Woohoo! It’s June! June feels like such a hopeful month- maybe because of all the sunlight. Since it’s the first Friday of the month, it’s time to join Coco and Deborah for our monthly coffee date. I’ll be drinking my earl grey tea, as usual. If we were having coffee (tea) together…
I would tell you how much I’m enjoying having both my kids home for the summer. My daughter will be doing one week of sleep away camp, but other than that, they’ll both be here until the beginning of August when my son returns to college for his junior year.
If I let myself think about it too much, I get a little sad- one of the reasons my son came home for the whole summer is that next summer he may not be home at all. And after that… who knows what will happen, but he probably won’t be coming back here for extended periods. I’m trying to appreciate every moment of this (possibly last) summer with everyone home.
The only thing that could mar my pleasure is all the extra cooking this entails. But we’ve come up with a very reasonable plan- I’ll cook two dinners a week, my son will cook twice, my husband will cook twice, and the seventh night will be takeout.
I can handle two dinners a week! Furthermore, my son and I have decided to branch out and try new dishes. He made a spicy Thai stir fry, and tonight I made a new Indian recipe. We really enjoyed both those dishes. My husband hasn’t quite embraced his two nights of cooking yet… so far he’s made pasta, and pasta. To be fair, he’s still busy with end-of-the-year school things. I’m sure he’ll join in our cooking adventures more as the summer goes on.
Moving right along! My daughter has somehow convinced me that we should get two pet rats. This won’t be happening right away, because first I’ve been elected to help her build a cage for them. Ahem. I did build the cage for our guinea pigs, and we have leftover materials that could be used. HOWEVER…
Guinea pigs are very humble, unambitious animals. Our cage doesn’t even have a lid, because they would never in a million years try to climb out. They’re happy to meander slowly around the cage, dozing and munching on hay. Rats, on the other hand, are VERY smart and will escape from a poorly-made cage in an instant. And we have two cats! We can’t have rats wandering around the house.
I’m all for pet rats. I had rats when I was younger and I loved them- they really can be smart and affectionate, much more so than other rodents. But this cage-building scheme is stressing me out a little. I like my daughter’s DIY spirit (after all, she cut and colored her own hair) but I’m not sure it’ll work in this case. I’m been secretly searching Amazon for rat cages.
That’s about it!
How do you feel about pet rats? – Rats get a bad rap. They really do make great pets!
Do you have a full house this summer? If so, who’s handling the dinner duties?
50 Responses
We used to have a girl at school who bought her pet rat, and it would be hiding in her jumper. Myself, I’m not really into rats as pets.
I love your solution to dinner, two nights cooking seems like a very manageable task, and also allows you space to try some new dishes.
Yes, I think I’m more likely to try new dishes if I’m not feeling pressured to cook every night. We’ll see how it works out!
Oh gosh, I know nothing about keeping little critters! ( I have 2 dogs). However, I am going to try to build a bird house this summer. We’ve had an incident recently with some birds and I feel we need to build them a better place to nest than under our deck!
Enjoy this summer with your family!
Thank you! It’s funny because the only animals we haven’t had (it seems) are dogs. We always had cats growing up and that’s what I’ve stuck to.
I have to be honest, I never once thought of a pet rat. I have only ever had dogs as pets, so I am not one to ask!
I do have a full house this summer and I also am on dinner duty like always! But that’s just par for the course around here. It sounds like it will be lovely having everyone home and I’m sure you’ll savour every moment!
Yes, you seem pretty good with your dinners! I wish I enjoyed it like you do.
One of my favorite things about my son being home after college was that he would cook! My husband’s repertoire is limited to scrambled eggs, french toast, and (frozen) pizza.
My college roommate had a pet rat for a while — I think we were keeping it for her boyfriend. I think we had it in a glass aquarium with a top, but we also were “hiding” it in our dorm room …. I agree they make good pets. I personally preferred mice and kept them in Habbitrail set-ups.
Ha, that’s funny because I was hiding my rat in my dorm room too for a while. I had mice too at one point, and they’re cute. The Habbitrail cages are pretty cool!
I had a pet rat as a kid but I was underwhelmed. Actually he did not live long, through no fault of my own (I think!) but I was not in a hurry to get a new one after he died. I much preferred a cat or a dog or something a bit more affectionate or one that can go on a hike with me. However, I do not think they are gross, just not that exciting.
Ha, yes a rat won’t go on a hike with you. And neither will a cat. Or a guinea pig! I guess we’re not really a “hiking with pets” type of family.
Oh rats would be a hard no over here! I can’t even imagine. Enjoy having your kids home for the summer. I really miss those days and the family dinners. Family dinners were such a big part of our kids’ childhoods. Ok I will stop before I tear up…
Well, if it makes you feel any better, we’re not having “family dinners” every night! Some nights we eat in front of the TV and my daughter frequently eats in her room- I know. It’s not great, but we do insist that she eat with us some of the time. So- while I love having everyone home, it’s not like we’re all one big happy, loving family. At least we don’t always behave like one- we try.
Um no on pet rats!!!
I wish someone else would cook besides me!!!
So lately I’ve been eating out a lot…
Hope you enjoy the summer with the kids… they grow up so fast.
The rat idea does not seem to be popular! For all her complaints about me (there are many) my daughter is pretty lucky that I’m her mom. i’m going to have to remind her of this- it seems that most people would not allow rats in the house.
I just saw our summer schedule written down last night and it was a shock to see that thanks to Boy Scouts, it’s going to be pretty close to an empty nest. Two of their 3 camps are local, so it’s not like we won’t see them, but they’re going to be gone a lot. And yes eventually they’ll both be grown and out of the house…BRB I’m off to have a good cry.
Oh yes, it’s something to cry about! My daughter is just starting high school but I know how fast these four years will go (noooooo!)
I actually felt nauseous when I read the word rats. I know they can be extremely smart and very clean but *shudder.* A hamster was a stretch for me, and I don’t see us ever being a pet family!
I love your family schedule for cooking and with a day of takeout added in – perfection! It’s nice to know exactly what you’ll be responsible for and twice a week sounds doable and also should offer a fun set of culinary adventures if you/your son (and maybe your pasta-loving husband, too!) make new dishes. I am in such a rut with cooking, but I don’t see that changing over the summer when I seem to be more stretched for time?!
The kids have some day camps, but will mostly be home this summer. We have a few stints of guests coming. My husband will end up travelling 4-5 weeks this summer, so I will be on cooking duty so things will be SIMPLE!! But our “summer” doesn’t start until the end of June, and schools don’t reopen until after Labour Day.
Yes, I had a feeling you wouldn’t be a fan. Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to have rats- but my mom allowed a hamster because they don’t have tails. But you have to admit- Meatball is pretty cute! Aren’t you glad you got him?
Yes, if my husband is gone the cooking gets much more simple. But my son does require a lot of food- so it’s good he’s willing to pitch in and do some cooking.
OMG I am terrified of mice so I am a hard pass on pet rats. I’m kind of a hard pass on any pet besides a cat! I wouldn’t want a hamster either. They look cute but are too mouse-like for me. I logically know I should not be terrified of mice, but I can’t help it. We had a mouse in our house when I was a junior in high school and one ran across my room one morning and I screamed so loud, my parents thought there was an intruder in the house. I was reading 1984 which has a part where rats are used as part of a torture device so that just added to my fear of them. I apparently scared the mouse as it peed on the carpet and we could NOT get rid of the smell so we had to get new carpet for my room!
I love your approach to meals! So nice to divide and conquer! We only make 3 meals/week and live off leftovers the other day! Phil and I come up with meal ideas together, though, which really helps. It’s the coming up with meal part that I dislike the most! And then I do most of the cooking and Phil does all of the shopping.
How bittersweet to have your kids under the same roof for potentially the last summer! I never lived at home after I left for college so I don’t know that my parents knew that last summer was truly my last.
I love your approach to meals- especially the division of labor where you cook and Phil shops. That would work!
People have all sorts of fears and it’s not always rational. I have a friend who is TERRIFIED of roaches. Now granted- I hate roaches (and I’m very tolerant of all living things!) They are creepy and disgusting, and I don’t want them in my house. But this woman is truly terrified of them, and it doesn’t help to tell her that they won’t hurt her, they’re not dangerous… it doesn’t change anything. I know rodents are another thing people are scared of, so I get it. If we get the rats I’ll have to put a warning before any photos appear on the blog!
I think there’s a huge difference between a pet rat and a wild rat that invades your house. 🙂 My cats would definitely have taken care of a rat, though, for indoor cats they were very good hunters. I vote get the cage on Amazon. Maybe tell your daughter you built it. 🙂
My husband LOVES to grill. So if I’ve got something that will go on the grill, he’s all over it. Because at the moment I am just over cooking (partially because our eating styles are 360 degrees apart).
My husband might be convinced to grill this summer! The problem is… it’s way too hot to eat outside, so if we grill it’s a pain to carry everything out and then back in again. But we could do it. I’ll suggest it to him.
It would be funny if I got a cage from Amazon while my daughter was at camp and told her I built it- I’m pretty sure she would see right through that though.
We never had rats, but we had lots of hamsters ( myself, as a kid, and my kids). They weee a lot of fun, but their lifespan was much too short . The youngest daughter has four guinea pigs, and she does a great job keeping them all contained (they’re with her at her apartment, but we’ve had to babysit them on occasion). Enjoy your summer with the full house!
We’ve had many guinea pigs over the years (right now we have two, and when these ones go I would like our Era of guinea pigs to be finished.)
I will definitely enjoy the summer! I love the full house.
Oh goodness, enjoy having your son home! I hope your summer of cooking goes swimmingly. I like cooking, but I do get tired of figuring out what the hell to make.
I agree on the rat cage, they need to be safe!
I used to like cooking, but the years have worn me down. Yes, I’m really tired of figuring out what to make. After my big Indian meal, my mind is again a blank.
We did a hamster and when he passed, that was the end of rodents at my house. Not a fan. No reptiles or snakes either. Because who really cares for these animals? Mom.
I miss having my boys home. But when they do come home, it’s really special!!!
Ha ha… yes, “mom” will be doing quite a bit of the work. That’s okay… I’ve always been a sucker for little animals.
I had some mice for awhile (from a benign science project) until I saw the mom eat her babies. Rats as pets as a concept is ok but the look of their tails kind of creep me out lol
Yes, there can be some unfortunate things involving rodents and baby rodents… we will definitely be getting two same-sex rats so we won’t have any issues with that.
Cats, guinea pigs, AND rats? You will end up spending more time on animal husbandry than you do on cooking!
I’m not really a fan of rats as pets, but I have a friend who loves her pet rats and trains them to do fun obstacle courses and the like and so I know that they can be super smart and have interesting personalities!
They definitely have more interesting personalities than other rodents. And I’ll definitely be handing some of the animal husbandry chores off to my daughter!
Enjoy your kids at home. We are lucky, our children live near us with their families.
I am delighted to read that you love so much all kind of animals.
In the past we had 2 couples of hamsters and after them cats, cats and cats…… now we have 3 cats at home and 3 in the garden.
And do the bats count? I put 2 nest for them under the roof.
Okay, we’ll count the bats! I wish we had bats (outside, that is) because they eat mosquitos, which are a huge problem here.
Oh, and my son and I would love to get another cat- we have two right now but why not add another one? Strangely, my husband says no.
I prefer the guinea pigs, but I don’t mind rats. Not the ones with the red eyes, though. Hard pass. In general, I prefer my rodents to have small, not-naked tails (so bunnies, guinea pigs, and hamsters over mice, gerbils, and rats).
Good luck building and have so much fun with your full house!
Thanks Jenn! My mom had that same rule growing up- either no tails, or tails with hair. I’ll definitely need some good luck to get this cage built.
love that y’all have a cooking compromise. we have something a little similar here – every other week we get a Green Chef box. This helps us reduce our meat intake, or if there is meat is certified organic, and makes us get out of our pasta-curry-pasta rut. We have had some amazing meals this way.
You know when I left home I couldn’t wait to leave. I never actually thought about how my mother would feel about it. And back then our relationship dynamic was different. Good thing it took my brother forever to move out haha (maybe she would have appreciated it to be sooner). Neither one of us went to uni, so there was no summer home. It was a clean break. That said, I am certain you will find a way to let go, but now that I’m older I can imagine it is tough especially when you have a good relationship with your kids.
Um. Definitely no on the rats. Hahaha! One of my apartments in Chicago had a huge rat. We actually called it the BFR. I’ll let you work out what that means haha! That rat gave other rats a bad rep.
Yes, college years are a good transition- they’re gone, but then back for ever vacation. It’s like they’re halfway still living at home.
Ha ha… I guess the BFR put you off of rats for a long time.
Oh I don’t think I could do a pet rat! Then again I’m not much of a fan of any type of rodent – gerbils, hamsters, etc.
My oldest wants to dive into doing some cooking this summer too and I’m here for it – it’s nice to split up the responsibility.
Enjoy having a full house – like you said, need to make the most of every day 🙂
Yes, splitting up the cooking is REALLY nice. It’s also good for them- they’re going to be doing all their own cooking soon.
You’ve joined the rather large group who are anti-pet rat!
Wow, I love how you have the meal prep figured out for the summer. So cool that both your son and husband will cook two nights a week! 🙂
I think I’d rather go for a guinea pig than a pet rat, but I have nothing against them. I know people who had pet rats and they adored them. With two cats in the house though… you’re quite brave 🙂
My daughter thinks the cats and the rats will be friends- HA!!! I’ve warned her that we have to be very, very careful.
Splitting up the cooking sounds like the way to go! I’ve been very slowly meandering my way back into making meals but it’s been a process, haha. I’m hoping to try to make something new from my cookbooks once every couple weeks (feels the most realistic at this point).
Aww, rats are super smart + I’ve never had them as pets since my parents weren’t a fan, but I’ve heard they’re great! (But yes, wonderful escape artists. My guinea pigs were also way more chill, haha.)
Okay Farrah, you’re one of the few people who aren’t horrified at the thought of rats! I’ll let you know how it goes once we get them.
Making something new every couple weeks sounds very realistic- I’ll probably shoot for something new once a week, and that seems like a lot.
Ohh, I do not think I would enjoy a pet rat. But maybe because I only think of them in negative terms – like having a rat infestation is no good! But I’d guess they’re different as pets.
Enjoy having your son home for summer! The same thing is happening for one of my friends in book club. This will essentially be her last summer with her daughter fully at home, so she’s savoring it, too. <3
Aw- I’m glad your friend is savoring the summer with her daughter.
I think most people have negative connotations of rats- that’s why i’m trying to talk them up!
I am a hard no on rodents, but that’s because of a bad childhood experience with a million hamsters LOL. Love that you have everyone home for the summer. We are nearing the end of the all-under-one-roof era, and I am not quite ready for it.
Ooh, that is a hard transition- I don’t understand these people who say they aren’t sad when their kids leave home (people actually have told me that!). I still get teary when I think of the day I left my son at college freshman year. Sniff, sniff…
I had a hamster as a kid… but not sure about a pet rat. I do think the drive to escape is part of it! Hope you came to an agreement about the cage – you definitely want a lid. For sure. 🙂
And, how can you tease us with a “new Indian meal” and not share the recipe? Pleaassse? 🙂
Ha, I’ll post about it again. I got the recipe from https://lifeofadoctorswife.wordpress.com/. It was a chicken dish but I used tofu instead.