I kinda have a thing about fish tanks.
It developed over the years as I spent a lot of time sitting around in pediatricians or dentists waiting rooms with the girls. There is almost always a fish tank in those kind of offices, which I think probably serves as a litmus test for the quality of the care we are about to receive. A sparkling tank with contented fish swimming around lazily always bodes well. An elaborate salt water set-up with brilliantly exotic fish probably means I’m going to be paying waaaay more than I originally thought– these are usually orthodontist’s offices, by the way. And sometimes there are a few sluggish-looking goldfish hovering around the bottom of a green-tinged tank, which definitely makes you want to walk right out of that walk-in clinic!
But as I sat in all of those offices over the years and attempted to keep Madi and Charlotte occupied (and distracted from the possibility of the horror-of-all-childhood-horrors– A SHOT!!), I did notice that there was definitely a calming effect to watching fish swim around a tank; it’s kind of hypnotic. So one day when the girls were about 8 and 4, I had a weak moment in a PetSmart and got one of those little tabletop one-gallon tanks and stuck a couple of goldfish in it. Theoretically it was for the girls, but eventually the tank sort of migrated to a bookshelf in my bedroom, where it’s stayed ever since. I graduated to a 3 1/2 gallon size a few years ago, and branched out a little bit from plain goldfish, to fantails, to dwarf African frogs, to what I currently have which is two fancy-tail guppies and two neon cardinal tetras. Their tank is well-lit with some of those plastic green plants in there and a cheesy little arched bridge and colored stones sprinkled around the gravel on the bottom. I get an embarrassing amount of pleasure out of them, I am watching them right now while I type. The guppies are both male, as I am not interested in raising baby guppies since according to Google most of the small fry end up getting eaten alive by their parents, which, hello? Ewww, no thanks! The two guppies are really beautiful– they are just about an inch long and one of them has a yellow head, with an turquoise tummy and a big orange swoopy tail like this:
and the other one is gold with black spots, kind of like a leopard pattern:
Aren’t they pretty? Here’s what the tetras look like:
Unfortunately, their life span can vary wildly around here– some have not lasted even 24 hours, but some have lasted for months and months. These two look pretty dang healthy, they flit all around the tank and love their little guppy flakes like a fat kid loves pie so I hope they live a long time. I might even name them. I’m open to suggestions.
Well, that’s my why-yes-apparently-I-AM-turning-into-an-old-fart confession of the day! So, what’s yours?
Well, I’m still basking in the glow of all of the beautiful Happy Blogoversary wishes you guys have lavished all over the dang place– honestly, you made me feel so good that if I were the blushing type I would be walking around beet red! Since I’m not, I chose instead to chase the girls around the house reading some of the sweetest ones out loud so they would realize just how lucky they are to have sprung from my loins. (I’m priming the pump for Mother’s Day.) They tried to outrun me, but I used my Zumba-fied legs and kept right up with them until they locked themselves in their rooms and begged for mercy. Russ is still out of town, but his turn is coming. Which is just my way of saying thanks so much for your good wishes.
I am deep in the throes of the May Madness that happens around here every year during this last month of school. Every morning I sit bolt upright in bed in a panic because I just KNOW I’ve forgotten to send in some form, or neglected to give Charlotte that check for the class gift, or didn’t call the orthodontist to change that appointment because Madi can’t make it because she has dance rehearsal and OH LORDY Char leaves for Washington D.C. in forty eight hours and I haven’t even started packing yet and… well, you get the idea! I’m trying to stay on top of the details, I really am, but as you know organization is not my strong suit even when it’s just a regular ol’ garden-variety busy month… May Madness kicks it into a whole ‘nother place. I’m trying, though! I have a big ol’ bulletin board that I’ve scribbled all over:
And you know what? It’s not helping as much as you’d think! Because apparently you have to actually remember to write that stuff down in order for it to help you actually remember stuff. Funny how that works.
Ok, how many of you noticed the lovely purple letters spelling out N E W O R L E A N S on that calendar? Yep, in the middle of all of this craziness I’m going on a Mother’s Day Getaway with two of my favorite moms, Lynne and Cary! This will be third time we have done this, though it’s been a couple of years since the last one. Becca Stevens usually goes with us, but she will be performing a wedding out of town and won’t be able to make it, sadly. I am really excited about going, we always have so much fun wandering around the Quarter during the day and eating in fabulous restaurants at night. I can’t wait! I’ll take pictures and give you guys a full report when we get back. It’s only a two night trip, but we plan to squeeze every drop of fun out of it that we possibly can. Not that we’re really a bunch of wild and crazy gals, however– I can almost guarantee that there will not be any pole dancing or tequila shots involved. (I said almost.) We’re just thrilled to be able to sneak away for a couple of days because with 8 kids, 3 husbands and about 7 dogs between us it is a rare treat (and major production) for us to actually be able to pull this thing off!
I’ll leave you with some cute shots of the two people that qualified me to celebrate Mother’s Day– hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and seriously? Thank you again for all of the kind congratulations!
