His name is Stort

To some of you, this is a picture of Stuart Minion.  To us he is known as "Stort".

It is an amusing tale how Stort came to live with us.

It was a lovely, sunny Friday afternoon.  I spent extra time at work getting my classroom back in shape and preparing for Monday.  Turtle was in a good mood and I needed to replace my copy of The Nutcracker Suite that was lost in the flood, so I decided we would go visit "Susie's Bookstore" to buy a copy.  Turtle didn't want to leave school, but I lured her with promises of a drink and a treat.

The bookstore was fairly hopping & we spotted ms. caboo as soon as we walked through the door.  Nothing doing, Turtle reminded me immediately that she was promised a drink and a treat so off to the cafe we went.  Her choice?  Chocolate milk and a blondie bar (picture a white brownie topped with M&M's), also known as "The Treat That Will Guarantee Extreme Behavior in Children".  Yes, I knew this as I purchased the food but what can I say?  I'm a glutton for punishment.

After many side-adventures we made it to the music department.  Our buddy R met us there and tried to get Turtle to speak to her.  Turtle was in a "shy" mode -you know, when kids bury their heads in your legs when an adult they don't know speaks to them. 

Turtle actually loves R dearly and they have fun together, so why she was being shy I don't know.  So I started teasing Turtle that I would drink her chocolate milk since she wouldn't look at us.  This didn't provide any response, so I made the fatal error of saying "Should R drink your chocolate milk?".  Instead of shaking her head or even saying no, Turtle just burst into hysterical tears.  Loud hysterical tears.  Loud, hysterical, inconsolable tears. 

I felt bad because really, I had no intention of making my child cry.  At this point of the day she was tired and full of treats.  But never fear, R handed Turtle a Stuart Minion doll and the tears stopped.  My punishment for making my child cry?  Buying a seriously weird stuffed creature.

Yes, I know I didn't have to buy the doll.  Had I said no I would have prompted another round of hysterical crying.  Plus I knew I was to blame for the outburst anyway.

So now we have Stort whom Turtle carries around the house.  "I love Stort. R gave him to me!" She announces proudly throughout the day.