The subjects in the topic are actually unrelated.
We welcomed our second unsuspecting victim ("Z2") to the new little fish tank yesterday. What fish tank? What victim? I didn't even get a chance to post a blog or a photo of the first fish...When I was in DC, Paul bought Anna a beta. And while I expected simply a fish in a bowl that was just enough for Anna to simply feed and gawk at, I came back to a little aquarium with like lines with bubbles and power and rocks and even a scuba diving Elmo. And a red beta fish was in there too. Because Paul kept calling it a "beta", Anna started saying she wanted to feed "
Zobeida" (our friend's name).
Zobeida survived the first two weeks in our household, even when we left him this past weekend to visit friends in Pennsylvania. Since it's entirely Paul and Anna's fish, Paul dutifully cleaned the tank when we got back. Even commented on how pretty the fish looked.
Then it started turning brown. The fish, that is. Shortly after the water was changed. And it didn't look like it was breathing too well. Now I was having flashbacks to when I had betas in high school. I remembered they turn brown when they start to die. Yeah he was dying right before our eyes. Why? Who knows. Paul asked: "do you think the chlorine in the water could be interacting with the air in the bubbles from the filter, creating an acidic environment?" Um, no, that's a little complicated for a simple beta, hon. Maybe we starved him
afterall and he waited till we got home to watch the horror on our face as he slipped into death.
In about 3 hours, he was laying on the colored rocks at Elmo's mercy. Then Paul looked up the fact that "betas are very forgiving but you MUST
dechlorinate the water when you change it! Chlorine kills betas." And here in Houston you can often smell the chlorine as you're drinking it. Turns out the stuff we drink kills betas.
Purchased over Paul's lunch break yesterday, we are on beta #2, named
Zobeida-2 (Z-2 for short). He has
dechlorination drops. And spring water even.
And no, Anna didn't even noticed the dead fish laying on the rocks.
Also turns out we have several friends who can empathize with our story and never knew till now that was the same reason their betas died when they changed the water. So many good intentions have killed so many good betas.
Don't ask me about a cat or a dog. Ain't happening anytime soon.
**********************************************************************PRE-SCHOOL STARTED TODAYWe officially have a
pre-
schooler. What a big girl! She ended her year with Miss Kelley and Miss
Hilarie to start a new one with Miss Dawn and Miss
Romie. The new teachers are really awesome. They've decorated the room so cute and with so much love and welcome, it's really neat. They have given me a sheet of paper to write up Anna's likes/dislikes and goals for her learning. In fact, these teachers are so cute and sweet and calm, I wonder if the tantrums will run right over them? One is brand new to the school and the other was here last year.
Yesterday we had a private meeting with me, Anna, and the 2 teachers and they had Anna create a paper doll to post onto their door. When it came time for Anna to pick the hair part, out of all of the styles, my child chose the dark black
afro! So there sits her doll on the door, surrounded by others with pigtails and short cuts or whatever, and Anna has a ‘fro!
Hahahahahaha!! The teachers giggled too but they were polite so I can't really tell if they were giggling for the same reason I was giggling or if they thought it was funny that Anna simply picked a style so different than hers.
Potty training is going well, DESPITE us. Well, I guess it's potty training. I say DESPITE us because we're so busy and all over the place that she does the best she can in telling us when she needs to go to the potty. 50% of the time we make it. 50% of the time is going in diapers. But she makes it to the potty around 6 times per day and is successful (pee-pee)
about 4 times. She's good at going when she first wakes up and right before bed or bath too. Bless her heart. She's even peed on the potty at the airport (and jumped right off when the thing self-flushed and she was still on it) and at the
Hayford's house this weekend. Even without the seat adapter so her poor tiny butt is hanging into the big potty with me holding onto her. Anyway, she's a trooper. If I were a truly devoted mom and stayed home with her over a long weekend I bet we'd get it totally worked out. But that's just not the case and she's doing fine progressing at her own pace. I'm even honestly afraid to push for fear of retaliation or set back. She's doing great and so we'll keep supporting her. At home that consists of chocolate rewards and at school it's stickers (so shame on us for the chocolate: I guess it should be stickers).
Yesterday when I picked her up from her new teachers' room she announced she wanted to go home to get gum.
I told her, really? Yes Daddy does chew gum, baby! I played dumb, pretending I didn't know what she was telling me in front of her nice new teachers, which was basically: "I want gum! Daddy gives me gum!".
Is it bad for a 2 year old to chew gum? Paul started it and it was something I didn't even have a second to consider. Good or bad? What makes it bad? She looks like a 2.5 year-old cow chewing
cud? OK, next? That she could drop her gum onto my carpet or couch, or clothes or hair, etc? OK, check. What about safety: is that the real threat to gum chewing this age? I guess the piece is super smaller than her windpipe so it's not really a concern. But something tells me it's not acceptable or responsible parental practice to have your 2.5 year-old chewing gum. I can't quite pin down
why, but it's just so. Growing up, gum was for older kids.
Anyway, now I blame the husband. So when she asks me for gum I send her straight to Paul and I can simply dismiss her requests with "go ask your daddy." Because frankly, gum is not an extra toddler supply I really should have to worry about to have on hand to prevent tantrums, know what I mean? We're just getting over her Colorado
Rollo withdrawals.
*********************************************************************QUICK BITS OF NEWS:- She is finally wearing shoes other than pink crocs. She's mercifully branched out to tennis shoes and sandals and even consents to socks these days.
- She is bummed that the paci in the car is broken (yes I cut it again) but she's actually OK with it. As long as I have an ample supply of orange Tic Tacs.
- Diapers or pull-ups? Have both handy because it changes like the wind.
- Toot-toots are funny.
- Cheese grits are a must-have.
- NEEMO edged out over Yo Gabba Gabba for a pleasant few weeks.
- There are so many clothes in her closet she's outgrowing because she refuses to wear them. They're really cute, too.
- Karmalena and Ryan are going with her to her new pre-school classroom. But the rest of the kids are new to her and her old friends have otherwise been scattered around other classes.
- She must have an ice pack for every little cut or injury.
- She likes to cuddle.
