Do you believe?

I want to just sit my kids down and ask them all point blank. I am tired of guessing and trying to make sure it doesn't get ruined for those that do still believe. I know Ryan is WAY too old and WAY too cool to believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. I mean, after all, he is 10...even though he thinks he's 15. Taylor is 9, but is really old for being a 3rd grader...which means a lot of his friends are a whole year younger than him and some don't have older siblings that ruined it for them yet.

I overheard Taylor's scout leader telling a story at Super Saturday about one of her scouts that said, "Santa's not real" in front of her 5 year old son. I said, "It wasn't Taylor was it?"...knowing full well that Taylor would NEVER say something like that in front of a little kid. The look on her face was priceless, as if she didn't realize I was standing there at all. Turns out it was Taylor. So, when I got home, I sat Taylor down and gave him a little talk. It started a little something like this..."You would never tell a little kid that Santa's not real would you?"...and I went on and on about how even though Santa's not real, little kids still believe in him and that's the whole magic of Christmas and you should never say to anyone that he's not real because you just don't know if they still believe in him or not. His face kind of fell a little as if I was the one that just ruined it for him. Perhaps I did. Perhaps he still believed in Santa JUST A LITTLE BIT. Perhaps he just tries to look cool in front of his friends. Perhaps I have too many children and can't possibly remember which ones have had "the talk" and which ones haven't.

I know Ryan has had "the talk". He is a very mature little boy and he asked me 2 years ago to just be honest with him. He said he didn't believe in Santa and that his friends told him that Santa's not real. He also said that he still wanted presents and he promised not to ruin it for the little kids. Apparently "little kids" included Taylor. Ryan doesn't beat around the bush. He just wants to be treated like an adult. Always has, always will. Taylor, on the other hand, is just like my brother Matt. He will ALWAYS be a kid at heart. He will most likely have a transformer collection in his 30's. He will be addicted to video games forever. It's ok. He'll enjoy every ounce of his life. He is very tender hearted and wants to just be a kid for as long as possible. He may have believed in Santa for a few more years. Who knows. But, like any good mother, I went ahead and ruined it for him. No thanks necessary Bug. :)

So, at least Katey told me she still believes...I didn't even have to ask her. She believes with her whole heart that Santa is watching her (that doesn't keep her from being a total brat at least once a day) and she is bound and determined to get every one of those toys she asked for. We'll see how it goes. She asks me at least once a day if it's too late to change her list. I keep telling her I already mailed it and it's WAY too late to change it (since I am already done shopping) but that doesn't stop her from trying to add to her list. I'll try really hard not to ruin it for her. At least not this year. :)

So, the point of this post is that Taylor lost his 7th tooth tonite. When they don't really believe in the Tooth Fairy and they're old enough to just pull their own teeth out and tell you about it later, do they still get a dollar? I suppose I should walk ALL THE WAY downstairs and put a dollar under his pillow. I have told the boys several times that if they stop believing, they stop getting paid. So, I think Taylor is still clinging to the hope that the Tooth Fairy is real. And besides, if I don't give him a dollar he'll say something in the morning and then Katey will start to wonder.

Oh, and by the way...about my "talk" with Taylor, he said he doesn't remember saying that at all and that he would never say that to anyone...especially a little kid. (Why would he...he still believed before our little talk...no thanks to me.)