Can't-----stop-------laughing.

J was watching the credits of Toy Story II and naming the objects that scrolled up the screen.
blue crayon: "bwue cwan!"
orange crayon: "wed cwan!"
sheriff's badge: "yeyow star!"
rocketship: "bwue spacip!"
jack: "star!"
barrel o' monkeys monkey: "Gwappa!"

The brainwashing starts early.

Well, I watch a lot of children's programming. It's selective, based on what doesn't kill my precious grey matter. (sorry RubbaDubbers, you're out)
I've noticed a trend in my son's favorite shows, and it makes me wonder why Glenn Beck isn't vehemently denouncing all children's shows as akin to worshipping the devil and eating babies.

Handy Manny and Dora the Explorer: teach Spanish.
Ni Hao Kai Lan: teaches Mandarin.
Thomas the Tank Engine: clearly Socialist.
Backyardigans: encourages diversity.
VeggieTales: no meat; only vegetables and fruit.
Spongebob Squarepants: impossible to watch without pot.
Bob the Builder: "Yes, we can!"


Good thing I approve. Feel free to add any I've overlooked.

(yes, this entire post is completely tongue-in-cheek. Perhaps later I will post about how all children's programming is wholly conservative)

I appreciate the info.

I was sitting on the couch with J, watching Shrek. J didn't really care, but I hadn't seen it in years. After a bit, I noticed that J was smiling, and sort of scratching the back of the couch with one finger. He did this for about half a minute before he noticed me watching him.
He grinned.
"I put a boogey on the couch!"

Bad Mommy....

We were at an evening wedding reception this weekend (congrats, Nick & Nikki!). It had been a busy day: 4-hour-drive; rushed, mosquito-filled, toddler-refused picnic lunch; seeing and touring and touching and riding trains at the train museum (aka 3-year-old nirvana; a nice little nap break (aka the wedding itself); and then an interminable wait in a really neat building with lots of chairs and tables and doors and potted plants and a pool that wasn't for swimming ("neena go swumming!!!"). And then when the food finally came, it wasn't something yummy like chicken nuggets, it was weird noodles with lots of vegetables, and no sauce (pasta primavera).
Of course, B dug right in (literally--ignoring the bread I'd given her, and trying to grab the tomatoes and zucchini on my plate), while J refused. After a while, both kids were getting really restless, so we were about to leave, when they announced that the cake was ready, and to come up and get it. So, we decided to buy a few more minutes with friends, and took the kids up to get cake. There were several different types, I grabbed a piece of chocolate raspberry; Dave a piece of almond buttercream. We decided to let J have a piece despite his lack of eating supper, and since the line was piling up behind us, I snagged the smallest piece I could find quickly--a piece of chocolate. J made a face when he tried it, but ate most of it, and was well-behaved while we ate and chatted for a bit longer.
We got back to the hotel and watched TV while the kids wound down. Around 11, Dave and B were asleep, I was nearly there, and J was still resisting like a pro--bouncing, kicking, squirming, rolling, fussing. Somehow, he was still wired; he just wouldn't lie down and go to sleep!
Finally, as he began to drift off, I had a sudden, clear flashback to the reception.
I didn't bring him a piece of chocolate cake. I had taken a piece of mocha.

Happy Happy Happy

The other day, B was wearing a shirt that simply states, "Happy Happy Happy". It describes her very well. She was being very happy and full of smiles, so I decided to sing to her "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands..." I got to the pause before you repeat it.... and she clapped! She clapped at each break after I repeated it! Now if you sing it to her, she generally claps through the whole thing with a huge smile on her face.

I'm not even sure where to begin with this one...

For the purposes of this blog, I feel I should inform you that although J is generally a very good speaker, he does get his word order confused on occasion.
So, I was cooking lunch in the kitchen while J and B played with the refrigerator magnets. B evidently got tired of this, and I heard the 'slap-slap' of her crawling off to do something else. I then heard J stop playing with the magnets, too.
Then B starting crying her 'surprised and angry' cry, and J began reassuring her "'S'okay, baby. Calm down, baby."
I asked J quite pointedly what he did (since he is generally the instigator).
"I fell off a baby."


I still have no idea what happened.