On the Parting of Moose and Zee

So yesterday I was shocked to learn that Moose and Zee are no longer "hosting" NickJr.

Some of you may not know what I am talking about, some of you may not care. I am just a little taken aback by the news, although I am not actually sure which side of the fence I fall on.

Were Moose and Zee recognizable characters that the Ladies enjoyed? Yes.

Were they a little bit repetitive and kind of annoying? Also yes.

Clearly, I haven't been keeping up on my NickJr, this is due to a combination of things:

1. I am out of the house most of the day
2. I have been trying to limit TV time when I get home and on weekends
3. The Ladies have been watching a lot of Disney Channel
4. I have cultivated and developed a "deaf ear" to children's programming over the last few years. Yes, I still wake in the middle of the night singing the theme song to "Phineas and Ferb" and the Fresh Beats never fail to make an appearance in my morning shower, but I have also been able to tune out these shows as background noise. Mostly because I have seen (or heard) them all like 300 times.

I have become so good at tuning it out that I'd like to think I now know what it is like to be my husband when I am trying to talk to him.

I'd also like to think that Moose and Zee have made a bit of a lasting impression on me. I dare say I will still be singing "I Don't like Candy Corn" come Halloween, even though, in my heart of hearts, I love candy corn, until that one piece takes you over the edge from enjoyment to possible puking. And who can forget when Zee gets Moose the candy cane for Christmas? Just so heartwarming and nauseatingly repetitive at the same time.

Now I can't stop singing any of these songs.

I tried googling the reason they were "terminated" but couldn't find anything. There is a petition out there to bring them back though. Also, I probably spent way too much time on the NickJr site. So much so that I am thinking about getting the new Fresh Beat album and I am pleased to learn that there is a Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2 out. Oh, Merliah how I have missed you so.

So, anyway, I get home from work last night and even though the TV isn't on and the Ladies are perfectly occupied with something else, I decide we should put on NickJr so that I can see how big of a difference this change has made.

I approach the Ladies with a tone of seriousness:

Me: Ladies, Moose and Zee aren't on NickJr anymore. (I like to imagine I am portraying a sympathetic face and seem open to discussion here. I want them to express themselves in case they are concerned.)

The Lady: I hate Moose and Zee.

Me: Um, what? (and then something about how we shouldn't use the word hate, etc. . .)

Me: Why don't you like Moose and Zee?

The Lady: Well, I like Zee.

Me: Why not Moose?

The Lady: Because he always thinks he's our teacher.

Great.

Congratulations NickJr in your attempt to teach my child with your cute animals and their songs that promote learning, you have created some sort of didactic, patronizing Moose who the Lady hates.

Kudos to kicking him to the curb. . . however replacing them with songs from other shows is kind of lame and there is only so much Diego I can take.

In other NickJr news. . . (yes, I know I should stop now) but as I was leaving for work this morning and trying to tiptoe around the Little Lady who once again was sleeping on the couch in the living room, I heard her roll over and say, "Laids, it's time for the Fresh Beats." She was totally asleep.

Oh NickJr it is a fine line we walk together. On one hand, I would like to give you a five minute frencher for occupying the Ladies while I try to get some things done around the house, on the other hand I would like to kick you where it counts for your insistence on playing the same shows over and over and for creating the haunting sounds of the Fresh Beat Band.

And Moose and Zee? I hope you find what you are looking for on this journey we call life. Here's to hoping you finally make it to Frisco the fire-ant's birthday party.

TV Time

When the Lady was first born, my husband and I spent the first two weeks of her life watching Prime Time in the Daytime on TNT. This was a daily dose of ER, Las Vegas and Without a Trace.

This time around, I am watching more baby shows so that I can distract the Lady while I shove my boob yet again into the little Lady's mouth. (Still can't think of a nickname for her yet--but I am working on it! My husband calls her a monkey cat, because she is a little bit monkey and makes little mewing sounds like a cat.)

This means that in the last few weeks, I have probably seen every episode of Dora the Explorer about three times. It also means that the Lady is now trying to open things by saying abres. I am also waking up for middle of the night feedings singing "Al rescate amigos. To the rescue my friends" from Go, Diego Go.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to some new programming coming this fall. If you aren't already watching both Top Chef and Project Runway have started their new seasons. The Biggest Loser starts up again on September 15th and I for one am super psyched. Dan from the orange team is back from last season. He has lost a lot of weight but still weighs about 3 bills. So You Think You Can Dance is coming back and you all know I will be watching Bones. I am going to have to really pay attention to scheduling. I think we might need an additional DVR to record everything, especially since I have two kids and don't actually have much time to watch anything live.

I will say that the other day I caught a marathon of "Dance Your Ass Off" on Oxygen. A combination weight loss, dance program that was both hilarious and painfully awkward. I don't think this is a show I would actively watch but when you come across a train wreck, it is hard to look away.

Still Waiting

I am trying to distract myself from the fact that this baby hasn't come yet. Not working so well. Going to the dr. this afternoon and we will see if there has been any progress.

Trying to figure out what to do with the Lady in the meantime. Right now she is glued to a Dora episode, and yelling Spanish phrases at the TV, but I am turning it off in ten minutes. We will probably head out after that. UGH. I am tired of waiting!

Updates

We have been a bit out of it lately. Here is a recap of what has happened here in the last couple weeks or so. . .

The Lady has become slightly obsessed with Dora the Explorer. At first I was okay with it because it allowed me to have something on in the background that I haven't seen eight hundred times, but now it might be getting out of hand. She is constantly talking about her "packback" and has now started to grab my hand and pull me in the other room by saying "vamanos." (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly or not, but I think you get the point.)

I guess I should be pleased that she is picking up some Spanish. Maybe I can get her to go and yell at all the customers to the La Marqueta in front of our condo, who constantly block access to our driveway.

For those of you not immersed in Dora culture, there is a little girl, Dora, her monkey sidekick Boots, Tico, a Spanish speaking squirrel, Benny the Bull and Swiper the fox. For a while the Lady had a hard time pronouncing fox and it came out like fuck. Her father and I had hours of entertainment asking her questions like "What type of animal is Swiper?" To which she would reply "fuck" and we would both laugh, amused at the lingual shortcomings of our little girl.

The Lady has also started using the word awesome, is still obsessed with trains, and has started to refer to herself in the third person. It is all good stuff.

We are looking forward to the weather turning around this weekend and are actually heading to the Shore for a weekend with some friends. I am hoping to get up to the beach a lot more this summer before baby #2 arrives. The Lady and I went to the local beach last week and she spent a good amount of time just hanging out playing in the sand. I hope this is going to be typical of our beach days, because I am not, I repeat not, going in the freezing cold LI Sound.