The Misfits

I don't watch Big Brother (stop the boos and hisses now) but I was channel surfing on Sunday night while laying on the couch with a sick kid and I got sucked in. In my 10 minutes with Big Brother I was fascinated with their high school cliques - popular, brains, off-beat, and jocks. My high school was hardly big enough to maintain four cliques so I can't really relate, but I have to say that my heart went out to the brains and the off-beat crowd on Big Brother.

The next morning I was cleaning the basement and sorting toys for an upcoming yard sale. We try not to go over board with toys - but the reality is that we have a lot of stuff. We have a lot of the pretty, shiny, popular toys - the magnetics, tinkertoys, battery operated cars, the barbies, the horses, the trains, etc. And then we have a few misfits.

I hate to admit it but every kid that walks in this house goes for the misfits.
I have 9 years of proof. The robot dog with two legs, the jumpy zebra and the talkin' camera - no matter where I hide them the kids find them and play with them. They don't go for the shiney, pretty, snazzy gizmo toys - they go for the misfits. The toys that I was tempted to put in the garbage the day they entered out house.

Meet our cast of characters:

Zippy the Zebra
Gifted to us from Aunt Mieka 8 years ago around the time of Eden's first birthday.
Cost: 5 cents at a garage sale
Features: a little knob on his side, twist it and he jumps across the table
Still ticking after all these years


The Robot Dog
Gifted to us from Gram for Christmas 7 years ago
Press a button on his backside and his eyes light up and he barks
Missing two legs
Dropped in the bathtub a couple years ago - left for dead - came back to life a few days later!


The Talkin' Camera
Garage sale 7 years ago
Cost: 5 cents
Eden was two years old and bought it with her own money (I gave her a quarter to spend)
Flick the winder, press the button and the flash lights up and it repeats one of two phrases, "Smile" or "Say cheese"


Truly a bunch of misfits.
Truly loved.
Worth every penny (literally) we paid for them.
I can tell you three things that will NOT be for sale at my yard sale.
And, if I were a Big Brother fan I can tell who I'd cheer for.