January 11, 2004
Cheaper by the Dozen
Review - Last night Claire and I went to see Cheaper by the Dozen. I was a little cautious at first because I knew that it was not going to be at all like the 1950's original. But this review at DecentFilms.com convinced me that it would be safe and a good watch. I didn't bring Abby only because she doesn't hold up well in movie theaters, regardless of how good the movie is. I agree with the reviewers. It had a positive attitude towards family life with a focus on the joys and sacrifices involved in being generous in bringing children into the world. There was plenty to appeal to all ages - from age 6 to 60. It, along with Peter Pan, will definitely be on my DVD purchase list next summer.
Homework Wiz arrives - Last week I ordered Claire the Franklin Speaking Homework Wiz. It arrived Friday and Claire has been having fun tinkering with it. Now if she wants to work on her daily reading assignment, she has been able to use it if she gets stuck on a word. Type in the word. If you misspell it, it gives you some suggestions. Once it has a valid word, it brings up the definition. The definitions are well tuned to someone Claire's age rather than a typical formal dictionary definition. Press another button and it will read the word and definition outloud. The voice is a bit on the synthetic side compared to what I've seen my Mac's do, but it is still usable.
Wipeout - My high school friend, Dan, and his wife came over from a visit since they are visiting family and friends in New England. We did some sledding with the kids out back. I gave the girls a lesson in how NOT to go down the hill. As I often do, I went down the tube riding on my stomach. Unfortunately, my launch was a little too aggressive and I did a good head over my feet tumble. Luckily it was nothing too serious but it left me with some good scrapes on my face. It's sure to bring some interesting comments at work tomorrow.