In the end, it was a strawberry and I was quite surprised. For weeks there had been much wobbling, wiggling, and tugging, to no avail. That first little lost tooth was not to be yanked or hurried it seemed, much like its owner, Lindsay.

   Now I assure you reality television has nothing on the drama of raising a six-year old girl. Unlike my courageous son who lost his first tooth to a karate sparring match, my tiny princess of pink spilled many tears over the horrible pain of her "looth tooth." Luckily, that sweet strawberry finally saved the day.

   Per tradition, the tooth fairy was summoned that evening and produced something quite grand...girl money. Yup, a good old Susan B. Anthony dollar for my pink-wearing, tutu loving, Barbie lunchbox- carrying, Ugh - I'm going to make her a feminist if it kills me - daughter.

   For a chick who spends three mornings a week beating the stuffing out of punching bags and passionately enjoys throwing back a well-crafted brew, I know that someone up there must have had a great sense of humor when they sent me down this little angel to raise.

  We're like a cartoon team, Tough and Fluff.

   With seventeen months more experience at life and that wily creature, the Y-chromosome, on board, my son has also proved to be a mothering challenge. A much more jaded seven and half year old, recently when he lost another incisor Jack wanted to know if the tooth fairy would bring him $100.

   In my most understanding Mommy-tone I explained how that was a lot of money and the tooth fairy couldn't possibly lift it.

   "She could if it were a $100 bill," suggested my way-too-clever boy.

   Drat, foiled again. I think I liked Jack better last year when he got his first gift from the tooth fairy, a gold dollar. When he took that shiny treasure to Kindergarten for Show and Tell, a classmate exclaimed, "Now that is tooth fairy money!"

   Unfortunately, Darling Hubby and I expect to be on the tooth fairy's destination list for at least three or four more years. So far we've drained our coin cups of gold and silver dollars plus a few stray Loonies and Twonies from our frozen neighbor, the Great White North.

   At some point we may have to abandon our thrifty fairy route in favor of the more hip Hilton-esque model. I've heard the tooth fairy is known to toss around ten dollar bills these days. Yikes, and I thought my gas bill was outrageous!

   Thank goodness that economic stimulus check is in the mail - or is it? Maybe I'll just check under my pillow tomorrow morning. Come on, somewhere flying around there must be a tax fairy too, right?

Laura Douglass writes for the Seven Lakes Times where this column originally appeared.