RIP Tangerine and Creamsicle...

In high school I had a religion teacher that was very adamant about the 'fact' that animals do not go to heaven. His reasoning was that an animal has no soul so they could not spend eternity in the presence of God. I distinctly remember thinking that was a rather crummy theory.

After Sunday night not only do I think it's a really crummy theory but I strongly suspect that this teacher never had to explain the death of a pet to a three year old (and his two year old sister with big ears)

Thing 1 and Thing 2 were busy getting ready for bed on Sunday night when Grant came out to inform me that "Tangerine is no longer with us." Well, crap! I will readily admit that this is the biggest reason Grant and I were both hesitant about getting fish in the first place. I mean, let's face it, goldfish don't have the longest lifespan.

Grant (bless him!) offered to tell Noah the following morning while he was home with the kiddos in the morning while I went to Perrysburg for a doc appointment. I sucked it up, said no, that I thought we should do it together.

So with him sitting on Grant's lap I gently broke the news to Noah that Tangerine had passed away. Noah (bless him!) took it fairly well. After I convinced him that Tangerine wasn't just sleeping ("But Mom, he lays on his side like that when he sleeps") he asked what had happened. I told him he hadn't done anything wrong, God had just decided it was time for Tangerine to be with Him. Yes, unnamed religion teacher, I thumbed my nose at your theory and basically told my kiddo that his goldfish was in heaven. Who knows, my 'theory' is just as legitimate as yours. I mean, God created all the animals so who's to say they don't deserve a place in His Kingdom, too? I have a whole slew of questions I plan on asking God one day, this one is totally on the list.

So we made it over that hurdle (Grant conducted a burial at sea later that evening...) and thought we had escaped relatively unscathed. When I picked up Noah from school today he told me that they were talking about fish in school today and he had shared with his class that Tangerine had died but he still had Creamsicle. Cut to us getting home, me putting away some toys in Noah's room and noticing that now Creamsicle was belly up. *Sigh*

I sucked it up and told Noah by myself this time that Creamsicle had passed away, too. The poor kid looked at me with huge eyes and asked why. And what could I possibly say to that? I told him once again that it wasn't his fault and that it just happened sometimes. He again took it fairly well (No tears from him, but this Mama shed a few once he was safely tucked in for his nap) and told Grant about it when he got home tonight. He keeps saying that maybe we should get bigger fish next time, but I'm not sure that I'm ready for any more pets just yet....

Cheering on Uncle Scott

In case I don't tell them enough in person, I am one very proud older sister. I have three amazing siblings, each of whom I am constantly amazed by. Each of you, in your own way, inspire me. Sarah, for her fierce determination, drive and witty humor. Michelle for her loyalty, strong sense of self and unending kindness (even to those who don't deserve it!) Scott for his commitment, maturity beyond his years, friendly and open nature and his ability to put up with all of us girls ;-) Just in case I haven't said it lately, you three rock!

This particular occasion is in celebration of Scott, though. Tomorrow I'm heading down to Fremont for the opportunity (finally) to see Scott swim. The kid is good. (Kid, who am I trying to sell that to, he's well over a foot taller than I am!) If you don't believe me, start checking out the News Messenger. I don't think they've written up one story on Ross' swim team without mention of Scott this season. Including interviewing him after a meet in which he won all four events he competed in. (I told you, super proud older sister here) There's only a few more meets before State, which we're all hoping to make a trip to this year :)

Anywho, originally all four of us were going to go down to the meet tomorrow, but after some discussion (mostly because Scott swims the first couple of events and the last couple of events) Grant and I decided we didn't want to wrestle Thing 1 and Thing during a 5 hour long meet with tons of people near a rather large body of water. I know, how unreasonable of us ;-) The kiddos were super disappointed so I came up for a way for them to be there in spirit at least. Yesterday they each created huge "Good Luck" posters for me to take with me to Scott tomorrow. Thought you might enjoy seeing some of the chaos that surrounds any event in which they're both set free with markers, a bingo dauber and stickers...

Alright, off to finish my purple with sparkles finger nails and a pair of purple and white earrings for tomorrow. Like I said, super proud older sister ;-)

Oh so cute (when they're asleep!)

*** 100th Post ***
Dancing, balloons dropping, confetti falling, whistles shrilling and all that jazz!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging ;-)

Sorry that I've been MIA for a few days, not sure what else could possibly be demanding my attention. Couldn't be those two adorable kiddos you all come to read about or the continued "I think we bit off more than we can chew" demolition in the kitchen, could it? Or perhaps it was yet another sledding adventure on Saturday, meeting up with my parents and Scott for lunch on Sunday or a quick trip to Fremont yesterday for a weigh-in. Nah, couldn't be any of that...

Regardless, I popped my head in to check on Thing 1 and Thing 2 a few minutes ago while they were napping and I couldn't resist running for the camera to take a few quick snaps to share. I love them both like crazy (even when they're driving me crazy) and they both looked so peaceful and content (and quiet, ah yes, quiet) so I thought it was appropriate to capture the moment while I had the chance. Too often I find myself thinking "I wish I had my camera" or later "I wish I had gotten some pictures of that" so I'm going to work harder on making sure the camera is close at hand all the time. Which will hopefully translate into me getting my butt on here, posting pics and sharing the latest going-ons in Farmington Hills with everyone that cares enough to drop by and read our humble little blog. Until next time...

Can you spot the Kayla?

He has this need to take his socks off during nap time for some reason

A Boy and His Dog, A Girl and her Ice Cream

Last night the kiddos conned Grant and I into letting them watch some of the Michigan vs Michigan State basketball game. I am admittedly not a big basketball fan, but what a game! All of us had fun hanging out, eating some ice cream and enjoying our time together. As Noah said "Mom, I don't like those Spark-ans. Can Michigan win?" Yes kiddo, they sure did!

Excited Kayla, exhausted Mama :-p

A sledding we will go!

Though it took nearly 48 hours for enough to accumulate, we finally got enough snow in order to go and try out the great sledding hill Grant and the kids found at Heritage Park (Where the Hay Fest was in October) So after getting everyone all geared up in their snow accessories we were off!

I couldn't believe how steep the sledding hill actually was! We had quite the experience hiking back up to the top. We only had one major wipe out (which Noah claimed he was done after, but then was ridiculously upset later when we actually left :-p) so we'll chalk it up to a great first sledding experience. Many thanks to Grandma and Papa for the awesome sleds!

Kayla and I tried it out first

And we're off!

We had a little bit of a wipe out mostly to avoid taking out Noah at the bottom of the hill

Noah's turn!

Daddy and Kayla give it a try

3 of the 4 Gatchel's on one sled, what an experience!

Indoor Snow :)

Baby it's cold outside! And thanks to Deb Kohler I had a great way to solve that dilemma this morning - I brought the snow to the kiddos! They had a fabulous time playing with spoons, bowls, measuring cups, etc. in a bunch of snow I brought inside for them. Gotta love it!

Creamsicle and Tangerine

Although Noah's been potty-trained for quite some time now, he's still recently been using pull-ups at bedtime to avoid accidents while he was getting used to going to the bathroom unassisted in the middle of the night. To quote Kristi on Facebook today: "Today in the Gatchel house it is "Noah the Big Kid" day as we are officially (for a week plus now) diaper, pull-up, accident etc free!"


So to as a reward and to show our appreciation, we went out today to get Noah a new pet. A fish! While we were at the store getting the other fish accessories that fishes need, I guess it was decided that the fish needed a friend, so we got two fishes dubbed "Creamsicle" and "Tangerine". I'll leave it to the reader to determine which is which...

We also got Mikayla her very first pair of "underoos" to continue the potty-training encouragement. With her brother as her role model, we don't expect it to take too long.

(Note: As you can see in the pictures below, Kristi has been working hard to remove the ugly wallpaper in the bathroom and kitchen which she finally finished today!)

He's so proud of them!