How We Do, Part 2 (and 3)

Pink P finally lost her first tooth. It was loose for nearly three months before Stow helped knock it out. I was beginning to think it might be in there forever, but in the end, a well-timed foot to the mouth did the trick. Apparently there were many tears and a tiny bit of blood, but by the time Sky and I got home from his Cub Scout meeting, Pink was all semi-toothless smiles.

Before bed, she wrapped the tooth in a tissue and placed in under her pillow. Then she asked me to write the following note:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I was scared, but I'm not any more. Please don't forget to come. 

Love, Pink. 

Her original message was much (MUCH) longer, but I was writing on a post-it note with a dull cornflower blue crayon...

Before bed, I told Pink to pick up her room or the Tooth Fairy wouldn't be able to get to her bed to retrieve the tooth from under her pillow. Pink reminded me that fairies fly and don't need a clear path from the door to the bed. So, then I told her the Tooth Fairy really didn't like to visit messy rooms. Apparently this was convincing because she picked everything up. Then she fell asleep, under her covers with her head on the pillow and slept there all night. This is not a common occurrence at our house, so I was grateful for the lost tooth. I was also glad that the Tooth Fairy hadn't misplaced anything in the move.

The next morning, Pink came in bright and early to show me what the Tooth Fairy had brought.

A tiny pillow...

...with a note inside.

The Tooth Fairy doesn't leave money at our house. She leaves teeth-related paraphernalia. On this occasion, she'd found a sale at Pottery Barn Kids and figured this pillow might be just the thing to cut down on missing lost teeth. It's not easy finding those little buggers under pillows on rumpled sheets in the middle of the night--especially since you can't turn the light on. Usually, the Tooth Fairy brings new toothbrushes or toothpaste. My kids know that the Tooth Fairy gives their friends money (and lots of money at that--did you know that the going rate for tiny detached teeth is anywhere between two and five dollars?), but the Tooth Fairy and I refuse to bow to peer pressure. Kids don't need to be paid exorbitant amounts of money for performing the completely natural act of losing their baby teeth. They do need to learn to love and care for their teeth, however, and cool toothbrushes and dental floss left under pillows work well for this.

*****

(Awkward change in topic with no clever transition and only a few poorly placed asterisks.)


This idea might be as brilliant as my Good Will box (which totally still seems to be working, by the way).

Every time I try to take a shower, the whole entire world falls apart. Every time. Forget the fact that my showers take a total of about 7 minutes from start to finish. And, forget the fact that I always wait until everyone is properly engaged in another activity before I attempt to take one. It doesn't matter. As soon as I get into the shower, at least one child (and usually more than one) will knock on the door. And, 9 times out of 10, that child will be crying when he/she does.  It makes me crazy.

So, the other day, I came up with this:

That's right. I set the kitchen timer. For 20 minutes (even though I knew I only needed 8).

And, then I told the kids that unless someone was bleeding, having an asthma attack, or unconscious, no one was allowed knock on the door until the timer got to zero.

And, you know what? It worked.