Highway Robbery

Earlier this week, I was inside and the children were outside.  I heard them talking to someone, an adult, so I stepped out to see what was going on.  This is what I saw.  Brandt and Blythe were selling something.  I asked what they were doing and they both said, "We're having an M&M stand.  We are selling Brandt's birthday M&Ms."  There were a few leftover M&Ms, maybe a cupful, and my entrepreneurial children had them on offer.  They had made a sign and had had one customer, our across the street neighbor who is also our home teacher.

I asked Brandt how much they were selling M&Ms for, and Brandt said, "A quarter."  When I asked how many they were giving for a quarter, Brandt replied, "One."

One!?  When I sought clarification, I was again told, one M&M for one quarter.  I said, "That is a lot for one M&M.  Do you think you should perhaps give more?"

"If they give me two quarters," Brandt said, "I will give them two M&Ms."

There it was, highway robbery, right in front of our house.  When I related this all to Kent, he applauded Brandt's business acumen, saying, "Brandt has obviously figured out what the market will bear."  It's like the boy selling a puppy for $10,000.  It only takes one.

Before too long, the children had eaten all the M&Ms, somewhat limiting their earning potential.  I was grateful, because that also limited the potential to rob blind some poor person who would fall prey to my charming and beautiful children.

It got worse.

A short time later, Blythe came into the house.  She was headed towards the bathroom and had her hand over her mouth.  I asked what she was doing and she said, "Nothing."  I was eventually able to get her to show me what she was hiding--her mouth was green mouth.  It was seriously stained with something.  When I again asked what she was doing, she said, "Nothing," leaving me to investigate on my own.  

I discovered that, having consumed all the chocolate, the children had moved on to selling water with food coloring in it.  That's right.  Green, blue, red water.  There was food coloring all over the sidewalk and Blythe's tea set.  There was no evidence in the kitchen that the children had gotten into the cupboard, and the food coloring is on the highest shelf, so I think Brandt must have climbed up using the drawers leaving me in the dark.  I gathered up the food coloring and invited the children to do something else.

The next day I called a neighbor who live around the corner.  She told me she had come by and stopped to ask what the children were selling.  When Brandt said, honestly, water with food coloring, she thanked him and said they didn't like water with food coloring in, and Brandt said, "Ok. Come back another time."  He wasn't bothered by slow sales.  Again, I am certain that far more colored water was consumed that sold.  Mercifully. 

I don't really want to have this blog entry spiral into disgustingness, but I want to record this for future laughs.  The following morning I went to the bathroom and opened the toilet to discover sweet Blythe had not flushed.  She needs to work on that.  The toilet was full of dark green nastiness.  "What IS that?" I thought to myself, then remembered the day before's stand.  I'm glad Brandt and Blythe had no takers on their water.