8.7.2010

 My mom came over last night to help out with the boys so I could relax, and in opening the door, she let in a little lizard. This is the first time in the 2 years we have lived in our house that one has managed to get in (at least that we know about!) Long story short, she caught the little guy by placing a clear tupperware container over him and there he stayed till I remembered to tell my husband about him this morning.

 The boys were fascinated by the "zizz-er" and all evening and morning kept going into the bathroom were he was trapped under the container on the floor. They would get as close to it as possible without touching it and lay on their bellies, pointing and saying "hi zizz-er, hi zizz-er" As most kids, Gavin and Breiden love anything that moves- foggies, zizz-ers, woof woofs, etc. I attempted to get them fish for their first Christmas. Of course, I got the coolest looking fish, not taking into consideration they would be more difficult to take care of, and killed them within 2 weeks when I tried to clean the fish tank. Poor Batman and Robin, they were good fish.

 This morning, I let my husband sleep in and took the boys to the pet store to pick out a new member of the family. To be honest I really had my heart set on getting them some kind of reptile, but quickly changed my mind when I realized I would have to be feeding it live bugs all the time. I even semi considered a mouse- to my surprise I found them actually very cute. But with two toddlers, a new born on the way, and my history of not being the best caretaker of a pet, I decided to go back to fish. The boys seemed very happy about a fish and besides, the last thing I needed was a mouse loose in the house.

After a long look at all the fish, and seeing a hundred of them the boys insisted were Nemo and Dori, I asked an employee to just direct me to the easiest fish to take care of. I had to take baby steps this time. Without hesitation, she pointed me to the Betta Fish. This is what I was kinda hoping she wouldn't say, Betta fish don't move very much and I could only get one of them unless I wanted to do two bowls. But I knew I wouldn't kill this fish, at least within the first month.

I let the boys pick which color they wanted, and just like their daddy would have, they picked orange. I grabbed the most active orange Betta fish I saw, picked up some freeze dried bloodworms for her and headed home with two very happy kids. They creatively named her Orange and I had some fun putting together her fish bowl from one of my vases, some rocks we had used for something in our wedding and a little Greek pillar I had picked up for a dollar from the pet store. I think Orange likes her new home.

Finding a place in the house where I could put the fish bowl where the boys could see it but not reach it was a task. The best spot seemed to be on our kitchen counter- where Orange can be out and see everything going on in the house and the boys can see her if they stand back from the counter. Of course, they still want us to pick them up all the time, so they can get a closer look.

 Maybe its because of the baby on the way and I have extra motherly love in me right now, but I'm already so proud of this little fishy. I walk by her bowl and keep wishing there was something I could do with her or for her, but that's the beauty of Betta Fish- they are low maintenance. Something I will be thankful for a week from now.