Angel fish (11/26/08)

Angelia: "Mommy, can I feed my fishies?"
Mommy: "Ummmm... honey let's hold off on that for a minute. Mommy has to tell you something."
Angelia: "What Mommy?"
Mommy: "Honey-- your fishies got sick and they died." (4 of the 6 fish we had died... all 4 females who were together in the aquarium).
As I spoke these words, my little girl's eyes immediately filled with tears, and "why Mommy?" came from her little voice. With tears in my eyes as well at this point (I'm serious!), I went on to tell her that like all living things, things die.... flowers are living and they die, right? ... people are living, but unfortunately they die... fishies are living things too and they die. As she shook her head as if she understood me (at her young age of 4), she asked, "What do we do with them?" I told her the truth... "we flush them down the toilet and send them out to sea." The look of fear came over her face, so I had to think quick to make this a better situation. So, I told her (I had to be a bit silly to make her laugh-- this explanation even came equipped with hand motions & everything-- you had to see it!)... "we flush them down the toilet, they go all through the pipes, and back out into the river. Once they get there, they find their Mommy & Daddy, who have been missing them very much, and then they go up to "fishie Heaven" where they get their "angel wings" and become "Angel fish" ... remember, like the "Angel fish" we saw at the Aquarium?? She recalled seeing the Angel Fish at the aquarium and in the end, she seemed very content with this plan.
So-- how did I do? I think it went OK. This was my 1st "talk" about death with my little girl and I know it was only over fish, but DAMN!-- it was tough!

In memory of our little fishie friends... Ariel, Smartie, Bubbles, and Ga-frish. We will miss sitting on the counter to talk to you and feed you. Swim in peace....
Love... Angelia, Anthony. Juliana, & Micaela

A little sugar in the tank?! (10/16/08)

With the kids at this age, it's hard to keep track of them sometimes... even in the house! They are EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING! You think you gated them out of an area so they can't get in -- and they do OR you think they are 1 place and you find them in another! Well-- today, I went out into the kitchen to find Micaela sitting on the counter putting Splenda into one of the fish bowls! I guess she figured the fish would like some sugar, too! What next!?! Never a dull moment in this house........ CAUTION: even the most unexpected things may happen!

Movin' on UP! (10/14/08)

The fish have been "movin' on up... to a de-luxe aquarium!" Uncle Stephen bought the kids an aquarium to replace 4 of the 6 fish bowls I had lined up on my countertop! :) The kids like the new "fishy house" and the fish seem to like it, too. **Thanks Uncle Steve!**

Here fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy! (9/27/08)

Yes... that's FOUR "fishies" added to our unexpected "FISH collection"! We are now up to a grand total of 6 fish ... 1 male Beta fish ("Shushi"), 4 female Beta fish, and 1 goldfish ("Dorothy"). Our new additions joined our family following our little friend Joey's 1st Birthday party! Keeping with the ELMO'S WORLD theme for his party, each child was given a "fish" so they have a fish like ELMO. :) Hence, the addition of the 4 new fish! :)
As soon as we got home from the party, the kids were anxious to get them into their bowls, so we got it all set up and they got to see, talk to, feed, and name their new fish. And the names of our new additions are...
- Angelia's = ARIEL
- Anthony's = BUBBLES
- Juliana's = SMARTIE
- Micaela's = GA-FRISH (lol... when I asked her the fish's name, she said GA-FRISH... what she was actually saying was "Goldfish", but this is how it came out each time she said it and now sticks)

p.s. **HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, JOEY!** We had lots of fun at your party! Thank you for inviting us and thanks for our fishies! :)