~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Kids~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Hey Good Lookin' Watcha Got Cookin'?

I am not an animal type of person. They are cute and all but I'm not really into being drooled on, climbed on, covered in who-knows-what, smelling who-knows-what.  I've got kids to worry about. Come to think of it, I get enough drool, climbing and smells from the kids. I don't need a pet.  Of course the kids would love to have one. So we got fish!  :)

We have had them a few months and the kids have enjoyed them quite a bit. They are often found peeking into the tank to see what their fish is doing. (They each got two.)  I honestly don't know how they know which fish are theirs, but they do.  Recently, we have had a few deaths. After testing the water and getting a new pump we had yet a third fish die. We took him in and the nice man said that we had a bully in our tank!  One of the other fish was attacking them and that is why they had died.  He described how to tell which fish is your bully and the kids knew immediately which one it was. I was fairly impressed with their knowledge of the scaly little friends.

So we went home and Todd took the accused out of the tank and put him in isolation. We were going to keep him out for a day and see if the mood got better in the neighborhood. Now as much as they are enjoying the fish the kids really want a dog. They have been told that if they can show responsibility with their current pets then maybe we can work up to a dog. Ellie was concerned about the bully fish staying warm all through the night since there was no heater in his small container so she took the initiative to check his water one last time before going to bed.

She checked the temperature and added some water. The fish jumped out!  She grabbed him and put him back in.

Ellie:  Mom, something's wrong with Finn McFishle.
Me:  What's he doing?
Ellie:  He jumped out of the water and when I put him back in he started acting funny. He looks like he is choking.
Me:  Was the water hot?
Ellie: (Confidently) Yes. It's supposed to be above 80*. (looks at thermometer) It's between and 80* and 90* now.
Me:  Todd!
Todd:  Ellie the temp is supposed to be at or below 80*. (looks at thermometer which is steadily rising as we speak) It's at 100* right now. I think you cooked the fish.

Poor Ellie burst into tears. She had cooked Finn McFishle. She was devastated.

After she calmed down we talked about listening skills and checking with mom or dad before doing anything out of the ordinary for a pet.  Ellie said she was thankful that we didn't get mad at her. It was at this time I told her that I had done the exact same thing to a goldfish I won at the carnival.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Have a blessed day! ~Tammy

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

update the kids Pics!

Tammy said...

I know. I know....