Can We Try This Again?

My girls have pulled out several of their own teeth and even the boys are impressed by their skills. Before going to bed the other night, Anna reminded me her tooth was under her pillow. I had great plans to deliver that evening but alas, she found only her tooth the next morning. Whoops! I told her she woke up too early so we would try it again the next night.

Early the next morning my neighbor called to see if I wanted to go walking with her. It was a random event but I agreed to stay in the neighborhood since Aaron had already left for work. ALL of the kids were still asleep but I woke Tanner and told him what I was doing in case the little ones got up before I came back. My neighbor and I circled around once and I opened the front door to listen for a few minutes. Quiet. Wow. We circled the neighborhood a second time. Checked on the kids. Still sleeping? Went for a third loop before heading home. Happily refreshed, I came home amazed that I had actually walked three miles while the kids slept. Rare, indeed.

A short time later, Anna came into the kitchen with alligator tears and held up her tooth! Uh-oh. Big uh-oh. Not only had that darn tooth fairy forgotten again, but Anna sobbed as she told me how she waited and waited in her bed that morning. She has never been an early riser so I would have never imagined she was lying awake in her bed anticipating something to appear under her pillow while I circled the neighborhood. I felt more than awful! Apologetically, I went straight to my purse and pulled out a dollar. Trying to creatively improve the situation, I suggested checking under her pillow sporadically during the day because tooth fairies can come at any time. She didn't like that idea. I offered her the money then and there but she decided she wanted to try it one more time. Take three...

There are a lot of things I am good at. Being the "Tooth Fairy" has never been one of them. You would think that by child #4, I would have a 'system' down by now. The funny thing is that our kids have never believed in a tooth fairy. And I would prefer to simply hand them the money (which is what usually happens).

I think Anna finally mentioned something to Aaron the third night but I haven't confirmed this with him as of yet. What I do know is that she showed me a dollar the next morning! Initially, I thought maybe she put it under the pillow herself (because I had honestly forgotten again). However, she told me how Dad tucked her in bed the night before and then came back to give her another kiss. That's when he slid his hand under her pillow. She had it all figured out. A moment later, she got out of bed and delivered the tooth to him since it was still under her pillow. Whatever went down, I was so relieved...

I hope my kids will recover.