Toads-in-the-Hole

A couple of days ago, we went to the public library as a family. As Henry and I were loading our due selections into the book drop, I heard Adelaide chirp to Joel, "Daddy, I would like to check out 'Little Neddy Goes to War."

Joel and I have a love affair with the 1986 film The Three Amigos that is almost vintage, but Adelaide and Henry's passion for the heroic tale of three down-and-out movie-stars-turned-caballeros-in-Old-Mexico is vivid and new and utterly charming. We put The Three Amigos in on New Year's Eve as our early evening entertainment; we usually watch a classic, old film on New Year's Eve, and previous favorites have included Vertigo, Rebecca, Suspicion, Charade, Casablanca and The Thin Man. But now that the tots are old enough to stay awake to celebrate at, or close to Midnight, we've got to watch something a little more kid-friendly.

Okay, okay, The Three Amigos is not exactly kid-friendly what with all the gun-slinging, barroom violence, a plethora of randy jokes, and El Guapo, but neither is Star Wars! We've been to a Star Wars-themed school-aged kid birthday party this year where the dad lurched out of the house dressed as Darth Vader for all the little party-going Jedis to defeat! So, why not cultivate a love for the cult genius on display in The Three Amigos? Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short are comic masters, and frankly unless we're talking that Frank Oz puppet, I'd take the acting in The Three Amigos over Star Wars any day.

Okay, so Adelaide did try to call me a "Scum-sucking pig" over coffee a few mornings ago, but it was totally hysterical. We both thought so ... ... Maybe you had to be there?

Tonight, Adelaide came home with a treasure that she'd made at 7:30 a.m. at her carpool house. She made a crown. A crown of pipe cleaners adorned with likenesses of Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms, and Ned Nederlander. In a word: Inspired.

At 7:30 p.m., Adelaide could not put down her crayons for bed. She was too busy storyboarding her version of "Little Nede Gos to Wor," God willing, coming soon to a theatre near you.

Henry, who's a bit more musical, requested that Randy Newman favorite, "Blue Shadows on the Trail," for his bedtime go-to-sleep serenade. He likes the part where the horses go "Bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-bum-bum."

No joke. We all love The Three Amigos. Look for a themed birthday party in the months ahead.