Mommy Confession

Here's the deal: I don't enjoy blowing bubbles with Monkey.

Of course, he LOVES it. And I really thought it would be fun, watching him chase after bubbles, etc. But here's the thing: Monkey's way of "blowing bubbles" is to dip the wand in the bubble solution, then just kind of FLING it, so that all the solution splashes to the ground (and on my pants, and on Monkey, etc.). Not a single bubble comes out of this motion - it's really just glorified splashing. And it is soooo not fun. But Monkey laughs hysterically.

At first, I was able to enjoy his enjoyment, because who doesn't love watching a toddler's face light up with laughter. But then.... sigh... I just got bored, and impatient, and wondered how I could talk him into doing something else.

And, in case you're wondering: No, he won't give up the want to Mommy so that I can blow the bubbles and he can gaze at them in wonderment and chase after them. Simply not an option. As Monkey is fond of saying: "I do!"

Bad Mommy. :-(

And speaking of Elmo...

Let's all have a brief moment of silence, shall we?

In memory of the times, not so long ago, but not then appreciated, when Monkey and I could go to a toy store, Babies 'R Us, or anywhere we wanted in Target or Walmart, and Monkey would be happy just to be in the cart, looking at all the people and "stuff."

Before he recognized things like... Elmo. Mickey Mouse. The Wiggles. Pooh.

And before he screamed out that he must have these things, because they are "mine!"

I made the mistake of taking Monkey to Toys 'R Us today, looking for a step stool for his bathroom. My search took me through the bath and bedding sections, where there were Elmo couches, Elmo blankets, Elmo Sheets, Elmo towels, you name it. And Monkey saw it all.

And, being the sucker that I am, I picked up the cute Elmo hooded bath towel, and asked Monkey if he wanted it.

He happily grabbed it, and enjoyed checking it out for about - thirty seconds? Before it landed unceremoniously on the floor.

I can't tell you how many things I picked up to keep him from having a tantrum, and yet, ultimately we left the store empty handed. Sigh...

Elmo Not-so-Live

OK, I have a confession to make...

I think Monkey is in the process of committing Elmocide. :-(

I bought Elmo Live! for Monkey for Christmas, partly because he LOVES books with Elmo, and partly just because I thought it was so clever and wanted to see what all he would say when taken out of the box and "test" mode.

And Elmo is pretty cool - he tells stories, dances, tell jokes, sneezes... all kinds of stuff. And initially, Monkey was fascinated (the dog, on the other hand, was a little wary, but can you blame him?). But then we discovered the "uh oh" feature. For those of you not familiar with this furry little robot toy, apparently he has a sensor that can tell when Elmo has fallen down, leading him to say "Uh oh, Elmo fell down. Can you pick him up, please?" Then, once Elmo is returned to upright position, he says "Thank you," and tells the kind helper that he/she is Elmo's best friend.

Well, I don't know if Monkey became intrigued with this particular feature or what. After all, "uh oh" WAS his first word. But soon, Mommy began to go crazy listening to the chorus of "uh oh"s and "thank you"s. Then, Elmo started to get a little wonky, Monkey stopped picking him up and just started dragging him around by the arms, and now Elmo sounds like the lady who's fallen and can't get up, with a creaky case of arthritis to boot. He creaks every time he moves, and is constantly begging for help, to Monkey's deaf ears. So Mommy started imposing "Elmo rest times," with the help of the little on/off switch on Elmo's foot. I'm frankly at the point where I'm not sure whether to try to save Elmo or to hide him somewhere to let his batteries die out in peace. Would that make me an accomplice??