19 3rd Graders and One Stuffed Monkey

This weekend I spent shopping around for an anti-stank fish tank. The current one in my classroom has no filter and thus, all the fish poo just hangs about and causes...stank. So, I did some online pre-shopping, bought two, returned one, and was finally happy with a "all-in-one goldfish tank" from Petsmart. It comes with the tank, filter, gravel, plants, food, the whole shebang. I then went to the grocery store and bought two gallons of purified water to prepare the move for Mr. Bubbles from Nasty Town to Clean Land. The final step was carrying all of this in to work this morning along with my purse, lunch, and beverage all in one trip. (You know how I can only take ONE trip)

I had in the back of my mind this would happen, and sure enough, I haul all of that crap in there, arm almost breaking with the weight of it and....BUBBLES IS DEAD! Another one- gone! My kids came in and I said, "No. More. Fish!" Then of course they said, "How about kittens?" So, I pulled a stuffed monkey out of my desk and said, "Here. Class pet. Deal." It better not die.