Wonder what the Toothfairy has to give up for Lent?

02/04/08
Daniel lost another tooth last night!
It happened when he was eating King Cake in celebration of Mardi Gras. Yes, I know it was technically Sunday and that Fat Tuesday isn't till, well, Tuesday… but what can I say? We celebrated early even though we're not remotely Catholic. Of course, it's just an excuse for us to celebrate and eat too much anyway since there is no way in hell I am giving up something for Lent. After I exclude my 3 favorite things, coffee, sex, and long hot baths, not necessarily in that order, what's left? Broccoli? CNN? Done.
Anyway, back to the tooth… we put him into bed with the tooth tucked into "Toofie" and put it under his pillow. And waited… and waited. He just didn't want to go to sleep. He got up several times and just could not settle down. Benadryl anyone? Meanwhile, I'd already gotten the 5 gold Sacagawea dollars out of their hiding place and was starting to get impatient between yawns. (Why is it that whenever you've got to get back up to do something that you're extra sleepy? I don't know about you, but when I have that last load of laundry to put into the dryer, I always fall asleep before it's done in the washer. Murphy's Law, I suppose.)
At one point, D quietly snuck in to check on him to see if he was sleeping so the Tooth Fairy could come. He had the covers pulled up over his head, so D reached out and touched where his arm should be. Daniel jumped up and shrieked, "DADDY! I thought you were the Tooth Fairy!!!" Hehehehe. I don't know who was startled more, D or Daniel; but I would have given a few extra Sacagawea dollars to have seen their faces.
He woke us up at 4:45AM to let us know that the Tooth Fairy came. Yes, you read that correctly… 4… 45… AM. Actually, he didn't come in yelling, "The Tooth Fairy came!!!" like I would have expected. Instead, he quietly tiptoed down the hallway, snuck into my bedroom and stood beside my bed. Then he leaned over and stuck his face up next to mine and loudly whispered, "MOM! The Tooth Fairy came!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. I think his Indian name was "Sneaking Cat" in a former life.
Anyway, it's really hard to pretend excitement at a quarter till 5 in the morning. Especially with the knowledge that once you make up a pallet on the floor for him to curl up on, go pee, get the other kid (because you KNOW he's only 30 minutes or so away from coming to your bedroom anyway), take him to pee BEFORE he gets into your bed (we all know why), settle back down, and try to get back to sleep… you've still got to get up in an hour. Sucks, doesn't it? By the time you're all warm & cozy, comfortably snuggled up next to the kid that just got between you and your husband and drifted into a mercifully dreamless sleep, the damned alarm clock goes off.
Ever notice how when you've got the alarm set to go off to music, whatever song is playing will be the one stuck in your head for the rest of the day? Geez, how freaking annoying is that!? Consequently, I've been singing "Stuck in the Middle with you" all day. I suppose it's better than, "RRONNNK!!!, RRONNNK!!!, RRONNNK!!!, RRONNNK!!!" though. You know what I'm talking about; that nerve-rattling noise the alarm makes if you don't set it to go off tuned to a radio station.
Maybe I WILL give up something for Lent… my alarm clock. Does that even count?