Please meet Diego and Nemo and 6 of their friends

So how exactly does something like this happen? Well, it started a couple of Saturdays ago. I hear Kyle yell from the front of the house, "ZORO'S BACK!" It took me a minute and then I remembered Zoro is the name of the dog that "lives" at the house across the street. The family only uses the house in the summer so it's been a while since we've seen them. Kyle wants to go say hi to Zoro and in the course of conversation - about the frogs singing, we are taken to the pool and shown hundreds of tadpoles! Kyle, of course, being 4 and a boy, wants some. We fill a jar with 6 tadpoles and now are proud new parents! (And just exactly how does one rear tadpoles? I think I knew more about this at age 6 than I do now!) We (I) read up on it on the internet (mostly because I want to avoid any tragedies and making tadpole funeral arrangements) and Kyle is now the proud owner of a small plastic aquarium with six tadpoles who feast at least once a day on frozen spinach.
Jump to two Tuesdays ago. Kyle was so excited to show Eva his new pets. Although he struggled to find the Italian words he needed to relay his excitement Eva definitely understood. So much so, that when she came this Tuesday she had, in a jar, two goldfish, whom were quickly named, by Kyle, Diego and Nemo. I thought the jar was a little small and wasn't sure if tadpoles and goldfish can co-exist. Kyle now has two small plastic aquariums.

Now just who is it that brings new pets to a family only six weeks before they move! OK, the tadpoles - with a little luck they'll hop away before the six weeks are up. But Nemo and Diego? With our move approaching Kyle has been working on a list as to what of his possessions will be sold, what will go home with us and what will he give away and to whom. His venus flytrap (which he feeds fairly regularly with still moving insects) he'd like to give to his mate Elspeth but since they're moving it looks like Finn may be the lucky winner. And I, like a good parent, will start conferring with Dorianne, Alessia's mom next door to see if she will take on Kyle's Diego and Nemo.

I'm thinking babysitters, at least our very loving Polish-Italian one, must fall into the category of "aunt". The people in that category can get away with things with my children that no one else can! (Right, Lisa?)

Now if Kyle would only admit that the tadpoles tails are getting shorter and not growing longer as he claims! If they are growing longer then I may really have a challenge!

Hmmm, I think I hear a cricket singing outside the front door...perhaps I should go and warn him to move on.


I actually wrote this blog entry well over a week ago and never got it posted. So here is the update: Poor Nemo did not stay with us very long. Kyle was not particularly bothered as he simply renamed Diego - "Diego-Nemo". And all is fine. Since this posting we have actually had an encounter with a cricket that found it's way into our house, as well as a baby bird that fell out of one of our trees (put it in a shoebox and hung that from the tree and the next day it was gone), and a litter of three kittens (maybe 5 days old) at our friends house. Oh and our tadpoles have legs.