So, Monday morning Big Girl had the last of her baby teeth removed.  It was hard on this mama to think of that.  The procedure was hard on Big Girl - these were molars and the roots hadn't begun to recede.  The dentist had a difficult time getting the teeth out.

Anyway, Monday night I decided to try it again.  Hubbie took all the children into one room to read bedtime books, and then to tell 'the story in the dark.'   As they were telling the story, I burst in the room in full toothfairy garb.

Kitty Cat instantly said, "Mama!" in that way she has when she thinks I am being silly.  I said, "Oh!  I thought everyone was asleep!"  I  went straight over to Big Girl's bed, waved the money, and put it under her pillow.  When I turned around, Hubbie snapped a photo. 

Not a very flattering photo, I must say.  I'm considering sending him to photography school... but I digress...

I left the room, finished my bedtime routine which included getting back into my regular jammies.  I returned into the girls' room to say good night.  They were all grinning and telling me they had just seen the tooth fairy.  I said, "Oh, really?  I'm sorry I missed that."   Kitty Cat says, "You wanna see a picture?"  We laughed and I headed off to bed.

I'm sure you can imagine my reaction the next day when Big Girl and Kitty Cat were telling Grammie all about seeing the tooth fairy and Kitty Cat said, with an expression of genuine astoundedness on her face, "It was amazing how much she looked like Mama!"

I'm hoping she's pulling my leg...

Here are some photos from our 16th annual caroling party. When we began, we were just four dating couples. Over the years we married and had children. We've grown from eight people to twenty! We're thinking it will be fun when our grandchildren join us some day...

Here are the children:

And here is a shot of all of us:

We had such a nice St. Nick's day this year. I made the 'Santa cookies' and we decorated them.  The cookie cutter we use comes from here (it's the small one) and is such a simple design that it is very low stress to decorate. Using these decorators, it was easy even for Boyo to decorate.  So, the cookies started out looking like this:

to looking like this:

The children had a great time decorating.

After we decorated (and ate)cookies and made our 'Santa plate,' we adjourned to the living room, lit our Advent candles, and read "The Secret of Saint Nicholas" by Mary Anne Kamols. This book gently addresses the truth of Saint Nicholas. We had quite a nice discussion of how Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus, and our discussion of course included Clement Moore's famous poem and how commercial advertising cemented the Santa Claus image in the minds of Americans.

Early the next morning the children came down to the living room to open their stockings.

You can see the 'snowy footprints' on the carpet, and the empty plate. My husband and I enjoyed the last of the cookies while he used a stencil and some powdered sugar to create the footprints. We use powdered sugar instead of flour because someone always wants to taste North Pole snow...

The stockings contain pretty much the same thing every year: chocolate coins, because that's what Saint Nicholas left; non-pareils, because they remind us of happy family times; toothbrushes, because those were in my husband's stockings when he was a child; scented soap, because that's our tradition; a flashlight, because Jesus is the Light of the World; and a lump of coal candy. 

This year, as a reminder of the vast differences between the real Saint Nicholas and today's Santa Claus, I got glass bottles of 'real' coke (sugar instead of hfcs) for us to enjoy.

We had a wonderful Saint Nicholas Day!

When my children were born, I had no desire to do such things as 'the tooth fairy.'  I mean, come on!  But it was a big tradition in my husband's family, and when my mother-in-law presented my daughter with a 'tooth fairy pillow,' I just went along with it.

Fast forward to six months ago.  One of the big girls lost a tooth, and all three of the girls had questions about the tooth fairy.  So, I decided to follow the lead of one of the FIAR moms and address it with a little fun.  I made my plans and I waited.

Friday, my oldest daughter lost a couple of teeth.  I decided this was the time to gently lay the tooth fairy to rest.  It would be perfect.  She is my daughter that simply cannot fall asleep easily.  She comes in to our room usually at least twice each night in the first half an hour after lights out, wanting to talk about something before she can relax and go to sleep.  Perfect!

So, after my husband finished reading the bedtime stories, I set the plan in motion.  I stepped into our bathroom and emerged dressed in black pants and shirt,  wings pinned onto the shirt, a tiara, a feather boa, and a sequined purple tutu.  I had a wand.  I was ready.

After turning on the hall light so I would be nicely backlit, I walked into the girls' room, and heard.... snoring!  What!  Big Girl was asleep?  No way!  I was expecting Two to be drowsy, but not Big Girl.

I stomped across the floor to waken her.  Didn't work. I kicked her underbed boxes back under the bed where they belong. Didn't work.  I jingled the wand over her, then poked her with the wand, then poked her with my finger. Finally I grabbed her arm and shook it.  Her eyes flew open. 

I jingled the wand in front of her, then shook the money before her very eyes. I wanted to make sure she wasn't missing this.  Then I roughly shoved the money under her pillow, and just as roughly emerged with the tooth pillow.  I waved that in front of her as well.  Then, flapping my arms like a deranged goose, I tiptoed loudly from the room, shutting the door behind me. 

Expectantly, I waited in the hall for her to come out and ask what in the world I was doing.  Never happened.  Finally, I went back into our bathroom and emerged in my pj's, only to be met by two-year-old Boyo asking, "Mama, what you were doin' in that dwess?"  

My husband and I figured that Big Girl would at least have a dream to tell us about the next morning.  But, nuthin'.  

Finally, I said to her, "Hey, since you're going upstairs, why don't you see if the tooth fairy left you anything.'

"She did. But I was waiting to show it to Princess and Boyo."

"Oh."

My husband looks at me with some serious surprise on his face, and then says to Big Girl, "Honey, uh, did you happen to see the tooth fairy?"

Big Girl replies very matter-of-factly, "Yes."

"Well, what did she look like?"

Continuing up the stairs, she says in an even tone, "She was bigger than I imagined."

! ! !

Shortly thereafter, I heard her telling her younger siblings all about her tooth fairy sighting.

Guess I'll try again.

They are gifts.  My children are gifts to my husband and me.  Not only is the Bible very clear on that, but our experience bears it out as well.

Why would I give them away?

Why would I send them away from me, to sit at the feet of someone else to be discipled, influenced, changed?

Why would I give away their daily best hours of energy, enthusiasm, joy, fun, to someone else so that I can be left with the dregs?

Why would I give away the joy of seeing my child change from pre-operational to operational in math;  watching as reading "clicks" for her; sitting shoulder to shoulder as she finally gets her hands to do what she wants them to do; hearing her excitement as mysteries of the world open up to her?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

With cooler weather moving into the area, the area mice have decided to move into our house.  Last night we saw one in the family room.  A little later I was in the kitchen doing dishes and 4yo Princess Perky went into the family room alone to get something.  Mousie poked his head out from under our couch and Princess got hysterical. She jumped up on a chair and began to scream, "Help! Help! I'm so scared! Get me out of here! Get me out of this room! Get me out of this house!"

I ran in and grabbed her and sat down in the chair with her and began to comfort her.  As I was doing so, Mousie looked out again, and the screaming began again.  I gently put my hand over her mouth and said, "Shush!  Now be so still and sit here and watch."

Watch we did.  Mousie kept poking his head out from under the couch and pulling it back in until he felt a little more safe. Then he exited his refuge and began to make his way across the floor. He stopped just a bit from us and stopped to look at us, giving us a good chance to look at him.

He was so cute. Dark gray and soft looking, with big velvety ears - if he wasn't in my house he would have been adorable. 

Mouse viewing turned out to be a mistake.  Perky now thinks mice are the cutest things ever, luuvs them, and is plotting to get one as a pet for every member of the family.

"Please, Mama, please.  I'll care for it so well!"

Uh, no. Thanks, but no. I'll have guinea pigs, I'll have fish. I'll have reptiles, amphibians and birds. Bt no mice in the hice.  I mean, no mouse in the house.  Ever.  Unless it comes in voluntarily and at great risk to its personal safety.