I am a former entertainment junkie turned Mom and Realtor, turning writer/blogger, who has just been assigned the entertainment beat of a super cool parenting blog.  Other than Ellen and American Idol, I have not watched anything regularly.  Can you imagine my excitement?  After more than a year of not watching TV because work/family responsibilities didn’t allow it, suddenly my responsibilities demand it! Yeah!  Living the dream!

I have gone DVR wild and have thoroughly enjoyed my “research.”  There is some new stuff and some stuff that hasn’t changed in my absence.  The highlight of my week happened to be something old AND new. But let’s start with the lowlights and nolights.

I haven’t seen Grey’s Anatomy in two years.  Is it still good? It didn’t even make my DVR schedule but if you all are still watching it I will too. I was most excited for Sunday nights… Extreme Home Makeover, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters.  All were good.  I was delighted to see Susan’s new boyfriend being played by that handsome boy toy from Showtime’s Queer As Folk.  Don’t tell me you never watched it… housewives made up the biggest part of that show’s audience… chances are you were one of them. You too.   I also liked the Gabby storyline and seeing her a little humbled, but the most exciting part is Edie’s creepy husband.  I didn’t watch last night’s episode yet because I was doing my usual Sunday night shopping trip.  Note to self: New blog gig requires watching TV all night Sundays so pick a different day for groceries. I made it home in time for Brothers and Sisters which is currently tied with Lipstick Jungle as my fave. More on those for future posts!

Hmmm.  I am wondering what any of this has to be with being an imperfect parent or any parent at all.  Maybe because I am cracking the whip and getting their spoiled butts to bed earlier so that Mama can have her tube and mojito time. Oh yeah, I have put it together in my mind that I am being paid for watching TV WHILE sipping mojitos.  The whole experience has doubled in terms of rewards and satisfaction.

Back to parenting, though, my 8 year old daughter, anxious to help me with my research and television reunion, introduced me to a new favorite show of hers.  Trading Places Boys vs. Girls.  The kids have little competitions for clues and labor assistance while renovating each others  bedrooms.  It’s a blast to watch and there are great design ideas for home projects, done on a smaller scale, though, most likely.

The most fun I had on TV last week, though, had to be the VH1 New Kids on the Block special.

Now please don’t throw tomatoes at me!  Hear me out!  I was a huge New Kids fan back in the day.  Early on during our “courting” period, my (now) husband took me to a New Kids on the Block concert in Detroit, about an hour away from home.  We had a great time, it was before the hysteria had fully hit and the concert was small and intimate.  The evening took a funny turn, though, when Hubs car wouldn’t start and we were stranded in Detroit for the night until we reached my parents to come get us.  It was a great bonding experience and New Kids became a part of it.  So to begin with, the show scored emotional points before it even started.

Second, my daughter really likes them.  It is one of those “hmmm” moments when you think how could these guys be so popular when I was a teenager, and now be thrilling MY kids 20 years later?  File it under “Who’da thought” but I was just so curious how they pulled it off and enjoyed seeing how they’ve changed.

Finally, once the show did start, I have to admit, I loved it.  I found out that Jon had anxiety disorder and that Joe quit the band early on because the big boys picked on him too much.  I also found out that whole thing where Donny caught his hotel room on fire was blown way out of proportion.  Whew!  Cus that really bothered me at the time.  Donny was my favorite and I just KNEW he wasn’t a pyro.  Speaking of Donny, he’s the one who got them all back together.  He said he just didn’t want New Kids on the Block to go down in history as a joke.  In that case I might have considered modifying the name, but they pointed out that they were proud of being New Kids on the Block and besides, you didn’t see the Beach Boys changing their names to Beach Men.  And thank goodness my favorite Detroit rocker, Kid Rock, has not felt compelled to evolve into Man Rock.

So there’s the review of my first week backwith my old friend TV.  I hesitated introducing myself with a thumbs up New Kids on the Block post but decided to brave.  Let the tomatoes fly!  And let me know what you’re watching.

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