Merry Christmas

This Christmas I took very few pictures. This one of Lila is actually one of the few I got. I actually was enjoying everyone and everything so much that I forgot to get out the camera! I also cannot seem to get a good shot of the boys' "big" Christmas present (by big I mean most exciting). They wanted pets this year (like I don't have enough creatures to take care of already) and as we decided what to allow Santa to get we went from an iguana, to a bearded dragon, to a gecko, back to bearded dragon, then to mice. The pros of mice are as follows:

• Cheap. Both the mice and their habitat would have cost about $80 but of course Santa got them and we all know children view Santa's pockets as bottomless. Bearded dragons and their habitats cost Santa upwards of $400 and Santa likes to keep things even for all of the children all around the world.


• Short life span. Why is this a good thing? Well, if I were a nice mom I would want my children to never experience the pain of losing a pet. However, I am a practical mom and I know their attention spans are still short. Therefore a pet that dies in 2-3 years is a good thing. Bearded dragons live over 20 years! I do not want to retire with a "beardy" in my house.


• Easy... yes, mice poop and they will probably stink a little too. However, the boys' room already stinks of little boy sweat all the time anyway so a little more odor doesn't bother me. I have thought of keeping the kitty litter and Lila's diaper pail in there as well to make it where just one room in the house stinks. Also, bearded dragons need to be misted with water and be fed live food. If I did that daily for an animal then that animal would then be getting more attention than my husband, which is not quite right. I only mist Kevin every other day and he never gets live food. He's lucky if he gets chili dogs and oven fries.


• Mice also don't gross me out or scare me. I don't like reptiles and am still confused about where my reptile lovers came from. I think it may be part of an evil experiement. Or maybe it's God's way of keeping me versatile.


• They are funny. I like the way mice run around. Call me simple minded but it's cute to watch them in their little wheels.

So Happy Holidays to everyone as we begin the real twelve days of Christmas!