It’s a bit of a Hollywood truism – video game movies are bad.

Unlike a lot of things that “everybody knows,” this is actually more or less true. That isn’t to say that they don’t make money – some do all right at the box office even when they’re terrible – but in terms of quality, they never measure up.

So it was with some obvious apprehension that I sat down to watch “Sonic the Hedgehog.” Considering the long and arduous road to release the film had – including extensive redesigns following the internet’s collective horror at the initial trailers – and the fact that I myself was always a Nintendo guy instead of Sega, it’s fair to say that my expectations were low.

Imagine my surprise when “Sonic” exceeded them.

Not by much, mind you – we’re not talking greatness here, to be sure – but still. This movie is … OK. It’s fine. And the reality is that “OK” and “fine” are words that have only rarely been associated with video game adaptions.

Sure, it’s all a bunch of dumb jokes and already-dated pop culture references, but the truth is that the target audience loves those things. Kids will dig it and adults will be able to tolerate it, which is no small thing. And there are occasional moments (all of which feature Jim Carrey cranking the weird to 11 and snapping off the knob) that are even better than that. For a movie that threatened to be an unhealthy dose of nightmare fuel, that’s a win.

Dramatic Academy offers seven weeks of full-day programming in Downtown Bangor

BANGOR - Registration is now open for Penobscot Theatre Company's Dramatic Academy Summer 2016. Young performers, technicians and theatre newbies are invited to help bring two sensational productions to life. "We are beyond thrilled to produce the hit musical that is currently rocking Broadway, Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock,' based on the Paramount movie starring Jack Black!" said Director of Education Amy Roeder. "In addition, we have a tremendous new work, Transformer Tales: Stories of the Dawnland' which is being devised with members of the Penobscot Nation. This world premiere production will be produced as part of Acadia National Park's Centennial Celebration and will be performed on Indian Island, in Acadia National Park, and of course on our own historic Opera House stage. What an exceptional summer this is for Dramatic Academy!"

Having conversations with the kids can be an exercise in frustration. I've seen scuttlebutt on the internet that kids ask somewhere between 280 to almost 400 questions per day. Now, I'm eating that with more than a couple grains of salt since it looked like the 'research' was a survey and I certainly haven't taken to ticking off each time one of the beans has rattled off a question. But it's a lot. And most of them are as simple as 'Mama?' You know, because I had the audacity to wander out of their line of sight.

But here's the thing, when you sit down and have conversations with them they're awesome. And weird but in such a good way. Such a hilarious way. One of the kiddosis getting a very basic understanding of the digestive system (food goes in, is processed and leaves in an entirely different manner). This child has happily been telling everyone all the things that start as food and end up as poop. He's not wrong.

Good parenting is a weird concept. It implies that there is a definitive right way and wrong way to do things, the unspoken idea being that if your kids are acting in a certain socially unacceptable way, you are somehow to blame for it.

One of the best parts of being a mom of three kids at the same time is knowing that the above is complete and utter BS. Now, I'm not saying you can go home and be a jerk to your kids with no repercussions, but the notion that a parent's actions dictate how a child is going to act in any given situation isn't realistic.

Many of us, if we even think to, hesitate when it comes to teaching our kids much about money. For one thing, there are some of us who do not feel well-versed enough about the topic. 

Then there's the pesky problem of where the heck to start the conversation. All we know is we are always arguing with someone about why they can't have this or that, why they can't go to this cool vacation spot or why on earth we won't let them eat out more.

When you have kids, you accumulate a lot of stuff. Between the initial baby showers, the hand-me-downs, the impulse shopping and the ridiculous rate of growth, you will always have more crap in your house than you could possibly be using at any one time.

So what do you do with it? Thankfully, I know a few people who have done me the favor of getting pregnant and have taken a few items off my hands. Bless their hearts.

Language is hard. Just take a gander at the internet. You know that English isn't mastered overnight. Or ever. 

Though my kids are progressing steadily into the realm of nouns, verbs and pointing (lots of pointing), there is still a large gap between what they want and what they can say. And even what they say and what they actually mean are a little, shall we say, disparate.

When a kid doesn't like peas or Brussels sprouts, no one is particularly surprised - there are many adults who dislike those strange mini-cabbages. But being able to forecast what a child will like or dislike is a skill on par with the predictive powers of Nostradamus. You just never know.

For instance, when we had that recent streak of hot weather, I thought it would be the perfect time to share popsicles with the kiddos. Who doesn't love a nice, cool, delicious treat on a hot, sunny day? 

I admit it, I have singleton envy. Whenever I see some mom bopping down the road with a baby in a sling or one of those hands-free carriers, I feel a stab of white-hot envy. She's being a good mom by taking her little one out into the world to learn and explore.

I usually see sights like this when I'm out by myself buying more groceries than I could scarcely imagine two years ago. A little human toddling between the hands of two happy parents as they shop for groceries. Two kids of various ages steering their racecar shopping cart powered by mom. 

I'm going to admit something that I'm sure not many people would admit, publicly anyway. It's a truth that flies in the face of popular parenting lore, but a truth nonetheless: It's hard to play with your kids. I know, I know. No one should say this, especially not mothers who want to be seen as one woman theme parks. My theme park would be named 'Crazy Mom Land.' There would be lots of bumper cars, batting cages and log flume rides with kids snacking on a bottomless supply of homemade chocolate chip banana bread, but I digress. Parents are supposed to love building sandcastles near doggie droppings. We're supposed to smile while whipping up batches of mud pies as our kids hold worms and say, 'Look at him wiggle!' We're supposed to enjoy play time.