keep them laughing

Whenever we are with our neighbors, Zizou completely ignores us and is Erich's baby (probably the treats he keeps in his pocket). Last night was the same. As we were walking to our favorite pizzaria I called Zizou but he ran to Erich. I rolled my eyes and said to Vlasta (in German), "When Erich is here, I am not important." Or, that is what I attempted to say. When I got to the word "important" I paused...I don't know the word in German for "important." So, I just gave it the Gringa try - the English word but pronounced differently, louder, and with hand gestures. The Szebestas raised their eyes and choked a little. By this time we were at Del Golfo. I asked the proprietress how to say "importante" in Deutsch (she and her family are from Italy as you may have figured). She told me the word and I conveyed it to Vlasta who promptly started laughing! What I had said earlier was "When Erich is here I am not impotent" - a much different message than what I intended!!! We had fun with that one again this morning (see knodel making below)!