Mumsnet Little Italy 3

[francagoestohollywood]

Welcome everyone

Ooh, I'd love one of those. They had them really cheap in Turkey but alas it won't fit on my balcony.

Yes, that planecrash thread I wasn't going to get sucked in but I kept getting more indignant about the paranoia. I find there is always a new scare or a new reason for paranoia among the Brits these days. It never used to be like that, or maybe my memory is jaded.
The weird thing is they worry about plane crashes and balconies (yes, another major cause of death apparently, how on earth do children in Milano reach adulthood I wonder?) yet they think it's OK for their babies to eat rubbish processed food in nurseries (remember that thread?) which is far more likely to lead to death and disease, albeit in the more distant future.

Got to go, DD wants a story. Ciao!

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I'll email you the links with the benvenuto club.
I don't know why the pc at my parents works crap on MN. it's actively boycotting me .
I hope to see you next week brange, when things hopefully will be quieter for me...

That'll be great! Got to dash as DD needs a poo e voglio approfittarne per metterle il pigiama. Ciao!

oh, this is making me laugh, thank you girls. lol at brange's dp combing his alette.
Just had an early evening nap, can't seem to stay up, wish there was some Sex and the City on teh telly.
What I remember about the area that you live in Pippi is exactly the golf courses, to be honest seeing so many of them in 1 area scared the hell out of me and run back to my inner city. But you must really discourage you dp from playing golf! Tell him to do swimming so he can take the kids.
When are you due Pippi? Is it April?
Franca you will be pleased to be out of the UK, everybody is talking about the latest strain of the virulent vomiting bug...I am thinking I maybe coming down with it, che pppalle.

Hi everyone. Just wanted to pop in to say hello and hope you all had a good Christmas and new year.

Franca, how did the move go? I've been thinking of you. Do you have everything n your flat now? How have the kids settled in?

Is your e-mail the same or changed?

Am now thinking of going to Milan for the easter weekend, tho possibly before.

Hope everyone is ok. I tend to get lost on here with all your long running conversations interspersed with Italian, but still pop in every now and then as I get my head around the move and gear myself up for Milan

Ciao Ernest . The move itself went very smoothly, I cannot praise the removal company more (so much so that ds wants to become a removal man by day and a power ranger by night ).
The house is still a mess though, mainly due to the fact that we are trying to squeeze a big house into a tiny flat and that dh is now in the uk until the end of the month and cannot help. I'm still waiting for the plumber to come.
It was the dc's second day at "scuola materna" (nursery? pre-school?) but they have a week of "inserimento" when they stay for a short amount of time with me there, etc. It is lovely private nursery as it was too late to get a place in public local ones. Hopefully from september ds will start state primary school and dd public nursery, the one near our house is apparently very good. But now I have the huge task to enroll them, which in Italy can be quite tiring (lots of documents etc etc).
So, I'm very "incasinata", word that you have to learn, means very busy .
I still have my email.
Let me know whenyou visit milan again!

Hothell, no vomiting bug here, but the media are concentrating on meningitis outbreaks...

Baby likes MUSTARD - fact!!! (which i never normally eat). That's all I am eating these days.

Had a chat with DH... he seemed to get it. maybe because I cooked a lovely dinner (monkfish) which had mellowed him... will see how long it lasts. went to brent cross today and got quite a few bits for myself, unfortunately nothing glamourous as it is pointless when one looks like a baloon. yes hothell I am due beginning of april.

Brang I did not know about the scare re balconies although I always wondered why all these new buildings are always without one. These things really annoys me. alongisde the paranoia it seems to me there's very little trust in children and their capabilities. I am going to see what happened since yeaterday but I won't be dragged on.

hothell are you pg?

ernest welcome back!

mmmm I actually like mustard...

I hit (briefly) the sales yesterday, with no intention of buying anything but a new warm waterproof coat, but went to Rinascente (which has been revamped by same man who revamped selfridges and is getting posher) and fell in love with a corduroy coat, 30% off... and to celebrate move to a place with milder springs I actually bought it ... I still feel guilty...

how did you make th monkfish?
I wonder if rosa is back... hope she is not too sad , rosa come and talk to us (makes rosa a virtual cuppa...)

ds has just told my mum that he prefers living in England... ... he is all ovrer the place!!

well I feel guilty 'cos I bought a perfume (why as I already have one and never wear them???).

monkfish was from a Jamie Oliver recipe, with an olive/lemon/chilli salsa oven baked. it was really really yummi and quick and easy. I thought J.O. was a tw*t but I actually like him now and his recipes are easy and good. I still have to try Delia, is she any good? As my only new year res is to try to be more organized and be healthier I have made a weekly food plan. today we have chicken breast wrapped in bacon.GOOOOD WHO HAVE I BECOME??????? Can we please talk about hard drugs for a minute to balance all this chinz out? (if my mum could read this she'd think I've been replaced by aliens!)

rosa where aaaaaaaaaaare youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?

ohh did he? poor. why? what in particular made him say that? They are bound to say that though, after all for them it was their 'home'. I am sure he'll be more than fine. Does he have friend there?

Franca, you're not going to need that coat, didn't you know that non ci sono più le mezze stagioni?

Well, plan is I have baby here mid June, boys finish school year here (mid July) them the removers come end July, we go on 2 week holiday ( already booked) and move into Milan mid August. Do you think 2 weeks is reasonable for removal & customs etc from Ch to IT?

Oh, and long shot, but does anyone know a parent from SJH school? My pg side effect (or maybe just moving stress, or mixture) is making me worry and stress over so much minutae, so I'm lying at 2 am worrying about small things. I don't want to ring the school or send 100's of emails and them think I'm a fussy loon, but I think it will help my insomnia if I can answer some of my many Q's.

Oh, and 1 more Q - anyone know name (& phnone number) of the english speaking catholic church in Milan? I saw it in one of the free english papers when I was over but can't find the paper and tried googling it, but no luck. Can't remember the name unfortunately. Think it begins with C.

Franca, what was the name of your removal company? they were italian, weren't they?

DOn't worry about your ds saying that. It's ok for him to miss UK: He'll settle, honest.

Ernest, if you're moving at around 15th August you might not find an Italian removal company that is open then. That is THE holiday week in Italy.

I'm afraid I don't know anyone from the SJH, I used to know a girl that went there but that was 12 years ago and I have no idea where she is now. What do you need to know in particular? I did ring them up a while ago and asked a lot of questions but ended up not making an appointment. I don't know anything about the church either as I'm vehemently anti-church but you could try paginegialle.it. Actually, I'll see what I can find for you.

This has a list but there don't seem to be any catholic ones in Milan

Found this, any good?
Lingua inglese: S. Maria del Carmine, p. del Carmine, Milano, Tel. 02-86463365

oh, i see this thread is perking up. i am down with some bug, don't think I am pregnant, too much pmt effing bad mood and screeching left right and centre, period due tomorrow, but i really don't think so, dp is also complaining of tiredness, and ds is complaining of bad tummy so deffo bug. means more enthusiastic sex scheduled for end of January, yipppppe.
i am going to attempt to do a meal plan too, whenever i have tried, i end up losing the bit of paper i have written it on, etc.
Not a fan of Delia, her recipes always seem very complicated, big fan of Nigella and Marcella here, both fab.

Ah meal plans. I've never managed to get past day 2. All my creativity (and energy) in the kitchen disappeared with DD's arrival. I'm quite aware we always seem to end up eating the same things - usually pasta with sugo because I'm too tired to think - and the odd times I've bought different ingredients with an eye to making something a bit more adventurous with them I've left them to rot in the fridge because it's just too much of an effort.

Having said that, I made polenta con sugo alle olive (a bit of a fusion north/south dish) last night instead of the usual pasta and both DD and DP had second helpings they liked it so much. I must go back to making more Asian food as well. I have so many spices and they're all going stale.

my cooking skills and will was a big fat ZERO before DD came along. I was quite happy to eat cheese on toast and pizza and pasta with butter no end.

I have fond memories of my mum's cooking and would want the DD(s ) to have that too. Plus DH is a meat eater and think pasta col sugo or pesto or pasta e zucchine is a NO meal so had to spice things up.

Never made it past day one either with meal plans but I am really trying this time. More than anything because I am fed up of having to go to the corner shop at the last minute because there's nothing in the fridge or have things bought in the spur of the moment rotting in the fridge. I bet we'll save money too which does not hurt. will see how it goes. who's marcella????

polenta... have to remember to make it more often even though DH does not fancy it - sod him!

oh bloody 'ell,Bragenlina, thanks for the warning. just my luck re the date. Will have to look into it. Trying to get dh to give me info, as no doubt we will have to use only fims agreed by his company, so I can't even start looking into it (another thing I would feel better if I got things going)

Thanks for the church info - I think that's the right one. I knew it was with a C.

re school, one of the things is the school bus. My eldest 2 are so dithery I'm sure they'd faff about in school and miss it, and ds3 is so young and tiny. I need to know 100% that all 3 of them would be taken and physically put on the bus, otherwise I don't feel happy, but I don't want to phone the school to ask this cos they'll thisnk I'm mad.

Also the dinners - it's 4,50 Euros a day v, so for 3 kids, this is loads per week, almost double UK prices, so am considering packed lunck. BUT negative with packed lunch is the extra work for me (with new baby). the meat option seems Ok in the sample menu, but the veg option is bloody pasta with butter then naxt day .. rice with butter ... followed by - pasta with butter????? For 4,50 a day I'd want more than a bloody plate of rice & butter. So also I'd like to know from someone in the know as it were. My kids now come home for lunch, so school dinners in new territory for me.

But happy I have 1 thing in common with you (aoart from Italy, lol). I am also planning to start meal planning. I also used to be a lot happier and more creative in the kitchen, but years of tears (my cooking's not that bad!) turned-up noses and complaints have bled me dry.

I have got as far as getting 4 cook books out of the cupboard...

Hothell, hope you feel better soon

It's Marcella Hazan a wonderful cookery writer, here is a picutre of her, how can you not trust the recipes of somebody who looks like this?
cdn.harpercollins.com/harperimages/author/4331.jpg

I am hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
So glad to be missed ! It was packing Sat and Sun and then flying MOnday and now the house is a MESSSSS. Glad I never saw a plane crash thread that would have finished me off! DD is happy to be surrounded with toys and I have put her kitchen together now that was funny !! Now as for a jigsaw nothing Iwould like better but Dh and I have 2 still to do and they wont get done until we have more space !
Ernest so the move is planned for Easter or is it a sussing out trip ?
Franca have you given the gas people hell yet ? I would the feste are finished now !
Pippi mustard YUK can't stand the stuff unless its in a sauce or that grainy stuff.
Hot any pg news ?
Brangelina LOL at DH and the hairbrush mine just can't find anything ..Ha apenna detto ahi visto miei pantaloni da tutta neri ... Well seeing as when I put them away I said I where I out them .. SO I said No !!!
So much for loosing a few Kili the Befana had been before we came back Lindt chocolate oh dear !
Speak to you all soon and thanks for the cuppa I need it !

glad to have you back rosa!!

to summarise it: Dhs/Dps are at times useless.

hothell you are absolutely right... she looks business. are the recipes easy and straight forward for everyday eating? I cannot be bothered with fancy silly stuff and we are all very peasants in our tastes in here .

damn, I seem to have missed a chatty afternoon!! I went to he flat to empty some boxes full of books, but the books seem to be breeding and there are still too many without a bookshelve to hold them...
rosa, glad you are back safely despite the mess! I called the pronto intervento yesterday to investigate the puzza di gas and they arrived in 20 mins! they fixed the problem and the plumber is coming tomorrow. But now all the applications for school and nursery for september are looming and I'm getting stressed... so, I'll share a cuppa with you my dear

Ernest, we used an Italian company which is specialized in international shipping etc, they were very efficient, came to pick up our things before christmas, put them in storage and deivered them on the 27th. they also manage all the bureaucracy about parking the van etc. It's a big company and they seem to try to accomodate every need. the name is Bolliger, doesn't come cheap, but def worth it. And they are very kind too.
Why don't you email the Benvenuto club in Milan (google benvenuto club milano or expats in Milan), I'm pretty sure they might have children at sjh. I also believe they have a teacher in charge of putting the children on the bus.

As for meal planning... you are too organized, I'm envious! or shall we talk cocktails and cigarettes? I like delia, she has a great website, very good with pastry and cakes. I'm actually getting hungry as I'm typing... think I'll hit the gorgonzola...

Brange lol at mezze stagioni... ... I did think about it, but it is porobably portable in february and march and it was too delightful, I couldn't resist it...

Marcella's cuisine is very simple and peasant like. I will check Delia, alwasy thought her cuisine was of the frilly sort.
Ciao Rosa, no pregnancy news, just started trying, we all seem to have a bug, and we are all in a shitty mood, also ds who had huge tantrum about tooth brushing. Did cross my mind when he was shouting and being horrible that maybe I shouldn't have another child.
Off to bed, cannot stay up, I feel very boring. Shivery too, 1 minute I am hot the next I am cold. Ciao ragazze.