Monday, June 14, 2010

The Curse of the Sea Monkeys


Little did I realize what I was getting into with this one.

Many of you know that I recently became the proud boarder of a dog. I would say owner, but actually it is my daughter's dog. I get the dubious honor of paying for her medical bills, food, and training, but I don't get to claim the dog as my own.

In truth, I enjoy dogs, so this "hardship" is a bit tongue in cheek. She is turning into a good girl and I am glad to accommodate her. Truly.

But the Sea Monkeys? What was I thinking?

My youngest received a gift card for Target and, having the impulse control of a five year old, he was practically salivating to use it. There was a toy he had been wanting to purchase for quite a long time and now he had enough money to do so. Huzzah!

No problem. I needed to pick up some vacuum cleaner bags anyway, so we could kill two birds with one stone and both walk away happy. How often does THAT happen?

We walked into Target and I generously let him go to his section first. He found the proper aisle, pulled the toy off of the shelf and declared that it wasn't as cool as he had thought it would be. The commercial had made it look wonderful. In reality, it was a plastic fist in box.

Decidedly un-thrilling.

I was a bit proud that he was discerning enough to notice and change his mind.

Unfortunately, his discernment led to the portion of the day that we call the "glazed-eyes-toy- wander". Not quite the Trail of Tears, but painful nonetheless.

We hit each aisle. He weighed the pros and cons of each potential purchase like an investor in a down market. He studied. He hemmed and hawed. There was pacing and I may have heard the gnashing of teeth. Meanwhile, my 10 minute trip to the store was s-l-o-w-l-y stretching into 45 minutes. And I still didn't have my vacuum cleaner bags.

He decided on a small Nerf gun (cool because he could clip it to his belt loop and be stealthy) and the Sea Monkeys.

"They really aren't that interesting. They're just brine shrimp, not monkeys," I shared.

"BRINE SHRIMP???? COOOOOL!"

Ummm...that one backfired. Bad mommy moment.

At that point I just wanted to get my bags, get home and catch up with work.

"How long can brine shrimp last?", I thought.

Wellll...................

It has been several weeks and they are doing just fine, thank you very much. In fact, they may be colonizing and I can swear there are a few new babies in there.

At this rate I will have to find a monkey sitter to watch them when we go on vacation this summer. Or I suppose I could board them.

Does Pet Smart do Sea Monkey daycare?

And by the way....Target doesn't carry my vacuum cleaner bags.

Thanks for popping in!

Until next time, happy parenting...errors and all.

Theresa

5 comments:

  1. LOL - sea monkey breeding city, and no cleaner bags, how funny!!! this so made me giggle (at your expense.. sorry!)
    Looks like the sea monkeys will be going on vacation with you :O)

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  2. LOL Theresa!!!
    I remember Sea Monkeys as a kid and I loved them!!!
    So now I'll have to go to Target and see if I can get my own "brine shrimp" LOL!!!

    Can't Sea Monkey's travel on planes with no extra cost?

    When I go on my road trip I can just see me asking my dear husband if he'll watch the ducks, chickens and SEA MONKEYS!!!! He'll have a conniption fit!

    :)
    Pattee

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  3. This is too funny! I well remember our experience with sea monkeys when my girls were young.....something I would rather forget hahaha.

    Sue:)

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  4. So... how are the sea monkeys doing? :O)

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  5. Loved meeting you today- It was a pleasure! And I really like your felt creations. The one eyed coffee cozy was my favorite.
    Hope you have a great vacation!

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