Our kids want a pet so bad. All they've had is rats. And they looooved them. Without being ready for a real pet (dog or cat), promises of a bunny were made during our move to Australia. But when we learned of the exorbitant cost of a pet in our living situation here (having to get all the carpets, drapes and furniture professionally cleaned upon departure - we're talking upwards of $5000) we just couldn't pull the trigger.
So our poor kids have to settle for little half-baked pets like... insects and worms. So sad. I'm sure there will be emotional damage for life. Just send me the psych bills.
Anyhoo, they're making the best of the situation, housing all sorts of backyard critters these days.
They miss pet-sitting the occasional dog, snake, mouse or fish for their cousins. Hey, I sorta miss it too. I'm that crazy lady who answers the door with a rat on her shoulder or a lizard in her hair. Once I got a snake stuck
inside the steering wheel of our mini-van.
Yeah, for reals.
How was I to know there was a hidden compartment in there when we took it on carpool duty?? No worries, we lured it out that night with a bloody mouse fetus. Naturally.
So anyway, yeah, I'm THAT lady. Learn something new every day...
Hey, there's a blue-tongued lizard that camps out at our neighbors pool. We visit him often enough so that counts right? (Just don't get bit or you'll get a recurring rash in the same place/same time every year. Doesn't that sound positively Australian to you by now?)
Summer prefers the giant bull ants. We'll actually find her sitting in the middle of a colony just watching them traverse her limbs. She points and jabbers at them animatedly, fully fascinated until we drag her away and brush her off, much to her chagrin. They've got a
mean bite, ask Kenna. As do these black swans, I imagine. All I know is they do
not back down to humans.
I'm still waiting for Summer to casually bring me one of these. Found him on our couch last night.
And finally: head lice. Annie camped out with them for who knows how long before we figured it out (weeks??) We checked her every time she said her head itched, but couldn't find anything... We, of course, were super grossed out, while she enjoyed it like some massive spa treatment. (Which it sort of was.)
The rest of us steered clear, SO FAR (miraculously, since she can be found in any one of our beds upon the rising of the sun.) Nasty. Nasty. Nasty. Makes you feel better to learn they like nice clean dry scalps and it has nothing to do with cleanliness, but still, that is one critter that officially creeps me out. Tiny, blood-sucking, egg-laying, speed-crawling parasites... ew ew EW.
That's gorgeous. I love how your kids love our 'critters'. Nits (head lice) are nasty. I spray my kids hair every morning - I make a bottle of water with tea tree oil and lavender oil before they go to school and it has worked a treat - no nits for over two years now (S got them just picking up J from school before she was even school age!).
ReplyDeleteAlso, blue tongues (when they bite) latch on and don't want to let go, but they won't make you sick. Of course you clean the wound and all that, but you won't get a recurring rash each year in the same spot. It's pretty rare to get anything from them, but if in doubt, just keep your tetanus shot up to date.
I hope that sets your mind at ease!!!
I love Annie's face at the end! Poor thing! And we found a HUGE spider on our bookshelf last week! Ryan thinks the rain drove him inside. Kind of fascinates me and makes me shudder at the same time!
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