Toothfairy Fail

Saturday evening was the first time since having Jack (8 weeks old) that Brian and I hired a babysitter to come watch the kids. We were invited to a going away party for Brian's step-brother, Ryan, who is moving to Atlanta. The party was at night at a Midtown pub.

All day Saturday Halle had been wiggling one of her baby teeth. Being 9 1/2 years old Halle is a veteran Tooth Loser, but it's been a long while since her last tooth extravaganza. She was terribly excited to be losing another baby tooth, another step toward being a grown-up. So while we were on our way to the party, Johnna, our sitter, sent a text happily announcing that Halle's tooth fell out after chewing on peanuts. I sent a text back reminding Halle to stick it under the pillow for the Toothfairy. Now Halle knows that the Toothfairy is actually me, but we like to play the game anyway. It's more about seeing if I can play the Toothfairy without being caught in the act... and for Halle to add money to her piggy bank.

We got home from the party right at midnight. I was exhausted because we were at a Volleyball Social at our church all afternoon. I still had to nurse Jack before calling it a night. I finally went to sleep at 1 am. Six hours later I hear Jack crying on the monitor. Although still half asleep, I was so grateful that Jack had slept that long and immediately went to nurse him. While I'm sitting in his room Halle walks in and says good morning. She has a solemn look on her face and says, "The tooth fairy didn't come last night." The blood drained from my face and a number of curse words went through my head as I realized that I had failed as mom and tooth fairy. I had always come through in the past and I felt horrible. The tooth crossed my mind not once since Johnna sent me that text. I immediately did the math in my head as to what time in the morning it currently was (which was very hard to do since I was still half asleep.) Ok....1 am + 6 hrs makes it at least 7 am. Crap! I couldn't make an excuse that it was still night time and the tooth fairy just hadn't had a chance to come by yet. So reluctanctly and defeated I told Halle that I was sorry that the toothfairy didn't show and she would definitely show up that night. Being the sweet girl that Halle is, she cheerfully said ok. She then showed me her tooth and it had a cavity in it. Oh no! Another fail as a parent. I should have taken her to the dentist to have her teeth checked. Strike two. Ok, I said to myself, I haven't traumatized her childhood just yet. I have a chance to redeem myself! The Toothfairy will show tonight!

That evening (yesterday) I was determined to not forget. It happened to be about 11 pm and Brian and I were still awake. I was scared to go in just yet and make the exchange since she had only been asleep an hour. But I was also scared that I would sleep through another night and forever be considered the worst toothfairy in history. So what do I do? I send Brian in there of course. Let him get caught and not me! Armed with his two dollars he goes into the room for the transaction. I'm peeking in from the doorway. As he nears her pillow I see Halle open her eyes, sit straight up in bed, and start mumbling! Dang! Busted! I rush in as a distraction to talk to her so that Brian can get the mission accomplished. She continues to mumble and I realize that she is sleep-talking. Great! She has no clue that we are even there. (Halle's sleep talking is hilarious and one of my favorite things to watch her do. It is deserving of its own blog post.) Tickled by the fact that I got to see her sleep-talk and relieved that Brian successfully acted as toothfairy, I went peacefully to sleep.

This morning Halle was getting ready for school and I greeted her proudly with , "Good morning! Did the tooth fairy come last night?" She bluntly answered, "Yes, but she FORGOT to take my tooth..... and the money was on the edge of my pillow, not IN my tooth pillow." Strike 3. Dang it Brian! I immediately started blaming it on her dad, "Daddy was the toothfairy, not me!!!!" Halle marched straight to the kitchen where Brian was making coffee and called him out on his toothfairy incapabilities. Realizing his blunder and scrappling for a comeback he blurted, "Well that's because the Toothfairy rejects teeth with cavities!" hahahahaha! So what have I learned? Brian and I both suck at being Toothfairy. Oh well....We still have two other kids. Maybe we'll eventually get it right.

Below are pics of Halle, the cavity in her tooth, and the toothfairy pillow (which was Brian's when he was a kid.)

Mommy's Helper

Now that I'm staying home it has been fun and challenging trying to keep my 3 yr old occupied. Arden (a girl) is very active. I always joke that she has two speeds: 0 ( asleep) and 90 mi/ hr. She has been this way since she was born. She is so fun, but she can be very tiring, especially with a newborn at home. Mom just can't keep up! Arden is also very social and does not like to play alone. Soooo in order to get things done around the house I really have to make cleaning a game so that she can help and keep her busy at the same time. I know this is not a new concept, but this has really saved me. Arden sweeps, mops, puts the laundry in the dryer, helps fold washrags (sometimes the same one over and over again but she doesn't know that), dust, and wipe counters. She even helps with the cooking and baking!

I have definitely learned patience as I've gotten older. With my first kid, Halle, I was impatient with how long it took to get things accomplished if I let her "help.". I'd rather knock it all out quickly instead. This was fine with her, too, because she played by herself a lot and could keep herself occupied while I cooked and cleaned. But still I wish I had taken the time and been patient enough to let her help. The kids feel very accomplished when they have helped with a chore and you have spent quality time with them. They also learn life skills in the process.

And now I enjoy having a helper. She really does contribute if I'm patient. Arden's favorite thing to do is get a wipe and wipe down everything. She'll wipe the coffee table, floor, baseboards, and whatever else she can find to wipe! When she's done she yells, "Mommy, I done! I cleaned!". In the meantime I may have got a toilet cleaned or the dishes done. Killed two birds with one stone. It's great!!!

Here We Are!

This is my first time to blog and I'm kinda nervous. I'm Bobbie Hargrave, wife and mother of three cool kids. I just started staying home and am getting used to the change of pace. I recently worked full time as an Ultrasound Tech. It's a great job, but I was getting burned out being a full time employee and full time mom. Soooo, once my baby was born I started to stay home. My kids are Halle-9, Arden-3, and Jack-7 weeks old. My husband is Brian (he's pretty cool too.)