Young Ladrinka is a man of mystery.
He spent Memorial Day, in part, telling me how unfair it was that we wouldn’t buy him the new Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii. This was unfair for many reasons, not least of which was that he really, really wanted it, and that he had many friends who would get it as soon as it had been released. I talked to him about it and threw in many phrases like “recession” and “grateful for what you have” and “learning to do with less”. Fortunately, mama was there too, and supplied a chorus of “spoiled rotten”.
I had another meaningful talk with Young Ladrinka before he went to bed about trying to save money and be more frugal. I think the message really sunk in, because when I picked him up from school, I noticed that his sneaker was held together with tape.
“OH MY GOD!” I shrieked. “We need to get you a new pair of shoes!”
He did not want to get a new pair of shoes.
He liked his taped up pair of shoes. Because they looked cool. All his friends thought so. Besides, “It is FRUGAL, mom!”
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth is it to have a quoting child.
And now here’s Young Ladrinka saying my favorite word ever. He said it this morning, when I returned with a Starbucks and THE ITEM IN QUESTION from my workout. (Yes, I do realize the irony. Or maybe the Oxymoronity) and it made me so happy that I forced him before the camera and made him repeat it for your listening pleasure.
One year ago ...
- Post Surgery Update - 2011
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Did he happen to point out that if you gave up that croissant for a slice of toast at home (a dozen or so times) you could afford Super Mario Galaxy 2? Oh and tell him my daughters think drill Mario and cloud Mario are really cool! Blimp Yoshi rocks too 🙂
Twitter: bethsix
June 1, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I would just like to say that yes, all little boys already own Super Mario Galaxy 2. I know this because my little boy already owns Super Mario Galaxy 2, and I swear he’s halfway through it. However. He would have no idea how to pronounce the word “croissant.”
what flair! what verve! how frugal and francaise all at once.
The shoe is cool, but if you had a croissant held together by tape… well, now we’ve got something.
Twitter: Mamabirddiaries
June 1, 2010 at 11:34 pm
i can’t believe you go to starbucks and won’t allow your son to have a Super Duper Mario Galaxy 24 or whatever it is. you are cruel woman. so cruel.
Twitter: nannygoats
June 1, 2010 at 11:43 pm
This one’s easy. You have Young Ladrinka fetch your coffee and croissant for you and he earns a broker fee of some kind that he can then SAVE and EARN over time his Super Turbo Masho 46 or whatever it is.
Tell him to work on Le Accent.
Twitter: CocoAtScreaming
June 2, 2010 at 8:22 am
Super Mario 2 has nothing on a Starbucks for a hard working Mother. Besides….Parents rule…kids drool. LOL. Give him extra chores since he loves them so much…. then he can earn the money to pay for it.
Twitter: wendiaarons
June 2, 2010 at 8:26 am
If Ladrinka & Sam got together, they’d definitely plot a peasant’s revolt based on lack of video games.
Could you get a video of him singing “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast? Lumiere’s got nothin’ on that boy.
And Nate tells me every other day that he needs new shoes, but school’s almost out and those feet are only going to grow. So what if he looks like a poor kid with too-short jeans and holey shoes . . .
I guess it all comes down to priorities.
Super Marty Whatever 2? Crucial.
Shoes? Insignificant.
THAT’S the difference between boys and girls.
Why is it that children – BOYS especially – just walk right out of their shoes? Do boys shoes get holy (holi?) quicker than girls? You and I must be the MEANEST mom’s in the world! I won’t get the Super Mario Brothers Flying into Space either – of course we don’t have a Wii either. My oldest son watches different levels of the game on Demand thru our cable and tells me when we FINALLY get a Wii, he’ll know how to play that game…
Twitter: vboykis
June 2, 2010 at 11:07 am
Young Ladrinka is real! For what it’s worth, my parents also won’t let me play Super Mario Galaxy that THEY got me with the Wii they bought me for a present. Something about them thinking that Wii was just for “losing weight and things” and sedentary games aren’t what they’d envisioned for a ponchik like me. Gift horse, mouth.
Twitter: Issascrazyworld
June 2, 2010 at 11:26 am
So Marinka and I think that…
Oh wait, you probably didn’t want me to do this in your comments right? Hmm, must rethink my strategy of the day.
ps. he’s adorable.
pps. My oldest asked for a new bike the other day. Her’s is too purpley. She no longer likes purple. It’s a barely used bike. Her response to my, it’s too expensive was, well how about if you stop going to Starbucks, then I could have a bike. Yeah. As if.
Twitter: BigPieceofCake
June 2, 2010 at 3:25 pm
I remember wanting my shoes to look like they were worn for at least 10 years by manual laborers in dry, dusty climates. Now I want everything new and shiny with nary a scratch. Then again – I also wouldn’t be caught dead in the standard issue catholic school footwear….
Suddenly I want to eat carbs. Ladrinka must be strong with the Force.
Aawwwww…he’s just super-adorable!!! What a cute face!! I would buy him his Super mario blah blah right away!!
I remember, back in the day, how cool it was to have your Topsiders held together with duct tape.