Posted this elsewhere, but had to put it here too:

My son's superhuman powers of persuasion (aka The Eternal Sunshine of the Kindergarten Mind) have resulted in his getting the pet of his dreams, a hamster. We brought the little bundle of joy home today, complete with about as much equipment as my son required when we brought him home from the hospital.

The hamster has been christened "Chewie," a not-inappropriate moniker for a rodent with teeth that never stop growing. Or that's what I thought. Then my son whispered in my ear, "Next week, let's go back and get three pet mice--we can call them Luke, Leia, and Han Solo!"

Tune in next week for The Parents Strike Back, or, "It's Your Job to Clean that Critter's Cage, Young Man!"