Another day off, but not really...

After trying to lock 'em out of the apartment for part of the morning, the girls are back indoors and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks, which is probably the worst movie I've seen this year (including both Spiderwick and Jumper, movies that should have delivered a whole lot more.) I love Jason Lee, which is the only reason why I consented to be in the same room at the same time while it was playing, but I don't think anyone could save this movie. And there's no honest adult around that can surely say that remaking Alvin and the Chipmunks was motivated by anything other than the lure of both cash and desperate parents hoping to keep the kids quiet for a few hours.

The sad thing, is that it actually does work. The kids haven't raised a voice towards each other in the whole twenty minutes that the movie has been on. These days, that's a record. And this means that kids really don't have any taste at all. When the youngest can say to me in a totally awed voice, "Man, aren't they good singers?" I am totally flumoxed: is she really just teasing me? Because I'm buying it, right now. I sincerely can't tell if she means it or not.

In about an hour the chocolate will hit. My backup plan includes a long walk, and a board game. Exercise is a necessity, and a walk takes much of the likelihood of so-called sporting accidents away. But the board game is another matter.

With two kids, the best board games are the ones that take forever to set up, not necessarily the most interesting game to play. The game Mousetrap is good for this, as is the old standby Monopoly. Both games have less to do with skill or luck, but more to do with passing time. The game Kerplunk is a lot like this, too. Who ever thought that sticking multiple plastic sticks through 1mm diameter holes was simple, wasn't a 7 or 10 year old. The eye-to-hand coordination simply isn't there, and for an almost 38year old, the patience level isn't there, either.

I've got nothing more in mind, for the next little while at least, than to watch the remainder of my Easter holiday disappear with whatever the kids want to do to pass the time.

I'm pretty much up for anything, at this point. Anything to keep the kids from fighting with each other, and for me to make it through the day without having a stroke.