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

I am married to a German who is not a doctor, nor does he have a PhD - he is a "Rakete Arbeiter" according to Ds1 :o , but that is a rather inaccurate 5 year old understanding of what he does, which is basically computers). His writing is OK, but DD's is much prettier :)

OK, I shall withdraw my initial theory - but there does seem to be a preponderance of medical doctor DHs on this thread.

Linzer It only made me think that my posts today have been too long - I don't blame anyone getting confuzzled trying to read them . I know there is a british dyslexia association thanks google so there must be some Austrian equivalents strange about the colours bit though... I was lead to believe it's a huge part of helping people to read more comfortably...

Oh and one of my favourite stories ever about a young girl who did Tae Kwon Do (she was a belt or two off of a blackbelt); she was walking home from training one evening when a group of boys got a bit rowdy and were making fun of her "pyjamas". One of the boys got a bit close and she sorted him out with a swift kick and the rest ran away :)
Different martial arts have different focus; some are more aggressive, some are more defensive or theoretical, it's worth looking at what's available near you. They usually allow a session for free (in the UK anyway) so you can see if it suits or not.

antique I've just been looking at the calendar 37+3 weeks would mean only another two weeks (actually less it'd be 9th Dec)... which is tempting (as in I'm fed up with being pregnant!) but terrifyingly close!

Sorry, I seem to be unintentionally ignoring everyone today...

cheas It's hard to pinpoint exactly when I started worrying about DD1 as we've had concerns about her since she started school - we initially put it all down to the dyslexia but I'd been wondering recently whether it was just that. I think I've been slightly more concerned since she started secondary school as she doesn't seem to have any friends outside school and is a bit awkward socially (I was very shy at her age, but thought that even if it was "just" shyness, maybe we could find some way of helping her).

Antique Yes, it was nice to spend some time with DD1 on her own and chat a bit about school etc. We didn't really have time to "do" anything as she wanted to start on her homework straight away; she was going to help me make muffins, but has now gone over to the neighbours' as playing with their oldest DD seemed to be more of an attraction!

Nutella No worries about "normal"; I know exactly what you mean.

That link looks really good; thanks Nutella. I've also just googled and have discovered a similar site for Austria, although the British one looks less overwhelming and more "navigable" IYSWIM - I'll have to have a proper look later. (Oh, and I've just discovered I've been misspelling Legasthenie. )

Linzer both my parents are medical doctors - they have rubbish writing, my mothers is boarder-line illegible, my fathers is actually illegible - they are not remotely German though :o

Sorry about the 2 missing '

*Nuttella I was hoping DD would come at 39+3 and somewhat fixed mentally on that date as it was the first day of my maternity leave, and would have avoided her being an August birthday if she'd been born earlier (what an irony - we lived in the UK when a Sept birthday is the ideal for being eldest in your school year, unlike here where Sept birthdays are the youngest). She turned up 2 weeks late though! :o Those last 3 weeks were very irritating in a lot of ways as everybody starts looking surprised that you are still pregnant, and impatience is starting to win over fear! It is so weird isn't it that 37 weeks is "term" but it could still be another 5 weeks til you go into labour from then! My 2 boys were planned c-sections at 38 weeks, and although I would never recommend a c-section for "no reason" all other things being equal, as the recovery is not very pleasant, I did like knowing the date :o

good evening! I'm just waiting for our pizza delivery ( but I did have a good work-out session at te gym this morning!) so will try to catch up on here.

I didnt mean I wasnt intending to ring the boy's parents anymore after hearing that they were quite cool about the bent glasses. I just didnt get hold of them last night. I spoke to his mum earlier though, and she really was lovely about it. she said that she knows that her son is no angel either, and that he loves provoking (which is true, we've seen it in action and ds1 is the perfect target as all children can always be sure that he will react to it). In any case, I told her that I still believe that ds1 needs to work on his impulse control. He knows what's right and what's wrong - and was clearly upset about what he had done. Anyway, they will be at the Weihnachtsfeier next week so we'll see them there. It was a very positive conversation, and I just hope that we will meet lots more understanding parents like them.

english ds1' birthday is in March, so yes, he really should be starting school next year. but we may ave to consider holding him back a year anyway if we dont get him 'socially and emotionally' ready for it. from a congitive side he is more than ready, as he has taught himself to read and write (still pretty basic though) and knows his numbers to 1000, doing some calculationes etc. I am a little worried that he'll be bored no end if he stayed at kiga a year longer...but then I rather have him bored at kiga but not getting expelled from school...

Nutella I love the little nickname people have given your baby. it is so GErman isnt it. Although I speak to our dc in English only, their nickname's are GErman. well, ds1' would be the same in English and wouldnt work with the -chen end. but ds2 is Oskarchen, ds3 is Frederikchen . re due dates, ds1 was 3 days early. ds2 and 3 had to be induced 2 weeks early. Te positive side to that - like with a planned c-section - was that we knew when they were coming. and as I tend to have quick labours, my biggest worry during pregnancies was always getting to hospital on time.

oh, and to add to the statistics re handwriting
as mentioned, db1 is a surgeon and has terrible handwriting
db2 and db3 have ATROCIOUS handwriting...one has a PhD in neurophysics, the other one a PhD in Chemistry. My dad has a PhD in mineralogy and his handwriting is near illegible. dh started a PhD but didnt finish it. His handwriting is quite neat (neater than mine probably unless I really try hard)...but his PhD was in Business Strategy. So maybe it's got to do with the natural sciences?

right, pizza is here

outnumbered I probably worded my post badly, but I never thought that you were no longer intending to speak to the parents as they were OK about it. You could well be right about the handwriting/science connection; my father also has atrocious handwriting and was a research scientist (no PhD, though). DH's PhD is in chemical engineering.

English I had the worst of both worlds with DS - a C-section that wasn't planned... Oh, and I didn't actually realise I was in labour when we went out for Christmas dinner; it just became obvious during the course of the meal.

I was walking our dog with ds1 when labour started - although like you, Linzer, I didnt realise, just thought they were slightly more uncomfortable braxton hicks. didnt even think much of it when they were getting so uncomfortable that I was walking rather fast. Eventually I did text dh, asking if he could perhaps work from home...just in case :) ds1 was born 2 hours later!

I had similar with DD2 outnumbered - two hours in labour from start to finish, and we got to the hospital with only 10 minutes to spare. I was expecting DS to arrive even more quickly and was worried about giving birth at home (unplanned) - a C-section was the last thing I was expecting.

oh, and Linzer about dyslexia and colours: i do remember learning about that too but cant remember specifics. I just seem to recall that the colours red and green and very difficult for dyslexic people to read, which is why we were told to try and avoid those colours when using the whiteboard. (I am a teacher but have clearly been out of the classroom for too long as I cant remember very much ). And I do remember certain colours of print on certain colours of paper works best, but I thought it differs from person to person which combination is best (does that make sense???).

Linzer, I can't remember if you have said, do you have a Christmas Day baby?

Nutella, do whatever you feel comfortable doing. I think being heavily pregnant is a good reason for putting yourself first. As is having a new baby! :)

tadj, "checking the etch process of a wafer" sorry pardon what?!

I fancy chips now after all this vinegar talk! There is a store that stocks British stuff somewhere around here, but I've heard it is horribly expensive. PIL will be here in a few weeks, I can wait.
I also fancy pizza now, after outnumbered's mention of it. Yum!

Happy Birthday, Mr.Cheas.

Antique, happy packing. There's always more than you think there is, isn't there!

Ploom, enjoy your new windows. We have double glazing here but it is still blooming freezing.

Bienchen, glad you had a good trip.

I am not a doctor, and my handwriting is atrocious! :)

outnumbered What subject do you teach? DD1's dyslexia tutor never mentioned anything about colours but the psychologist we saw on Tuesday also offers dyslexia training, so I'll have to ask her about it.

WhatWould No, DD1 missed out on having a Christmas Day birthday by 25 minutes. Probably for the best, as it gives us an excuse for three days of celebrations - Austrian Christmas, British Christmas and DD1's birthday.

Got the muffins done in the end, although only on the second attempt - I forgot the egg the first time, so had to scrape all the mixture back out of the muffin cases to add it (luckily they'd only been in the oven two minutes). It was good that I had DD1 helping as she was the one who pointed it out - I probably wouldn't have realised otherwise!

I trained (for secondary schools) for Business Studies and ICT. Getting my teaching qualifications accredited over here is quite difficult though, especially as those subjects arent really taught at secondary schools here. In between ds2 and ds3 I did teach ENglish at a Gymnasium in Lüneburg. Anyway, as I had all my training in the UK, I have no idea what the recommendations are over here, but really they shouldnt be any different I would think. I will be interested to hear what the psychologist says about it.

Morning everyone!

Linzer hope you find out some more info about the colours thing. I agree with outnumbered that different colours are supposed to work best for different people and the worst colours are (supposed to be) red and green. I always put things students are having problems with on yellow cards.... Seems to work I only have old dyslexic colleague's word that blue on yellow is best :) but I'd believe him because it was in the police and they get all jumpy when someone with any kind of "needs" raises a hand.

outnumbered I think it was ploom (??) that nicknamed their DC with a "chen" on the end and just found it really cute so stole it for Nutellachen :o although irl I often refer to it as "the bean" because of how much it looked like a kidney bean at the first scan.... All those months ago....

DP is off to Nürnberg later for last night away before the bean arrives... My Mum's labours with us were only 4-5 hours long so hoping that at 36 weeks today it stays put a little longer because its a 3 hour train journey and that might cut it a bit fine I better spend the day on the sofa so as not to encourage anything! :o

Speaking of sofa days, how are you admylin? Hope you are either much better or being taken good care of! X

How do you manage to mumsnet so early in the morning Linzer and outnumbered? I'm still trying to get dc out of bed and stop fights infront of the bathroom door at that time!

Hope everyone is well, all little ones recovering and school/kindergarden Ankunft went smoothly. I'm back off to bed now, day 6 of being ill so I hope if it's a flu type virus that I'll be feeling better as of today.

linzer anxiety and dyslexia definately go together and depression can be a consequence of those things. I think your dd will really have a good chance of improving if she has real dyslexia training/therapy. Dd's has really helped alot, so much more than the hours and hours of spelling practise we used to do.

Morning nutella!
Did you get to talk about the 24th? It's the most important day/evening for the Germans isn't it? How have you and dp spent the last years?

admylin Sorry to hear you're still suffering; it sounds like you've got a proper dose of the flu. Bed is definitely the best idea!

I get up over an hour before the DC so have time to MN over breakfast. Everyone here thinks I'm mad when I tell them how early I get up, but I was reading the introverts thread yesterday and was relieved to discover I'm not alone!

It sounds like your DD's dyslexia training is much more effective than DD1's. Her dyslexia tutor was lovely, DD1 enjoyed going and I'm sure it helped a lot with her writing but it obviously wasn't enough as a lot of areas were neglected.

Nutella Some of DD1's index cards are yellow - I'm not keen on the colour but will remember to buy them rather than the white ones in future!

Sounds like you have a good excuse to spend the day on the sofa. I know quite a few people who had quick second and subsequent labours but almost none who had a speedy first delivery, so hopefully you won't buck the trend today! It would be good if you inherited the 4-5 hour labours once your DH is back, of course.

outnumbered It seems to be quite tricky to transfer qualifications between countries. A friend of mine who had trained as a librarian in the UK was very annoyed that she wasn't allowed to work as a librarian in Germany as her qualifications weren't recognised. Anyway, I can't imagine that the recommendations here are much different either.

I was just looking at this test and found the text on the yellow background stands out much more than on the others, even black on white, although whether I'd actually find it easier to read I'm not sure (although as I'm not dyslexic myself, that's not really relevant).

Am waiting for some work to arrive at the moment; it needs to be done by midday, so fingers crossed it gets here soon. I really wish work would arrive at the time that I start work, but no - it usually gets here just before the DC come home from school.

Wow, I only missed a day of posting and there´s so much to catch up on.

Nutella Have you reached an agreement with your dh about the 24th. I think if it´s 40 minutes away from the hospital I´d stay at home - I found the journey to hospital really uncomfortable when I was in labour (not that you´ll necessarily go into labour while you´re there). Both of my dc were 8 days early.

admylin sorry to hear that you´re still feeling grotty - take it easy.

jenny you have to come back and explain about the wafer - I think we all read the post looking like this .

outnumbered You must be so relieved that the otherr parents were so understanding. It´s also refreshing to hear that they realised that their own child is no angel.

Bienchen I´m glad you enjoyed your trip and had a lovely meal.

By the way I´m not really organised for Christmas. It´s just that dd´s birthday is in a couple of weeks, so it was easier to do 1 or 2 big internet orders and include the Christmas presents aswell.

Have any of you got snow yet? At the moment we´ve just got rain, but it´s forecast to change to snow later.

Morning!

linzer - wow you are an early bird . I cant drag myself out of bed in these dark mornings never mind MN at that time so good on you. I find the text on the green easier to read than the other colours (altho like you I'm not dyslexic so its not relevant either).

oh admylin - thats a long time to feel poorly - I always think the days feel longer when you feel rotten. Hope you feel better soon.

Nutella - did you discuss with your dp about Christmas eve? Hope Nutellachen stays in till he gets back. (you called my dd ploomchen - think thats how it started). I never spontaneously went in labour with any of my 3 dc - was induced each time. Think I must be missing whatever it is that starts it off . I was always really jealous of friends who went early when I was still waiting at nearly 42 weeks. A very sensible friend had a great idea of only thinking of the due date as 42 weeks then anything before that is a bonus.

outnumbered - glad you got to speak to the parents and it was all ok. I also think it would be difficult to transfer my qualifications to here (not that I've tried) - you would imagine it'd be easier since its within the EU.

antique - that the move is all going to plan - is your ds letting you pack or is he unpacking as quick as you fill a box?

english - that your ds2 is still so poorly - I would have thought if it was bacterial that a good 24 hours of antibiotics would have started to do something by now. Hope he feels better soon.

The parents eve went really well - ds1's teacher was in a good mood and said nearly all positive things about him. She just says he just needs to concentrate a bit better with HSU - think he just needs us to go over the topics with him after he's done the homework. Ds2's teacher was so positive about him that I think I had a tear in my eye . What a difference from kiga. So proud of the two of them.

I'm patiently sat on the computer this morning waiting until 10am till the Robbie Williams tickets go on sale . At one point on Monday night I thought there was going to be a whole gang of us going but its now down to 3 which I'm secretly happier about - its never easy to make plans for 8! Too excited already (god I am way too old to be so giddy about a pop concert )

x posts hupa - no snow yet but really heavy rain that looks like it could turn sleety. The dc are desperate for snow but I'll be happy if it stays away.

Linzer that's what I had with DD - waited to go into labour, finally did 2 weeks over due (although in my case not "properly" as in my waters went but then it was only pre-labour for 24 hours, irregular contractions although quite intense, and ended up on a drip after 24 hours, which still didn't work, so finally after another fully day her heart rate dipped and I was still nowhere near delivering so emergency c-section, in the middle of the night). DD's delivery in the UK was a bit of a mess - though with a happy ending - but it was the reason DSs were planned sections, that and the fact the Ob-gyne here said DS1 was set to be about 5kg... which he wasn't at all! I do think you are a bit mad getting up before the DC - I'm sure mine would wake up if I got up anyway, certainly they are woken by DH getting in the shower if they aren't already up by then... Ds2 actually slept "in" today - as in he was still asleep when the older 2 and I came downstairs for breakfast at 6.30am, but he was up coughing all night - still that doesn't usually cause a lie in, I'm not sure he's ever had one before! He woke about 7am :)

DS2 had a fever free night last night! :) Yay! -he has developed a horrible cough, which started while he was ill but kept him (and me) up last night, but at least that is a "normal" thing and not worrying like a prolonged high fever. Now he has hiccups and is very cross about it - he hasn't had them since he was a baby I don't think, and doesn't seem to understand what they are.. it is quite funny although I feel a bit sorry for him :o

Ooops being climbed on and have just waffled pointlessly - waves at everyone! :)

Ps as I don't have a cleaner I'd be justified using an ironing service I've just discovered wouldn't I? :)

Ooh we have snow too - horrible wet stuff though - looks OK from the window, turns to slush immediately underfoot.

Hope you get your tickets Ploom :)