April Foolishness around here

April 1 was a great day at our place. I woke up, went running on the treadmill, and started wasting time on the computer. When I finally decided to get the kids up, I was amazed at what I discovered as I opened the door to Pip and Squeak's room:

What a funny joke! Except that it wasn't a joke at all. You know those tiny crystals inside disposable diapers? The entire room--floor, crib, bed, bedding--was covered with those things. Squeak had taken off her night diaper and was flinging it around (from her bed, because she's not allowed off her bed without permission). Then she and Pip started throwing it back and forth. Ew!

I had to hold back the laughter. I was really glad it wasn't vomit, because that's what I thought it was when I opened the door. I'm all about kids being accountable for their actions, so she had to clean it up. But I had to supervise. It took an hour.

Then Pip ?dropped?threw?flung? his cereal and milk on the floor at breakfast. He had to clean that up. But I had to supervise. That took half an hour. And Squirt was happily eating the remnants off the floor as Pip was cleaning.

I was behind schedule, because I had a little April Fools plan of my own. We headed out, Pip and Squeak in the double stroller and Squirt in the backpack, to D's work. The kids asked what we were doing. I said, "Today's a day for jokes! We're taking the car, and when Dada gets out of work, he won't know where it is!" I should also mention that the Suburban hadn't been working all week (D has fixed it since then), so we were down to one car.

I waited and waited for D to call when his shift ended (somewhere between 8 and 9 p.m.). He finally called and said,

D: "Uh... did you take the car?"
T:  "No. What's up?"
D:  "It's gone."
T:  "You're joking, right?"
D:  "I wish I were."
T:  "Did you maybe forget where you parked?"
D:  "I've walked through the whole parking lot."
T:  "Why would someone steal our car?"
D:  "This sucks. Insurance on the car won't cover theft."
T:  "What are we going to do? Should I call someone and ask for a ride for you?"


At some point, D's friend Haidar comes outside and D says, "Dude, my car's gone." and they talk about it for a bit. I had thought about dragging the joke out a little longer, but D seemed really distressed...

T:  "Babe! April fools!!!"
D:  "No, I'm not joking. The car's gone!"
T:  "No, babe, I have the car! April fools!!"

So he told Haidar, "My wife says, "April fools," and then I heard Haidar's boisterous laugh go on and on. "Props to your wife, man," he said. Oh, it was soooooo good! I love a good April fools joke!