Princess
It's been a busy month. On 6/25, another Friday evening, we were called to take in a baby girl. Like Little Missy, "Princess" came to us straight from the hospital. She appears full-term, which is wonderful. It's also great that it's summertime, so that I don't have to worry about those wintertime baby issues (flues, viruses, etc.).
She is so very different than Little Missy. This is a good thing: She is letting us know that she is not here to replace anyone, but to bring her own personality to the table. And what a vivacious personality it is! She is definitely her own little person.
We're not sure how long she is going to stay. I think it may be a while before she goes home, so we are assuming that she will be with our family for the long haul. That's fine with us - babies are a breeze compared to my whiny school-aged kids. (Did I mention how whiny my boys have been lately?)
So, here I go with two infants to take care of during the night again. I was really getting spoiled with just Little Mister around, since he's such a great sleeper. Now, though, he seems to have a sixth sense for when Princess is wiggling in her bassinet, about to let forth the full force of her cry for milk. This causes him to wake up, look around for me, and then cry pitifully until I feed him, too! Argh! I've never seen a four-month-old show so much jealousy before. She's crazy about him, though, and I know she'll win him over in time. After all, she's a month old now. She's already smiling widely and trying to hold her bottle. Just wait until the two of them can play next to each other!
Super Baby
Speaking of my baby, I must say: He's absolutely, without-a-doubt the most advanced baby I've ever been around. He was rolling over just shy of four months, tries to stand up, and can sit up for very short periods of time (though he cannot pull himself up yet). He is very tall, fitting into Size "12 Months" already. And, he watches us eating at the dinner table, crying if we don't give him something. Obviously we haven't been. Now that he is about to turn five months' old, though, my husband is ready to break out the strained bananas. I'm thinking he'll do fine with them and be moving on to Cheerios shortly.
More Pets!
My husband, wonderful man that he is, finally gave in and let my boys "win" some carnival goldfish a few weeks ago. When they proudly brought them home, we went out and bought a ten-gallon tank for these prized fish. Needless to say, they were all dead within a month. Flushed out to sea with a wing and a prayer.
Since we already had the tank, we put on the heater and purchased some freshwater fish. Seven of them. Overnight, five of them were dead. Ugh. Three are stuck to the filter. Double Ugh. Brought my water in for testing. It's apparently too acidic, so we have instructions for neutralizing the ph of our water for the rest of this week.
My timing for walking into the pet store with my five little boys was impeccable: They were in the process of feeding goldfish to the turtles. Wow! Those turtles just snapped the goldfish right up in their jaws. We were all fascinated, and even a little taken aback. Who knew turtles ate goldfish??? My four older boys stood in front of the tank, mouths agape as they watched the goldfish slowly disappear. A bunch of them were backed into a corner, trapped but clinging to hope, as Old Man Turtle didn't seem to be able to catch them. Any hope that they may survive was squashed, though, when Young Stud Turtle jumped on Old Man Turtle's back and gulped down the last batch of goldfish in rapid succession. It was right at this point that Little Mister and I decided that the other fish tanks were much more interesting (and less violent), so we parked a few columns down in front of the tropical fish. I do admit to sneaking a look every now and then to check on the progress of these hungry fish-eaters. Just to make sure it wasn't getting too violent for the older boys. You know. Ahem.
Back at the ranch, our two remaining fish are holding on, though the albino catfish keeps trying to break free by hurling his little albino body at the glass of the aquarium. Ouch. Me thinks he needs a catfish friend. Hopefully it doesn't have to be another albino, though - his colorless scales and red eyes freak me out. I wasn't going to get him at all, except that the guy selling us the fish responded to my negativity on his suggestion with: "Give him a chance!" as he scooped him up and placed him in the bag with the other, more colorful fish.
And now, to get the fish net and try to round up the dead fish for their funeral services. Ciao for now.
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