older than I’ve ever been, and now I’m older still…

Posted on November 9, 2008

Phew.  I made it another year.  Of what? You ask.  Life.

And here is where I am at.

Birthday’s were WAY more exciting when I actually wanted tangible recognition of age.  This is no longer the case.  Now that I have officially reached so called “adulthood” (as if) it is WAY more exciting for me to enjoy  the new experiences of my daughter.

Therefore:

We spent my birthday at Playhouse Disney.

John was able to get FREE tickets through work, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone.  But free is free, and Chloe LOVES the Little Einsteins with a fiery passion.

Much to our surprise, there are many OTHER characters in the Playhouse Disney line up.  We don’t watch live TV.  The only TV show Chloe watches is the Little Einsteins because we record it.  She has a couple of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofey, and Tigger stuffed toys.  But, other than being at a friend’s house when it was on, has NEVER seen the shows.  I think it is possible we saw a Winnie the Pooh show at Mama and Papa’s house, and I am positive she has NO IDEA who Hanny Manny is.  So, she was overjoyed to see the Little Einsteins characters, but was a little confused by the rest. When Pooh came on, she said, “Wook, Mommy, a bear!”

All in all, she loved it because it had dancing, pretty lights, and lots and lots of music.  But, I am trying to decide how I feel about that fact she didn’t recognize the other characters.  Part of me feels a sense of pride because she has latched on to a show that I feel has actual merit.  The other part of me, again, worries that she is missing out on a very important level of pop culture.

Seth loves Diego.  I think it is safe to say that Chloe has never seen a Diego show.  Jacob is infatuated with Mickey Mouse and Goofey.  Again, I don’t think that Chloe has ever seen a Mickey Mouse show from start to finish.  Julia wants to BE Minnie Mouse, and WAS for Halloween.  Chloe decided to be a pirate.

It amazes me, still, how different our children’s lives can be depending on what we choose to show them on television.

I am not going to say Chloe doesn’t watch TV.  Because, that would be a bold faced LIE!  But, she watches movies.  We have an extensive selection of Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar movies.  She has probably seen movies that most children her age have never seen! (Cough: Incredibles, one of John and my ALL TIME FAVORITES)

Therefore, she can’t sing the title song to Mickey’s Clubhouse, but she can sing along with Ariel.

And, she was beside herself to see the Einstein’s Live!  All the other kids where like:  “Look, its MICKEY MOUSE!”  Chloe was like, “Wook, Leo!  Mommy, Wook ANNIE, Mommy wook QUINCY! Mommy, wook JUNE!”  Then Rocket appeared on stage and I flashed back to when I saw Micheal Jackson for the first time.  Yeah, it was that dramatic.

So, no.  I didn’t celebrate me on my birthday.  What I did was WAY better.