Not the brightest crayon in the coloring box, now are we?

we recently celebrated deirann's second birthday. it was a week long gala filled with food, family and fun. of course there were also a whack of presents to be torn apart and greatly enjoyed by all. those who know me know that i am the queen of second hand bargains (aka princess cheapo) and often find family members justifying purchases for my girls' with "but it was on sale", or "i found it in the closet" and of course "it fell from the sky and i thought the girls would love it!". with that said, i also realize that birthdays are the time to be spoiled and indulge a little...so family members were given the green light to buy what they wanted for little miss d.

luckily everyone stayed pretty much in check and didn't go too crazy. a few good books (can always tell the teacher's kids can't ya?), cds, puzzles, wiggles' games, and gorgeous outfits were gracefully accepted along with a colouring book, paint set and some crayons. all excellent choices that will surely bring hours of fun.

i did have to laugh when the girls dove into the box of crayons later in the week and devin asked for a little help.
"mummy, can you help me with the clothes?"

" sure dev, you want to get your jammies on?"

"no mummy, the crayons' clothes."

?

"pardon devin?"

" i want to take the crayons' clothes off... they feel so much better that way."

"huh?"

when i took a look over, i noticed a little pile of torn paper forming on the floor near devin's chair....the paper belonged to the crayons.

"oh devin."

perhaps it was because the first few years of her life found miss devin in a topless fashion running on a beach, but whatever the reason, devin insists on taking the paper off of all newly purchased soap, socks off of deirann's feet and wrappers off of crayons. she can't stand being "fenced in".


while deirann enjoyed colouring the "big red car" orange with the crayons that came with the colouring book, devin refused to use them.


" i don't like the crayons."


"they slide across the paper."


"the crayons aren't right."


now keep in mind my alter ego, "princess cheapo" and i will at this point admit my love for "dollarama"...perhaps it explains where the crayons were purchased.


"but devin look, they have princesses on them!"


....silence....


oh well, there you have it, my child is a snob....a wax-colouring-utensil snob.


i did have to laugh at it all.


i can TOTALLY relate to the importance of crayons.


i remember for my 7th birthday, july 7th, 19?? (the month is relevant, not the year) i received my first box of 64 crayola crayons...with...the BUILT IN SHARPENER...and that beautiful cornflower blue. i swear i wanted to wear a cornflower blue dress for my wedding day while the sun shone in the cornflower blue sky and i gazed into my husband-to-be's cornflower blue eyes.....ahhhhh dreamy.


i remember getting other pressies but none would top those crayons. after colouring some pictures of almonzo wilder ( i KNOW someone out there relates!) my birthday party moved inside for some cake and mcdonalds' orange drink.


a short time later, my guests started to head home and i went out to gather my "loot". i remember being out front on the porch steps and seeing my crayons....and a little puddle (the therapist says it is good to talk about these things). i went to collect my prized pressie and realized something wasn't right....this is where you need to remember when i said my birthday was...especailly the month...

i vaguely remember my dad coming out and saying it was okay and "why not come and play with your fuzzy pump barber shop"...i think he even suggested a science experiment on what happens when wax meets heat.


but nothing was going to replace those crayons...those crayons that were now a big crayon...a big waxy lump of mass...july heat in canada causes things to melt...in the direct sun ....where i left my first new box of 64 crayola crayons with the built in sharpener...and that beautiful cornflower blue.


so, when devin complained about those "cheap" crayons i did what any intelligent, penny saving mother would do...I took her to michaels and bought the biggest baddest box of CRAYOLA crayons we could find....and used my 40% micheals' coupon i clipped a few days earlier.

"nobody buys my baby cheap crayons" johnny castle, dirty dancing.