"Mom, I think the Tooth Fairy got lost again!"

One thing I want to spend a lot of time writing about on this blog is our GAPS diet journey.  Before I start that, though, I feel compelled to share this embarrassing moment with you, just for fun. 

I am a klutz.  I ran cross-country because it was hard to "miss the ball" or run into anyone or anything in that sport.  I mean, you can see there's a tree ahead for quite awhile and have plenty of time to avoid running into it--that's what I need in a sport.  Nothing flying at me that I'm supposed to catch or hit or bounce (it took my high school volleyball coach awhile to get me to do more than duck and cover my head when the ball came my direction).  But being the tooth fairy is not supposed to involve any of those skills. 

At our house we don't pretend that there's an Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, but I remember as a kid just loving the thought of a darling little Tooth Fairy who could magically change my lost tooth into a quarter while I slept--even though I knew it was my mom.  So I brought the Tooth Fairy into our family when my oldest lost her first tooth.  I had no idea it would be so nerve-wracking--what if the kid wakes up?  what does the Tooth Fairy DO with the tooth?  I am a trepidatious Tooth Fairy to say the least.  My husband just laughs at me, since it was my idea in the first place.

Yesterday, Simeon (who just turned 8 and says he doesn't believe in these kind of things, but likes to have his tooth "changed" into spending money), lost a tooth.  He'd been wrestling with his big sister Julie while they waited those wiggly last few minutes for Daddy to come home after directing camp for 2 weeks.  When Eric came in, amid the hugs and laughter Simeon held out his newly lost tooth for Daddy's examination.

"What happened?"  Eric asked, "Did someone punch you in the mouth?"

Simeon's jaw dropped.  "How did you know?  Julie just knocked it out with her FIST!"

After unloading all Eric's gear into the livingroom we enjoyed supper and an evening of the constant chatter of catching up.  I forgot about the tooth.  At 4am I was up feeding our sweet baby, and remembered the Tooth Fairy.  She'd been forgetful in the past and was determined to do better.  After putting our little guy back down I snuck to the kitchen in the dark (Tooth Fairies are stealthy) to find some loot.  We were out of the "gold coins" (one dollar pieces) the Tooth Fairy usually gives, so a regular dollar would have to do.  My husband's wallet was empty, so I quickly trekked through the dark livingroom to grab mine.  Unfortunately, I'd forgotten all the Rubbermaid containers and bags we'd unloaded earlier.

The crash was terrific.  I was totally sprawled out, and my right shin hadn't fared well.  I bit my lip to keep quiet and silently got the "loot" ready.  Simeon was the only one who woke up from the noise, but I thought I'd use that to my advantage since he was groggy.  After searching for a momnet and finding nothing I asked him if he knew where his tooth was.  I thought I'd make the switch quickly and he'd think the Tooth Fairy had already come.  Only trouble was, we couldn't find the tooth anywhere.  I finally gave up and we went back to bed, nothing gained except a painful shin.

This morning Simeon located his tooth still in its bag, under his bed, and let me know of the Tooth Fairy's negligence.  I wore a long skirt today to hide the big blue goose-egg on my leg.  Whose idea was this silly Tooth Fairy thing, anyway?