Ker-splat

Amelia has the stomach thing that's going around and is having a hard time shaking it. Just when I think she's finally all better, she barfs again. Usually on herself, the floor, or me. Sigh...

My poor little perfectionist

Fiona hasn't been to school since last Wednesday because of the stupid snow. Finally, finally today the streets were melted enough that it was safe to open school again. They did a "late start" day which I was pretty sure meant she had to be at school two hours after her normal start time, just like every other school district in the area. Did I check their website to be sure? Of course not!

We got to school exactly two hours after the normal start time and there were no kids in sight. Oops. "Late start" for our district is actually an hour and a half late, not two hours. For the first time in her very short elementary school career, Fiona had to go to the office to get a late slip. She was totally mortified. Then I walked her to her classroom and as we tried to walk in, the whole class was leaving for lunch. She started to cry. She crawled behind the coats on the coat rack and starting screaming that she wasn't going to school today and she didn't want to be late and it was my fault and I was mean.

I told her that I'd walk her to the lunch room and help her get her lunch, but she couldn't pull it together and basically cried for the next half hour - through the lunch line, into the lunch room, trying to get her to sit down. Amelia took up the cause and started screaming too, mostly because she really wanted to eat Fiona's french fries I think. Either I'm not very good at talking Fiona down or she's just not talk-downable, because it finally came to me hissing threats of losing her Leapster privilege for her to finally get it back together enough to sit down and eat. I wish giving her a hug and a kiss and a pat on the back would work when she's like that but it doesn't.

Poor thing, she hates it when things like this happen. It is kind of reassuring to me though, that the worst possible thing in her world right now is getting a tardy slip at school. That's all she has to worry about. (Well, that and President Bush.)

Ex

Table talk at dinner tonight turned to the subject of ex-boyfriends. Fiona looked confusedly at us for a while and asked, "What's an EX boyfriend? What does the ex mean?"

Andre and I explained that the "ex" part means that a person was something at one time and now they're not. "Like someone who used to be your teacher, but now they're not. They're your ex-teacher," Andre said.

"Like someone who used to be a president and now they're not. They would be an ex-president, " I said.

"Oh! I get it!" Fiona said, "Like someone who used to be a cat and now they're not! They're an ex-cat."

Yes, Fiona. Exactly like that.

Is there any such thing as a gerbil rat?

It's so cold here that the wildlife is literally throwing itself against the windows to try to get inside. I was sitting down in the basement when I heard a thumping noise on the window. I pulled up the shade and right at eye level was some kind of creepy rodent trying to crawl up the screen. I immediately assumed he wanted to come in and eat my flesh and I might have screamed a little bit, but maybe he just wanted to get warm.

I thought it was a rat at first but as it stared me down through the window, I noticed its tail was covered with black fur. It was way too big to be a mouse and it looked more like one of the gerbils we used to have - the one that used to bite me all the time, little bastard. Anyhow, it was a gerbil the size of a rat. Does something like that exist in the wild? Is it some sort of genetically modified lab experiment escaped from the confines of its cruel cell and now on the lam? It probably is. It's probably going to be trying the doors and windows all day, looking for some weakness to exploit. I hope it doesn't get into my bed tonight and eat my face off.

Friday Night Lights

In a feat of television gluttony, Andre and I managed to watch the entire first half of the season in three nights so we could be caught up for the newest episode last night. Tamara had recommended it earlier in the season and I totally ignored her, but I'm sorry I did now. Watch it. I promise you, it's not just about football. It's more about high school angst and small town politics than it is about the actual game. It kind of reminds me of my hometown. That is, if we had actually had a good football team.

George!

Our good friend George entered his film, 9 Seconds, in a new reality-TV filmmaking competition called On the Lot, created by Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg. George was in the USC graduate film program with Andre. So, when George put out the call for help with the shoot, Andre volunteered. George's wife Dana and I were film widows for a couple of weeks this summer, but that's OK. When Andre makes his next film, we'll call in the chit.

Here's George's film. Watch it, rate it, and help George get on the show!

New Year

New start. I resolve to blog even when I'm afraid I'm being boring. Like right now! Resolutions, zzzzzzzzzzzzz...