Skip to main content

Rose Red (the fish)

The last neon tetra died within days of Eleanor announcing that her name was "Emma." I found out the fish's name when Eleanor had to write down the inhabitants of her house for her "Special Day Book": Mama, Daddy, Amanda, Luke, Eleanor and Emma (the fish).

We went to get some new fish. I think I remember that my sister-in-law recommended rosy minnows, so we got two. They cost 12 cents each (quite the bargain!) and I think they were worth approximately what we paid for them. They were very timid, although they found great places to hide from the danios including in the roots of the plant that are growing out into the water, in a crevice in the back of the lower pool, just below the second pool... Finding them was always a challenge, but they kept turning up alive after I hadn't seen them for days.

Since they were rosy minnows, Eleanor decided to call one of them "Rose Red". Sure enough, soon after this fish was named it showed up plastered to the intake of the pump. Poor fish. I am encouraging Eleanor not to name the last one, in hopes that it will live longer. It currently spends all its time hiding from the danios: it has taken up permanent residence in a calm place right underneath the pump. We'll see how long it lasts.

Next project: new plants. I want one with pink and green leaves, if I can find it at the garden store.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My hero, Helen Parr

Otherwise known as Elastigirl , a.k.a Mrs. Incredible. She is a stay at home mom ( SAHM ), she clearly feels that what she is doing is important and is willing to give up a lot to do it (remember her comment in the intro: "I'm at the top of my game! Leave saving the world to the guys? I don't think so.") But she is finding fulfillment in leading her family from day to day, in doing a hard job well. She also knows that she is very talented, and that knowledge helps her see beyond the repetitive drudgery of staying home. My favorite scene is from the deleted introduction, where she talks with a "career woman" who is of the opinion that staying home is fine for people who can't do anything else. She responds that taking care of her kid is at least as hard as saving the world, and is valuable contribution to society. The point for me is that someone has to do the job that I'm doing, and it's not something that you could pay someone to do. I see...

Kindergarten Fashions

I was informed the other day that Eleanor wants to get a new thermos. She lost the o-ring from her purple Tinkerbell thermos, and I have so far resisted buying another one for her, on the theory that you shouldn't just replace things that are broken since it doesn't encourage being careful with one's things. I have been sending her with the sippee cups that she has been using since she was a year old, which she has resisted giving up to the point of becoming partly dehydrated when I don't let her use them at home. Here's how the conversation went. Eleanor: Anna and Jane said today at lunch, " Kindergartners don't drink from sippee cups!" Me: That's very interesting. Eleanor: They are supposed to drink from thermoses. Me: Eleanor, would you like a new thermos? Eleanor: Yes! Get the purple one, please. If there is a crayon one, that's the one I want.... Who knew that peer pressure started in kindergarten? The sippee cups are perfectly f...

Girl toys

A friend just had a post about her son's desire to have a pink bejewled play phone (she and the people who comment have great things to say: here it is so you can read it). Thinking about her post made me very glad that for girls 5 and under (which is all I have experienced lately) there is no toy that is off limits as far as I can tell. Amanda's favorite toys are trains (although she doesn't play with them the way some of her boy friends do. I think Chanson's kids would play well with her version of trains). Her favorite movie is Cars. Her favorite TV show is Bob the Builder. No one in her life (relatives, friends, teachers) tells her that she can't enjoy all of these things. On the other hand, she likes to play with all these things while she is dressed as a princess... In Eleanor's class, everyone's favorite thing to do is woodworking, both girls and boys. The only mathematicians she knows are women, so she expects to do well in math as well...