Oh RATS!!

I think it was my sister-in-law Melissa who said I have to learn to say "NO" sometimes--believe me, I tried, but there was really just no way around this one...Let me take you back several months to Christmas 2008. Emily was so excited to be getting a gerbil. A super cute, really active little guys named Scribbles. She loved Scribbles and the little noises he made. She loved giving him carrots and apples and she loved how he always came running over when she came into the room. So when Emily potty trained he little brother Ethan an I told her she could have anything (I was really thinking she would choose an American Girl doll) she wanted to get a hamster, Patches. Well, unfortunately Patches must have been sick when we brought him home from the store because he only lasted about 6 days and then he died. Emily was completely crushed by this. She had worked so hard and been soo excited to get him and so suddenly he was gone. But the real shock came when 4 days later Scribbles, who had been her friend and companion for soo long (well, so long for a ten-year-old) died. He must have caught whatever Patches had. None of us could believe it. There were many tears shed in our home that day--Emily had never felt so sad in all her life. And if any of you mothers have seen your children completely and totally crushed I think you would agree that you would get anything, promise anything, just to ease that pain (OK, anything BUT a tarantula, luckily Em is afraid of spiders almost as much as I am). So, later that week, after some of the shock was gone, we told her she could get the rat she had been asking for for over a year. And let me tell you, she LOVES these rats. She carries them around. Plays with them. After the little ones are in bed they come downstairs to watch TV with the family :) So, I never in a million years thought I would have a rat for a pet but I love seeing my little girl happy and so excited about them that it makes up for any amount of creep-out-ed-ness I maybe feeling.

This is Oscar. He's Emily's rat. He's black all over except for his belly has some white.

This is Oreo. He's Jason's rat. He's not quite as friendly as Oscar but he likes Jason and loves exploring.