About two months ago, Sarah went to her first sleep over. This was a huge event for both of us. Excited to exuberance, she discussed it with everyone and anyone for the entire week. Concerned about the outcome, I spent that same time trying to downplay the whole thing. I didn’t want her to feel bad if a midnight pick up was needed. But more so, I didn’t want to admit that my four-year-old was old enough for such a big girl activity.

The evening came and we drove over to Nina’s house. We are great friends with Nina’s family. We even let our husbands go on a “man date” as we wives call it. I believe “man dates” mostly involve watching sports, eating wings and drinking lots of beer, but I am not entirely sure. So while they were out, Sheila and I enjoyed dinner at her house and some high-quality chatting while the kids played. It is the type of chatting you only get with your best girl friends. The type of chatting that keeps me sane.

Around 8 p.m., I kissed Sarah, packed up Jaley and headed home fully expecting that I would be returning to their house before dawn. Dawn came. My baby just successfully attended her first slumber party. The morning report described a very late bed time and vast amounts of junk food (both vital components to a fun sleep over), but it didn’t include any mommy-missing tears. I was so proud of her, but a little sad that she was so grown up.

Now fast forward to last weekend, it is our chance to host Nina for a sleep over. We scheduled the evening identically, complete with the “man date,” dinner and chatting. We only changed the venue to our house.

Around lunch time Sheila called to inform me that “we have a situation.” It turns out that Nina lost her first tooth at school that day. Not her fifth or her tenth, but her very first tooth.

So now, Sheila drops the big question “what do we do about the Tooth Fairy?” Ever prepared, Sheila follows this up with several different options.

You expect many things as a mom: dirty diapers to dirty clothes, play dates to first dates, friends to fights. My motherhood expectations never included cross-family Tooth Fairy communication and logistical planning.

We both agreed, the chosen plan needed to protect the three core tenants of the Tooth Fairy’s job: Secrecy, promptness and money. The last one was easy, but the first two were tricky. If the tooth is left at home, how can the Tooth Fairy deliver by dawn? If the tooth is brought here, how can she arrive secretly when kids barely sleep at slumber parties? What if the tooth gets lost in a pillow fight before the Tooth Fairy arrives? What if Nina goes home in the middle of the night and we leave the tooth here? What if the Tooth Fairy protocol for the Harrell family is different than for Nina’s?

After much discussion, we looked at the Tooth Fairy instruction manual. We learned that she does not take forwarding addresses. Luckily, she has a clause in her manual saying that while the tooth needs to be under the pillow, the child does not need to be asleep in the bed.

In the end, Nina left her tooth under her own pillow at home. We enjoyed an evening with a very late bed time and vast amounts of junk food (still both vital components to a fun sleep over). The next morning, Sheila came to pick up Nina and reported that she had heard noises in the middle of the night and she believed the Tooth Fairy had visited.

Sarah hosted her first successful spend the night and she experienced her first glimpse of the Tooth Fairy magic - two milestones, one evening. Now Sarah waits to loose her own first tooth.

Gigi appears every Friday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Gigi at her blog Stroller Lane.