The Unthinkable...

I am currently in a state of semi-panic. I fear that the unthinkable has happened - Freddy is officially missing. I am actually much more worried about Freddy being lost than I am about Nemo being lost (who I'm sure has definitely gone into hibernation). And no, Freddy is not a fish. He is a Frog. Not just any frog, mind you. Here's the Coles Notes version of Freddy's life.

The year is 1993, it's just a few days before Valentine's Day, and I actually have a boyfriend, who I've been dating for a whole month. One cannot possibly miss out on giving a gift when you're dating (it's much easier to ignore Valentine's altogether once you're married). So I head out to the mall, and hit Hallmark in hopes of some inspiration. I don't want to be traditional and buy chocolate. Within minutes my eyes come across the wall of shelves holding, yes, stuffed animals. Not just any stuffed animals, but adorable fluffy green Frogs! They come in different sizes, which means different prices. Not wanting to appear cheap, but also needing to be frugal, I choose a medium-sized frog.

Fast forward 10 years - I now have a two year old who has just given up his soother, and needs something new to become attached to. What does my two year old choose? That same medium-sized frog that I gave as a Valentine's gift (so cheesy) and has now been in the Baerg family ever since. Connor named the frog Freddy, and the two have been inseparable ever since. There have been close calls over the years, bedtime missions to find the missing frog, and even one near-disaster (Freddy somehow made it into an empty cardboard box on Christmas morning, and when we couldn't find him that night, a full-scale search was launched. It took a long time to find him in the bottom of a large cardboard box, underneath wrapping paper in the dark garage). Connor is slightly less needy of Freddy these days, but when bedtime rolls around, Freddy needs to be found.

Tonight, when it was already dark, and the creepy noises had already begun (although I'm not paying them attention tonight) Connor discovers that he can't find Freddy. We do a search in all the usual places, and a few not-so-usual places, and then Connor thinks he might have left him out by the pond. So I actually ventured out into the very dark backyard and looked around. It wasn't even that bad. But no Freddy, and now I'm getting alarmed. We've checked the van, the bathrooms, some cupboards, but no sign of him. Then I remember that Connor had him at a playground this afternoon, and my heart sinks, because I can almost picture him right where he was probably left. Chances are some nice parent will see the Frog and put him on the bench where I can find him in the morning. Or, some wretched teenagers could find him and .....Let's not think about that. I am seriously tempted to drive out right now while the kids are sleeping (and Stefan's out of town) and look for him. Probably not a good idea to leave 3 sleeping kids alone in the house. You know what I'll be doing first thing in the morning... Connor loves that frog so dearly that it would break both of our hearts if we can't find him. Over the years, I've often glanced around at card stores to see if I can find the exact same frog, but I've never seen one. Connor has many frogs, but just one Freddy.

I took some pictures this evening of our fish, which I will post eventually. It's pretty hard to get a decent shot of something floating a few feet beneath the surface. What I ended up with was pictures of fish in trees. The reflection is actually quite beautiful. I also got photos of the kids, once again in various states of dress (Connor in his boxers, Taya in her undies, socks, sandles and winter coat, and Logan in his pjs). In honor of our new fish, our dinner of choice this week has been...fish. (It really has nothing to do with the new fish, and everything to do with the fact that Stefan is out of town, and he's not a seafood eater). We've had Sole Parmesan, twice actually, thanks to M&M, then tuna in my couscous for lunch, and tomorrow is our favorite - salmon with mashed potatoes and some asparagus on the side for me. I always hide some cauliflower in the mashed potatoes, and the kids have no idea! If you put too much in, though, it gets pretty gummy, so the ratio is critical. I served yummy yam fries again tonight - I like mine with a bit of basil mayo, Taya likes hers with Ranch, Logan likes his with ketchup, and Connor eats his plain!

So now, in addition to semi-panic, I am also hungry from writing about food. Makes for lots of butterflies in my belly. I think I need to go to bed, so I can be ready for whatever tomorrow holds. Hopefully we find Freddy, and then never again will we bring stuffed animals to the playground!