January 22 - Swimmin' with da Fishes

I didn't get this uploaded last night. There was so much I wanted to say and not enough time to do it in! And, it was a crazy evening that just got away too quickly! You know how those go. So yesterday Teddy went back to work as he was feeling better. It was a busy day for both of us at work so we were glad to get home and relax last night. I had dishes to do, bottles to wash, milk to get ready, etc. Alaina was a tad cranky again. Not as bad as the other night but I think she was just craving some mommy attention. She didn't want daddy - she didn't really want to play - she just wanted me! :O) *Big Smiles* So anyway - on a lap through the living room with her (she was riding in her pouch like a little Roo) we stopped to admire the fish. We made this fish tank with the help of my brother and my dad almost 2 years ago. It is an old console TV that we gutted. My dad and Chad built a stand inside and made the top of the TV hinged so we could open and close it. When we got it back to Omaha we bought a fish tank that would fit in the "screen" area and mounted lights on the inside. I LOVE it. And, you may think we have a gorgeous coral reef in there as well, but alas, that is just a background bought at PetSmart. I know I know - so realistic even the fish don't know. So we bought about five fish to get us started. We have a little bit of turnover in that department, but, for the most part the fish have done well. The cats LOVE the fish tank - especially Maggie. She will sit for hours in front of it just watching the fish swim. It has been a great source of entertainment and is always a conversation piece when people come to visit. So anyway, as we are admiring the fish tank I see a fish is floating...sad day. Well, I won't touch it. #1 I have Alaina in her pouch and #2 YUCK - I don't touch them. I don't like to touch them when they are ALIVE. So I summon Teddy to flush the fish to his wattery grave. (I am sure it is not just water down there but lets not discuss that!) Anyway - it was the algae eater that died. Now we have to get a new one or the tank is going to be DISGUSTING. This one did a really nice job so I hope we get another good one. This one cleaned like a professional - she must have been employed with Merry Maids or something. I say it is a girl because she did all the cleaning and you know a man wouldn't do that. Anyway - I called her Rosie after the robot maid on the Jetson's, and, Rosie is now dead.
My favorite fish, however, is the black striped Angel fish who I named Tony Soprano. He is no angel - he is the mob boss of the fish tank, I'm serious. Nobody messes with Tony. We had a little molly that chased him around all the time when we first got it and it turned up dead pretty quick. I am pretty sure Tony took a hit out on it with the red-finned shark, aka Jaws. Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase swimmin' with da fishes now doesn't it? Anyway - this is Tony Soprano:
Beautiful isn't he? Can't you just imagine him talking in a Jersey accent? So aside, from Tony and Jaws we have this sea dragon thing that I named Jetsam because he looks like one of those eel things that Ursala had on The Little Mermaid. Then we have a little leopard catfish named Leo. We also have this weird little black fish and I don't know what it is but it is spastic. It irritates Tony sometimes because it swims really fast all over the tank and other times it sits in the corner of the tank. I think he does that after Tony has a few of his bottom feeding thugs "deal with him." But, I don't know. He could just be bipolar. We used to have this fun blue and silver shark, but, he also had a little "accident." I used to have this sponge bob square pants in the tank that blew bubbles out of his mouth through an obviously fake bubble wand. Anyway - the blue and silver shark decided one day that he would try to jump/swim through the hoop/bubble wand and he got stuck because he was too big and he later died from his injuries. I don't think Tony had anything to do with this, but, it was sad. Apparently he was an amazingly talented fish who knew how to jump through hoops and I had no idea. We could have had our own little fish circus or something. But, I did not realize his gifts. Either that, or, he was just stupid. Who knows with fish. So...that about covers the fish. I think Rosie was only our third fatality in two years which, with fish, is really not too bad and it would probably be less if it weren't for Tony... And you thought fish tanks were boring huh?