Ralph

Okay, brace yourselves. Don't run to the kitchen and jump on top of the table. Don't shriek and scare the entire neighborhood. Are you still there? It's going to be okay...

We have a resident rat in our backyard.

Our rat appeared about 2 months ago. We've named him "Ralph," the kids call him "Ralphie." He's kinda cute, and he goes back and forth between the back door and the garage to see if anything escaped our trash cans.

David says he can stay as long as he remains on the skittish side. But he did say if Ralph started a family, the traps would come out....poor thing!

I was able to get a picture of Ralph this morning for the first time. I had to take it through one of the windows in the living room because he'll run off if we open the back door.

The kids say this is the closest thing to a pet they're allowed to have. Well...darn right. I am not ready to take care of a fifth child (because having a pet is like having another child), and Christina is very allergic to cats, so we definitely can't have a feline in the house.

Someday we'll get a "real" pet. But not yet...I figure when Gabriel starts kindergarten, we'll get a dog. I will be sad that all my babies will be at school, and I'll need another "baby" at home to keep me company :-).