I found a trackerball at eBay for cheap. It’s the same as my current one, so all I’ll have to do is pop the new ball into my old mouse and not deal with the mess of wires behind my CPU. Now I just have to wait for it to get here, and hope my hand doesn’t hurt too much.

A few minutes ago, Billy asked me what “affiliated” meant. I explained it to him and asked where he learned the word. He quoted some lines from The Incredibles, giving me yet one more reason to love this movie.

I enjoy movies as much as anybody, but have always considered life to be too short to watch them more than once. I’d rather read a good book five times than watch a good movie twice. However, when one has kids, repetition is forced upon you. If it’s not TV shows or movies, it’s books or songs over and over again. My mom had (still has, perhaps) The Cat in the Hat memorized. I used to recite The Big Red Barn to Billy as he impatiently flipped the pages of the book when he was Petey’s age.

But I don’t mind watching The Incredibles over and over. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never actually seen the whole thing from beginning to end without pause. I’ve seen the whole movie, just not all at once. {Insert grumbling about little children here.} But I just think it’s a really good story.

I liked it so much, I actually purchased the DVD which is not normal for me. Aside from strictly children’s shows (Thomas, Disney, even a Spongebob or two), the vast bulk of DVDs we own were bought by Bill. I assure you, I had no say in the decision to buy the complete collection of Mr. Bean. I’m happy to own the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but Bill gave them to me for Christmas. I don’t buy DVDs, but I also rarely have the time to watch them. Our Netflix rentals sit here for weeks.

Recently, I threatened the kids with removal of the TV from the living quarters (specifically, I said I was going to put it in the garage). The kids have certain times of the day they are permitted to watch TV: before school, during lunch, and after school. Rarely is the TV on after 6 pm. If friends come over to play, which happens frequently, the TV is usually off. If the weather is nice, the TV is off. On the weekends, the TV is on football, unless the weather is extremely nice and then I put my foot down and we all go outside. But those hours of TV viewing are sacred to my kids, and the idea of not having a TV was horrifying.

Billy suggested that I would be in big trouble with Dad if I put the TV in the garage. I probably would be! But I said I was willing to deal with his wrath. I also said that I could easily put our one TV in our bedroom and lock the door. {Idle threats: I really don’t want a TV in my bedroom – I may never conceive again!} Then he said that I would really miss the TV. I pointed out to him that I almost never watch it in the first place. I think this fact hit home, and his attitude became a bit more cooperative.

Now if only all the shows they watch would teach them 5 syllable words, I’d probably never threaten to remove that valuable resource. Alas for them, I’m confident that most of their new words will be ones they’ve heard me use or read in a story. Even if we have to read those books over and over again.