Strange things to do for strange reasons (a.k.a. confessions from a guilty person, and a little snitching, too)

1. I sometimes throw my candy wrapper away in someone else's garbage can.
(what I think/say)....because I'm just passing by and need somewhere to throw the garbage.
(confessing) .... so the cleaning team won't know I eat the darn stuff (or maybe how much)?

2. I scour the town to buy gas for 2 cents cheaper.
.... because I'm a smart consumer.
.... because I'm cheap. The irony of spending $1 to save $1 isn't lost on me, however that knowledge doesn't seem to stop the behaviour. Nor does it matter that I'll spend $1 anytime for nearly any kind of junk, but it's important to save that 2 cents x 17 gallons!
.... I won't, however, only fill my tank 1/3 full in order to make it to a town with cheaper gas. (DH will)

3. I count how many times my DH and I have dropped off or picked up little K during the week.
.... because I like that we share these duties.
.... I want to make sure I'm always at least one ahead. Keeps the balance tipped in my favor! for what? dunno.

4. I cut teeny little slivers of brownies from the pan instead of cutting out a square or rectangle piece.
.... because it tastes better that way!
.... so no one will know there isn't exactly as much as there was before. I don't think I'm really fooling anyone. The brownies have a strange way of shrinking that I don't think goes unnoticed.

5. I learned to like iced tea.
.... I wanted to drink less soda.
.... because it was the only drink with "refills" for quite a while. (see confession for #2) Now it's more a habit. I always order iced tea with my dinner. But at home, I drink milk.

6. DH has to buy the biggest drink and biggest popcorn when we go to movies.
.... it's the most economical (if you can use that word about theatre goodies) buy there.
.... because he can refill them for free! And he absolutely HAS to refill them, regardless of whether or not we really want more.

What are the little quirky things you do and rationalize to yourself?

politeness run amok

As my l'il sis and family are going to spend Christmas with his family up in the Northwest (where they'll be able to at least get together with my big sis & family too), we had our Christmas celebration last weekend at her house. Our 3 year olds are so incredibly different, but they do get along fine, thankfully! Mine goes around discovering toys she doesn't have and pretty well creating a toyful mess everywhere, but quietly and sometimes on her own. She also travels the house to find other treasures. L'il Sis' 3 year old wants to share his every thought with you (and he has a LOT of thoughts!). To help him in this matter, they have worked with him on "Excuse Me" rather than interrupting.

It's a good thought.

In reality, it's created this hilarious repetitive sequence where you will undoubtedly be chatting with someone and an insistent little "e'scuse me, E'scuse me, E'SCUSE ME!" comes along. So everyone stops and either listens to his wisdom (and this 3 year old does have some) or watches as he jumps or breakdances for our enjoyment. When he's done, we all congratulate him and go back to chatting. ...when a little insistent "e'scuse me, E'Scuse Me, E'SCUSE ME!" happens again. You get the picture. Actually, it's really not nearly as irritating as it might sound, though, because he truly is a funny kid. But it's clear there are some drawbacks to teaching politeness.

We tried getting him to add an "Auntie R" or "B" to his e'scuse mes, so we would know he was trying to get our attention, but it wasn't terribly important to him who responded, so that effort fell flat on its face.

Another drawback. When you call him now, he answers, "yah, what?" Which seems strange except... think of how you would respond to "e'scuse me, E'Scuse Me, E'SCUSE ME!". You'd respond, "Yes (or yeah), what?" He hears it all the time. Completely reasonable. Makes him sound a little like he's from Minnesota though - the "yah, what" has that drawn out "yaaaah" you hear up there. He also answers "yah, yah, yah" or "no, no, no" to Y/N questions. Put your best Minne-sewww-tan accent on for those and you've got it.

I wonder if it's a "first child" thing - my oldest used to do that kind of thing all the time. The others, not so much, although miss drama queen herself would just break out in song whenever she felt there was an audience available... kind of similar. But current 3 yr old would never dream of attracting everyone's attention to herself. Mostly personality, I think, but interesting just the same.

I love this age.

I'm surrounded by

GERMS!

Now normally, I'm not terribly germaphobic. I don't get terribly excited about germs. I think people who take great pains to avoid the little buggers generally get a whole lot sicker when they get caught by those microbial pests than those of us who just take normal precautions. There's something to be said for building immunity, I think. I don't even get all frantic when wee ones pick stuff up from the floor and immediately put it in their mouth. In fact, I sometimes have to remember that most people are not as laid back as I am about this stuff, and try to remind myself to act more concerned. I cheerfully watched my darling little nephew try to wrap his little mouth around a golfball without batting an eye until I saw the horrified look on my sister's face. "Oh yeah", I said, "He probably shouldn't do that." as I distract him with another ball and extract the nice sort of clean one from his grasp.

That said, my office is infested with coughs, raspy voices, sneezes and all around miserableness. As I do not have my Christmas shopping done yet, I do not appreciate this proximity with microbes. Like I'm not going to be surrounded by them every time I step into Wal-Mart. (just kidding - don't go walmart on me ok? BTW - Have you noticed that walmart can be used as a verb, sort of in place of the word "postal", which seems to have fallen out of favor, what with the crazies showing up more at fast food places and high schools instead of post offices these days. I digress, but actually, I'm interested to know if anyone really knows the definition of "going walmart". I can tell it's negative, but beyond that, I'm a little fuzzy.)

Back to the point. I think the nasty little buggers have figured it out so that I will stay nice and healthy right up until the holidays. Then, when I have a few days off, I'll get hit with the creeping crud and be flat on my back instead of enjoying the festivities. So - I figure I'd better party now, eat all the goodies and enjoy myself, cuz who knows what's coming. Yep, that's what I'm gonna do!

Tis the season!

btw - thanks to detstar for having a picture I could borrow! (I may not love those viruses, but I love Dr. Mario....)

If wishing could make it so...

1. I could write something and not have a much better way to say it the day after I've posted.

2. I would have the confidence to get my master's degree. I just don't know what I would do with it.

3. My children would all be sufficiently driven to success that I would not have to do the driving.

4. I would be able to work and still take in more foster children.

5. My kids would ALL find their niche and be truly happy in their lives.

6. I would have come up with an idea like Threadbared. (Congrats on the book offer, dudettes!)

7. My extended family would live in close enough proximity to see each other frequently, but not so close that it becomes a chore. There are really only 2 members of our family close by anymore, and while I'm thankful for them, that's just not enough!

8. I could find the way to let go of others' trials and challenges.

9. I would always know the right thing to do with teenagers.

10. I would make lots more wishes!