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!