Now that we're duping our second child into believing in imaginary characters, we're kind of losing our excitement about it.

For instance I don't think we'll take Lily to sit on any Santa's lap this year. A letter will do.

And this morning I heard those dreaded, dreaded words: "Mom, the Tooth Fairy's not real. She didn't leave me any money!''

Ooops!

You know your priorities went askew when you stay up till midnight sending emails, but forget to put a couple dollars under your child's pillow when a front tooth falls out.

Gulp. My mind raced through various options of "recovery'' from this mortifying oversight. Should I take the pink tooth bag into another room and declare that I found money in it that she had missed? Should I stick money under another pillow when she leaves the room and tell her she didn't look in the right place? Should I make up something on the spot about the Tooth Fairy not visiting little girls who don't clean their room?

"Well,'' I said, "we'll just have to try again tonight.''

"She must have looked under the wrong pillow,'' Lily decided, because she was sleeping in the wrong direction and had her feet on the tooth pillow.

Thank goodness kids always give the Tooth Fairy the benefit of the doubt.

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