Friday, April 20, 2012

On Teeth, and the Collecting of

Today, Cathy over at The Camera Chronicles blogged about squirreling away her kids' baby teeth the way Hilary Duff squirrels away her kid's umbilical cord (ewwwww). And my first thought when I learned that Cathy has a box filled with tiny, blood-crusted teeth was:

EWWWWWWwwwwwww!!

Yet... I have a basket of teeth. Yep.

I can't seem to throw away the tiny, gnarly little things that have fallen out of my two children's mouths (2 from Annelie, 6 from Gracie).

And every time I add a tooth to my Nantucket Lightship Basket o' Teeth, I think of the time I discovered the collection of teeth in my mom's jewelry cabinet and was thoroughly grossed out (yet completely fascinated). Why in the world did my mother collect teeth! What a creepy hobby! I don't know when I figured out that the teeth weren't just some odd collection but the teeth once belonging to my brother and me. But I couldn't call her on it at the time because I was, of course, snooping through her stuff when she didn't know it.

I'm pretty sure if my kids found my Lightship Basket o' Teeth, they'll know just what they've come across, because I just had to save the letters the girls have written to go with them.

My dreamy soon-to-be-seven-year-old writes notes of love. I don't think she'll ever consider the possibility that I might be the Tooth Fairy - she's too in love with the magic and sparkles of it all.

Her little sister, on the other hand, just likes her money. (so says her note)

Will I keep these things forever? Ew, I hope not. But someday, if the kids are curious about their baby teeth, or if they decide to be collectors of gross and odd things, I'm totally prepared.

Speaking of teeth, and the collecting of, have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor?
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Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.


Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?


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I loved it! Also, I was furious that the sequel is not out yet. Books shouldn't be allowed to have sequels that aren't out yet, in my personal opinion. Because then you have to wait for them, and waiting is NO FUN.

How about you? Do you keep a stockpile of baby teeth just because?

xoxo,


9 comments:

Elspeth said...

I remember finding my mum's box of teeth when I was a teenager and being COMPLETELY grossed out.

Though now that I've got a kid of my own (albeit a completely toothless one for the time being) I can sort of understand her reluctance to chuck the gross, broken things away.

I might turn my kids' teeth into a display of some kind. Y'know.. REALLY gross people out.

Cathy said...

Loved your story about finding your mum's stash of baby teeth! And lol at comment above about displaying them. Marisa, I can just see you using them to make a gross Halloween necklace one day!!

Anita said...

Okay, one of the kids lost a tooth in our minivan a few years ago. It's never been found...probably hiding amongst the crumbs and discarded scrunchies. Anyway, that's the only tooth I've sort of kept. You are crazy! And that's one of the many reasons I like you so much.

DancingMooney said...

Someday you could show the box to your daughters when they are all grown up and exposing the real tooth fairy is no longer at risk... you are such a great Mom Marisa!!!

Unknown said...

At this moment, all of my kids teeth are in little baggies, stashed somewhere in my junk closet. I really need to throw them away.

And yes...I read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone a few months ago and is was A.MAZE.ZING! It's a fantastic read.

SewSweetStitches said...

Awww those notes are so precious!
I have this weird aversion to things like teeth and nails and hair, once they've left the body of course. I am in complete dread of the day my 5-yo starts to lose her baby teeth, it's going to be terrible. My husband is already the official Family Nail Clipper and Remover of Hairbrush Hair, so he'll be taking on the task of tooth puller-and-gatherer too!

Anonymous said...

Can you do an update on your cats?

Maria Mainero said...

I've got a stash of teeth too. I don't know why. It's like the first one was kind of awwww, so cute and sweet. And then the next one was, "well, I'll just put it with the other". The sixth one, I started to wonder what the heck I was doing, but I just put it with the rest of them.

Unknown said...

Miss Baah - hahahaha, that is hilarious. You SHOULD DO IT!!

Cathy - thanks for my blogging inspiration :D and ew, my kids would totally make a creepy necklace from them - that just screams Gracie. haha!

Anita - EW, lost tooth in the minivan. that will be a fun surprise for someone to find one day :D

Janell - I definitely plan on sharing them with them... and then hopefully we can throw them away after!

Heather - Yay, glad you liked this book, too! I can't wait for the sequel!

Melissa - EW, I totally can't clip the nails. But the teeth are just adorable! Even with crusted blood, hahaha.

Maria - That is EXACTLY how it went for me!! haha, so funny. We teeth-collecting moms are an odd bunch :D

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