Meet "Beast"...

A month or so ago, Sam asked me to sign a letter allowing him to bring home a beetle if he won the "raffle" in his class. His teacher was going to let one of the students take home the Madagascar Hissing Beetle and KEEP it. Well, I really didn't want to have a beetle in my house, but I also didn't want to disappoint Sam and be a party-pooper mom so I signed the note. I figured that out of 20 plus kids there would be no chance of Sam bringing home the Beetle. I was right! Sam was fully disappointed when he came home from school that day WITHOUT the beetle!! There were only two other parents that signed the note allowing their child to win the beetle and his friend Spencer won! Sam was SOOO sad and I was SOOOO relieved!!! But, he said if Spencer got bored of the Beetle then he could give it to Sam or the other girl Brooke.
Well, weeks went on and to tell you the truth, I forgot about the Beetle....until last week when Sam got into the car after school carrying a plastic aquarium. He was smiling from ear to ear! "Mom!!" he said, "Spencer got bored of the Madagascar beetle and so he gave it to me!!" UGHH!!! I looked in the aquarium and saw the most terrifying HUGE cockroach that I had ever seen!

I tried to act brave. Rach was in the back of the car freaking out because it was so "disgusting!!" I was trying to make Sam feel good by saying how cool it was, but the only thought going through my head was how are we going to get rid of this thing?
Before we even got home, Sam had already named it "Beast"...you know, for Beast the Beetle.
If it doesn't already freak you out by just looking at it, you should hear the noise it makes when it's scared! It hisses!! When Sam reaches in the aquarium to pick it up, it will hiss! But Sam calms it down and gently holds his new little pet...
It doesn't freak him out at all! He LOVES it!

I got on line to learn more about our new pet. I was trying to find out the life span of the little critter, hoping it was only a couple weeks. I was disappointed to find out they live about two years. And, it also stated that Madagascar Beetles actually make good "pets." They are clean, don't bite, easy to feed (they eat fruit), and fun to watch.
So my heart has softened and I have decided Beast isn't so bad after all. It really is growing on me and maybe it's because I get to see the nurturing side of Sam, that I LOVE!! I love to watch him talk to it in his little voice when he's holding it, saying, "It's OK little buddy, I got you." It really is sweet!
So, if you're looking to buy a pet for your child, you should really check out the Madagascar Hissing Beetle! You won't be disappointed! HaHa! I still think it's disgusting!!