Is Daddy the tooth fairy? Redneck Restaurant Recommendation Car Wash

I spent all day yesterday with my 9 year old son as we drove up to his soccer tournament, went to church and lunch and hung out between games. I just love car time with kids because you learn so much about what's going on in their little brains. Out of nowhere yesterday, my OS said, "Is Daddy the tooth fairy?" Uh oh. I hate this question.
So like a well-trained teacher, I lobbed it back to him, "What do you think?"
"Well, Daddy knows a lot about teeth. He would know what to do with the teeth from all the kids." I begin to realize that he's not asking if his dad is HIS tooth fairy, he's asking if his dad is THE tooth fairy.
"Plus, his boat," OS said. "I hope that doesn't give it away."
My husband named his boat the Tooth Ferry. By now, I'm about to bust out laughing.
"And," OS added. "Sometimes I tell Dad the tooth fairy didn't come, he tells me to look again, and there it is! I think he was probably up late delivering money to all the other kids."
"I wonder how he'd do it all in one night," I asked.
"Well, I think he's just the tooth fairy for our town. The company must have them stationed all over, and I think they're all probably dentists. So that's why I think I want to be a dentist like dad."
"Think you might have a career in the tooth fairy end of things?"
"Maybe," he said. "And when I retire, I"m going to write books."
"Sounds like a great plan," I said and in my mind I was already sharing this with you.

Oh, the things they say! So that's why I was so soft when he asked to have lunch at a particular place, and I totally gave in. So here is my first ever
REDNECK RESTAURANT REVIEW:

I had the most delicious lunch yesterday. It was completely unhealthy, sugar-laden, oozing with fat and calories. And I paid for this dose of heart disease. HOWEVER, I enjoyed every drop and highly recommend it for anyone who, like my son suggested, wants to eat healthy all week and then go crazy on a visit to, you guessed it, IHOP. I don't know if you've been to an IHOP lately, but YUM-Oh! My OS and I recommend the pigs in a blanket and, get this, the gingerbread pancakes. Those darn pancakes were maybe the most delicious thing I'd ever put in my mouth. They were just incredible. So wanna get in the holiday spirit? Head to your local IHOP and enjoy a plate full of gingerbread pancakes--also of interest were the eggnog pancakes and the pumpkin pancakes (that's what I'm getting next time).

And now for a REDNECK ROAD TRIP recommendation. Sometimes I forget how sheltered my children are living in a small town like this. I'm reminded when they get excited about elevators and malls, but an experience with my son yesterday really surprised me. Maybe you already know this about me, but I'm not the kind of person who prioritizes a clean car (okay, stop laughing--I know it's an understatement). Anyway, when my OS and I stopped to get gas yesterday, he begged for me to get the car washed. Sure enough they had one of those drive through car washes out back, so I got the code and we drove around to wait our turn.
My son said, "I'm so excited. I've never been in one."
"You've never been in a drive thru car wash? How is that possible?" But there isn't one in our town ( a working one, anyway), and we don't exactly travel to drive through a car wash.
He puts his hood up on his jacket and puts his ipod in the pocket.
"We won't get wet," I say.
"Are you sure?"
By now I'm laughing. "Yes, I"m sure."
"What about the sunroof?"
"It's closed. We'll be fine." He's gonna love this, I'm thinking.
So we drive into the car wash and wait for it to begin.
"Where's the guys?" Ben asked.
"What do you mean?" A light mist is covering the car.
"Mom! We're rolling!"
Instinctively I put on my brake, but of course, we weren't rolling. The car wash just made you feel like it."
"Look it's a car washing MACHINE! I thought little guys came out to wash the car while you were in this building."
I laughed so hard, he LOVED it, and I thought, I've got to get this kid out more often. It just reminds me that kids are really easy to please. We could have saved a lot of money on Disney World and just taken him to a car wash.