Most Kids are Weird...

 Most kids are weird... mine might just be some of the weirdest. 

When the LM was little(er) he was OBSESSED with collecting things. Not coins, or toys, or actual collectables, but rather, collecting things you can find on the street. It started with these tiny balls that fell out of a bunch of maracas, and got buried on the playground at his school, and ended with a bottle cap/ nip cap collection that currently exceeds 5,000 (at some point you just have to stop counting.) Wherever we would go, the kid would always be looking for, and digging up bottle caps. He would then hand them over, and I would put them in my purse or pocket until we got home. Since this is the city, and most everything is covered in a layer of dirt, I was very happy when he grew out of this phase. He still loves getting them (of course, we had to get everyone he knows to send them to him as well) but now that he's in kindergarten, and assimilating, his weirdness has diminished slightly. 

Well, lucky for us, Gray is willing to step up to the plate with his own weird obsession, which is not only weird but also a little bit creepy. Yay!

A little background first. There are three things in this world that Gray loves more than anything else. The first is his ducky, stuffed cat, and one animal de jour, that NEED to go everywhere with us. Everywhere. The big three cannot be left anywhere that Gray is not. It is very serious business, and I constantly have nightmares that we will lose one of the two originals. I'm pretty sure he would just explode, rather than dealing with the thought of living without them. 

The second thing that makes his world go round are superheroes. Specifically, Batman, Superman, and the Green Lantern. The favorite has to be the Green Lantern. Not only does he talk about them incessantly, but he also HAS to be wearing superhero socks, and undies (over his diaper.)  This is very serious business in his mind, and "_____ is dirty" is not an acceptable answer. 

The final item he loves is tape, and yes, this is where the weirdness comes in. The kid loves tape, and not just taping things, but actually taping his animals. Not just his animals, but his animal's eyes, mouth, and arms. Uh huh. Weird. I'm not going to lie, I can deal with most things, but this one was hard to explain to people, i.e. the teachers at his school? "Oh, don't mind that giant dog, he's just bound and gaged, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Listen, I've seen Dexter, I know how it goes but given that Gracie is the sweetest, kindest, little guy on the planet, he can get away with this, but I have to say, the clear packaging tape was a little "weird."

During a trip to target, I saw something that I knew would blow his little mind, and gave it to Valentine's day. 

Yes, that is superhero duct tape, and yes, he nearly lost it when he saw it. 

Can you guess what he did next?

... and this is what I carry around town with me, each and every day. I have to say, the superhero tape is less creepy than the original, but obviously, this is still a little odd. 

Since I've had kids for almost 7 years now (whhhhaaattt?) I've been around the block enough times to know this is just another phase, but man, explaining this one to strangers is really taking up a lot of my day. Little weirdo ;)

Do your kids have any odd behavior? I know we can't be the only ones out there. I'm actually dying to know where the tape thing came from. I know who won't be telling us... those poor stuffed animals!