It's not easy being green

On Sunday afternoon, Dave went out to water the plants, picked up the old milk carton he'd been using as a watering can, and found a little tree frog hiding in it. He brought it into the house to show Mabes who, of course, decided he should be our new pet. We named him Green Bean.

Dave cut off the top of the milk carton so Mabes could see Green Bean better, covered the opening with plastic wrap, and put in some sticks, grass, leaves, and a couple of bugs. Green Bean quickly became her new best friend. The carton sat next to her for lunch and dinner, she talked to him, showed him to her toys, and was quite disappointed when we wouldn't let her take him to her room at bedtime. Come on, Mabes, we're not stupid.



Mabes went to bed, we went about our Sunday night, watching TV and eating ice cream (see post below). Perhaps it was the sugar-induced euphoria that caused me to forget about the milk jug sitting on the kitchen floor. Okay, we might be a little stupid.

The next morning, I heard Mabes get up early and waited for her to come to our room. "Huh," I thought, "Guess she just wants to play in the playroom..." Since Annabelle was still asleep, I rolled over and drifted in and out of sleep, hearing Mabes running around the playroom, talking to her kids.

After a few minutes, Dave got up. He walked into the playroom to see Mabes standing in the middle, hair fluffed out from sleep, clutching a plastic toy spoon in one hand and holding Green Bean in the other.



"Daddy! I was playing wif Green Bean and he was hop hop hopping around da playroom! And den he hopped away and I was chasing him! And den I grabbed dis spoon to catch him and I did and now I'm holding him! And den he crawled up my arm and now my hand is a little wet."

So many possible responses, but all Dave said was, "Yeah, Mabes, that's pee," with a smile.

Mabes closed her eyes, threw her head back and giggled, "Dat's CRAZY! Why would Green Bean go potty in my hand?!?! Silly frog."



Dave helped her put Green Bean back in the container and washed her hands. Later that morning, Mabes came running in, "Mommy! Green Bean is gone!" I rolled my eyes, sure he was just hiding under a leaf, and followed her to the kitchen. "Dere he is, Mommy!" Green Bean was hopping across the kitchen floor. I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get the frog (that could hop surprisingly high for such a little thing) back in the container.



Dave and I decided that while the pet would be fun, it wasn't fair to keep him in captivity. And if we did keep him, the odds of him escaping and dying under our couch were too high. So we explained to Mabes that Green Bean really missed his family. She understood immediately. Her head lowered, lips formed a small pout, tears filled her eyes and she just said, "I'm really going to miss Green Bean."



We released him by the trees in our backyard, and encouraged him to come back and visit. Mabes was happy to let him go and excited for him to go home to his mom, dad, and baby, as they were probably very worried about him. That night at bedtime, she announced that she was thankful she could have a pet frog for the day. Dave and I were thrilled with how easy it went.



Unfortunately, I woke up this morning to see Mabes standing next to my bed, sad face and tear-stained cheeks, barely able to say, "Mommy, I really miss Green Bean." Her mood improved when Dave told her we'd go to the pet store sometime to see the frogs there, so of course, all I've heard all day is, "When can we go to the pet store?" alternating with sad, "I reeeeeeeally miss Green Bean."

It's raining so I'm hoping fresh chocolate chip cookies will fill the void left by Green Bean.