i fell in love with a turtle today

last year i picked up z from school to find out that one of the kid's in his classroom had brought a baby turtle for show-and-tell. this was very exciting for me, as i've always been partial to turtles, i just think they are so darn cute... so i asked z what he thought about it.

z: "i didn't like it at all"

m: "why not, mommy loves turtles"

z: "i like turtles too, but *boys name withheld* said he didn't like me and i couldn't see his turtle."

well, i couldn't stand for that, so we drove all over town and bought not one, but two of our own turtles. z named them after his two best friends, jax and gracie.

owning turtles will quickly change your fondness for them, i've learned. i despise cleaning the turtle tank.

requiring all the necessary reptilian items, such as a heat lamp and sun-bathing dock... as well as all the aquatic items such as a filter and tank and rocks and water... ect... is quite the undertaking. additionally, they make one heck of a mess and the tank must be drained and cleaned often.. or else the "turtle sludge" builds up. they are not real interactive pets, because they carry salmonella, so it's not often that we hold them.

this morning, i decided to clean the tank, which was long overdue. in fact, the turtles have grown so much since their last cleaning, that they wouldn't even fit in the container i used to hold them during the last cleaning.

anyway... after about an hour the tank was clean and sparkly and ready for the turtles. i always give them a good rinsing before putting them back in the tank. gracie, the red eared slider, has always been very, very shy. she hides and during her bath is completely pulled into her shell.

jax, a yellow painted turtle, was originally smaller than gracie and is now almost twice her size. he is my new little love. he stretched out during his bath and let me rinse and pet his tiny little arms and legs. i rubbed his shell and when i patted his head, he gave me a little love squeak. just too cute, really. he's adorable. i can't wait for z to get home and we can spend some time playing with jax the turtle.