tooth fairy loans

Up until yesterday, our children had collectively lost a total of five teeth.

Because Carolyn teetered on the brink of hysteria anytime we'd even look at one of her loose teeth, we weren't allowed to touch them or smirk at them or say anything remotely related to tooth extraction without her screaming.

SCREAMING.

So in the course of sleeping or eating, she has swallowed all three of the teeth that she had thus far lost. Within the last month, through Elizabeth's lost tooth and the one that I inadvertently knocked out of Henry's mouth, we've had our first two teeth for the tooth fairy pillow. Just yesterday, within the span of eight hours, from last night until early this morning, we've now lost two and a half additional teeth, taking our grand total of lost teeth to seven and a half.

Yesterday afternoon, William was playing lacrosse with our neighbors and was hit in the face with the lacrosse stick by his sister, Elizabeth, effectively chipping his lower tooth. Shortly thereafter, Carolyn who has had two teeth jutting out of her mouth at various angles, that were continually shifting, finally disengaged. I'd been suggesting that she just YANK her teeth out of her mouth because HOW CAN SHE STAND IT? It was sticking in to her lip and then in to her tongue, and ack!!

She finally consented that she'd try to pull it out by herself. So we wrapped a small paper towel around her tooth and she stood, staring in the mirror, and debating whether this is something she could do for the next hour.

And then ...

Oh!

It was out!!!

She was so excited ... IT WAS OUT!

That distracting obstruction that had been in her mouth was finally out. And the excitement was so great because although she'd lost three prior teeth, she was in possession of her very first lost tooth. She eagerly tucked it in to the tooth fairy pillow before climbing in to bed.

Before we turned in for the night, Charlie and I remembered that we needed to exchange her tooth for money, but because neither of us had anything smaller than a $10.00, which seemed too high, we turned to Plan B which consisted of putting change in her pillow. We both agreed that was no good.

So we turned to Plan C which consisted of us running off to the grocery store and getting cash back at 10PM. We both agreed that was also no good.

So we turned to Plan D which consisted of us removing the plug from her piggy bank and taking out a few dollars. My husband thought that was a TERRIBLE idea. But the thought of change in the pillow or running out at 10 PM or the tooth fairy not coming at all was even more terrible. So Charlie unplugged her pink piggy bank and "borrowed" two dollars.

Well, the premeditated act of losing a tooth was such an awesome experience, that our daughter was up this morning at 5 AM (largely due to our little puppy that was wide awake!! and yapping!! and ready!! to play!!) begging her father to help her take out her front tooth.

Which he did. And the child that was terrified of losing a tooth is now a tooth pull junkie. She is furiously wiggling other teeth in her mouth, anxious for the next one to fall out so she can get more green money.

Tonight, we had to once again confiscate money from her piggy bank. We fully recognize that we'll need to (eventually) replace the money that we've been borrowing because on the day that she opens that piggy bank and realizes that she only has TWO DOLLARS for all the teeth that she's lost, she's totally going to be on to us.