1.) Lesson learned!
I can honestly say I’ve been dreading the tooth fairy baton pass since the moment I realized my mom was stuffing money under my pillow.
I had no idea how she was managing to sneak into my room, reach under my pillow, and complete the tooth/money exchange without stirring me. I never woke up with her in the room and I was always on high alert for any sign of fairy action.
Maile had three teeth pulled at the dentist this week and already I was disappointed with my lack of preparation for this historic moment. I wanted to be the mom with the special tooth fairy tin equipped with a special tooth fairy poem.
I wanted to be the mom with the personalized tooth fairy pillow.
I had none of that. Instead I found myself tripping over toys with a glow stick clutched in my left hand as I attempted to fish out three teeth with my right. She hadn’t even put them in an envelope. I was looking for three actual teeth.
Gross.
I know.
And every time I carefully stuffed my hand under her pillow she moved! I’d retreat and trip back over toys and hold my breath and then stuff my hand under her pillow again.
The worst part?
I never found them. I had to wait until night two and encouraged her to go ahead and stick her teeth in a container on TOP of a pillow she wasn’t actually sleeping on. Just maybe the tooth fairy had a hard time locating her teeth and maybe the tooth fairy needed a little help finding them.
Thank God.
The tooth fairy had better luck on night two.
No thanks to that glow stick.
Dominique says
The tooth fairy tins look so cute!! My eldest has yet to lose any of his baby teeth yet.. maybe I should get one of these tins for him ready.
Erin says
My mom just gave me the tooth fairy pillow she had made for me, has a little pocket on the outside to put your teeth in, and you think reaching for 3 teeth is gross…..my mom saved all mine….yes all of them, in a box and she presented them to me when I was like 30! WTH? Who does that?
Stephanie @ The Blue Zoo says
My mom kept mine too! And I keep all my boys teeth too. I just cant bare to throw them out.
Erin says
Yes but will you package them up all pretty and give them back to them at 30?? Haha I thought ummm ooookaaay what do I do with them?
Tonya says
I love the tins, but I’m with you… I wish the whole sneaking in their room was’t involved. Not only is it creepy, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to pull it off.
I found all of my baby teeth in a small box in my Mother’s jewelry box once and I was totally freaked out. Why couldn’t she have just throne them away like I plan on doing?!
cori says
I found all mine and my sisters also in my moms drawer!! Ewwww!
cori says
…and why I’m not looking forward to playing tooth fairy myself!
MarytheKay says
Talk about gross…my daughter decided to start KEEPING her teeth. Yes, instead of turning them in for MONEY. *Shiver* She keeps them in an empty Tic Tac container. Yeah, that rattly noise it makes–is about 10 of her TEETH.
Georgia Girls says
Those containers are cute! When I was young(er), we just put the tooth in a glass of water. I’m curious. What is the going rate for teeth nowadays?
Stephanie @ The Blue Zoo says
The toothfairy pays about $2 to $5 a tooth around here. The batter shape the tooth is in (meaning how well its been brushed over the years) the more $$ the Toothfairy gives you for it.
Jessica says
I once forgot that I needed to be the tooth fairy two nights in a row. It took some major story telling to get out of that.
Stef says
We have had Toothfairy FAIL at my house. She seems to forget all the time. So much so that I am not sire thaty kids believe anymore. How sad. Sigh.
Miri says
I left a price tag on one of my last teeth to fall out {$9}. My mother was so surprised and a bit impressed with my “chutzpa” that I actually got it!
Kimberly says
Thing One lost a tooth one Tuesday long ago. Somehow, I forgot to do the Tooth Fairy thing. In the morning, he was devastated. I quickly covered my tracks by telling him that I should have warned him: the Tooth Fairy only gets one night off a week, and it’s Tuesdays. And I made sure that I took care of it Wednesday night. Whew!
Stephanie @ The Blue Zoo says
That darn tooth fairy has been pretty forgetful around here a time or two too! She isnt as reliable as she used to be, thats for sure…
Leah says
Oh, I loved the idea of the Tooth Fairy when I was little so I fully intend to keep that tradition with my future children too. : )
Diapers In The Desert says
With all the chaos of Toddlerhood… I hadn’t even thought about Tooth Fairyness. How much do teeth run these days?
Heidi Smith Luedtke says
I bought a cute little toothfairy pillow a while back and am looking forward to the day my son tries it out. I’m sure, like everything else, I will forget to do the exchange until the last freakin’ minute and have to make up some sort of lame story to cover my butt when he wakes up and asks “why you in my room, Mom?” Just-in-time-excellence. That’s how I roll.
Paula Kiger says
Yeah, I was pretty relieved when everyone was old enough that I could just hand them the cash before they went to bed – sad to see “the magic” go but mainly relieved that I didn’t have to stay up any later!
Betsy says
I had a tooth fairy pillow as a child and totally plan on making one for my kid. Perhaps I should get on that so as not to be taken unawares!
Angel says
Every one of my kids lost their teeth at school. Which became a blessing since the school has a necklace shaped like a tooth. They put the teeth in their special necklace and wear it home. At night without fail the kids will have tossed the necklace to the side and I put the money under the pillow. Several times we have had to remind the youngest to check if the tooth fairy even came, they are that disinterested.
Miranda H. says
My daughter hasn’t even got teeth yet and I’m already dreading TEETH in general. If she has my tooth DNA I’m doomed to drown in tooth fairy loans and orthodontic debt.
Funkidivagirl says
ARRGHH….I do not like the Tooth Fairy. I wrote a blog post about it awhile ago because I was upset that some moms started a thing where the Fairy left notes, presents, glitter and other evidence of their being there (besides the money). Isn’t it enough to remember to stay awake to exchange teeth for money anyway?
Funkidivagirl says
Oh, and I DID have a cute little Tooth Fairy box that I had my daughter keep next to her bed. Isn’t that enough?
Diane says
The tooth fairy “forgot” a couple of times over here and I had a disappointed little boy in the morning. I told them the tooth fairy probably just took a night off and to try it again. oops!
Amanda says
ROFL! Sounds like us trying to pull off Santa this year…our boys almost caught us this time. :-S. Wow, they make it hard to fool them!
Roo {NiceGirlNotes} says
Ahahaha. One time I lost a tooth and my parents didn’t have any cash on them, so they slipped a check under my pillow.
Tori Nelson says
As one of five kids, we were accustomed to having my mom, who spoke to the tooth fairy’s people and had legitimate fairy approval, just handing us a treat in exchange for our teeth. NOTE: Handing a 6-year-old with no front teeth an apple is not, in fact, a treat :)
Cute post!
Jen says
Yes, putting those teeth in a container is definitely the key.
Also, I need to have a talk with this tooth fairy b/c her rates are outrageous! With 4 kids, I am going to need a second job.
Jennifer says
I had Baby Girl put hers in an envelope and slide it under her pillow. Of course that didn’t help me remember until like 2am when I jerked awake and had to stumble around the house looking for money and then finding and hiding teeth. I’m shocked I didn’t wake up everyone, not just her.
Evonne says
Thankfully there weren’t any Tooth Fairy fails with my oldest. My fear is that our youngest, who should start loosing teeth soon, will suffer second child syndrome and the Tooth Fairy won’t be on the ball with him.
Teresa says
You’re taking me back down memory lane here. I remember going into stealth mode with my son and daughter too. Who knew retrieving teeth could be such an adventure!
Kate says
For some reason, I knew the toothfairy wasn’t real but I was like 25 before I ever figured out Santa wasn’t the real thing… who knows!
Kristi says
Oh, the memories!!! My husband and I decided that we should have been fired as the official Tooth Fairies in our home! We would constantly forget, have to sneak up in the morning to try to accomplish it, or wait till the next night. I think our 3rd child had to wait 6 nights for the Tooth Fairy to come?!? See? Fired!
Natalie says
Yet one more parenting task I have to look forward to failing at!
Nicole @ Moments that Define Life says
I always aspire to be creative in an effort to imprint childhood memories that they will cherish – and more often than not, I fail. I’m working on it. :-)
B says
We’ve had some pretty big tooth fairy fails in this house! I’ll be happy when the tooth fairy can retire. I’m tired of feeling like a crappy mom when I’m facing a disapointed toothless face in the morning.
Sarah @ TiredMommyTales says
My kid’s 2.5 and I’m worried about how much a tooth will be going for by the time she loses one! I got .25 when I was kid. What’s the going rate now?
Paula Kiger says
I am behind the times too (kids are 11 and 14) but we did $5 for the first tooth and $1 for the ones after. Gold dollar coins were sort of a big hit novelty for the $1 times. Good luck. Maybe a loan program will start up to take care of esclating fairy funds!!
Samantha says
My daughter HIDES her teeth … like on purpose. She will say she’s putting them in a container or envelope or whatever under her pillow (or in the spot she has designated) and when we go to find the tooth, it’s gone. Hidden. She figures if the tooth fairy is real no map is needed. *knock on wood* Except for the very first time she hid it, we’ve found it every single time. Thank goodness for a deep sleeping child, a flashlight and stealth!
kisatrtle says
I’ve already written a letter to the tooth fairy as she tends to SUCK in our house. Good luck as you are still in it for the long haul.
Michelle Pixie says
I make mine stick them on their nightstand in a little box so the Tooth Fairy doesn’t kill herself…she is very accident prone in our house! ;-)
Michelle Pixie says
Oh and the little box my mom bought them for my girls when they were wee little. She makes the Tooth Fairy gig a lot to live up to!
Sara R-The Millennial Housewife says
Hey there….. Once at my house the tooth fairy came while my son was at school. It was amazing! That was after she had forgotten to visit for two nights in a row….apparently she forgot where we lived!
BTW…your button for the workshop is not working…. maybe it is user error….but I thought I’d let you know just in case.
Christine says
I HATED tooth fairy duty and I’m very glad it’s over. I was never prepared, I never had cash and my children figured it out very quickly. That tin is adorable.
Jenny says
At least you did not totally forget, Our tooth fairy has done that and she had to make a mad dash into my sons room when he went out to play and stuff it under his pillow. When he went to bed that night he found his money and told me maybe he did not look hard enough that morning. Tooth Fairy’s are so unreliable ;)
Becky @ Accidental Southern Mama says
We’ve had the additional issue of explaining that in our family we have a Tooth Angel instead of Tooth Fairy because my maiden name was Ferry (confusing to a small child who doesn’t spell well) and the kids thought it was their Nana coming to take their teeth and the oldest was putting in orders.
Lee Ann says
Once my daughter woke up right as I was putting the $ under her pillow. So I pretended like I was sleeping and she immediately went looking for her prize…only to find my hand under her pillow cluthing a dollar bill! She was so excited she never questioned why I was sleeping hlaf-way on her bed, or why I was touching her $! Good times!! :0)
Rachel {at} Mommy Needs a Vacation says
Oh man! I am not looking forward to doing that. What a pain in the ass! LOL!
Michelle says
Hilarious as always. My kids have always just handed over their teeth for me to keep, which I have in special little trinket boxes – gross? Maybe, but it makes them happy. And what could be better than that?
I’m loving your new blog design – it’s really very cool!
Peace,
Michelle ;)
Andrea says
You know, I always think I’ll be the perfectly prepared person for these sorts of things. When in reality I’ll be exactly like you were. Oops.
Karen @ Time Crafted says
Sorry, I know its not nice to laugh….but, yup, I’m laughing! Not *at* you, but with you because you just described the nightmare I was having minus the glowstick (though you did just bring back many a Girl Scout camporee memory….oh those are gonna stick with me for awhile…we had fun…we glowed…I dare not say more!) BEFORE I came up with what has become our workable solution.
My best friend, auntie to my kidlets, made both of them blankets that fold into a pocket & create a pillow. I knew, KNEW, I would never be able to get the teeth out from under a pillow (especially since the pillow rarely stays in the same place on the bed all night) and leave something behind. Sooooo…….I talked my kidlet into putting his tooth in a ziplock baggie and into the pocket on that blanket folded into a pillow and put it on the table next to the front door (you know, the front door, so its convienent for that ultra busy tooth fairy to get in the door and get out and not wake the sweetly sleeping child up). So, kidlet leaves a tooth, Tooth Fairy leaves a toy…usually a Star Wars figure. :>
Cassandra says
I totally aspire to those kinds of things for my kids. I so want them to have a childhood that is just picture perfect. However, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be needing to borrow that glow stick :)
Jennifer says
I am so impressed by those pillows and tins–I think I just stuck my teeth under my pillow like your daughter did. And I guess I’m really out of touch with reality–I only planned on leaving a quarter, maybe a silver dollar for the first tooth, for when my son’s teeth start falling out! :)
SuzRocks says
You definitely need to invest a special tooth fairy purse… might help out with future teeth!
Katie says
i totally had a little stuffed tooth fairy with a pocket for my tooth. and my mom STILL made me put it in a baggie.
i am not looking forward to this ridiculousness.
Andrea says
I would offer to start sewing but I’m sure she would nothing more than a good laugh out of my domestic talentlessness.
Kate Hayes says
Very funny! Thanks for sharing this lesson…very timely for me, as I have a currently have a 6-year-old girl who is going to start losing teeth very soon! I will be ready, thanks to you! No glow sticks…check.
Carrie says
My oldest has a “tooth bell” to put her teeth in. I plan on making sure she uses it! Not only will it make finding the teeth easier…then I don’t have to touch them.
My god, WHY do we do this again??
ElizOF says
I loved the tooth fairy and happily passed it on to my kids. They knew it was me. :-) Who knows why we do it… it’s fun!
Elizabeth
Fenny says
Hi MamaKat!
Love this writer’s challenge and joined up today – but for the life of me I can’t get your button to post on my blog post….. Any idea what I can do? I have a free WP.com blog – don’t know if that got anyhting to do with it.
Love your blog!
Fenny says
Me again…… somehow I can’t link my blog post up to the multitudes…. I have used linky stuff before and got it done. Now when i get to where I have to upload my pic, it gives me an error and I don’t understand a word of what they are telling me…..
So here is my link to my post: This too shalle pass… http://wp.me/p1lgKb-b8
Hope someone will still get to my post…..
One day I’ll ge the hang of it. I hope.
Laura @ Things I Said I'd NEver Do says
We are still in the “getting teeth” stage of the process but I think I should start getting a cute tin or pillow now! Otherwise I’ll never get around to it!
But in the end do the kids care where the tooth goes? No. They just want the money. :-)
Keagan says
Ah…mommyhood has kept me away from your blog and its hilarity entirely too long! Damn baby just keeps foiling my attempts at blogging. Love the story…I have no idea how I’ll ever manage these things!
Bella says
Eeeww. LOL
I really have issues with the kids losing teeth because I thinks it’s gross lol. Plus I ALWAYS forget to retrieve the damn tooth LOL
Venassa says
I think I would have to agree.. that is one thing I dread about having children. I’m good at being sneaky, but fishing teeth from under a pillow is not my kind of sneaking around.
Tracy P. says
I have *heard* that the tooth fairy is really quite unreliable because she never knows from one day to the next how many visits she will have to make and exactly where in the world she will be. It’s such an unpredictable job, really. She is to be received with much gracious understanding.
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