Quirky Kids.

Kids are oddly weird and quirky little creatures. I figured out LONG ago that my children are not exempt from that, I mean, really, look who they belong to and are being raised by, would there be any sort of question about that?!

Imp, is an INCREDIBLY picky eater, or moreover, is simply close-minded food-wise. My other half and I struggle daily with what to feed him. Peanut Butter is a staple for him, but of course it's not allowed at school. He won't eat cold meat; he won't eat salads; he won't eat soup; he won't eat zoodles, kraft dinner or any pasta for that matter; he won't eat crackers; or cheese; or any other easily packed lunch foods. He exists off of croissants, bread, hotdogs, meatballs, yogurt, fruit 2 go, the odd apple sauce, the odd banana, fish crackers and animal crackers. And pizza. We all live for Thursdays - which is pizza day at school. He eats that too. Like 3 sizable pieces of it. Anyway, suffice it to say, he is picky.

So, imagine our shock when this same 'picky' and 'closeminded' kid rushes to the buffet at the Mandarin last week and loads his plate with crab legs, vegetarian sushi and shrimp. Oh - and chicken balls (but not testicles . . . much to the humour of the server (and my horror!), he confirmed that fact). And he ate it all. Every last bit of it. He surprised us all by making various trips to the buffet and trying all sorts of different things. I was impressed. However; the next morning, he was back to his closeminded food thought process.

Imp also has some bizarre sleeping habits. He can not and will not sleep with a shirt on. He also doesn't like the restriction of pajama pants, so when the chance arises, he *ahem* sleeps in the buff. We're working on that . . . I mean, can you imagine what will happen when he goes to sleep at a friends house and pulls his pants out of his sleeping bag? Or when he darts to the bathroom at 2:00am completely naked? YIKES! For the most part we've converted him to a point where he'll happily sleep in a pair of underwear or a pair of shorts, but NEVER long jammie pants of any sort. However, when he can, he embraces the nights he can toss it all away. Yep! Weird kid. I should point out that when he gets up and walks among others, he DOES put pants on . . . he's reached the point where his private and personal parts are just that - private and personal.

On the drive home from the restaurant the other night, Banshee was falling asleep. She'd be quiet for a few mins, but then would cry out VERY upset that her eyes were crossing when she was going to sleep. I explained that everyone's eyes kind of rolled back into their head when they went to sleep, but that didn't matter. She was in serious turmoil over this whole business. Like all out ugly, frustrated and mad about it. Meaning that she was up over it all numerous times over the course of the night, marching herself to the side of the bed; putting her face VERY close to mine saying "SEE?! My eyes are crossed". And of course I could, because it's 2:30am and I have bionic night vision. OYE. Then of course she wakes in the morning and doesn't remember any of this. Or maybe she does, but I've learned LONG ago that if she's been upse about something and suddenly quits talking about it, then *I* quit talking about it too. It's just easier that way.

This is the same kid who for YEARS would ask us to 'pull her finger' so she could poop. Every single time. About a week ago got out of bed to use the potty while her sister was brushing her teeth. Banshee hollered out something to Teen about getting out of the bathroom while she was using it. Teen reminded her that SHE was the one barging in on her. Next thing you know there is a shouting match, at 11:30pm, in the bathroom. The bottom line? Imp, in her 'half asleep' stupor had pulled down her pants; opened the GARBAGE can and perched herself on it, like a little gargoyle. She was poised to use the garbage can as a toilet. Teen called her on it and of course Banshee freaked (remember, she's called Banshee for a reason). We got her on the toilet and crisis was averted (could you IMAGINE cleaning up THAT mess?! YIKES!).

I'm not even going to try to get into the mind of a teenaged girl, but the one thing that baffles both my other and I the most is the amount of time that Teen spends straigtening her already poker straight hair. She claims that it definitely makes a difference, and that she can't leave home without doing it, but as someone looking at her, I can honestly say that there IS no difference. She even goes as far as telling ME that I need to straighten MY hair. Because I too have poker straight hair. I honestly don't think that you could achieve 'straighter' hair than what I have. Nor can she. Then of course, after this morning ritual is completed, and she heads off to school, there is NO way that she would EVER put a hat on her head. Regardless of how cold it is, she sucks it up. Straight and 'perfect' hair is more important. She'll accept the frostbite over the potential of a stray hair. Following along the same sort of line, this is the same kid that won't ride her bike anymore. Why? Because the helmet looks 'stupid', and moreover, will mess up her hair.

I look after several different children that have their own quirks and such, add my own kids and their quirks, plus my own, and you've got an interesting mix. I admit though, that it's all these quirks that make people who they are. It's these quirks that sometimes define one's personality. They don't always last forever, at least for my kids, these quirks come and go, and it's fun for the most part (although VERY frustrating at times).