It's time to give them light for sure. You don't need an MH but a cfl with screw right into any extra lamp you have and will be perfect for what you need and cheap. After that just throw it into your most used light fixture in the house and save money till you need it for your plants again. My comment about the start up wasn't so much about all the power it uses but more about the fact that bulbs and ballasts don't last forever and the more you turn it on and off the quicker and more likely it is to burn out or fail, which will cost you more money to replace.

The leaves will only turn green once they get some light on them. If you can keep a plastic dome on them of even a pop bottle top with the bottom cut off for a humidity dome, just remove it a few times a day to changew the air. If you wrap a white peice of paper around it it should filter the light just enough.