A Fish Named Frankie

After Madison got her first set of frogs Chase decided that he wanted a goldfish. Michael explained that Madison had done extra chores and saved her money to buy her own frogs and told him that if he wanted a fish he would need to do the same. We had been trying to get Chase to help out a little more around the house and thought the fish might be a good motivator.

Instead Chase started collecting change he found on the ground. Every time he found a penny or a dime he would hand it to Michael and ask, "Now do I have enough for a fish?" The answer was always, "No. But if you do extra chores you can earn some money."

On Christmas Eve his great grandma gave him a small stocking with a 5 dollar bill rolled up inside. He pulled it out, marched up to Michael, handed him the 5 dollars and said, "NOW I'm buying a FISH!"

We've heard beta fish are more hardy than goldfish so we showed him the beta fish right off. "Nope. I want a goldfish." In fact he insisted on a goldfish and picked an albino one that he named Frankie.


Don't tell Chase but the fish only cost a quarter, so he had enough money awhile ago, but I'm saving the rest of that 5 dollars for back-up fish.

Catching Up

It's been a while but I've been very busy doing very important things. Things like cutting Chase's hair. I loved his long hair, but I missed his cute little face. What better time to cut his hair than before his preschool Christmas program, right? Wrong.

He was all for taking the clippers to his head until he looked in the mirror. Apparently the drastic change in his appearance was too much and he didn't recognize himself. He came out of the bathroom rubbing his head and said (in a very sad little voice), "Now I don't even have a name."

I have decided that motherhood is paved with good intentions and mine generally go awry.

By the time the program was over he had pretty much recovered--the candy canes they handed out helped. And though he may not love his short hair I do.

It WAS Bad.

So the frogs died. In fact, they died and came back to life several times before they decided to just stay dead. Of course they were fine until she got home from school. They waited for her to see them die. It was horrible. She cried. I apologized profusely.

I told her if she got new frogs I'd never clean her tank for her again, in fact, I'd never do her any kind of favor just to be safe. "Mom, you can still do me favors. Just don't touch my frogs." she said. I thought that was fair.

As I hugged her while she sobbed I told her this was the time to ask me for something-- ANYTHING. Right then I would have done just about anything for her. She looked at me with big red swollen eyes and said, "Mom, do you think I could have a scarf?" Really, truly, she asked me for a scarf.

Because the frogs didn't last ten days the pet store said they would replace them for free. So after work Michael took her to get two new frogs. She is going to name them Blooper and Bobby, just like she named the last frogs. We could pretend this never happened if it weren't for a whole new line of jokes Michael has discovered, "Hey could you keep an eye on the meatloaf for me? Don't worry, it's already dead."

This Was Almost Very Bad

I just killed Madison's frogs.

I had a little extra time and thought I'd do her a favor by changing the water in her frog bowl. It was pretty dirty and ITS IN MY KITCHEN. I was going to make her change it after she got home from school, but like I said, I had a few minutes and I was trying to be nice, and did I mention that it is in my kitchen?

I had to catch them with my hands because we don't have a net. It was nasty, but I did it. I even reserved some of the old water in temporary bowl for them to swim in while I cleaned. I rinsed the rocks and wiped everything down and I filled the bowl up with fresh water.

Then I let the water sit on the counter for 15 or 20 minutes before transferring the nasty little buggers back into their bowl. I then proceeded to scrub my hands with soap and very hot water.

A few minutes later I walked by and noticed one of them was floating belly-up. I freaked out. I poked it with a pencil. Nothing changed. I called Michael and watched as the second frog flip belly-up and floated to the surface of the water. It was horrible. And to make matters worse I was supposed to take these dead little frogs out of the water and put them in a bag so Michael could take them back to the pet store. Did I mention we don't have a net? I didn't enjoy touching them when they were alive, I really wasn't keen on touching them when they were dead! But what kind of a mother would knowingly let her daughter come home from school to see two dead frogs floating around in her bowl? I had to do it but I need moral support so I called Michael's sister. She's dealt with more dead pets than I have.

I came back in the kitchen prepared to touch two dead little frogs when I saw them--swimming around in the bowl like nothing had happened. I am sure they were laughing their little frog heads off too.

I hate frogs. Their sense of humor sucks.

A New Addition

This weekend we welcomed someone new to our little family--actually two someones.

I tried to talk Michael into getting a puppy this weekend. It was a no go but I think we're getting closer. Instead he let Madison buy two very small aquatic frogs.


Their names are Blooper and Bobby.

Did I mention that they are living on my kitchen counter? Animals don't really go with my kitchen decor but Madison's room gets too cold for them. I think Santa might be bringing Madison a fish tank heater for Christmas.

Just Because

I saw this on Ped Eggs and Hamlet and it went along with my post from yesterday so well that I had to post it too.

I Hate it When Religion Gets in the Way of a Good Time

While thinking about the upcoming holiday Kai asked, "Why is all the Jesus stuff mixed in with Christmas?"

Apparently primary and I have failed him. Perhaps he should start listening to the AM radio again.

Polling Results

My poll ended and the hot chocolate won by 1 vote. So hot chocolate it is! I hope my neighbors appreciate how much thought you all put in to their present. I know I do.

So This is Christmas

I am glad to have November behind me and looking forward to an exciting December. Every morning Chases asks me if today is the day he is going to get presents and I remember how much I used to love Christmas.

For me Christmas has lost some of its luster. I still like to make the house look festive and I really enjoy giving a perfect present. But I don't wake up at 4am on Christmas morning full of anticipation like I used to. Perhaps I just value my sleep more.

However, I still want my kids to think Christmas is wonderful and exciting. So this year I will advocate watching as many Christmas movies as possible and drinking mounds of hot chocolate. And, like my friend Sparklebot, I am going to try to do something Christmasy everyday. Tonight I think we'll decorate the tree.

I will also try to get Davis better presents this year. He is two now, and heaven forbid we have a repeat of last year.

Etsy Shops

I have decided to post a few things in my esty shop again. It's been a while, but I have a bunch of things I've been meaning to put up. I finally put up a few ornaments and plan to put up more this week. I also have some vintage material and buttons I'm going to put up. So go check it out. visualanarchy.etsy.com. While you're checking out etsy you should look at sweetersweater.etsy.com and sheartyrants.etsy.com.

I've mentioned The Sweeter Sweater before-- she makes awesome sweaters out of reclaimed wool. I bought a couple of hair clips for Madison to wear for our family pictures and they are SO adorable. Seriously, her stuff is awesome.

Shear Tyrants is very cool too. She has crocheted scarves and monster themed IPod covers. Tell me that isn't awesome!

I also added links to both the Sweeter Sweater and Shear Tyrants stores to my side bar.