Our Loveable Lizard Rocky

For our little man AJ's sixth birthday this past November we got him a pet. Now, it's not your ordinary pet — since we our renting our house, the landlord said we couldn't have a dog (which would have been our first choice) or a cat— so we ended up with a Monitor Lizard, For those of you who don't know what a Monitor is, it's not your typical little garden lizard, this thing will grow up to practically be a miniature alligator.

Now, how did we end up with this creature you ask? Aaron will tell you it was all my idea — but I beg to differ. I suggested that since we couldn't get AJ a dog, let's get him something small like a turtle or lizard (meaning something you could find in your backyard). I DID suggest a reptile as I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of getting any kind of rodent. However, Aaron thought my particular suggestions would be too boring. So, we thought - how about a Chameleon?

Well, it turns out that Chameleons don't live long and can't really be handled, they are too fragile. But we were already at Prehistoric Pets ready to buy a pet and then I don't really know what happened next... I think we asked for a suggestion and then somebody started showing us the Savannah Monitors. Next thing I knew we were picking one out — they even struggled picking it up out of the cage for us to look at and it proceeded to deficate all over the pet store clerk. But, the next thing I knew we were buying the $100 lizard along with a 40 gallon tank, substrate, lights, heating pad, water bowl, etc....

Needless to say when we surprised AJ at his birthday party, him and his friends didn't even know what to say. I do have to admit that we felt like pretty cool parents for getting what could possibly one of the best boy gifts ever!

So now, just over 2 months later, taking care of it is a whole different story. But, we're getting the hang of it... I think. First should I say that we thought we could keep it in the garage, but for those of you who know how cold it's been that only lasted a couple of days before we realized that wasn't going to work and moved him in to our living room. Now, it's not the stinkiest animal until.... it poops! Can I say eeeewwww - gross! And, I guess it's common for reptiles to enjoy going in their water... even grosser! So, that is really the main problem and Aaron and I seem to argue who's turn it is to dump out the poo water or clean the cage - not fun! I however seem to be the only one who isn't afraid of holding the thing. Actually that's not true - AJ has been GREAT with it and LOVES him so much! Aaron is the chicken... go figure!

And as for NO RODENTS... what do you think this thing eats... YES mice.... and who gets the mice to feed him... yep.... ME! But, I do have to say Aaron and AJ handle the crickets because that just creeps me out. I feel bad for the mice, but I can pick them up without feeling like bugs are crawling all over me for the rest of the night. We're learning what to feed it and are now attempting to possibly potty train Rocky.

Yes, you heard me, Potty Train a Lizard! We'll see...

So, for now we love our little lizard - he really is cool I have to admit and he is growing SO quickly! We seem to be taming him pretty well, which just requires petting and handling every day. Since he likes to go "you know what" in the water, we've taken the large water bowl out of his cage. Then, we take him out and put him in a tub of water, where usually he will go #2 pretty quickly. But, he loves to hang out in the water - and the funny thing is he likes to hang out under the water coming out of the faucet. And he apparently loves to be held in a towel after he's done with his "bath". HAHA!

Well, if you've read this whole thing I hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more Adventures with Rocky the Lizard.

song - mama says om

I haven't posted something for Mama Says Om in awhile... I guess you could say the holidays got the better of me. But, I saw this week's theme "SONG" and I had just the thing in mind. I wish I had the perfect photo to go with the story, but I didn't have a camera with me and felt like staging one now wouldn't be quite right. So, i am reposting a story from July... I hope you enjoy!


first rock concert at age 5

Three hours before Pearl Jam was to take stage at the LA Forum last night - the friend I was to go with was MIA - my boyfriend had injured his leg at work and couldn't bear the thought of standing for hours on end - and it seemed that every friend I called just couldn't make it. Now mind you, Pearl Jam has been my favorite band since they began about 15 years ago - I had been to the same concert the night before - and was about to just go by myself...

Well, needless to say I have exposed AJ to much of their music. And this kid just loves rock and roll! He has an electric guitar that santa brought him for Christmas and has been in piano lessons for about 3 months now and is flourishing! Every chance AJ gets to pick up the end of the hose nozel and put on a concert, he does.

So, after some careful consideration weighing the pros and cons with his father, I interupted his cartoons and asked: "So, how would you like to go do something so cool, that most kids your age never get the chance to?" He seemed to know what I was going to say next... and once I did... without hesitation... he was jumping up and down and flipping in circles, then he stopped in his tracks, looked at me and said, "I'll go get my shoes!".

He was in complete awe. It was amazing to watch and I knew we had made a good decision... for this child. AJ noticed everything: the lights, the people, the different color seats – and YES – everybody noticed him. I have to say, that we were very fortunate with the people sitting around us. Two young guys to the left were getting the little man hiped up about what he was about to see - "rock legends". And the woman to right, who reminded me so much of his Grandma Mary helped hail down the drink guy for some water. Aaron later commented... a guardian angel.

He only lasted about 45 minutes and I added another 30 by picking him up on and off (nearly 50 pounds now). And though we left about halfway through and I missed seeing Eddie perform another 90 minutes of amazing vocals - I wouldn't change it for anything. Seeing AJ pick up his guitar today (that he hasn't touched in a month or so) and start spouting out "I am a rock star!" was priceless!

We hope that it will be something that inspires him and motivates him with his ambitions in music and in anything he wants to do. It WILL be the first of many concerts to come! I never imagined we'd take him so young (maybe at 8 or 10, I thought), but with supervision and guidance I'd say it's an eye-opening and awe-inspiring experience.