Caillou and Footessa

TV. I am a bit of a junkie. My hope for Buttons is that she will be selective in her viewing. We kept her away from the tube for pretty much her first 2 years. When she had bronchitis and needed a nebulizer we took advantage of a Barney DVD given to us by a friend. Yes. Barney. But you know what? Not so bad. Good lessons, pretty slow pace, certainly not flashy. We started enjoying Sesame Street on occasion and when hubby is not home, the TV is my best buddy when I need a shower. (She sits on our bed which is about 7 steps from the shower.)

Her favorite shows right now are Caillou and The Barefoot Contessa. Yes, that's right. My daughter likes to watch "Footessa" which is a (great) cooking show on the food network. How did my daughter find a love for Ina Garten? Well, it started several weeks ago at 5 pm whenI was jonesin' for some grown-up TV, but wanted Buttons to be able to stay in the room with me. I turned on the Food Network and there she was, a heavenly haven of adult conversation with no adult themes. No explosions, no French-kissing, no fighting. Just food and Ina. My girl loves to cook in her kitchen, so it's no surprise really. But when she asks if we can watch "Footessa" it still makes me laugh a little.

As for Caillou? I really like that show as well. It's animated but it has that Mr. Rogers feel. Slow-paced, good values like sharing and helping others and it's real. Oh, after only seeing Mr. Rogers Neighborhood a couple of times, she dubbed him Neighbor Rogers. I like that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head off to The Food Network's web-site to print a recipe for Footessa's coconut macaroons.