toadlets

OK, they are really Spring Peeper froggies - so technically polliwogs.  But, originally, the aquarium was supposed to bring the kids' class toad eggs to watch hatch and grow into toads.  Well, just like you, we have had a cold, long winter and it turns out, toad eggs just weren't hanging around when they needed to be.  So, the aquarium brought the class frog eggs.  Not a big problem at all.  Actually, for me - this turned out to be a blessing of sorts.  See, frog polliwogs develop slower than toadlets, I guess.  I'll explain.....

I received an email from the teacher one day asking, "Are you going anywhere for Spring Break?"    and "Would you be interested in taking the tank home and babysitting the toadlets over vacation?"    When I picked the kids up - they jumped up and down, begging.... "Can we bring them home?"   (note:  Teacher, please confirm with moms before mentioning to kids in the future when it comes to living things traveling home.)  "Sure!  Why not?"   and just like that - the twins were celebrities in the class!  One animal-loving girl was jealous.  Hey, I am Room Mother, guess that put me first in line.  She then told Gretchen "Well, I have a dog."  I guess dogs and frogs don't mix well.

So, Friday, after the class Easter party, the teacher siphoned the water down to a few inches and we loaded a tank with about 50 polliwogs into my van.

Since the party was in the middle of the day, I took Carl home with me after it.  All he missed was lunch, Music and recess.  Gretchen was riding home with a friend for a playdate, so she stayed.  Carl and I got to set the tank up together.Here it is in place, still almost empty.  We gave the polliwogs lots of cool buildings to look at.

Then we added the new treated water...

Everyone seemed happy - so he and I headed out for lunch, swimming and the laundromat before picking up Gretchen.

 See - I am certain this guy is smiling at me!

Fast forward to 4/17.  So, we feed them every other day and so far....  they have not sprouted legs.  That is good because we did not take the extra tank that you need to put baby frogs in who cannot live under water.  If they got legs I would have to transfer them.  But, since they arrived later than expected and they are frogs, not toads - they will most likely hang on until they get back to school to develop.  That is good because then all the kids will get to see it.  Oh, and I won't have frogs jumping out of the tank here, too.

Until then, we'll do our best to keep them happy.  (and not floating!  I didn't even mention how awesome I am at keeping polliwogs alive, did I?  I rock!  Of course, they are used to living in a pond - so how bad would this tank have to get to be enough to do them in?)