How Much Does The Tooth Fairy Pay?

Good question. I think it depends on zoning in their region (or something), or their local of the TFU (Tooth Fairy Union).

This was us (me and friends over visiting with their kids) backpedalling and scrambling for a story when our kids, two of whom each lost a tooth that day, started comparing payout rates.

(oh geeez!!!)

Visiting boy: "I get $2.25. So I've made $6.75 so far."

Visiting girl: "I've heard some people get ten bucks a tooth!!"

Me: lol "we can't afford that!"

...OOPS!!

Me: "Um, because, uh... then if our tooth fairy paid ten bucks a tooth then we'd have to buy bigger birthday presents. Not that we only spend ten bucks on birthdays, but uh... oh, you know. I think our tooth fairy, uh, invests the extra tooth money in tooth paste research."

(not sure how that went over)

My daughter: "Hey! I only get $2.00 per tooth!"

Me: "uh, honey don't forget the stickers you got, too, with the first tooth. That's like getting an extra $0.25. Then there were the hair clips with the second tooth! Don't forget about that."

There's no way to equalize tooth fairy payment amounts across the board, but it does pay to have some kind of story ready, for when the kids start comparing. (Oh yes, and never ever ever forget that it's the tooth fairy who pays ;-)

Ha! Listen To Your Mother - She's Usually Right

So there ;-)

I was right - it's raining today. Drizzly hazy stuff that not even an umbrella can protect against. Blech.

I'm trying not to gloat (about the being right thing) - it's wasted on a five and four year old anyway (better used with Hubby ;-)

Instead I tried to turn it into a lesson:

Me: "See? Aren't you glad I made you go outside yesterday in the sunshine? Look at it now! Yuck!"

Alyssa: "Yes but today we could use our umbrellas, Mummy!!"

It occurs to me now what my problem has been all along: I expect them to think like adults...

5 Things I Am Thankful For

I have the two most wonderful brats-oops-I-mean children in the universe, so limiting this list to five things will be hard. In no particular order, here are five things that popped into my head:

1) Lil J's sweet singing voice (he just finished singing "Gone Fishing" from Thomas The Tank Engine).

2) Barbie and Lightning McQueen laptops... now the three of us are at the table, each with our own laptop ;-)

3) Good manners and inside voices!!!

4) Glorious good health :-) :-)

5) Hugs xoxoxo

6) 6,342,874 other things at least...

Pajama Day

It's sunny though. Beautifully, glaringly, shade your eyes or lose your vision sunny. Is it wrong of me to force them to go in the back yard?

Winter is just around the corner, with rain rain rain and oh yeah, rain. So what if it's a pajama day, with no school, preschool, skating or swimming lessons? (Ya gotta have a pajama day now and then. You know, the days when you have no obligations or commitments, and they really can stay in their jammies all day, and then change into fresh ones for bedtime?) It's a rare treat in this nutty, over scheduled life that we lead.

But not today. I know that once they're out in the roomy, grassy expanse of the sun filled yard, the urge to run will take them over and they'll be happy that I made them get dressed. (I'm still waiting for that day when they'll figure out that Mommy is usually right about these things.)

What the heck... maybe I'll even join them and go work in the garden.

Nicer Version Of Rock-a-bye Baby

My daughter insists that "the bough will NOT break, Mommy. They wouldn't make a song about babies falling!"

Hmmm.

Another Mom told me this version - not sure who wrote it (sorry - did a quick Google with no luck), but it's much nicer (it's now the one I use):

Rock-a-bye baby
Safe in your bed
Soft woolly sheep
You count in your head

Over the fence
They jump and they prance
Close your eyes now
And dream of their dance

Ahhhh.... that's more like it.