To Do List

Paper Mache (check)
I remembered doing this in 5th grade and I have always wanted to do this with my kids. We got a little carried away. I originally just wanted to do masks, but then the kids mentioned the solar system and I thought, why not? It's a three day messy process anyway--so might as well go all out.


Sun, Mars, Moon, Earth

Cheetah, Zebra, Mountain Lion


Build and Paint Bird Houses (check)
I didn't say paint yourself, but Papa Smurf always does things her own way.

Yup, I think that is the lid to the paint that she's painting there. Just noticed that one--she too also does what she wants.

I filled these darling things up with bird seed to the top. Mat brought it to my attention that they were bird houses and that birds are supposed to have room to live in them. Right! Birdseed was later transferred to the bird feeders and the bird houses are empty (double check).



100 Days of Reading + Party to Chuck E. Cheese = Bribery (check). If the kids read 100 days, they could go to Chuck E. Cheese for their party.

Gretchen's umpteenth time printing out a picture of her and the Mister

Do you ever wonder what he's really thinking behind that mask? I'm thinking he could use some new cargo shorts.

Micah's umpteenth picture of her eating and yes, that would be a pepperoni stuck to her chest hair.

Eew Sick!

No Swine Flu as of yet---but we were all pretty sick last week with a stomach bug, starting with Gretchen, then Micah, me, Becket, and then Mat.

Gretchen puked in the car just before we dropped Mat off to work. Five stoplights later, it hits Micah. The fun begins!


I did end up with a clean van, but not by choice. Micah digs the van, so she didn't mind one bit.



Loads upon loads of laundry


Loads upon loads of TV watching




In someways it's nice to have an excuse to stay home. I got caught up on my stack of magazines that I had been wanting to go through and I finished my book.

Sexy Middle Aged Man

Micah has sported a new way to wear her jammies at night and she is very adamant about wearing them this way. It sort of reminds me of those middle aged men, that are greased up, overly tan with long oily, dark, hair and they're accessorized with gold chains. You may want to try this at home when you put on your jammies. I'm curious what your spouses will say. It could be a negative or a positive.

The Easter Post

Ahh! The Harris family traditional Easter Egg hunt starting sharply at 10AM at the Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill. Standing to my right is the intense, highly vocal Easter Egg Hunter Mom (you can see her fanny pack if that tells you anything).



Micah crashed in the grass before it even started. She was a little embarrassed and maybe a tad angry from her stumble.



The egg hunt takes place on the dew dripped lawns and the giant wide spread, cavernous magnolia tree. Notice the ant-like people at the base of the tree (insert an Andreaism-Mat's praising plant loving mom- in reaction to the grand magnolia tree, she would have total respect for the tree).







After Easter dinner, Mat and I tried to explain the true meaning of Easter. Here is the commentary:

Gretchen: "Jesus lives in the sky!"

Mat continues to tell how Mary saw Jesus after he had risen from the tomb.

Gretchen interjects: "Like Mary had a little lamb." Then sings: "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb."

Mat wraps up the beautiful Easter story with: "It's not about the candy or the hunts...."

Gretchen: "Ha!" insinuating that it IS about the egg hunts

Mat finishes: "It's about Christ sacrificing for us so that we can live. So, do you understand what Easter is about?"

Becket all wide-eyed looks at him and asks: "Yes, but do we still get to have the Easter egg hunts?"

Happy Easter everybody!

Help Me Please!

This is Gretchen pleading with us to help her down off the playground whoseitwhatsit (notice the whole inch from the ground). Instead of helping her, I grabbed a picture and laughed to myself.



Two days later...She is climbing on a grape vine several FEET off the ground while ninja kicking her little sister with no sweat or tears. Take that story, Paul Harvey!

In Other News..

New sunglasses for Becket and Gretchen, which if I'm not mistaken, Gretchen slept with them on last not....


Stopped in for a Krispy Kreme doughnut on our way to an Easter egg hunt and ended up getting the full fledged tour.

Micah scarfed this doughnut in a matter of seconds and also managed to pull the plug on one of their dough machines while we were listening...







However, we missed our Easter Egg Hunt...


But the doughnuts had a stronger influence because Beck came home and made his own doughnut factory


Lastly, our beloved Tarheels devoured Michigan last night and took the championship. The entraprenuer in me says, I should have sold T'shirts this morning on campus for a little extra money...




MMmmmm, victory is sweet and so is my bracket...

Fools is Gold

Ahhh! April 1st is like drinking freshly squeezed lemonade on a hot summer's day or being rowed by a gondola boy down a calm river that is bug free or droplets of rain on my petunias....it is the day I can get revenge on my children or plan eviiill pranks that make me twist my long mustache. Here's the scoop on my successful day of hoaxie hoo ha ha has

*Pulled the ol' switcheroo--Micah woke up before Gretchen, so I took her out of the crib and carefully placed sleeping Gretchen in it. Gretchen woke up utterly confused and a bit lackadaisical.

*Attached a string to a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and drug it around the house for a while. Micah surprisingly didn't fall for it because she was wondering where I, her mother was, but the other kids absolutely fell for it. They squealed with laughter and then heavily demanded that they should eat the candy for their breakfast.

*I covered cotton balls in chocolate and took them to Mat's work. Mat says the techies are pigs when it comes to free treats and they are usually scarfed before any of the residents get them. Well, to their surprise today, they will think twice about taking my chocolate covered little melt aways. I was hoping to get more of the sophisticated attendings, but they obviously, like the residents were busy (next year).

*I posted that I was pregnant on my family's website (or maybe I am REALLY pregnant?)

* My last trick in the bag has not come full circle yet, but let's just say I posted a certain classified ad on a certain website that may or may not have worked out for the seller or the buyer. I'll keep you updated.

3 more hours left of relishing my day, tomorrow will seem so ordinary.

Oh!Becket did decide to hide the drinking whale that attaches to our faucet for his own April Fools joke, which Mat found only two seconds later, but my Daniel Son is coming along and will soon reach his greatest potential. I can feel it! Any good ones out there for next year?