A Surprisingly Sane Blog

I just got back from an Open House where my dad works.  He’s one of those ridiculously smart, hard-working, electronic engineer types.  And he’s been working for the same company nearly my entire life.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the place my dad works because A) it’s kind of one of those Top Secret sort of companies that you have to wear a badge to get into, and B) really, what the invitation translated to was, I’d like to show off my granddaughters, if you don’t mind, and I couldn’t deny him that proud young grandfather (or, Pee-paw, as Julie calls him) moment.

Ah, the world of geeks.  It’s like going home when I step into a place like that.  I must have been an engineer of sorts in a past life, as nerdy as that sounds.

Or maybe it’s just the fact that I grew up under the same roof as an engineer, then later managed to marry one.

Its like, even the smell of the office is familiar.  The hallways and cubicles full of the smart and the geeky.  The completely endearing, good-humored people who get into heated discussions about semi-conductors.  They were most likely never members of the high school football team and probably run like girls and snort when they laugh… but they’re just my kind of folk.  Most of ‘em don’t care if their socks are mismatched or that their purple and green argyle sweater should have been burned to ashes ages ago.  And that’s exactly why I like them.

Today when I stepped into that environment and heard the words, “Oh, so you’re [insert name here]… yeah, my dad talks smack about you all the time,” flying out of my mouth at the brilliant man standing in front of me, who laughed (thank God) while he is shaking my hand, I realized that holy shit…

…I sound just like my dad with his totally warped sense of humor.  Especially when I hear, “She’s definitely your daughter,” with a smile of approval pointed in my father’s direction.  Nevermind that the very person I’m cracking that joke at is one of the most intelligent people my dad has ever met.

I may not hold a science or engineering degree, but I suppose the geek charm is just embedded into my genetic makeup.

Birds of a feather definitely flock together, and I am most certainly the apple that didn’t fall too far from the tree.

Current Mood: Cool

Both my kids woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  However, you can tell who was in a truly bad mood when I pulled out the camera to document just how cranky they really were.

My intention is to take as many pictures of their mood swings and bratty moments as possible so that I can scare any guy away who comes a-knockin’ when they reach high school.

That sly little booger.  She saw the camera and did a complete one-eighty.

Right before I snapped this shot, Julie growled at me,  “No!  Do NOT take my picture.”

If looks could kill, I’d have shattered into a thousand pieces before I ever had the chance to upload this picture and post it for the whole world to see.

Considering their mood swings already drive me halfway crazy, I’m thinking of just committing myself to a nuthouse while I’m still slightly sane.  How on earth am I going to survive the hormonal teenage years?

Current Mood: Mischievous

My kid is a garbage picker.

Ever since April learned how to scoot (because crawling is just so last week), she has become a master at finding trash cans and sneaking crap out of them before we realize what she’s doing.

And it doesn’t matter where she is- if  garbage is present, she will find it.

*Hang on a second, I have to fight her little hand out of the trash can at my feet.*

Okay, where was I?

Oh yeah, her obsession with trash. That along with the rest of her amazing skill of finding absolutely everything she should never get her little fingers into and her mouth around.  Like the power cable to my computer.  And outlets, of course.  Let’s not forget the stacks of books, dust bunnies, the dirty clothes pile, and just about anything you can think of that you would never want your child shoving into her mouth.

It’s like having to train a puppy all over again.

At least these ones eventually learn to wipe their own butt, right?

Current Mood: Alarmed