Our Family Just Grew by Two Fish

Following my previous post we decided to take the plunge and invest in a relatively hassle free pet for the boys. Thomas was so excited when Rob told him we were gonna go get some pet fish "Yeah let's go to Tesco Dad!" (Only confirming he really doesn't realise the fish at Tesco are dead and destined for a future only in someones belly.) So we went out and got our 'Spongebob Square Tank' from the pet shop, set it up and had to wait overnight for the water to mature. We explained to Thomas that he had to choose a name for his fish, his reply? "Pet Fish".
We further explained that it would be a pet fish but it still needed an actual name, his reply? "Pet Fish".
We explained even further still how Nanny has a pet dog but his name is Max and they don't just call him pet dog, looooooooonnng pause, then his reply, "Pet Fish!".
We decided to wait until the next day before attempting to choose a name again because the boy obviously wasn't open to negotiations.

The next day he had realised that 'Pet Fish' wasn't the best choice of name after all, now instead he wanted to call the poor unsuspecting fish 'Pet Parrot'. Anyhow we went to buy our fish, Thomas got a white one with red spots and Eli got a grey one with multicoloured spots (I am telling you this because you can't see in the photo, apparently fish aren't all that bothered about maximising photo opportunities and prefer to hide in the plastic plants in their tank instead).

Once our new additions were happily settled in their new home we asked Thomas again what he'd like to name his fish. He now wanted to name his fish 'Red' and Eli's fish 'Black', I could have settled for that but Rob suggested calling them 'Spongebob' and 'Patrick'. They were after all residing in 'Bikini Bottom' so it seemed fitting.

Plus Rob got to name them what he secretly hoped Thomas would all along.

Letterland

I have been a very busy bee indeed attempting to teach Thomas the alphabet (sadly we don't have Sesame Street to provide that service here!) with the Letterland method. Letterland is a most lovely place (in case you didn't know) where all the Letterlanders live in scenes where everything begins with their letter. They don't get lonely though (worry not!) because all the other Letterlanders freely come to visit. To the left you'll notice Clever Cat and Bouncy Ben. My personal favourites are Harry Hat Man and Yellow Yo-Yo Man, but that's just me! He took to it really quickly and can identify the letters now without their characters.

Letterland has a phonetics approach so he's learning the sounds that each of these characters make. Bouncy Ben's sound is 'buh' for example not 'bee' this helps them learn to read later on by piecing the letter sounds together. Easy, right?

All would be well if it wasn't for the troublesome characters Eddy Elephant, Clever Cat, and Dippy Duck. Without fail when I ask what their sounds are I get a miaow, a quack and an elephant noise (no clue whatsoever how to type that!). He won't have it any other way no matter how much I insist or try to explain otherwise. The dear boy looks at me like I need institutionalising when I attempt to explain that although ducks do quack Dippy Duck just says 'duh'.

So for the next year we'll be working on this so he doesn't start school thinking quack, miaow and elephant noise are legitimate alphabet sounds, or else we'll both just look a bit crazy!

All Change

A few weeks ago at Church I got made redundant from my calling (in our Church everybody has a 'job', nobody gets paid but our assignments give us the opportunity to serve others and develop skills and talents) as 1st Counselor in Relief Society (the women's organisation) where my main emphasis was on teaching and education as well as the general welfare of all of our lovely ladies. I really loved it. I knew the end was nigh though as the current President was moving to China and I'd been in that position for three years and overdue a change of environment. Right after I was released from my position they asked me to fill in a position in the nursery for a couple of weeks while they decided on a person to fill the spot long term. Both of my boys are currently in the nursery and it took months and months (felt like actual years) to get Thomas to settle in there so I declined out of fear of him getting used to me being around and having to repeat the whole process all over again. I enjoyed my mini-break of zero responsibility.

Then three weeks later I got called as the Primary President. Now with my two counselors and merry band of helpers I have the task of taking care of all of the children aged 3-12 at church for 1 hour and 40 minutes of our 3 hour long church services. Suddenly the assignment in nursery didn't seem so bad. I am excited for the opportunity as I haven't really worked with the kids much before. Before my stint in Relief Society I was Seminary teacher (teaching the 14-18 year olds an early morning class before school) so kids are a totally new territory for me and well out of my comfort zone. Kids are just so honest (and lacking in tact) they'll tell you how it is, if they say 'You suck' or 'Boring' they mean it. That makes me a little bit nervous! I'll have to try really hard to not be boring or suck I guess!

Rob has been working in the Young Men's (youth) program for most of our married life which involves teaching them on Sundays and running the social group activities on Tuesday nights and he just got released too, so now for the first time in 4+ years I have a husband on Tuesday nights. Now he has no excuse not to join his Grandad's choir though, or else I'll have to!

Time for a New Addition?

Thomas loves animals. He inherited that from me and I in turn inherited it from my Mother. After all I am the girl who at the age of nine, took her favourite pet chicken (a big white one which we named Lips) to school for show and tell. The average nine year old isn't too thrilled by the aroma of chicken poop so I wouldn't recommend anybody else follow my example. Everybody far preferred the cute kitten that my classmate decided to bring the next week. A kitten will always eclipse a chicken in the cuteness stakes sadly, but that's life!

Whenever we visit my mum all we ever hear about all the way there and usually for several days afterwards is Max, Max, Max and more Max. Max is my mum's dog and yes he is incredibly adorable but Thomas was even in agreement when I suggested we take Eli to Nanny's house and trade him for Max. Such is the allure of a dog. The novelty is due to the fact that Max is the only dog they ever see. In fact out of a farm or zoo he is one of only two animals they ever see, the other being a rabbit. The rabbit in question 'Raphael' once attacked Thomas and bit his leg so he's not exactly fierce competition for Max.

The last three weeks I have had to take both boys grocery shopping thanks to the Easter break. These trips have been enjoyably uneventful compared to some so I am not complaining. But Thomas has developed a great interest in the Fish Counter. Now I haven't pointed out that those fish are actually dead. I don't know what he thinks they're doing laying there all still and dry. Maybe he thinks that's how fish sleep who knows? But as soon as we get in the Supermarket he keeps asking if it's time to see the fish. I oblige because it costs nothing and he seems to love it. Plus it saves us driving to the pet shop to see the actual live and swimming fish. Win-win!

So this last week we went to a different Tesco that has a larger Fish Counter, a huge array of fish corpses on display. He was overjoyed! I on the other hand was not. I am not a big fish fan and I find the smell of a fish counter deeply nauseating. The most adventurous I get with fish is opening up a can of tuna, that suits me just fine! I'm not bothered about Omega 3 anyhow, even an overdose of Omega 3 isn't gonna repair the damage to my brain caused by my two pregnancies.

The lady behind the counter was amused by Thomas oohing and aahing and exclaiming wow at all the different kinds of fish laying their in their icy mass grave. The lady asked him if he liked fish and he said 'They're so cute!' (Cute? Fish? Seriously. What is cute about scales and fins?) then he cupped his hands and reached out toward her and asked if he could hold one. She obviously said no because who wants to eat a fish that has been handled by a toddler? Nobody! He pleaded as he does "Please, Please!" but still she declined.

I'm thinking when your kid is begging to hold a dead fish at the supermarket it is time to branch out and buy him his own pet or stop taking him to the supermarket altogether.

A Massive Slice of Humble Pie!

In the last few days I have overheard these gems from the mouth of my three year old son,

1. 'For Goodness Sake!'
2. 'You're driving me bonkers' (though he pronounces it more like Bonters)
3. 'I'm a bit busy right now Eli'
4. 'You have got to be kidding me'
5. 'Friggin' hell'

Why the massive slice of humble pie? Simply because I am the source of all of those things, not The Simpsons, not playgroup and I can't even lay the blame for this at Rob's door. It's all just me!

I'd like to hastily point out that number 5 was a result of burning myself in the oven and not a common phrase I use, it only ever pops out if I burn myself or stub a toe and then surely it's justifiable? Right?