Yakety-Yak & Tooth Fairy Feedback

Shocker: Alex got in trouble for talking too much at school yesterday. (I know, this is hard to believe.) He "pulled" two ants for talking but didn't get to the dreaded third anthill. However, it was bad enough that he was made to eat lunch by himself as punishment. I tried to play this up:

Me: "Oh, I bet it was no fun to eat all alone without your friends."
(I was kind of feeling sorry for him.)
Alex: "It was great - I got a whole table to myself!"

Our little optimist - a real glass-half-full kind of guy.

Art figures it defeated the purpose by, essentially, giving him a stage for the whole cafeteria to watch him. Apparently he did better today. He claims that his teacher said, and I quote, that "he did pretty more better today." (Doesn't really sound like her but he didn't bring a note home, at least.)

He's not admitting to any more loose teeth these days. I think there's at least one more that is loose but it must not be very loose. The new tooth is coming in nicely and moving into the right space. I was worried there for a little while.

In an impromptu neighborhood moms and moms-to-be meeting last week I told two of our neighbors about our tooth travails. Raquel happens to be from Spain, and I asked her if they had the tooth fairy. She confirmed that they did. "Wait, is it the tooth FAIRY?" Well, no, it is a mouse named "El Ratoncito Perez." We should have gone next door for our information. That first toothless night would have been a lot easier! Leslie mentioned that the tooth fairy at her house once had an unfortunate incident in the night, accidentally leaving $20 instead of $1 because of poor lighting.

Of course, all bets are off when Alex loses his second tooth. We checked "Throw Your Tooth on the Roof" out of the school library so we could do some research here at home. Then I just ordered our own copy online. Surprisingly mice and other creatures play a large part in global tooth disposal. Next time, Alex says he's going to throw his tooth. He also considered wrapping it in bread and feeding it to a dog. I told him the neighbors' dogs are off limits.

A Visit from the Tooth Mouse (AKA El Ratoncito Perez)

Well, the first official Toothwatch is over, as of Wednesday. After much wiggling and no results, I called the dentist on Monday. (I was supposed to do that on March 1st if the tooth wasn't out yet but I kept thinking we could give it just a little more time. I'd suggested tying the tooth with a string to a door and shutting it, but Alex said that sounded violent.) The dental appointment was set, Wednesday at 2. I wasn't sure how this was going to go down because our regular cleaning visits are always a grab bag of behavior. Will he lean back in the chair? Will he allow them to actually clean his teeth? Will he clamp his teeth together and refuse to do anything? I think we were both nervous when we went in.

The hygienist spread her tools out on the tray and called the dentist in. They decided that gas was called for and put the mask on Alex. Neither of us had done that before so we were definitely in uncharted territory. They explained that Alex would start to feel floaty soon, and he thought it was pretty cool. Then they examined the tooth and gave him a shot. This was where I thought it was all going to go bad. The gas must really help because he didn't make a peep. Then there was wiggling and pulling. The hygienist prepared a little plastic tooth-shaped box for us, and the dentist handed her something from Alex's mouth. The he stopped and told Alex that we were going to wait a minute until he was ready for them to pull it. I was confused. Dr. John told Alex they would pull it when he gave the word. The hygienist was cleaning something and packing it in the box. Alex told them it was okay to go ahead. Dr. John said okay, then explained that the tooth was missing! How did that happen? They examined his mouth in the mirror, then presented him with his tooth in the box. Alex never knew when (or if) they pulled it. It was magic.

And I can't say enough about how awesome Clemson Family Dentistry is. On the way out they slipped me a Sacagewea dollar for the tooth fairy to leave. Talk about full service.

I took advantage of the sedating effect of the nitrous to have Alex's hair cut. It didn't help. He still wiggles and is so extremely ticklish that it takes twice as long as it should. (I try to tip well.) We postponed our snack until the novocaine wore off but Alex was fine with no ill effects within an hour. I'd meant to make a tooth pillow for Alex to put his tooth in for the Tooth Fairy but like so many of my craft projects time slipped away from me. It was okay though because he was perfectly happy with his little tooth box. The real problem came just before supper time.

I mentioned in passing that we could now leave the tooth for the tooth fairy to collect and maybe she would leave him something in return. The answer was a resounding NO! You see, Alex's class has been learning about teeth and counting how many in their class had lost them and kept a record of them. They'd had a dentist visit and, most importantly, they'd read a book about tooth traditions from around the world. This is a book that I have NOT read or known anything about. Then Alex started telling us something about a tooth mouse and a glass of water. Or, throwing your tooth on the roof. It took a phone call to a friend (an awesome go-to person for experienced mom information) and research on the Internet to unearth global tooth legends and the scoop on the tooth mouse. In some Spanish-speaking countries he's known as El Ratoncito Perez. Has quite a ring to it, doesn't it?

In most of the stories the tooth mouse performs the same function as the Tooth Fairy. You hide the tooth under the pillow, the mouse or fairy collects it and leaves a prize. Sometimes a coin, other money, small prize or candy. (I think the candy is really at cross-purposes for someone who's just lost a tooth.) An obscure custom that is now gaining favor, according to Wikipedia, is leaving one's tooth in a glass of water. The mouse exchanges it for a coin. (Sources on the web theorize that it's easier to sneak a glass of water away from a child's room than to retrieve a tooth from under their pillow.) At our house it was even easier for El Ratoncito. Alex had me fill the glass and put the tooth in but protested when I brought it in to his room.

"I don't want the mouse in my room. Leave it in the kitchen on the counter."

Much more sanitary, don't you agree? The tooth mouse came through, apparently not insulted that he was only allowed in the kitchen. A shiny $1 coin replaced the tooth. All is well and the new tooth is up and just needs to push into its proper place. I'm just waiting on the next tooth he loses. What will we do for it? I've gotten books from the library now - perhaps we'll throw the tooth on the roof or burn it to ashes. Who knew tooth-losing would turn into an anthropological adventure?

Liberation Theology

Sunday night, the kids made cookies at church. I asked Alex about it on the way home.

Me: You made a lot of cookies tonight, didn't you?
Alex: Yeah.
Me: Did you guys eat them all?
Alex: No!
Me: Well, who were they for?
Alex: Christians.
Me: Christians where?
Alex: Jail.
Me: So, you made cookies for people who are in jail for doing bad things but are now Christians?
Alex: Yeah, so maybe they'll do good when they get out.

Maybe the kids are onto something. Not sure how much of the program they understood, but they had fun making cookies. At least if you judge by the amount of flour on them at the end of the evening!