When I last wrote, I said that Carmen had 5 guppies (pretty little things) happily swimming 'round her tank (it's one of those hexagon-shaped ones).  And then ... "Mom, the fish are doing a mating dance around "Boney II"!  (The first Boney died, remember?)  I said that maybe male fish practice the mating dance even when it's just a tank of males.  Nope ... the kids consulted their fish books and, sure enough, Boney II is a female!  And as of today, she has chosen a life-partner due to the size of her belly!  So now, we are in the business of breeding.  The kids are all excited about selling baby guppies (called "fry") to the pet store.  Carmen said, "Mom, what do you call a baby guppy in France? ... a French fry!"  Welcome to my world!

The plot thickens.  "Mom, there are white spots on Rainbow's tail!"  Consult the fish books again.  We think they have "ich."  Fortunately, we've treated this kind of thing before and already had the medicine.  Just a few weeks ago, Carmen's tank was empty.   Now it's something new every few days.  But, boy, has she learned a lot!  Chad, our resident fish expert, has taught her so much about fish and fish care.  Together they feed her fish and take care of the tank.  It's been really educational for my nearly 7 year old.  And Chad has wanted to bond with his little sister - it's a perfect fit! 

And since I've got serious writers' (or is it writer's) block - at least I've SOMETHING to write about.  I'm sure I'll want to let everyone know when the babies arrive.  I hope they arrive - my little girl is counting on it!