Up to no good.

I hope Pea doesn't fail to read between the lines.

I have a weird feeling Dora the Explorer is into some below-board kind of stuff.

Let me be clear -- especially since companies seem to be suing every blogger who holds an opinion contrary to the positive image of their business or products -- I have no concrete proof of my claim, but I do offer the following to back up my suspicion.

• She's from Latin America.  Columbia is part of Latin America, isn't it?  I'm just saying.
• While she is human, most of Dora's friends are talking animals... a squirrel, a monkey, a fox, and so on.  In fact, she spends a great deal of time talking to a Little Star in one book we own, which as we all know is impossible.  
• Why don't we ever get to see what's in her backpack?  
• According to Wikipedia, the internet's most trusted resource, Dora the Explorer (products) made over $1B in 2004.  That's Mexican Drug Cartel kind of loot!
• She can't seem to pick one language and stick with it... it's almost as if she forgets what language she's using mid-sentence.  That's odd, no?

Look, I don't know what's going on here, but this doesn't add up.  Until I can disprove my theory, I don't think I'll be letting Pea put any Dora-related products in her mouth.  Better safe than sorry.

I may not know what I want my Pea to become, but I hope she doesn't fail to read between the lines.

PS - Just kidding Nickelodeon.. we love Dora 'round here, honest!  In fact, we just bought Pea her very own Dora the Explorer chair... you know the one, it's got Boots and Dora running together, chasing a butterfly.  Within 30 seconds of seeing it, Pea was kissing Dora and sitting gleefully in her lap.  It was awesome!

Those who can, do.

I hope Pea doesn't end up with her Dad's singing chops.

There are a lot of things in my life that I wish I could do better.  Sure, I have my fair share of skills.  Sarcasm.  Showering in a relatively short amount of time.  Eating.  But there is lots more I wish I could do better.

What kind of things, you might ask?  Math.  Impressions.  Tending to animals.  And most of all, singing.

While I may not be able to carry my own tune, I can certainly appreciate the skills of others.

Lately, I'm really into the Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson album The Breakup, which is far better than many people expect, especially after Johansson's ill-advised debut album of Tom Waits covers.  The first single from The Breakup, called Relator, is the most played track on my iPod and never fails to put a smile on my face.  I urge you to give it a listen (see below).

Closer to home, for me anyway, is the music of MJ Cyr.  

The Pod is good friends with MJ, and introduced me to her many years ago. Since then I have come to know and appreciate MJ for her kindness and her music.

We've been to several of MJ's shows (not recently anyway... since Pea was born we have a much harder time getting out), and she was even a guest at our wedding.  Long story short, I like MJ.

I hope you do too!  You can check out MJ at http://www.myspace.com/mjcyr, but to make things easier, here's the video for her song The Bottom Line.  Enjoy.







I may not know what I want my Pea to become, but I hope she doesn't end up with her Dad's singing chops. 

A choice of global proportions

I hope Pea never has to deal with the harsh realities of parenting in the midst of a global pandemic.

So this H1N1 thing is supposed to get worse before it gets better. It's new, relatively unknown and many parents (myself included) aren't sure what to do to prepare their families for the second coming of this sickness.

The big question is: to vaccinate, or not to vaccinate.  As an added bonus, I have to consider vaccinations for two separate people - myself, and my little Pea.  (Three, really, when I factor in the Pod who, according to recent media reports, is more likely to become infected than any other population segment.)

When the first wave of H1N1 hit the world this year, I was blasé.  I thought, 'far more people will get sick and die from the seasonal flu... what's the big deal?'

I recall hearing a radio report about the first swine flu in 1976, and how many people who got a vaccination to prevent infection ended up getting sick and dying from the untested vaccine and not from the illness itself.

That freaked me out.  I had made up my mind.  No vaccinations for us.  I figured, 'Why chance getting sick from the medicine, if I probably won't get the sickness in the first place?'

But it's becoming increasingly clear that this ain't the regular flu, and I'm responsible for more than myself now.  I should be more judicious in my decision making.

The reality is that times, and technologies, have changed.  I'm sure the development of vaccinations has come a long way since 1976. And as Canada ramps up production of its vaccination stores, it seems to me that great care is being taken to develop a vaccine that is tested and safe.

My point is this, people: I'm waivering.  

So I'm turning to you, for advice and counsel.  What are you doing? Are you getting the vaccine?  Are you vaccinating your children?

I need help here.  In the words of Snoop Dogg, holla at'cho boy.

I may not know what I want my Pea to become, but I hope she never has to deal with the harsh realities of parenting in the midst of a global pandemic.

PS - I am aware that Commenting on my blog is a painful experience, and I am looking at switching to another service.  If you do want to leave a comment, just select the Anonymous option from the drop down menu. 

Morning Snuggles for the Parent's Soul

I hope Pea doesn't mock my sentimentality.

Growing up, I remember hearing my parents talking with other parents about their children...they'd say stuff like "They grow up so fast!" and I'd mimic barfing, because I found it all so annoying.  

Back then, I was young and impatient. I wanted to be older NOW and felt that the kids a grade ahead of me in school were light years away from me in terms of maturity.  The kids 2 grades ahead?  They were practically adults! 

I remember finding coy ways of showing off my armpit hair to the kids at elementary school because I was convinced mine came so much later than everyone else's and I needed to make sure everyone knew mine had arrived. 

I remember shaving with a friend of mine well before I had peach fuzz, let alone the daily growth that annoys me today.  (Fortunately, his dad worked for Schick and we had ready access to shaving supplies.)

Now, I spend my days wishing life would just slow down a bit. 

And why wouldn't I?  I wake up in the morning and my still-groggy Pea finishes her bottle of milk and curls up in my lap to snuggle.  She's clearly sad as I say goodbye to her and practically runs after me to snuggle some more.

I lament how quickly Pea is growing out of her clothes and wonder if it was really a year ago that she stopped needing to be swaddled at night.

I struggle to put up yet another baby gate and recall a time when crawling wasn't even an issue, let alone a quick jaunt towards a hard-wood flight of stairs.

So to my parents, I offer yet another I'm sorry in what has seemingly become a steady stream of apologies brought on by the constant Eureka moments in my life... when the lightbulb goes on, and I finally understand what all the fuss was about. 

Because as great as parenting has been, they really do grow up so fast.

I may not know what I want my Pea to become, but I hope she doesn't mock my sentimentality.

Love and Marriage, Love and Marriage...

I hope Pea doesn’t overlook the teachings of aging Married… with Children star Ed O’Neill.

The pilot for ABC’s newest comedy, Modern Family, aired last night and it was smart, incredibly funny and pushed all the right boundaries in all the right ways. This show is getting incredible reviews and will definitely be at the top of my PVR recording list, right up there with another ABC success, Lost (premiering Thursday, January 21, 2009… that’s 120 days people!).

Modern Family is all about the convergence of 3 different types of families.

• The Reconstituted Family: Ed O’Neill plays a recently re-married 60-something. He’s hooked up with a much younger Columbian woman and finds himself the stepfather to her sensitive teenage boy, who he struggles to relate to both generationally and culturally. 

• The Nuclear Family: O’Neill’s biological daughter (played by Julie Bowen of Ed and Boston Legal fame) is married to a man (Ty Burrell) who is desperately trying to be his 3 kids’ friend rather than their father. She struggles to manage a house with 3 kids and a useless husband; he struggles to use the hippest language possible to relate to his kids on their level. An actual quote from Phil, the goofy Dad: “I'm a cool dad, that's my thang. I'm hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face.” 

• The Homosexual Family: O’Neill’s son (played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is gay, in a committed relationship with his partner of 5 years, and they have recently adopted a young child from Vietnam. 

(Big thanks to my Family Studies teacher for teaching me this information... all apologies for not remembering your name.)

As funny as Modern Family is to me, I can’t help but think about how much more relatable it will be to Pea.

When I was growing up… and yes, I’m now using “when I was young” statements… Nuclear families were still the norm. I can recall a few Reconstituted families, fewer Single Parent families, and there were definitely no Homosexual families on the block.

But Modern Family makes one thing perfectly clear… when it comes to family, “normal” quite simply doesn’t exist anymore. And I firmly believe my daughter will be a better person as a result.

If we look at the numbers, it is undeniable that many of us will end up leading an untraditional family. For kids, it used to be divulging an untraditional family dynamic to classmates would potentially lead to ridicule and bullying. But nowadays, can any kid really justify teasing another because of single, remarried or homosexual parents? To do so today would be to tease the near majority, not the fringe.

Our families, and our children, are evolving with the times. Adaptability, acceptance, tolerance and understanding are becoming some of the cornerstones of our society.

Some of you might be saying “Ricochay, we’ve still got a long way to go before we get to this point.” I don’t deny that we still have work to do. But I do believe that we are closer than ever. As our generation raises its kids with a new set of values that are consistent with our reality, we only get closer to our goal. Our kids, and their kids, benefit.

So here’s to you, Modern Family, for showing us all that no matter what type of family you are a part of, it’s normal… and just as screwed up as the rest of them.

I may not know what I want my Pea to become, but I hope she doesn’t overlook the teachings of aging Married… with Children star Ed O’Neill.

PS - Glee, you’re off the PVR.