Spectacular S: Good thing the Tooth Fairy makes hotel calls.

Friday night SS and I were cuddling upstairs in bed, she was excitedly yapping about Legoland when it hit me. Oh no! The Tooth Fairy was due tonight, we had harped on it, because TTF only comes when a child sleeps in her own bed. Yes, we made that up, don't judge us, SS has a way of squatting on our bed. I frantically texted P, who was downstairs watching an inappropriate show. Before people get bent out of shape, he was not watching porn. While we are incredibly (or shamefully) laid back, there's only so much violence we allow SS to witness. It was late, P was not about to go out to get $5. Cash in hand our choices we $10 or $20. Mindful of not setting a precedent those were not choices. P came up with the idea of asking SS if she wanted to place her tooth under her pillow at the hotel the next night. Necessity is the mother of invention and boy did it work. SS thought it would be great to get a visit from TTF at the hotel. Should we be embarrassed?

SS went to bed really early Saturday, before her eight o'clock bedtime. After Legoland we checked in at the hotel then went out to dinner. P is a whiz when it comes to researching, he found a German restaurant/deli, and we were looking forward to our meal. P had read that lunch time was a witch. Turned out that dinner was not better. What P did not know was that buying from the deli and eating at the restaurant are one and the same at Tip Tops Meats. It's basically take out or eat in. The line is the same, and by the time P got our food we had been there for over an hour.

We were hungry but it could have been worse. P was worried because my foot and knee were sore. SS and I sat at a booth while he stood in line, problem solved. As he was getting close to order P texted me "I'm sorry." For what? "Don't like you two waiting like this" was his response. We were all hungry, but it could've been worse. SS and I were seated, P brought us iced water, SS was busy with her iPad and I had my phone. We were not bored stiff, thirsty or suffering. Later that night P repeated how upset he was about "bringing you along." Chill dude, your daughter spent almost sixteen months in an orphanage, and your wife has gone through plenty of painful procedures. Waiting in a booth does not constitute suffering. By the time P came to us with our to go order (he did not want us to spend more time there) SS had forgotten what was going on. As I put away her earphones and iPad SS said, "Mama, did I eat already?" Our poor baby. OK, so P had a point.

We returned to the room and had a picnic on the floor. Since the Legoland hotel was booked we had planned to get a Lego themed PJ for SS. That was before the long wait at TTM. As tired as P was (he worked the day before, I did not, and he drove to LL), he went in search of PJs for his baby. SS was out a minute after P left our room. When he returned we dressed SS in her new PJs, and her eyes were open. We were concerned that she would remain awake, but she went back to sleep.

I woke up late in the night or early in the morning to go to the bathroom. SS surprised me by coming in the bathroom as well. I seized the opportunity and removed the tooth from under the pillow and replaced it with the money. Then I cringed and wondered if it was too obvious, but before I could return the tooth SS was back in the room. Damn! I watched while hoping SS was too sleepy to remember her tooth. Yeah right, SS put her head on the pillow turned on her side and... She obviously remembered, smiled and looked under the pillow. SS was very happy to find that The Tooth Fairy really makes hotel calls. I still have issues with TTF, Santa and all other childhood rites of passage that involve deception. There is going to come a time when SS reads awful accounts of child trafficking, and I am afraid moments like this one will undermine our credibility. Gee K, why ruin this happy moment? Because when SS reads this, I hope she understands the fragile balance we have tried to achieve between letting her enjoy her childhood, and preparing her to trust us when things get serious.

When SS woke up the next morning she had no recollection of us getting her in her PJs and she was so stoked about waking up dressed in Ninjago threads. She was even more excited about her $5, to which he held on to while enjoying her iPad until daylight.