The tooth, the whole tooth, and ...

I have this sinking feeling I am going to be out of a job in short order ... the job of Tooth Fairy anyway. True to his word, Carter gave him/her/it another shot last night. That did not go as planned!

First of all, Carter normally sleeps on the bottom bunk but decided last night that he wanted to sleep on the top bunk so the Tooth Fairy would not have a hard time getting to him.

Secondly, our practice has been that he puts his tooth in a small Ziploc bag and the Tooth Fairy swaps out the tooth and leaves four quarters. Last night Carter decided he was going to leave the tooth under his pillow (did I mention this tooth broke after he pulled it so we are dealing with TWO pieces?). His logic: "Well Mom, if we put the tooth in a bag, then the Tooth Fairy thinks he has to leave coins. If I put the tooth under my pillow, it's easier for him to slip bills under there."

Thirdly, Carter wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy on a Post-It note. So besides the two pieces of tooth, there is a sticky note under his pillow that reads: "Dear Tooth Fairy: Sorry the tooth is broken. Could you still please leave some $?"

Shortly before midnight, under the cover of darkness, I had quite a challenge. I had to stand on the bottom bunk (naturally, the ladder is nowhere near his head), had to reach under his pillow without disturbing his head, and grab the paper and pieces. In two tries, I got them all out and placed them on his nightstand where I could see them with the faint glow of his SpongeBob alarm clock.

Then it was time to slip the dollar (a presidential COIN dollar - we weren't falling for that BILL logic) under his pillow. Clang! It hit the metal bed frame. Thankfully, our son is a heavy sleeper! I got it under the pillow, grabbed the paper and tooth from the nightstand and tiptoed back to our room.

Only I didn't get both pieces of the tooth... I learned that from Carter at 6 a.m. (well before that alarm goes off). "Are you sure the Tooth Fairy isn't our parents?" he asks. Trying to get the heat off my back, I reply, "What? Can't the Tooth Fairy make a mistake?"

I swear I had both pieces in my hand when I left his room! Now, like a bad mini-series, this stinkin' saga will continue another night! Carter insists on writing yet another note telling the Tooth Fairy he forgot something. He also expects to get another dollar for the other half of the tooth. Hey, two trips, two dollars. More logic from the 9-year-old.

At this point, I am ready to say, "Is it really that important for you to believe in the Tooth Fairy?!" But, of course, I won't. I want him to look back some day and remember the time it took the Tooth Fairy three nights to get it right.

Thank goodness Santa only comes once a year!