When The Tooth Fairy Forgets To Show

I love being a parent. If nothing else it allows you to live a little vicariously thru your kids. It can bring a whole new sense of magic to the holiday’s. Santa, the Easter Bunny, all the fun people.

One person who struggles at our house is our dear friend the Tooth Fairy. 

Emma has lost a LOT of teeth very quickly. She’s 7 and just a few short days ago lost her eighth tooth. 

She laughs she looks like a pumpkin with her mouth open.

While this child can brighten anyone’s day, she comes with an extra sprinkle of drama. Especially when it comes to tooth loss. To sum it up quaintly, she’s nearly fainted before when losing one. Yes, nearly hit the ground over tooth loss. 

Thursday morning, thru some tears and hyperventilation, she extracted the latest one. After her melt down over blood loss and excruciating pain (SHE pulled it), she tucked it under her pillow. Of course this was all before the bus came to add to morning chaos. 

By no means do I claim to be a perfect mom. The tooth fairy has slipped up before. After taking in a little Thursday night TV, I may have fallen asleep on the couch. I may have forgot to remind the tooth fairy to appear. 

Friday morning was doused in disappointment, frustration and tears before I even was aware of my slip up. After a mental breakdown (on her part) and some expressed disgust in the breakdown (on my part). Emma dropped the truth bomb. The tears were on me. 

Well poop. 

So… we crafted a nice little gift bag for our dear winged friend. Complete with so much it had to go in a baggy. 

A note requesting foreign coins, a comic strip from a lunchable and the lost tooth. It was carefully tucked under her pillow. And she trotted off to the bus. 

Friday evening was our elementary schools fun fair. Chaos, running kids, I had volunteered to run a few games. We all came home tired. 

I may or may not have fallen asleep on the couch. Again.

I may or may not have neglected to exchange a gift bag for some currency.

I may or may not have woke up off the couch at 5 am having a mini heat attack because I realized that darn fairy hadn’t arrived again. 

I scrounged around the house for a dollar. Coming up short handed everywhere. Finally I found the right pair of pants in the laundry pile that still had my husbands wallet in them. (Empty pockets before laundry? Unheard of.)

So I snagged $2. An extra dollar for interest and a strong case of mom guilt. 

I crept upstairs to quietly exchange the goods. Pulled out the baggy, slid in a note, explaining that because Emma was the first stop tonight as to avoid any possibility of missing her, the tooth fairy had no money from far away lands. And left the cash. 

Success! The tooth fairy didn’t strike out two nights in a row! 

Eight years ago I wouldn’t have imagined myself creeping around in the wee hours of the morning, crafting notes from imaginary fairies, giving too much money for lost teeth. Yet here we are. Welcome to parenting 😉

Dye Different

We normally have a constant abundance of eggs. We have a slight chicken problem (you can read about here or here). The great thing about having a yard full of chickens is they turn bugs and table scraps in to eggs. 

I think that one in the bottoms right corner is a double yolker!

Next week Peter Cotton Tail is going to be hoping down the trail to hide eggs. Not wanting to buy eggs when I already had a refrigerator FULL of eggs, we dyed brown eggs. 

If you have never dyed brown eggs it’s super simple. Actually it’s just the same as white eggs. We did need to leave ours sit in the dye a smidgen longer. But the colors are so much deeper. 

We always just use the McCormick coloring guide to mix our colors. All you need is water, white vinegar and food coloring. 
Break outside the box this year. Find some brown eggs to color! 

Quick Crock Pot Meals

It’s getting to be that time of the year. Field work is going to begin, many beef herd and seasonal dairies are calving, school sports are picking up. We are all looking for quick week night dinners! A recipe ranks even higher for me if I can chuck it in the crockpot and forget about it for the day.

I’ve compiled a handful of quick, minimal prep crock pot dinners. Please forgive the lack of pictures, I’ll add them in sometime. But the following are some tried and true quick crock pot go to’s I use.

Grape Jelly Meatballs

• 2 pounds frozen meatballs
• 1 jar chili sauce
• 1 small jar grape jelly

In a bowl combine the jelly and chili sauce. Place the meatballs in crock pot. Pour sauce mixture over top. Cook on low for 5-7 hours.

I like to serve these with cheesy potatoes (some places referred to as funeral potatoes) and coleslaw. They also go great in sub buns when on the run!

Nacho Cheese Chicken

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can fiesta nacho cheese soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

Place the chicken in crock pot. Combine the soups and garlic powder. Pour over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

We like to serve this over noodles or rice.

Hamburger Stroganoff 

• 2 pounds of browned hamburger
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1 envelope of powdered onion soup
• 16 ounces of sour cream

Mix the burger and soups. Cook on low in the crock pot for 4-6 hours. Before you are ready to serve stir in the sour cream.

We like to serve this over noodles, rice, toast, baked potatoes, pretty much anything! AND it’s a must green beans have to be your veggie 😉

Ham and Beans

• 1 pound of ham
• 1 pound of white beans (rinsed and sorted)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 small onion diced

Put all ingredients in a crock pot on low for 8 hours.

This is great when served with cornbread!

“Taco” Meat

• 3 pounds of meat (I realize this sounds generic but I have used chicken, roast beef, pork roast, venison. All have had great results)
• 1 packet ranch seasoning
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 16 ounce jar of salsa

Place your choice of meat in the crock pot. Sprinkle the seasonings over the meat. Pour the jar of salsa on top. Cook on low for 8 hours (the longer the better if a roast). Shred the meat.

We have served this in tacos, sandwiches, just by itself with sides. I’ve also repurposed the leftovers in to black bean soup!

Just because it’s that time of the year when we’re all running around crazy, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to eat a decent meal here and there. Hopefully these recipes can help make your life a little easier this spring!