amazing sea monkeys?

As a child, I never filled out the order form for Sea Monkeys advertised in many children's magazines. The descriptions showed little creatures cavorting around in circles, doing daring tricks, and growing before your very eyes. I was tempted to ask my mother, but I knew that she couldn't afford the $9.95 plus S&H, realizing that for that money, all I would receive was a bunch of shrimp eggs and some packets of food. But as a parent I decided to splurge on a Sea Monkey kit when I spied one a few weeks before Christmas for just $3 at the thrift store.

Maggie was thrilled with her gift, but when we tried to hatch the little suckers in frigid January, not one baby brine shrimp appeared. So I sent off for some more eggs and held onto the packets until we arrived in Maine. Maggie added the water purifier (not certain it was necessary with well water, but I didn't want another dud batch) and a day later added the eggs. Within a week we had dozens of itsy-bitsy moving dots in the container, which is equipped with magnifying circles to better see the creature's growth.


We have been the proud caretakers of Sea Monkeys for a few weeks now and while it is interesting viewing every time we visit the bathroom (they prefer a north facing window), I can say that I'm glad I didn't pay retail for the experience. The next pet we will acquire will be an animal for the farm and it will be one that the children can pick up and cuddle, not one that needs a magnifying glass to view.