A Girl and Her Fish

So if you know me pretty well, you know that me buying a pet for my kids comes with the following guidelines:

- It has to be easy to care for

- It can't be a dog

- Nor can it be a cat

- Nor can it be anything that moves freely about the house

- Nor can it have any part of it that gets left behind when it's not around

- Oh, and it needs to be quiet, preferably silent

- not very expensive to care for

- and since it's for a young kid, who is pretty sensitive, easy to replace

Thus we have Nemo, Lexi's first pet:

Frankly, I'm impressed he made it home alive. I let Lexi hold him and when we had to stop at one more place before going home, she was more interested in a display than her new fish that she left him on the ground, on his side, with about and inch of water to swim in. But I saved him...whew! That was a whole 20 cents she just left laying there, mind you. What does she think we are, rich?

As far as our criteria, this little guy is perfect. He's not a dog or a cat (I hope that isn't a shock to you) nor can he leave his little fish bowl on his own... and hopefully doesn't leave until he comes to a sad end. Let's just hope that A) Lexi doesn't contribute to that by either removing him herself or knocking over his fish bowl, B) when he does, she's not around, and C) Mom is slick enough to replace him without said two year old noticing.

Of everything to make this little pet for Lexi, the fish was the least expensive. The rocks= $1.60; The plant= $1.75; The distilled water= $.78, A net to put the fishy in (and remove him when the time comes)= $1.80, Fishy food= $2.00.

And the good thing: Should Nemo die before 90 days, he's free to replace! (I also conveniently asked the guy at Walmart to give me a very "common" looking fish)

Lexi loves her fish. We even watched Finding Nemo that night to celebrate. And I caught him watching too. almost longing to join them...sad he has to stay in such a small space, but happy to please my two year old.

So there you have it, our first pet, Nemo. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure there are many of you out there who love your pets, be they a dog, cat, guinea pig, snake... that's just not my thing. I figure I spend enough energy on kids; I don't need another thing to stress about. One day, I may let my kids get a turtle, but that too will be a while until my kids won't need me to care for it, for them. For now, a $.20 goldfish is good enough. :-)