My Little White Lie to the Kids

So I guess today isn't too different from any other day, but I feel a bit silly now. This morning, my kids asked when we were getting a dog and they caught me off guard. I've always wanted one since I was a kid myself, but our apartment is tiny and it's not exactly the best idea to bring a puppy into this space with two young ones running around. However, instead of saying that out loud, I told them we'd get one after their birthdays next month, both are in February. It felt like an easier way out at the time, but now as they're happily planning and begging for dog toys on Amazon, I feel guilty. What if I don't follow through? What if they forget about it? But then what if they remember and ask why we haven't done anything yet? I think part of me is just worried about the responsibility, because once you have a pet in your life, everything changes so quickly. There's no going back. So here I am, procrastinating getting them an answer by promising something that might not happen for a while longer, and now it's becoming real. But honestly? My heart hurts from telling them 'no', or worse, 'later,' which feels like the same thing to kids who just want their parents to say yes. Maybe I'm overthinking this too much, but sometimes being honest is so hard.