Consumerism - 2, Taylors - 0

(Don't let my title fool you; I'm not one who gets all riled up about "rampant consumerism" or whatever it is people get riled up about...)

Up until very recently, like two weeks ago, we didn't have cable or satellite or anything like it.It's not that we don't enjoy the shows that are on there, but rather we enjoy them far too much, and by not having it, we've been trying to save ourselves a life of couch potatoism and brain rot.  (Not that people with satellite have a life of those, just that we know WE would.)  We're giving it a trial run, and really so far it's not that impressive.  Every time we turn it on, something good has just ended and the current run is all junk.  But who knows, we may keep it, just because it records stuff for us!  But mainly because of the daily fresh episode of the Backyardigans.  THAT IT RECORDS FOR US!  

As a result of never having had satellite, Ewan's T.V. experience has been mostly commercial free due to PBS Kids and DVDs, and also our family's tendency (passed down lovingly from the Taylor side) to mute commercials.  But lately, while Fynn is napping, I know I need to take advantage of that opportunity, so I let Ewan catch up on his Backyardigans while I get some rest.  So I can't decide if this is a bad thing, or just a terribly funny thing.  Ewan lately is pimping out all sorts of products to me.  He was absolutely insistent that we make sure we get some Clorox in our cabinet.  I assured him we had some, and he would not rest until I actually showed him the bottle, to which he said, "So that's where you keep the Clorox, now where do you keep the Clorox wipes?"  He then proceeded to tell me all the things Clorox was good for.  Same day, later, he drops his applesauce all over the floor.  As I crawl under the table armed with paper towels and some random cleaner, he chastises me, "Mommy!  You need Clorox for that mess!"

But today was the best nugget of all.  We went out back to play, and out of the clear blue, he exclaimed, "OH NO!  We don't have any Claritin."  Assuming he was referring to Bryce's allergy attacks every time he steps in our backyard, I said nothing.  After a few minutes of reflection, Ewan told me some long thing about Claritin which ended in, "So I need Claritin so I can ride a skateboard."  Which, I haven't seen the commercial he must be referring to, but I can only assume it involves some poor allergy-ridden boy who can't enjoy the outdoors until he has his Claritin, which magically makes him a whiz on the skateboard.

Ho Hum

Well, I really wish I had something exciting to tell you. I just don't. I know this blog has been very non-exciting, and extremely NOT updated in far too long. I just got kind of blogged out there for a while, and am just waiting for the juices to start flowing again. Perhaps with the return of our favorite shows, 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs and Lost, I'll have something to say. Perhaps not.

The boys are doing pretty darn good. Fynn looks more and more like a boy (rather than just a baby) every day and he is so feisty, I worry for the future! If you put something on his high-chair tray that he does not want, he will not hesitate to throw it in your face, with a look of sheer disdain. He also loathes any attention that is paid to Ewan, and will strike both the attention-giver and Ewan in anger at such a display. That being said, he also loves Ewan very much and lights up whenever he's around. Now I'm just hoping for a stretch with NO FEVERS. Ewan is enjoying preschool, although he has taken to wrapping his entire body around my legs when I go drop him off, begging me to not leave him there. But when I come to pick him up, he cannot stop talking about all the things he did that day and he does love it so much. Right now he's really into counting "restaurants with 's' in the name." He's up to eleven, and as we drive down the street, he is constantly pointing out more. Also in the car, every sign we pass, he reads to us and asks if we saw it. It gets quite funny.
Just to have something to share, I'll tell you something reeeeeeally gross. Bryce and I went to my parent's house this Sunday, and he was helping take down their satellite dish. As he walked around the side of the house, he noticed a trashcan full of stagnant water, full of breeding mosquitos. He dumped it, and out spilled the corpse of some large rodent-thing, long dead and badly decomposed. He took it out to the curb, and as we left, I looked at it. It was so big, and its skin was literally shiny - silver looking. It was so disgusting. My dad decided it was a squirrel. And as gross as it was, last night laying in bed, I thought of this poor squirrel, trying to get a drink, and falling in, unable to scramble out, and drowning. And that made me very sad. Meep, Squirrel. Rest in peace. May you frolic in a land of acorn orchards where the bird seed flows like a beer river, and the drinking bowls are shallow.

What is the world coming to?

I just had it on PBS KIDS for a few minutes, and they played a Barney commercial. Barney and those brats were singing "I Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode. My ears are bleeding. The desecration!

Lost?

So, thoughts on the show tonight? So much... polar bear skeleton in the desert with a Dharma collar, plane underwater, bullet-proof vests...

Leave a message at the beep

We will be recording it. And we will be watching it when the kids have gone to bed. With Oreos and milk. "Lost." Between 9:00 and 11:00 tonight, do not call. You will be met with silence. Perhaps send an e-mail. I'll write back when I'm done processing the fabulousness that is sure to be presented to us all tonight. Dearest Lost, thank goodness you are back. Oh, how I've missed you.

Feeling better...

...but still not much to say. The boys and I are laying low, trying to fight the last of our mystery illness by staying warm and eating lots of snacks. We built a fort in the living room today, which they totally loved, even though it was a lame fort-building effort on my part. Does anyone have any good indoor fort-building tips? I have no idea how to build a good one. Here's my best effort, and the boys enjoying it:
On another note, do any of you watch 30 Rock? Bryce and I recently rented the first season on DVD because we read in Entertainment Weekly that it's so funny - AND IT IS! Oh, my gosh, Bryce and I laugh so hard at that show. I can't believe we've gone this long without it. Highly recommended.

For Jane Austen-ites...

...in case you didn't know, starting on January 13, PBS will be devoting three months of Sunday evenings to some Austen classics as well as new adaptations. I don't know about you, but with this writer's strike mucking everything up, I am totally excited.

R.I.P., Law and Order: SVU

Alas, one of my favorite shows has floundered into oblivion for me. I love a good murder mystery, especially when it involves serial killers. Call me morbid, but I love it. And SVU was usually a very good source of such plot lines. But this new season...BLEH! The first 30 minutes starts out promising every week. A good juicy murder or attack, lots of mystery and intrigue. Then - WHAM! The characters are engaging in rigorous debate, pontificating about politics, usually the war in Iraq, or something related, like the Patriot Act. It's just so lame. Seriously, if I wanted a political debate, I would tune in to Channel 13 on Sunday mornings. Tonight I thought we'd actually escaped, not counting a random disgusted commented spit out by a schizophrenic about the President and the war. But then the last 30 minutes were all about the debate of capital punishment. And it would be annoying enough if they debated both cases fairly, but they don't. Instead it's a totally skewed opinion badly disguised as equally representing both sides. It's like the writers/producers/director or whoever are using it for their personal forum to air out grievances. It's disgusting. And now a show I have watched for years is dead to me. Maybe I should write a script for a show where they investigate the death of Law and Order: SVU. Lots of DNA evidence and bad scripts found in the trunks of cars or buried alive. It just needs a good stupid name, like Real Autopsy SVU: Back to Iraq.

Best Moment from the Office

Dwight: "The eyes are the groin of the head."

I may have to make this a weekly feature. There is always such good stuff.

Best Laugh of the Night

"If your name is Toby, why don't you take a letter opener and stick it in your skull."

You have to be a watcher of The Office to understand. But seriously, it was good.

The Office

How great was the Office last night? (Am I the only one who watches it besides Sarah?) And I just have to say, the song Andy sang to Angela is one of my favorite Erasure songs of all time. It was so cool to hear it on my favorite show. And Jim's face after Meredith asked him to sign her pelvis cast was too good. That made the whole show.