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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sundays in My City: Wild Kingdom

My oldest's birthday is coming up at the end of the month, and, cringing slightly, we asked him what he wanted as a present. We winced as we asked because it was just as likely that Owen would ask for a food dehydrator or a carper cleaner as he would a monster truck or a football.

Owen's weird. The best kind of weird, but still....he would prefer to do laundry over almost any other activity, and had a meltdown the other day because I wouldn't let him unload the dishwasher.

I know, I know....you all wish you could have my problems. Let me assure you that when a near-four year old "unloads" the dishwasher, bloodletting is part of the process more often than not.

It has been well-documented that Owen's other favorite toy (besides the previously mentioned household appliances), is his collection of PVC pipes.

When I took this picture, it was about forty degrees outside, the coldest temperature I would allow for him to turn our backyard into a mud-wrestling arena (although Paul and I generally save that activity for after hours...)

Thus, it was with a great deal of relief that Owen declared that he wanted a fish tank for his birthday. Of course, a nice, self-cleaning pet rock would be an EVEN BETTER pet, but I understand the allure of having actual fish to feed and name and study.

I'm not so sold on the cleaning of the fish filth, but I love my son, and I will do the bitter task....or better yet, passively aggressively ignore it until Paul takes care of the job instead.

We journeyed to the Prince Frederick Zoo, otherwise known as PETCO. This is a regular field trip for us, because we have no museums for children, no indoor playgrounds, no water parks, and no options for indoor fun without driving in the car for at least a half hour (a whole bag of Goldfish crackers, in kid terms).

It never fails to please. We went to PETCO this time as a reconnaissance mission, and I imagine I probably shouldn't have let Joel do this: 
 
We checked out the wildlife. 
 
I had my eye on this little hot tamale: 


And what's this? 


Now you're talking my language. Feathered AND STD free? Hubba hubba. Boom chika wow wow...
  
We saw all the fish. Even all the Nemos, which were once again, trapped in glass tanks. Nobody found this sad. 


Joel was quite taken with this ferret. Since I would no sooner bring a ferret into my home than a possum or a rabid 'coon, this is the closest he will get to this weasel-like creature. Mommy's love goes only so far. 

After distracting the kiddos with promises of apple juice, I thankfully missed a meltdown regarding the dog treats that looked just like cookies, and the long-winded attempts at bargaining to procure some of said dog treats. 

As I drove home, I spied this sign. Perhaps dog treats would be a more healthful choice. 



Join Unknown Mami each week as we explore our Sundays in our Cities!

Unknown Mami

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like joel was fascinated with the ferret. my kids asked me once if we could have one.. err wrong try again LOL

michelle said...

We have a 12 year old turtle that I'd LOVE to unload. Wannit?

It's indestructable. I've tried :)

Liz Mays said...

I love his expression in the b/w photo as he's looking up at the birds!!!

Marla said...

We had ferrets and actually, I loved them. But, I'm crazy so what do I know?

You are a good mommy!

erika said...

I love quirky people of all sizes :) Owen is awesome :)

Jen said...

Ah, thank you for the reminder to reboot my laundry! LOL

Eternal Lizdom said...

I can't imagine being far away from things to do!! Even today, we enjoyed a romp at the library- picking out books and then enjoying their little play corner (legos, a bead thing, foam blocks). We also have a living history museum (Conner Prairie) right up the street and we've procured a membership for this year- indoor play spaces, little indoor museum, and once the weather cooperates... a huge outdoor space to run around in and visit with the locals and such!

Sorry... off topic, I know.

I look forward to hearing many fish tales! (Ha! Fish tales... get it? Tails... Tales... Ha!)

Joanna Jenkins said...

Phew! I thought I was the only one who made PETCO a "field trip" to entertain kids :-)

The PVC pipes crack me up but at least it's not duct tape. My nephew is crazy about it. Go figure.

Thanks for sharing your Sunday. It's always fun to catch up with you.

Have a great week.
jj

Maude Lynn said...

My daughter wants a ferret, too. We must be strong!

Ms. Moon said...

Hell, I used to take my kids to the Walmart aquarium display and called it a good day. So there!
Fish- okay.
Ferrets- not at all.
Yes. Be strong.

Cat said...

Once my cat had an eye infection, so I took her to the vet. Diagnosis? Gonorrhea. Apparently it's an eye infection in felines. Not transmissible to or from humans thank goodness, but I didn't know birds could get that stuff too!

Unknown said...

Life is so good with kids. At least we're trying to find way to live with it...LOL

Coby said...

Only hussy birds get chlamydia. I can't even spell it.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who takes my kids to the pet store instead of the zoo! The zoo is $10, where as PetSmart is FREE!

adrienzgirl said...

I am with you. My 7yr old thinks ferrets are so cute. He can think that all he wants. Not. in. my. house. EVER!

Sonya said...

My friend had two ferrets and they needed their own playroom because of how much energy they had. Plus they STOLE like everything and had stashes of stuff all over the house. It was insane..lol

Owen can come over to my place anytime. I will let him vaccum,do laundry and help me with the dishes! Then I'll bake him cookies:)

I miss Petco!! I bought my Russian Tortise there named Squirt that we had to leave behind. I miss having animals.

Formerly known as Frau said...

Petco is better than going to a museum where you have to be quiet and not touch anything. I love it!

Minivan Lover said...

Maybe I missed it, but did you get him that mailbox for Christmas? Also, when I was in college Walmart sold fish- mostly near death fish. I'm not sure if any of them near us sell fish, but if they do, perhaps this would be a way to go- test the pet waters before fully committing to a healthy fish.

Corrie Howe said...

Ah, we had a Ferret. Her name was Ferret Fawcett. We tried to talk my husband into letting us replace the whole left in our life when Jorge left with a ferret, which we'd name Jorge.

Mel said...

I love Petco too! My daughter begs for a ferret every time, but she knows I will not crack, I have a rigid no new pets since noone but me takes care of the dog and cat and fish we already have, and I wasn't the one begging for them rule. I had a heck of a time getting rid of the fire belly toads that would not die, that my daughter wrote a three page essay on why she should get them for her birthday. The thrill wore off so soon. Luckily a little no name pet store took them off my hands!
A word of caution about the fish, they die easy, and we've flushed many a fishy, with many tears, I considered buying a replacement fish and hoping they wouldn't notice! Good luck with this new adventure!

Claudya Martinez said...

I wanna know if the bird has herpes.

Nikia, May and da kids said...

Your kids are at the most perfect age for you to laugh and for them to experiment with your nerves. Either way, it is a fun time in the home.

That Owen sure is smart with his PVC pipe collection. Hey, you never know, right??

My daughter has asked for a dog. She has asked for a lizard and now she wants fish. I keep telling her mommy is too lazy to take care of her and some fish. I think dad is getting the fish and so I will be forced to passively aggressively ignore the fish filth as well = )

May

Melani said...

I love all your posts! I am way behind in reading my blogs lately, I just can't find the time to read them!