I Created A Monster

I thought I was doing a good thing. I did it in the name of convenience. I thought about the evil that might come from what I was doing, but I figured I would stop in time, or somehow it would all work out.

I was wrong. I created a monster, all in the name of modern technology.

I used the DVR to record children's programming. Now I can't stop. The toddler thinks that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is available on demand. I've disrupted the linear process of TV watching. When Ooh and Aah (the Disney Channel talking Monkeys that introduce each new show or segment) talk about what show is coming up next, it is meaningless to him. "Handy Manny is coming up next." Well, no he isn't because this is a recorded show, and the Handy Manny episode in question ended yesterday.

OK, this is bad, but it gets worse. We had a "chilling out" day once upon a time, and we watched all of our stored up episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, deleting them as we went along. You see where I'm going with this, right? The DVR has been having some issues, and it sometimes doesn't record all the cartoons it is supposed to. The next morning ... no Mickey Mouse. We can watch Handy Manny, Sesame Street, or whichever Disney cartoon happens to be on (gasp) live TV. But no Mickey Mouse.

This is the end of the world to a two year old. Well, no. Let's be fair. This is the end of the world to a certain two year old who never learned about live TV and thinks that with a few clicks of that white remote, Mommy can magically make Mickey Mouse appear anytime she wants. So, obviously, I was the meanest Mommy in the whole world, because I wouldn't let him watch Mickey Mouse. I kept trying to explain that it wasn't me, that we just didn't have any more episodes of Mickey Mouse, but he didn't believe me. I was just mean, mean, mean. Thankfully, Mickey does eventually come on TV in the mornings, but it was a long morning. To top it off, the internet wasn't working, and the DVR is still acting up, so we STILL don't have any MM episodes stored up.

Wow. I don't know how many more tricks I have left in my Mommy bag while we wait for technology to be repaired. (Take that passive voice, former English teachers!)

I could switch to videos, but I've only one episode of MM on DVD. How many times could I stand to watch Mickey Mouse Saves Christmas"? I don't think I want to find out. On the other hand, there would be one benefit. When the little guy gets his little fingers on the remote and starts pressing buttons, we won't have lots of unusual shows showing up on the recording list. (I had no idea our toddler was interested in the history of the Spanish Inquisition.)

Hopefully we will get this sorted out before we run out of ideas. In the meantime, the talking teddy bear is being smothered with grape jelly kisses. He's a white bear. This will be fun.