Who carries cash these days?

I sure don't.  I hate how I can have a $20 bill in my wallet, and all of a sudden its gone.  Where did it go?  What did I spend it on?  I can never remember, but it always happens.

Also, not carrying cash comes in handy with the kids.  When we are at a baseball game and the kids ask for money for the snack bar I can honestly say, "Sorry babe, I don't have any cash."  Same thing at swim meets.  "Sorry, I don't have any dollars for you today."  Or for treats at Disneyland.  Or for vending machines.  You get the picture.

But, every once in a while not having cash comes back to bite me.  Like when my kids lose teeth.  There have been a few times when the tooth fairy was expected to visit, and either Keith or I have made a late night trip to get the required dollar bills.

On Monday night, as I was getting the kids ready for bed, Noah shows me that he has yet another loose tooth.  This is the first time that Noah even mentioned that this tooth was wiggley, so I assume I had at least a few days.

I assumed wrong.  My assumption failed to take into account Noah's tenacity.  When he went to bed at around 8:00, the tooth was loose, but was no where no falling out.  Fast forward an hour later, Noah came downstairs with the tooth in his hand. 

You see where this is leading don't you???  What I failed to mention was that Keith was out of town on business.  It was now 9pm.  All four kids were in bed for the night, two were already sleeping.  Noah just lost his tooth, and I had absolutely no cash.  Grrrrreeeeeaaaattttt.

So, after Noah placed the tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy, I began a mad search throughout the house for some dollar bills.  When my search turned up nothing, I debating borrowing a dollar from the boys' stash.  I quickly dismissed this idea because they would undoubtedly count their money in the morning and realize that some money was missing (and would probably blame their little sister which would cause an all out war).  I also debated calling a neighbor and asking for a dollar.  In the end, I found a lonely dollar bill tucked at the bottom of a bag.

Crisis averted. 

Lesson of the day for me:  keep a stash of cash in the house just in case the tooth fairy needs to make an unexpected visit.

Here is a shot of Noah when he came downstairs with the tooth.  He is looking more like a jack-o-lantern every day.