True Self

Yesterday, Ben's class had pajama day. As if the fun and excitement of wearing PJ's to school wasn't enough, the children also had their faces painted. Darby (a little girl in Ben's class) is lucky enough to have a mom who does amazing face painting for parties, etc..

She couldn't have done a better job capturing the true essence of Ben.... even if it does mean he has green skin and horns. He was SO pleased with the results.

Here is a link to her photo gallery. Soon, there will be a set of photos from Ben's class.

Captain Obvious

The waiting is over. Bright and early Saturday morning, Ben pad, pad, padded into our room, positioned his face within millimeters of mine and said:

B: Mom. Mommy.
H: What? It's VERY early in the morning.
B: But Mom. This is a buh-mergency.
H: Oh, what is it (suddenly very awake, thinking something was on fire or worse, that he had peed somewhere gross)
B: Well, can we go to the dog store? Harper would like to come too. Do you know why, Mommy?
H: Why?
B: Because one of my fish got taken out.
H: (pause: thinking--- SWEET! No death talk. No funeral in the bathroom.)
B: Yeah. So we gotta go to the dog store to get a new fish.

So, it only took him 22 days to notice. Maybe not the most perceptive child on the planet, but can you believe my luck? It was a total non-event. Yep. It's totally normal for fish to just disappear. And, of course you just go to the store and get new ones. It's just like the pairs of socks where you can't find the mate or Barbie shoes (remember how you could never keep track of those stupid things?).

When we went to the "dog store" (PetCo) on Sunday to get a new fish, Ben suggested that we might get 2, just in case we "losed" another one. Good thinking. So, we now have 3 little fish swimming in the tank. Names? Ash, Dawn, and Pikachu (peek-uh-jew). Evidently, "team" isn't a good name for a solo fish, so he had to file paperwork to legally change his name. "Dawn" is the girl Pokemon trainer... and thus, the obsession continues (see previous post ).

Subliminal Messages

Goodbye Scooby-Doo. Hello Pokemon (Po-kay-mon). Ben's latest obsessive show has even LESS educational value than the first and even more potential for inappropriate behavior. The craziest part is that he has uncovered a secret side to Pokemon.

Now for those of you not in-the-know, Pokemon is some bizarre Japan-i-mation type cartoon. It's about a boy named Ash who goes on a never-ending quest to be the best Pokemon Trainer ever. What's a Pokemon? Little creatures with various powers and personalities that Ash must catch in a Poke Ball and then train to battle other Pokemon who are owned by other Pokemon Trainers for no apparent reason. I also learned on Wikipedia that Pokemon is evidently Japanese for "Pocket Monsters." That doesn't make them better. Oh, that and it was created by our good friends at Nintendo and the whole purpose of the cartoon was to sell video games. Quality children's programming.

The first Pokemon that Ash captured (way back in 1995) was named Pikachu (peek uh chew) (see photo below).

I forgot to mention, Pokemon can only say their names... it might be the most annoying part of the show. A common series of dialogue would go like this:
Ash: Pikachu
Pikachu: Peek-a, peek-a (high pitched voice, like saying "EEK!" at a mouse)
Ash: Activate "lightning bolt attack"
Pikahcu: PPPPPEEEEEEEKKKKKKK-AAAAAAAA-CHUUUUUUUUUUU (voice becomes possessed and growly, but still high-pitched... like nails on a chalkboard)
(background noise: Heather shoving an ice pick in her ears)

Ben REALLY loves this show and I think his favorite part is acting out random scenes from the show. It was during just such a recreation that Don and I discovered the strange undercurrent that obviously runs through the show.

While playing hide-and-seek in my collection of throw pillows on our bed, he said the following:

B: I'm a Pokemon. Guess which one..
H: Ok.

B: Bagel. Bagel.
H: ummmmmmm.....
B: Duh, Mommy. I'm Peek-a-Jew.

Yeah. You read that correctly... that's what he calls the little yellow guy and that's what he says when he pretends to be said Pokemon.