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!

Ploom Glad your DD is better now. Hope your DS survives his volles Programm!

Yes, I think I will speak to a couple of other parents about it. So far dd hasn't seemed too bothered but she has kept coming out with things all weekend.

Yesterday we went to collect ds from his friend's place and on the way we pass a drive-in McDonalds so she told me about the man in the film who had his head sliced in half at the drive in so obviously she's not going to forget it for a while and I doubt she wil want to go near a roller coaster in the near future!

I thought you were going to say she won't want to go near a McDonalds again in the near future, admylin.

DS's letter from his new teacher has just arrived with the list of things to buy. There seems to be a new word to challenge me every time we receive a list; this time it's BENE-Ordner. Off to google...

Ah, that's what they're called! A5 or A4 Linzer !

She's already cured of McDonalds since she watched some report about meat production! She keeps mentioning going vegan!

Aha, they appear to be lever arch files. Man lernt nie aus. I've bought plenty before (for myself) but only ever Ringmappen for school. It needs to be A4 and 5 cm dick, apparently.

I wish someone would cure my DC of McDonalds, although we don't go very often any more. The problem is that they're very handy when you're travelling somewhere and they do good cheap coffee and delicious triple chocolate cookies. We went to one when we were back in the UK and my parents were (my mum is a vegetarian too), but it was a horrible place; the ones here are much nicer.

Actually dd is double cured of McDonalds as she has been doing rain forests and tropical climates in Geography and the clearing of forest for grazing land, Wald wird Weide etc, came up and that evening I remember we all got a lecture on how bad that is!

I know, it's awful. I thought my mum was going to disown me when we went. But the coffee is very good.

I'm still adolescent enough to go to McDonalds BECAUSE my mum disapproves :o but she disapproves because it's "common", not on sound ethical principles! That said the nearest one to us here is the motorway service area about 40 minutes drive away, so we don't go often either (probably twice a year, usually when travelling so not to the "local" one). The kids like those big outdoor slide structures they have (they are easily pleased my kids, coming from the middle of nowhere, and can buy a happy meal and spend a solid hour and a half on the slide thing). The McDonalds at the airport is our nearest "soft play" - I have once been there just for that, as in the UK there was one 5 mins walk from my door and I din't quite know what to do without it in bad whether when we first moved!

(I didn't know what to do without soft play, not McDonalds)

Englishwoman it's ok, I'm sure we'll all believe it was the soft play :)
I have to say I'm not fussed about McDonalds... The last couple of times I went in London the coffee was so awful and whatever it was I ate so disgusting I haven't really been tempted back.

I think I'm almost all signed up now for the freebies... There is another Due in December Mumsnetter, living in Cologne, I shall have to pass it all on to :o

Nutella Agree about McDonalds coffee in the UK; it's about twice the price of what we pay here and doesn't taste great. The atmosphere here is much nicer too, especially in the McCafe bit. Can't think why, as a vegetarian, I'm championing McDonalds though.

EnglishWoman I've been to that McD's (I refuse, absolutely refuse to call it Mäccy's and the DC get short shrift if they do) a couple of times; will have to look out for you next time we're there.

The DC have two friends staying overnight (brother and sister), but the younger one is crying and wanting his mum. Tried to phone her but she's at the cinema, so I'm hoping he'll have calmed down by the time I text her again - she said she could be here in half an hour, but it would be a shame for them to have to cut their cinema visit short.

Here's a McDonalds fact for you - one of the big oil companies used to send their call centre staff to McDonalds for customer service training and observation. Who'd a thought!

Linzer I don't mind the McDonalds coffee here, but I don't think I've ever had it in the UK so can't really compare. I've only had the McCafe one here though, so maybe that's slightly different.

admylin I think I'd complain about the film. It seems a bit inappropriate for a school to be showing something like that to DC who are too young. If the parents want to let them watch something like that at home then fair enough (within reason, obviously) but the school should probably be a bit more careful.

Ploom Is Bridesmaids any good? I've been meaning to rent it for ages.

Nutella I love freebies! It was like Christmas when I was pregnant and just after DS was born with all the samples, vouchers etc.

I took DS to a 'baby-friendly cafe' yesterday to meet some friends for coffee and he had a whale of a time. He's started doing this thing at playgroup (and again yesterday in the cafe) where crawls to the nearest mum, climbs up on her for a cuddle, then as soon as another mum arrives, he climbs down and crawls to her for a cuddle until he spots another mum, who is then the recipient of his cuddles. I appear to have given birth to a floozy!

Strangely enough when it's just the two of us at home he clings to me like a limpet and refuses to be put down at the moment. If I dare try and sit him on me knee instead of the preferred full-body-hug he cries, clings even harder and bites me to keep hold!

It's still grey and wet and cold and 'orrible here. It's my birthday in a few weeks and if we haven't had any sun by then I think I'm going to dig out my winter woolies.

Gator I love fun facts. My friends often take the piss because my brain is stuffed full of completely random useless stuff... Yes your DS sounds like a total floozy but I bet he's also rather cute with it. If he's still behaving that way in a few years you might be right to worry :o

I saw Bridesmaids, it was ok but not as good as I expected from the review. I felt totally deceived by whoever said it was "like the women's version of Hangover"

I don't think I've tried McD's coffee here... I remember the last thing I had was some special version of Chicken nuggets and I felt ill all evening after them. Also DP works in the Außendienst and occasionally McDs or Burger King is his lunchtime choice. But I generally know when he has been to McD's because he has the most awful farts sorry TMI but don't think DP will read this :o

The baby friendly cafe sounds good, Gator. I have a little limpet too, although more when we're out than when we're at home (thank goodness). Mind you, I think he may well have been a limpet at home too when he was your DS's age. He was sitting on my lap while we were waiting at the hairdresser's this morning, trying to burrow into me; you wouldn't think he's nearly 6!

The McCafe coffee is OK but about twice the price of the normal one. I just like their normal ?1 coffee (called a cafe latte, but it isn't really). I remember DS, when he was about 2, sticking his head out of the car window (when it was on the drive) and shouting "Zwei Cafe latte classico, bitte!" which made me realise how regularly we went to the drive-in!

We had a quiet night in the end once the boys had got off to sleep, although the two children weren't picked up until 8.30 am rather than at 8 am as arranged. It wouldn't normally have been too much of a problem, but I wanted to be at the hairdresser's when it opened at 8.30 - as it was, we didn't get there until 8.45 so had half an hour's wait just for DD2 to have her fringe cut! I should really learn how to cut it myself.

Nutella Ah, I've found someone who shares my love of random facts

Linzer DS burrows too! It's like wrapping his entire body around me and suckering on with his mouth isn't quite close enough. (Sometimes it's actually quite nice, I have to admit, just not ALL the time :) )

Linzer how I wish I could cut hair! I hate going to the hairdresser! Ds is leaving his hair this summer, it's getting quite long but it looks as if it's the fashion in his age group. Saw a load of them the other day, all with longish hair!

Enjoy your little limpets linzer and gator I miss mine, I had two but they've turned into moody teenagers. Dd will snuggle up now and then on the sofa but she's usually too busy being creative or skyping with her friends.

Still not a word of English from dd either. I'll keep nagging at her. It'd be good to get her in contact with some other English dc but I don't know any around here of her age. Ds has an English friend but they only speak it if I'm present, as soon as I leave the room they swap to German or are talking to German friends.

My throat isn't sore anymore but my mouth feels really dry. I've tried drinking loads since yesterday (might help my diet too) but it's a really strange feeling. Not sure it's bad enough to go to a doctor about but it's annoying.

Gator yup I love them but have yet to find a real use for them. But one of my favourites is that 7 people a year are electrocuted by their alarm clocks :o (no idea if it's true but heard or read it somewhere and it stuck)

admylin good to hear your feeling better!

Linzer & Gator DP and I are both very cuddly... I sometimes think our DCs will either be worse or the total opposite. Hope they love cuddles :) but I agree that a limpet might get a bit trying.

I have a snuggler too, I am cherishing these cuddly toddler days, it is just bliss. And I get showered with kisses loads too.

admylin, hope you feel better soon.

Fun Fact: there are only two words in the English language that have aeiou in them in that order. Abstemious and facetious. I have loved the fun fact for many years!

NoHun another lucky one to have a snuggler! Enjoy!

Nutella also lucky as you have all this to come and the great thing is that up to a certain age you can grab your cuddles, just pick them up and hug them but at some point they start to toddle or run away!

I nearly started a fire with my alarm clock once so they are quite dangerous appliances.

My piece of trivia: there is no word in the English language that rhymes with orange (although, having just googled it, I have discovered sporange).

I think some children are just more cuddly than others; DD1 was never very cuddly, even as a toddler, whereas DD2 and DS still are, even as (almost) school children. I agree that it's unlikely to continue into the teenage years, though!

admylin The problem is that even if you find English-speaking friends for your DC, if they live here they're most likely to end up speaking German to each other. The DC have a few friends with one English-speaking parent and will sometimes start off speaking English to them, but after about five minutes they've all lapsed into German - which I think is their default language for playing/communicating with other children. I wish the DC had friends/relatives of their own age back in the UK, but my brother is the youngest person in our family and they very rarely speak English to anyone under about 35.

And I never realised that alarm clocks are so dangerous. I use the alarm on my mobile - surely that's unlikely to electrocute me/catch fire?

Gator My DS2 is a floozy too - he goes to DS1's kindergarten teachers for cuddles, and quite often other mums, although others he takes a dislike too and pretends to be shy or runs away! I actually worried a bit what people might think as my other 2 never did that - DS1 was very shy and DD wasn't shy but was always exploring or playing and never sought cuddles from anyone else. He says "Duddle!" to me when he wants a cuddle and launches himself at me, which is also rather sweet. He is jealous of DS1 though and tries to push him off my knee (DS1 is nearly 5 and sometimes very cuddly too, it's nice sometimes, less so when he launches his very tall and broad and solid for his age self at me from a running start when I walk into kindergarten and very nearly sends me flying, especially if I am carrying DS2!)

I think I have random general knowledge but often realise it is actually something I read in a novel so of dubious validity!

Linzer I'm pretty sure your mobile is safe... but if it does electrocute you or catch fire I'm afraid I bear no responsibility for that :)

Englishwoman your DSs sound very sweet even if DS2 is competing for cuddles :) Hope DS1 doesn't cause to many bruises / injuries with his hug enthusiasm!!

Well, I am getting more worried by the day, being blonde has always been something I've tried not to let affect me. But being blonde and pregnant is definitely a recipe for disaster! Took my cup of Ginger tea into the kitchen last night to take the bag out of it then walked back into the living room and realised I'd left the iron on DP's shirt what's worse is I've only just remembered. Fortunately the shirt wasn't damaged but I did feel a bit thick!
I resist the ironing for as long as possible, DP is a big boy he can manage his shirts on his own. But when I get really bored I'll do anything :o

Does cringe not rhyme with orange? Or syringe?
Yes, I should be a poet! :)

I have concerns about mobiles (radiation etc), I hardly ever use mine, and I never have it with us overnight. Ach, we're all gonna die sooner or later, one way or another, I suppose!

A mother was pushing her child in a swing today and said "Eins ... Zwei ..." and before she could finish, DS shouted "Drei!"! Am super impressed with my bilingual toddler! He is better than me! He has quite a few German words now, it is lovely!

NoHun Not perfectly, no. If syringe was pronounced sorringe (stress on first syllable), it would. And yay for bilingual toddlers.

Nutella That sounds like a very robust shirt. I actually quite like ironing - well, not the ironing itself, more the fact that it gives me an excuse to watch TV programmes that DH won't watch with me.

Must go to bed now as I'm planning to get up at 4 am tomorrow so that we can leave for Italy at around 5 am. Hopefully my alarm will go off OK without killing me first.