Where's Nemo? At the Fish Store (and He's Staying There).

Years ago I purchased a itty-bitty aquarium for my desk at work. When remodeling started and I began having to switch offices every ten minutes, I brought the thing home and stuck it in storage. Since Alexis loves watching fish, we had the brilliant idea to bring it out of storage and set it up in her room.

Never the kind of people to do things the easy way, we geniuses decided to make it a saltwater aquarium. So we did a little research and found that step one was to put in some sand and saltwater. We spent a few bucks on the sand and a crazy amount on premixed saltwater. We let it sit, as instructed, for a while, then looked for the next step. That was to add live rock. Live rock, it turns out, is absolutely required. It's rock that comes from the ocean, has lots of little good stuff living in it, and costs about $7-$9 per pound. Oh, and you need one or two pounds per gallon of water. So we bought $60 freakin' dollars worth of rocks. And a $40 protein skimmer. Then there was the $45 worth of coral. So now we're up to $200 bucks on this whim of an aquarium and there still aren't any fish in the thing. And there won't be anytime soon because we're broke from buying rocks that you can grab out of the ocean for free.

Oh, and have you ever wondered how much a Nemo fishy costs? $25. As in a months' supply of diapers. Or a weeks' supply of Starbucks Iced Caramel Macciatos. Or a days' supply of chew toys for Meg. (BTW, yes, I know it's not called a Nemo fishy but that's so much more fun to type than Percula, so I'm calling it that anyway.) You just know that we're going to drop all this cash on the itty-bitty aquarium, get it all happy and running, and then Alexis is going to come along and decide to use it as a combination piggy bank/doll bath tub.

Blogroll Please!

It's time to add some new blogs to the blogroll. So, without further ado, head on over to these places for some entertainment.

The Burgh Blog: Because PittGirl is awesome. You need no other reason.

Finslippy: Because it is Henry's fault that Alexis was screaming "Poop" over and over and over in the grocery store the other day. While I am aware that Alexis has never met the child, it somehow has to be his fault. Otherwise, I might have to stop forgetting the part of the story where I asked her "Did you poop?" knowing full well she will repeat absolutely any word she hears. Definitely Henry's fault.

Looky, Daddy!: Because any time you think you have it bad, you should remember that there could be TWO of them doing whatever it is that they are doing to make you want to go play in traffic. For example, when your kid is dancing on top of table. There could be two of them dancing on the table. Or when some lady at Target has tears rolling down her face because she's laughing so hard at you as you carry your child upside-down with one arm, push a cart with the other, and keep telling your upside-down child that you are really glad that she would like to get down and run around all over the store. I mean, you can't very well carry two kids upside-down and push a cart, now can you? While you're there, be sure to read this post. If you aren't rolling on the floor laughing by the end of the story then, as PittGirl would say, ask yourself why you are so dead inside.

I Heart the Pittsburgh Zoo Security Guy!

For just a moment, I forgot how upset I am that my favorite cat died because TONY FOUND MY RING!

Wooooohoooooooo! Tony found my ring, Tony found my ring, Tony found my ring!

P.S. Don't tell Powder and Coal about that "favorite" thing. I wouldn't want them to feel bad.