It's been 3 1/2 weeks since Maggie's birthday. And I've started to write this blog at least 3 times since then. But it seems every time I try to write, there's a new development in the saga of her birthday present. Let's see if I can finish this before I have another birth, or death, to write about.

Maggie had a GREAT birthday. She had 9 friends come over on a sunny Saturday for a "BALLOON PARTY" Um, I wasn't sure what that was either, but we figured it out. We blew up a gazillion ballons, and came up with 2 hours of games to play with the balloons. So what if the pizza wasn't ready when Chris went to pick it up, and I burned through those games in 15 minutes? The girls didn't care. They made up their own games, and when in doubt? Dance Party!

It was 2 hours of pure joy for Maggie. (And 2 hours of frustration for Katherine, it's hard to be the little sister sometimes!) A good time was had by all - even when we ran out of activities and just sent the girls outside with their balloons to run around until their parents came back to pick them up!
On the morning of her birthday, Maggie was thrilled to wakeup and find PRESENTS! Look at her cute bag for her piano books!

Chris gets credit (and blame) for her biggest gift. An aquarium. For fish. Real ones.

(Maddie is white, Molly is orange, and Blacky is self explanatory)

Yes, he thought it would be OK to have a pet (or 3) in this house. I swore we'd never have pets. But it turns out, fish don't count as real pets! And it made for 3 VERY excited little girls! After Maggie's birthday dinner we went to Petco and chose 3 Molly fish. They were quickly named and loved. Life was grand.

Fast Forward 24 hours. I went up to give Abby her bath, and glanced in the tank (kept in their bathroom so I don't have to look at it all the time) and I was SHOCKED to see lots of little tiny black fishies swimming in the tank!

CONGRATULATIONS! You now own 23 fish, Blacky is a new Mommy! Ok, this was NOT part of the plan. I called Petco in a panic, but their only advice was, come over now and get a special net to keep the babies safe from the predator Mommy and friends, or just let nature take it's course. It was 730 on a Saturday and I'd had a glass of wine after the birthday party. I was not going to Petco for a special net. (Who goes to Petco on a Saturday night anyway? HA!) We decided nature would take its course.

Sunday before Mass there were no babies to be found. The girls and I had a long talk about the 'Circle of Life' and I had terrible guilt for not trying to save them. We got home from church to find BABIES! They hadn't been eaten, so I scooped out 3 of them to a separate bowl, hoping to save them.

The next day, my friend Amy came to take the babies. I ended up sending 8 with her. I sent 4 to my neighbor and we waited to see what would happen.

Soon I was suspicious of Molly the Molly fish. Why was she acting strangely? Was she fatter than 3 days earlier? Oh yes, she was. 6 days after our first birth, there was a second birth. No joke. 2 of our 3 fish had been pregnant when we got them. And the good news - thank you internet - I found out a Molly can continue to have babies every 30 days, for 5 or 6 cycles thanks to only ONE encounter with a male fish! GOOD GRIEF!

Very long story, somewhat shorter, we never got to find out about their future babies. Chris gave the tank a thorough cleaning on Sunday. He saved 3 of the newest babies and I had an adoptive family chosen for them. Sadly, they died before I could even get home from work that night.

And that was just the beginning. Over the next 5 days, all 3 of our Mollies died, plus a replacement Molly. 4 dead fish. And all those babies? They all died as well.

After EXTENSIVE consultation with my friend Samantha at Petco, we reset our tank, conditioned the water, and prepared it for new fish.

Last Saturday we went and brought home 3 Zebra Danios. They're tough we were told, they can survive anything! And they lay eggs - they don't have live babies!

They lasted a week. I never even got a picture of all three! On Saturday 2 of them were covered in a white fuzz. And by bedtime those 2 were dead. S, who goes to Petco on a Saturday night? GUILTY!

I could NOT let the last fish die. At 715 Saturday night, I brought back my water sample and 2 dead fish (they have a 30 day guarantee!) I met a rather strange man who assured me that they died of a fish fungus. And the solution was simple, just buy a $20 heater for the tank and add some special salts. I swear he thought I was CRAZY when I adamantly refused to pay for a heater for the dumb fish. I bought my salt and was on my way. And I can report, that the 3rd fish, Abby's fish "Stripedy" seems to be thriving in his slightly salty tank. He moves so fast it was hard to get a picture.

And there you have it. Maggie's 8th birthday, the saga of the Sepersky Fish!

On Wednesdays, Maggie goes to choir with Chris in the evening. She has kids choir from 6-7 and then stays for adult choir til 8.

This leaves me home with Abby and Katherine. Most nights, like tonight, we do baths a little early, and then have plenty of time for snuggling on the couch, in our jammies, reading books.

After I put Abby in her bed, all tucked in with her special blankies and music, I go into Katherine's room. And usually, I climb into bed with her for an extra few minutes of talking, just me and Katherine.

Tonight's conversation went something like this....

K-Mommy I'm so glad you're in my bed, it's cold in this bed.

Me-I'm always happy to snuggle with you Katherine, but maybe we should get you some flannel sheets so your bed won't feel so cold.

(brief explanation of the difference between flannel and regular sheets)

K-I think maybe Santa might bring me those special sheets. I've been thinking about a lot of things Santa could bring me.

Me-Oh really?

K-Yes, but, do you think Santa has me on the good list or the bad list?

Me-what do YOU think?

K-I think I'm on the good list. (pause) Do you think that some days Santa has you on the good list, but some days he has you on the bad list? Does it change?

Me - Well, probably.

K-Wow, I bet Santa has to sharpen his pencil almost every day if he's doing all that writing!

Me-(trying not to laugh out loud) Yes, I guess he needs a lot of pencils.

K - Mommy, it's really warm in this bed now, Um, I think you can get out now!

Me- OK Katherine, good night, I love you!

K-I love you too Mommy!

Apple picking October 8
Sandals at church October 9! We loved the warm weather while we had it!
A week later we needed coats and mittens to enjoy NEW SCOOTERS! The girls had been working to earn enough to buy themselves scooters since the beginning of the school year. They've done almost nothing but ride scooters ever since!
2 weeks later and the girls needed tights, long sleeves and coats for church!
Traditionally, the last Thursday and Friday of October are days off from school for a teacher convention. The last 3 years we've gone away for a night during that break, down to Key Lime Cove for watersides and fun. This year, with life exceptionally crazy, and no great discount on rooms,we decided to stay home and have fun here. The girls have talked about going camping, and since they will almost certainly never go with their parents, we thought we could "camp"in our own house. We brought out tents, lit a fire in the fireplace, and let the girls have fun. Thanks to Katherine's coughing, Maggie and I didn't exactly sleep. But everyone had fun.


Not sure you can tell, but Maggie ended up on the couch to get away from Katherine in the big tent. Abby had her own private tent and actually slept the longest in the morning.

We also went to the Art Museum for a story time. There's always something new to see there - and this exhibit was perfect. From across the room it looked like a boring suitcase. But if you got close enough, you discovered that it actually is 2 stories deep, with a pond down below. The girls might have stayed there all d ay if we let them!
HALLOWEEN - We had fun for Halloween too. The weather did not cooperate - wind, rain and cold for Trick or Treat. But the girl had fun dressing up, and they didn't seem to mind that we only visited the houses on our block. The biggest disappointment? We didn't get enough trick-or-treaters at our house. And the ultimate insult for Maggie - she was upstairs, naked, just about to get in her shower when the doorbell rang for the last time. (Only the 4th time all night) Her wail of "Trick or treaters? Seriously? And I'm naked?" was pathetic and hysterical at the same time.

I love this picture of Abby - just kicking back, enjoying a Tootsie pop - not even bothering to remove her gloves before digging in.
October was a blur, honestly. Chris and I joked that we were really "tag-teaming" as it seemed that we were literally never home at the same time except to hand off the kids. His schedule this year means that he is leaving much earlier each day, and he has a few different committees and other meetings each month as well. Plus his usual church stuff in the evenings.

I am almost done with orientation for my new job at West Allis Memorial Hospital. I'm happy that my manager has been flexible in my hours there, but it still has meant a number of 10 hour days - putting the big girls on the bus at 9 and not getting home until 730pm. (Those days Abby left at 0645 with Chris) I've also been doing my minimum at my other job.

And classroom volunteering? Who know that schedule could get so complicated? Every other week in 2nd grade? Every third week in Kindergarten?

I know that many other families in the world do all of this and more on a daily basis. And I'm not writing to complain at all --- I am thrilled to have the flexibility to be home as much as I am while also enjoying the new challenges that come along with a different job. It's just crazy to look back and see that an entire month has passed in the blink of an eye. We're just taking it one day at a time! Hoping that we can settle into new routines soon!