I reckon that the two of them have made a pact to work on Mom, negotiate with Mom and wear me down until they get a hamster of their own. They've given it a lot of thought - every time I come up with a potential problem with having a hamster in the house, they hit straight back with a solution. Not always the most practical solution, but a solution nonetheless. They've also promised to help save for a hamster - and whenever Jem finds a 5c or 50c piece on the floor - or in someone's pocket - she picks it up with a flourish and tells me it's to save for the hamster!
I can feel my reserve slowly crumbling - but I'm not ready to make a trip to the pet shop just yet - for a number of reasons...
...we have a cat! I've seen Maya hunt down a mouse in the garden and I wouldn't want to wish that on any small creature, least of all one my girls have fallen in love with! (girls' response: we'll make sure hamster stays in cage and Maya doesn't eat it. My response: great, except that you're not home all the time and hamster is!)
...they play at night! Hellllooo! We sleep very well at home, each night we have a restful sleep with no disturbances. I value and appreciate and love my sleep! (girls' response: hamster won't keep us awake, we promise. My response: you've never had a hamster!). So some would say to keep the hamster in another room, but that would mean keeping him/her downstairs and then I'll be lying in bed worrying that Maya - or some other cat - is sniffing at the cage and scaring the poor creature out of its fur. And then I'll be awake anyway - a lose / lose situation!
...the cage needs to be cleaned. Yet another responsibility to add to my growing list of things to do on a weekend. (girls' response: we'll help you clean it Mommy, we promise. My response: mmmmmm).
...have you ever seem a 3 year old play with a hamster? I've seen Scratchy in Jem's hands and wanted to take her outside and whisk her away because Scratchy was lying so still that I feared Scratchy was no longer. (Jem's response to this concern: Mommmm, I won't squeeze her so hard and smash her - I'll be gentle!!).
Anyway, to cut a long story short, we were asked to hamster-sit Scratchy for two weeks. I've never seen two little girls more excited. They couldn't wait to fetch Scratchy and bring her home. The first night was Ella's turn to have her in her room. I told her that Scratchy would be very noisy but she didn't believe me. I could only hope for the best. At 1h45 Ella came padding into my room with her hands over her ears, "Mom! Scratchy is soooo noisy! Please take her out of my room!". I stumbled out of bed and carried the sweet little rodent through to the bathroom, gently closing the door behind me. Ella climbed back into bed and exclaimed, "Thank goodness, some peace and quiet!"
Luckily, Scratchy is possibly the most chilled hamster around and seems to quite enjoy all the man-, or should I say hamster-handling!
 |
| Hey Barbie! C'mon girlfriend, let's go shopping! |
 |
| Ooops! Don't want to leave my bag in the bathroom! |
This
little creature was waiting for me when I went to bed last night – obviously left
there as a little reminder. These girls of mine are super sneaky!
xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment