so are well stocked up at the minute, but thank you for the offer.

Morning.... 5.30 start today - better than 4.40 yesterday or 3.30am on Monday I guess, though it would be easier if it weren't coupled with 5 or 6 night waking too! It's just a phase...

Silken how did your dd do at Kiga without nappy? Are you still sending her nappy-less? What did the teacher say? As kids start Kiga at 3 here I never had that particular potty training issue, but I am of the wait til they are ready and it's no bother opinion like hupa - after a couple of false starts when they weren't ready, both dd and ds1 initiated potty training themselves, and we just ditched the nappies on thier say so and each only had a couple of accidents - ds1 even did nights at the same time, he looked confused when I tried to put a night nappy on him and told me "I don't wear nappies", so I chanced it, expecting a wet bed, and he was dry - in fact he has only wet the bed twice in his life. He was 2.9 when he ditched nappies, so not especially young but I think it was worth waiting, dd was 2.6 (but kept the night nappies another year).

hupa and 5more DD was fine at kiga and was still wearing the same clothes when I picked her up. She's got good control over weeing when taken to the potty and they are taken regularly at kiga as part of their approach to potty training. After we got home, though, things went downhill and she didn't manage any more wees on the potty. I don't really know whether I'm doing the right thing, but I just can't imagine DD suddenly deciding to do it off her own bat. What have other people's experiences been?

(Oh, and she came into our room at precisely 5am this morning, so I'm never writing anything like that again .)

Silken - well done on her staying dry the whole day at kiga!! Its can be a tricky thing all this potty training but I agree with the others - she'll probably just one day get it. At the start of it I used to take mine to the toilet/potty every 15 mins and make it fun then gradually stretch it to 30 mins then 45 and so on. Once they are doing it I used bribery - we had toilet sweets for a long time. Had a bag of gummibears that hung in a bag on the window sill and if they went they got one. Not perfect parenting but it did the job. Your dd is still young yet - she'll get there. But ignore any German MIL chat that your dh was dry at 11 months!

Oh 5more - these early mornings are rotten - you have all my sympathy. It'll get better (i hope!).

hupa - how's your ds getting on at school? Did he want to go back after the holidays? We're off this week and ds1 is loving not having to get dressed so early.

Weather yesterday and today has been rubbish - not proper rain - just like a scottish "dreich" day. So we're off to the big soft play place this morning - its a 50 min drive but it'll be worth it to tire them out. Maybe they might even sleep tomo till after 6am.......

Oh and the nit/lice removal is going good - still combing lots (good advice hupa) but havent seen any since Monday. Think that Nyda stuff killed them all. My head is still itchy occasionally which makes me paranoid but have heard it can itch for a week after like when a mosquito bites you. Will be doing another big conditoned comb thro this eve - my hairs never been so soft!

Speaking of bites, we're covered in them! Especially the 2 dc. It's not malaria season so we weren't too worried but after a few days we put the dc under a mosquito net at night time.

Did anyone tell you the habit of washing all the bedding and freezing the teddy bears when you have nits canella? We once had a German girl staying in UK with her small dd. She discovered nits on her dd shortly after arrival and insisted on washing all bedding and put her dd's bedtime Kuscheltier in a bag in the freezer. My parents felt so sorry for the dd going to bed without her toy.

I've still got tummy troubles. Dh asked his doctor at work and he said up to a week is normal. I'm managing to eat thin porridge made with water but can't face anything else.

I was a failed potty trainer. Ds wa sin nappies until 4 and dd copied everything her big bro did so she kept hers until she was 3! I also had sweets to bribe them. I had to warm the potty under hot water to get ds to place his delicate bum on it. Did I say I have sensetive dc?

Aw Admylin that sounds like a nasty bug you've got - will post you some of Linzer's DVD's tomo to give you something to do. Can you manage to eat some of those part baked rolls? They always sort me out. I bake them in the oven then eat them warm with nothing on. More appetising than watery porridge. Get well soon.

Have heard of the freezer thing but I put all the dc's bed bears in the washing machine (even tho the boys dont have nits!). But that was 2 days ago and 2 of them are still not dry.

Canella I have been using a sticker chart, but had wondered about switching to using gummibears as I think that might be more motivating for DD. How long did you keep taking your dc to the toilet before they starting telling you they needed to go? That's really the only thing DD still needs to learn, but I don't know whether to just take her to the potty when I see her doing the "wee dance" or let her decide if she needs to go or not and accept the inevitable accidents as learning opportunities .
Have fun at TT-Land, if that's where you're going. I hope we'll make it there one of these days, since you say it's so good!

admylin freezing kills moth eggs (we had a plague of clothes moths in our last flat ), so maybe there's something in that? But do nits hang around anywhere that isn't hair?
Sorry to hear that your tummy bug is hanging around. DH usually puts himself or me on a drip when we get these things . Seems to sort us out pretty quickly! Here's a cup of Magen- .

Good luck with the potty training, sounds as if you're doing it right to me silken!

Dh just rang to tell me some sad news, our nephew died in Texas - he had 2 small dc, so sad.

Dh told me to buy yoghurt to eat tonight to try and get our Magen back to normal. Slightly better this afternoon but have no appetite just thinking about nephews poor wife, quite young, just finished uni.

Really sorry to hear that admylin. It's so sad.

So sorry to hear about your nephew, Admylin. That's really sad news.

Hope the tummy bugs & nit infestations clear up soon & that the sleep & potty training efforts are a success.

Not much to report from here - velcro baby still spends all day clinging to me but he has started sleeping in his cot for a few hours at a time at night. I'm really enjoying the daytime cuddles so can't complain and the sling I ordered has been a lifesaver. After beating another huge blocked duct (a quarter of my breast!), bf was going really well, although I now seem to have developed a painful infection in one nipple - ouch! The midwife has given me various lotions & potions to deal with it so hopefully it will clear up soon.

Only 2 days until my parents arrive! DH's parents are coming down for the day on Sunday too, which will be nice. Our mothers are completely and utterly in love with each other so with a new baby to bond over they will spend the day in their own mutual appreciation society which means I'll even, possibly, hopefully, get to enjoy a hot cup of tea! :)

I hope everyone's well!

admylin I´m really sorry to hear about your nephew. It´s always particularly sad when young children are left behind.
How´s your stomach today? Apparently plain boiled rice is meant to really help. I always turn to marmite on toast and find that helps. Surely anything must be better than porridge made with water.

silken I must admit I´ve forgotten what I did with my dc, but I think at the start it´s fine to remind/ask them about going to the toilet. I´d see how it goes for a week and then see how she gets on without reminders. Ds was like 5mores and was dry day and night straight away much to the annoyance of dd who was older and still needed nappies at night until she was nearly 6.

Canella Ds is getting on really well at school, but we all enjoyed having a lie in during the Herbstferien. He´s actually much happier since he´s started school which is a relief. During his last year of Kiga he was such a whingy/stroppy boy which i thought was just his personality, but now think was linked to how much he disliked Kiga. How´s your ds getting on?

Sorry to hear about your nephew, admylin. Has his wife got plenty of support from family and friends over there? I'm sure you wish you could be there to offer help anyhow .

DD had one accident yesterday at kiga (presumably in the morning), but was there longer than usual as they had Oma- und Opa-Tag. MIL said while she was there she asked DD several times whether she needed to go and left it to her to decide; she finally said yes, dragged Omi off to the loo and performed perfectly. So progress of sorts, but asking her doesn't seem to work at home in the afternoons, she just ignores the question or changes the subject.

Later Sorry crossed posts. Hope you have a lovely time with your parents.

So sorry to hear about your nephew, admylin - so sad, and even more so when there are young DC left behind.

silken Glad you're making progress with the potty training. I think if your DD is actually using the toilet (i.e. not refusing to) and only having one accident all morning, then you're on the right road and things will sort themselves out before too long - like hupa says, reminding/asking her if she needs to go is fine at the start.

We had an absolute nightmare with DD1; she just refused point blank to use the potty/toilet and was the only child still in nappies at KiGa. We tried all kinds of bribery but DH hit on the only one that worked - only children in pants were allowed to help decorate the Christmas tree! She was out of nappies from one day to the next - a week before her fourth birthday.

Later Hope you have a lovely time with your parents. How nice that your mother and MIL get on so well. I'm not sure whether the fact that mine can't communicate with each other (DH's parents speak no English, mine no German) is a good thing or not!

Canella Would you like any more DVDs? I've just counted and I have 18 that I could send you!

We had a great time in London and got back late last night. I think the DC have just got to the right age for it as they didn't complain much about all the walking we did, and were so excited to see all the sights. DD1 has to do her first Referat at school this semester and she's decided to talk about London, so she has to make a poster about it.

Have had a lovely morning with coco and her gorgeous DS, and am now about to make a start on the unpacking... paying for an extra bag on our return flight was definitely worth it!