another mouth to feed . . .

Introducing: Hamilton, but then he bit her, so it might be Nibbles, or Hamilton Nibbles. She's still deciding.

Bev has been saving her money for months to buy a hamster. At first we said "no" because of the kittens. Then Mike said "no" until Mama Cat was gone. Well, Mama is still here. (I don't know what we are going to do with her.) I have not wanted another critter in the house, but I am a sucker for this kid--a sucker that is allowing her children to wear her down.

We finally decided that we needed to take her to look for a hamster. We went to two different pet stores--both with limited selections. At the second store I noticed a disturbing issue with several of the hamsters. It turns out this issue is the fact that they are boys.

We asked for girls--there was only one girl, and lots of boys. She was set on purchasing her new pet, so she found one and decided that she could overlook his maleness. I am having a hard time overlooking it--maybe a little pair of pants would help.

She wants to keep him in her room. That would be fine except that Hammy is nocturnal and plays in his wheel all night long. Bev sleeps right through it. Jessi does not.

He is a cute little guy (when you see him from the front.) The kids are having a great time with him. I was worried about Tiger. It turns out that she is scared of him, so hopefully she just keeps her distance.

Growing up, Mike and I both had hamsters. I guess it's time for the next generation to experience the joy. (However, I have begged him not to tell the kids his hamster stories. He and his brothers made parachutes for their hamsters and dropped them off of the roof. I don't need my kids Christian knowing that.)