Lilly's New Pets

Well, my husband and I have been thinking for a while about getting our daughter some fish of her own. We already have two dogs, but we thought she might like having a pet that is truly just hers.

Since she is so young--and mommy doesn't want to be responsible for taking care of another time consuming animal--we decided on some low-maintenance fish. We've had fish before in a 10 gallon tank, but after a while and a lot of reproducing it got to be too much work for me to try and keep that tank clean and the fish alive! So we decided we were willing to get something small for her, in the three to five gallon range.

So this past Sunday on their daddy/daughter day, Sean and Lilly went around town looking for fish and fish tanks. He found a 3-gallon tank that we agreed would be a good size for her first fish tank. The two of them came home and set it up that afternoon. While I was getting ready to cook dinner the two of them went to the pet store and purchase two African cichlids--Sean asked for some "hardy" fish. No point in getting some fish that are going to go belly up the next day!

After dinner the two of them went and put her new pets into their new home. Lilly is so excited to have new pets that are all alone. The only downfall so far is that she constantly wants to feed them, so we had to explain to her that they only get fed twice a day. To make this easier for her to understand and remember, we told her that she can feed them once when she wakes up in the morning and then once again before bedtime.

Maybe over time after she understands about the responsibility of owning a pet we can add to her fish collection!

Daddy/daughter days

Daddy/daughter day is something my husband and I started some time earlier this year. It came from a need to solve two problems we had, 1) Sean needing/wanting to spend more time with his daughter, and 2) mommy needing a break so she doesn't snap. I love my daughter to death, but there are times when I've heard "mommy mommy" over a gazillion times in a day that it starts to get to me and I need a break.

Our solution is what is now known as Daddy/Daughter day. We decided to designate Sundays as daddy/daughter day, since this was the only day of the week that we knew for sure Sean would have the entire day off from work. Working in the hospitality industry can monopolize a lot of my husband's time, so sometimes he doesn't always get an entire weekend off. So for the sake of setting up a routine, we decided on Sundays.

As a result, Sean gets to go and have fun with Lilly doing whatever they want to do, whether it is fishing on the river or trying to grow some flowers in the backyard. Daddy/daughter day is their special day to play. As for me, I can usually be found at the beach with my girlfriends. I get to kick back in a beach chair relaxing in the warm Florida sun while soaking up some sun rays and some good girl talk!

I love how excited our daughter gets when she knows it is coming up. "Mommy, is it daddy/daughter day yet?" she'll ask me usually on Friday or Saturday. Not to mention that nothing can light up my husband's face more than when our daughter comes bursting into our bedroom on Sunday morning yelling "Wake up daddy, it's daddy/daughter day!" She'll jump up in our bed and give him a great big hug and then kiss me on the cheek and I just can't help smiling.

So here is my advice to all the moms out there...

There are going to be days when you just feel like 'enough is enough' and you don't know what to do. Talk to your honey and set something up like what Sean and I have done. I can't tell you how much it helps just to get away for a few hours every week. It gives me a chance to just be me for a while and allows my husband and my daughter to have their own time together. It's a win-win situation for our entire family!