How Much Does the Tooth Fairy Pay?

Originally posted 2/13/2010

Joel is 8 1/2 and just lost his second tooth. He gets a buck from the Tooth Fairy for each tooth he loses. He knows kids who get 10 bucks for EACH TOOTH LOST. Even if there's only one child in the house, why would the Tooth Fairy make the other Tooth Fairies look so bad?

And why does a kid need that much money for a freakin' tooth? I mean, I got Jack Squat when I started my period, and I lost a lot of blood. Too much information? How much do I get when this toothpick comes out of my foot? Oh, I know: I get to go back to cleaning my house and chasing my kids. Hmmmm. Maybe I don't want this toothpick out after all.

See what a good writer I am? I correlate tooth fairies and toothpicks somehow in one post.

*Edited to add: Man, I hope my kids' friends don't read this blog or I'm in trouble. The other night Aron was out of town and I forgot that Michael had lost a tooth (he doesn't make a big deal out of things). So the next morning the Tooth Fairy did not come :-( The next night, however, somehow the Tooth Fairy snuck a buck under the pillow while he was brushing his teeth and he found the money the next morning. Slick!

Favorite 80s Movies

What are your favorite 80s movies? Mine are Xanadu, Grease and Somewhere in Time.

Or they WERE, anyway. They AFFECTED me as a child. Then when I grew up and watched them again I had different critiques and now make fun of them all.

The music still rocks from the first 2, but that Netwon-John was certainly no thespian (like I should talk). She was cool; she hyphenated before it was accepted in society.

That darn Somewhere in Time, though ... I think the last time I watched it I was pregnant with my first kid and cried until I got a headache.

House Cleaning Services

So this is probably slander or libel or something like that ... heck, I don't know the definitions of those things. One of them is saying untrue things about someone, but this is actually true.

So I'll never hire a house cleaning service because my ex-husband used to be a manager at one of the biggest ones out there ... and he totally stole stuff.

So if you have a house cleaning service and you notice things missing, NAIL THEIR BUTTS TO THE WALL ABOUT IT! You probably aren't experiencing Alzheimer's symptoms; you are probably being stolen from.

These are the things I think about while I'm vacuuming with a baby in my arms!

Debate: Retirement or College?

Are you saving for your retirement or for your kids' college? Or are you trying to do both?

You know my general take on this issue: put your own oxygen mask on first. Your kids are young and can start saving now and get jobs and loans and grants and financial aid.

That being said, we are saving for our own retirement while our kids have savings accounts. We hope to be able to help with SOME college, which is better than none. Yet I also believe things are more appreciated when they are bought for oneself.

What's your take? Will you do it how your parents did it, or did they subject you to child abuse by not paying for your college, and now you plan to pay 100% of YOUR kids'???

Our Remodeled Bathroom

It used to have teal carpet, flowered wallpaper and a beige BathFitter thing in the shower. Thanks to Aron and his twin brother and his dad, it now looks like this!