And So It Ends...

...Summer, that is.

Today is Labor Day and here in the Burgh, its raining with no signs that it will stop.  That's fine with me--I'm not a summer person by any stretch--but it does mean that I need to find one more day of stuff for Donovan to do here at home.

Mike's been out of town at a conference so its just been me and the boy since Friday.  For the most part its been a good time but Saturday night I suddenly hit a mental brick wall.  Part of that was the aftershock of getting stuck in Oakland for THREE HOURS, first because Pitt closed one of the streets in Oakland be did'nt bother to put up any signs at the bustop where our bus would'nt be stopping and, second, because it was so hot all the buses kept breaking down.

But today, all I have to get thru is today.  And I'm trying to come up with good things for us to do, landlocked as we are.  In case you find yourself in a similar situation, here is a list of Youtube videos that Donovan asks for on a regular basis:

The Little House, Walt Disney.
Anyone who knows me knows I am violently anti-Disney.  This is one, however, for which I will make an exception.

The Water Babies, Walt Disney
Please see above.  Also: early Disney humor is largely butt-based: Discuss.

Bring On the Dancing Horses, Echo and the Bunnymen
Good song, good video AND, if you know your history, you can play Hey, Is'nt That Sort Of Like All Those Dadaist/Surrealist Theories and Games?  Yes, that's what I'm foisting onto my 4 year old.

I Spit Roses, Peter Murphy
Speaking of foisting... Donovan likes the octopus that changes color and he likes "The Bad Guy."  The Bad Guy does not refer to Peter Murphy, who I am trying to get Donovan to refer to as, "Petey."  So far, no luck.

Weapon of Choice, Fatboy Slim
No Donovan Top 5 List would be complete without, "The Guy."  The Guy, of course, is Christopher Walken, and about a year ago Donovan would insist on watching this multiple times in a row.  It was a good set up when I needed an extra 20 minutes to fold laundry but I have to wonder about the long term implications of letting Christopher Walken babysit my child.

Here's hoping this list will provide you and yours with some new things to look at and think about.  Especially if you are held captive by Dora.  We have thus far been able to escape the Napoleonic like Dora invasion but many of my closest friends have not been so lucky.