The Return of Sparkling Adventures - Merge

[tuckerphez]

Lana has a good go on the slack ropes which are really more suitable for older children. They are suspended from upside-down trees.

And what if she fell and cracked her head open, Lauren? :doh:

[fundiefun]

Try ferrets. They have tons of personality, and are smart as whips, but if you don't clean their litter boxes every day they smell!

Oh, the memories. We had a stray that we named Tyke. Sweetest thing ever, but loved walking on keyboards. Every once in a while she'd suddenly look at us with an intense stare when we told her to get off the keyboard. We always joked she was trying to buy weapons online. We buried her in our little pet cemetary with a potato (she loved to stash them), a rubber gasget (she loved rubber things), and a plastic hand granade. We thought that she should finally get those weapons she kept trying to buy.

I always wanted a ferret but the smell is too much and the fact that they resemble weasels just gives me the chills. I have bad luck with pets from hamsters to guinea pigs I don't think I'm meant to own a pet.

[nokidsmom]

I always wanted a ferret but the smell is too much and the fact that they resemble weasels just gives me the chills. I have bad luck with pets from hamsters to guinea pigs I don't think I'm meant to own a pet.

We had friends who had a ferret. Mr. nokidsmom and I could never stay in their house for long as the musky smell was too much though I personally found the ferret cute. And both of us were used to pets though we don't have them now.

[thoughtful]

I'm sure Lauren will grow bored and "gift" the rat to another family soon enough.

Or "someone" will mysteriously poison the poor thing, like the dog they couldn't give away.

[FJismyheadship]

Since the discussion has turned to ferrets, I will just leave this here

Apparently you can't imbed a video on mobile.

[CheeseDeprived]

Canberra?

and yeah - you'll do the heating thing way better than australia. honestly; i've been much much warmer in nth american and europe in winter than in (very temperate) sydney, just so long as you don't leave the house. the home i grew up in was pretty much the same temperature inside as it was outside, all winter long. and 5C isn't cold cold, it is cold when it's inside the house.

Close - somewhere round there. ;) But I grew up in a much colder country (not as cold as some parts of Canada, obviously ;)). And I can honestly say I never knew what it meant to feel cold until I had experienced an Australian winter in a house that wasn't built for it.

[August]

Woah, one child has a huge shiner in the park post.

[AuntCloud]

I second the Australian winter description. I believe Israel has very similar weather to Oz. I've spent winters in Canada and in Israel, and Israeli houses feel inexplicably freezing in winter. In Canada you can wear t-shirts and shorts at home when it's -30 outside; in Israel you need to bundle up at +15. It's the building materials, the insulation or lack thereof, and your acclimatization.

[lilith]

Yes, our homes place a priority on being cool in summer, in cold winter months (and its only really cold for about 6 to 8 weeks in Sydney) we just rug up and turn on the heaters. Lauren's van would be freezing though.

To the person who said they may be staying on Perth cause of David's court appearance - only if they are trying to stay away, Brisbane is about 6000km from Perth.

It's possible that she wants to keep the kids out of QLD though - Community Services departments are state based, and if she expects community services representatives to be at court (which is likely in a case involving the death of a minor where the minor has siblings) she may want to avoid contact and make sure she doesn't give them a chance to evaluate the girls or place restrictions on their movement. Community Services would certainly want to know if she had followed up with counselling for the girls at the very least.

[Vex]

I've never owned ferrets, but I have read that you can combat their unusual smell by having them desexed. Apparently it's a good idea to get them desexed anyway, since it helps to prevent aggression issues and things like mammary tumors.

I'm really pleased that the girls got to see a dentist. On the one hand I'm glad they have access to such services for free, but on the other hand it's frustrating that Lauren is essentially abusing the welfare system and taxpayer dollars. Those services are meant for people who have fallen on hard times, who cannot find work or cannot work because they are sick or disabled or whatever. It's not meant for people like Lauren who basically treat poverty as a trendy hippie lifestyle.

God, I'd forgotten how much Lauren pisses me off.

[kunoichi66]

Totally off-topic, but this smilie :cold: is making me giggle every time I see it!

[Trudestar]

The rats (yes, rats, plural as in THREE of them) have arrived. This is gonna get interesting.....

[ladyaudley]

Three rats, but at least they are from a rattery and they have a cage. Apparently the girls have been looking at a lot of how-to videos and leaflets. Maybe they'll realise their mother's neglect soon this way...

I *HOPE* that Brioni's assertion that she'd rather have lice live on her head than have them exterminated was "self-determination" which was swiftly ignored. I doubt it though. So they all have lice.

[Vex]

I never bought any rats from Amberdawn but they have a very good reputation amongst the fancy, so they'll be healthy and well-socialised ratties. The breeder would not have let the rats go to their home unless they had a decent cage and it's standard with reputable rat breeders to never sell a rat on its own unless the new owner already has rats, so I'm glad there's a group of three - that's the best number for rats. The breeder would have probably given them a care sheet and demonstrated how to handle them, so that's reassuring too.

I still think they're going to be neglected, but the good news is that Amberdawn will take them back if they no longer want the rats.

Ugh, I should not have looked at those photos. Now I am craving ratlets like a crack addict.

[chaotic life]

She lives in a VAN. What happens to the rats in the summer there? She and the girls can leave the van in the heat, but she cannot take rats inside most of the places where they tour. Will the rats be cooked when temperatures soar? Or will their cage be left outdoors and poorly secured while they are off on their adventures?

I've always heard that rats are good pets. I just can't get over the ick factor (ironic since we do both bunnies and cavies, I know). I just don't see how even a rat is a good pet for someone who is transient and lives in a vehicle.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

OMG "the rattery"? That word makes me queasy.

[ladyaudley]

OMG "the rattery"? That word makes me queasy.

I like that it rhymes with cattery.

[Blahblah]

She lives in a VAN. What happens to the rats in the summer there? SNIP

I was wondering the same thing. National parks in Aus don't allow any domestic animals/pets to be taken in so she'd have to lock them in the van and hide them. In summer when the temp can rise to ridiculous levels (yes Aussie weather again), inside a vehicle it can be 30C to 40C (80F - 100F) hotter than outside even after a relatively short time. Every summer there are government warnings issued to remind people about the dangers.

Poor ratties.

[already hungover]

Anyone here watch Trailer Park Boys? I keep thinking of the episode where Bubbles asserts that "a dope trailer is no place for a kitty," only in my head it's "a Gifted Gypsy is no place for a ratty."

[ILoveJellybeans]

Im surprised that Lauren's filthy bus doesnt already come with its own rats.

[tuckerphez]

Sad thought: Those rats look like they're better groomed and cared for than the girls.

Sadder thought: Not for long.

[CheeseDeprived]

I'm really pleased that the girls got to see a dentist. On the one hand I'm glad they have access to such services for free, but on the other hand it's frustrating that Lauren is essentially abusing the welfare system and taxpayer dollars. Those services are meant for people who have fallen on hard times, who cannot find work or cannot work because they are sick or disabled or whatever. It's not meant for people like Lauren who basically treat poverty as a trendy hippie lifestyle.

God, I'd forgotten how much Lauren pisses me off.

Actually, as far as I know, all school-aged children in Australia are entitled to some free dental services. I think a lot of people don't bother because the waiting lists can be quite long and you can only have a limited amount of work done (nothing too complicated), but it's not just for people on a low income.

Love the ratties. I'm pleased to see that they got more than one. The cage looks quite small though, especially for three of them - rats can grow pretty big!

[amydamy]

She has a new post up about David. I can't even think what to say about it.

It comes across like these are the "sparkling" things she should be saying but then talking about her behavior she seems extremely depressed.

[lilith]

It's the first time she's outright admitted that Elijah died by David's hand.

But the post in general, and viewing Elijah's death as neutral, not negative - I can't even start.

[Dysfundamental]

The rats are cute. I hope caring for them gives the girls joy.

I get that when people believe in an afterlife, the pain of losing a loved person to death might be solaced a bit by those beliefs. But "the events of 2012 were just what I needed" made me gasp in horror. How could anyone write that?