Some Cute, Some Funny Things!

Ari likes to dress up as a pirate and run around saying "Argh! Looking for treasure chest! Aye Mateys!" LOL The evidence is above.

Ari also likes to play video games which makes sense since her dad and I are both total geek gamers. Here is the evidence for this one.



My husband got back from work the other day and Ari was busy with something on the floor in the family room. He comes to me and gives me a big hug. I love his hugs! Well, Ari looks up from what she is doing and yells, "Wait a minute!" She then runs over, stands between us saying, "up!" We pick her up and she just so happy to be included in our hug. :) My heart could well burst with love and joy at this little girl! I also couldn't help laughing at her, "Wait a minute!" It was so out of the blue and funny!

There is a holiday in Judaism called Lag B Omer. For this holiday, people create bonfires in commemoration. We took Ari to a celebration that was held early, for this holiday. Here is Ari watching her first bonfire. She was fascinated! This is a family shot with my husband, me, and my mom.


She is well attached to her lovie, Froggy. It turns out that yesterday, while my husband and I had the gall to go on a date to a movie (with no little kids, thank god!), my mom, Safta, had to put Ari to sleep. Well, all would have been well except Ari has started putting Froggy into one of her drawers in her dresser. I forgot to mention this to my mom, unfortunately. Part way through the movie I get a call, "Where is Froggy?!?!?!?" I had to explain about the drawer. When we get home, I get the full lowdown. Turns out that they, my mom and Ari, were wandering the whole house looking for Froggy. Apparently they were both chanting, "Where's Froggy?" in a desperate attempt to get the little guy to show himself. Ari isn't allowed out of her room with her pacifier but since they were up in her room before my mom realized they were missing a certain green friend, they came downstairs with paci in mouth. My little angel proceeded to point at her pacifier with a ha, ha, look what I shouldn't be doing hum in her voice. After much looking, my mom tries to give Ari a different frog friend to sleep with. Apparently, when this happened and my mom left her upstairs, Ari just laid there saying in a sad voice, "Froggy.... Froggy... Froggy." My mom couldn't stand to hear her so sad, which brings us to the phone call in the theater. I think she likes her little buddy... what do you think? Hehe... No other frog will do! Yes that's him whispering sweet nothings in her ear. :)


Lately, she has taken to singing a lot too! It is so cute I just have to find my video camera! She sings Mary had a Red Dress, 5 Little Monkeys, Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old McDonald, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. I'll have to send her to American Idol Tot Audition! :)

Tomorrow we start soccer class! I think she will love this since she just adores kicking around a ball and being outside. I'll let you know!

Movies and Children

This last weekend Safta watched Ari while we went with a friend to check out a movie. The movie... Ironman. Yes, its based on a comic book. Yes, there is a G as part of its rating, but the rest of that rating is a P and -13. We've also recently seen National Treasure (PG) and The Bank Job (R). I haven't been able to fully enjoy any of these movies. Why? Because there are children 7 or younger at every single one of these movies. They are watching people drowning, being shot, and things blowing up.

(Mild Spoiler Alert - Ironman)
In the latest movie, there was a child young enough to be holding his blankie as he followed his parents to their seats and a girl who couldn't be more than 5. Also in the latest movie we get to watch a family being terrorized by terrorists as they rip the father from the clutches of his wife and children so they can shoot him. The son runs from his mom to his father who tells him to go back and then starts being beaten in front of his family. Just like blue's clues, right?

I cringe every time these scenes come up thinking of the children just a few seats down from me watching what I am watching. What is wrong with these parents? Are they so desperate to see a movie, that they would scare their children?

I am so tired of hearing that it is the movies, the computer games, the music, the (fill in the blank). Why are we seeing so much violence in our children? Maybe it is the parents. Things with a label of R, Mature, or Explicit should still be allowed to exist, parents just shouldn't be letting their children see or play them. On top of this, if you start your children watching violent scenes from such young ages, don't be surprised when your pre-teen is sneaking in movies, games, and CDs that they shouldn't be involved with. They are so inured to violence, language, and sexually explicit things that they moved onwards and upwards. (In case you can't sense the sarcarsm dripping on the onwards and upwards, let me assure you, its there.)

I just want to be able to enjoy a TEEN+/ADULT movie again. Please keep your children at home with a babysitter. If they just have to see certain movies, then at least wait until they are on DVD so you can skip the really bad parts. That's what I do with my 2 year old and Finding Nemo because she really doesn't need to be seeing an evil shark or fish with big teeth anymore than the 5 year old needs to see terrorists. They are only as innocent as you leave them to be.

Oh... and stop blaming everything and everyone but yourselves. My husband is in the game industry and M for Mature are games specifically targeted to people who can handle them... Adults!

You can tell this really frustrates me.