oldies

There's just not much worth watching on TV these days, especially for kids. Some of my old favorites, like Little House on the Prairie, have been enjoyed by the girls on cable TV. But our recent subscription to Netflix has opened up a whole new world.

First up, Brady Bunch. Before I played the first episode I explained to them, "Girls, when I was your age, every day after school I would race off the bus, get a yogurt out of the fridge, and sit down in front of the TV just in time for this show to start. See what you think." Safe to say, if Brady Bunch were still on TV they'd be racing home to watch it, too. I let them watch the first three episodes for Friday Movie Night, and by Sunday night they'd watched the whole first season. Two things dominated our discussion afterward: The girls wish we had a Tiger, and I wish we had an Alice!

Next up, Leave It to Beaver. I wasn't sure if they'd go for black and white, but it turns out black and white TV is to kids what subtitles are to adults; a few minutes into it they didn't even notice. They were too busy laughing at Wally pretending to take a bath to stay out of trouble, and The Beaver carrying a toad in his pocket. Personally, I'm amused by June and Ward's perfection and, at times, educated by their parenting. It's funny to see what the girls are picking up. Today I found a gift tag Ella made for Audrey's birthday present to Kim. It reads, "This book was made by Audrey Moore on account of her Dad's birthday." Ha!

We just got Brady Bunch Season 2 in the mail. Next in the queue: The Cosby Show.

Who needs cable?