Now Why Didn't I Think of That?

Last night I decided to point up the darlings' excessive waste & neglect of personal items in a way that would hit home.

I listed off all the hits my wallet had taken recently--repairing a dryer door because Eric sat on it, buying Mia new shoes because she took scissors to the old ones, new pants for Mercie when she proudly showed me how big of a hole she could make in them with her fingers, a new lunch bag to replace a lost one, an excessive amount of school lunches for Grace because she keeps "forgetting" her home-packed lunch...

Then I told the kiddos that it looked like we probably wouldn't have enough money for Christmas presents this year.

Stunned silence.

However, my efforts to turn this into a discussion about how we could better practice frugality were derailed when Grace took the floor.

"You should have said yes to that man, Mom."

???

"What man?"

"The man when you went to get your contacts. You should have told him yes."

" Not sure what you mean, Gracie."

"Well, he asked you if you wanted cash back. You should have said yes. Then we'd be rich."

(No) Thinking Aloud/Allowed

Mia: "What does selfish jerk mean?"

Mom: "Hmm...like, a mean person who only thinks about himself and doesn't care about other people."

Grace: "Is it a bad word?"

Mom: "Yeah, it's not really a nice thing to call someone a selfish jerk."

Mia: "What if it's true?"

Mom: "Well, you can think it in your head but you probably shouldn't say it out loud."

Grace: "Yeah, Mia, it's okay to think ANYTHING you want in your head. Even bad words like 'idiot' or 'stupid.'"

Mia: "Well, my head is thinking that I don't like Eric."

Mom: "You can think it in your head, Mia, but you can't say it with your mouth."

Eric: "Well, my head is thinking that Mia is a something that means a mean person who only cares about herself and doesn't care about other people."

Mia: "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!"