Shame on You!

Scene: Mommy is drawing Molly's bath... Daddy and Molly head upstairs for bathtime after watching a little American Idol.

Molly: Mommy, Simon said a bad word on the TV to Kris... Let me whisper it to you in your ear.

Mommy (not sure where this is going...): Um, ok...

Molly: He said.... stupid.

Mommy: He did NOT!

Molly: Yes, he did. He should have to leave the competition.

I can't live... if living is without you...

As I've always said, having a toddler is like living with Rain Man: Wapner is on at 4:30. And if it's not on, hold onto your hat.

We've had moments like this throughout Molly's life: this isn't the right kind of applesauce... I brush my hair and then I brush my teeth... I read stories and then get pats... where's Taylor on American Idol?... this isn't how my teacher makes pumpkin seeds... and on and on and on.

But now that she's at the ripe old age of 4-1/2, we figured she's mostly past that.

Oh, were we wrong.

We decided to replace Aaron's Jeep Cherokee -- the one he's had since 2001 (the year Jeep quit making Jeep Cherokees, which he's still mad about). So it's the only Daddy car Molly's ever known. (Red flag?) Molly went with us to test drive the Ford Escapes. We made the deal and were planning to go back the next day to swap the Jeep for the Escape. Molly seemed like she was having a good time... until we pulled in the driveway at home.

"Where will the Escape go, Mommy?"

"In the garage."

"But where will the Jeep go?"

"Well, we're trading the Jeep for the Escape, honey."

(Long, silent pause.......) "But... but I don't want to trade the Jeep."

The next two hours were filled with cries and pleas of "Don't sell the Jeep" and "I don't want to trade the Jeep" and (my personal favorite) "I can't live without the Jeep!" until she finally sobbed herself to sleep.

That night in bed, Aaron asked, "What are we going to do?" I replied, "Go get the new car." (Yeah, they call me Tough Love Mommy.)

The next day, Molly woke up and the first words out of her mouth were: "I'm sad...."

(Don't take the bait... don't take the bait.)

But Daddy took the bait. "Why are you sad, Molly?"

"Because I miss the Jeep already!"

Luckily, I remembered a key nugget and pulled it from my Mommy Bag 'O Tricks:

"Molly - remember last year when David Cook won American Idol? He got a Ford Escape, just like we're getting. So we have the same car as David Cook!"

"Mommy, can you call him and tell him that?"

Yes, Molly - just as soon as I find his number.

"When I Grow Up..."

Scene: Watching American Idol results show tonight.

Molly: "I want to be on American Idol when I grow up."

Mommy/Daddy (together): "That's great, sweetie." "Oh, that would be good."

Molly: "Yeah, I want to be one of the judges."

And scene.

Molly's American Idol Picks

Molly's pick for who's going home tonight on American Idol: Jorge

Her favorites from Michael Jackson night: Danny, Alexis, Meghan, and Anoop. (Although, when she asked me what Alexis was singing, I replied, "Diana... just a song about Diana. That's it.")

Molly's pick to win it all: Danny... with Alexis a close second.

Let's see if her American Idol predicition powers hold true for season eight!

"Tomorrow is special too..."

Scene: Molly taking a bath

"Mommy, do you know that tomorrow is special too?"

"Why - what's tomorrow?"

"Not only is it Barack Obama becomes President day... it's American Idol, too. So, there's a lot to celebrate in our house."

Yes there is, Peanut... yes there is...

American Idol Alert!

Ok, so American Idol starts tomorrow night. So, it's back to 12 hours a week for the next three weeks of AI in our house...

And, Molly will really be annoyed tomorrow night when David Cook and Brooke White and Michael Johns aren't on...

Oh well - let Season 8 begin!

The Molly Trifecta

Last Wednesday was Molly's perfect day:

1. ALL of her grandparents were here -- Grandma and Grandpa, and Papa and Grandma. Even Aunt Lois and Uncle Jim! Why were they all here?


2. Ballet recital! At long last, the Molly's big debut. And after we got home from the recital...


3. AMERICAN IDOL FINALE! Two hours of filler (thank GOD for TiVo) - capped with David Cook being named the new American Idol.

My cousin in Blue Springs, Mo., had been trying to find a David Cook shirt for Molly. When she couldn't find one in Molly's size, she made her this:

That's right - "David Cook is my Idol" in tiny little sparklies. Way too cute.

Of course, we wore this to school on Tuesday. I'm already having people letting me know they're betting on Molly's American Idol pick for next year. Well, we have to fund college somehow...

The Big American Idol Finale!

It's finally here, Molly -- what you've been waiting for all season. The big "American Idol" finale. David vs. David. Cook vs. Archuletta. How are you going to celebrate?

First, Daddy picked you up from school. As soon as you got home, you watched "American Idol Extra," then read your current issue of TV Guide with the top three Idols on the cover...

Then... you fell sound asleep at 6:30 while I made dinner. And you've been asleep ever since. You didn't even peep when I scooped you up and carried you upstairs.

I guess all the excitement was just too much.

Why American Idol Rules Our House

To say Molly loves "American Idol" is like saying that Angelina Jolie loves adopting babies... or that Barry Bonds loves taking steriods. (Which is to say, a whole heck of a lot.)



This all started in 2006 - Season 5. Molly was 18 months old and we'd watch it passively. She loved music as a baby. In fact, that was when Apple iPod had the commercial with Eminem -- and she would stop whatever she was doing when it came on and would bounce to it. Exactly to the beat.



Then one day, when I dropped her off at school, her teacher said, "Good morning, Molly! What did you do last night?" Out of nowhere, Molly replied, "Merican idol."



Oh crap.



Luckily, we had TiVo... every night for a year, Taylor won at our house.



So last season, we watched. She picked Blake Lewis early on as her favorite.



This year, she picked David Cook during Hollywood week. Next year, I'm placing bets.