MN Little Italy 8

[francagoestohollywood]

Benvenuti, ciao hello

Thanks all for the advice about books, dvds, etc. Will definitely be stocking up. It'll be good for me too: although I can speak reasonable Italian (did a bit at school), I am dreadful at mood! I speak VERY DIRECTLY all the time. The only conditional I can manage is 'vorrei'!!! It must make my inlaws laugh sometimes. So, a little learning along the way with DD wouldn't be a bad thing.

I'm so happy for her that she comes from 2 cultures like this: I think it's a real gift for a child.

It'll be interesting seeing how it all works out, though. DH is quite alienated from Italy at the moment: feels like a bit of an exile, and was even considering naturalising to the UK. He watches Italian tv online late every night (and all the goings on in the Senate, etc.), and comes to bed very depressed at the state of Italian politics and life (he too is currently very anxious about educational reform). So, he doesn't enjoy going back to Italy as much as he should.

TantiK - hi! My DH does the same thing with Hs! And he speaks English perfectly, with the most cut-glass English accent (actually, he speaks better and more proper sounding English than me - I'm a bit of a Scottish/Wiltshire/transatlantic mishmash owing to my dad's career)!

It's the one thing he gets wrong consistently, though: like, he often says, "I'm sooooo angry!' - 'Why, darling', ask I. 'Well, I didn't have any lunch.'

Wow, Shiny new thread and lots of new people! Welcome newbies

Well done Minirosa, and for your DH Pippi. Dp's friend was one of the 2% too and had a 2nd op to put a tube or something in. Happily he is fine now although has to be very careful but that's due to him having other unrelated health problems too. All that toing and froing to hospital must be really wearing on you and it's not going to be for only a few days either. I really think you should get your Mum over, I'd do the same in your situation.

Congrats Franca on your new job. Are you going to tell me where it is so I can come and be an awkward customer? It's not that nice children's shop in Via Vigevano is it? If so do you get a staff discount?

Re bfeeding, I encountered absolutely no problems whipping my boobs out at the drop of a hat anywhere. I never even contemplated there would be a problem and wouldn't have cared anyway in the middle of a major squawking fit. Most people were really nice, got offered free glasses of water in bars, had staff bring me chairs in the middle of Rinascente and a DIY place(had just plonked myself down on a display stand). No one ever tried to usher me to either the toilets or anywhere unsavoury. I did get offere a private room once but it was the manager's office with comfy sofa and iced tea.

TantiK, if you get yourself down to the consultorio you'll find they're extremely bfing friendly and won't get told any of these myths. It's all very much WHO guidelines and they'll do their utmost to avoid you going with the "aggiunta". Unlike paeds who are alas often obsessed with the 150g. gain a week and dish out a lot of outdated advice, usually making you feel inadequate in the process. DD has had 3 paeds and all 3 have so far contradicted each other in terms of "rules" so take what your paed says with a very large pinch of salt. That said, DD's current one seems to be pretty much OK, she had a slow gaining baby herself so has never given me grief over DD being a skinny minnie. She is a bit anti-b happy though but I just nod and ignore on that front.

I forgot that I came on here to rant about DD's "vegetarian" menu at school. They gave her potatoes fished out of spezzatino and covered with sugo di carne. DD was quite upset and said she didn't eat them as they tasted and smelt horrible.
Up until now I've been quite patient and avoided making a fuss about them giving DD cheese every day instead of alternating chesse/pulses/eggs like they're supposed to but now they've started taking the p*ss I've dobbed them in it with the divisione scolastica's central office and demanded the proper vegetarian menu, like she had at nido. After all, I pay around 100 euros a month in mensa so I expect her to be able to eat something and not end up iron deficient because of their laziness. I mean WTF, the other day they had finocchi gratinati but some bright spark put prosciutto in it so all DD ate that day was riso in bianco. At 4.50 euros a day I'd have the right to expect a bit more, no?

Me again (can you tell I'm bored today?)

I've bought a new epilator and am really excited [sad and need to get a life emoticon]. I bought the all-singing-all-dancing model with massager etc. I think I bought it in the belief it's going to make my leg hair just fall off and will probably go the way of the drawerful of straight hair products that didn't magically straighten my hair from just being applied.

The trouble is I daren't use it now as the cleaner's just been and hoovered and I don't want to make a hairy mess on the floor. Nor do I want to get the hoover out again.

thanks for advice everyone

tantik - like Brangelina said, from friends/relatives experience, Paeds seem to be obsessed with top-up as soon as baby's not gaining as much... one told my friend her milk maybe wasn't good so told her to give him top-up, without even discussing natural ways of increasing her supply! needless to say after a week baby got really fussy at the breast, would suck for few mins and then get lazy so needs the bottle!! On the other hand, first time I developed mastitis I was in Italy and pharmacist diagnosed it, sent me to gp to get seen and get prescriptions and told me he would stay late at the shop waiting for me even after closing time - I was the last patient to be seen by gp at 8.30pm, who rang the pharmacist to make sure he was still there before sending me off, because they didn't want to jeopardise bf.

Brangelina - I'm not vegetarian, but don't eat much meat, but always thought Italian cuisine is very versatile and full of vegetarian recipies and never had problem cooking for my vegetarian friends... think that's lazy and just rude!

ZZZen: I don't think there is an exact translation for marshmellow. Could be "toffoletta" or "toffolette" (plural)... at least this is how it got translated in the "Peanuts" strips. I remember as children we wondered what toffolette were, as marshmellows weren't common here in the 70s

Penthe, tell your dh he is not the one feeling like that. We got back here in December 2007, the Prodi gov fell in February and in April Berlusconi was back. We are really concerned about the reform of the education system (which is not a reform as such, but a badly disguised way of cutting money and lead people to private schools). The only good news (for us) is the change in the concorsi universitari, which could hopefully make things a bit more difficult for the baroni...

TantiK I really wouldn't worry about breastfeeding. As Brange said, consultori are very good. Tis true= that I don't know whether attitude changes in other areas, but here in Milan is pretty common, and alongside some ancient pediatricians there are others who actively support breast feeding. Also, there are local branches of la leche league in most regions.

Brange, yes complain!!! In dd's scuola materna they have a menu for vegetarians and for celiaci, it is pinned next to the "regular" one. And I pay much less for mensa, how come you pay so much?

hi there. op went well, for now. they'll keep it monitored and will see. hopwfully will be out by mion or tuesady. yes tomorrow day off, for dd1 more than me: she'd had enough of going to childminder and wants to stay home (and see my friend again whom she fell in love with last night - better not say this to dh ]wink]).

tantik my daughter spoke, and still does, very 'incorrectly' in both languages. and like yours franca says 'fesci' (with an english accent) for pesci, and polevina for poverina etc. It will all work out in the end I am sure.

penthe, I did get the naturalisation 5 years ago for 60quid. Now it seems the price has gone up to... 500+ !!!! So I've got too passports etc.

Ps: brange, not convinced about this 2%. All the ones I spoke to had to be op twice .

can you tell from previous post that I'm knackered???

franca where's the conran shop in marylebone? all I am doing is raid the charity shop - for a change. all the other shops are gorgeous but cannot justify it.

keeping fingers crossed pippi

marshmallow

and I have learnt something new.

Ciao bella(s)

Just marking the thread so that I don't lose you. You know how I love my bella signorinas

More or less in front of the church, if memory serves me well. Before kath kidston .

ps: I didn't buy anything from the Conran shop, it is just another example of how expensive the uk is. Same stuff is 30% cheaper here, I find. Not that I buy "design" on a daily basis (or yearly even). I wish I could though

Mars!!! Have you been looking into where your are going to this summer???

I bought a teaspoon in the conran shop once. Just the one

Glad your DH's op went well Pippi, hope you have a good weekend.

We have to get up mega early tomorrow and go and view a flat in Rome as our move seems to be on again.

lol (I once went to an uber posh shop in Amsterdam and bought a teaspoon and a little fork )

at you moving Sputnik. When? WHY???

you know your stuff! impressive! yes I saw kath kidston, will have a look. one shop had bags designed by orla kiely which were really pretty and dear.

I win: the first few months after moving to london I was broke having to make my ends meet working in sad pizzaland (anyone remembers it?). well a couple of weeks (I hope) or maybe months I had some spare cash with which I went to Muji (then a new thing) and bouth 2 transparent plates and a pack of pants!!! I was soo happy!!

(do not feel sorry for me because I think that was the best time of my life... ah youth when even sharing your flat with coackroches can seem romatic and bohemian...)

Oh FGS I cannot spell and I cannot write today! shame on me!

I won't feel sad for you, not at all. I still love Muji

Pippi - worked at McD (and managed to save ) and was so happy to buy a pen and pen case at Muji ( 10 years ago, where's the time gone!!!).

Pippi - it's supposed to be 5% here. I don't know if it's because Italian doctors are more honest or it's a reflection of their skills. DP's friend did have it years ago though.

I've been told by the school that DD didn't have patate pescate. I'm a bit as why would she make it up, plus she really likes potatoes so the fact that these were apparently inedible does make me suspicious. I don't know why mensa is so expensive here, we didn't do an ISEE as were told we'd be off the scale and would have to pay the most anyway. How much do you pay? Do you pay less for a second child?

I remember being poverty stricken in London too and not being able to afford anything. And I was working in a "proper" job. Was paid crap though. When I came to Milan I was amazed at how much I could buy on just an au pair's pocket money.

I will confess I don't really like Muji, most of their stuff is hugely overpriced (a packet of plain pencils for a fiver! WTF is that about? Not to mention the cost of a plain white teapot. That was in the early 90s, so they're probably double that now) and a bit too understated for my taste.

Bran, i now imagine you having a really over the top style!
Take care Pippi!

Nah, I've toned it down a lot nowadays, partly through laziness and partly through having to look "professional" a lot of the time. I still have lots of wild dresses but nowhere to wear them to. Also, some of my clothes are a little too wacky for what someone of my advanced age should probably be wearing and I worry about looking like a tardona.

Now I take it all out on DD, lots of colours and funky or groovy chick or mini goth. It's one of the best things about having a little girl - you've got all that to look forward to.