Infested!

Some of you may have already heard that we have had hamsters join our household.

Have you heard of Zhu Zhu pets yet? My kids first saw them at my sister Janice's house, where her daughter had gotten one for a b-day present in August. Apparently they first heard about them on a trip to the zoo where there was a whole display about them.

So, when it was Shifra's and Sara Nechama's chance to pick out b-day presents, they too chose Zhu Zhu pets. For that occasion, we purchased Jilly and Sophie, plus some equipment to go along with them. Oh, yes, and two baby hamsters too, to go along with one of the pieces of equipment, which, cleverly for those Zhu Zhu marketers, was a double stroller. So that added Snickle Fritz and Baby Cakes to the collection.

For those of you who have not yet seen these creatures, they run around a flat surface on wheels. If they bump into something, it will press their nose, and they will "say" something, and they will also turn around and continue moving in another direction. They keep moving for about a minute or two as long as they don't get stuck or flip over. They are kind of cute, and if I had to have pets in my household, I'm definitely glad it's these hamsters as opposed to something live. (As a matter of fact, Tzvi's teacher offered to send home a fish for every boy, but gave parents the option to opt out first, which we did. Tzvi, and 2 other of his classmates, tend their fish in the classroom instead of having brought them home.)

Now that Chanuka is here, another occasion for gifts, the boys have decided to get in on the Zhu Zhu fad too. So now we've got Rocky and (no, not Bullwinkle) Bamboo.

Featured below are Jilly, in pink, and Rocky, new, still in box.