George's First Tooth Goes to the Tooth Fairy!

George lost his first tooth yesterday!  I picked him up at the end of the day and when he opened his m mouth I could see the thing practically laying flat against his gums.  I'm not a big fan of teeth, but this one had to come out before he swallowed it!  So, he handed me the tissue that was in his hand and I reached in and popped it out with barely any effort at all.  He didn't even feel it come out because it was soooo loose!

He is officially grown up!

We were on the front steps of the school when I pulled it out so I insisted that we go into the nurse's office and get one of those little plastic treasure boxes to carry it home.  I'm certain we would have lost it otherwise.

When we got home, the first thing he did was put it in his Tooth Fairy pillow that he got for Christmas (I'm patting myself on the back for the perfect timing!).  For all the new moms out there, I highly recommend picking up one of these pillows.  The Tooth Fairy does not want to have to be digging in the dark under a huge pillow, lots of blankets, and a sleeping child to retrieve the tooth and place the cash.

When I went to bed, the kids were still awake, so obviously the Tooth Fairy hadn't arrived but when Chuck got home they were finally asleep.  He went to check on the Tooth Fairy pillow and low and behold, he found this note right under the pillow.

Here is what it says, just in case you can't read it.

To: Toothfairy

Could you please leave something for Evie and Luke, Too.
Please! 

from: Luke, Evie, and George 

This is the only thing to write on.
 

Can you believe the audacity of this kid, whose name is Evie?!  I mean, now, not only is the Tooth Fairy on the hook for paying for George's tooth, but she/he/whatever is also being asked to leave money for the toothless kid's siblings?  Uh, hell to the no.  And I know it was Evie because it is obviously her handwriting.  Yes, the Gold Digger.  What worries me most is that if she is willing to ask the mythical Tooth Fairy for money, is she also asking her friends' parents for money?  Heaven help me.  I certainly hope not!

Anyway, this brings up the question of money.  This was quite a discussion yesterday (before the Tooth Fairy received the greedy, money-grubbing note): What is the going rate that the Tooth Fairy is paying for teeth?  Have you heard how much kids are getting for these things?  It's ridiculous!  Some kids were saying that they got $20 and one kid got $100.  Are you kidding me?!  I think I got a quarter or two - maybe a dollar if I was lucky.  But one hundred effing dollars is outrageous!  I did a little research so we'd know what to expect George to have in his pillow when he woke up and most websites had a consensus of $5 as the average rate.  Here's a link to one that was posted on February 28th, which apparently is Tooth Fairy Day?  Did you know they have Tooth Fairy Day?  Yeah, me either.  http://www.kiplinger.com/article/spending/T065-C002-S003-how-much-money-should-the-tooth-fairy-give.html

Needless to say, the siblings didn't receive anything other than the response note shown below which reads, "Dear Luke, Evie, and George: I'm sorry, but I only bring money for baby teeth.  Love, Tooth Fairy"

So even though Luke and Evie don't get to double dip on the Tooth Fairy money, George pulled out a win with $3.00.  He was thrilled this morning!  And that's all that matters in this story!

V-day 2015 (a little late!)

I don't think I posted my Valentine's Day pictures this year, because they suck.  No worries, I'm still willing to share my bad pictures with you!  Here are my three crazies.  I was pleased that they embraced red clothing at the very least.  But I guess kids will do anything if they thing it pays out in candy.


I know.  The picture is terrible with the lighting and all that, but I'm pretty sure you all know I'm rubbish at photography by now.

Here is my favorite part!!! Eeeek!  I can't get over how much these kids make me laugh without even trying!  Precious Luke had to decorate a shoe box for his Valentine's Day exchange.  Reminder: he's in 5th grade.  I asked him if he had finished it and he grunted, "Uh huh."  I low this is not enough to trust, so I asked him to show it to me.  He brought it over to the couch where I was lounging with a glass of wine and held it up in front of my face with a sigh of tween angsty annoyance . . .

. . . and then I spit out my wine and choked on my spit as I laughed out loud with no shame or ability to hid my amused reaction, because just take a look at this.

Can you read it?!  If you can't let me tell you what words my innocently sweet boy wrote on the top of his box.  "Free hugs" in a box on the top right corner.  In the bottom middle, there is an arrow pointing to the hole saying, "Valentine's Here." And then the coup de gras, another arrow pointing at the hole stating, "Lovers Only".  Oh, dear heavenly Lord, I just about died laughing.  And then I felt only a smidgen of guilt when he started to get embarrassed because Chuck had glanced over and was also cringing and laughing.  Poor kid.  Chuck made me apologize later and explain why I was laughing.  I really don't think he cared as much about me laughing at it as he was pissed when I told him he had to do it again without the words, "Lovers Only."

But honestly, even if his wording had been okay, I have to tell you that he just took a crumpled shoebox, cut a hole in the top and jotted these three things on the top.  What you can't see is that the shoebox isn't even covered in anything.  It's just an orange shoebox (I know it looks red, but it's not) with Nike logos and words on the side, including the red, reduced-price sticker, and description of the tennis shoes.

Okay, enough about that.  I just had to tell you how awesome it was when I saw it!

Snow Day 3

Let me just begin by saying that I'm soooo far behind with everything!  Heavens to Betsy!

Still, we had such a fun time enjoying the real snow last week.  It made for a ridiculous amount of chaos for the entire area, not just my household.  What a mess!  Just look at this traffic report from the middle of the day when everyone hit the roads in a panic and slid EVERYWHERE!

With that said, once we got home and settled, the kids had some fun in the snow and even enjoyed making snow angels!

Our friends Stephanie and Mike (also George's kinder teacher) even came and picked up all three kids and took them to a nearby hill to slide like crazy!  They had a blast and came back cold and worn out.  Love!

Even though I'm still trying to catch up after the snow, and we have more snow in our immediate forecast, I'm super thrilled that I got to spend this time with the kids.

My favorite thing that has come out of it is Evie's talent and desire to build and tend an amazing fire.  Love that girl.  She stokes the fire when needed, and adds a log at a time very carefully (with our supervision, of course, but she doesn't have to be told when the fire needs some tending).  Amazing girl!  Unfortunately, we've gone through an entire cord of wood this winter so we are going to have to get just a few more logs to get us through the bitter cold over the next two days.  I'll have to document her talent!