Not for little children to read!

These delightful pillowcases feature an embroidered tooth fairy with glow in the dark wings, carrying a glow in the dark tooth. They have a sweet little pocket and the name can be added. Pretty cute. Both my older girls have these and so do a few other little girls. I love them and wish I had made them a long time ago.

OK, if you are a believer, stop reading now.

Growing up, my mother had our teeth in little jars in a dresser drawer where she kept scarves and necklaces. I used to sneak in there to see the cool little treasures and I would see these little jars of teeth. Mine was a glass vitamin bottle with "Angela" written on the label. I could see that some early teeth had cracked. They were fascinating to me. I never really thought anything of it. I guess I knew she had something to do with the money/tooth exchange but I was content to keep believing. I would leave them in an envelope under my pillow and the next morning there would be an envelope with some dimes in it and a note in mystical squiggly writing on it. That went on until I was 12 and finally stopped losing them.

So for my own children, the Tooth Fairy leaves them notes on envelopes in squiggly writing, too. Many times she forgets to come. I mean, she's a busy fairy and it's easy to forget when a bedtime tooth loss catches her by surprise. Just like my tooth fairy, our fairy can't throw them out.

Last week, Charlotte (the 8 year old you saw in the previous post) was visiting with me as I got ready. I didn't see her poking around my room, when I turned off the hair dryer and she asked "Mom, are you guys the tooth fairy?" I looked out the bathroom door to see her standing in front of my jewelry box. It is a very large box Lee got me in Afghanistan, and I often shove envelopes and ziplocs with little teeth in the bottom drawer, in hopes of separating them out later. "Are you snooping in my stuff?" I was angry that she was snooping but more caught off guard about the question. "Well Are you?" "Charlotte, you should stay out of things or you will learn stuff you wish you didn't know."

So Am I? she wants to know. "What do you think?" I ask. "I think you are." "Maybe," I say.

"Well, thanks for all the money!" That little stinker. "Are you guys Santa Claus,too?"

"Oh Charlotte! Does it really matter? I always believed and had fun. You are only eight. Can't you just keep believing in the tooth fairy and Santa and the Easter Bunny?"

Her eyes grew big and she gasped, "You're the Easter Bunny, too?!"

I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I told her she better fake it and not ruin the fun for the little kids or she will stop getting money. She was especially thrilled after this to announce to the older sister that mom and dad are the tooth fairy.

Some parents never want to lie to their kids and mislead them. Some little kids have announced to my children when they were very young that their mom is Santa and he's not real and blah, blah. So mine have been upset and when they ask me if he is real I just say "Well, I always thought so." I think that is all part of the magic of childhood. Well, part of the magic is over for a couple little girls.

Sigh...They just keep getting older and learning more, and doing more. I can't keep up. I look at them and see them as little tiny babies and toddlers so easily. How can they be 10 and 8 now? Where has the time gone? Amelia told me she could be married in 10 years. What?! I told someone she was up to my shoulder and the next day I fixed her hair and she was actually to my chin. "Stop! " I tried pushing her head down and she laughed hysterically when I said "Stop growing! " She is convinced she can wear my shoes. Wow! Amazing and happy and bittersweet.

For now, they are still planning on using their tooth fairy pillowcases, because they are cool, they get money and it is still fun to pretend.