I thought we weren't doing that anymore, but I guess we are

Zoe lost a tooth the other day.  It's good, because the adult teeth above are really started to descend and it just looks painful. 

The last time she lost a tooth the tooth fairy brought her a dollar, as usual.  But then, something not so usual happened.  She came to me and asked if I was the one who was the tooth fairy. 

I sat down and asked her what she thought.  She told me she wanted me to tell her the truth about it.

I took a deep breath and told her the truth, that yes, I did it.  Then I asked her if it had been fun, it had been fun for me and her dad, I hoped she'd had fun too.

Then I told her now she could help Willie have fun when he started to lose his teeth. She could tell him all about it, show him how to put the tooth under his pillow and remind him to check in the morning.  She thought this sounded like a good deal, then wanted me to give her her teeth.

I fetched them from the antique cookie jar on top of the kitchen sideboard and gave her a little bag to put them in.  She played with them for a long time and now they live in her 'treasures box' that she has stashed somewhere in her room. 

When she lost her tooth last week, I thought she'd put it in her treasure box right away.  But, she told me she was going to put it under her pillow.

"I thought we weren't doing that anymore?"  I asked her.

"No, I want to do it."  she told me.

"Oh, okay." 

And then, I forgot!  I forgot all about it.  Zoe got up, found her tooth under her pillow and was irritated.  We agreed to give the tooth fairy another chance, since Zoe had lost the tooth so late in the day it probably hadn't made it onto the schedule. 

Now, remember, this child knows that this is me but we're still having the conversation about how the tooth fairy missed her room. 

Then, I'm sure you see this coming, I forgot again! 

Morning number two, Zoe yells from her room "My tooth is still here!".  Oh shit.

I went upstairs and said "What?"

"My tooth is still here.  I even reminded you!"  she tilted her pillow up and showed me.

I pointed to her window, explained it was still dark and the tooth fairy wasn't done with rounds yet.  Then I ran downstairs to see if we had any cash, which was going to be the big challenge.  We had no paper money, none. 

So, my daughter got a handful of change under her pillow in exchange for her tooth.  Three quarters and enough nickels and pennies to make a dollar. 

Hoo boy, that was a special feeling!  Right up there with forgetting that my child was going to be getting out of school early and not picking her up.  Or when another parent tells you that their child, who is a year younger than your own child, cooked dinner all by themselves two nights ago. 

The feeling of not doing so good at this parenting gig.  Thankfully, there is McDonald's, with which I bribe my children back into thinking I'm the best mom in the world!

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  To remove dead skin without using an abrasive, spread a thin layer of Miracle Whip on your skin.  (Miracle Whip, not mayo)  Let it dry and then rub off with your fingers.  It sounds weird, but it works.