Party in my TV

It's the middle of summer. It's hot and I resent still being here. So, what better way to pass the time than to post something completely fun and fluffy...

...such as my son's TV viewing habits, which is the same as saying my TV viewing habits since I sit through it too.

He adores The Backyardigans and who can blame him? They are ADORABLE! I only wish there were more episodes in rotation, so we weren't stuck with the same six we've TiVo-ed and watched... repeatedly.

We... er, he is also partial to Curious George, Max and Ruby, and Blue's Clues. He watches them all... just not all in one day. (I don't believe either of us could sit still that long.)

But, our absolute favorite is... hands down... Yo Gabba Gabba!

At first, I wouldn't let my son watch this show. I thought it was too manic and frenzied and the characters...

They are just so WEIRD!

The show would start with some basic theme like "eating", then go totally absurd with sketches called "Super Martian Robot Girl" or "Dancey Dance Time"...

I just didn't get it.

Well, whadaya' know?! That is precisely why my son enjoys it. It eventually grew on me too... eventually.

What takes up your kids' American Academy of Pediatrics alloted two hours a day (yeah, right) of wholesome, quality TV ?

Parenting Holiday

One of the benefits of staying at my parents' house is access to all of the *free* cable I could ever want...

We gave up paying for cable when we no longer had the attention span for long, leisurely afternoon TV marathons. Basically when we became parents...

"How can you live without cable?" our friends always ask us.

"We just do," we always say.

So anyway.... all the free cable I want, right? So, natuarally, I've been obsessing over Jon & Kate Plus 8. I LOVE this show!

Yeah. I know. I know. Umm, heee-llo. Where have you been?

I may have been living under a rock, but I think I've watched practically every episode in just one weekend. Like I said, obsessed!

I just can't decide if this show make me feel smug or inadequate as a mom. Okay, "smug" is the wrong word... but, definitely inadequate.

I mean, I've been feeling trampled by my ONE toddler lately. I can't even imagine SIX... I guess that's why they have a show on TLC and I don't.

My husband has been gone for over a week now, and even though my parents have been great, it just not the same. First of all, there are no rules at my parents' house- no bedtimes, no set mealtimes, and... again, cable 'til your eye fall out.

My parents play the role of indulgent grandparents very well... as is their right, but that leaves me to be the "bad cop"... all... the... time. I'm so much better at being the "good cop"...

Well, good cop or not, I'm big on predictable daily routines and schedules and I know all too well that my parents simply... are NOT.

I don't expect my parents to change for my sake. However, I would prefer if they weren't the ones yelling and screaming "No, no, no. Not yet..." when I announce it's time for bath, books, and bed...

So in spite of what critics (and random commenters) have to say about "Jon & Kate", I love this show because it's what parenting as teamwork is all about.

It's not pretty and sometimes, not particularly polite, but at least everyone's on the same page and I miss that.... A LOT.

Haiku, Brought to You by Elmo

8 AM. Time for...
"La la la-la. Elmo's song..."
It sticks to your brain!

Running through my head
"La la la-la. Elmo's song..."
All day and all night

It drives me batty,
But if it means a shower
I can love it, too.

Yeah, putting my son in front of the TV so I can shower in peace. It's an age old tradition, right? Why did I ever think I could change it? Well, I'll just cross that off my list of "never dos..." My list is getting rather short. hehe!

At least, it's PBS and not Sponge Bob... Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just really hate that theme song.

For more Haiku Friday, check out A Mommy Story and Playgroups are No Place for Children.

So, LOST...

Worth the wait?


I don't know. I swear after every episode that I'm never watching it again... EVER, but then I do. I can't help it. I'm hooked...

Haiku about love. Big Love...

Oh, my dear Netflix,

we burned so hot and heavy
when this all began.

Now, affection wanes
as DVDs go unwatched
and barely exchanged.

Should we just end it?
Is it time to bid adieu?
Wait! It's Season Two.

Why you cunning minx!
There's no "long wait" after all...
You're a tricky one.

True love, we don't have
but there's certainly BIG LOVE
for us to enjoy!

Clever HBO,
making me want so much mo'
Leaving us hanging.

So, I've spilled my guts about my deep love for Big Love to you before, but I'll say it again... I LOVE this show.

So much so, that I almost convinced myself to start paying for cable again... almost.

I've devoured every single tasty morsel of the entire second season in matter of afternoons and I'm hungry for more.

No spoilers here, Internet. You'll have to see what all the fuss is about on your own. Good ahead. Give in to the temptation. Trust me, you'll thank me once you do.

I am going to get so fat

So, my latest obsession with Big Love has lead me to my next obsession...

NetFlix.

Ever-late to hop on the bandwagon, my husband and I didn't subscribe until now because we hardly ever watched movies. What with the new baby, my husband's long hours, and adjusting to changing routines... Sigh! We barely had two hours to ourselves, much less time to plunk our rears in front of a screen.

Things have since calmed down a bit. As mentioned before, my husband has been devoting more time to his personal projects, which is great for him but leaves me with some more free time on my hands (once our son gets to bed, of course)...

I wasn't until I found myself making multiple trips to the "evil corporate movie rental giant" in one week, that it became evident that there's a easier (*cheaper*) way! After comparing competitors and a little friendly peer pressure, we signed up for Netflix last weekend and started ranking our favorites... and whadaya' know?! I learned something new and quirky about my husband.

The man LOVES taking surveys. No, really. Apparently, sharing his thoughts and opinions give him the same tingly, dizzy, cross-eyed, excited feeling that I would reserve for the purchase of designer handbag or the perfect shoes... He stayed up until only who knows when one night bequeathing star ratings to film after film, then arranging our queue just so. (Nerd!)

I, on the other hand, generally have trouble waiting for things ordered online to arrive. I'm all about the instant gratification when I purchase something. Since we signed up on a Friday, our first three DVDs weren't sent out until Monday and didn't arrive until Tuesday.

That night, INSTEAD of getting to bed early so I could get to the gym the next morning.... we watched... Nay! DEVOURED the first two episodes of another HBO series, Rome. With the exception of the excessive violence and grossly gratuitous T and A, I was digging the storyline and costumes... until this one line given at towards the end of Episode Two:

Caesar is in Italy! Caesar is in Italy!

Ummmm, Italy didn't become "Italy" until its unification in the late 1800's. Prior to that, the Italy as we know it now was comprised of various city states and kingdoms... Caesar actually crossed the Rubicon into Province of Gallia Cisalpina (today’s northern Italy), which no general with his armies was allowed to do at the time. Hence the term, "Crossing the Rubicon", means going past the point of no return. Thank you, liberal arts education and semester in Rome. You never fail me.

Yes, I am a NERD too. For some reason that really irked me and since we all know how it ends (ahem, spoiler alert: Rome falls), I returned the DVD right away and shoved the rest of the series further down our queue.

The next day, instead of doing crunches during my son's nap like I promised myself I would... I devoured another movie, Maxed Out, a documentary on America's personal and national debt. Forget about horror films. I don't really like them anyway. Stuff like this is what really keep me up at night... and thus preventing me from getting to the gym at the only time that I can-- very early in the AM.

I can already feel my butt widening.

Tsk! Tsk! I should be ashamed, but I'm not.

What does it say about me when I blow off a mommy-and-me pool party to stay home and indulge in something less G-rated...

Mind out of the gutter, kids. I'm talking about curling up on the sofa to watch the first season of Big Love on DVD.

Maybe it makes me a lousy friend, but I just couldn't take ONE MORE get-together where we all sit around and compare our kids' teeth, sleep schedules, eating habits, walking, and blah-bitty-blah-blah... Well, for today at least.

That's right, single people, you heard me, Talking about our kids' all the time bores me too!

Ironically, I ditched this particular group of mommy friends for a show that none of them would have approved of... and Boy! are they missing out. This show is unbelievable! As well as, highly addictive... As soon as I finished watching the first two DVDs, I made my husband run out and rent the next three. RIGHT NOW!

We decided to cancel cable months ago in an effort to save some money and our brains from going to mush... Even though there are a few shows we really miss and others (like this one) that we almost bypass completely, we've agreed that it's been for the best. I've since started reading again and, of course, joined the blogosphere. We spend our weekends getting things accomplished (and NOT watching The Real Housewives of Orange County). My husband has gotten serious about his personal projects and began devoting "office hours" to them.

It was on one of these "working nights" that I decided to rent some DVDs and happened upon the first two episodes of Big Love. Having heard so much about it, I was intrigued and now I'm hooked. THANK GOODNESS for "TV-on-DVD" being so hot!

The only problem is my total and utter lack of self-control. I managed to watch the entire season in a matter of days. Not that there were that many episodes... but STILL.

Notes on "Notes from the Underbelly"

I'll tell you right now, I've been unimpressed with this show since I first saw the previews months ago, but the blogging and podcasting world (I dwell in) was buzzing about it right before it premiered last week and I just kept hearing how is was just "so funny"....

Recent career gal turned working mommy turned stay-at-home mommy/station-wagon-driving-queen-of-suburbia, I figured since I'm the target audience for this show, I should at least give it a whirl. This weekend, I logged into the ABC website and watched the first episode online...

Actually, I shut my laptop after first five minutes and had to force myself to watch the rest of it earlier this evening so I could accurately blog about it.

Here is my review: YAWN!

What little television I watch, I watch to escape, not re-live my daily life... and this show is basically the last year and half of my life, but not the good parts. Just the ridiculous, stereotypical, trite parts... I guess it would be funny if I didn't already have all of these people in my real life.

Let's see here..

Eager, fellow new-parents that have read too many of "the books"... CHECK

Career-driven, cynical, self-centered, alcoholic, sex-crazed, yet supportive best friend... how did you know?

Fleet of Stepford Mommies with perfect babies, perfect clothes, and perfect boobies... MYTH

Earnest, over-protective husband... CHECK

New parents who live to corner you so they can reveal how "horrific" parenting really is... CHECK in abundance.

I admit there were a few funny lines, but the overall appeal of the show was ruined by "Heeeey, my arms were never THAT skinny and my waist THAT tiny even before I was pregnant. Bitch."

Alright, maybe that doesn't have anything to do with show, but how many gags about cravings and maternity clothes can I really endure?

The next episode promises a rousing debate about working mom versus stay-at-home mom between none other than the workaholic and the housewife. Ohhh... how so original! I'll pass.

I guess I was just hoping upon hope for more... Oh well, I give it a "meh".