Hummus And Ice Cream And Eggs. Also? Culture.

I usually avoid the Internet on April Fool's Day, but I miss you guys and it's Easter and I have a lot of photos. I've already fallen for the Israeli hummus API trick, so why doesn't someone just stick a "Kick Me" sign on my back and be done with it, all right?

I HATE April Fool's Day.

I've been going to bed at a reasonable hour lately, just to see what it would feel like to be well-rested for once. I know, crazy! But that's how it's been, and truth to tell it feels a tad weird, but...well...restful. I must be getting old. Sleeping cuts into my blogging time, though, which I don't like. But still, yesterday I felt rested enough to plant some tulips with Susie:

That should work, right? Now we just wait?

Also yesterday, I went to CVS to buy a couple of bags of jelly beans and some plastic eggs. I did this begrudgingly, because my youngest child is 12 and it feels silly to hide eggs for a 12-year-old, but she asked for them and she's the youngest and she gets what she wants.

I know, stellar parenting there...

Once I got in the store, however, I saw a BUCKET of plastic eggs (62, to be exact) for only $6. And I had the brilliant idea of making Susie and Rachel put jelly beans in ALL those eggs and then hide them for the younger neighborhood children.

In case you wondered what 62 plastic eggs looked like

So I did that. The girls were a little confused when I came home and announced they would be put to work, but they played along fairly well. I went around the neighborhood and told people that we were having a bona fide Easter egg hunt the next morning, which everyone agreed was a great idea. Susie got up early today and help hide the eggs in our large courtyard and on the tot lot. All the little kids and their parents showed up at 9 and had a great time, even the little guy who took a header down some wooden stairs.

You know, I wish everything was this easy. Also, stay tuned for 10 years from now when I wonder why I ever started this thing.

Today was apparently a day for new things. Which makes sense, because Easter, right? Larry and I took the 3 kids who still live here to a local theater for a production of Godspell. Now, understand, this was pretty extravagant for us. Up to now, any performances we've seen as a family have either been at high schools or have been free dress rehearsals. But, seized by the desire to make the day special and to create some family memories for the soon-to-be-leaving teens, I splurged on honest-to-God theater tickets AND managed to convince everyone they wanted to go.

It was an Easter miracle, all right? And the performance was really fun - well, until that crucifixion part at the end. That was sort of a downer.

It was also a day for our traditional Easter sundaes:

Get it? Easter SUNDAE? Oh, I'm clever.

And that was our day. Tomorrow? The bathroom guy arrives to tear out the one bathroom we still have to redo. I need to get up at 6:30 instead of my usual 7:15, a 45-minute change which is enough to make me stressed out and dreaming all night that I missed my alarm. That well-rested thing was fun while it lasted, though...