Change for a Twenty?

It's that time of year again, with all of the Christmas whimsy and fantasy.  These are not normally words associated with myself, as my logic and desire for explanations override any interest in magic and fantasy.  The past few days have put this lack of fantasy on full display....

Alexa had been driving me nuts for over a week, as she had a loose tooth that she'd been wiggling incessantly.  By Sunday night, she made a lot of progress moving it, but she never quite seems to have the gumption to get the tooth out by herself.  I decided to take matters into my own hands, so I donned a latex glove and within a few tugs and pushes, the little tooth was in my hand.  Since Alexa is nearly ten years-old, the Tooth Fairy is a character of the past, but nevertheless, Alexa wanted to put the tooth under her pillow and let the 'Tooth Fairy' take it.  I should have contemplated the Tooth Fairy thing before I insisted on pulling the tooth, as I realized at 10pm that I only had $20 bills in my wallet.  Craps.  Alexa is way too old to think a quarter is cool or that she can buy a lot with $1, so I proceeded to dig through every drawer, wallet and coat pocket in hopes of finding a $5 bill.  No luck.  Eesh.  There was no way I was going to leave two sleeping girls to run to the grocery store for cash back, but the Tooth Fairy is way too classy to leave a Post-It with "Change for a $20?" or "IOU" scrawled on it.  After going through my wallet one last time, I stumbled upon a Target giftcard from a 'giftcard with purchase' promo.  Perfect!  However, I realized I could not see how much was on the giftcard without scratching off the validation code, and again, the Tooth Fairy is way to classy to leave an obviously used gift card.  So, Alexa awoke the next morning and was happy to see the giftcard.  She immediately noted that there was no amount noted, so she asked me how much it was worth.  I could only tell her, "Most likely $5, but maybe $10....you'll have to see."  Yep - I'm definitely not cut out for these make-believe roles.

Alexa also had begged me to ensure the return of the infamous 'Elf on the Shelf' versus my last year's decision to skip the Elf and go with a more practical Lego Friends Advent calendar.  I thought the idea of building a Lego winter scene over the course of the month was pretty cool, but apparently it pales in comparison to a rather peculiar looking Elf doing who knows what.  So, Alexa's persistence won me over, and the Elf made its return on Sunday.  Yay (sarcasm) ;)

However, I am having a little hope for my beloved Ani girl, as it seems the apple may not have fallen too far from the tree.  As my mom loves to recall, I figured out the Santa thing in Kindergarten and forced her to confess to everything.  My logic was alive and well at five years-old, and I am happy to report the same seems to apply to Ani.  She is not a fan of the Elf, and honestly has no interest in finding him each morning.  While Alexa excitedly shows her the Elf each day, Ani simply responds with an "Umph..."  She's said (or screamed, depending on her mood and how early it is in the morning) on multiple occasions, "You are the Elf" and insisted "The Elf isn't real!"  I will not be too devastated if she does not buy into the Santa fairy tale, but unfortunately it seems that I'll be having to maintain the charade to appease Alexa until she's in high school.

Finally!  Another baby tooth gone....