Die Kaffeestube - German and Austrian cyber Kaffee und Kuchen

[admylin]

Kaffeeklatsch for anyone in a German speaking country or interested in German, Kommt herein und setz euch!

Thanks for the answers everyone. That sounds quite encouraging. Obviously we'd get legal advice first, but it does mean that next week we will look at plots with houses we don't actually want.

I am looking forward to being settled in, and knowing people, and being part of a community in another place. But I'm not really looking forward to the move if you see what I mean. The thought of trying to settle DD into a foreign-speaking nursery also fills me with horror as she is quite shy. But I know she'll be fine once she gets used to it.

hupa yes, definitely negotiate on the kitchen price. The big furniture store we went to first couldn't give us a quote at all, as they said it would depend on the offer on at the time of purchase, which might be 40% or more discount. They (the big store) seem to have a system whereby they tell you the list price, then a discounted price, then you say "is that your best price" and they say, "well, I'll ask my supervisor" and then you get the final figure . So not so much negotiation as much as a sort of ritual .

We ended up buying our kitchen from a local specialist store who were less open to negotiation, but the salesperson wasn't offended by us asking - we did at least agree on a rounded-down final price (I suspect a better negotiator than DH would have squeezed a bit more out, but hey ho).

lifebegins is your DH German? You will definitely need a fluent speaker to deal with estate agents/the Bauamt/the notary. As far as I could tell from what I read yesterday, the Abrissgenehmigung (permission to demolish) will be part of the planning permission (Baugenehmigung). The Bauamt should be able to tell you whether the Abrissgenehmigung will be granted, but German bureaucrats seems to have an instinct for avoiding work and someone ringing up and asking to speak English/speaking broken German may just seem to them like too much hassle.

Another thing I read yesterday was a warning about some sellers offering to bypass the Grunderwerbssteuer (land purchase tax). This would be illegal.

Hello to everyone else.

Thatis good luck to your husband re the job.

40, great to see you are making the move. Good luck with all the housey stuff.

admylin, a shared garden would be awful if we shared with dog owners though!

silken, I am not sure how many friends I have with KW initials! Cba checking thorough 600! :) Can think of one off the top of my head!
I have my maiden name on there too, which with my first name makes me very easy to find, i.e. there is only one of me.
Linzer, I used to be super sociable, I think less so now. But yes, have found several old friends from school and had some really great catch ups, so Fb has been great for me.
Hope you have a nice time with your friend this weekend.

Have had a good few days, have found several wonderful play parks, DS has had a great time, have had some nice chats with some other mums, and one asked to exchange contact details so we can help each other with learning the other's language, so that's nice. Took him to a toddler music and movement class today, was good for him, he loved it, and is conked out early, bless hum! Have also found a few homes online so sent of expressions of interest, so hopefully something will come of that.

Silken Thanks for your advice. I hate haggling, so I think I better leave that to dh.

jenny I like your thinking about the kitchen. I probably do more of the cooking, but I hate it, whereas dh really enjoys it, if he has the time.

Nohun I´m really impressed that you´ve already found a group to go to. Hopefully it won´t take too long to find a new house.

We went out for our first Spargel meal of the year last night which was really delicious. I don´t think I´d ever eaten it before I moved hear, but the German obsession has definitely rubbed off on me. One part of the meal did, however, make me go . We´re not vegetarians, but dh ordered Bärlauchsuppe for starters and it came with 4 slices of crispy fried Wurst floating on the top. Admittedly it didn´t say on the menu that it was vegetarian, but it also made no mention of the Wurst.

Eeew, I'd be most annoyed if I'd received that meal, hupa, but then we are meticulous about checking in advance.

Thanks re the group. I felt very proud of myself for getting out and about, and I didn't even get lost! A good sense of direction is not something I have been blessed with! Was so worth it, DS loved it. Really hope we find a new home soon. I am aching from carrying DS all the time, I can't use my pram at all as we are on the fifth floor without a lift. I used to sling him, but not every day, and he is obviously only going to get heavier and heavier. I was awake for ages last night with throbbing legs from all the walking and carrying. He is a fab walker, but getting anywhere takes ages, as he's in and out of anything and everything, opening and shutting every single gate we pass, little monkey! And sometimes he just doesn't want to walk.

Getting my hair cut tomorrow! The hairdresser I booked with today didn't speak great English, I hope I can get across what I want! Not that I really know what I want!

Morning!

Definitely really good that you have found a group to go to No Hun, sounds like your DS is having a great time. There isn't the dog poo problem around here btw, maybe it's worse in some places than others... sometimes you see it on pavements but never on the grass, and dogs aren't allowed and don't go in the playground.

Hupa glad you enjoyed your spargel meal, I must say I don't get the anaemic asparagus thing - even DH doesn't care for it. the huts are everywhere selling the fresh stuff by the side of the road atm though.

Have to share the fact that DS2 only woke once in the night! It wasn't even a super long wake up either, just a normal one... I got him a cheapish light show a couple of days ago and I think it actually helps, when he woke up this morning (at 5.47am, which seems to be his default for some reason) he was shouting "Herrow! Mummu! Herrow! Shau!!" and pointing happily at the light stars on the ceiling :)

All the kids are up now, eating jam sandwiches for breakfast in the living room - allowing it due to being a slummy mummy (which is obviously nothing to do with the wine I drank last night) lol!

Thatis well done to your ds2! Hopefully he'll do the same or better tonight and you'll start to feel slightly more human again.

nohun glad to hear you're already managing to get out and meet people. When I first moved here we used to marvel at the "sneaky pig products" which Germans seem to find essential to add to perfectly good otherwise vegetarian dishes. I once ordered cheese dumplings in Austria and checked with the waiter that they were meat-free, then they were served with sauerkraut which had bacon bits in . Guess I shoud have asked whether that was vegetarian, too. I'd just assumed, it being a vegetable and all...

Met with our architect today. He's decided that our stainless steel sink looks crap (it does) and we should demand it be replaced. And the shower cubicles. And possibly the back door. Slowly the stressful reality that we are moving very, very soon is sinking in. And we haven't started packing yet.

Morning all!!
Had no time for posting last week but was still lurking obviously.

aaghh silken - I can feel the stress starting to build from here. But you know in a years time you'll have been in your gorgeous new house for ages and you'll have hopefully forgotten the stress of these few weeks. We built an extension in the UK and I cried lots from stress but it was very worth it in the end.

thatis - whoo hoo to your ds2! bet you felt like a new woman. Hope hes turned the not-sleeping corner!

hupa - Glad you enjoyed your meal out. I havent had any white Spargel yet this year. Think I might buy some this morning. Dh likes it but doesnt think it should ever be a main meal whereas I'd happy just eat them with some potatoes ad hollondaise sauce. But the problem with the smelly pee afterwards really annoys me. I dont know any other food that does that.
You really need to negotiate on the kitchen price - we got ours for a lot less than the list price. I hate haggling but dh just said to the kitchen guy that he didnt want to pay more than X and like silken said they'll make some fuss of going to get hte supervisor but then give you the price you want (if its in reason obv!).

nohun - good on you for getting out and about so quickly. You must be much more confident than I am! How did the hairdresser go? I'm nervous of going in Germany in case I cant explain what I want properly.
Wow 600 FB friends! I've got just over 100 and think I should have a cull. Dont like having people on there I know well from the UK but who never post. Whats the point of being on FB.

linzer - hope you had fun at dd2's communion. I always get the 2 mixed up - communion and confirmation - so sorry if i've said the wrong one. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her FB photo.

Waves to Admylin and jenny and anyone else I've missed.

Drama in our house over the weekend was dh falling down the stone stairs. Thankfully he managed to save himself a little bit but has still broken a finger. It Obviously it isnt such a big deal (dont want to think about how much worse it could have been!) but its a nightmare for him at work. He cant wash his hands properly and cant get a sterile glove on over the splint. Not sure what he's going to do for the next couple of weeks till it heals.

I was out as well when it happened - dd and I had gone clothes shopping. But shock horror she actually bought a summer dress. She normally lives in skinny jeans so this is a major step forward. Its really nice too - more of an adult style than a little girly dress. But the rest of the stuff she bought was still this 80's style - all dropped waist and strange necklines. And in very bright colours. admylin - where does your dd shop? Does she buy adult sized clothes now?

Well I'm off to tidy the house before going food shopping - life is too exciting round here!!

I didn't have much time to post last week either, what with getting ready for our friends' visit and DD2's first communion. It is a bit confusing Ploom, as the Catholics separate first communion and confirmation, which isn't until you're about 14, whereas I had my first communion at the same time as I was confirmed (CofE). We had a fab weekend and it was lovely to have time to catch up properly with my friend - we only spent a couple of hours together last time we saw each other three years ago, and hadn't seen each other for 27 years before that! All the children got on so well together too, although DS started playing up a bit towards the end; I think he enjoyed being the Hahn im Korb (my friend has four DDs)!

The first communion went well, it didn't start raining until the afternoon and it wasn't half as stressful as DD1's first communion - helped by the fact that only my PIL and DD's godmother came. DH's niece thought she might have time to come after all, but then had to go shopping for a Maturakleid on Saturday afternoon so had no time to revise on Saturday. I just can't get my head round some of these Austrian traditions; I thought she might need the dress for a class photo afterwards, but my ILs said she needed it for the first day of her exams. I was asking DH about it as I remember him saying he had a Matura suit; again, I'd assumed it was just for a photo or party afterwards and asked him jokingly whether they needed to dress up for their exams and he said yes, not for the written ones but you do for the orals. Is it the same in Germany? I just can't imagine going to buy a special dress for my A level orals!

Ploom Oh no, your poor DH. Breaking a finger must be such a pain (quite literally). I fell down the stairs once and couldn't walk for a day afterwards as my knee was so painful, but was also relieved that it hadn't been worse.

silken I can only imagine how stressful building a house must be, as I found it bad enough just having to choose carpets and tiles, where the electric sockets should go, etc. One of my friends here is building a house and is permanently stressed, goes to the building site at least once a day, etc. - but it sounds like their house is going to be amazing and I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end.

Thatis Good news on the wake-up; fingers crossed it continues. It's amazing what a difference a good night's sleep can make to how you feel. Has your DH heard anything about the job yet?

NoHun You're very brave, going to the hairdresser's so soon after your move - it took me months if not years to work up the courage! I have a few set phrases that I've picked up over the years, but have only just - on Saturday, in fact - discovered that frizzy in German is struppig. Well, in Austria at any rate; someone on Twitter told me that it's kraus, but I've never heard that used here.

hupa I can't get excited about asparagus - it often used to be the only vegetarian option on the menu at work during Spargel season, was stringy and filled me up for all of about 10 minutes - but I do like Bärlauchsuppe. It was the only soup that looked to be vegetarian at the restaurant yesterday and luckily it really was vegetarian.

Lifebegins DD1 was very shy when she first started KiGa - they all were, in fact, but she wasn't speaking much German when she first started (she understood it OK but started speaking later than the other two). Her teacher told me that she only really started speaking much in her last year, but she was always quite happy there. Also, I don't know what it's like where you are, but here there are usually one or two children in each group who don't speak much/any German when they start and they have interkulturelle Mitarbeiter to help them.

Jenny I was very impressed by the size of some of my friends' houses in the USA, but I struggle to keep our house clean and tidy as it is and can't imagine being able to cope with anything bigger!

Morning all!

Yay for the night-waking improvement, Thatis! Have the past few nights been the same too?

Ploom Ouch! Hope your DH is ok. Tidying up and food shopping is my plan for the day too - not just yet though as DS is asleep on me & it's too snuggly & warm to move.

Linzer I love the FB pic of your DD! I'm glad it went well. I've nevr heard of the new outfit thing but will quiz DH when he's home later as I'm intrigued.

silken I love the idea of having a house built but it sounds so stressful! Fingers crossed things go smoothly leading up to the big move.

Nohun How did you get on at the hairdresser's? I found just diving in really helped my confidence. Of course now I've learned the words I need, I have an English hairdresser!

Exciting discovery here this morning - the white bump in DS' gum has broken through & we have a proper tooth this morning! It's only tiny but is very cute. (Of course now the people who have been suggesting teething as an explanation for absolutely everything since he was born can now smile and feel vindicated :) )

Gator how cute the first tooth! Are you keeping a diary?

Linzer lovely photo of your dd2, so angelic and her cheeky brother peeping in atthe side! Good that your friend's visit went well - you must have had a house full! Did she travel by car or plane?

ploom thank goodness it was only dh's finger and nothing worse, was he half asleep? Yes, dd can buy in the adult section now. Recently she was in Primark and spent ages picking out t-shirts in size 8! Much more choice in the adult section. She's found some nice stuff in New Yorker too in their XS size but can also still get H&M childrens sizes in some things.

Silken hope you get your sink and other things sorted, must be exhausting on top of the normal jobs you have to get done. Can some of it be sorted when you've moved in?

thatis hope you got some more sleep and your ds2 is getting into a routine. Another couple of years and you can tell them all to just get up and help themselves to breakfast and watch TV until you've had a lie in on a weekend!

NoHun how did the haircut go? Could you send me some bravery vibes so I can go too?! My hair is so long as I haven't been for ages. Ds is due to go today although he'll probably decide not to again and I must admit he looks nice with his longish thick dark hair!

Dh back from London on Friday night, we all picked him up atthe airport at 11pm. Suitcase full of goodies and books and my niece sent my a load of Body Shop products. We've eaten far too many crisps over the weekend! He enjoyed it in the end over there and would still go for a job if it's offered (phew).

We've had the bill for the braces that ds will need and I almost fell over when I saw it was going to cost 2500? for the private part and 580? that the Krankenkase will pay us back at the end of the treatment. Does that sound normal - any of you started on the braces route yet? If any of you have seen my dc's photos, they aren't 'goofy' - in my day only one or two dc had a brace at school and you could tell they needed one iyswim but nowadays every 3rd dc seems to have one in my dc's classes. The worst thing is dd is next so I guess she'll be offered a similar plan - goodbye holidays/new curtains/any extra luxuries or moving house I'd say

admylin My mum brought over one of those baby books you record things like that in when she came over when he was tiny so I'll put it in there.
He seemed to quite enjoy attacking his cucumber at lunch today with his new tooth - was very cute!

Yay for the new tooth, Gator! My MIL is (was) one of those who decided that the baby must be teething every time he/she was grizzly; it used to drive me mad.

admylin We paid ?300 for DD1's brace (and got ?150 back from the Krankenkasse), but it was only over five teeth; I seem to remember the orthodontist saying that a full brace would cost around ?1000. It does seem much more common for children to have braces now. I think I could have done with one, as I've just posted some new photos on FB and my teeth look quite gappy in some of them - it's because I had two milk teeth out in my early twenties and the adult teeth were a bit twisted when they finally came down. I wish now that I'd had a brace at the time (the dentist did mention it) but I'm not quite vain enough to put myself through it now!

Our friends flew over - they only had Saturday and Sunday to come over because of school, so it was a bit of a flying visit. They had to get up at 2 am to catch their flight on Saturday and flew back at 8 pm on Sunday. Our three-day trip to the NW last year seemed quite relaxing in comparison!

Another early start here today as DH had to get up at 4.30 am and I've been awake since then. I can't remember where he's flying to, but he'll be back tonight; he's then going to be away on Wednesday and Thursday too.

Morning Linzer. You've had an early start - are your eyes starting to sting yet? That's what I find when I've had to wake up too early.

At the moment they're stinging due to hay fever but my eye drops should be here today. I managed to order the ones silken suggested at a reduced price (12.99? instead of 16.95?) on Volksversand.de an online Apotheke with no versandkosten!

It's a shame your friend only had such a short stay or maybe you were glad to get your house back to yourself!

I think we'll go ahead with the brace for ds but I can't help feeling that I've been talked into doing it and that half of the treatment is not really so important. I might ask our dentist what he thinks as he's also an orthodontist (but only does adult teeth). I've also still got the appointment for dd's treatment to be discussed so I'll be more careful - he sort of bombarded me with information and little models of all sorts of different braces last time.

morning!

admylin - dd has just started with her second brace. Its not a fixed one - think I'd probably call it a retainer. Its for her top and bottom teeth and she wears it whenever she's home but takes it out to eat and has a key to tighten it every week. I cant find the letter from the KFO about the cost (dh has filed it too efficiently away) but I'm 99% sure that we're paying about the same for the brace as you are. I agree that nearly every child has a brace now but I so desperately wish i'd had one as a child even tho my teeth arent awful - they're just a bit squint. So I'm happy to pay the money & dd is happy to wear it because she saw the dramatic difference the 1st brace made to her teeth.
That was a good deal you got for the hay fever meds. Didnt know that site existed but will keep it in mind since the normal apotheke is so annoyingly expensive. Jealous of all your UK food stuff - cant wait to go in June!

linzer - glad you had a good weekend esp with your friend. Enjoy the couple of nights peace without your dh or is it just a good excuse to spend eves on MN ? Didnt even slightly notice any gappy teeth on your fb photo - dont be so hard on yourself!

gator - whoo hoo to the first tooth. He'll be loving biting down on cold stuff I bet to sooth it. My dc3 just got his first adult tooth last week - felt sad that he's growing up too fast - had proper tears in my eyes [sappy cow emotion!!].

So I feel properly integrated into our village this week - 2 villagers came to the door yesterday asking if I could help out at the village fest on Vatertag and if I could bake cakes for the Maibaumfest and the Vatertagfest. Said a very definite yes to the first request but then shit my pants at the thought of the second one. I dont do baking cakes!! And all German women do! So I offered that I could bake a big batch of muffins or cookies and altho he looked at me suspiciously he said that would be ok. This is the first year I've been asked tho so I was daftly pleased to be asked to be involved.

I always bake muffins if I'm asked to bake a cake, Ploom - not that I've done any baking for ages and ages. I'm definitely not Austrian enough; baking and basteln aren't really my thing.

Normally DH being away would mean me spending the entire evening on MN, but I've been having a bit of a break recently and this is about the only thread I still post on (plus my C25k thread occasionally). It's quite liberating and has freed up so much time; I used to come home from the school run, have a "quick" look at the threads I'm on and active convos, and find myself still on the computer an hour later.

Sounds like a good idea to get a second opinion about the brace admylin, especially when you're spending so much money. I'm often a bit of a coward about things like that and will get DH to come along to appointments where there are decisions to be made or a lot of money to be spent.

I had a phone call yesterday from someone asking me whether we owned a plot of land and that was about all I understood - he was talking to me for about five minutes and I could hardly understand a word (something about a meeting having been postponed). As soon as I could get a word in edgeways I said, "Could you phone my husband as I don't know what you're talking about?" (Well, I think I said something like ich kenne mich nicht aus.) It turned out that they're planning to widen the road next to the plot of land so are going to give us some money for it and wanted to know whether we want to be there for the lokaler Augenschein on Thursday (it's near where my ILs live so we don't). I don't think we'll get much money for them chopping a bit off the plot; DH said it's a shame they're not planning to move the road and need the entire plot, as we'd get much more.

Oh, and my eyes are OK at the moment, but I did stay in bed until the time that I'd get up normally and probably dozed a bit as well while listening to Radio 4 podcasts. I think I'd be far more tired if I'd actually had to get up at the same time as DH.

Ploom sounds like that's what ds wil be having - top and bottom retainers and he'll have to tighten a screw or something then after 6 months he should get a fixed one, that's the expensive one as the Kasse only pays for one with a belt/brace around the head that no dc would like to walk about wearing. The one he'll get is more or less invisible.

Well done on the integration front! You know you're staying for good so it's great that you've joined in with village life.

Linzer I find that chocolate chip cookies always go down well or any buscuit as they tend to only bake that sort of thing at Christmas time and only mini ones as well. That's nice to be getting a bit of extra money - have you thought what you'll be spendingit on yet?!

How I wish I could push those sort of calls onto a German speaking dh! My mad professor/crazy scientist dh is really the classic case of a Fachidiot - ask him about the brain and he can talk for hours but he can't work the mocrowave or deal with phone calls of any type (oh, except for ordering microscopes or chemicals).

Morning :)

Well done on being all integrated Ploom :)

Glad you had a nice time with your friends Linzer

Yay for first tooth Gator - Henry has 4 now, but he was really late with his first and then just had the one for about 2 months, which dd said made him look like a witch! They look cute with just one or 2 teeth really though :)

Ploom I hope my kids don't need braces, it all sounds a bit of a nightmare, but I guess with 3 its unlikey none will! DD is the oldest at 6.5 and hasn't even had a wobbly milk tooth yet (she has been claiming one is wobbly since she was 5, but it is wishful thinking), so I guess we're still a bit away from that type of thing. Their teeth look straight to me atm... last dentist apt was in the Easter holidays and apparently DD's bite is perfect atm but DS1's is "a bit deep and to the left" - I don't even know what a deep bite actually means, but as he is only 4 it's just something to keep an eye on apparently...

I am fed up today, as after 1 good night with only one wake up DS2's sleep is dreadful again - last night and the night before I was getting him back in the cot, getting back into bed, getting that falling feeling of falling abck to sleep, and being jolted awake by "WWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" immediately every time - and I don't lie awake, I fall asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow, so I think he was only spending 10 or 15 mins in the cot at a time, though I didn't look at the clock and nights like that can be very disorientating so I don't know really. I haven't fed him at night for over 2 weeks, I have no idea what to do now - I can't just leave him as he stands up every single time he wakes and howls, he's not just grumbling and I'm rushing too him over eagerly - he's in the next room and I don't even have a baby monitor!

Also trying to organise him a baby birthday party (with small toddlers and babies not just the in-laws, who are coming on Saturday with the inevitability of a force of nature) and it's like herding cats, people say they can come then can't, or don't get back to me, and nobody can make the same day, and nobody seems willing to come at their baby's nap time and of course everyone has a different nap time... are people trying to tell me something :( DD and DS1 really want him to have a party with other babies, which is the main reason I'm trying to arrange it, as obviously he couldn't care less (though he loves other kids). I have always taken my kids to parties and play invitations and not thought twice about moving a nap - maybe that's why only one of my kids was a good sleeper as a baby? But honestly, how precious?

Humph

4.30am - ouch, Linzer! Good news about the plot of land. I'd have had no idea how to deal with a phonecall like that in German either.
The friend I was talking about the other day doesn't speak much German and has to deal with everything like that as her German DH doesn't like using the phone, or something. It's a good way to learn I guess but talk about thrown in at the deep end.

admylin That online Apotheke sounds good. Things like that are so expensive here, aren't they. We stock up on things like paracetamol when we go to the UK. I think a pack costs about 16p in Asda or ?3 in the Apotheke here!

Ploom Good work on the integration and good luck with the baking :)

Thatis That does sound a bit precious, but I don't bother planning around DS' naps. I'm quite lucky though in that if he is tired enough he will sleep anywhere. He falls asleep at playgroup every week without fail. I haven't heard 'herding cats' for ages & you're the second person I've heard using it this week.

What a week and it's only Tuesday! Afer weeks of nothing, so far this week DS has:
-sprouted a tooth (& celebrated by biting DH!)
-discovered how much fun bashing loud things is
-learned to crawl backwards (& reverted to flailing & squealing when he realised it took him further away from his toy)
-discovered how to pull himself up in his cot so he is half hanging out & can see me in the kitchen
-started licking mirrors

I think I need a lie down

Thatis Sorry - that comment about the napping wasn't meant to sound as smug as it reads back. I just meant that I'm not really in a position to judge as I'm possibly in a different situation. If it helps, none of the other mothers I know plan things around their babies' naps either. Hope the party works out!

morning! Hiding upstairs on the computer while a man washes the outside of our conservatory. Cant have him thinking i'm a lazy Hausfrau.

Wow gator - your gorgeous ds is having a right leap forward. Funny how it all seems to happen at once. I love babies at his age.

thatis - I wonder how you manage to stay awake for the whole day. You must be exhausted. But your ds2 is being really naughty - he cant lull you into a false sense if security by nearly sleeping thro one night then being terrible the next. Have no advice just some unMNetty hugs.
About the braces - it does cost a lot of money but I dont find it a hassle day to day. She just wears it and doesnt cause a fuss about it. I think she also had a deep bite - they said what it meant was, when her teeth were closed together there was quite a few millimetre gap between the front top and front bottom ones and this isnt good. But its so much better now so worth the braces.

admylin - what world are the krankenkasse living in that they think a child would wear a brace with straps round they're head! Easy way for them to get out of paying for it tho as no parent would ever subject their child to that.

linzer - well done you for resisting other threads on MN. How's the running coming on? Is the brace helping? Hope you get a decent amount of money for your bit of land - maybe you could haggle a bit?

Hope the window man doesnt take too long - have got a nice morning planned - going to have a big natter to my lovely friend who moved last year to Malaysia. We use some free thing on our mobiles called Viber - its like Skype but the call quality is normally better. Still fascinates me that I can talk to her when she's so far away but it sounds so clear (realise I sound like my parents generation!)

Morning! I'm hiding too this morning, but in a metaphorical way (still haven't started packing).

admylin I'm sure DD will need a brace, being a thumb-sucker. I didn't realise how expensive they are though. Do you think I could still convert her to a dummy?

gator and thatis everyone here seemed to insist that their babies have a nap from 12-2, even at the age when most babies have two naps a day . Of course they had to have lunch before that, so arranging anything for the morning was pretty difficult. If I was invited anywhere at DD's afternoon naptime then I just took her asleep, ie I set off with the pram and she was asleep by the time I got there. Does that make me a rubbish guest? I guess I probably did turn up late on several occasions when I hadn't managed to shift DD's nap forward enough, but I certainly would have at least made an effort and not just refused the invitation.

DD's third birthday is coming up (ten days after we move), so I'm also thinking about how to celebrate. She wants a piñata ("there's a car and I can BASH it with a stick and then ALL the sweets come out") - thanks Peruvian über-mama friend - so I'm going to have to find time to bastel one. I don't really know who to invite (do I invite the kiga kids whose parents I like but don't really know, or just my friends with kids, should I include the new neighbours who have kids aged 2 and 3?) DH just wants to declare open house - maybe that's the best thing and simply plan the piñata-bashing for 4pm or something.

Can't remember anything else I was going to write. Hello to everyone I've missed!

i've seen those piñata things but only in a catalogue from the party supplies company that Kate Middletons parents run. Never seen one being bashed tho - do they take turns bashing it till the sweets fall out? Do you need to buy more than one?

Ploom hope the windows are all sparkly and clean! Wish I had a window cleaner as I can never get mine perfect. Did he just do the conservatory or could you talk him into doing the rest?

Silken pinatas are great aren't they? I've seen them here but they are expensive to buy. In the UK they are really cheap. Maybe on Ebay you could buy one unless you fancy doing it yourself! I think inviting the new neighbours would be a great idea to get to know them.

I'm really tired today and mad with the neighbours from the ground floor. They were celebrating something last night and had loud music on until close to midnight. I'd gone to bed early but couldn't sleep for over an hour, then at 11:30pm dd got up complaining of the noise. In the end dh had to go down and ask them to be quiet. Dd has a maths test today but went to school like a zombie.