Leprechauns and Elves

5 year old: What does a leprechaun look like, mommy?

Me: Um....[searching Google]....like this:

5 Year Old: Oh, they are green. Green is my favorite color. Are they bigger than me, mommy?

Me: No, I think they are small, like elves. Smaller than you.

5 Year Old: Are those the same kind of shoes like elves wear?

Me: I'm not sure - maybe. Probably.

5 Year Old: Are leprechauns real, mommy?

Me: No, leprechauns are just made up in stories from a long time ago and they are fun to talk about.

5 Year Old: We read about the shoemaker elves at school. Are elves real, mommy?

Me: No, elves are just in stories too.

5 Year Old: BUT WHO HELPS SANTA MAKE TOYS, MOMMY???????

Me: [insert panicked look here] Oh, those elves, no, those elves are real, baby. Just the ones from fairy tales are imaginary.

5 Year Old: OK, mommy.

Broccoli Cookies?

I made green sugar cookies with green and regular sugar on top yesterday. The sugar cookies were the whole wheat ones I've posted about before, so they are a tad darker than regular cookies to begin with.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, or as my oldest calls it, Sam's Patrick's Day, I thought I'd make them green.

After I added the coloring, Mister Lawyer saw the dough and commented that it looked like broccoli dough. Sadly, he was right. The coloring and the whole wheat dough combined to look like I was making broccoli cookies.

The kids gave me The Eyebrow and I had to assure them repeatedly that these were Delightfully Festive St. Paddy's Day confections and not Sugared Broccoli Bombs.

Taken outside because the light was better....
But they tasted good. And that's what counts, right?

The Saga of The ExtraBucks

I had 6 ExtraBucks from CVS to use up by today, March 5th. They were from the copious cold meds Mr. Lawyer had purchased a few weeks ago for the afore-complained-about ailments. If you are not acquainted, they are like cash at CVS drugstores, so essentially six free dollars. Anyway, you use them or lose them on the expiration date. Two or three Bucks I might have let slide, but six? No way.

We have a CVS behind the house. And when I say "behind" the house, I mean, the sign illuminates the backyard at night. No, it was not there when we moved in. In fact, we were told there would be houses built. That's an entirely seperate post, though. A longer, angrier post.

So it's closeby. However, between the three children needing feeding, washing, napping, feeding again (so demanding!), and whatnot, I didn't get out of the house before bedtime. My mom was here, but I still didn't make it out for the fifteen minute run, which just tells you what sort of a day it was.

No problem, I thought - I'll just go once Mr. Lawyer comes home. He's usually home by about 9:15-9:30 which leaves at least 30 minutes to run out.

9:32 Mr Lawyer strolls in and I put on my shoes to go.

9:35 the baby starts wailing. She was very sad. Sad and farty.

9:47 I came downstairs ready to bolt...grabbed my bag, but I couldn't find the stupid #$%&ing ExtraBucks!

9:48 I located the coupons on the floor next to the bed and ran around looking for the card with the numbers that match these bucks (we have two cards and of course I had my paws around the wrong one).

9:50 I ran out of the house with bag, Bucks, cards.

9:52 I arrived at CVS, bucks in hand.

9:56 I picked out two packs of this stuff by Crayola. It was on sale 50% off for $3.50. My grand total was $1.08 cash. Pretty nice, huh?

Crayola Color Explosion™ Rainbow Mini lets you create wild multicolored effects with a single color-reveal marker! The unique clear-ink marker works only with black Color Explosion paper, revealing a rainbow of colors for amazing designs. Smaller size is great for travel! Includes a 12-page mini-black tablet with Rainbow Color Reveal and 2 Color Reveal markers

So, I opened up my terribly unstylish diaper bag to pull out my CVS gift card that has about $5 left on it to pay for the $1.08 balance and realized that I had left my wallet at home.

9:58 My stomach dropped. It's 9:58 and I have no wallet!?!

I dug through the bag in a frenzied manner to scrape for loose change.

3 crusty M&Ms?

Handful of plain Cheerios?

Receipts indicating that I used to have money?

Fossilized Laffy Taffy?

Stack of expired diaper coupons?

Costco Card?

The CVS clerk stubbornly refused all of my alternative forms of currency. Damn him.

At last, I remembered I had dropped some change after a purchase into the insulated section meant for bottles. Oh glory be!

10:00 I walked to my car with my loot and a little bit of dignity.

Hopefully the kids will be entertained long enough tomorrow with my purchase that it will make my efforts worthwhile. I'll let you know.

The Limers Among Us

"Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy!!!!"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"He's a Limer!"

"A Limer?"

"Yes, a Limer - he's a bad Limer!"

"Why is he a Limer?"

"Because he Limed to me!"

"Can you tell me what Liming is, babe?"

"It's when you do not tell the twoof."

"Ah. I see."

They are so cute when they are dormant.

She's been on my lap here for a few hours. She's had a cold for about a week - we all have, but hers doesn't seem to be improving much. No fever, though, so maybe she'll perk up tomorrow.

Actually, she's on a pillow on my lap - she outgrew the lap for tummy-down sleeping purposes maybe a month ago, which is too bad because it was a surefire way to get her to sleep. With one knee bump bump bumping her up and down. Head hanging off one side, feet hanging off the other. Mister Lawyer did not think it looked comfy, but it got her to sleep and who can complain about that?

Mowing in February

Obviously the economy is in the proverbial toilet - the news makes that clear. But it hasn't really hit me personally at all. After all, Mister Lawyer has a stable job that is needed no matter the economic state of affairs in the country and we are both really grateful for that. Our savings is swirling at the bottom of the bowl like everyone else's but it's not an immediate worry, not like paying the mortgage or the medical bills.

Today there was an insistent ding-dong at the door, so I went to see who it was. I was hoping it was the package truck - boy do I like packages. But no, it was a man and his son, maybe 11 or 12. He wanted to mow the lawn.

I said, well, we have a guy. We do have a guy, but our guy isn't due to start until next month when the grass really starts growing. Truthfully, the grass was just fine as-is. A little leafy thanks to the oak trees, but certainly not bad enough to warrant any action.

We typically ignore it from about October to March which is nice. I always wonder what the lawn crew does for income from October to March, but I never saw a reason to have it done if it's not growing. I guess that's just a problem that comes with being a lawn guy.

So I wavered. He looked just short of desperate. Like he really needed some money today. And I wondered, what if he needed to pay his rent today or his car payment? Or buy groceries for that child? The boy, his assistant and translator, was the clincher. I asked how much.

He looked at our good-sized backyard and the little loquat tree that keeps falling down. He asked if I wanted it fixing and yes, I did - the stakes and rope were already there, so I know that would take about 5 minutes. He wanted $50. Our regular guy charges $30, but he's a good deal. I said ok. The surprised look in his eyes said "really?" He expected me to bargain him down, but I decided a few extra bucks wouldn't hurt us.

And then it started to rain and I figured he deserved every penny of it anyway.

I assume he did a good job, I haven't gone out yet...it's still drizzling and I'm made of sugar don't you know. I gave the child a little more for helping out - I could see through the window that he was working very hard and he definitely earned it. Mister Lawyer used to have to go out every weekend and mow his grandmother's property and he hated it. This boy probably wasn't keen on helping dad out when he had important things to do like hang out with his buddies and play video games.

Someone pointed out to me that "he's trying to work for money and that shows integrity." They have a good point but sometimes integrity isn't enough. A lot of people who could afford and were inclined to hire lawn care two and three years ago are cutting back and it only makes sense that service people like this are feeling the brunt of it, though of society in general, they can least afford to do so.

The money paid to service persons like the lawn guy goes directly to the worker and his or her family, no middle man involved, but they have no safety net either if those finds dry up. It's just something to be conscious of as we all decide which expenses can be eliminated or reduced this year.

I sure hope he got that loquat to stand up for good, stubborn thing.

1....2....3....Damnit!

Overheard today. Yes, my little angels.

It's a new game they have invented. I'm not sure exactly what it entails, but it seems to involve yelling 1....2....3....Damnit! And then.....something? I can't see - they are in the next room. Running around, perhaps?

Hmmm.....sounds like some vocabulary editing is required on my part.

I may have to catch this on video for posterity. If I can stop giggling.

I know, you shoudn't laugh at that but damnit, it's funny.