The (Missing) Tooth Fairy

Elizabeth lost (another!) tooth this weekend. This is literally the 15th tooth she’s lost. I know this because she’s keeping track and she keeps telling me. I could also go count them, because yes, I have saved every tooth she has lost. They’re in my dresser in a tiny gold box. I don’t know why I am saving them, because really? They’re gross. But, I am sentimental like that.


Anyway, it fell out while she was sleeping Saturday night. She came into our room about 3am and woke Daddy up saying “Daddy, my tooth fell out and I can’t find it!”.  She was really concerned. But, he told her to go back to sleep and that we’d find it in the morning. She came back in about 7, triumphantly holding it in the air and proclaiming, “Mommy! I found my tooth!”.

Oh, thank goodness!!!

So, we have a special box that lost teeth go into, and that box is set on the nightstand at bedtime so that the Tooth Fairy can find it, take the tooth out, leave some money, and then fly away until the next tooth is lost.

Obviously, Trixie has found and chewed up two tooth boxes, so I went out and bought a small round tin with a cover Sunday to replace them. I bought metal in the hopes that if (when?) Trixie finds it, she’ll spit it back out because it’s metal. We’ll see.

Sunday night, the tooth got put into the tin, which was then set on the nightstand. Elizabeth went to sleep, and I promptly forgot about it.

Do you see where this is going?

There was a thunderstorm overnight Sunday night which woke me up (well, that, and Alexandra screaming for me at 2am because there was something scary scratching at her window – the rain – and she was afraid). As I was laying in bed after all that, trying to fall back asleep, the tooth popped back into my head again and I thought to myself “Remember to get the tooth and leave money before waking Elizabeth up”. I thought it over and over, which was supposed to make me remember.

Fast forward to 7:10 am, when Elizabeth comes downstairs with the tooth tin. Of course, the tooth was still in it. And she was pretty disappointed.

Daddy and I tried to come up with reasons why she didn’t come: Maybe it was a Tooth Fairy holiday? Maybe she was sooooo busy she didn’t make it yet? Maybe the new tin threw her off? Maybe because the tooth fell out in the middle of the night she got confused?

Elizabeth decided to write her a letter. Please read in your most annoyed and teenager sounding voice to get the full effect.

How cute is that? 

Of course, the Tooth Fairy wrote back, and thanked her for being so patient.  She seemed OK with it, but then said "Mom, the Tooth Fairy's writing looks like yours".  I did what any good parent would do and lied to her and said "All girl's handwriting looks the same, just like all boy's handwriting looks the same".

Oh dear.