Pure awesomeness.

The Wiggles certainly have their place in any child’s music catalogue, as does Raffi.   But for my daughter’s go to dance music, it’s gotta be TMBG.  I was never a huge fan of theirs when they were producing regular old pop music, but when they started recording the kid stuff, my fangirl status was cemented.  They mix humor along with education, and who doesn’t like that?  Nobody, that’s who. 

I can’t stand the faux-folk, stripped-down, guitar-driven stuff that somehow has become so popular on the toddler circuit, and the female singers are the worst offenders (Elizabeth Mitchell and Lisa Loeb, I’m lookin’ at you).  I don’t know why, but listening to them does not make me want to shake my thang, rather it is akin to having your hair ripped out of your head, strand by strand. I appreciate percussion instruments, that’s all I’m saying.

So I’m going to post this video from TMBG that is my daughter’s favorite, and I promise you will be singing it to yourself for the rest of the day.  Yes, its that catchy.  And cuter than hell, too.

Well, 45% of you think that we shouldn’t be putting three year olds in academic settings in the first place, never mind potty-training rules.  Another 32% believes that schools should be a little more understanding of children and their varying rates of physical development, which are totally out of their control.  15% think that the schools should not have to deal with untrained children, and 7% think that if a school is willing to accept someone’s money, then they should be able to deal.

Today during the Super Bowl I ate many more calories than was seemly, and I blame the spinach dip.  Although I have only myself to blame, as I am the one who made it and brought it.

My one year old daughter received many, many toys on Christmas. 

Some would say too many.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that, but I do think she got way too many toys that talk to her.

Oh for the good old days when your toys didn’t say phrases at you all the time!  When you could stare at your stuffed dog and you could pretend it said anything you wanted, not one of twenty canned, pre-recorded phrases.

The one I hate the most is a dog made by Fisher Price that will talk and sing when you press it’s ears/paws/tummy.  The songs are fine, I never have anything against a good rendition of the ABC song.

But I think I hate it because the voice is one that is dripping with saccharine.  The actor who performed for the recordings deliberately pitched her voice much too high, and almost emotes too much, if you know what I mean. 

And personally, I feel it is just wrong for inanimate objects to ask to “Be my friend.”  Am I alone on this?

By some particular quirk of fate, the dog we have is apparently possessed, as it will say the phrases while it is lying on the floor and no one has touched it in over ten minutes. I will be sitting there on the couch, and suddenly a disembodied voice will rise up from the floor.  “I loooove you,” the dog will coo in an annoying singsong way.

That dog had better watch it’s back, because if it keeps spontaneously spouting creepy phrases, I just might find myself spontaneously throwing it in the trash.

Else you might find your badly spelled internet comment being made fun of by millions!

I’m guessing that showing this video at school would be more effective at convincing students to watch what they write more than any lecture from a teacher.

via

Last week I asked about children and their exposure to news, and 68% of you responded that it depended on the child and their ability to comprehend what was happening.  I suppose this is where parents are free to make the decision that they feel is best for their children, but I honestly didn’t see the need for my 8 year old to know about a mass murder.   Maybe I was wrong, but I’ll take my chances on that one.  15% said about third or fourth grade, and 8% said middle school. 

Today I am curious to see what you think about the newly crowned Miss America.

When the Munchkin left toddlerhood, I packed away many of his DVD’s as he considered them too “babyish.”

I heaved a sigh of regret as I boxed up The Wiggles.

You see, for many a mom, Anthony the Blue Wiggle is the bright spot in a sea of mind-numbing toddler programming.  When your choices boil down to screechy red monsters, blue dogs that don’t talk, purple dinosaurs and trains with faces that don’t move, The Wiggles start looking mighty appealing.

You’ve got Murray, the earnest, goofy one.   Then you’ve got Jeff, the serial narcoleptic.  Then comes the lead singer, which used to be Greg, the nice tall one.  Now you’ve got Sam, who has a fine tenor and is light on his toes.  Anthony?  Well, he’s the hot one.

He made watching four grown men do aerobics to songs like “Hot Potato” and “Get Ready to Wiggle” semi-bearable. 

But my son refused to watch the DVD’s once he hit preschool, and there was no point in having them take up space in the house, so banished to the garage they were.

My pregnancy with our daughter six years later caught us by surprise. I had thought I would never experience another toddlerhood again.

Yet, here I am.  My daughter loves to dance and loves music.  So what else fits as naturally for her as The Wiggles, I ask?  I eagerly dug the DVD’s out of the garage, not to mention bookmarked a couple of the vidoes on YouTube. 

And there he was, in all his glory.

Anthony of the blue eyes and salt and pepper hair.

Hello, gorgeous.

The holidays managed to give 51% of you some slight scratches, and a lucky 32% made it out with no scratches at all.  A poor minority of 12% barely got through, and you have my sympathies.  I don’t know if it is because we have almost all of our extended family within 25 miles which makes the holidays easier for us.  I couldn’t imagine having to travel with young children on a plane at this time of year.

So I am now speaking to you in the year 2011.  It doesn’t feel that much different so far, does it?