A New Addition

Our family doesn't really do pets.  Mostly because it sounds like a lot of work and young kids and animals don't really mix...

But everything changed last night when we brought home four goldfish after rescuing them from a youth group activity (that I probably should not describe here...tho I want to...because it was hilarious)  I thought goldfish would be a simple enough pet.  Like Dorothy in Elmo's world, we'd just get a cute bowl and let them swim around.  A few flakes in the bowl every day, periodic cleaning out of said bowl.  It would be fun and another chore to add to Darby's chore chart.

In the morning the kids were ECSTATIC to see the fish.  Darby named each of them and claimed the 'clean' ones for herself and said Ky could have all the 'dirty' ones (any fish with a speck of gray in their coloring)

Only one little mishap of Mommy walking away from the fish for a second and returning to screams and one of the bowls filled with chocolate cheerios.  Lovely. 

We didn't really have any bowls big enough for 4 goldfish (I had kind of counted on at least one of them dying overnight...) so off we went to the pet store to find a cute large goldfish bowl or tank.  (super easy errand with 3 kids...ha!)  Unfortunately the condescending and slightly rude employees informed me that goldfish needed at least 2.5 gallons of water EACH and really for 4 goldfish we should get them a 40 gallon tank.  Apparently in some countries goldfish bowls are banned because they are considered "animal cruelty."  I laughed out loud at the craziness.  Really?  These goldfish are normally sold as food for other fish.   


So meet the newest members of the family:  Clifford and Philadelphia Beta.

Darby insisted on a "girl" beta even if they weren't as pretty, and Ky was super excited about a red fish.
$20 for a tank, food AND fish that don't mind living in tight spaces.  Much better.

Please don't ask what happened to the goldfish.  I haven't decided yet.  Apparently if you can't release them in a pond (which they don't really suggest in case the fish are diseased), the most humane thing is to euthanize them.  Right.  Because that's practical.  I did read one suggestion that if you couldn't euthanize them, the second best thing was essentially to put them in a tube sock and beat them against a wall. 

Let's just say I'm a little confused.

Welcome to the family Clifford and Philadelphia.  Please live at least a week.

Welcome Fall

Well it doesn't feel like Fall here.  At least not the kind of Fall to which I had become accustomed with crisp cool air, crunchy red and yellow leaves, and cozy sweaters.  Here in Texas, the weather has just recently dipped below triple digits, the crunching under my feet is the dead grass in my backyard from a record-setting drought, and my boys ran around outside shirtless asking to play in the sprinkler.

Nevertheless, tonight we celebrated Fall.  Pumpkin pancakes, hot apple cider, and cinnamon pears.

Scrumptious

Forgive the blurry picture.  Wild one would not sit still all night and I needed to prove he participated.

Of course after dinner we had baths to wash off all the sticky.  I think I'm going to be sad when they're old enough to shower on their own.  Or relieved?  I'm not quite sure.

And after baths some family puzzle time.  Which was not as pleasant as it sounds.  Lots of brothers destroying puzzles, screaming, time-outs for screaming, Mommy reading to the baby to distract him from puzzle (which doesn't work even for a moment).  More screaming.  More talks about self-control and kind words and letting brother help.  Then puzzle finally completed to reveal....we're missing a piece.  Such is life these days.  But it's wonderful.  Life with these three.  Chaotic and wonderful.

The friend in the front left is 'Kiwi' the class pet Darby is taking care of for the weekend.