A Case of Mistaken Identity

The story I am about to tell actually happened about 2 weeks ago -- but was so hilarious, I had to blog about it.

Meg is very observant of things around our house. Gone are the days when I could 'hide' stuff just by putting it on a table or counter . . . she's too tall now, and she's also far to nosey. She's got to know exactly what is going on around here at all times . . . . and she has a question about everything. "Why is your purse on the kitchen table?" "Why are you putting away that XYZ?" "What is this on the counter here?" It's a world of WHYS around here with a 3 1/2 year old in our midst.

A couple of weeks ago, Meg found a copy of "Entertainment Weekly" on the desk in our kitchen during one of her snooping sessions (see cover below). Her inquisitive nature encouraged her to pick it up and give it a good once over.

And when she did, she busted out with, "Mommy, that is MADIGAN'S Mommy and Daddy on this magazine!"

Madigan is our cousin who lives in Missouri. And her Mommy and Daddy are Jim's cousin and her husband . . . and this is what they look like.

Seriously, take a good look. Compare the photos. Audra and Brad, the cousins, really DO look an awful lot like Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres -- especially standing together as they are on the magazine cover.

When Meg declared her case of mistaken identity, I took a moment to try and figure out what exactly she was talking about. But it didn't take long . . . I mean, c'mon. It was an easy mistake for Meg to make. When I realized what she was saying, it made me laugh out loud. How observant she is! How funny that Jim's cousins resemble our friends on American Idol! I showed it to Jim -- who didn't get it, naturally -- and then I explained to Meg that the magazine was not actually featuring a story on Audra and Brad.

What's funny is that Meg seems to do this all the time -- mistake others we see in public or on TV/Magazines/Movies for people we actually know. When we were at Disney World, Meg got all excited because she thought some stranger eating next to us was actually the mother of her friend . . . and when I didn't respond by saying 'hello' to the woman, she was thoroughly confused. We've been in Publix or Target many a time when Meg shouts out that she's seen someone she knows . . . but 99% of the time she is incorrect.

Maybe she needs glasses? Or maybe it's just the wonderfully small world of a toddler who seems to think that we are always surrounded by the people we know wherever we go. Either way, it catches me off guard most of the time. And it always makes me laugh.

Another case of mistaken identity . . . maybe I should send the magazine to Audra and tell her that we have the perfect idea for her 2010 Halloween costumes.