Durch die Strassen auf und nieder, leuchten die Laternen wieder... ***Herbstunterhaltung im Deutschem Eck***

[MmeLindt]

Durch die Strassen auf und nieder
leuchten die Laternen wieder:
rote, gelbe, grüne, blaue,
Lieber Martin, komm und schaue!

Wie die Blumen in dem Garten
blühn Laternen aller Arten:
rote, gelbe, grüne, blaue,
Lieber Martin, komm und schaue!

Und wir gehen lange Strecken
mit Laternen an den Stecken
rote, gelbe, grüne, blaue,
Lieber Martin, komm und schaue!

*

It is that time of the year again. Check your lanterns, get enough batteries, start the Bastelaktion.

really only 6 months!! but its flown by! would like to pretend my german was so much better but its really not - think my language lessons that start in 2 weeks might help!

do you know we've still never been to the GP here!! ds2 has been to the Kinderarzt for his ?U7 and ds1 was at the Augenarzt yesterday but (touch lots of wood) the kids havent been poorly and neither have we! its all that good country living! we've never been so healthy! but i'm sure i must have used Sie at the dentist!!

I do the not saying either Du or Sie thing too. Generally I use Sie until the other person suggests we use Du. Unless I am the elder which is happening more and more these days.

I do think that the DC just pick it up. Pity it is not so easy for us.

Did you live in a city before then canella?

ML how did it happen that your dd fell off her pony? Was she learning to jump?

She was not learning to jump, she said that she was doing "gallop", which caused much consternation amongst the horseriding MNetters when I asked for advice. Then a MNetter who had ridden in France explained that "gallop" in French is "canter" in English.

It was a nasty fall, she had a mild concussion. Would have been bad if she had not been wearing her helmet.

Since then she has not wanted to go back. She was persuaded to go last week but then the blardy horse bit her.

So that was the end of the horse riding.

that's a shame ML, they are usually so placid these riding school ponies but you do have to watch them, don't you? In particular I tell dd to always watch their ears. Was it the same horse that she fell off which then bit her? Dd was feeding "her" pony when it bit her in the stomach. It didn't hurt, she says, but it did leave a mark. They can be unpredictable. Where was she bitten?

It was more of a gentle nibble tbh. I think it was fed up waiting, they were just getting ready to get on the horses. It grazed her on the arm, not even a mark on her really but she got a fright.

oh your poor dd mme lindt - i'm a bit afraid of horses so i'd be petrified to get back on too! but as long as she's ok!

zzen - we lived in a big town in the NW of england before - i worked PT, ds's were in private nursery 3 long days (well 7.30 - 4.30 - long in my eyes) and dd was at before and after school club those days too.

We now live in the countryside on the edge of the Rhoen, i'm at home so they are only at kiga for 4 hours in the morning and dd is home from school at the latest by 1.30.

i'm not starting a SAHM vs WOHM arguement (wouldnt dare on MN and agree with both sides really) but the kids are definitely healthier since we moved here! think its a combination of a change in all the above factors!

aw go on now canella start a SAHM-WOHM thread. I dare you.

I'm sure they are healthier canella. We all get sick a lot easier when we are tired. Mind you winter at kiga does seem to be virus breeding time, so you'll have to wait and see how that develops. My pediatrician used to say he thought the heaters were often to blame for a lot of winter bugs (not the change from overheated rooms to cold outdoors mind you but something about the way the heaters work). No idea now what he meant.

You are probably more relaxed too with less to juggle.

I'm not too keen on crowded stables with lots of big horses standing about being groomed. I don't really like to see dd zipping in and out (in particular round the back end of big horses. Big horses = powerful kick etc

She can pick it up anytime really if she wants to ML. I don't think it's one ofthose things you need to learn young - like say ballet.

Mmm...salt and vinegar crisps. I could use some of those right about now.

We've actually had the heat on this week when it's been a bit cold but today was so nice we didn't need it.

Good job on dd's school work, admylin. My two are still struggling through but I think they'll be all right. Apparently the vice-principal is thinking about leaving the school because he doesn't get on with the new (female) principal. Should be a lot of drama this year.

canella, my experience with working in UK/Germany is slightly similar. I worked f/t in both places, but the higher standard of living in germany somehow seems to ease the awfulness of the grind. Little luxuries like being able to travel on the train without it costing an arm and a leg. Plus being able to escape to the mountains at weekends. Plus just having more space, really.

Now, Ive got a kiga saga which only people like you guys, who have experienced the pain will truly apreciate...

On the last day of the last school year, I discovered that dd2's kiga was moving outside our town, to a location that is really only reachable by car. (They hadnt bothered to send round a letter, because "Everyone has been talking about it, Frau NN". See previous rants.)
So I went round other kigas in our town in a panic, and got a promise from the best one, lets call it M kiga, that they had a child who probably wouldnt be coming, and dd2 could have this childs place if the child didnt come, which they expected.
September, I got an email from M to say that "as we told you before, no places are available."
1st day of new school year, I went round to see another kiga. They said they had no spaces, but promised to phone around for me.
Same day, I finally decided that the old kiga (call it X) really wasnt possible, and cancelled it in despair. So dd had no kiga place.
Today, I got a call back from the 2nd kiga, "We think you don't need a place here, because you have an au pair madchen, so you dont need the childcare, but why dont you call the M kiga, because we know that theyve got a space"
So I said "but the M kiga refused us last week" (was pissed off by now)
"Oh, the space only came up yesterday. A child left M kiga to go to X kiga."

Yes, a child had left the M kiga to take dd's old place in the X kiga....

Anyway, the woman then told me to phone the M kiga on Monday - I am guessing this was to give them the chance to give the place to someone else.
Of course, I called the M kiga straight away, and they offered me the place. Am left wondering if dd would have got it if I hadn't called them immediately. As a vorschulkind with working mother, she's supposed to be priority.

So, dd has a kiga place (hurrah!), but WHY does it have to be so inept and bloody complicated???!!!

what a load of hassle NN. Is that because they have fewer spaces generally in Bavaria? I had no trouble getting a kiga place for dd and I moved her a couple of times for various reasons. I was a SAHM and it didn't seem any kind of a problem. Maybe Berlin generally has more kiga places or people are less keen on taking them up? Well done getting it sorted though. That kind of thing can really take it out of you I bet.

Not sure, zz, but its bloody musical chairs with kiga places in our town.

On the plus side, ds1, who had an awful teacher last year, seems to have a very nice one this year. He is a man, which I am pleased about, as ex h lives in France, and ds hardly sees any men.

I don't know how you always manage things NN, you must be very strong. Has your ex calmed down a bit now and is that side of things more normal now?

I am a bit in shock tbh. Have just heard a man who I was at primary school with is dying of multiple brain tumours. It seems there is no hope at all and he expect not to be here for Christmas. So sad. He has always been a lovely person.

One thing I blank out of my mind is what would happen to dd if I were to be gone. I don't see how dh could manage. I should I suppose make some serious provision. Seems you never know how very ill you really are until it is too late to do much about it.

How are you all taking these Al Quaida threats against Germany? Do you worry about it or just not think about it?

Ex is a bit more rational now, but only because circumstances forced him to be (ie he cant come to de).
I worry about what would happen if anything happened to me, too. I have life insurance, but am not really well enough prepared. I am not sure if you can bequeath parental responsibility in a will, but I think you can state your wishes. do you have family that you would want to take over your share of pr?

That must be an awful shock about your ex classmate. You don't really expect to hear such terrible news about young adults.

What Al Quaida threat? I hadnt heard it. Do they think AM is too close to the americans now? Germans are not really security conscious like those of us who grew up near London in teh IRA years, so would be a soft target, I guess.

hadnt heard of an Al Quaida threat - never really feel worried cause we live in the countryside but going to the UK in 2 weeks and flying from frankfurt - then it makes me a bit nervous!

So sad about your classmate zzen. one of my close friends died nearly a year ago - really unexpectedly at only 36 and it really made me think what would happen to our dc if it was me. She had 2 dc who were only 5 and 3 at the time but her dh is amazing and somehow copes really well although from how she used to talk about him i'd never have thought he would. Granted he has a well paid job so he has a cleaner but he now works shorter hours and her family help to pick the kids up from school etc. Cant imagine how my dh would cope - think oma and opa would really have to come to help. Really wanted to find time to write some stuff for my dc in case anything like that ever happened to me but its one of those things you think you'll do but never get round to.

(sorry to be so morbid this eve! blame the red wine!)

threat

They have been expecting it for some time but seems to be heightened sense of risk atm in view of the video and some other info they have.

I rmeember you mentioning your friend's death canella. So sad, isn't it, especially when they have families with small dc. I don't think anyone in my family is really in a very good position to take on looking after dd as main carer really. They would all try to help but I can't tbh really see a straight-forward solution atm. Really should give it a good think

hi everyone, been so busy not been around for ages, hope everyone ok, esp ad.
we're ok, boys back at school, mind boggling juggling of 4 schedules, I'm bound to make terrible mistakes when everything kicks in (swim lessons, guitar lessons, judo, all the extra curricular stuff) still it's warm and sunny and blissfully quiet, apart from dd who has learned to scream....

Zzzen
So sorry to hear about your friend's diagnosis. It is horrible.

We have talked about making a will and sorting out parental responsibility for the DC should something happen to us, but have not got around to it. We always said that we would like my brother to take the DC, but now he has his own family, I think it would be too much. My PILs are too old, it onyl really leaves my parents. Horrible thought.

I have a friend who wont fly on the same flight with her DH in case the plane crashes. Bit OTT. I asked if she does not travel in the same car, more chance of a car crash than a plane crash.

Ernest
Welcome back.

Got to go, French teacher here.

I never think about things like that ML (although maybe I should?). I mean a car crashing and killing us both etc.

Bon travail!

Hiya ernest, you do sound busy. I think (but having only 1 dc I don't really know) that after the October holidays, you'll find you've fallen into a routine. Don't you have one of those executive type calenders with everything marked on it (diff colours for dif dc) up on your kitchen wall? Everyone seems to have those. Like running a small company, isn't it? Ha ha ha at dd learning to scream. I thought they all came fully equipped with that skill.

missed about your friends dx zzzen . it will be the 2nd anniversary of mil died of brain tumour in a fortnight, sorry, lost the ability to construct sentence. It was really hard. I also worry about our dc, especially having 4, only erson to turn to is my sil and while i lover her v. much, i'd say she's struggles enough as it is. I'd hate the thought of them being split up, or going to strangers. must get our wills re done. We did ours properly through a solicitor after ds1 was born in London, before we moved to CH. 2 countries and 3 dc later, things have changed somewhat....

We just recently 'arranged' where the dc would go to if needed but we still haven't got around to making it official. Suppose a couple of letters signed by us all would be better than nothing to start with.

Don't know how you manage Ernest! I drive around constantly picking one up and then taking the other somewhere and they only have 2 things each after school at the moment. Worst ones are when you have to collect them and only have an hour before driving to the next place so hardly worth going home but a pain to sit around and you can only go so many time for a coffee or to a bakery. As you say I am so thankfull for this weather so nice to be out and about but wait until winter sets in. Hope we have moved by then so they'll be near school atleast.

Puh, finished my lesson. I was pleased to find that I am only about half way through my lessons, I thought that I was almost finished. By the time the lessons are finished, I hope that I will be reasonably fluent. The one-on-one lessons are definitely a LOT more effective than classes.

I start classes next week, more as a revision than to learn lots of new stuff. The city of Geneva offers free lessons to non-French speaking parents who have DC in local schools.

We are back to just once a week activities, and I have been able to persuade them both to do the same things so far. At the moment it is football training, am going to look into the gym/swimming pool in France. I think they do swimming lessons, which DS will need before next summer.

Any news on a house yet, Admylin?

As well as the sheer juggling and remembering everything (currently writing everything up on an old A3 whiteboard, my problem is the clashes.

Monday is my most fun day

14.30 ds2 leave Hort, come home to collect guitar
15 - 15.30 ds2 Guitar lesson then return home - drop guitar collect judo kit, return to Hort
16.00 Collect ds3 from Kindergarten
16.00 - 17.00 ds1 & ds2 Holzwerkstatt at Hort
17.00 - 18.00 ds3 swim course
17.30 ds3 Jud course
18.00 ds1 return from Hort
19.00 ds 3 finish judo
tuesdays marginally, but not much less chaotic

Oh, my goodness, Ernest. You must need a huge glass of wine cup of tea and a biscuit in the evenings after all that.

I am glad ours have all day school, not so much time to organise afterschool activities here.

I have all our activities in my Outlook/iPhone calender and send DH an email with any appointments that he needs to attend. Otherwise he will forget.

I shouldn't moan. I managed to rearrange ds2 guitar lesson to our village, so apart from ds3 swim course, everything else is in our village and the kids go to and from the thing themselves. ds1 only has drumming outside of school/Hort, and ds2 has guitar and judo, ds3 only has this swimming. I used to take ds1 & 2 all the time, poor ds3 has missed out, so I was determined to squeeze his swim course in somehow and just make it work. Once he's learned to swim it'll be a whole lot easier. I'll try to organise a better time but this was all they had left.

Must look into more german lessons for me too. my problem is my grammar. It's funny how some days you cana feel so competant and other days you feel like you're really crap, or is that just me?