it's hopeless

st. patrick's day is surprisingly my children's favorite holiday.
the thought of catching a real leprechaun in our house and the possibility of keeping it tops any gift from santa or candy from the easter bunny or money from the tooth fairy.
their traps get more elaborate each year.
sam went with a green house design,
complete with 2 green chimneys, a slide entrance, three cups for trapping, and a note indicating there was chocolate inside.

will went with more of a rainbow castle theme,

complete with an enticing rainbow, lego ladder, and a leprechaun friend for enticing.

and maggie went with a creative catch anything theme.

it included a knife for injuring the leprechaun, a pot of gold next to the cup traps, a piggy bank full of pennies and chocolate. 

the upside down stool was housing the paper gold coins complete with a red roof and underneath rainbow to look at while trapped.

in the final stage of construction maggie came to me in tears.

she couldn't get the roof to stay on with just tape.

she said to me "this is hopeless!"

(big words come out of this girl).

once we restored the hopeless project,

the kids were off to bed, 

and i continued the annual festivities which included star foot prints throughout the house, swiping all the chocolate and pennies left and replacing them with chocolate gold coins, and green glitter in the toilet.

i thought it would also be tricky this year to put glitter on the children's faces.

you know, so they would think the leprechaun had been in their beds.

despite pete's warnings that sam had just barely stopped stirring,

i proceeded to wet their faces and sprinkle glitter. .

then we went to bed with every thing set and in order for a morning leprechaun hunt.

when morning came, sam was just not into it.

he proclaimed that he caught me last night.

he told me he felt me wet his forehead and sprinkle glitter on him.

BUSTED.

i tried to think quick.

i asked where the glitter was then and why i would just do it to him,

so he showed me the glitter in his bed and the others'.

i wasn't sure how to handle it,

so i just said i would let him think what he wanted about his idea.

i could tell he was processing it all morning.

"this is hopeless!"

i said to myself.

hopeless to keep these traditions of fake people up forever.

hopeless.

the magic was dying.

or so i thought.

we then had a major turn of events.

i reached for the package of unopened thin mints to put in the lunches.

there was a small hole and two of the cookies were nibbled on,

not big nibbles,

but nibbles just the size of a leprechaun (or something similar.)

i called the kids in and asked who did.

no one confessed.

sam had a revitalization of his belief;

he was certain a leprechaun had done it. 

mad search pursued.

with no luck of finding one,

sam decided to put the nibbled cookies by his trap,

all of us hide downstairs,

and wait for the leprechaun to strike and get caught. 

the next part of the story is hopeless.

i am hopelessly trying to convince everyone i know of what happened next.

had i not seen this with my own eyes,

i NEVER would have believed it.

a few important details...

pete was at work,

our cat was outside,

i was the very last one to leave the site of the trap,

and i did NOTHING.

so, after about 2 minutes of waiting 

we hurried back up to check the trap.

i kid you not,

a bigger bite had been taken out of each cookie!!

i thought the kids were going to lose their minds with excitement,

and i almost lost my mind in disbelief.

it was as plain day.

2 bites.

gone.

i can't say i believe in leprechauns,

but something bit those cookies.

there weren't even any crumbs.

do you believe in leprechauns??

energy of the universe trying to keep the magic alive over here?

an unidentified mouse that knew to take a gigantic bite of a cookie on cue??

anything??

are we hopeless??