The Green Eye Nightmare

Kids TV and movies have come a long way from when I was kid.  I remember the days of “School House Rock” and “Fat Albert”.  I used to love those shows!

Just recently, we were watching “Arthur” on PBS and the episode had something to do with Lance Armstrong and then the next thing I know they are talking about cancer and I’m like CANCER!  So I just shut it off.  I wasn’t ready for that with a 4-year-old.

As for movies… Myles has seen a few like “Cars”, “Toy Story” and “Thomas the Train”.  Then one day recently I made the MISTAKE of branching out and letting Myles watch the movie “Monsters vs. Aliens”.I thought it couldn’t be that bad and we watched it together.  BIG MISTAKE!!! Well, there’s one part in the movie that shows a monster with a green eye and that’s when I realized Myles was getting a little scared and turned it off.  We probably watched about 40 minutes.  So that night he went to bed and woke up at 2 o’clock in the morning talking about how the “green eye” took him out of his bed.  I thought to myself nice going Mom!  Now I was up in the middle of the night explaining that the green eye isn’t real and to dream about rainbows, puppies and unicorns.

The next day Myles told me he liked “Monsters vs. Aliens” and wanted to watch it again.  I was like what? But you said the “green eye” scared you.  Myles told me he wanted to see it again.  I wasn’t falling for it and said no way.  I’m not going to be up in the middle of the night talking about the “green eye”.  I deleted the movie from DVR and he can watch it again when he’s 12.  And, believe it or not he still talks about that dog gone “green eye”.

Lessons learned:  #1. Little kids are fickle.  #2.  I won’t let my 4 year old watch a movie he’s not ready for or it will cause me to lose sleep.  #3. Stick to what we know best… “Thomas the Train” movies or even better we’ll just read a book!

‘Toy Story 3’: You’ve Still Got a Friend In Me

I don’t know who was more excited to see “Toy Story 3” Myles or me.  My husband and I took him to see it.   I loved it as much as the first two.  I will not give away the movie, but you all probably know the plot… Andy is getting ready to go off to college and Woody, Buzz and the gang aren’t sure what their futures going to be.  I’ll just leave it at that.  In the beginning of the movie they flashback to when Andy was younger and played with all his toys. Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” played in the background as you watched Andy getting older and older.  I got a little misty eyed thinking about Myles and one day how that is gonna be him.  It’s so hard to think about him growing up and knowing he’ll be a grown man.  It truly takes my breath away.  It’s almost hard to put into words watching this process before my eyes.

When we got back home my husband and I looked at our dining room table covered with Myles’ toys thinking one day we’ll be watching him pack up all his favorites to give away.   Luckily, we have some time before we get there.  For now, I will continue to enjoy watching Myles utilize his imagination as his plays with his toys and grows from one fad to the next.  I’ll be curious to see how long Thomas the Train, Lightning McQueen, Woody and Buzz stay in his life.  I still have my very first Cabbage Patch doll someone made for me.  She’s in the garage still in great condition.

Alright back to the movie, Myles liked what he saw of it.  He drank too much fruit punch and had to go to the bathroom a few times.  Then he got restless and wanted to change seats a few times and in the process he lost a shoe.  We found it while the credits were rolling.  It’s hard to believe I was able to see the movie with all that going on.  Timing is everything when taking a 3-year-old to a movie.  I realized after Myles was tired.   He passed out in the back of the car minutes after we left the theater.

As for me… I think the folks at Pixar are genius.  They know how to make movies that both kids and parents alike can enjoy.  “Toy Story 3” had action, it made me laugh and it tugged at my heartstrings.  If you don’t have kids you don’t need to borrow one to take with you to enjoy it.  I’d see it again without Myles.  It’s a winner in my book!