I haven’t posted for a couple of days because we’ve been dealing with a sick toddler around these parts.  And as anyone familiar with toddlers or babies knows, there is nothing worse than a sick one.  Or maybe it is just me, but either way having a sick child squashes my will to live.  Fortunately, we seem to have caught her latest ear infection in time, before it became full-blown so pretty sure Miss T is well on the mend.  I know you are glad that I can go back to my regularly scheduled ridiculousness.  Commence to start!

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Every so often I have to point to things as proof positive that my children are, in fact, two completely different people with completely opposite personalities.  (Much like their father and myself.)  I always wonder how much of that comes from gender differences and how much of it is birth order, but it seems like each day comes with a new example.  Yesterday afternoon, when I was home with a sick(ish – the antibiotics had kicked in by then) Miss T, had a few:

Example #1:  I was cleaning some superfluous junk out of AE’s room and Miss T discovered this long-forgotten toy in the corner.  It’s one of those things where you sit down, buckle in, then “drive” using a steering wheel with a little animated screen.  It has all kinds of buttons that make various sounds, horns honking, cats meowing, that sort of thing.  It is very loud.  AE hated it, and would only play if it was turned off.  Once you started the ignition, he was done and would refuse to get near it.  Guess who LOVES it, and spent at least an hour honking the horn and pressing the other buttons repeatedly?

Example #2:  AE took FOREVER to potty-train.  Seriously, forever.  It was right after his fourth birthday that he was kind of, sort of somewhat trustworthy to go without a pull-up, as long as you sat him on the toilet fifteen thousand times a day.  (But I didn’t feel comfortable taking him out in public without a pull-up for some months after that.)  He just didn’t care, it didn’t bother him to walk around with poop in his pants, he couldn’t be bothered to stop what he was doing to go pee in the toilet.  It was a nightmare.  And then there is Miss T, who has already taken to notifying us when she poops.  It is hilarious – she comes over, points at her hiney and goes “Uh-uh, uh-uh” (uh-oh).  Ask her if she needs a diaper change and she takes off for the changing table at a dead run.  Now THAT is a difference I can get on board with.

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So as of this month I have been with my current employer for five years.  I know, right?  Go me!  With this accomplishment comes a small gift from the company.  The only problem is that I have been given a dollar amount, a catalog, and instructions to choose the gift myself.  Not only that, but I have to decide what I want engraved on said gift (the choices are all a variety of key chains, business card holders and the like).  For someone with crippling indecisiveness such as myself, this is a tall order.   It feels a little egotistical, patting myself on the back:  “Way to go, NonSoccerMom, you have managed to not get fired for five whole years!  Woo hoo!” 

I just don’t know what to do, and now all of my coworkers are laughing at me as I vacillate between the silver business card holder and the gold star key chain or OH WAIT what about that funny giant paper clip or OH, I could use a pocketknife, right?  Then once THAT agonizing decision is reached, I still have to decide what (if anything) I want engraved on my item of choice.  I like seeing my name on things (it comes from never being able to find personalized items as a child) but is it really necessary to have my name on a business card holder?  It seems a bit redundant.

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Vaguely threatening e-mail from our receptionist:

If you are missing a key, it is at the reception desk. Please come by and pick it up if it is yours. If you think it might be yours come take a look at it, because I have had it for a couple of weeks now, and if it is not claimed by the end of next week, I’m trashing it.

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I watched the last half of Point Break when I got home to take my turn with Miss T yesterday.  I do actually enjoy this one - and own it - but must not have watched it in quite a while.  And apparently forgot that it is not exactly a sterling example of theatrical greatness.  Keanu Reeves is his usual self, delivering lines in that awkward, stilted, often cringe-worthy way that he has.  But Gary Busey is good, and Patrick Swayze actually isn’t half bad either.  Overall, if you like action films with half-baked plots and lots of gunfights then this is worth your while.  If you share my husband’s taste in movies (i.e., if you prefer your movies to not make you dumber) then you might want to skip it.

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And now, I will leave you with this, because I think it may very well be one of the cutest things ever:

Miss T says howdy from Texas!!