Wednesday, September 29, 2010

My Creative Space - Fairy rant

Spring has finally sprung (well, we've had 3 days of sun anyway) and the beansprout aka Madeleine, has shot up again. Honestly, this child sprouts everytime I turn my back. Whilst we can get away with flanellette pyjamas that finish above her belly button for the last few weeks of cold nights, I can't really let her go out with her midriff showing in her day to day clothes. Honestly, what would the neighbours think?
  
Appliqued pineapple t-shirt, pineapple print skirt and matching headband

Not only does she keep me busy at the sewing machine by growing too quickly, she keeps losing teeth as well. And that means a visit from the tooth fairy.  Those bloomin' fairies are the bane of my life.
See the wobbly one? Top row, next to that big gap. She keeps wobbling it. Makes me squirm!
Everytime she looses a tooth and the tooth fairy visits, Maddy develops an unhealthy fascination with small winged creatures. Unhealthy for me that is. The tooth fairy always writes a little letter when a tooth is lost in this house (hot tip: type your note up in Word and then make the font really tiny and then print it out. Anything to do with fairy queens, castles,wishes and possibly even unicorns are a sure winner for note content. And remember fairies always have flowery names like Rosabelle or Buttercup).


Appliqued Babushka t-shirt
Unfortunately, after the last tooth fairy visit, Maddy thought she was on to a good thing and decided to start leaving notes for the fairies under bushes in the garden. Oh how sweet, I hear you all say. Let me tell you, scrabbling about in the bushes at midnight with nothing but a light-up Dora watch to show me the way, is not my idea of cute. In fact, when the cat decided this was a really good game and jumped out from said bushes, making me leap several feet in the air, narrowly holding on to my pyjamas, I gave up on the note hunt and wrote a generic fairy reply in the hope that Maddy wouldn't guess.

Pyjama set for Maddy's friend Kate. No my iron isn't broken. I'm just waiting for the fairies to do
 the ironing and they never turn up.
My deceit when it comes to teeth-loosing doesn't stop there either. The same tooth that caused all the fairy trouble, also caused a great deal more trouble when I very stupidly asked Maddy if the tooth was nice and clean for the tooth fairy. She of course took it off to the bathroom and tried to clean it with a tooth brush. It disappeared down the sink within seconds and my poor Madeleine was distraut. My plumbing skills are a darn sight less handy than my skills in pulling the wool over the eyes of my children, so I disappeared into the bathroom with a large number of impressive tools, made a great deal of banging and then re-appeared bearing  the tooth that she lost a month before (now I know why I kept it). I held the tooth firmly in a tissue so that she couldn't get too close a look at it and twig (never underestimate a child's ability to spot a fake). She was extremely happy and sure enough, the tooth fairy came that night with a note about how clever her Mummy was to get her tooth out of the sink like that (the one great benefit of writing fairy notes it the ability to remind your children how wonderful you are). What acts of deceit have you performed in order to keep your kids happy? Go on. Spill. I know you've done it.

The pyjama top.
Now, I'm not sure if she is still on holiday or not but it's worth popping in just in case... For more Creative Spaces, pop over to Kirsty's. 


23 comments:

Strickbombe said...

i don't get to make up fibs like that (no kids), but you're making me look back at my childhood in a whole different light....

mel @ loved handmade said...

I love your fairy stories & tips. Maddy looks so summery in her pretty new clothes, lovely! By the look of things these boys are going to be in dire need for a wardrobe update, they are growing like weeds suddenly!

Seaside Siblings said...

What a lovely post, love that magic of childhood when they truly believe with all their hearts in mythical creatures.

Jennie said...

aaaargh! The exact same thing happened here - tooth down the sink and some quick thinking to grab an old one!!! And it must have been cleaned when it was down in the pipes too!!

Miss M is looking so gorgeous, and grown up!x

Makeminemidcentury said...

What I love ...
1) The tip about fairy notes being done on Word in really small font (genius)
2) the cat sacring the bejesus out of you in the backyard

3) your salvaged 'tooth' from the drain ...

You're one clever mother! Who can sew.

Chantal said...

Love the pineapple themed outfit : )

I think I'm going to bookmark this post... so many great tips for when my kids start losing their teeth!

Steven said...

Congratulations! Be sure to catch the Tooth Fairy in the act for FREE! The perfect Tooth Fairy keepsake photo:

http://bit.ly/9WeCgk

Glennie said...

I love the gingham lettering!

Unknown said...

More gorgeous work from you - where do you find the time?

Cat from Raspberry Rainbow said...

Love your fairy stories - I'll remember your advice for when my two girls are bigger and losing teeth.

emma @ frog, goose and bear said...

It's obviously the week for tooth loosing! We lost one last night too and the tooth fairy forgot to leave a note in return for the one she left. Apparently last time she did - she must have forgotten this time...... I am totally stealing your typing very very small idea - thanks!!!!! fairies can return the night after when they have forgotten to do something I am sure.....new rules made up all the time - great story! and great pj's!

Lou said...

Hilarious! Oh the things we do as parents! I'm not up to tooth fairies yet but will keep your advice in mind. Love the matching skirt and headband too. Very cute.

Cat said...

I love the gingham pj's very sweet. Oh I love your tooth fairy stories. I've never left notes but always fairy dust through the house. A little note is a sweet idea, thank you.:)

Fiona said...

What's the going rate for the tooth fairy these days? My husband just had his wisdom teeth removed (in his '40's!!) and I'm afraid the tooth fairy was on holiday!! As is the ironing fairy in this house ... more's the pity!

marian said...

clever YOU!! lovely appliques!! my fav's the gingham KATE :)

74 Lime Lane said...

wowsers ~ that is a great story though! I have boys, so not as caught up in the fairy things, although our tooth fairy is a tad lazy, just leaves some money and is usually a day late!

Michelle said...

I had a good laugh at the cat scaring you in the dark! The things we do to keep some magic in our children's lives. Lovely applique too.

Unknown said...

this post is just too cute!!! You are one amazing mommy for sure.. And adorable creations you have made too :)

Catherine said...

wow - tooth fairies have really picked up their game since I was a child... love it!

Anonymous said...

such aa funny post I love the idea of being in the garden with a Dora watch that cracked me up, the things you have sewn are gorgeous. I still love fairies, I even had one tatooed on my leg about a bazillion years ago so I always have one with me!!!

Rosalind said...

I can't even think of a story but I got a whole lot of laughs out of yours, thanks for sharing. Cute outfits too.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous post! You are such a great Mum, I can just picture you in the bathroom banging & crashing! LOVE her new outfit too, what gorgeous colours and patterns you have out together. Have a great weekend x

Kirsten said...

LOL - the things we do for our kids, eh?! I confess, the tooth fairy is a little busy here sometimes - occasionally she isn't able to stop by for a day or 2 (AKA mum and dad collapse after the kids are in bed and forget).
Very cute outfits!

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