Does the Tooth Fairy Take Returns?

Ember lost her first tooth on Monday (7/4). She put it under her pillow despite her siblings rolling their eyes and reminding her that she already knew the tooth fairy wasn't real.

The next morning, she woke up to find a quarter in its place. She was very excited about it, showing it off to everyone. But near the end of the day, she grew somber. She missed her tooth and worried about what bizarre purposes that weird little fairy might have collected it for. She wanted it back. I told her that she could try putting the quarter under her pillow, but a refund wasn't guaranteed.

She woke up very disappointed to see that the quarter was still there and the tooth was not. I suggested that perhaps the Tooth Fairy didn't understand her request. It should be submitted in writing. She took this very seriously, going as far as asking her dad to help her spell out each and every letter of every word she wanted the letter to say. Major points to my husband for demonstrating epic patience.

Last night the letter was folded around the quarter like an envelope and placed under the pillow with a great deal of hope.

This morning, her tooth was returned. The quarter was left too. We are speculating that change is too heavy for a fairy to fly around with, and that is why they leave them under the pillows of children—teeth are of course lighter than coins, and fairies love gifts, so mystery solved.

That's What I'm Talkin About

I just overheard the 7-year-old explain (accurately) to the 5-year-old not only how babies are made, but how they can be made without a daddy. Score one for getting these things out of the way early, haha.

Fluffy

Goodbye Fluffy Orangie-Kitty. Your time here was brief, but you were loved.

She Schooled Us

Our lovely 6-year-old is playing 'school' with the neighbor kids.  The lecture?  Carbohydrates and insulin resistance.  I can't make this stuff up.

Bionic...What Now?

Ryvre will hate me for sharing this when he's older, but i really must.
He drew a bionic face. Guess what were on its cheeks...that's right, bionic testicles.

*ahem*

Do you have any idea how hard it was to try NOT to laugh at that?

Yes, he does know what testicles are. We use the proper terms for everything in this house. But i asked him to make sure, and he confirmed it for me. That's when i felt it was appropriate to laugh.

And it get's better.

When i asked him what the bionic testicles were for, he answered very matter-of-factly: "To power my bionic brain."

The truest words come from the mouths of babes, eh?

Poor Hermit Crabs

Alright, WHAT is with our hermit crabs?  About a week ago, one left its shell, so we assumed it was sick and/or dieing.  We put it in isolation with food, water, and a couple of shells.  He moves around plenty (maybe even more than the healthy ones), eats and drinks.  If not for the fact that he's naked (which looks really weird, by the way), you'd think he was happy as a...well...hermit crab.  We still keep an eye on him, but have come to the assumption that captivity has just made him neurotic and suicidal (they were not pet store crabs). Then yesterday, we watched as another, much larger, crab climbed out of his shell!  WHAT is going on here?  We checked back in a couple of hours, and it was obviously dead.  Ryvre didn't want to flush it, so Dale took the kids outside and buried it under a tree.  Noone cried or anything, but Ryvre told me this morning "Mom, if i had one wish, i would want my crab to be alive again.  We could put a shell outside so he can find it"  *big sigh*

Goodbye Bri

cat update: Bri is truly gone.  The neighbor's-son's-girlfriend moved out and took the kitty with her *sigh* she was a good pet, and is greatly missed.  The neighbor was very sad to tell us about it; he knows we loved her very much.  Ryvre is interested in Native American culture at the moment.  We borrowed Indian in the Cupboard from Granny, and the kids really loved it.  Dale also introduced them to Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohekans.  We checked out a stack of Native stories from the library, and little as it is, they had more than we could even borrow at once!  (First time that's ever happened.)  Yesterday, Ryvre and Daddy made a tipi and a longhouse out of paper and craft sticks.  i'll edit in pics later.

Missing Kitty

Bri (the cat) is missing.  Well, not so much missing as...well, first i need to explain that our "custody" of her has been sort of a grey area.  She technically belongs to our neighbor's daughter-in-law.  When she and his son moved in, they brought along this cat that was her mother's, because the old lady didn't want it left with her.  They didn't feed that cat, when she found us she was skinny and sick-looking (the neighbor also confirmed this, along with the fact that they closed her in their car at night sometimes, with no litter box!).  Bri obviously favored us, she'd come to any of us that called, and begged for a scratch on the tummy, she ate our food, and played with our kids.  The neighbor said she wouldn't go to anyone, and when we told him she did come when we called, and even when we didn't, he said as far as he was conserned, she was ours.  Well, three or four days ago, i was leaving to pick up some groceries, and i saw that the neighbor's wife, son, and his wife were all outside, calling for "kitty" and looking around.  Strange, thought i, since up to this point they ignored her.  Maybe they were taking her to the vet or something?  I don't know, but i haven't seen her since, and i'm afraid the kids are coming very close to suspecting something.  I've been holding off their questions with "well, you know, sometimes she stays in the woods and doesn't come when we call" and "maybe she's napping somewhere."  Argh.  i'd at least like to talk to the neighbor about it, so i know to tell the kids that she went to live with someone else, or if she was sick or whatever.  i don't want to lie about something like this.  Ugh, if they did take her somewhere else, that was really mean, because they KNEW we were taking care of her, and would have kept her in a heartbeat.    i'm just not looking forward to whatever conversation is in the future on this one.

Creepy-Cool

Sometimes my little man just amazes me. Last night, we were sitting at the dinner table, and Dale started to tell me about the land he and a friend looked at today, and mapped out using a GPS. Ryvre all of the sudden perked up and said "Ken got numbers from the sky!" Dale said, yes, he did; how did you know that? And Ryvre said "i saw it." Of course Dale kept asking questions, but Ryvre couldn't recall where he saw it. He does stuff like this all the time. He'll say he had a dream about, or saw, something he couldn't possibly know about. It's pretty crazy to think about how a little person's mind works--everyone knows their brains are like sponges, but he's getting information from sources so far out there, and in such vague terms, i can't believe he seems to grasp the concepts.

What Long Strange Trip It's Been

Our annual fall road trip was great! The kids were well-behaved (well, for them at least) so we made great driving time there and back.

Our first stop was Camp Gaea, to meet with some internet friends. Only one other guy showed up, but that was probably for the best! We really got to know him and his family, and definitely want to make the gathering a regular event. i have some pics of that prove the Druids did NOT build Stonehenge, hahaha. However, the Bards earned their keep by the campfire with their guitar and drum, respectively.

The camp itself was gorgeous; the rolling, wooded countryside almost reminded us of home; except that the open fields were soft, and full of thick green grass; two things we are not used to. The mist rising from the large pond was also a lovey sight--though i admit i was not brave enough to walk its shores when the other campers arrived--naked as the day they were born, hahaha!

NOT that i have a problem with nudity, of course; i think it's great that alot of people felt comfortable enough to let it all hang out, (no pun intended?) so to speak. But certainly, i was not about to take part in that one. I guess i'm pruder than i thought, lol.

Everyone i met out there was very nice; one man (Iggy?  Pretty sure that wasn't his given name) brought us a cup of coffee and introduced himself. i later visited his camper, to return the cup and thank him (in the form of cranberry irish soda bread), and to my surprise, he was friendly when i knocked on the door and woke him up; in fact, we were invited to his drumming circle later that evening.

We didn't join Iggy that evening; it was bedtime for the kids before the drumming started. Instead, we sat around the campfire with Bill (the Druid) and his wife and daughter, while he sang and played the guitar. And wow, can that man play. A guy from the pagan gathering up the hill came over and introduced himself much later, saying that they could hear the music up there (surprising, since it was very soft, and they were...not) and that it went perfectly with what they were doing. Pretty cool. The drumming across the field lasted until about 5 am, which was great, because it was surprisingly soothing.

Day two, we went to the renaissance festival. Ryvre introduced himself ("Hi, i'm Ryvre Raine Amann!") to every person that would listen (and many that wouldn't), and Willow refused to walk. Besides that, it was ok, but we only spent a few hours out there. Next year we may consider taking the kids out for a couple of hours, and then dropping them off with their aunt for the rest of the day. I had my first glass of mead though :) so the day wasn't a total waste.

For the next two days, we visited family, relaxed, and came home. That part of the trip was uneventful, except when Ryvre tumbled down the stairs of Aunt Bobbie Jo's porch, running out to see the puppies (it was dark, and aparently, he forgot about the stairs in his excitement). He landed face-first in a large flowerpot. When asked what happened, he will tell you "Owie, i got hurt in the dirt" lol.