So my 10-year-old informs me this morning that she caught Daddy trying to slip her some money as the Tooth Fairy last night. And then said she's kind of known for a while as she's apparently caught Daddy before, lol.

I said, "Well, you hurt yourself because now you're not getting anymore money."

She glibly replied, "But what about my brother? He's going to notice if I don't get money from the Tooth Fairy."

I said, "So I have to buy your silence now?"

Oh and then she told me that apparently I did a bad job hiding leftover "Easter Bunny" items last Easter. I said, "Do you see how small this house is? Where am I supposed to hided stuff?"

On the way to school. She asked, "When were you going to tell me about all this stuff? About no Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy and Santa. I need to know these things for when I'm an adult and I have kids."

I told her she needed to discover it on her own; I didn't want to tell her when she still believed and ruin it for her. I also told her that I still believe in Santa, as the Spirit of Christmas. I told her that for me, Santa is the embodiment of that feeling of giving and hopefully wanting to be a better person, a more considerate and generous person to others. 

Despite our humorous exchange this morning, I'm a bit bummed that she no longer believes in all these magical creatures. I knew the day was coming, but I feel in a way she lost something - that childlike sense of wonder. That belief and awe in magic. It seems especially difficult in this age of electronics and social media to keep kids in a bubble. I guess it was nice that she lasted as long as she did - for Santa until about 8 years old (we figured last year at least she said she believed in Santa to hedge her bets and possibly get more gifts - to which she admitted this morning, lol). 

But I still have another kid who still believes so I'm going to hold on to that for a while and enjoy it. And I told my daughter if she ruins it for him, she's in big trouble!

How did your kid find out?

So the other day it was my brother's birthday and I announced to the kids that we should call and wish him a Happy Birthday. This is how the conversation went with my 4-year-old:

Me: Ok kids, let's call Uncle Jeff and you can sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

My son: Yay! Ok! Who's Uncle Jeff?

Me: You know, the guy who always buys you the cool superhero gifts for Christmas and your birthday.

My son: Oh, my birthday. What is Uncle Jeff buying me for my birthday?

Me: I don't know. But it's not about you right now, it's about Uncle Jeff.

My son: Why?

Me: Because it's his birthday.

My son: When?

Me: Today!

My son: When is it my birthday?

Me: Not for a few more months.

My son: Aww, come on!

My 4-year-old was informed by his sister that today is my birthday. Sensing something was amiss, he shouted to my husband, "Daddy, today is Mommy's birthday!"

My husband said, "I know."

Clearly confused, my son asked, "But where is Mommy's cake. It's not a birthday if there's no cake."

My husband replied, "Who says there's no cake?" (Mind you, this conversation took place at 9 am - too early even for me to have cake)

"Daddy!! You need to get Mommy a cake right now!!"

My husband reassured him that there was, in fact, a cake to be had later.

So later that night, my son asks about the birthday cake. I said, "Well, we can't have it tonight because Daddy's at work."

This was obviously unacceptable to my son. "We can still have cake."

"No, we can't have cake without Daddy," I said.

He answered, "Sure. We just won't tell him." (I swear he said this).

I said, "I think Daddy will know we had cake without him."

Without skipping a beat, my son said, "No he won't. We'll put the cake back in the box."

My preschooler always has to know what comes next: 
What will we do after preschool? 
What will we read after this book?

He always has to be prepared for what's coming, especially when it comes to food. He will literally have food that he's trying to shovel into his mouth and he will say, "What else can I eat?"

My response to that lately has been, "Finish what you've got and then we'll talk about what else you can eat."

So now at bedtime, he asks, "What else can I eat? I mean, for breakfast tomorrow."

I took my daughter to a library program and the librarian started reading a lighthearted story about monsters under a kid's bed. My daughter pipes up and says, " There aren't any monsters under my bed. There is too much stuff under there."

To say my daughter lives and breathes everything princess would be an under-statement. So it is not unusual to see her dancing around in various fancy dresses pretending she's Ariel or Rapunzel or attending a ball or tea.

Today she was imagining that she was going to meet Prince Eric at the ball. Since Eric in the fairytale is a grown man, I joked that he was too old for her. She answered that it was another Prince Eric closer to her age and then added this statement to supposedly reassure me:

"Don't worry, we're just going to dance and fall in love a little."

Clearly, I need to have a talk with this Prince Eric's mother.

My 6-year-old daughter has often said she wants to grow up to be a princess and we told her that she'd have to marry a prince. She sighed and said, "Where am I going to find a prince in this town?"

Since she started kindergarten last fall, she coincidentally changed her "career" and said she wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.

And just after ending school she came up with a new life plan. She said, "Mommy, I don't want to go to college." I told her that her father would be happy to hear he didn't have to pay for that but asked what she'd do instead.

She said, "I'm going to stay in kindergarten until I get married."