Little Italy 23

[BananaGio]

Siamo qua!

Hmm will maybe try that tomorrow: "Raus, raus!" Basil Fawlty style.
Actually they were both highly amused by me shouting "move your bottom, move it, move it!" at the person in front of me at the traffic light today, might give that a try too.

I would kill for a posh cioccolatino right now. anyone?

Mine's a Caraibe Grand Cru, please :-)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaah and
oooh gooood

Would love some of that chocolate for breakfast. Mmmmm!
SG, I agree with others, it is hard with a small baby especially when u don't the familiarity of you home country. Good luck with the Italian playgroup.

Bed times -Its such an 'important' thing in the Uk - I suppose rather like bidets to us. Also the lunchbox thing seems to be another very hot topic. Here could you imagine the debate it would be who has mortadella and who has salami. Half the things that exist there don't exist here so it would be 2 panini al latte, 1 merendine or bit of home made foccacia or torta, fruit and probably thats about it !.......
Ordered the flooring today but I think its too pale.....might have to go back and have a re think !

Too right Rosa! Mind you, the lunch box would be a bit unthinkable here, as ... lunch should be a HOT meal!!!!

But I could easily settle for a francesino with salame (di varzi, of course)

I know .....and as for meals at the beach I am still at some of the things I have seen along with the table cloth.. Its a sarni and abag of crisps in the UK for us when we are on teh beach or a Cornish pastie!!!!!

I felt isolated in the UK too - none of my friends had kids yet at the time and I lived in central London where most couples were childless... I gave birth before starting the nct course, and the other group I used to meet with (mums from the prem ward at the hospital) was a bit depressing - lots of kids still on oxygen/tubes etc so it was not a relaxing time. But I am not sure it had anything to do with me being a foreigner - I felt the same way when I moved back to Italy. TBH it was going back to work that sorted things out!

Lol about the hot meal at lunch. DD eats like a horse at asilo and only wants cherry tomatoes for dinner, chopped in small slices. Which makes my life in the evenings a lot easier

Does anyone know a nursery rhyme/song in English that involves the word crocodile a lot? DD has been singing something like that in the last couple of days but neither of us knows that one...

[http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/peterpan/neversmileatacrocodile.htm This] Minerva?
Lol at hot meal at lunch. I did pasta every lunch for DS until recently but now its a panino/piazza bianca/whatever. Trying to get him to eat one hotmeal a day is trial enough!
Bedtime-boh! Che cos'è?? For us it is anytime between 8.30 and 9.30 in the week-whenever he seems tired. I gave up on bedtimes a good while ago.Weekends often later.
Isolation - think international group good idea. Think is very handy to have people round you who can relate to the experiences you are going through, as a foreign Mum, far from her family etc. I treasure my fellow foreign friends!

ooh that link didnt work - try this

The Muppets did a brilliant version of that, . Thanks for reminding me, I must show it to DS, he has a bit of a thing about crocodiles.

never get taken in by his friendly grin ..... We have that on most days when the cd played decides to work . We are in a debate as to get another cd player or do a Ipod speaker thing . Thing is I will have to download all of my fave Cds and then upload on the Ipod ( which we have to buy). Seeing as both dds know how to put the cd in and turn the old player on I am tempted to replace that ..... Its for sure Autumn here today might even see a fur coat soon !

Well Rosa, I've already seen kids wearing scarves! And the temp in the morning isn't really lower that 12 degrees I think !

My dc have always had 2 hot meals a day, even when they had lunch at nursery in the UK (where ds developed a passion for Yorkshire pudding). And ds used to have school dinners in the UK, he'd have been by a sandwitch for lunch. But then, he eats like a horse

Minerva, I see, that must have been quite depressing, did you feel you wanted to leave the whole experience behind? When my cousin told me about the time they spent in the NICU, she still sounded in shock, after nearly 5 yrs.

I'm pretty sure I'd have had a less lonely experience here in Italy, as when my first was born lots of friends of mine were having children and taking time off work or working less. And our group of friends is quite close, so we do stuff together as families during the weekends etc.

9 degrees here this am! But no scarves in the Minerva household yet.

Gio, I think that may be the croc song - will try to play to it to DD and see.

Actually Franca, our time in NICU (about 8 weeks) was fine - it was very hard physically but as I had suffered from bad ante-natal depression I was much more balanced once I had given birth. I suppose I just felt "guilty" that my DD was discharged on meds only, whilst most others were lugging around oxygen machines, were tube-feeding or had children with more "obvious" problems. I can totally see why your cousin may still be in shock though - a lot of parents found it difficult to cope with the machines/tubes/procedures/millions of alarms of a NICU environment and only came to visit their LOs once a week or so...

SO far its about 10 here in the am - I have cotton bandanas out as the wind whips along the fondamenta and first thing it is cold. Mind you today its much milder. First outing as class representative domani taking all the children to the park to collect leaves !

Minerva, I think what shocked my cousin the most was that for weeks the doctors weren't able to give straight answers (obviously), when they desperately needed reassurance about their baby's recovery.

I have a torcicollo today and I'm knackered, as I slept badly and woke up earlier than usual because I took the dc for a visita oculistica. I had a big incazzatura at the reception: it opens at 8 (our first apt was at 8.20), I was number 6 and only one desk was open, with the slowest clerk (who could have been an extra in film from the brothers Cohen)... grrrrrr.... we made it to the doctor at 8.40... thankfully she was very nice.
Ds is slightly astigmatico, but doesn't need glasses for now.

Oh Rosa, so lovely going to the gita with the children! I spent the rest of the morning working at the school library... the children are lovely (most of them!)

That kind of thing drives me insane...expecially when you delay other people afterwards through no fault of yours !
God about ds.
Take a couple of stong painkillers , and have a long coffee and a sit down with your fave magazine and hope it passes!

Yes, I was .

I think I'll take a bath, have just finished to drink a massive cup of coffee!

Good for you ....Have you tried the wheat bags they are a godsend in our house?
I have sent poor dh to the SME to hassle them about coming and taking measurements for our kitchen . They say they will return our calls but don't . If I go I am likely to completley loose my paitence so he is under the strictest instructions not to leave the place until we get a time and date !!!! A friend is going as well for support !

! I thought you ordered the kitchen ages ago, haven't they taken the measurements yet?

My mum swears on those wheat bags, I can't find mine. I think I need to ring the chiropractor.

Franca I feel your . Nothing more frustrating than any form of medical visita. Except maybe the commune... Good no glasses needed for now. Get some Aulin down you and rest.
Rosa have you got an approx end date in sight yet for all the work?

Yes, it's frustrating. I have to say though, that since we've moved back I've always been quite impressed by how efficient the milanese comune and various other public institutions have become in the recent years... I now probably need to put this ASL on my black list, even if the doctors seem to be good. There is a consultorio there which I'm told is excellent, but they are shutting it down

Anyway, not much rest for me! I have to take ds to the allenamenti this afternoon and I'm going out with some mothers from dd's scuola materna this evening

I think Aulin is the way to go!

hello everyone, just wanted to drop by and introduce myself, although I expect for the next few weeks at least my MN time will be limited...I have just found out that my partner, DS (aged 2) and I will be moving from Cornwall to Asolo in Northern Italy...

so - any words of wisdom to someone new to Italian life (I have only ever visited as a tourist several times) - I have begun the process of learning basic Italian and intend to throw myself into the language (as if I have a choice!)upon my arrival - I'd appreciate any top tips in particular for helping a toddler who is only just getting to grips with English to help him pick up as much Italian as possible? I'm thinking maybe CDs with nursery rhymes etc?

Anyone know the area, or maybe had a similar experience? what do you wish you knew then that you do now etc? all help appreciated!!