Life With Kitty

OK. The boys can come up with wonderful names . . . I know they can. They've come up with great names for their Webkinz! AJ has three named Root Beer Bandit, Chocolate Chip, and Cookies N Cream. Josh has a monkey named Pernix (Latin for agile) and a bear named Mini-Me (he was a bear in the play, remember). So why in the world do we have a cat named Kitty? Actually her name is Kitty Pryde--it's a super hero thing. I've decided I hate it. I wasn't crazy about Chewy when we thought she was a he, but at least he had a real name. There's just a part of me that wants to call her something, and I feel like I'm not really calling her anything when I call "Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!" Everybody calls their cat with that!!! I may have to take this whole thing into my own hands and name the poor animal!

Other than the goofy name, life with Kitty is fun. I AM her mama. In fact, every now and then she just wants to see my face, so she grabs on to one of my legs with her small little claws and scales me like a tree. Yeah, I know. Cute now . . . not so much when she's ten pounds. Our favorite times of day are when she goes into what Josh has labelled "loopy mode." She races around attacking anything that moves and acts all goofy and funny. She's a little rough on the hands in loopy mode (and face, and toes, and arms . . . ), but we are definitely enjoying playing with her. OK, so maybe we're enjoying her a little too much, but we'll get school and those chores done eventually! Of course we also love the mood she's in when she just wakes up. She purrs and purrs and loves us back. The boys really like having an animal that will snuggle with you and let you carry it like a baby. Not that we don't love the dogs anymore, we just like the different dynamics of having a cat.

I'm not so fond of the litter box (which is in my bathroom, getting litter all over my floor--a real joy when you have wet feet!), and loopy mode gets a bit exhausting when she decides to go into it at 5 am (with my face!), and she's only just starting to get the message that counters and tables are not fair game for her curiosity. But none of those things are as dreadful as I had been programmed to remember (by the cat hater in our family!), and I'm quickly deciding that they are worth the inconvenience to have the fun of a kitty . . . er Kitty. Only, now I have to go, 'cause she's sitting on my desk and she thinks the keyboard is a fun place to walk. So vdsfnapfh aewfrawfywae fhafaehf . . . .

Movie Review: Alex Rider, Operation Stormbreaker

Where did this movie come from? Why didn't I hear more about it when it came out in theaters? This was one of the best kids' action movies I've seen in a long time! Imagine James Bond before puberty (or just after, but before all the girlie stuff). James Bond minus all the hormones--that's what you have in Alex Rider. Alex Rider, Operation Stormbreaker is all the things boys love--action, danger, gadgets, bad guys, and skulking around trying not to be noticed. It's also got some things parents love . . . or rather, it's missing some things parents dislike--immodesty (or anything "romantic", for that matter), cursing (I didn't notice any, and neither did the boys), excessive violence, disrespect for adults (except the bad guy, of course!).

Alex Rider is thrust into spy work after his uncle dies and he discovers he has actually been groomed especially for the business. He is a reluctant hero, but a hero indeed. He carries cool gadgets to help him with his spying (but nothing lethal, interestingly enough). While there IS a girl, it is nothing overtly romantic, and she is called upon to help Alex in the final chase scene. Yes, there is some shooting, and yes, there are one or two deaths, but the deaths are cartoonish or implied (not shown), and the shooting never seems to actually hit its target. I never saw any blood.

This movie is based on the first in a series of books by Anthony Horowitz. While I did find at least one book listed at the library that sounded like it had supernatural undertones, I didn't see any of that in the movie. We've placed the first two books on hold so I'll let you know how they are once I read the first one.

This is definitely a movie worth seeing, especially if you have a boy. Just be prepared for them to pull out all the spy gadgets and dark clothing, and to hit and kick things (maybe each other?) a lot for a few days. (Are we the only ones who dress according to the latest movies we've seen?) It'd be perfect around my house if they'd talk with the Brittish accent Alex Rider has . . . . almost like living with a cleaned-up version of James Bond.

Update: I read the book and loved it. There is one minor cuss word in it, a British one (bli**y), and LOTS of action violence. But . . . one of the things I really liked is that Alex is not even expected to carry a gun. He's trained to handle all those kinds of circumstances, but the adults in charge don't feel right about him having a gun. Cool. The only thing that kind of bothered me is that Alex is a spy under duress (he's blackmailed), and he doesn't really want to be one. Horowitz stresses that while spies used to work from patriotism or loyalty, now they are mostly just used. While it bothers me, it is, I think, an accurate picture of our times. "Operation Stormrider" was very true to the Stormrider book.

Makes a Mother Proud . . . .

Tonight, AJ was inventing a new computer. Something about it was small enough to fit on your wrist . . . I don't know, I didn't get it all. (After all, I don't invent computers! I can hardly use them!) Meanwhile, his brother Stephen was programming another computer with a new language . . . or ability . . . or something like that (once again . . . me and the computer . . . enough said).

All at once, AJ decided he wanted to use FOUR of his powers (never was really sure exactly what they were, but I caught something about stretchy, strong, and fire), but the problem with this was that in whatever contract they signed, Josh got to use double the powers of AJ . . . or more of them . . . so that meant Josh got to go to EIGHT of his. Somehow Stephen got short-changed in the deal, 'cause no matter what, he only got to use one power at a time. But . . . he had his computer!

Exactly how many powers do you need to fight off bad guys?

And if you have super powers, why on earth do you need computers?