I think I'm in love.

The more I watch this man, the more I fall in love with him. When Lazytown first came out, I thought it was annoying. I think I've gotten over that now because the show does have a good premise and teaches kids to be active and stay healthy. And, Magnus Scheving as Sportacus just seals the deal.

I know, I'm crazy. I should get out more. I'm cooped up with the kids too much. But watching Sportacus makes it so much better.

Now who's the pervert?

Bob the Pervert?

OK, so I'm hung up on Bob the Builder. (See my previous Spud post.) But, I can't get past this. In Bob's "Build, Dig, Haul" DVD, it starts off with "Scruffy's Big Dig." Bob & the gang are at Mrs. Broadband's house fixing the bricks. It starts off like this:

Dizzy: "What are we doing today, Bob?"
Bob: "Mrs. Broadband's got a big bulge in her wall and it needs to be repaired."
Muck (laughing along with the others): "Where is Mrs. Broadband's big bulge, Bob?"

Now, doesn't that seem a bit odd to you? It's not like construction people are going around talking about big bulges that they need to fix. It's not a common term, really, now is it?

OK, so you're not convinced. Here are some titles of other BtheB shorts: "Lofty's Long Load," "Wendy's Big Night Out," "Travis Gets Lucky" (come on - how much more do you need?), "Muck's Surprise." And then I started looking at some others a little differently, too. "Bob the Photographer," and "Mr. Beasley's Noisy Pipes" to name a few.

I think something's going on behind the scenes that is a little more obvious than it needs to be.

Cookie Crisp Mascots

Why can't Cookie Crisp keep one single mascot? Honey Nut Cheerios has had BuzzBee for as long as I can remember. Trix has the Rabbit. Lucky Charms has Lucky, the Leprechan. Cocoa Puffs has Sonny, the Cuckoo Bird. But Cookie Crisp just can't seem to settle on a single mascot.



(1970s) Jarvis, the Cookie Crisp Wizard. My absolute all time favorite. Do you remember when they had the original Cookie Crisp & then they had a vanilla wafer version? It didn't have the chips. Mmmm.




(1990s) Officer Krum, the Cookie Crisp Crook and Chip, the Cookie Hound. I think the dog stuck around the longest (remember his howl, "COOOOKIE CRISP!") I heard from a FOAF that knew them that once General Mills dropped Krum & Crook that they got an apartment together in San Francisco.







(2000s) And now there's a Wolf on our box of Cookie Crisp. His name is Howler. Oh, and, no sign of vanilla Cookie Crisp, but I did see Peanut Butter. Haven't tried it, but I don't see how it can compare to the others.



So what's the story, General Mills? Why keep changing? If you ask me, they jumped the shark with the cop, dog & crook. They should have just stuck with Jarvis. Think about it...with all the Harry Potter hype going on now, you'd think they'd want a wizard on their cereal. Especially since he was the original. I think I'll start a movement. "Bring back Jarvis!" Will you join me?

(Oh, and yes, I know entirely too much about breakfast cereal.)

It's uncanny, isn't it?

The Bane of My Existence

The Judy Instructo US Map Puzzle has become the bane of my existence. If I have to spend another minute on the floor searching for one of the 49 pieces (all states are included except Alaska & Hawaii - yes, that means even Rhode Island has it's own separate piece and Michigan has 2 pieces - one for the mainland and one for the upper penninsula), I'm going to scream. I've already screamed so much about this damn puzzle that you'd think I was stark raving mad.

The kids got this puzzle for Christmas from my Mother. MIL also got them a magnetic US Map Puzzle, which I just threw in the trash today. We had already lost several of those pieces and I was sick of seeing them laying around. But, the Judy Instructo puzzle we've managed to keep all together. How? I don't know. Because in the past 2 days I've spent hours searching for all the pieces and putting it together.

Yes, this is a kids puzzle. But, it doesn't show where all the pieces go. Once you dump the puzzle, you're left with a borderless canvas showing only the rivers of the US, symbols showing the exports and some city names. Which isn't all that helpful, let me tell you. Sure, geography was never my strong point, but even after doing this puzzle countless number of times, I still struggle with it. It reminds me of this game, except that I have to deal with 49 individual pieces.

I just told the kids that the next time I see anyone touching it, they will be sent to their room for a week. I don't care if it jumps off the table and into their hands, they are not to touch the thing, else I totally lose my mind.

And you know this how?

FYI

Sand, taken by mouth, takes approximately 48 hours to complete the cycle through the bowels.

Just thought you'd like to know that.

The Peculiarity of Spud

Just look at him & tell me he's not peculiar. What is he? A scarecrow? But why? Does he even really look like a scarecrow? And why is his name Spud? You'd think he's a potato. But, no, a talking potato just wouldn't make sense, now would it? So he's a scarecrow in a world of talking construction equipment. Pilchard the cat doesn't speak, yet the scarecrow does.

You know, I'm OK with Scoop, Muck & Dizzy, Roley, too. Even Travis & Lofty. I've never questioned why they have a digger, a dump truck, a cement mixer (which is quite small, donchathink?), a steam roller, a tractor and a mobile crane all who talk. I'm fine with that. But Spud? He's just weird. Besides the fact that he's absolutely useless and all he does is cause trouble and act stupid, he's just plain weird.

The Misrepresentation of Nemo

Have you ever noticed the gross misrepresentation of Nemo? There is merchandise galore out there featuring Dory & Nemo. But, for most of the movie, Dory spent her time with Marlin, not Nemo. So why do the merchandisers insist on putting Dory with Nemo and not Marlin? Why not show father & son with Dory in the background? Why not Dory & Marlin?

Poor Marlin. Major film star and he still gets slighted on the merchandise. Sure, the movie is called, "Finding Nemo," but it's Marlin that leads the drive to find him. Marlin is the breakout star, yet Nemo gets all the royalties. Poor, poor Marlin.

Musings of a Mom of a Toddler

OK, so I spend too much time with my young kids. Today these are my musings...

So, she'll be coming around the mountain when she comes...but why driving 6 white horses? Why 6? Why white? I don't mind that we'll all go out to meet her when she comes, but why do we have to have chicken & dumplings? Why will she be wearing red pajamas and why on earth does she have to sleep with Grandma when she comes? Can we set up a ready-bed on the floor for our guest?

The Lorax

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues."

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

From The Lorax by Dr. Seuss