Kitty quest

Dad, I think I found something!

It’s my kitty!

That’s right, about 24 hours after he tried to pull his disappearing act – again – Mr. Tough Guy is hiding under the blankets like a ninny because there’s a storm blowing through. Except, of course, that Evan’s blown his cover.

We’re all sick again. Same stuff as before, only not quite to the pneumonia level yet. Mom is faring better than us guys – she has the doctor’s permission to return to work tomorrow. As for me and Evan? We’re gonna stay home, cough our heads off, have snotty noses, and watch Evan’s new DVD.

Some time back, Evan inherited some DVDs from Dave’s daughter, but while he’s enjoyed them all, the one that really stuck was They Might Be Giants’ Here Come The ABCs. Today, despite running such a high fever that my forehead was sweating through the front of my hat, I decided – while on a grocery run – to make it my mission to come home with a copy of the follow-up, Here Come The 123s, for my poor sick kiddo. And I figured it wouldn’t be hard to find since it just won a Grammy for best children’s recording. Right? Right??!?

Hastings was a bust. (I’ll admit I had an ulterior motive in going there first; they occasionally have some Doctor Who figures and I thought maybe I could get all my frivolous shopping in at once.) Not only did they have the same Who stuff they had several months ago, but their “children & family” DVD section was a total train wreck. No organization – barely even alphabetized. But even worse, anything that looked like a cartoon was on the shelves with the usual Disney and Nickelodeon fare…including Clerks: The Animated Series and Drawn Together. Come on, people. The place may be staffed by kids, but anyone over the age of 14 would have to be completely daft to not be aware that those two examples are decidedly not family-friendly fare.

Or maybe I should rest my case with that statement. Completely daft.

Toys R Us had a more sensibly stocked area – though I might argue with Lost season 3 being in their “family favorites” section (especially those laugh-packed, fun-filled first six episodes!) – but it still took me forever to find any trace of the recently-Grammy-winning They Might Be Giants children’s DVD. But find it I finally did, and then it was off to get the groceries that the trip was really about and go home.

Evan loves it, so I guess daddy’s mission was a success. As with Here Come The ABCs, not only do the songs and accompanying animations and/or puppet pieces have solid educational value, but they rock – these are kids’ songs I simply don’t get tired of (and believe me, I’ve had ample opportunity to overload on the ABCs). Oh, and Homestar fans? Five words from the 123s credits for you: “animation by the Brothers Chaps.” (Not the whole DVD, just a segment or two.) Word has it that TMBG are going to continue down this road, with the next album & DVD covering science. I’ll be heading to the stores for that one too.

OK, back to the “sick nest” of blankets for me until Evan gets up from his nap. Move over, Obi.