Rats and New Doos!

The boys have been asking for a pet for awhile now. Anything from a pet dog to a gold fish to ants. Now that they are almost 7 we thought that they were ready for it. It's a great opportunity for the boys to learn some more responsibility. Matt and I had long discussions about what type of pet would be best for our family. We weren't ready for a dog- too much work. Too many of our friends are allergic to cats. Alex wanted a turtle but after googling them, they don't make the best of pets. Josh wanted a "orange fish" but Matt and I wanted a pet with a tad more interaction. So we thought about a gerbil or hamster or guinea pig. We took the boys to the pet store to look at them and to see if the boys would want one. They of course did. And after talking to the pet store person, she suggested rats. I was all ewww NO! So we left. The more I thought about it, googled it, and discussed it with Matt- it did make sense. They are smart, trainable, clean, and of the rodents bite the least. Oh, and they have personalities. They are also social so we needed more than one. Hmmm....need to let the idea of having rats in the house sink in. It did and I am ok with it so GROSS OUT ALERT- we have 2 pet girl rats!

Meet Ginger- a dumbo eared rat:

and Steve- normal pet rat:
Note: Most of these pictures are blurry because rats don't sit still and are speedy little critters and don't seem to care that I am trying to get a cute picture of them. :)
And yes you read that right Steve and Ginger are girls. The boys named them. It makes me laugh. And to answer your other question- no the cage is not kept in the kitchen! It is still safe to come over for dinner! :)
I have to admit- they are pretty cute. I like them. I had gerbils and hamsters as a kid- so rodents never bothered me. My only rule was NO RED EYES (CREEPY!) and it had to have fur. No naked rats. EWE! And yes they do have them. They are as gross looking as the hairless cats!
Steve seems to be a snuggler. She likes to be around people and sit with us. She will wait at the cage door waiting for someone to come play with her.
Ginger is a mover and a shaker. She likes to explore and play. She will come out of her cage if there isn't a ton of people around. And once she is out she like to be on the go.

Our only problem now is not letting the boys love them TOO much. If you know what I mean. Like that cartoon of "And I will love him and squeeze him" Yeah, its a little like that. But we are working on it and it gets better each day. Perfect pet for our family!!

In other news- the boys got new haircuts- which really isn't news. Other than the fact that we let them choose their doos this time. Zach went first:

Then Alex. He chose a mohawk:

He was PUMPED! -as you can see. Once Josh saw Alex he was all about the mohawk too! Here is Josh:
They think they are pretty cool- which they are! :)


I asked Zach if he wished he would have gotten a mohawk too and he said "Um NO! They are crazy!!" So good news for all you out there- another way to tell Josh and Zach apart- Josh has the mohawk.