Trouble on Am Schmeideberg

We got trouble, with a capital T that rhymes with P and that stands for

POWER SURGE!!!!

Yes, we've been watching The Music Man, and yes, MdG, make big bang...AGAIN!!!

There was a thunder storm here the other week, and the only thing I forgot to unplug was the telephone. Well, apparently the telephone pole outside is taller than our roof.

SHAZAM!!!

It actually blew the DSL splitter apart, and off the wall!! Fried the modem, and possibly my old computer, which will not turn on now. Old houses, gotta love them.

In other Germany news...

Ikea, why do you not take Visa or Master Card?!?!?
Seriously! We got up to the checkout, and oops, I had to run to the ATM. I suppose it really was my fault since I didn't look for the Visa/Master Card sticker on the entrance. So I was a sucky American, since I was not prepared.

However, Germany, you have the most awesome bicycle stores EVER!! We went to one today that had a little track around the display area where you could try out any bike or other ride on they had in the store.

I of course rode a scooter, but Sarge was too busy looking at padded pants to take our pictures.

Tomorrow is Piko deGallo's 6th birthday!!! And she has her first loose tooth!!

A Question

So, I was thinking I would take a sort of poll.

I just finished this quilt for our bed.

Here is a close up of the fabric.


I love it. It is the first queen sized quilt I have ever made for myself.
Anyhoo, several of my friends have commented on it while it was in progress.

"Oh! That's nice. Is that for your room? Sarge is going to let you put that on the bed? My husband would never sleep on something so flowery."

BUH??!?!?!

This is not the first time that I have experienced this either. Some husbands will not "allow" pink towels, flowered sheet sets, or any other color than blue for a bath poof.

Sarge, what does he care. If it's soft and comfy he'll use it. It's not like the man police are going to bust down our door and arrest him for pink sheets. Besides, see that yellow pillowcase under the blue one on the left? That's his pillow, it has flowers and butterflies.

Anyway, do men really care about stuff like that? Or are my friends just lame?

Really though, I do already know the answer.

Slutty or Not?

So I'm going to Sarge's squadron's Christmas party this year. That means I have to dress in something other than jeans and sneakers. Bah.

I'm looking for a pair of heels, and kind of want to get these. Yeah, yeah, they're from Frederick's of Hollywood, but that was pretty much the only place I could find them within my price range, I don't want to spend more than $40.00 for a pair of shoes I'll only wear about 2x a year. But I like the heavy ankle strap look.

So the question is, are they too slutty? And are they AA(Age Appropriate)?

I will be pairing them with a pretty conservative skirt and blouse, what I might call, "Stealth Slutty".

Should I be Worried??

So as you all know, Piko has started Kindergarten this year.

This past week I have been volunteering at the school about an hour a day in the classroom. Helping the teacher serve the student's their snacks, and get their homework folders checked and distributed. She has 31 freaking kids in her class, I figure that she could use a hand, and I'm more than willing to be there. I have to pick up Piko anyway, and it's the reason I didn't get forced to run out and get a job.

Well, Friday there is a note in Piko's folder thanking me for coming in. But that the teacher is changing her teaching method/plan/philosophy and is asking parents not to come in to volunteer during core teaching periods. Huh. We are still welcome to come at lunch/recess time. Oookay.

Now I can see her issue. A parent/adult/anyone coming into the classroom is somewhat disruptive, and the kids get a little rowdy and distracted. I totally get that, no problem I'll just come at lunch time.

Then I talk with my neighbor who also volunteers in the classroom. She got the note too, and she thinks it's weird. What teacher with 31 kindergarten students (and no aide by the way), does not want all the help she can get? I give her my opinion about being a distraction, and she somewhat agreed, but then spills this gem.

"The only time I have ever had a teacher refuse volunteers was when we were at another school, and things were going on in the classroom that they didn't want the parents to know about."

OH. WHAT?!

Yeah, thanks for planting that little seed in my head. Piko seems to really like her teacher, and I guess I just have to trust that if something is going on she'll tell me about it.

But, should I be worried?

de Gallo Dilemma

Holy Poo! The Dinosaurs are coming!!!

I am seriously torn about getting tickets to see this.

On one hand Piko loves dinosaurs, she got the Nigel Marvin "Prehistoric Park" and "Chased By Dinosaurs" DVD's for her birthday, and loves them.

On the other hand, how will she react to "real" dinosaurs?! I will be bummed and well, a bit cheesed off if she freaks out and we have to leave. The tickets are not that cheap.

I have no doubt she'll go totally bananas and shiny at the idea. But once we're there with the dark, and the loud, and the lights...
What to do....what to do...

Just wondering...

What the heck should I do with these tomatoes? I cut them up for M. Sarges BBQ, but they were barely touched. I had some today and they seemed fine, but what the heck should I make with them. Let me note that neither M. Sarge or Piko are particularly fond of straight tomatoes.


And, YAY SCIENCE! Piko de G and I celebrated the 4th with a new stomp air rocket.



What a crappy photographer I am.

de Gallo Dielemma

Darn kindergarten all to heck!! It's really messing up our travel plans! We really have to plan ahead now, and can't just take off whenever we want for however long we want to.

Just kidding!! I love that Piko is starting school. LOVE IT!!

Anyhoo, that is not the dilemma we(I)are having.

Booster seats.

We are traveling to Hawaii late in the summer to visit my family, and of course we don't pack up our booster seat for the trip. We have to make sure that there is room in the baggage allotment for GOLF CLUBS!! Anyway, I'm having my mom buy us a booster seat for our use while we're there, and then they can keep it at their house for whenever we come and visit. We used to have our old car seat there, but I'm sure that Piko 1) will not fit in it anymore, and 2) it will be more than 5 years old when we get there.

So, I'm wondering, all you parents out there in Bloggerland. Should I go with a full back booster? Like this

Or do the no back booster like this?


I looked around on the net, and did not really find any info that would lead me to believe that one is any safer than the other. Piko by the way is 38lbs, and 41" tall.

My gut instinct is to go with the full back model, it just seems safer to me. But the no back one is about 1/2 the price. Not that price is an issue when it comes to safety for my Pwessous Wittle Purl. Just that if both are equal in safety, then why not save a couple of bucks, and then Sarge and I can get popcorn while we watch TRANSFORMERS!! IN THE THEATRE!! Gads, I love family babysitters.

What the?

I was watching Transporter 2 the other night Jason Statham....yummy....), and I noticed something that was very distressing. Was it the ridiculous ammount of impossible stunts? Jason Statham's uber-sexy voice? The excessive gratuitous violence? The fact that, that Audi had not a scratch on it?Jason Statham's bulging muscled arms? Ahem.
No... Well, yes, BUT, what I really noticed, and what especially bothered me was that formerly very cute Matthew Modine, has somehow turned into , Ed Begly Jr!!!!
There goes my Louden Swain fantasy...oh how I wanted to be Linda Florentino in 1985.