Missing: One Bottom Tooth and (Almost) One Tooth Fairy

Friday evening was a bit exciting in our house, because look who lost her first tooth.

Andy had texted me last Sunday, when I was out with my girlfriends getting my hair done, that Lana had a loose tooth.  He said she was crazy excited after she discovered it.  Well, of course!  She's seen her older sister receive visits from the tooth fairy complete with notes and money for a couple years now.  What is there NOT to be excited about?  I assumed that since she had just discovered it, that we were in for a couple weeks of wiggling.  However, it must have been loose for a while and she just didn't realize it.  That thing was past a little loose when she showed me.  

Since I've pulled out almost all of Sonya's teeth thus far,  Lana wanted me to see if I could get hers to come out.  It wasn't quite there yet though.  It was really loose going forward, but not back.  I told her when it was loose both ways it would be ready.  The best thing for her to do was to keep wiggling it every day and eventually it would get there.  Every afternoon I would give it a tug when she asked, but it was still not ready.  Then Friday, after dinner she came to me and showed how much looser it was and asked if I thought it was ready now.  Since it was more or less hanging on by a piece of gum, I deemed it ready.  

I grabbed a "magic tissue" and with one quick yank, it was out and she was ecstatic.  We took pictures and sent them to the family.  We called daddy at work and told him the good news.  Sonya helped her write a note and draw a picture for the tooth fairy.  She was so excited she could barely get to sleep that night.  The tooth fairy has a had a break from our house for a bit, but she was ready to get back into action.  Too bad the tooth fairy doesn't always have the best memory in our house.  

Some of you may recall when this happened to Sonya a couple years ago.  The difference is, that was about her fourth tooth she lost, not her first.  Plus Lana is a middle child and they always seem to get shafted.  Don't hate me yet though.  Let me tell you what happened first.  Then you can send the hate mail. 

Friday night I started to get sick.  I'm not using that as an excuse, just as a reference to tell you where my mind was.  I don't get sick often and this felt like it might be a bad one.  So bad, I only had half a glass of wine and went to bed by 10pm that night.  There had been much hoopla about the lost tooth before Lana went to bed with both myself and Andy, but once she was in bed it was out of our heads.  I'm not the only one to blame here people.  He didn't remember either.  

Fast forward to 2am.  I awake to hear Lana calling for me from her room.  This is a nightly occurrence, not unusual at all.  What was unusual was her request when I came in there to see what was wrong.  Most of the time she wants to come lay in our bed.  Sometimes, she wants me to take Mercury off her bed.  That is his favorite place to sleep in the house and she doesn't always like him there, much to his dismay.  This time, however, she very groggily asked me to turn on her music.  She was so out of it, I had to ask her twice what she wanted because I couldn't understand her.  She was not awake really at all.  After I figured out what she was asking, I turned toward the CD player and that was when I saw it.  The tooth fairy note!  CRAP, DAMN, SHIT!!  We had forgotten!!  

I panicked for a moment, but then realized it was fine.  She hadn't noticed at all that everything was still there. Plus when she went back to sleep, she turned her back toward the note and tooth.  That would make it easier to take.

 After starting her music, I went back to my room to dig up two one dollar bills.  I think we gave Sonya $2 for the first tooth and $1 thereafter.  Who can remember?  But $2 seemed good.  The bigger problem I had was the note.  She had asked the tooth fairy questions and even wanted a picture, like I had done for Sonya one time.  Well the picture was out.  I couldn't get on the computer and do that right then.  That would be easy enough to explain.  I did have to respond to the note though.  The person who always writes the notes was the person snoozing in my bed.  Not for long.

"Andy!" I urgently whispered.  "Andy!"

"Hmmmm?"  He said.

"We forgot about Lana's tooth and the tooth fairy!"  I told him.  "You have to get up and write a note!"

"What?" He asked, completely out of it.

"You have to write a note!"  I said again. "It's Lana's first tooth!  She HAS to have a note!!!" 

I gave him a pad, pen and Lana's note and turned on a light in our room.  We both sat there in bed, squinting in the light, half asleep, trying to figure out how to respond to a tooth fairy note at 2:30 in the morning.  

He managed to write something, answering all her questions and even claiming that she(the tooth fairy) forgot her camera this time, but would be sure to bring it next time Lana lost a tooth.  Then I took the note and the $2, and placed them both on the shelf next to her bed.  I took the tooth from the little silver bear container and hid it in my nightstand.  Thankfully, she stayed asleep with her back to me the entire time.  

CRISIS AVERTED!!

Soooo....yeeeaaahhhh.....We suck, again.  But we fixed it before Lana found out that we sucked.  If only there was an app that tracked when your kids' teeth came out.  Then it could send you a reminder before you go to bed to make sure you played tooth fairy.  I would never had this problem again if there were such a thing.  Apple-get on that!  

When Tooth Fairies Forget

Sooo, I suck. Why you ask?  Because I forgot to play tooth fairy last night.  NOT good.


I think this is the fourth tooth Sonya's lost so far.  It has been a little wiggly for a few weeks now.  Then the other day she wiggled it to the point of extremely loose.  She asked me to see if it would come out on Wednesday, but it didn't seem quite ready yet.  Then last night after dinner, she asked again for me to try and pull it out.  It took a little more pulling than I like, but she was desperate to have that tooth out and it was ready enough.  The "magic tissue" did the trick and it popped out in my hand. She ran around the house just as excited as if it was the first one she had lost.  She showed her sisters and we called Andy at work.  Then she wrote her note to the tooth fairy, as she does every time, placed her tooth in the little tooth bear she has and placed it on her nightstand.  I also got to hear about how her friend Tyler, who is in her class at school, lost his tooth yesterday, and how cool was it she lost HERS the same day!  How cool indeed.  Little did I know that Tyler's lost tooth would help provide my alibi the next morning.  She went to bed happy and exited.


I'm not sure why I completely forgot about the tooth, I just did.  Maybe because the novelty of her losing a tooth has worn off.  Who knows?  I wasn't even drinking wine last night!  I swear!  Andy came home a bit late, so missed bedtime which made it so he didn't remember the tooth any more than I did.  I even checked on her before I went to bed last night, but for whatever reason, my eyes never looked to the nightstand where the tooth and note sat waiting.


This morning I woke up a bit later than usual.  Most of the time I try to get up by 6:15 so I can work out. All this week I haven't gone to bed until late and then woken up early.  That is why when my alarm went off at 6am and I realized I  hit the wall.  I couldn't do it.  My body wouldn't get out of bed, no matter how much my mind try to coax it, so I gave up and went back to sleep for another hour.  Then around 7:15 I heard in my sleepy state Sonya calling for me.


"What is it?" I called from my bed, still not ready to get out of it yet.


"Can you come here please?" She asked, sounding kind of sad.

"In a minute, girlie," I told her, trying to wake up.  Then out of nowhere it hit me.  SHIT!  I FORGOT ABOUT HER TOOTH!!!  I was awake.

Quickly, I formed a plan in my head.  My first thought was to tell her the tooth fairy must have been so busy she didn't have a chance to get to her.  No, that was no good. She would be upset, and I didn't want to deal with that.  Too much guilt.   Then I had it!  I found a piece of paper and a random crayon on top of my nightstand.  I scribbled a quick little note.  Then I went to our change container in the closet, where I had a one dollar bill and a couple quarters.  I wrapped them inside the note and headed to her room.

"What's up Sonya?" She had her back to me, so I quickly placed the note and money next to the nightstand.  

She was already crying.  Shit, shit, shit! 

"Tooth Fairy didn't come last night!" She said through her tears.

"Really?" I said feigning surprise, "that's so weird.  Are you sure?  Let's look around."

Then I bent down next to her nightstand and picked up the folded note and money. 

"Wait, what's this?" I said.

"What?" She asked, looking over the bed to me on the floor.  I opened up the note and place it with the money on the bed next to her.  She read the note, and immediately broke out into a smile.  

"Well, that's strange," I told Sonya.  "She left you money and a little note but forgot to take your tooth."

"Yeah, that is weird," she agreed.


"You know what?" I told her, spinning my story.  "She was probably so busy last night, she just completely forgot it on her way out.  I mean your friend Tyler lost his tooth too, and I'm sure there were other kids she had to go to last night.  It was probably a crazy night for her.  You know how that happens sometimes to mommy and she forgets things."  

Luckily, she bought it.  "Yeah.  Like when you go to the grocery store and are in a rush and then we get to the car and you say 'crap, I forgot something'."

"Yeah, just like that," I said.  "But let's not say crap."


Then I said to her,  "I think we should leave your tooth here.  She probably realizes she forgot it and will most likely come back to get it tonight, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah," she agreed.  "Then she can answer the questions I asked her on my note too."

"Yeah I'm sure she'll have more time for that tonight, but at least she left you something last night," I said.

"It's a good thing too," she started to tell me. "Because  everyone at school knew my tooth was loose and if they saw I lost it they would have asked me what I got from the tooth fairy.  I was afraid I was going have to tell them nothing."

Hold on a second while I pick my heart up off the floor.

"Plus!" She said.  "Usually I only get a dollar and this time she gave me a dollar fifty!"

Oops.  I had forgotten how much we give her.  I think the extra 50 cents was for my guilty conscience.  

"Well, maybe she left you a bit more this time, since she was in such a rush and couldn't answer your note last night," I offered.

"Yeah that's probably it," she agreed.

Great!  I almost created the most dramatic thing to happen to my daughter to date.  Going to school and telling her friends the tooth fairy didn't come.  What kind of mother am I?  I know there has to be others of you out there who have done this a time or two.  In fact, I'm almost positive it happened to my sister Beth, so perhaps it's genetic and I just got it from my mom.  If I remember correctly though, she covered much like I did.  

Sooo...yeah...I suck.  BUT at least I made up for it and suck a little less now.  

A Window in Her Mouth

It finally happened!  Friday afternoon Sonya lost her first tooth.  You know, the one that's been lose for A MONTH AND A HALF now.  I had no idea teeth could take so long to come out from the first wiggle, but apparently they do.  It actually hadn't gotten much more lose since she discovered it until Thursday.  


After dinner, Sonya decided to eat a pear.  About half way through she came to me and told me her tooth felt more lose.  I tested it for myself and found that it was indeed moving more freely, and probably less than a day from coming out.  I grabbed a "magic tissue" (something my mom has used to get loose teeth out for us when we were kids, and for her first grade students now.)  Alas, the magic tissue wasn't ready to cast it's spell just yet.  Since we knew it would be soon, Sonya decided to get her note to the tooth fairy all prepared and ready to go.  This was her first draft.  

It reads: "Dear tooth fairy                                   I don't now
               hi I am wateing                                    yar name please put name
               for my tooth to come out. ps. I want
               makeup for my prize.
               From Sonya To tooth Fairy


Then we had the discussion AGAIN about how the tooth fairy does not bring prizes and toys, but money.  That's it.  Only money.  And not a ton of money, but maybe a dollar or so.  Then she told me about her friend Kimberly who got $20 when she lost two of her teeth from the tooth fairy.  TWENTY DOLLARS!!  I covered saying that if she lost two teeth at once she most likely had to have them pulled at the dentist office.  Since that hurts a lot, the tooth fairy probably gave her extra money for the pain.  Although it might have been cheaper to just give the kid a Vicodin, but whatever.  


I'm sorry, but I just can not justify giving this much money for a TOOTH!  I have three kids who will be all losing teeth around the same time.  What am I supposed to say to them when they have no money for college?

"Sorry we couldn't save for your college, honey.  We spent it all when you lost your teeth!"  

I'd love to get other opinions on this.  Anyone?

End of angry tangent.

Friday morning she woke up and we tried to pull it again, but it was still not coming out easily.  I didn't want to have to really pull hard.  I figured when it was time it would be an easy pull.  Sonya's not one for pain, so I wanted to go slow.  Later that day, when I picked her up from school, she came running to me,


"Mommy, Mommy!  Feel how loose my tooth is NOW!"

The little guy was hanging by a thread.  It was time.  


We got home and I grabbed one more magic tissue. Third time's a charm!  Sure enough, with one little pull out came by first baby's first baby tooth.  It was so tiny sitting there in the tissue.  It's funny how teeth look so much bigger in our mouths.  


"It's out!" I yelled.


She did a little squeal and then got a funny look on her face because she tasted the blood.  I told her not to worry, just rinse out her mouth a little and the bleeding would stop.  Then she ran to the mirror to see her new reflection.  Both Lana and Georgia were interested to see her mouth and little tooth too, so she showed everything off to them, with a big smile the whole time.  


We talked about where to put the tooth for the tooth fairy so it wouldn't get lost, and Sonya decided to write her a new note.  I told her I liked her note she wrote, but she insisted she needed a new one since she had asked for makeup in the other one and tooth fairy doesn't leave make up. So here is the second note that was left:

It read: "Dear tooth fairy hi I was 
            wateing for my tooth 
            to come out. From Sonya
            to tooth Fairy
  
                                                           can you pleas put your name"


First of all somewhere between the first and second note she figured out the correct spelling of "your".  That was pretty impressive.  The pictures are of the tooth fairy and teeth on rings, for some reason.  Not really sure what the tooth fairy is standing next to.  My friend Melinda suggested it looked like a Diaper Genie, but I don't really think the tooth fairy needs one of those, so who knows.  


That night Sonya was so excited to leave her tooth and the note out.  Andy and I were excited to find a name for the tooth fairy and leave some money behind.  After much discussion, we decided to give her two dollars, for her first tooth only, and a dollar afterward.  The tooth fairy explained this in the note she left for Sonya.  Tooth Fairy's name?  Well, Andy went on line to some kind of fairy name finder.  The kind where you put your name in and it it comes up with your fairy name.  After trying a few, we decided on:


Cerylia RainbowShimmer


Feel free to use it for your kids if they ask.  


The next morning when she woke up she came running out of her room waving the note and the money.  She was thrilled with her two dollars, and could have cared less that it wasn't twenty. 




Well, like I said, in the end Sonya didn't care what she got.  She was happy that the tooth fairy paid her a visit and that she got something. Andy also pointed out to her that even better than money, she made a friend.  Cerylia was so happy to have someone ask her name and she wrote a very nice note to Sonya. She seemed to take quite a liking to her.  Okay, okay I know she's a MADE UP friend, but Sonya doesn't know that...yet.  Hopefully, we have a least a year or two before she does.  Then she can be mad at us for making her tooth fairy cheap.