You may have seen the promos for a new drama series called Parenthood:

Bill and I were lucky enough to get our hands on the pilot episode (you’ll get to see it on TV on March 2nd). Bill was beyond psyched.  He remembers the movie Parenthood (I just sort of remembered it.  He was directly related back to me how this was just like the movie).

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (from Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon) and Jason Katims (Friday Night Llights) are the men behind this show.  Those names alone had me ready for a really good show (which is what I got!).  The family that Parenthood focus on is the Braverman family.  I’ll be honest, they could be any family in America.  Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham — which I have to say is perfect casting) is a financially strapped single mom who decides to move back home with her two teenagers who are less than thrilled.  To welcome her home is her father Zeek (Craig T. Nelson — another perfect casting call) and mother Camille (Bonnie Bedelia).

Sarah also has 3 siblings.  First there is Julie (Erika Christensen).  She is the exact opposite of Sarah.  She is juggling work as a lawyer and motherhood.  In the pilot, we see the struggle she has when her daughter prefers her husband Joel (Sam Jaeger) who is a stay at home dad (I know a lot of us can relate to this!).    Next, there is Crosby (Dax Shepard — again spot on casting).  He is Sarah’s younger brother.  He is definitely afraid of commitment and in this pilot episode is already thrown for a loop when a past girlfriend shows up with a little surprise he didn’t know about.   (If you’ve seen the movie, you know what the surprise is).  Lastly, there is Adam (Peter Krause — I absolutely adore him!  He plays a great father.).  He is the oldest Braverman sibling.  He buts heads with his father in relation with his son, but the big surprise is when his son is diagnosed with Asperger’s (which is something I saw coming from the scene we saw with Max).  Honestly, I can’t wait to see how this plays out — how they deal with it (in the pilot they just find out), how the extended family deals with it, and how they will show how real families live when one of them gets an autism diagnosis.  If done right, they can really be a voice for the autism community.

Okay, now that I’ve set this all up for you (with a few side comments), what did we think.  Honestly, we loved it.  We knew from the previews that this was a show we were going to watch.  Having seen the pilot, I can tell you this is a show we will watch week to week (and have scheduled to tape on our DVR).  There are so many story lines that can be told.  It is a drama series but it is quite funny.  As a stated above, I can’t wait to see how they deal with the autism storyline and how much more trouble Sarah’s kids can get into.  Her kids aren’t bad kids, but they are teenagers.  The dad has his own issues and I can’t wait to see a softer side of him too.  They allude to some marriage problems with Zeek and Camille, so that will be interesting to see how that plays out.

I will be watching on March 2nd and I recommend you tune into Parenthood too!  (10 pm EST on NBC).

We recently were introduced to a new cartoon that is on CBS called Busytown Mysteries. It’s based on the characters from the works of Richard Scarry (who has sold over 150 million copies of his books over the last 40 years!).  The program is about 20 minutes long and shows 2 eleven minute stories.  The stories revolve around Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm as they solve mysteries all over town (like who knocked all the cherries out of the farmer’s tree).  These stories engage our kids and makes them question who, what, when, where, and why.  I love it when they are learning and not even realizing it!  Will (my 2 year old) wasn’t all that interested in this cartoon.  However, my 5 year old did enjoy watching it, and she enjoyed the interactive games and activities that Busytown offers online!  Online, they can interact with the characters and explore the different neighborhoods.  They can even set up an email address (we aren’t ready for that in our house quite yet!).

You can check out the tv schedule for Busytown Mysteries and see where it is playing in your area, so your kids can check it out!  Check it out and tell me what you think!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2

Do you recognize the two people to the left?  Look very close.  That is what Stephanie and Sportacus from LazyTown really look like!  Hard to believe, I know!  Lazytown is a show on Noggin and Nick Jr. that encourages your kids to get off their butts and be more active!  When asked about the inspiration for the show, Magnus (the shows creator and Sportacus) answered:

Really, when you get down to it, LazyTown is a state of mind. We’ve all been to LazyTown. When we decide to go “veg-out” on the couch, you could say you’re “in LazyTown.” Even me. It’s a place we all go.

In a funny way, LazyTown reflects characteristics that you see in yourself or in people around you. These characteristics are universal: It’s that dynamic of opposites.

For instance, in the show, Sportacus is a driving force. He’s fit, agile, and an amazing athlete who’s patient, kind, and understanding. He encourages kids through example. He doesn’t take the low road. Conversely, his adversary, Robbie Rotten, is all about easy solutions and pulling the group down to his level. Then there’s Stephanie, the lead kid character, a wide-eyed optimist who believes she can make a real difference; while Pixel, a boy character, can conquer every video game, but when the situations are real, he has a harder time.

Just like in real life, nobody’s perfect and LazyTowners are constantly trying to find ways to understand and improve themselves. I guess that you could say that LazyTown explores the opposing forces that we encounter in our own daily lives.

How is that for teaching your children? Most moms and kids that I have talked to like this show. Magnus knows what he is talking about too — he was the Icelandic Men’s Individual Champion in Aerobic Gymnastics in 1992. In 1993, he became the Scandinavian champion, and was the European champion twice in 1994 and 1995. He was voted Athlete of the Year by Iceland in 1994. Adding superhero to that resume just makes it twice as nice.

Now, why should you and your children watch this?  It does get them off their butts.  I find Madison and Will dancing and singing with the show when its on.  It has taught my children that there is nothing wrong with going outside and playing.  On top of the activity lessons, there are moral lessons too.  Check your local schedule and see when you can watch it at your place.  You won’t be disappointed!

The Discovery Channel is awesome.  I have another show on there you have to watch.  It’s called When We Left Earth, and it is all about the space program.  You get to watch the real footage from when man first went into space, and when he went to the moon.  I know the next show is going to show the Challenger mission.  The reason I find this so interesting is that I wasn’t even born in the time frame of the first two shows.  It is one thing to read the history in a book; it is another to actually see it unfold in front of you.  You can feel the tention in the room while you are waiting to see if they actually make it into space.  They even interview the people involved now to tell you what they thought back then.  The technology they had back then is just mindblowing. It is hard that they made it into space with what they had.  I accidentally caught this one night, and I am glad I did.

As you can tell, Noggin is packed with great education programs for our children. Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends does not disappoint. It is an animated program that follows the adventures of Miss Spider and her family. Yes, Miss Spider is really a spider. Her family consists of a bed bug, spiders, a beetle, and a dragonfly. The main theme of this show is getting along with one another.  This is blended family at its finest.  I have to admit that kids programming has come a long way from when I was little.  Again, I think I like this show just as much as Madison does.  Another theme they also explore is showing consequences for your actions.