Dear Monkey:

I think I need to clarify something...

When I told you that Candy Land was my "favorite" game, I didn't mean out of all the things I could be doing in the whole wide world.

What I actually meant is that I find it more tolerable than Chutes and Ladders, a game that currently aggravates me to no end. I'm not sure if it's just the poorly-designed Toy Story version, where the little characters clutter up the board, making it almost impossible to count spaces, or the fact that you do not yet recognize your numbers beyond ten, making the idea of having you move your own piece back and forth a 100-space board a bit challenging for a child of your mere 3 1/2 years, but when I basically end up playing the game by myself, a tiny bit of the fun trickles out of the experience. So yes, Candy Land, where you can actually make your own moves, and correctly, is much more fun. That does not mean, however, than when faced with you being home sick today, I had quite the reaction you were hoping for when you eagerly told me: "That means we can play your favorite game!!"

Although I have to say, it is somewhat sweet that you already had it all set up for me, and also amusing that, after playing with Daddy yesterday, you have now incorporated things like "We have to cut the deck" and "You're on my tail!" into our game play... Bring it on!

Dear Disney Channel:

There's something about your target audience I think you're overlooking...

Their need for routine.

Why else would I need to explain 15 minutes explaining why Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was not on today at it's usual time? Apparently my 3 1/2 year old knows your schedule better than you do. Which is impressive, considering just as we figure out the latest schedule, you decide to change it.

And while I'm at it, while I understand that a large percentage of the under-5 crowd consists of early risers, my child is miraculously not one of them. Which means I would appreciate it if Playhouse Disney wouldn't end less than an hour after my child gets up, leaving us with nothing but Phineas & Ferb (which is hysterical, but my child is not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate the humor) and the various non-cartoon shows which I can not yet tell apart but are clearly geared more towards the Tween set. Which, I might at, should be AT SCHOOL.

Seriously, a consistent schedule for the preschool set - look into it.

People vs. The Wiggles

I can't believe it's come to this, but it's time for me to put on my attorney's hat and step up with my defense of The Wiggles...

You see, I've noticed lately that when I mention Monkey's extreme love of (or, dare I say, obsession with?) The Wiggles, I get reactions ranging from sympathy to almost disgust. "Oh, you poor thing..." "The Wiggles? They're awful!" "Thank goodness our kids don't like them" "We won't allow them in our house"

Really?

I can understand the sympathy. Any parent who's had a child obsessed with a particular TV show, movie, or character knows how mind-numbing it can get to watch the same things over and over and over again - the endless fascination gene must spontaneously combust somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10.

But what I don't get is the hate. When I've pushed a little farther, here's some of the comments I get, followed by my rebuttals:

1. "They're gay." Really? THAT's your argument? I hope you don't mind if I don't even dignify this one with a response, because it's clearly an argument crafted by a 12-year old, and it's not fair to pick fights with children.

2. "They're grown men - it's just creepy." Yes, they are grown men - does that automatically make them pedophiles or something?? In fact, a little quick research will reveal that The Wiggles were formed when several of its members met in school, where they were studying to be elementary teachers - The Wiggles act in its earliest stages was a school project, attempting to integrate learning with song and dance. How dare they!! And speaking of creepy, I am extremely thankful that Monkey has never seen, and thus never developed any kind of attachment to the Teletubbies or the Doodlebops - if you ask me, those are the kinds of characters that nightmares are made of!

3. "Their songs are so annoying - fruit salad, yummy, yummy." Setting aside my original point that anything can becmoe annoying in high doses, is their music really that bad? I don't think so. In fact, I'm amazed at the sheer volume of songs these guys have managed to put out, with the not unexpected outcome that some stuff is better than others. But the variety is sure nice - I'd rather listed to an entire Wiggles CD than have to fast-forward through our Sesame Street to find the three Elmo songs that Monkey is currently interested in, and then repeat those same three songs when Monkey insists on "more Elmo" and refuses to listen to more than three notes of a song by Big Bird, Grover, or Kermit the Frog. Sigh... And really, what alternatives are you advocating? Barney, with his annoying "I love you" song? I'll pass, thanks.

4. "There's nothing educational about them." Well, I'll give you that it's not Sesame Street, with it's emphasis on counting and the alphabet, but Monkey has learned a TON from watching The Wiggles, if you ask me. For starters, colors - Monkey could identify The Wiggles by their shirt color long before he knew their individual name (and frankly, yellow is still providing a small amount of confusion, given the Greg/Sam switch, which is unfortunate). But let's also not under-estimate the value of the dances - MOnkey has gone from merely watching the DVDs, to standing up and kind of bouncing and swaying along, to actively copying the dance moves. He jumps, waves his hands in the air, turns in circles, makes animal sounds, pretends to rock his bear to sleep, says "shhhh"... all relatively on cue with the songs and dances that he's watching - it's so much fun to watch, and he's learning to follow directions, develop his fine and gross motor skills, and I bet eventually he'll even sing! (Although the latter part does scare me a wee bit, if you've ever heard his father sing...) He may not be speaking another language, but he is very involved in the videos, identifying objects and characters and participating as if he were right there - pretty cool, IMO.

Ironically, Monkey's unwavering devotion to The Wiggles appears to be, well, wavering just a bit in the past couple of weeks, with Elmo providing some strong competition of late. Of course this would happen just weeks after I bought Monkey tickets to a live Wiggles show, right? Let's hope that he doesn't lose interest in them altogether any time too soon - the concert's not until the end of August, and Daddy and I certainly don't want to be the only ones in our family singing along! :-)

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??

I'm still here...

Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything.

Perhaps not coincidentally, it all seems to go back to when Monkey dropped his morning nap... Our new schedule seems to be working really well now, and it has for a while, but man, it's amazing how much less down time I have now that we're a one-nap household!

That morning nap was great for so many things, not the least of which, I should not, is for me to get a shower! Now I often find that non-daycare days are "slob" days, and Mommy often doesn't get a shower, although at the very least she gets up about 15 minutes before Monkey to get dressed, put in her contacts, slap on some makeup, and take a quick pass at straightening her hair. That way, should we HAVE to leave the house for some reason, we can minimize the embarrassment if we run into someone we know. Mommy's actually gotten pretty good at this half-baked routine, actually, and has ventured out to the mall, although she usually regrets it as soon as she gets into a dressing room with unfriendly lighting (which is pretty much all of them, right??)

And, there are now that many more hours in the day to keep Monkey entertained... Thank goodness that warmer weather is starting to make an appearance, because Mommy is running out of indoor activities and is desperate to get out of the house most days (hence the ill-advised mall outings...)! Don't get me wrong - I have tried to find my craftier side, but so far, Monkey must not be impressed, because he is much more interested in scrutinizing the art tools - taking caps on and off markers, putting markers in mouth, biting tips of crayons - than using the tools to create a work of art to hang on the fridge. Today I even broke down and bought Play-Dough, which I KNOW in my heart of hearts that Monkey will only try to eat, but yet I am holding out on the slim hope that he enjoys actually playing with it more. I've seen some scattered about the room at his day care, so perhaps he's already experimented with the tasting and is ready for bigger and better things?

I was also sorely tempted at Target today to buy him some fun outside things as Valentine's Day present, most notaby a bubble lawn mower and a couple of small kick balls. But I'm afraid that if I buy these, the weather will take a turn for the worse, and I'll be stuck with a cranky Monkey who won't understand why we can't go outside and pay with his cool new toys. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have to bring them instead...

I am seriously thinking of buying one of those Learning Towers for the kitchen. Monkey has gotten in the habit of wanting me to carry him around WHILE I'm making his meal, which can be somewhat difficult, as you might imagine. He also likes to try to "help" put the lid on his sippy cup, etc. So I'm thinking this might be part of his "I do" stage, and that he'll feel more included if I get him up to counter level in a safe place that he can watch and maybe start to help. Those things are expensive, but it might be worth it to preserve my sanity!

Anyway, that's the latest from Monkey Land. I will try to be better about posting, and I hope I still have a few readers out there!

An update...

It's been a while since I've posted, and I didn't want you to think that the napping strike had done me in. Thankfully, I'm stronger than that!

Actually, the strike lasted about a week or two - it's a blur now. Monkey has finally settled into something resembling a routine again, and is napping consistently in the early afternoon, without nearly as much fussing (although a little protest here and there, just to keep Mommy on her toes). Sadly, his total nap time is still only half of what it used to be, which means less time for me to play around on the computer, not to mention do more productive things. But kids grow up, and he wasn't going to sleep forever. Besides, how much fun is that?

So, we've been trying to fill our extended days with new activities, and I will freely confess that I am stealing liberally from my on-line mommy friends, particularly since the cold (more like ridiculously frigid!) weather limits our ability to get out of the house as much as I'd like. We've bought some new art supplies, and I'm hoping to turn the time between lunch and nap into a quiet "sit at the table and do crafts" time, instead of the current "running around the house and chasing the dog and throwing toys and tripping and falling" time. We'll see if Monkey agrees...

I'm also trying to implement some semi-educational activities into our day. To echo a sentiment raised by more than one of my mommy friends, I'm having some "mommy guilt" over the fact that I seem to spend very little time interacting with and teaching Monkey, and most of my time just trying to keep him from hurting himself or the dog. I know that he's picking up on new things, both at home and at day care, but a little more effort on my part couldn't hurt. So, I've been looking at things like flash cards for shapes, colors, etc. Again, for all I know, Monkey will have zero interest, but it's worth a shot! Hopefully I'll be able to post about new accomplishments soon...

I might need to issue a retraction...

So, you may recall a few posts ago me saying The Wiggles were magical...

I may need to change that statement. The Wiggles, in fact, may be evil. They're kind of like kiddie crack.

Case in point: Monkey has decided that he MUST have a nightly does of The Wiggles. And not just ANY video - no, it must be the SAME one. Specifically, "Toot Toot."

Now, I kind of like this video. It has a couple of catchy songs and dances, and, as I've mentioned, it does a WONDERFUL job of keeping Monkey entertained, particularly when he gets fussy. And it also stops him from racing around the house, and helps calm him down before bed.

But after having him watch it several evenings in a row, I realized we were definitely creating a habit, one I wasn't sure we wanted to develop. So I decided to put my foot down. Last night, after eating dinner and playing in the family room for a while, Monkey started pointing towards the cabinet under our TV, asking for "more" and saying "I do," which is generally his way of telling me he wants to do something. And yes, he knows full well what's inside that cabinet - it's the portable DVD player with the Wiggles in it. Geez, who knew kids would have such good memories at this age??

So I said "no," and tried to induce him to do something else - find his football, bring me a book, ride his fire truck. Nope. Monkey wanted "more," and started pointing more deliberately at the cabinet. After several more rounds of this, he was in tears, banging on the cabinet door. Oy! We ended up going round and round for about 10-15 minutes, before I FINALLY distracted him with something else before giving him a bath and putting him to bed.

The thing is, I don't think I've won the battle yet. I think he's going to do the exact same thing this afternoon or tonight, and I'm not sure what to do! It's not like The Wiggles are evil (despite my opening statements), but I want him to watch them when I say so, not every time he asks. I think it's great that he knows how to tell me what he wants, but that doesn't mean he should always get his way... So, yeah, right now The Wiggles are kind of like a drug. Maybe not crack. Something good for you, but in small doses - Tylenol, maybe??

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I still haven't formed a definitive position on the Imagination Movers!

The Wiggles are magical!

OK, so I feel a tiny bit guilty...

Monkey was in day care today, so I haven't spent a lot of time with him.

But when he got home, after only a single one-hour nap, I got the benefit of his fussy time... It feels so unfair sometimes that he has so much fun at school, and then I get the crankiness to finish off the day.

So we've played a bit, and I've made him laugh, but he's definitely in "high-maintenance" mode this evening. So what did I do? Turned on a Wiggles DVD (specifically, "Toot Toot," if you're taking notes...) And Monkey is completely mesmerized. I'm not sure he's even moved since I turned it on ten minutes ago!

Now, this isn't something I do all the time - I don't want him to turn into a brainwashed Wiggles zombie. But there is something about the Wiggles in particular that he just LOVES! He really enjoys a combination of music and dancing, and when he watches cartoons, he tends to tune out the narrative part of the show, and only watch the opening, closing, and other musical numbers. But with the Wiggles, it's all song and dance, almost ALL the time - It's Monkey heaven!

And I have a confession - The songs are kind of catchy, and I often catch myself singing "Fruit Salad" and other songs in random moments. :-) But I'm partial to the original Wiggles, and can't seem to accept that Greg had to quit and be replaced - the new guy just doesn't seem like a real Wiggle to me. :-( Lucky for me we have the older DVDs, so I can watch selectively.

And speaking of The Wiggles - Have any of you seen Disney's relatively new offering, The Imagination Movers? Maybe it's just me, but they seem like such a blatant Wiggles knockoff. Four guys, each of whom sings (or plays an instrument) and has some unique characteristic or quirk. On the one hand, I can't blame them for trying to piggy-back off The Wiggles success, but on the other hand, it just seems wrong. I like the history of The Wiggles - guys who wanted to be teachers and put together an act as part of their schooling. The Imagination Movers strike me more as wanna-be actor/musicians.

I have to wonder why I care about this, but there you have it.

Tiny Dancer

The Monkey is finally finding his groove!

I don't know what it is about toddlers dancing that brings a smile to everyone's face, but I just can't get enough of it!

Monkey has become a big fan of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon on Playhouse Disney. Well, let me revise that statement: Monkey has become a big fan of the opening and closing songs of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - the actual cartoon, he could care less about!

If you've seen the show, it starts with Mickey Mouse inviting the kids to come to his playhouse, then cuts to an empty field. Back to Mickey Mouse, who tells the kids that first they have to say the magic words. A couple of Mickey-centric magic words later, and poof! The clubhouse begins to pop out of the ground, and all of the other characters appear. Alex watches the first part intently, right up until the clubhouse begins to appear, at which point, without fail, he turns to me with a big smile, like "here comes the good part!" Then the song starts, and his attention is 100% focused on the TV. But in the past few days, he's added a dance!

Actually, the first time he did it, I wasn't sure he was dancing, as it kind of looked like what he does when he's losing his balance - kind of one foot forward, one foot back. But then he kept going, and added some side steps as well. He's working up to hand movements, but for the most part it's just him stepping around to the music. After the song ends, he tunes out, and goes back to whatever he's doing, up until the closinig "Hot Dog Dance" comes up, at which point it's time for a reprise! I have got to get this on video...

Oh, and he's a bit of a singer, too. I'm a little worried about this, however, as we've yet to determine if he takes after me or my husband in the musical department. You see, I am somewhat musically inclined - I took piano lessons for 8 years, and was active in chorus and musicals during high school and college. My husband, on the other hand? Well, let's just say he's tone deaf and leave it at that - there's no need to get insulting, right?

Anyway, my husband will just do a "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah" sort of singing scale (kind of a "do re mi fa mi re do," minus the pitch), and Monkey has started to imitate it. So far, he's about as on pitch as his Daddy, but what can you expect when he's just mimicking what he hears? Perhaps we're raising a future musician? I may need to intervene before the musical training goes much further, to make sure we keep him on an audibly pleasing path...

In all seriousness, though, I do hope he has inherited my love of music. I'm merely an appreiative listener at this stage of my life, but I couldn't live without it. I listened to it a lot when I was pregnant with him, in the hopes that he would find it as entertaining, calming, and comforting as I do. I even have a "baby" mix on my iPod that I used to play while I waited for him to make his arrival. But I've recently noticed that I listen a lot less than I used to now that Monkey is here. We need to work on changing that, even if for now that just means some quality time listening to the Wiggles or Sesame Street CDs. :-)