The Great Fish Question

One of my sons turned 5 a couple of weeks ago, and we (read that I) had the great idea that we should get him a fish. Now we didn’t really have fish when we were little, more a dog or cat family, but since we don’t have room for a dog and Christian is allergic to cats, I thought we’d just get him a fish tank, throw some fish in it and he’d have a great time feeding and observing his fish. Doesn’t he look excited?!

So we got him a fish tank and 4 fish and 2 snails. Grandma K sent glow-in-the dark plants for the tank and everything! All the boys were obsessed! I even caught Anthony watching the fish swim around throughout the first couple of days. So exciting!
WELL, then the first fish died. But that was ok - there were 3 more and it probably just couldn’t make the trip from the fish store. That’s what the boys assured me. Then fish number 2 was found floating on the top of the tank. That was sad. I wondered if we should have a funeral or something. But the boys bounced back pretty well. There were still 2 fish to watch and 2 snails.
Then fish number 3 fell ill. Very ill. Turning black actually. We searched and searched the internet for an idea why our fish would turn black. - I’m pretty sure it was not just ‘turning colors’ like some people suggested. The boys watched ominously for days while the fish slowly turned more and more black. I tried to take a picture but apparently its very difficult to get a good picture of a moving fish through a fish tank. Anyway, so we changed the tank various time and used the water neutralizer that is suggested for tap water and it didn’t seem to make any difference. It was very sad. Then one of the snails died. Now things are getting a little alarming. Finally last Saturday, after much swimming around upside down and vertically, the fish died. It was traumatic! It’s like a car wreck or something - you don’t want to look but you can’t take your eyes off of it. I suppose we should have just flushed the fish much earlier but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it and Anthony was at work all day.
So now we’re down to one goldfish, who is now starting to look sick, and one snail. Oh, and the light burnt out now too. Sigh. This is NOT what I envisioned. I guess I didn’t realize how much work it would be! Or how difficult. The boys keep asking if we can buy some more fish now but I can’t go through more deaths! I don’t know… The things we go through for our children!

Holiday Fun

My friend Ashley invited Emmanuel and Christian over to do some Christmas crafts the other day with her son Jonathan. I thought it sounded like fun and they were excited. In the end she and I ended up doing most of the crafting while the boys ran around, made noise, fought and did other fun little boy things that drive their mothers crazy. Here are the crafts we made.
You can see they haven't quite figured out how to count backwards
You can see that Emmanuel covered his place mat with pictures in rows. He filled in the bottom and then left little globs of glue in rows across the top so I had to find something to fill in there. Ashley was super patient with Christian, holding the stencil for him to color in each letter of his very loooong name. And of course we (ie. me) had to make one for Wyatt!
Here’s a picture of a super cute napkin holder that Emmanuel made in school for Thanksgiving. Such a good idea!! We’re still using it. And here are super good Gingersnap cookies that I made for the boys’ teachers. Anthony brought this recipe from work and they are to die for! I’ll have to ask if I can post the recipe. The best part - no butter or milk!! I love the holiday’s!!