Obsession

Obsessions are interesting things. Case in point: your current obsession with the Doodlebops has become a family obsession by proxy. For those who may not be "in the know" with what is "hip" in the world of preschool educational/entertainment television, the Doodlebops are a musical band consisting of three memebers - Dedee Doodle, Rooney Doodle, and Moe Doodle. These characters although played by human actors, wear make up and costumes that make them resemble puppets [including full body paint to make them more colorful and puppet-like hands (gloves) and cartoonish hair (wigs)]. They sing a variety of songs about topics such as getting along, the importance of exercise, how to deal with your temper, trying new things, dealing with impatience about growing up, the value of asking questions, and a myriad of other topics. Like most preschool shows it has a lot of repetative elements from show to show that the children learn about and come to expect. Your two favorites at the moment are "Where's Moe?" which is the question asked at the beginning of every show as the other two characters search around the house for him. The other is "Don't pull the rope!" which is what all the character say to Moe right before he pulls a red rope which causes water to dump on his head. You tickle me and your daddy to death when you stand there and pump your arm up and down and say "Don't pull the rope!"

So just how obsessed are you? We bought you a Doodlebops t-shirt at the beach on a whim because we knew you loved the show. As soon as you saw it you immediately wanted to put it on and wore it all day; you even cried when we took it off to put on your pajamas. It's now your favorite shirt and you would wear it every day if I gave you the option. You gasp with sheer delight when the show comes on and begin dancing around the room singing the opening song. It holds your attention from beginning to end. You find the remote and begin saying "T.V. .... Bops!" while pointing at the DVD case with the familiar trio on the front. You would watch the videos all day long I think (of course, we don't let you - for our sanity as much as your need to get outside and exercise!) And what to you want to listen to in the car? Doodlbops, of course.

So now your obssession has become our obsession. We look for the Doodlebops stuff everywhere and I think we've bought four DVDs so far (aren't we gluttons for punishment?) We know all the words to all the songs and can sing them whenever requested. We've read the forums online discusing who was a better manager "Mazz" or "Jazzmine" and which format is better, season 1 or season 2 - and those discussions have carried over to the dinner table. We check regularly to see when the Doodlebops Live tour is coming to our area. It's nuts! I don't know if we'll be sad or glad when you grow out of this Doodlebops phase... I think sad.... but till then we'll keep singing "Get on the Bus" and enjoy every minute.