Researching the Gecko

Drew wants a gecko. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because we've said no to every other pet. Maybe because his good friend at school has a menagerie of reptiles at his house and Drew thinks that is cool.

He approached Pie and I about a month ago with a proposition. He would save his money and buy everything, the tank, the heater, the fake rocks, the food and the gecko. He would take care of it completely. The tank would be in his room. I would never have to see it if I didn't want to. (He knows how I get the willies in the Reptile House at the zoo)

My first response was "Absolutely not!" But then Pie talked with me about it. He reminded me how there are so many things that we say no to. Things that we really don't want in our home. Not just other pets, but video games for teens and other technology for the kids that "all their friends have". And now I wanted to say no again, because I'm not a fan of reptiles. So I agreed, with conditions. While saving up all that money, he has to keep a pet fish alive in his room, with no help from us, and we have to really do our research, to make sure Drew wants all the responsibility that comes from being a pet owner.

Currently, Stanley Yelnats the Betta is swimming in a perfectly clean bowl on Drew's top shelf in his room. And Drew has almost half of the money he'll need for a gecko and all of its stuff. So let the researching begin...

Yesterday we went to the Reptile Expo that came to Sacramento. We saw all kinds of animals, the gecko breeder was very informative and then Drew saw the Baby Bearded Dragons:Apparently, bearded dragons grow to be 2 feet long! Drew now thinks that he can continue with his plan in getting a gecko and prove to me how wonderful it is to be reptile owners and then add a bearded dragon to his collection.

"Absolutely not!"


The other pictures are thanks to Evan. I enjoyed seeing the expo from his perspective.

Random Stuff on a Sunday

Pie started school. Pay said I should have taken a "First Day of School" picture for him, too, and I should've. He is attending Sac State in their MBA for Executives program. In a nutshell, after giving them his Friday nights and Saturdays for 15 months, he'll have an MBA. He really enjoyed the first 2 days. And I'm glad he can do this. Pretty soon, I'm going to be asking him to stay home a little extra while I go back to school, so it will all work out nice and fair in the end.

Drew is LOVING 5th grade. His teacher keeps saying that it's her job to get them ready for middle school and he's totally getting it. There is a 5th Grade Band information assembly this week. Drew is interested in the trombone. We'll see how that goes.

Dean got stitches last Monday on his hand. He found my rotary cutter (like a pizza cutter, but for fabric) and didn't know what it was. Drew tried to take it from him, Dean held on, big slice right under his thumb. Ouch. It was our second trip to the ER in 2 months. We better stay away from there for a while or they might get suspicious!

Edie is the ideal kindergartener. She is totally surprising her Daddy and I. I think Pie said it best: "I thought Edie was going to be a cute little blonde with not a lot of brains, and I was fine with that. But I think she's going to be a little smarty!" Exactly. She's all about reading and writing and homework now. My one complaint(and, yes, I know it's a silly one): I can't get her to wear her hair in anything but a ponytail! I did these braids last week while she was watching TV before school, but she took them out immediately after the photo. Whatever.

We are working on Evan's sleeping troubles. For the last few days we have not made him nap hoping that bedtime will go better and the waking many times a night would finally end. I think it's getting better. He totally crashes at bedtime and waking up in the wee hours has really improved, but it's the late afternoon, early evening hours that make me want to give up. Cranky, cranky boy means a cranky, cranky mama!

Tomorrow is Baby Girl Monson's birthday! I'm excited to have Conrad and Gracie here while waiting for news of their baby sister. Just look how cute Big Sister is:
Pigtails! Baby girls are so much fun!