Mumsnet little Italy 5

[francagoestohollywood]

Welcome!

Hot, eat all the dried apricots you like, they can only do good. Those and figs, sultanas, nuts and seeds, even dates if you like (I can't stand them they remind me of cockroaches) are the best food for you and your baby. Most dried fruit and nuts contain calcium as well, so if the thought of milk makes you queasy gorge yourself on figs, almonds, sesame seeds etc. End of unsolicited nutritional advice from Dr Brange.

So Franca, are you telling me you want roses? Shouldn't you be telling your dh instead?

I've just googled Bulgarian specialities and spicy meat stew and cheese pie came up. Apparently there are a lot of vegetarian dishes too (phew! I have a perennial fear of dodgy veggie options in ex communist bloc countries after my soviet beetroot burgers). So there you go

no, dh has never ever brought me flowers. never. No, leave the roses there
I find dried fruit inedible.... tried to be virtuous and offered raisins (which seem to be ubiquitous in the UK) to my dc when they were little, but they never took to them. But I love seeds. I always have seeds in my salad. Also chicken meatballs rolled in sesame seeds. ANd I love semi di zucca.
It's the asparagus season here now yuppie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hhell have ou told ds he's going to have a sister/brother?

Lol, DP used to buy flowers for me when he was still trying to impress (along with washing the dishes and driving 100km at 3am to pick me up from wherever etc.) but now that I'm "impressed" (read trapped) he doesn't bother any more.

Do you have any exciting recipes for asparagi? I only ever do them boiled with a little butter but I just wondered if there was anything less boring.

put them in a roasting tin (the thin ones) with olive oil and lots of sale grosso. in the hot oven for 15 mins. take them out, and spread parmigiano shavings. Ot boil them, but not too much. Then put them in a pan with melted butter. cook for another few minutes. Put eggs on top. Dip the asparagus in the runny yolk. yummie.
or you can make risotto. Tonight I'm making a sugo for pasta with peas, asparagus, spring onions and a bit of cream. and maybe bacon...

dh has never felt the need to impress me . I remember going to see him in London and him getting late to pick me up at liverpool street station at midnight... he lived in kentish town and taking me to the chippo on the corner was the most romantic thing he did. His flat mate used to book the poshest restaurant when his girlfriend visited him .
Dh however keeps cleaning the kitchen every night.....

I have dabbled in catering / cooking but it was not my trade !!! I will dig out the apricots and see if tum likes them. Its not liking much at the mo.

I think Gio's parents were in Rome visiting.
Oh yes, the first blood sample, it takes ages! Well good vibes for not fainting tomorrow , you'll be fine!

Ciao tutte! Am back from a lovely week in Sorrento with family. First time down there, so lovely, weather was beautiful, have stuffed so many sfogliatelle down my neck it's untrue! ds was in his element, had so much attention, the apartment was huge for him to run around in and he just wanted to walk everywhere including all the steps and steep road from the beach in Positano to the top which nearly finished Grandma off , Will have a flick through the posts later to see what have missed, any baby Pippi yet?

Gio you were missed !!! Glad that you had a good break and sounds as if Ds had a ball .what did happen about the house in the end ??? NOthing from Pippi she has clocked in but at in laws with no internet hoping that she will test Franca or Hot when it happens. Catch up with you soon.

at gio going to costiera, I've never been!! Glad you had a lovely time with all your family .
Dh and I went to Ferrara, it was lovely, but quite cold... have stuffed myself with salame all'aglio and I now feel pretty miserable.
Rosa, when are you having the cvs? (I think my memory is getting worse, isn't it?)

Am going to hosp on 23rd to check position of placenta and then am guessing it will be the end of April start of May . Hope doc calls soon as need to organise dh at home !!
It was a coolish weekend here but lovely day today so off out see you all later

I'm making your involtini tonight rosa, send me vibes

IF you get in a pickle shout !!!!! They are so easy .
Oh guys dh went to another bank and he has found a mortgage that is 700 Euro less than the original one. We might and I say might be able to do it...Ok so we can't afford any furniture but as I said I am happy to hunt out second hand or go to Ikea !!! Well we will see as we have to do some serious conti !

how exciting!!!!! I really hope you'll be able to get the house rosa! and IKEA is damn good. I also reckon that Veneto has lots of artigiani doing furniture/kitchens, I bet you'll be able to get a bargain!

Crap weather or what where has spring gone ????

yes, it's winter here today. freezing.
The involtini were really nice rosa
I wonder where everyone's gone. Brange might be in bulgaria.

Good am really glad they worked out ok .. You can do lots of things with them . With the NATO meeting just finished one wonders what Brang is doing in Bulgaria. Gio I expect is catching up on work. Hot I hope has her computer sorted out soon.
Its cold and damp dd slept 2 hrs this afternoon so heaven knows when she will go to bed I dont fancy going out with her its grey damp and horible !!

Maybe she is a spy ... just like hothell's dp . Well it is just you and me my darling .
Damp and cold here as well. dd was hoping to go to the park after nursery but it was raining (mind you it was just 2 goccie, I'd have taken her in Exeter tbh!!! but needed to do a few more errands, so ds went home with my mum and dd and I went per negozi, where she admired shoes ... )

Good for dd I am impressed I am teaching dd as well she says bellissime at all shoe shop windows even wellington boot ones !
Are your dc speaking any English at all now ?

When we speak in English they will reply in Italian . It is such a shame, considering they were speaking in English to each other in the last few months we spent in the UK. But we are still reading English books/ show english dvds to them and we have an English (she's actually Australian) teacher coming once a week. They also do 2 hrs of English at nursery (which is not at their level obviously, but everything goes). I've been eavesdropping (is this the right word?) while they are with their teacher and they are doing ok, but sometimes they struggle to find the right word From september, I'll try and find someone who could come on a more regular basis (can't afford it at the moment).
Obviously sending them to an English school would have been ideal for keeping up the language, but apart from the fact that we don't have 25.000 euros to spend, I'm really not the private school kind of person, I'm afraid. Such a shame that we live so far away Rosa! I do miss speaking in English myself!

Good for you to keep going it is important in the long run and it will be easier for them. DD is speaking more Italian now than English but she will speak to me in English and we still do dvds and books. I found 2 Angelina Ballerina books for Euro 3 the other day in a second hand bookshop. I have to cust short some of it but she likes them! Hopefully this summer she will be topped up with English again. We have been thinking about the International school in Mestre but I suffered as a kid from being the one who did not go to the local school and already dd will be half English so a bit different so I don't want her standing out any more! But some of the schools here are not really my cup of tea I just hope that she studies happily and does not take the easy way out.
Are there not English groups in Milan you could join ? We have one Venice ladies but it is not really me !!

Ds used to love Angelina Ballerina!!!
Yes I think I should do some research on the English expats here in Milan, though I suppose most of them don't live in the city centre and thus are difficult to join...
There is a toddlers group that meets once a week in Milan, but I don't have any toddler to drag along!
State primaries vary a lot, in that most of the time what is crucial here is to have the right teacher for your child iykwim... I'm actually quite keen on the primary ds will start next yr. I have met the dirigente twice and she seems very in gamba and positive... I hope it will work out. I still have fond memories of my yrs at primary school (and actually I have fond memories of the all schools I attended, I'm weird ) Why didn't you go to yr local school? was it a bad one?
siamo rimaste sole rosa!

Ciao! Been trying to catch up on work - no luck. Just watching Berlusca saying he hasn't made any laws for his benefit, only for the people
Where are yo up to with your mortgage/house Rosa? How many weeks gone are you now? How are you feeling?
Franca have you come across this site milan.angloinfo.com/
It's an expat website for Milan (I use the Rome one). It's got a business directory which includes details on groups etc. Plus there is a forum if you wanted to try and get a group of English speaking Mum's together? May be worth a look.
We have decided to put the house hunting on hold. I was getting really stressed re the money we were going to outlay, especially if vuoto and I don't want to neccessarily have to get the cheapest of everything. With being self employed I have money in the pipeline but I don't want to get into debt incase anything falls through/have cashflow issues so we have decided to wait, save and do it con calma in a few months.
Where's everyone else gone??

GIo you are up and at things early.
We have also decided not to go for this house . Simply as we could afford the mortgage but only if we really tightened our belts. My worry is that we will have little 'spare' cash for emergencies and as you all know sometimes Eu100 for a specialist or libri x scuola etc etc . We need to live as well so we are going to wait !
I also do not feel up to thinking about moving right now having a bit of a hard time just constant nausea esp in afternoons and eve am going for pizza next week with friends might have to give it a miss but we have postponed it 3 times now ! Oh well heres hoping its only 12 weeks I am 9/10 this week gp says 9 obst says 10! Having villio end of Apr start of May oh yummy confimed to bed for 3 days. If dh working might have to call in grandma.
Raining again here so will have to go and entertain dd who wants to go tai tai. MIght just put on boots and go splashing.
Gio glad you are back with us have you lots of work to catch up on.
Franca this midwife course what are you going to do ???

poor you re nausea. do your friends know you are pregnant yet or are you keeping it quiet for now?
Agree with your thinking re having to live as well re money. I think it was when we started thinking we should cancel our summer holiday we suddenly thought what are we doing? Think is much more important that ds gets 2 weeks pure mamma e papa time than I have a second bedroom immediately to put his toys in
No rush and it will be v exciting thinking how to spend my savings on furniture when we do move (as it'll be burning a huge hole in my pocket by then, not good at not spending)
So better get some work done, to earn this money I need to save to then spend . In answer to your question Rosa rather than loads to catch up on it's more about having to build a new pipeline which is what happens everytime I go away, am sick, been a bit lazy. Joys of a sales job. Oh well, sun is shining, ds had lovely morning with his lovely childminder in the playground so could be worse, I could still be in an office 11 hours a day in Manchester