REVIEW - Best of Elmo 2 DVD

Knowing that my son is obsessed with Elmo, my son's Grandma bought this DVD for his birthday a few weeks ago. I think I have watched this DVD at least 212 times since he received this gift. Thankfully, it is pretty enjoyable and I've been tolerating it fairly well. Here is a review for you parents that are on the fence about this particular title.

This is a story about Elmo meeting a robot who has lost his memory. Ever the friend, Elmo supplies the robot with his own memories. Though they return to the robot story after nearly every segment, this DVD is basically a compilation of various celebrities who have met Elmo. Though I'm fond of reading celebrity gossip rags, I must admit that I didn't know who some of these celebrities are and I had to look them up for this review.

In less than 60 minutes, you'll hear Jason Mraz sing about going outdoors, Elmo singing about riding his trike at the park, Feist singing about her favorite number - 4, Diane Sawyer improvising songs, Elmo singing about counting ducks, Ray Charles singing about believing in yourself, The Goo Goo Dolls singing about pride, Destiny's Child singing about a new way to walk, David Beckham explaining the importance of persistence, Adam Sandler making up a song by rhyming words with Elmo, India Arie singing the most soulful alphabet I've ever heard, Jack Black explaining about disguises, and Elmo singing & dancing with his new robot friend.

Here's a breakdown of my take on each segment:
Jason Mraz - This song gets stuck in my head so I'm glad that I like it.
Elmo riding his bike - Very sweet. I almost get a little misty when Elmo thanks his father for bringing him to the park.
Feist - This song gets stuck in my head too and I'm nearly certain that my son can count to four because I sing it so often.
Diane Sawyer - Let's just say it's a good thing that she doesn't need to earn a living as a singer.
Elmo counting ducks - It doesn't do much for me, but my son quacks while pointing at the television when this segment is on.
Ray Charles - Great singer, great song, great message.
The Goo Goo Dolls - This one also gets stuck in my head. Seeing Elmo jam in a leather jacket is pretty cute.
Destiny's Child - Yet another song that gets stuck in my head. I crack up at Beyonce urging Elmo by saying, "Go Elmo, go Elmo. . ."
David Beckham - So many people quit at the first sign of difficulty, so I find this to be a very good message.
Adam Sandler - I'm not really a fan and he's "on" as Adam Sandler so I don't care for this segment. Sandler fans may think it's awesome though.
India Arie - This is the best alphabet song I've ever heard! All I have to do is say "ABC ABC" like Elmo does in this song and my son starts yelling for his beloved "LaLa."
Jack Black - Silly segment and it doesn't do much for me.
Elmo singing with his robot - Doesn't do much for me, but the kid thinks it's hilarious when I do the robot dance.

There's not a whole heck of a lot of learning to be had here, but it's a fun DVD and I highly recommend it if your little one is an Elmo fan. Clicky the Amazon linky at the top of this post to pick up a copy at a good price.

La la la la, la la la la, Elmo Sucks

My son has grown obsessed with Elmo. For those of you lucky enough to not be in the know, Elmo is a Muppet of some sort that's on Sesame Street. He's red and he speaks in falsetto. He has a goldfish named Dorothy and he continually bothers a barely-functioning retard named Mr. Noodle. Or it's his brother, Mr. Noodle. And I hate that I know that.

My son adores this little red monster. He will run to the televison whenever he hears Elmo's wimpy voice or his theme song. He excitedly points to the TV and tells me it's, "La-La."

I have unwittingly fed his obsession with all things Elmo because I made the mistake of giving him two pair of Elmo jammies at Christmas. They are long-sleeved jammies. It has been hot the last few days. I want him to wear short-sleeved jammies. Do you see where I'm going with this?

I've tried to get him to warm up to his short-sleeved Mickey Mouse jammies to no avail. He apparently knows how to fully undress because he does a darn good job of it when I try to dress him in these stupid Mickey jammies. Last night he began thrashing about as I was dressing him for bed. He kept calling out, "La-LA! LA-LA!" I don't know if he thought the little red bastard would somehow save him from the indignities of wearing Mickey jammies or if he was simply demanding that I dress him in Elmo jammies.

He also has an Elmo T-shirt. An Elmo T-shirt that he has been demanding to wear every friggin' day. Thankfully, I do laundry every night and I can indulge him in this simple demand. The jammies were another thing altogether.

I checked at three different stores before I found one that had short-sleeve Elmo jammies. And I bought every damn style they had on the sales floor. For good measure, I also bought him some Elmo outfits for Summertime.

I dropped over $100 on Elmo clothes today. Jammies, T-shirts, and shorts. Over one hundred freaking dollars. I told my husband that part of this better count as the little one's birthday gifts.

I can't remember the last time I spent money on myself. Well, I did buy a mascara today because I was out. But to buy clothes just because? Geez, I can't even remember when I last did that. I'd guess I was still working, so at least two years or more. But I was (sort of) happy to spend this money because it makes my son so happy to wear clothes with his favorite little character.

He saw his new Elmo jammies tonight and his eyes lit up. He actually hugged and kissed the shirt before I put it on him. A hearty thanks to Kohl's for saving me from a bedtime struggle tonight.