Keeping Up with the...Bradys

This is just a Saturday morning post dedicated to a special family I have come to know and love throughout the past 24 years of my life:That's right...The Bradys!

I was eating breakfast alone in the living room since Luke is playing drums at a men's retreat this morning. I flipped on the TV and was browsing through the DirecTV digital guide on my screen when I saw it: 2 straight hours of "The Brady Bunch!"

Am I the only 90s child who grew up watching reruns of this show on TBS? I remember it was on every day at 4:00 and 4:30. My little sister and I would get off the bus, grab a quick snack, and run to the living room to catch the Bradys. We probably watched every episode at least 4 times.You see, my parents were ultra strict. We were allowed to watch Nickelodeon, Family Matters, Home Improvement, Full House, and SOME of the other TGIF shows. I remember Step by Step had too much questionable material, and we weren't allowed to watch that! And Saved by the Bell? Forget about it. Now that I'm older and have watched that one a few times, I still have no idea why we weren't allowed to watch it.Anyway, since we weren't allowed to watch too many shows, we resorted to watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie (although with Jeannie's scandalous outfit, I'm surprised!) , Gilligan's Island, and my two all-time favorites: The Brady Bunch and I Love Lucy.
So now every time I see that The Brady Bunch is on TV Land, I just can't help but watch it. It just makes you feel better about life. It's so sweet it almost makes you sick. If only life were really that pleasant, and all our problems could be solved in 30 minutes - minus a few for commercials!

I like the early episodes the best...the ones where Carol had this rockin' hairdo...and she always had the cutest little dresses on - if only I could get away with dressing like that now:
My favorite of the three girls was always Jan. I thought Marcia was just too perfect. And having a little sister or my own, I knew that Cindy was probably not as sweet as she seemed!
I remember being so jealous of her long, blond STRAIGHT hair. I had dark curly hair, and hated it when I was little. I also felt a close connection to Jan because of her constant insecurities. I had crazy freckles when I was young (still do if I spend too long in the sun!) and I felt for her when she tried to get rid of hers!

And Peter was always my favorite of the brothers. Greg and Bobby seemed whiny and annoying. Plus Peter was the cutest! Too bad Christopher Knight actually turned out to be such a creeper after all these years, married to someone half his age with a really dysfunctional relationship (No...I never watched "My Fair Brady" on VH1, I promise!! Okay, so maybe I caught an episode or two. It was like a train wreck that you couldn't turn away from).
And who in their right mind didn't like Alice?! If only I had my own Alice. An omnipresent maid who could solve any problem...I'd have my own counselor, and my house would always look perfect! Not to mention, she's in love with a butcher. For some reason I love that about her. And I love her little blue dress with the white apron...so chic :-)
I loved spending an hour of my weekdays with these people. From the kids' crazy antics to the love that Mike and Carol showed to each other and their children, I loved every minute of it. I loved going on trips to Hawaii or The Grand Canyon with these people. I loved going to their school plays and activities, I love spending Halloween with them, loved the fact that the kids had their own bathroom, and that the girls' bedroom was pink with pink and blue flowers on the wall. Oh, and I loved Tiger.

Basically, I wished the Bradys would have adopted me. But then they wouldn't have had the perfect balance of 3 girls and 3 boys. It was not meant to be.

Am I the only one who has a childish obsession with this perfect family?! Even though I didn't grow up during the 70s?

And by the way, I'm only being halfway serious here ;-)

And Just for your viewing pleasure...and for nostalgia's sake:

(Watch out, world! I have discovered how to add videos to my blog!!!)