We all have our quirks.  Everyone has those endearing idiosyncrasies that make us a part of who we are.  My kids are no different.

Big C is an inquisitive yet cautious 6-year-old boy, and Little C is a rambunctious, impulsive 3-year-old girl.  As I watch them grow, I love seeing their personalities develop and their quirks become more pronounced.  Some are cute.  Some are funny.  Some are downright mind-boggling.  But they’re all small parts of what make them who they are.

Here are my…

Top 10 List of My Children’s Quirks

10)  Big C can’t sleep without the blue blankie from his infancy that he dubbed “Long Tag.”  We tried to put a second identical blankie into the laundry rotation, but even at 2 years old, he knew better.  He only snuggles with the original, the blanket with the longer tag.  “Short Tag” still sits in his dresser drawer for emergencies.

9)  Little C refuses to wear anything in her hair.  She has long, beautiful blonde hair that hits halfway down her back.  Grown women pay hundreds of dollars to have hair like hers.  Yet she refuses to let me put any barrettes, bows, or clips in it.  (And I refuse to cut it…one of my own quirks!)

8)  Big C uses the word “actually” incessantly.  He was telling me a story the other day, and I think he used actually in every sentence, sometimes twice.  (But to his credit, have you ever noticed how overused that word is?  If you listen to grown-ups talk, you’ll hear it constantly.)

7)  Little C will only allow Mommy to put her to bed, and she has a strict routine.  Brush teeth, bedtime story, potty, 3 kisses, 3 hugs, 3 high fives, 3 knuckle bumps.  If anything is out of order, she freaks out, and she either ends up crying herself to sleep or we have to start the routine all over again.

6)  Big C has not 1, but 2 cowlicks on the back of his head.  By the time he was 4, I was already using styling gel in his hair. 

5)  Little C refuses to sleep under the covers.  She is the reason I’m sweating at night because we have to bump up the thermostat so she won’t freeze.

4)  Big C will only try new foods on “New Food Monday.”  He is the world’s pickiest eater so last year I told him he had to try a new food every day.  But when he learned how to spontaneously vomit at the dinner table, I needed a new plan.  Hence New Food Monday.  He knows every Monday he has to try a new food.  But if it’s not Monday, forget it. That’s why that boy ate PB and J on Thanksgiving. 

3)  Little C adamantly refuses to wear anything that constricts her belly.  This quirk began as a baby when she threw a fit whenever I strapped her into her carseat.  Now, she won’t wear pants with buttons (bye bye adorable jeans and pink butterfly camouflage pants!).  And I can’t dress her in cute dresses and skirts because she won’t wear tights.  I realized just how rebellious she can be when she came home from school one day with holes ripped in her tights.

2)  Big C is obsessed with “Waffle Time.”  A couple of years ago, back when I was a full-time Domestic Engineer and my kids weren’t in school, I allowed them to eat waffles with a tv show.  It started as a bribe because Big C refused to eat breakfast and by mid-morning he was starving and I couldn’t convince him to eat.  Now that I work and he’s in school, “Waffle Time” is now a special treat on the weekends.  And he doesn’t let me forget it!

1)  Little C loves being naked and will find any excuse to take all her clothes off.  A drop of milk spills on her shirt?  She strips.  A dot of yogurt on her leggings?  Off go the clothes.  She has to poop?  That’s right, she’s pooping naked. 

What quirks do your kids have?  What quirks do YOU have?

 



13 Comments on Top 10 List of My Children’s Quirks

  1. Regarding # 10…I'm 26 years old and I STILL sleep with my blanket! My parents have tried to trick me with a new/different one. It won't work. Nothing compares to the original. I still take it with me whenever I go on vacation too. However, I no longer suck my thumb! Good luck helping him break this habit…I've never been able to break mine myself. Granted, I haven't tried too hard 🙂
    Regarding # 10.. I was like that as a little girl too! I used to always wear ruffled butt panties, and I would ALWAYS pull up my dress and flash my butt at people so they could see my ruffles. Then when I'd get home, I'd promptly remove all my clothes! 🙂

  2. I'm laughing out loud at #4! We may implement New Food Monday here. It took a long hot Texas summer for my son to give up "Taggy" his blanket. He would even take it in the car and I just knew he was going to have a heat stroke! And now? Well, my daughter cannot allow her food to touch and will eat all of one item before moving on to the next. My son has eaten PBJ for lunch every single day for two years. No exceptions. My kids are quirky, but I suppose they get it from me because I'm a little OCD on some things too.

  3. Those are so cute in their quirky ways!

    I refuse to shower unless the lid to the toilet seat is down. When I was little someone told me things can crawl back up it and I didn't want a monster attacking me in the shower ala Psycho.

    I like even numbers, if I eat candy or I am organizing something, even numbers win out. It works to my advantage when I get kisses from hubby, because aren't four kisses always better than three? (:

  4. That's cute about the tag on the blanket. My youngest fiddled with the tag on his blanket and it came off. I was so glad I had a Taggie blankie I had gotten him, but that he had rejected as a baby.

    My kids' quirks are too numerous to list here. Let's just suffice to say that they're both autisitc, and OCD. My day is spent jugging 2 OCD routines and sets of sensory needs simultaneously.

  5. We bought an extra blanket for our third child right away, thinking we could keep them at about the same wear rate with washings and whatnot. What happened? He decided that he needed both blankets at the same time. No problem! We'll buy two more and do the same thing. Great. Now he sleeps with all four.

    The worst thing? His younger brother did the same thing. Two kids, eight blankets. Ridiculous! (But funny!)

    You are right about the "actually" thing. I say it so much that I annoy myself. lol

  6. Little Butt was pooping naked for a while but has gotten better. She will walk into the house and immediately plop herself on the floor in front of the door and take off her shoes and socks. It doesn't matter where we are, the shoes and socks have to come off. Lately she changes into jammies as soon as we get home as well.

    I may have to try that new foods Monday thing.

  7. Oh dear! Little C is not going to be pleased with #1 on your list in about 15 years. Haha. I hope you post the link on here facebook page for all of the world to see.

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