Why I Love Sesame Street

I love Sesame Street for many reasons, but I have decided to narrow the reasons down to three.  So here we go.

1)  For one hour a day, Ellie is completely entertained by Elmo, Big Bird, Grover, The Count, and so many other little monsters.  And for that one hour, I am able to not really do things that would tickle my fancy, but things that need to be done none the less.  So, thank you, PBS, for making the show an hour long.  I know so many mothers that are greatly appreciative.

2)  Elmo.  That's really all I need to say because she loves him and everything about him.  From his cute voice, his laugh, his googley eyes, red fur, and the fact that he speaks in the third person, which, OK, I guess I love.  But, he makes her happy and when he's doing his "Elmo's World," nothing else matters, as seen in this picture.  Oh, and please notice that not only is Elmo on the screen, he is also in the form of a Halloween basket right next to her.  Like I said, she loves Elmo.

3)  The guests and skits.  Sesame Street has had so many guests from Andrea Boccelli and David Beckham to Robert DeNiro and Tina Fey and I have to say that they have never disappointed.  And speaking of Tina Fey, Sesame Street did their own little version of "Thirty Rock," but instead titled it "Thirty Rocks."  I think the title is pretty self-explanatory, but take a look your self.  It's pretty good.

Something's Missing

I need to remember the diaper goes around her bum, not her neck

And with legs like these, who needs pants?

Ellie's 1 year pictures, with her parents on the side

We had family pictures and Ellie's 1 year pictures taken about a month ago, so I thought I would post some of my favorite ones.

A Moment...with Meagan

This past week Ellie and I have had a bit of a cold so instead of being outside playing, we have been inside playing, but the cabin fever finally got to us and we had to leave the house.  While still pajama'd, I put her in her car seat, put myself in my car seat, and off we were with endless possibilities.  The sky was blue, the weather cool, our sunroof open and wind was blowing through our hair.  It wasn't until I turned on the radio that I realized that my day wasn't going to be as good as it could have been.  Why?  Because I realized after flipping through each channel on the radio  multiple times, there was no good music, none, zip, zilch.  I'll  just be blunt, it was all crap.  And that is where this moment begins.  As I was sitting in my car, silently swearing because I forgot my i-Pod on this wonderful car ride that would be so complimented with a good song, I started to think about music in this day and age and I realized that I miss good music.  Sure, sometimes there is a catchy song that I find myself moving along to, but do I want to know anything about the artist?  No.  Do I feel the need to buy the CD?  No.  Do I forget the song as soon as I hear it?  Yes.  So what happened to good music?  I guess I have to clear the cobwebs of my mind and return to when I consider music to be good.  When my brothers played Depeche Mode in our little home on Altus Air Force Base and I happened to over hear it and be hypnotized with their dark lyrics and synthetic sound.  When hearing any song by Erasure would then, and even now, make me sing out loud with their melodies.  Or what about when the alternative era emerged?  

Nirvana played music that no one had ever hear before and it was dark, depressing, solemn, and so good.  To this day, they are still Hubert's favorite and as I'm typing this I'm looking into the face of the deceased Kurt Cobain on  my desk from a disc set that we recently purchased.  But what about other bands from that era?  There's Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam.  And let's not forget that fashion that was born.  I mean, who wasn't wearing flannel shirts tied around their torn jeans?  But not only do I love alternative and synthesized music, I also love hip-hop and even rap.  When was the last time a De La Soul song was played on the radio?  Or what about Jurassic 5?  Sometimes I hear A Tribe Called Quest, 

but only late at night when the DJ's bosses have gone home and they have free range.  Now, I'm not saying that all "new" music is bad, because it's not.  There are a few who have broken through the lame sounds of Britney Spears, Jonas Brothers, and every whiny Emo group that is out there.  For example, when Coldplay came out I thought they were awesome and have only gotten better.  And what about Feist?  

If you've never listened to her, give her a try.  And, of course, there are so many more bands that I love like the Beastie Boys, Indigo Girls, Sara McLaughin, Weezer, Death Cab For Cutie, and this list could go on and on.   Now, with all of the generic music and "artists" that are  being manufactured as fast as American Idol has seasons, how do we teach our children what, in fact, is good music? Well, I have been experimenting with ways to sway Ellie from lame music by artists such as Fergie or Miley Cyrus and showing her they are no good by doing various hideous facial expressions and hand gestures, and then we play a Beck or Frou Frou song which we happily, if not badly, dance to, therefore letting her know this is good music.  So far,  it seems to work, as you can see by this picture showing Ellie dancing to Coldplay's Viva la Vida.

So in closing, I know that if we all work together, we can stop the likes of Christina Aguilara, Justin Timberlake, the cast of "High School Musical," all of rap's "Lil's," and so many more.  And if we are able to wipe out all of the bad music out there, then maybe we could wipe out everything bad, like poverty, malnourished children, FOX News, and everything else detrimental to our society.  

Perpetual bed head

I always feared bearing a female version of a baby, not because I wouldn't love, adore, dote, stare at, or kiss her every chance I had, but because of the fashion aspect. For myself, I have never been  much of a girly-girl.  I guess growing up with four older brothers sort of takes away that feeling of needing to wear make-up, put dresses on, and learn how to do my hair.  Instead, I cared about keeping up with them when we played "Man Hunt," or "kick the can" to those who grew up in Utah, learning how to throw and kick a ball correctly, and figuring out that a backhand swing in tennis gives you a lot more power than a forehand.  Only a few years ago did I start to wear make-up, not because I wanted to fit in, but because it was kind of fun, and I still only wear the minimum amount.  So what chance does Ellie have?  Luckily for her, she has the skin, eyes, lips, and eye lashes that will never require make-up.  That's right, I'm jealous of my one year old daughter, I'll admit it.  But what about her hair?  I think I'm doomed.  And as I was going through pictures the other day, I noticed a theme about her hair.  Now, it doesn't always look like this, thank goodness, but after her naps (and sometimes, many times, before her naps) it is out of control and nothing I do will tame that beast.  Any suggestions?