A summons for the Tooth Fairy

Finally, finally, Ian lost the broken baby tooth that had been marring his smile for months now. I had been thinking of getting him in at the dreaded dentist to get it extracted, since the adult one was starting to grow in behind it, but yesterday it finally yielded to the inevitable.

And look at the tin he made for the Tooth Fairy ("I KNOW it's you, Mom") with some of Melanie's stamps:



Unfortunately, he lost the tooth before placing it into the tin, so had to write an note of explanation, with a plea for mercy, to the T.F., instead. The Fairy seemed impressed, because (s)he left a dollar anyway, with an extra penny to boot!

This morning Eliza had Kindermusik for two hours, and I honestly didn't know exactly what I'd do with the other two in the meantime. I had a couple ideas -- feed the ducks behind the Arboretum? go to the free showing of Charlotte's Web at the nearby theater? -- but it turned out to one of those rare and magical mornings that simply unfolded itself just right. At Ian's request, to which I usually say no, we got a snack at Chick-Fil-A (I love the fact that they have REAL lemonade there), and then spent 45 minutes at the Arboretum, playing in the outdoor, shaded fountain and making boats out of sticks and leaves that we could send shooting down the stream to each other. If I'd tried to plan a perfect morning, or herded the kids out the door to go play in the fountain, it wouldn't have worked, but this is what happened ON OUR WAY to the proposed outing that didn't actually happen (the duck-feeding).

More simple gifts.