Der Nebel steigt, es fällt das Laub - a German and Austrian autumn thread

[AntiqueMuppet]

A thread for anyone living in Germany or Austria, or anyone else who fancies a chat.

Previous thread here

Morning!

english sounds like you're doing the right thing, especially if the kiga agree with you. I read somewhere that it's very rare nowadays for kids not to have one or more areas of deficiency identified before they start school, so probably any child who gets ticks in all the boxes is labelled as "sehr intelligent" - just as you say. And hupa is right that they can't possibly assess social readiness for school in a short examination.

hupa Glad you enjoyed your trip to the UK, even if you didn't manage much shopping. I'm also going to do most Xmas shopping online this year, if only because the shops here hardly have anything worth buying.

outnumbered don't worry about namechecking everyone every time you post. The thread seems to have phases where everyone pops in once a day or so and tries to reply to everyone (like right now) and then other phases where a conversation gets going about one subject and the posts are a lot shorter. Hope your ds is better today.

I'm feeling a lot better this morning after a good night's sleep and managed a decent breakfast. I still have a headache, though (caffeine withdrawal?), but can't face drinking coffee yet. I probably should make myself a cup of some osrt of tea, though (I am so German - have a drawer full of herbal teas ).

Or sometimes there's no-one here at all.

cheas this thread is so funny isn't it, some days you can't keep up and other days it's all spooky and quiet! I've been cleaning unexpected mess today, took me hours and I'm very fed up and need a handy man to fix everything in this rubbish flat
Glad you're feeling better, nothing like a good long sleep and rest is there?

hupa glad your trip was good. How did the shopping go this morning? Find anything worth buying?

english good that the kindergarten will back you up about ds. Those tests are a joke really. At dd's test she refused to speak, cried (not sobbing but silent tears rolling down her face) and still got the all clear to start school! Wonder how the woman decided that, and dd was a young kann-kind not a muss-kind.

nutella yep, the busy busy dermatologists in Hannover don't have appointments before next year so we'll be waiting a while to find out about dd's lip. I wonder if there is a shortage of specialists in Hannover becaus ethe child psycologist and the orthodontist also gave us appointments with 3 or 4 month waiting times.

antique how exciting, you'll be in your house for Christmas (or are you away, can't remember) but great to have the garden to look forward to! My dc have always hoped we'd move into a house and have a front and back door (that's what they think is great about a house!) and rooms upstairs.

outnumbered I see what you meant about not wanting to move now. Sounds like you've been through a rough time but great that you're getting help now. Good luck with the job hunting. My dh is in a similar position, he's applying for jobs that he's over qualified for in terms of experience but there aren't often job offers for his area of work.

ploom hope your dd is feeling abit better and more positive about her maths. We've been there and had the upset too. Did she manage to find out the Klassendurchshnitt? The teacher often writes how many 1s, 2s, 3s, etc he gave out. Maybe it was just one of those difficult tests where most dc got 3 or 4?

Well, it's too early for wine so I'm going to make a coffee then maybe I'll manage to stay awake longer than 9pm!

Hello! Dh is home this week for the Thanksgiving break so I feel guilty about MNing so will be brief!
English - my ds1 was also born on 20th September 2007! He would be one of the oldest in his year when he starts Kindergarten next year so I'm not worried. They have a test around May and if they are found wanting (usually hispanic kids with barely any English) then they get free all day KG. Otherwise we have to pay or just stick to the 9 - 11.40 programme. Other schools in the district in more deprived areas get it free anyway. Good for you insisting.

Glad you had a great time in the UK hupa.

Sorry for everyone feeling sick and/or looking for jobs at the moment. Good luck! Sorry for children refusing to eat food too. Ungrateful sods!

Got to dash - sorry to everyone I didn't reply to. It's Thanksgiving tomorrow and then we are driving over the mountains to Portland on Friday so I will catch up with you next week! Have a great rest of the week everyone!

Morning,

Had no time to post yesterday as I spent most of the morning having coffee with a friend and then had parents' evening in the afternoon (if that's not a contradiction in terms). Both children got positive reports, although DS's teacher said he really doesn't enjoy writing (which we knew already; it's the main reason we decided he should go in the Vorschulklasse) and DD2's teacher said she speaks too quietly and lacks confidence when she's speaking. (Not much of a surprise either, and I was exactly the same at school.) I was to see Sekt on offer at the buffet - the first time I've ever seen any alcohol at a school event - and, even more shockingly, I didn't have any.

Well, I'm going to buck the trend by not name-checking anyone at all as there's just too much for me to catch up on, although I have read everyone's posts. I need to leave for DD2's English lesson soon, anyway - the teacher has asked me to go in the 4th hour rather than the 5th, which means I only have three child-free hours. I realise this is a luxury to anyone with children at home full-time, but it's not ideal when I have to work - I'll just have to cancel the lesson whenever I do have a lot on (I didn't lose any child-free time before as DS is out after four hours, so I used to take him to the lesson with me).

blimey admylin that sounds rather extreme! I know DP doesn't have the patience to wait months for appointments. Well I hope she isn't in pain in the meantime...
Or perhaps the people of Hannover go to various Drs more often :o

Another quiet day in here today :) cheas made me chuckle yesterday, the december thread is moving super fast (it's impossible to keep up) and I'm using my MN time trying to keep up with all the twinges (while making notes about what might be early labour symptoms)...
My hospital bag still seems to contain not much more than flip flops a nighty and a toothbrush... but I haven't got that many mat clothes so I'm reluctant to pack them because I'll only have to unpack them so I have something to wear!

Morning everyone. I don´t where the time disappears to at the moment. I managed to buy a few stocking fillers the other day, although it´s much easier to find things for dd rather than ds. The shops were really empty first thing, so it wasn´t too stressful. How´s everyone elses Christmas shopping going?

Ds who is 8 admitted that he doesn´t believe in the Weihnachtsmann anymore, but when he mentioned it to dd who will be 10 in a couple of weeks she burst into tears and insisted he was wrong. She then when on to list the reasons why she knew that he existed. I can´t believe she´s so naive, but she was so insistent I didn´t say anything. I´m hoping she´ll have a word with her friends who will put her straight. I´ll definitely tell her the truth though, if she asks.

nutella you must be getting really excited now it´s getting so close to December. My only tip for you about the hospital bag is to make sure the outfit you take to bring the baby home in is a realistic size. I took a snow suit aged 0-3 months with me but it was enormous. Dd´s hands only came as far as the elbows and her feet to the knees. We had to try and cram all this extra material into the car seat and she looked hilarious. I think it probably would have fitted her by about August.

jenny - enjoy your break. I think you deserve it after the stress of the last couple of weeks.

I better stop now. This is turning into an essay.

cheas Glad you're feeling better.

admylin I think 9 pm would be my ideal bedtime, or 9.30 pm maybe; much later than that, and I feel awful the next morning.

Jenny Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and a good trip. We've invited a few friends over for a Thanksgiving meal tomorrow - I still need to decide what vegetarian dish to cook (it would be so much easier if we could get tofurkey here!).

hupa DD1's going home outfit was far too big for her as well - she was just swamped in it! I found that 0-3 month clothes varied a huge amount in size; my mum even went out and bought a couple of tiny outfits for her (size 7 lb IIRC - she was 7 lb 12 oz when she was born, so not a tiny baby), which fit her quite well for about two weeks!

Nutella As long as you've got a nightie and slippers/flip flops, I don't think you'll need much in the way of clothes - I can't even remember whether I packed going home clothes or whether I went home in the clothes that I'd gone to the hospital in! After DS (and possibly the other two, I can't remember!) was born, I only wore the hospital nightgown as I got so hot and sweaty that I needed to change it once or twice a day, plus it would get stained with milk etc. too. I packed some disposable maternity knickers, but found I didn't need any as they were provided by the hospital until I went home - and once I was back home, I didn't need them any more.

Poor DS was in tears when he came home from school today as they'd done some writing and the teacher had drawn a sad smiley underneath his. It wasn't very neat, admittedly, but he was so upset as he said he was the only one who didn't get a stamp. Like Ploom, I don't feel like I need to criticise him as he's upset enough, but I did say we could practise writing at the weekend if he wanted to. He's been so happy at school up to now, and I really hope this isn't going to affect that.

Afternoon - I agree with hupa - where does the time go at the moment .

jenny - happy thanksgiving . it always seems like such a nice holiday - no present giving, just family getting together. Wish we had it here.

nutella - I would say you'd need a few nighties or PJ's in your hospital bag - TMI but there is a lot of blood loss afterwards (like the worst period!) and I leaked onto my PJ bottoms a couple of times. Think I just had PJ's, baby clothes, nappies, toiletries and sanitary towels in my bag. In contrast to the others ds1 was too big for the newborn going home clothes I'd brought with me but he was 10lbs 13oz so like most 3 months olds really! (the easiest birth out the 3 tho!)

Hupa - I'm surprised/impressed that your dd still believes in Santa - or is she just saying that in case the presents dont come? My boys still seem to believe but I've tried to not speak to much about the Weihnachtsman/santa claus and am kind of hoping someone tells them the truth. Glad you had a good time in the UK and glad you brought back the important stuff .

linzer - oh I feel heart sorry for your ds - he's only in the Vorschule - could the teacher not have been a bit more motivational? Surely thats the point at the moment that he'll start off with messy writing and it will get better? DS2 only writes well with the letters he's learned & practiced so far - sadly not many are in his name so its still looking pretty messy. I think you're right not to criticise him - think he needs a hug more than anything! Glad the parents evening/afternoon went well overall tho - never seen Sekt at ours - very envious. I've got our parents eve next week and dh cant go so its all down to me - will have to take the boys with me and hope its not raining so they can go and play in the playground.

Well thats the end of my short MN time - waves to everyone else - the boys are fighting over the computer. cheas and I had a really nice morning shopping yesterday - she was right when she said she wished we could do that every week - shame it's a bit far.

Hope you all have a nice weekend

Ploom Do you not get given sanitary towels in the hospital? (Nutella I don't have any experience of giving birth in a German hospital, so I would listen to everyone else's advice over mine!) I was trying not to give TMI but my milk etc. also covered blood loss. Wow, 10 lb 13 oz is an impressive size; I can see you wouldn't have a problem with newborn clothes being too big!

Yes, that's what I thought about the Vorschule - and actually said as much at the parents' evening to DS's teacher (that the fact that he struggles with writing is the main reason we decided that the Vorschulklasse would be the best option for him). I could have cried myself, seeing how upset he was. He also said that the teacher "schimpfte" with him; I asked what she said, and apparently she told him that he needs to be "genauer". I told him that she wasn't telling him off when she said that; he said yes, but she said it "in a bad voice" and he's now complaining that she's too strict. Whether that's really true or not, I'm not sure - but she certainly hasn't done a very good job of motivating him.

ploom my older brother was 11lb at birth (mum said he still looked like a little sumo when he was learning to walk and had flab hanging over his nappy :o ) but the rest of us were in the normal 6-8lb weight range I think.
And yes the midwife told us about the blood loss afterwards. If I remember correctly it translates as the "week's flow" or close... Except it can go on for 4-6 weeks... Great! They provide pads at the hospital and I've got some at home (been recommended to get some of the proper maternity ones in case of stitches).... Nappies and breast pads are also provided at the hosp. They will also supply clothes at the hospital for mum and baby (if you so wish). Midwife from Geburtsvorbereitungskurse recommended not to take baby clothes because in some places they have a habit of being pinched...

Errrrrmmmm the documents we need are packed and so are all the toiletries I think I'll need. Need to buy and pack some snacks for DP and I. Need some clothes for DP (he isn't convinced but I think he might like to have the chance to freshen up too). Then a few more clothes for me and I'm hoping that will do... Oh and going home outfits for me and baby. I have a snowsuit but will also take a blanket (in case it's too big - thanks hupa!)

Anyway, enough hospital talk - its making it seem a bit scary and close

Linzer that is so sad that your DS was silo upset about handwriting! I used to get told off all the time (messy leftie) and it really isn't helpful, my best tip is to use lots of different pencils and pens until you find something really comfortable. I remember being made to write in ink and I used to end up smudging it all, also had ink all over my hand, up my arm/ shirt sleeve

hupa in my old office a colleague's 12 yo son still believed in Santa... He was adamant because his Christmas presents were way too big for his parents to be able to afford them therefore it must be Santa.... They saved hard all year to make Christmas into a huge affair, but I wonder if they eventually had to sit the kid down and explain it to him.... although I don't think Christmas needs to be huge - personally.

Poor worn out DP is asleep on the sofa. He had a really long day yesterday, but he is off Mon and Tues so we have a few days together which should be nice :) he still has some holiday time to use up. He's also on holiday from 17th December to the end of the year... Then hopefully January will be elternzeit. Don't know how he has so much TO left over

Nutella I never saw maternity pads here and was quite smug about finding some (plus the disposable knickers) at Boots, but ended up not using either! Interesting about them being better if you have stitches; I wonder what the difference is (I had stitches after both DDs, but just used normal sanitary towels after I came out of hospital). You sound like you're very well prepared and unless you need something when you're in labour, your DP can probably bring in most things afterwards anyway. I only put the DC in their own clothes when it was time to go home (less washing to have to worry about too!) and I think the only clothes I took in for myself (to start with) were my nursing bras. Apologies for yet more hospital talk btw - I'm enjoying all the excitement second-hand.

DD1 has very untidy handwriting too and unfortunately it's a very big deal here; her primary school teacher told me once that her writing was häßlich. She and DS seem to take after DH, whose handwriting is pretty illegible - not that it seems to have done him any harm, but I'll have to ask him what it was like when he was at school.

Hello all!
Just a quick quick-in to say I haven't already left the thread so soon after joining it

I'm in hospital with ds3, our second night here now. Nothing serious, just very dehydrated due to his tummy bug. He is inconsolable ( and very angry) that he isn't allowed his favourite drink (kakao). I don't think well be allowed home tomorrow but hopefully Sunday the latest.

In the meantime dh is at home with ds1 and ds2. Ds2 has come down with a fever and ear ache.... Hope everyone else is having a better start to the weekend!!

Oh no outnumbered - Gute Besserung . And hope the dc at home stay well.

Wow nutella your dp sounds like he's got a lot of time off soon. Really hope your nutellachen is more the weight of you than the weight of your brother! (my other 2 werent so heavy 9lbs 4 & 8lbs 6). Hope you have a nice long weekend.

linzer - there is such a huge pressure about handwriting here - all this Schriebschrift practice is very dull. I'm surprised tho that there is no emphasis on it at the Gymnasium (or maybe they've realised there's more important things to worry about). My dh's handwriting is also illegible - in our small study of 2 German/Austrians is there a conclusion to be drawn?

Had a right nightmare hour earlier. We had some trouble last school year with ds1 (and 2 of his so called friends) teasing a boy on the bus on the way home. I'm so intolerant of any bullying so came down quite hard on him about it. Thought it had stopped but the mum of the boy phoned on Tuesday to say it had started again - they were throwing the boys bag thro the bus. We both seperately spoke to ds1 & all seemed ok again but this eve there was a message from another mother to say ds1 had been throwing her son's hat thro the bus & there had been name calling. In the space of an hour I took 4 phone calls about it and also had to speak to ds1. Had a really reasonable conversation with the mother of the boy - he is absolutely unruly but that doesnt make any difference to what ds is doing. The other phonecalls were from the mothers of ds1's 2 friends who were up in arms that the mother of this unruly boy had dared to say their dc were also causing trouble. I think she had every right to say something and said this to them. Was all just a drama that I didnt need. Ds1's punishment was that he wasnt allowed to go to football training & really hoped he listened to what I said to him & hope it stops.
Any advice would be very gratefully received - I've never bullied anyone or been bullied so its all new to me.
So since its Friday and DH is out i'm definitely on the wine! Prost!

Hi, All.
Not been on here in a while, Christmas stuff kept me busy, but I thought I'd check in before you all forgot me!
Hi, outnumbered, welcome to the thread. I moved to Frankfurt in April as my British husband (I am also from the UK) got a job here. We have one DS, aged two. That's pretty much my story for why I'm here! :)
Hope your toddler gets well soon.

Nutella, not long for you and CakeBump now. Good luck!

Well done for tackling your DS, Ploom, I have no great advice though, my DS is only a toddler. Hope you get some wise and useful words.

My handwriting is dire, truly awful. We type so much these days, I barely ever need to write on paper! Thank goodness.

I am not really sure what those of you questioning Santa's existence are on about! He is real, you know! :)

Hello to those I have not name checked, better hit send before I lose this message.

oh dear, outnumbered - I hope you all get better soon. what a rubbish start to the weekend. Hang on in there and look after yourself too.

ploom - that sounds like a stressful afternoon. Poor you. Is all this only happening on the (school?) bus? is there an adult on the bus, or just the driver? Can the school do something? There were some problems in DD1's class and the teacher got in mediators, the director got involved too.

linzer - your poor son. I think you did the right thing in consoling him and then offering to do some at home. I hate all the emphasis on writing too. DD1 is neat, but DD2 is rather messy, in spite of having gone through the same drills. But I can't say anything as my writing is a mess and DH's is illegible (another german to add to our representative sample).

nutella - you do sound very organised! how exciting!rather impressed at all that gets provided in Germany and Austria. Nothing close to that was provided in the hospital where I had my three in the UK. DD1 was 3.5 weeks early and I had left too many thing till the last minute. While dd1 and I were still in hospital, dh had to go to boots with a big list of things to get - apparently he grabbed an assistant and begged for help with all those strange things on the list I had given him - written in my dreadful handwriting!

happy thanksgiving to jenny - a special one after your recent fright.

Thanks for the good wishes re job search. Not been fired yet, but last week it looked like I would be. But have got more information and seems like I will be okay...for now.

went to look at a Gymnasium yesterday for dd1 - we have only looked at one , it is the one that is closest to us, and I have heard many positive things about it, though it is meant to be quite demanding. We shall see how it goes....did you have (or do your dc in Gymnasium have) mixed PE lessons? they have seperate ones in this Gymnasium (is that normal?) which is okay, but I am not sure I like the fact that they do different sports - teacher explained that girls like to do more dancing and gymnastics. DD1 fits that description, but dd2 does not -at all.
hello to everyone else....ds is sitting next to me, saying he wants to watch utube on this computer. Must go.

outnumbered Oh no, your poor DS; hope he's out of hospital soon.

Ploom I think you did absolutely the right thing. Bullying really needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible and I don't think you can do so without the cooperation of parents and teachers. Too many adults see it as "just a bit of teasing" or "six of one and half a dozen of the other" and that's an incredibly unhelpful approach. It's great that you and the other mother were able to have a reasonable discussion about it; I think if the parents agree on how bullying should be dealt with (and that it should be dealt with), that's half the battle. It sounds like you've done as much as you can for the time being, and hopefully the other boy will still feel able to talk to his mother about it if there continues to be a problem. (Often you keep the true extent of what's going on from your parents/teachers as you feel like such a failure.) I was badly bullied at my first secondary school and it's truly horrendous - it leaves you with absolutely no self-confidence.

Vegans You must be very organised with your Christmas preparations!

Must go and do the food shopping for our meal later - finally decided to do a lasagne, plus we have to pick up the turkey asap as it needs to be in the oven by around 10 am.

Outnumbered sorry to hear about DS, hope he picks up soon. I don't know which line of work your DH is in but generally KL is a bit remote job wise. Networking with friends and family might open doors, has he registered with job agencies? It sounds like you have a lovely support network in KL and it would be a shame to give that up. Maybe a longer daily commute for your DH would compensate? It must be a tough time for you.

Ploom I'd say you did the right thing. It is often high spirits with boys but they easily miss when they might be going too far and it is good that you have sat down DS and talked to him and don't just tolerate his actions. Maybe time to make some new friends for him?

jenny happy thanksgiving and enjoy the turkey.

nutella no experience here re German hospitals but yes to mat san pads and big knickers. I just bought some cheap once a size too big to eccommodate some post birth flab which I was happy to discard. I also bought some spandex big pants to wear on top during the day in an attempt to have a flat tummy again. Not sure whether it was the spendex pants or not but seemed to have done the trick despite 2 births...

linzer shocked to hear about the teachers getting cross! How can that be motivational. Are you using the multi-lined paper for his exercises? I'm sure some children find it easier than some to produce neat handwriting. DH is quite messy, I am rather neat. DD is left handed so I a not looking forward to the time when she moves on to ink and biro...

We are off to France in a moment. DH has an uncle living in Besançon which is about 4 hours from here. Said uncle has a restaurant so I am seceretly hoping for a lovely meal....

We had a crazy week, spending close to 1000 Euros on the car. TUV and AU, new headlights and winter tyres but we can register the car here and don't need to sell (at a loss) and buy (more cost). Also I dont have an EC card so have to pay in cash everywhere. Did not know I had to transfer money from my current account onto the Visa card first befaore I can withdraw. It must work like a pre-pay card. It was very baffling but I think I have it sussed now.

Have a good w/end everyone.

outnumbered hope you're back home soon and ds is feeling better by then. Is he on a drip?

bienchen have a lovely time in France, hope you get your meal! Credit cards aren't really credit cards here in Germany are they? Dh has a Master Card but it's just a debit card where they book the whole amount at the end of the month.

Linzer have a nice thanksgiving meal! Hope it's not too much work for you. So sad about your ds being upset, poor lad. It's such a big thing here in primary isn't it? But as ploom says, in Gymnasium they aren't bothered and I think the primary school aquired neatness just gets worse and worse until they all have that typical messy scrawl that most Germans write in. We can never read notes by the teachers on test papers and dh can only try and guess what his boss scribbles on his work. Sometimes he's had to go to a German colleague to get help in deciphering it!

platanos my dc have mixed sport lessons at Gymnasium. I think seperate ones are OK but the school would need an extra teacher so that's probably why we don't have them. Is your dd looking forward to changing schools?

ploom hope it all gets sorted soon. Alot it sound slike typical little boys letting off steam and mucking about and it's good that you have talked to your ds about it. It's the ones who don't have parents who pay an interest who carry on though and the only way for your ds is to distance himself from them if he doesn't want to get into trouble again. There's one in ds's class. He's sort of excitable and doesn't seem to have been shown any borders at home either, totally over indulged but never told to behave himself. Slowly the other boys have started to ignore him as they start to mature so he's sort of left on his own being the trouble maker.

vegans the Hannover Christmas market opens this weekend. Have you got one in Frankfurt too? Dd couldn't wait any longer and has gone into the city with her friend today!

Ds has gone with his dad to listen to some students defending their thesis before graduation. One if them is dh's student so they've gone to watch. I'm ill at home, cough and hot flushes/shivering alternated with headaches. Off to get a lemon tea and hot cushion.

Linzer, I am quite organised, I like being prepared! I am doing an Advent hamper for DS (plus some festive socks for DH and me), with the elf on the shelf, so need to be ready for the 1st, so I don't have quite as long. I am desperately trying to find an advent candle that isn't made of paraffin or stearin, but this is proving very hard, so this has been taking me some time. Now think I shall have to get a candle-making kit and make our own.

Admylin, yes, the Frankfurt one opens soon! :)

Hello!

outnumbered hope your DS is better today and you can get home? Hard when one is in hospital especially when you have more than 1 child and feel split in two of course!

admylin get well soon as well!

Linzer are you doing Thanksgiving? Must have missed a post? Happy Thanksgiving to you and Jenny :) Are you going to go in and talk to DS's teacher or do you think talking again won't achieve much? I'm sure loads of boys especially have messy hand writing! DD's is fine - very pretty if she concentrates, messy if she doesn't, so any praise or criticism she gets is generally justified, if that makes sense, because if she's produced a mess its because she wasn't concentrating, but if you can't yet write neatly it must be horribly demotivating to have a frown drawn on your work when you've tried! Yet again this makes me so sure my DS1 will do better with another year at Kindergarten, as his drawing at 5 is similar to DD's at 3, so I am sure this would directly translate to his handwriting, as it's mainly a matter of fine motor skills, which everyone knows develop later on average in boys...

Plantanos glad you are keeping your job for now!

Nutella sounds like you're nearly ready! Very exciting! In the UK you have to take everything you might need for both yourself and the baby into hospital for the birth, but in Germany everything is provided until you get ready to go home - agree you'll just need toiletries, snacks - I don't think bath towels were provided at our hospital, although I had my own maybe if I hadn't I could have asked... Take a book or two for after if you're going to stay in - you may not be able to sleep initially when the baby does if you're on a high and be restless, and some form of ipod/ walkman/ headphones if you don't want to be stuck with the hospital radio. Take a pile of money to buy cards for the TV and hospital phone, and a pen for form filling if they forget to leave you one - also to write lists for your DH if you think of things you want him to bring anything in for you if you stay several days... I wanted to get dressed in the day as soon as I physically could in hospital (I had sections so couldn't manage it for the first 24 hours) so I packed normal clothes - but then as I had planned sections and somehow was convinced the boys wouldn't come early I could pack the day before, as if I was going on holiday! With DD (my first) I was packed at 28 weeks pregnant, bit over eager! Of course she turned up 2 weeks late and my planned water birth turned into an emergency section!

All my kids have come home in 0-3 clothes even though they were not huge - DD was 4110g (9lb 1, born in the UK) and the boys were both almost identical weights at about 3860g (roughly 8lb 7 I think, born in Germany) - the boys were both 38 week planned sections though, and were both fairly long babies which may be why 0-3 clothes were fine. I was told I was having a big baby with each of the first 2, which is why I took 0-3 in (the Ob Gyne said ds1 would be 5kg if left to term) but it was fine even though neither were anywhere near as big as predicted. Funny how weight is not always a totally accurate guide to how a baby fills clothes! Guess you can always get different clothes brought in:)

Hello Bienchen and everyone else, I have forgotten what else I wanted to say after all the birth reminiscing!

I took my big 2 to a panto in Munich yesterday, it was quite good - am dram and a little smaller and lower key than a full on panto by UK standards, but in English and with most of the ingredients of a true panto :) Travelling in by train and Ubahn is also a treat for my LandKinder :o I came home to a very poorly DS3 though, he had been a bit ill the night before, but Neurofen had kept his temperature under control, and DH had texted to say it had gone up in the afternoon but come down with medicine, but when I got home he was 41 degrees and not coming down - wrapping his legs in tea towels soaked in icy water did bring it down to 39, but he hated it! He was awake on and off most of the night, but finally about 6.15am he started to perk up and now his temp is down to 38, so hopefully he is on the mend. We have cancelled plans to meet friends at a Christmas market this afternoon though! DD is at a magic course as planned though, it's a VHS one day thing, DH dropped her off - hope she's having fun, when he dropped her off most of the other kids who had arrived were older, but there were lots still to arrive. She had a mini wobble before she went because she doesn't know anyone else who's going, but usually she is fine in those situations and really wanted to do it... we'll see at 3pm when she's finished I guess!

outnumbered I hope DS is better and the others at home haven't caught his bug! Also FX your DP finds a job nearby so that you don't have to uproot your family when you've just managed to settle and find lots of support.

Ploom I think it's important that your DS knows what he is doing is probably making the victim feel really unhappy; being bullied is a horrible thing, can your DS and the victim of the bullying be friends? Good that you're in contact with the other Mums, just a pity that they don't all take it seriously... But you sound like a great mum to be tackling it so quickly! :)

My American friend celebrated thanksgiving with her DH's family on Friday; then last night she hosted a Siedler Tournament, it was great fun! (Not really thanksgiving related but we had left over turkey :) ) My friend had made some pumpkin cheesecake with cinnamon cream which was rather tasty. We took along bits for hotdogs and they were a real hit! Was a bit worried that we'd have to eat hotdogs for the rest of the week but they all got eaten.

Today I have altered and hemmed the IKEA curtains we bought for the baby corner (via the magic of wonder webbing) so the corner is now officially sort of sectioned off. Have another set of curtains to do... Need to scrub the floor and put down the rug... Then I think I'm done.... I think...

I do appreciate all the hospital tips! Thank you everyone! :) have packed some more bits and shown DP so he has an idea of what is where... Well if all goes to plan I have at least another 4 weeks (I'm convinced Nutellachen will arrive on papanutella's birthday... Or later...) of sitting around so will need to find some more jobs to keep me entertained :o

Have lovely Sunday evening's everyone!

English I've packed both sizes of clothes; from what I remember seeing on the screen it could be a slightly long baby but the Dr hasn't commented on it ... Although DP and I aren't small (he is about 6'1" ish and I'm 5'8") and DP has looong legs... So we shall see :)

Nutella Pumpkin cheesecake sounds delicious; I made a pumpkin pie yesterday, but DH had to make a special trip to the British shop in Vienna for half the ingredients.

English We did have a Thanksgiving meal but it was really just an excuse to invite some friends over (none American) and for DH to cook a turkey.

It sounds like German hospitals are a little more high-tech than Austrian ones - no hospital radio or TVs here (although you can use your mobile so no need to use hospital phones).

Hope your DS is on the mend soon and that your DD enjoyed the magic course.

Vegans What kind of things are you putting in the Advent hamper? We have an elf on the shelf too, but I haven't planned much to do with him yet - I need to get my thinking cap on!

admylin Hope you're feeling better today. DD1 has been told by her maths (!) teacher that she needs to write more neatly, but I think it had more to do with her not using a ruler to underline things and not writing on the lines than her actual handwriting.

Bienchen The paper that DS uses at school (that he'd done the writing practice on) has three lines - top, middle and bottom - but we just have normal lined paper at home; not that he writes much at home, although I did practice a bit with him today.
Hope you had a lovely time in France and an equally lovely meal.

platanos Good news that things are looking more positive on the job front. At DD1's school, girls and boys have separate PE lessons (it took me ages to work out that BSPMK meant Bewegung und Sport Mädchen und Knaben), but she doesn't seem to have done anything particularly "girly" so far - she's told me that they've been running and have done Nordic walking. Actually, have just asked her and she told me they've done dancing and that the boys do "football and things like that" so ignore my previous sentence!

I took DD2 ice skating today for the first time this season, which was good fun; I was relieved to find I hadn't forgotten how to do it since last winter. I still haven't worked out to brake, though, and kept worrying that I was going to crash into one of the toddlers or teenage boys whizzing round at dangerous looking speeds.

Hi everyone! we were allowed to go home this afternoon, thank goodness. Ds3 was on the drip from Thursday until this afternoon. He is still far from well (on top of the tummy bug he developed a really dry cough as well as ear ache) but nothing be cant manage at home. Just have to go to the paed's tomorrow re the ear.

Being in hospital with a 2-year-old really is a nightmare. I'd say ds3 is probably the easiest one out of our three, ust because he hasnt got the difficult autistic challenges, but he is a very very active child with an even stronger mind. Being stuck in a little hospital room, attached to the drip, didnt make the best side of his personality shine the first day he was still so weak, he didnt really mind, but then the tantrums started. ANd I think he'll forever be known as 'the child who eats and drinks nothing but KAKAO'. he screamed the place down until one the doctor said that him drinking chocolate milk is better than him not drinking or eating anything. And how do you keep a toddler entertained when in hospital? we room-shared with a 5-year-olg girl, and her parents were playing board games with her, she watched TV etc. But ds3 isnt interested in TV, too young for games...it really was hard work and I am glad to be back home. and so far - touch wood - ds1 and ds2 have not caught the sickness bug.

I know I will never be able to comment on everyones' posts, so please forgive me. But it sounds like lots of you are having quite stressful times as well.

ploom I have no experience with bullying, but it is one of the things I worry most about being the victim of with ds1 and ds2. I really like your approach though.

Linzer I remember that the rpimary school teacher of my eldest db spoke to my mum about his terrible handwriting. She then practised lots with him and it did improve....and then he chose a profession where it is a pre-requisite to have terrible handwriting. He is now a surgeon

bienchen where abouts are you? I am just surprised you know KL. not many people seem to have heard of it or know where it is. you are right, not many jobs right in KL, in fact overall it's very provincial. was it not for the good support for our boys, we wouldnt be too fussed about moving again. dh is looking germany-wide, and if at all possible he will commute. at least for the time being.

nutella you are very organised! re maternity pads: I had ds1 in England, and I had 2nd degree tears. I was very grateful for the extra cushioning the pads provided! That and those special 'ice packs' you can get for down there. ds2 I had after being back in GErmany for 4 weeks - and when packing my hospital bad I was shocked to see that I couldnt find proper maternity pads anywhere. I got a friend from England to send some over to me, as I didnt know that GErmany hospitals provide them for you. How exciting for you. Quite a few friends and member of my family are expecting at the moment, and it makes me a little bit sad. if things werent quite so difficult and the future quite uncertain with ds1 and ds2, I'd really like one more. BUt then, three dc isnt bad going either all of ours were in size '50' btw. ds1 was the heaviest at 3380g, the other two were below the 3kg.

Vegans you're not too far away from us then are you? How are you finding Frankfurt?

admylin dh studied business and has an MBA. he started a PhD but the 'took a break' when we decided to move back to GErmany to be close to my mum. but then, the 'break' turned more permanent when he realised that having 2 little children and a full-time management consultancy job isnt really ideal on top of studying for a PhD. He left the consultancy job for this job here in Kaiserslautern, so that we could see more of him. The job here was project management, so nothing out of the ordinary really, but still not that many job around it seems. I take it your dh works at uni? in what field?

I know I havent commented on everyone's posts, too much to catch up with!

I have to say, this thread is very unusual in its tone to most of the rest on mumsnet!!