April Fools' Fun
Today is the day Henry's been counting down to for weeks: April Fools'. The other night we stayed up late planning all the things we'd do today. He started by putting rubber worms in everyone's cereal, and tucking a few into everyone's shoes for good measure. We swapped out the sugar in the sugar shaker for salt and stood by tee-heeing, waiting for Micah to doctor his coffee. He figured it out just in time, and we were devastated.
We put a colored tablet in the bathroom faucet so that the water came out of the tap bright yellow. I asked for Micah or Henry to bring my water cup from the kitchen, and when it came it had something brown floating in it: hot sauce.
But supper was the kicker. I told the kids we were having chicken pot pie and ice cream sundaes. I called everyone to the table and told them we were going to start with ice cream. They were so excited! They couldn't believe we were starting with dessert.
We had silly music playing, silly table settings, and everything was perfect... until Henry looked down and said, "These almost look like mashed potatoes."
And they were. Mashed potatoes with gravy. Not everyone was thrilled.
Then we had chicken pot pie. I told them they may want to blow on their bites, to make sure it was cool enough. I had planned to put peas in, I said, but we were out. So instead we had corn and carrots in it. We dished up their servings and waited. Henry took a giant bite... and spit it back out. "Ugh! What is this? Wait! It's pudding!" The other two couldn't believe it. "Really? It's really pudding? For supper?" They dug into their pot pie eagerly.
I told them they needed to be sure to eat their vegetables at least. Henry held back. "Did you really put vegetables in pudding, Mom? That's gross." He tentatively took one bite. "Wait! They're candy! Wait--what are the potatoes? Bananas?" They dug in after that.
It was totally worth it. What a fun day. Henry was a happy kid when he dozed off. And he's already planning next year's pranks...
We put a colored tablet in the bathroom faucet so that the water came out of the tap bright yellow. I asked for Micah or Henry to bring my water cup from the kitchen, and when it came it had something brown floating in it: hot sauce.
But supper was the kicker. I told the kids we were having chicken pot pie and ice cream sundaes. I called everyone to the table and told them we were going to start with ice cream. They were so excited! They couldn't believe we were starting with dessert.
We had silly music playing, silly table settings, and everything was perfect... until Henry looked down and said, "These almost look like mashed potatoes."
And they were. Mashed potatoes with gravy. Not everyone was thrilled.
Then we had chicken pot pie. I told them they may want to blow on their bites, to make sure it was cool enough. I had planned to put peas in, I said, but we were out. So instead we had corn and carrots in it. We dished up their servings and waited. Henry took a giant bite... and spit it back out. "Ugh! What is this? Wait! It's pudding!" The other two couldn't believe it. "Really? It's really pudding? For supper?" They dug into their pot pie eagerly.
I told them they needed to be sure to eat their vegetables at least. Henry held back. "Did you really put vegetables in pudding, Mom? That's gross." He tentatively took one bite. "Wait! They're candy! Wait--what are the potatoes? Bananas?" They dug in after that.
It was totally worth it. What a fun day. Henry was a happy kid when he dozed off. And he's already planning next year's pranks...
