"Back in my days..." and odd childhood rituals

Hallo.

Been awhile.
Been doin' a lot of thinkin' (a favorite past time).
These days, I've been recalling my childhood a lot these days. A lot of nostalgia mixed with "Wow, that was a weird phase."

So lets talk about these times.

I am a 90's gal. Technically 80's cuz I was birthed in '89. But I really don't remember too much of the 80's. Sad. So the 90's!

Does anyone else remember those toys from Carl's Jr? The one's where they gave you a small monster that functioned like a plant pot and then you grow grass in it and cut it like hair once it was long enough? That was pretty bomb for a happy meal toy! They probably wouldn't sell that these days probably cuz kids are allergic to dirt now...

I remember the creepy crawlers for the guys (I grew up with brothers) that was the equivalent of the male easy bake oven. Sadly, I never got to make anything since "sharing" was never a part of my big bro's lingo. I cried my river already so I'm good.

Speaking of brothers and toys... Anyone remember Treasure Rocks? Those were soooo cool! At least they seemed cool... I got it for X'mas when I was four or something. Since I couldn't do anything on my own, I always needed the parent's help. I begged them to let me open and play with it, but they said no another time.

Well, lacking the patience to wait, I decided to be a clever one. Once everyone was asleep, I snuck out of my room with my Treasure Rocks and went into the bathroom to do the deed. Man, was I excited! I remember always watching the commercials on TV; I craved so badly to shake that bottle and to discover the same measley rocks are beautiful gems!

I opened the box up, filled the purple bottle up with water, and loaded in the rocks. Just when I was about to shake the bottle, m older brother bursts into the bathroom. I freaked. Let me tell you something: my brother was always out to bust me. I immediately began to stand up for myself, but he just grabbed the bottle from my hand, shook it, the "jewels" came out, and he left. I had no idea what just happened. He didn't even use the bathroom. To this day, I wonder how my brother knew I was playing with treasure rocks at 2am? Fond memories.

I could go on about toys forever. Another time though.

Some other things I recall are strange, almost OCD-like habits I used to have as a wee lass. Maybe they're not so weird. Maybe YOU had them too! But who cares?

Let's see....

1. When I went to the mall with my mom, I would not only hide inside the circular racks, I would seek out silky clothes to touch. I ran around rubbing the material between my fingers in search for the cool, smooth feeling. I loved it. I lived for it when I was at the mall.

2. When driving, we'd pass by a lot of electric poles. As a game, I would clamp my teeth every time we pass one (and there was a lot). It was kinda like avoiding the crack on the side walk. I HAD to do it. If I didn't, I would mentally go insane.

3. If I did one thing with one side of my body, I would have to do it on the other side to acheive balance. Maybe I was OCD.

How much has changed... This is brief. I definitely recall a lot more of the awesome 90's childhood! Another time.

Ciao.