Goldfish Swine Flu

Why do I let the kids sucker me into having pets? We've had the fish for a year and a half. On Sunday they started dropping like flies. First Drew noticed one "laying" in the fake seaweed. It was kind of fuzzy looking, kind of like a rotting orange. Then another one died the same horrible death. So I figured the last remaining goldfish and small minnow would surely follow the next morning. Sure enough the big goldfish didn't look so good the next morning. It was hovering near the bottom of the tank and kind of swaying back and forth helplessly. Minnow was darting around. So I called Rebecca to ask what she would do. She said to just flush it while the kids were at school, even though it was still alive. And she said to flush the minnow and tell the kids that it was like Nemo and they would make it to the ocean through the sewer pipes. I don't know if my kids are that gullible. And also, that didn't happen in Nemo, that happened in Flushed Away but it wasn't a fish it was a rat (I think). I couldn't do it! So I went to the gym knowing that when I got home it would have died. Nope. As soon as I went to the fish tank after the gym it swam back and forth desperately as if saying "clean my water lady! I'm breathing my own poop!" When the kids got home I said if they wanted to keep the fish they had to help me clean the tank. Of course Drew jumped right in and we cleaned it out and changed the filter and saved their lives. Just when I was really looking forward to having no fish tank responsibility. I did feel pretty good about the rescue though.

Mother of the Year

No, I am not Mother of the Year.

This was a weird week. The kids had Tuesday and Wednesday off for Veterans day. So we decided it would be a good time to get their cavities filled and teeth cleaned. Gillian has about 6 cavities. She was very brave when she got her teeth filled. You would think that a dentist's kid wouldn't have cavities. The funny part is what happened leading up to going to the dentist.

I had Joelle's four kids over in the morning and was going to drop off the six of them to Joelle's while Gillian went to get her cavity filled. I called everyone to pile into the Suburban to go. A bunch of little girls and two boys got in so I left. When I got to Joelle's to drop everyone off and take Gill she asked where Drew and Sophia were and I told her I was pretty sure that they got out and ran to the back yard. Then I left. Before I got to the end of the street she called and said "So Drew and Sophia are still at your house." I told her no, I was sure I just dropped them off. Then she said that Evan had told her that the girls didn't want to come so they just stayed home. Wow. Then I realized that I really didn't remember seeing them in my car. She went over to get them and they had locked themselves out of the house and were running around outside. At least they were ok. But I felt stupid. I guess my mind has been very preoccupied.

family fun

Saturday was a typical Crockett day (hard manual labor), not a Greenhalgh day (no manual labor). We had the kids put on their rain gear and work clothes and come help us "prune" the tree in front. We took the pruning very serious and now it looks like a crazy short haired tree. It was seriously out of control though and Darren just cut up to where he could reach with the chainsaw on a 6 foot ladder. No more raking leaves! So happy about that. Gavin REALLY enjoyed using the chainsaw and I pretended that it didn't worry me at all. But in truth I am a typical mother and the sound of a chainsaw in my 13 year olds hands was not at all comforting. Especially when Darren told him "don't use the tip of the saw, you could cut your leg off". Or at least that's how I heard it. Then Bryan brought over his chipper shredder which Gavin also liked and that made me imagine fingers and arms being chewed up and spit out the other end. Sometimes I let my mind run wild (another Crockett thing?). But we did get a lot of work out of Gavin. Usually he gives us about 20 minutes tops, but he spent hours out there on Saturday. Drew helped for quite a while and Gillian raked a few leaves. Whew! What a day.

In the evening Darren and I went on a date which consisted of picking up his suits from the suit shop, having a taco from Taco Time and splitting a Dr. Pepper. We just get more and more exciting in our 40's! Then we came home to find the girls asleep in our bed surrounded by chocolate wrappers and their halloween candy bags. We should get a Parents of the Year award.

Wheat intolerance

I got a call from the school nurse today. She was chuckling as she told me about Gillian's visit to her earlier today.

Gillian: "My belly really hurts because I only had chocolate for breakfast and a sausage for lunch. I couldn't eat the pancake because I can't tolerate wheat."

Nurse Deb: "Well, I only have Cheerios, which have wheat in them."

Gillian: "I just only had time to eat chocolate this morning."

Nurse Deb: "Why don't you get up earlier tomorrow morning so you can eat breakfast?"

Gillian: "ok"

Nurse Deb: "Do you want to go back to class now?"

And off she went. Funny, I didn't know she had a wheat allergy.

Halloween

The kids were so excited for Halloween. We had our Trunk or Treat at the church on Wednesday and then trick-or-treating on Saturday. Double the candy, double the fun. Gillian was a ballerina, Drew was a vampire and Gavin was a teenager wearing a blank mask with blood coming out of the eyes. Somehow I can never quite figure out what Gavin is trying to be. Gone are the days of him being a firefighter or caveman.

And I was a fairy.