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[Vicitoria]

Glad to hear you found what you are looking for Holly. I'm still happy to send the stuff I have if you want it. Isn't it weird trying to find something that would be so simple in the states? I went to Bio for Alle here in Duesseldorf on Friday after reading a review about it. I guess I was fantasizing about the co-op back in DE with so many items. I was looking for healthy foods to temp my son who is a sometimes eater but getting better all the time. I found nothing fantastic that I couldn't really find in Mini Mal or DM for that matter. (PLUS even advertises lot's of BIO items these days) Oh well, at least I found maple syrup! After you started this post it made me think about German egg consumption. I wonder if there will be less soft boiled eggs consumed? I doubt it. At least for now but you never know.

Take care of the belly. Hope you don't have too much snow in Berlin.

Vic:-)

[Vicitoria]

How funny, I hit the wrong button, I thought I was replying not creating. Oh well, proof that it's time for bed!

[Hollycrand]

We're actually in Stuttgart (Southwestern Germany, close to the Swiss and French borders (relatively)).
We've gotten so much snow...at least a foot fell just yesterday...and WE have Kehrwoche this week! Dh and dd are downstairs right now shoveling snow and making a snowman.
At least dd loves the snow! It just makes it hard to get around anywhere with the stroller/pram.

PLUS does have BIO products (dd likes their yogurt better than the brand yogurt at Alnatura...and the ingredients are better too...).
But it's true...BIO products are in many places these days. I split my shopping between a local BIO laden (for fruits, veggies, sugarless cereales, confiture, baby jars of pear), dm (for Alnatura products), and PLUS for some of their BIO cheeses, yogurt, etc.

[Vicitoria]

I don't know why I thought you were in Berlin, Oh well. Are you 6 feet under snow in Stuttgart? It's amazing, living here on the Rhein in Duessesldorf it's very mild so we get flurries but nothing really substantial. I guess we are lucky. We did have one day to take the dog and ds out into the snow to play and they had a great time.

How is Canadian immigration going? I remember reading your story in another post right AFTER we moved here.

Hope all is well, take care of the belly. Vic:-)

[Hollycrand]

The snow was very deep, but has now turned to frozen slush after being under the sun two days. Not very practical for pushing a stroller around.

Canadian Immigration is going well. We're trying to run around to get official copies of our University diplomas (easier said than done) because the Quebec Immigration office said we'd be exempt from a personal interview if we produced these documents. I suppose this is a good sign. If all goes well we'll be going there in about one year's time (April 2007).
We're kind of excited how it'll all turn out. It'll be a bit of a challenge starting over, but I'm kind of excited to go back to North America (I've been in Europe now 11 years) for some reason.

The belly is HUGE!

[Vicitoria]

Glad to hear immigration is going well. 4/07 is a good time, your new little one will be a year old so that will give you some time to spend with breast feeding etc... I'm not sure I even want to think of moving back. We are still waiting for a car to get through the TUV because the mover lost our titles. It was just a nightmare. If you do move all your stuff I do not reccomend Allied International. Absolute BOZO customer service. I still think it was worth it and cheaper taking everything with us though so no regrets.

CNN just reported Stuttgart is getting hit by snow AGAIN! Well, I guess you can just get used to that because Canada will be the same way.

I'm still trying to get settled into our apartment after a month. We have basically everything in the living room so it's just a matter of trying to make the clutter look uncluttered. I like it though. I meet with my new play group on Wedensday so I'm really excited about that. The boys in the group are 6-12 months older than ds so I think it will be great for him to learn and not be the giant bully of the bunch for a change. He was the fastest grower in our group in the states. They were babies so it made it difficult to have a mover around a bunch of babies just lying there. The group is with the American Womens club in Duesseldorf so it should be interesting to see what's up with that. I'd like to find a German speaking group as well but that seems a bit more difficult to find. I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes open. Many of the women in the group have non-American backgrounds and the only requirement is you speak english. I'm really looking for a more international group so I hope that transpires.

Good luck getting the diploma copies. May the paperwork Gods be with you!

Vic:-)

[Hollycrand]

For a German playgroup, try calling some of the local churches. You don't need to be a member (or a believer) to take part in their Krabbelgruppen, and very often it's the easiest way to find some local moms and babes. The only drawback: I'm fluent in german, have lived here for 8 years, am familiar with things 'German', but I am still the 'outsider' in the local German group I go to. Not that they aren't all really nice, but still...
I connect much more with my English and French speaking playgroups (dh is French, and it's what we speak at home). In fact, my French speaking playgroup is 100% AP mommas! There are also some great mommas in our English playgroup who are also AP oriented (we tend to sniff each other out), which is also nice.

Good luck with the new playgroup!