Fine. We utterly completely failed as foster parents. We were just going to watch Tucker the basset hound for a couple of days until a proper foster home could be set up through GABR, but he's just too damn cute, so we're going to keep him. Barring some sort of catastrophe with the other dogs, of course.

So now that's 3 basset hounds + 1 little boy who thinks he's one. Crowded house.

These words have struck me as odd, and so I wanted to comment on them:

• backlog - Where the hell did we get this word to mean "work that has piled up"? I think it's an overused buzzword and lends very little to what you're trying to say.

• sliding board / sliding pond - I recently learned that these phrases are used in various places on the East Coast in place of what the rest of us call a "slide". Very weird.

• movie - I've always found this humorous, as I think it's related to "talkie", which we definitely don't say any more. "Film" sounds pretentious, but when you think about it, "movie" is a really old-fashioned word.

• coldcuts vs. lunchmeat - Jim hates it when I say "lunchmeat". He prefers "coldcuts." I'm sure there are tons of words and phrases to mean the same thing, like the many words for a sub sandwich. (Why so many words related to sandwiches?) I looked them up in the dictionary, and here is what I found. "Cold cut" (two words) means "slices of unheated salami ... continue reading Odd Words

Every so often, at daycare, I'll try to get Alex to do something and he'll refuse. Wave good bye to me, or hand me a toy or whatever. And he won't. And then one of the little girls in the class will do it instead. She'll say "good-bye" to me or whatever.

From time to time, one of the girl's mothers is in there and she'll say, in a condescending tone, "It's okay. Girls just develop faster than boys."

I tend to reply, "I know. But he'll catch up, overtake them, and then earn far more money than any of them ever will."

That shuts 'em up.

Babe and I went to go see Friday the 13th last weekend in the imax (yes! For Valentine's Day!). It was an acceptable, though forgettable slasher. About what I was expecting...some gratuitous nudity, lots of pointless violence, minimal plot, bad acting. Basically, it felt like a Friday the 13th movie. I didn't leave disappointed.

It was fun seeing it in the IMAX, too. I was even careful to buy the tickets in advance, which turned out to be unnecessary. It was a Sunday showing, after all.

But the real entertainment were the people sitting down the aisle from us - apparently Friday the 13th is fun for the whole family! A couple brought all of their kids with them to the flick. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a fuddy duddy. Let your kids watch a horror movie at home, assuming they're old enough. 14, 15, 16 years old? Sure. Watch away. Bring 'em to the theater with you, under appropriate circumstances.

12-14? Maybe. Depends upon the kid. Depends upon the movie. Let 'em watch at home.

10-12 ... continue reading Nice parenting

Koka and Babe aren't the only ones with tattoos now.