Any english speaking mum´s in Germany

[chrissi1]

I live in the Wiebaden/ Mainz Area and like to meet up with english speaking mum´s.My son´s 4 1/2

Hi chrissi - lgad you had a good time at your dads. We had snow here too, over easter. We had an easteregg hunt, (in the house) too cold outside. Real blizzards, but the snow didn't last. Too wet, i suppose. Some parts of the country had enough for sledging.
Our chinese friend also taught us 'nee haw' - as in hello. Also 'shin dan qwai leur' which is happy christmas(or rather, Christmas Happy!) - I don't think it'll be much use in china. Still, the food should be good! We went to china once, while we were on holiday in Hong Kong, we went on a daytrip, saw a chinese school, the death-trap roads and had lunch (the best bit) - a 8 course meal. My favourite is the Crispy Duck Pancakes, yum.
I've never heard of Totorro, I will Google it. My dc like a lot of the Japanimation, they like the card games too, Yu-Gi-Oh and pokemon, do you have those there? I suppose Owen is a bit young to be into that yet, lucky for you! A lot of computer games now look japanese-y, it's all going that way.

I'm hoping to get the carpenter here today - he was supposed to be here yesterday so I waited in all day. Still, I can sit on MN all day now!

Hi
I remember that a friend took me to a real chinese resaturant in London .It was´nt exactly a culture shock but I came to realize that what we eat here is far from real chinese food.It tasted totally different .no heavy souces and all.I liked it a lot.Sadly the restaurant closed.It was huge three floors high.
Though someone I know from playgroup got send to Shanghai,se says shge got a househelp who cleans,take care of the child and also cooks.She told me she likes the food only chicken feet were not her favorite.
Sorry I wrote it wrong it´s My Neighbour Totorofrom Hayao Miyazaki.
I thought that pokemon thing is over.Got some hope it will be over when he´s old enough.
The only computer games we do is from ELC.
They´re sweet.Horseracing or fishing.You have to give your name in so because of that he won´t play any other game.
We watch some Emilfilm,pipi and Barney.
He ´s a great fan of Barney.Though quite unpopular here.Told him I buy him a singing Barney in London,as I saw one at the Hamleys website.Yesterday he told me that he told the minder that he´ll go to London today.
I bet they´were surprised to see him today.
They´re comming home. Have to stop now.
Hope your carpenter came,so reliable are they?!

A funny question maybe but do you play(ed)Memo Quiz?? Memory in german.
I could´nt find it in the thesaurus or any dictionary??

The chinese food we have here is very 'anglisised', that is, made to appeal to a western taste. In china there are many poor people, they eat whatever they can, yes chicken feet (yuk) or frogs. In the markets there, there are string bags of frogs, all still hopping about. And lots of 'parts' of animals that we would not think of eating!
I googled totorro, i don't think we have it here, but I'm not really up-to-date with kids programms any more! Ooooh don't get into Barney! I hate Barney, i am soooo glad my dc didn't like him! Singing purple dinosaur - Bah!
My dc like the card games, but i warn you, my eldest (15) liked pokemon the first time around, then it went away, then it came back, in time for ds3 (9) to get hooked. In between we have had digimon, yu-gi-oh, and various Lego - Bionicles. Couldn't find Memo Quiz - is it a card game? It sounds like one ofthose games where you have lots of cards and turn them over, and have to find partners? No?

Carpenter came, only half-hour late. He can't do the job for 3 weeks though, so I'm sure I'll have lots of other jobs for him by then!

Yes that´s Memo Quiz.i used flashcrds with Owen for learning english( apart from talking to him of course) but thought it´s 1. boring 2. a bit like school.
I had bought this memoquizz thing.It had the German and English word under the picture.Perfect for my husband .Owen learned it much faster and repeated it even.Something he did´nt do with flashcards.One time I was so down that he seemed not to remember or say any english word that I promised him sweets for the right answer. You have to know that ds got no sweets until he was 3yrs old .Now he get´s sweets moderately.
I promised him sweets and bang he knew some of the words.The other day he asked me ,can I play the game with the sweets??It was ages since he played it but this time he knew it all except one and even counted in english. Wahey !
Barney ,too late, damage done!
DVD was a freebie.
Not poss to go and hide Barney as ds fell in love with a girl that acts in a Barney film,called Sarah.
Tell you what, Barney is nothing.I once went shopping with ds in Wiesbaden when suddenly a PURPLE Dinosaur appeared.With bigband and all.Dont ask!!
He went down the shopping mile ( good 30 min.to walk,but dinosaurs take about 45-50 min)We had to follow him 3 times up and down the mall .Owen held his hand for some time.Es war ein bischen so wie der Rattenfaenger von Hameln.
( the purple dino was advertising for the Frankfurt Rugby Team)

I read the what not to dothread at the mum´s classic.Great!

I forgot to tell you about my SIL easter present.
We celebrated her birthday and she gave ds hie easter present. A Robot.
since Harry and the Dinosaur( another dinosaur here),he likes Robots.
Only that this robot was a Killingmachine Robot.Thanfully she said you can hide the pistols and blade if you like.That´s what I did straight away. Still, it´s chest opens up and is turning round and round while shooting,together with blinking lights.
it can walk thats ok.I told my ds that it´s a Disco Robot.
Do you think I´m wrong that I think my SIL is mad??
He´s playing with Postman Pat and Fireman Sam ,for God´s sake!
A few month back she presented him with a real looking handgun with pellets.I´m sure you know what I mean .I saw in tv once that this can hurt people badly.He is 4years old.
Ok she got no children,but a nephew who is now 15.She´s got lots of money though but ....
Am I wrong reacting like this?
I know it will get worse as he gets older but I like to wait a bit with the killermachines!

Lol at the bribery! We do that to, we've told ds1 (15) that if he doesn't tidy his room he gets no pocket money, but if he does tidy it without being asked he gets the most money, if we have to ask, he gets less, and if I have to do it...well we havent' got to that stage yet! He normally does it with a bit of nagging! It sounds like you are doing so well with Owen's english. I was going to say about the 'th' sound - they teach the kids here to poke their tongues out to say th. I know my mum (after 40 years here) still says 'ziss' and 'zat'. She will say 'cat-e-dral' sometimes, or 'cazzedral'.

• at your SIL - I know that boys will always have guns - made out of sticks if nothing else- but to give a 4-year-old a firing gun is ridiculous. Yes these can hurt, or blind if you are shot at in the eye. My dc love guns and swords but we don't have anything that can actaully fire anything. Just as well really; I did get ds3 a gun which shot little sucky foam darts (to knock over little cans) and the first thing they do is lose all the 'bullets', so then they run about just making the noises. They love a TV programme here called NCIS (American navy 'cop' show) and they throw themselves about yelling 'Federal agents! Freeze!' If your SIL has too much money maybe she can get Owen Lego? We will never have enough Lego!

Hi
We got lego,quite a bit the 3-5 yrs stuff.He plays with this and that but hardly pics lego,sits down and plays .Until 1/2or so mummy had to play too.Single child!!
As I´m a little kid myself I did.Now if he asks me he has to play half an hour allone at least.
I always wondered what the kids do in preschool??Can you lighten me up.Is it just sitting or play and sit??
School for me is sitting for 45 minutes,starting with age 6.

The tidying rule is a good idea!When did you start with pocket money?
Owen gets something similar.
I used to cut his hair but was difficult.So I went to the barber but that was sooo expensive and badly cut i thought i do it myself again.
To convince ds I told him I give him about half the money I pay at the barber but he has to sit and not wiggle about.
it worked,after that he even picked out another toy he´s going to buy next time and is saving money for.
The money is called Hairmoney!!

Preschool? I will 'enlighten' you! Well in this country it's all part of the 'education' system, (which personally I don't agree it should be) so children from about 2.5 can go, though it's more normally about age 3.5, and they do the sorts of things I don't want to do at home, ie painting, sand/water play, messy stuff like that. I don't do it at home, as they tend to only want to do it for about 5 minutes, and then everything has to be washed up and put away again (takes about 45 minutes, for 5 minutes play!) Anyway, they also do 'learning' stuff, like cutting, writing (scribbling really) glueing and glittering...and they also have breaks, with drinks (the preschool Owen went to also did toast, mid-morning but I don't think they can do that any more) and out-door play. They pack a lot into 2-3 hours! A friend of mine is a special-needs co-ordinator at our local preschool, and she works so hard, after school too, to get things ready.

Pocket money started I suppose at about 5 years old, so that they can understand the value of money. They don't get much, but they can spend it on sweets or presents or can save up for games/toys. I have a real battle at the moment with ds2, his hair is in his eyes, but he won't let me cut it! Maybe I should bribe him with some extra money (but then the others will want it too - they already get a sweet/lollipop if they sit still and let me cut their hair). Maybe he'll let me at it in the holidays- they start on friday, for 2 weeks. everyone I know is going away for the holidays, mum and sister and family on their schifffahrt, dh geht nach America fur Ihr arbeit, meine tschechische freundin geht nach Prague fur 1 woche auch, und ich bleibt hier. Das wetter ist immer wet und kalt und windig (?) und ich brauche ein urlaub.

Oh poor you.You have to mind the children.

Es war sehr warm hier die letzten Tage.19-20 Grad.Unglaublich.Ds aß Abendbrot im Garten und fütterte die Nachbarskatze mit Wurst.Wir nennen sie Jess,nach Postbote Pat´s Katze.Unglaublich,sie hört sogar!! Sie spielt mit ds immer verstecken.

Understandable with the money.What about you let him watch a DVD while cutting??
It got realy worse with ds before we went to the barber.I was kind of wrestling on the floor with him and trying to cut.Dangerous too.

Now you get me curious.Why you think preschool should be not part of the Education System?
Preschool sounds like our Kindergarden.
Though Owen is going to the forest group in summer,for one year.That means he´s not in Kindergarden but spends his day in the forest.Winter aswell as summer.Poor sod!
I was not so keen on the idea ,as I know from experience as a Gardener that you can kind of get used to the cold etc .As soon as I worked inside I got ill all the time.I was´nt used to warm rooms.I fear this will happen to him .Problem with work as they already warned me not to be ill.( because I was written off work last year for 10 days!!Iwas so shocked as they told me,apart from Owen beeing ill a few days I had acute hearing loss.Normaly that would take longer than 10 days.Sorry I got carried away here.
Though in Kindergarden they say forrest children can work better in groups ,got better concentration and are better in helping others.Wait and see.
When do they get in proper school???with 6?

I don´t do very messy things in the flat.He can do that in summer in the garden.
playschool is just for 2-3 hours? that´s not long.You can´t go and work somewhere for 2 hours.Our kindergarden starts at 8 -12.There are a few children who stay til 4pm.Ds got only buffet breakf.but the children staying til 4pm get lunch too.

The pre-school is like your Kindergarten, but the hours are more like 9.30 to 12. I don't agree with it being part of the education system, because in this country we start school at nearly 5,- that is, they start the term in which they turn 5 years old. This can mean that if the school only takes in new kids in September, a child who is 4 in August will start in school in september, half-days only until Easter, then full time, 9 until 3. I think that at this age they would be so much happier just messing about and playing, but the schools are very structured, with writing, sitting still, learning to read/write/spell. At the age of 4-and-a-bit, it's too much, and not enough play. I've never heard of Forest group, they are in the forest all day? What do they do? Sounds like Hansel and Gretl!
LOL at the cat from next door, I am surprised that it would eat wurst! Nice to eat outside tho, and I have to say that it's been lovely here today, but I spent the day at my friend's house, helping with her garden. I had the choice of helping paint her ceiling, or moving some paving slabs in the garden. So we moved the slabs, then got a hammer and broke up 2 old doors, piled up some old bricks....mein Arme hat schmertz und ich brauche ein heises bad, fur mein Ruck. I love the word unglaublich. I must use that one day...

I agree with you on the school.I thought they start school and let them play a bit and a bit sitting and learning.( England)
you´re right they need to play.Mixed would be ok ish.Ds is a could child meaning he could go to school if he´s ready,as he´s born 16th July.He´ll turn six and should go in September to school.I think that´s still too early.I had a prob with it as kid,I still liked to play.I know from others that their child got huge prob and had to go to a special school afterwards because he got very aggressive and rude.He just could´nt cope. Anyway I dread the test.The kindergarden teacher get asked and a schoolmember,staff, does the test,but then they don´t know the children.It does´nt matter what the parents want.
In his school it would be like this .
.
They have a playcorner in case studying is too much.They´re together with the 2th class in one room and the pupils of the second class should help the 1th class pupils with learning and supervising.I´m not so fond of the idea but it should be good so they say.It´s a swedish modell.Wait and see.We have so many different school models....

• every Bundesland has his own teachingplan.So if you move it could be that you learn different things at different times.Stupid that!

Forrest group.they do building houses made of sticks and wood .Go in the nearby vineyard and watch them work.There is a Lama
farm in the forrest and they visit it too.They get tought the different kinds of trees and just let them play in the wood.Teach about environment and how to behave in a forrest look at animals etc.At least I think they do all that.
They go to the nearby cloister( Kloster Eberbach) its the cloister where they did the Sean Connery film,the Humberto Ecco one.The Name of the Rose.Don´t know if the title is the same in english.Sean Connery was there too,but before my time here.

You could come over and help me digging in my garden ....
Ok have to finish.Ds likes to watch Der kleine Maulwurfyou could google that too.It´s soo sweet.Without language,so no translation needed,as it´s tschech.Your friend MUST know it.

Kis are off school for 2 weeks now so cant get on computer as much as usual - also got the plasterers here, replastering the hall stairs and landing, so I can't move for buckets and muck. Can't go upstairs, otherwise I get trapped there, with ladders and planks on the stairs. Still, it looks good. Then I need to paint it with 3 coats of paint...uirgh.
We had loads of snow here at the weekedn! It started sunday morning and by 10 o'clock it was 15 cm deep. The boys made a snowman and threw snowballs, and by 5 o'clock it had all gone again!
It's strange that every area has it's own school-plan. In this country your Owen would be starting full-time school after the Easter holidays (so, in 2 weeks time)and that would be it, ready of not. I agree that some children are not ready, and it is hard on them. The 'forest children' sounds like great fun, they should do that here. It might make them more responsible for the environment. I followed some children the other day, dropping litter all over the place, but when I picked it up and gave it back to them, they just threw it down again. They shuld respect the animals as well, some children here think that animals are just there to be laughed at or to have things thrown at.
I should go out in the garden (quite nice today, but a bit cold.) I should be doing some digging to warm up.
My dh has just left for America for a week, but he said he has to go over to Munich later on in april an he wants to know if we all (dc as well) want to go. Only thing is it's the last day of the holidays, so I don't know....

Hi
So your husband left you to it.Poor you,all that painting.I once painted a picture on a friends bedroom wall a big tree,with flowers and lot of big and small animals.Took a 5 days,though worked only 3-4 hours a day.
Hope you don´t need that long.
We had snow on Monday and made a snowman but it was already tawing.We chased us in the forrest and threw snowballs.
We start school in September.
Yes small children give you a odd look if you ask them to pick up the litter or older youths give you a kick or worse.

Morgen gehen wir zu einem grossen Zirkus.Er heisst Sarrasani.Bis jetzt waren wir nur in kleinen .Dieser hat sogar einen Tieger!
Owen fragte mich: Und wenn er Hunger hat und mich fressen will??Und wenn er wegrennt??Ich sagte ihm das er nicht wegrennt aber das letzte mal als dieser Zirkus da war ,lief ein Loewe weg.Sie sperrten die ganze Autobahn und Ich musste zum Flughafen fahren meine Mutter abholen.Hab es aber noch geschafft.Na dann hoffen wir mal das wir weder aufgefressen werden noch das ein Tieger Loewe oder eine Giraffe abhaut

Tieger??? I must have been drunk!Sorry

Wow - you painted a picture? That's so much more clever than just slapping paint on the wall! Although, I do have lots of walls, and ceilings too. And once the painting's done I need to get it all re-carpeted, and then move onto the patio outside...It's never-ending.

To the circus! I don't think we have those any more! They died out I think in the 80's, no-one went to see them. I suppose we have such amazing things to see on TV now, circus acts like trapeze and elephants seem maybe a bit old. I remember going to see the circus set up in a field at the end of our road when we lived in Celle, one of the horses bit me. I was wearing a green skirt (so fashionable!) and I think he thought it was grass! I never liked circuses after that. Or horses.

I do hope the tigers and lions don't get out - how scary is that? They closed the motorway? We went through a safari park here (where the lions/tigers/wolves all run free, and we are trapped in the car, LOL) and a tiger bit a chunk out of the car bumper. There were teeth marks and everything - my sister was in the car behind and she got a picture of it.

Wow.So you don´t need to go to Africa to get your own Tiger Adventure.Circs?Circuses sounds odd.Wich one is right?
They´re still arround here.They had 2 fantastic clowns from Italy.More like a Pirot.A woman and man,they were great.They did a lot of artistic stuff too.That kind you think the´ll fall down any minute.I belive that´s the hardest kind of artistic.Hanging on a trapeze and stepping on each others face or neck,ouch!
Some people from Russia and Spain,even a couple from England,with their seals!
I thought it´s a bit bigger but was ok.Though the price should have been a bit lower.The tiger apeared by magic in a big cage.It did nothing else than walk arround on a leach,but that was ok for ds and dh,who wondered what happens if the man can´t hold him.

Have you seen the Cirque de Soleil? They are Very artistic, lots of trapeze and high-wire acts, very dangerous, from what I've seen of it. I'd like to see them, they do their shows in a theatre, not a tent. No animals, just acrobats. Very expensive as well though.
The tiger would definitely scare me. I'm reading a french textbook at the moment (it's translated into English too, I'm not that clever) about a tiger who is dressed in clothes and is hypnotised (by the power of the trainer's mind) into being calm. The man telling the story is terrified that the tiger will suddenly pounce. So would I be, if it's just on a lead. Circuses is the correct plural, but it is a roman word, so maybe it was circi, at one time? Like octopus/octopi.
We have quite a few safari parks here, they are big places, and usually have lions, tigers, wolves, bears too sometimes. My carpenter works also as a volunteer keeper(doesn't get paid) at a Park quite near here. He looks after the tigers and loves them, but there is not enough money for him to be full-time, as he has a wife and 2 daughters. He gets more money from carpentery, and he is also my electrician and my kitchen fitter!
I have painted the ceilings and some of the walls now in the hall, but I am getting a bit bored now, and my neck hurts from painting the ceiling!

Ah I know ceiling painting.My last flat had to be renovated and my dh and I painted the ceiling.We were nearly finished ,as the plaster and everything came down.Hurray!
I would like to paint ds´s room but dh says no.
I would like it ti paint it blue and maybe paint a picture of a castle and knight on it.Maybe I get him round to it.
WQeather changes as usual.At the mo it´s nice ,warm and sunny.Maybe we visit my half italian friend in the town nearby.Her boyfriend owns an ice parlour so plenty of ice to eat.
Yesterday ds and I tried his rollerscates.It was fun but then the pouring rain started !

Unglaublich! (Told you i'd find somewhere to use that word!) The weather here is sooo hot today! It's like summer! But at the weekend we had hail, thunder, lightning and pouring rain. It makes the grass grow!
Love the thought that the ceiling might coming down just as i finish it - i'm fed up with painting painting painting now, but my mum, sister and family come back from holiday, so I am giving it a break and doing some cleaning instead. Everywhere is covered in plaster dust, and paint blobs. And the sunshine is showing that the windows need cleaning....

When ds1 was small I painted his room in 2 shades of blue, dark blue for the bottom 1/3, and lighter above. Then I painted stars on it (blobs, mostly) and comets, and saturn, in glow-in-the-dark paint. When he turned the light off it was like being outside. Did some on the ceiling too. He loved Star Wars at that time, so we also had some spaceships from the film on the walls. After all, it's just paint! Tell your dh that you will paint over it when Owen grows up. You sound very artistic, and artistic talent should not be denied!

Sorry I did´nt wrote.
Tried once again to find a hotel and tell you what,I found one.I read all the private Beurteilungen and sounded ok ish.I´m used to London hotel´s (cheap and middlepriced )and know what to expect,not much !
It´s always funny if a loadfull of German Tourists arrive and how fast you see them at the reception again to complain about the rooms.
My friend in Suffolk said I could come and either stay in a B&B or I coult housesit her house and cats in August.Though I wouldnt see her and the family then.
I´m sooooo torn now what to do.
Though have to ask my boss next week if August is poss.
It would save me money and I could stay longer in London.
The other thing is I would like it if Owen plays with their son ( only 6 month older),though I´m not sure if Owen joins in the play.He can be quite shy and refuses to play,just sit´s by my side.They´also have a 2 yr old daughter.He knows the boy,but that was 2 yrs ago and the girl was just a baby then.
urhhh Help!!!!

Your son´s room sounds nice.Glow in the dark paint,fabulous!
Prob have to buy it in England,as so manny other things.I ´ll have a look arround here first.

Oh cleaning instead of painting what a change.Hope you had a nice relaxing time with your famlily.

We expect the weather to be 19°C on Sunday and I have to work Lateshift!!!

this year April is as it should be.Nice and sunny now.We also had thunder and lightning,together with rain+ sunshine and a rainbow in the end.

It´s funny with the painting/ drawing.
My gran + my mother could paint and draw fantastic,though my mother stopped doing it ,no time.My grandma drew a nice pic from the Bruederchen und Schwesterchen Maerchen (Hans Christian Andersen),glaub ich.
I loved it and always looked at it.My mother gave it to me after my gran died.My gran told my mum I should have the pic.
I could´nt draw.I watched them drawing but could´nt.
Then beeing about 30 yrs I wrote a childrens story for my friend and needed someone to draw the pics.My mother could´nt and so I tried once again.Eureka! I could.
My favourite is portraits.I did some from ds and for friends.I did´nt study
it( if I had lots of money I would).Also like to draw black and white nudes( but nice arty ones of course, no nbr one page girls from the Sunor worse.

Right now I told ds I go in the garden as soon as I´m finished with the mail.
His answer : I auch !!!
Great he never did that before!

Hi Chrissi. Suffolk is nice - beaches, very flat, quite close to London by train. We went to Norfolk last year (like suffolk but more north) and it was lovely, although it can be windy. Wind comes straight of the north sea - much like it does on the German beaches!Maybe Owen would be less shy after say a week with the other children? It's hard to stay by your side for a week!

My mum and sister and family came back the other day, but I don't think the holiday was great. They had some bad weather, and also Mum felt as if she was just a babysitter, while sister and her dh just went off, without telling her. Mum had a big argument with schwager about it, and she was not very happy.

I know why you mean about painting/drawing - I was useless at it at school but I really like it now. In my previous house I painted a cupboard dooor in the sitting room to look like a bookcase, with books and bits and pieces on the shelves, like lego and pencils.
I was very pleased with it! dh thinks I should go to college (night school maybe) but I don't really fancy it.

we were all supposed to fly over to Munich tomorrow for the weekend, then I was to fly back with the dc on sunday, but I think that's been cancelled. The dc are back at school on monday and I still haven't sorted out the uniforms etc. DH is going over on monday instead now, but he may need to go for a week in May, if so I will take the dc out of school and come with him! that'll be good! I must practice my German.

I like Bury St. Edmunds soo much better than where I live.I´m happy to see it again.My friend told me she likes to see us,if I stay in the house.This could be sort of a compromise.I stay 2 nights in a B&B,ds can play 2 days(1 1/2days more likely).We stay 6 nights there and then 5 nights in London!
Very long time that I stayed 11 days in England.This will be heaven.
Only hope it works out like that i.e. I get the hols shifted and a few days off.I also have to swap weekend work.Cross your fingers I´ll talk with the head on monday.

I thought about you reading Gala ,why don´t you try Freundin,it´s a bit like Prima.I think we even have a German version of Prima.
It´s less gossip and different subjects.
I learned a lot from engl. mags.
Of course you could only buy them in Germany,but as you´re going soon.....

I like to ask you something!
Can you say :I also, as in me too
Do you have to use it in a sentence ,like I also want to go.or can you just say I also.`

I can´t belive that you also paint.My husband told me to go to evening class,but it´s 200 Eur. for 3 month.So I did´nt go .Apart from this I don´t want to go to school in the evening,esp.after work.
I must admitt I went out a lot more before ds.

Do you read crime novels??

As you said before the holiday will not be much fun.To be frank, not telling her and just leaving is not a good thing to do.
( sister and brthr in law)

May , my favourite month, I married in May.
I´m sure you´ll have a nice time in Germany.

Uh oh Have to finish,my supper will burn otherwise.