April Fool's Joke

Nathan and Charlotte REALLY want a puppy. They ask for one all the time. Charlotte would love to have a poodle (doesn't that totally fit her?!). She would love a pink one but knows pink poodles are only for stuffed animals. And Nathan just wants any kind of puppy. Whenever they ask for one, I always tell them it's kind of up to Daddy. I would love to get them one, but Wayne (being the practical one) always reminds us that they take lots of time and care. Who is going to feed the dog? Who is going to pick up after him? What do we do with him when we go on trips? We'd have to board it which is expensive. And what about the shedding?! So Nathan and Charlotte promise they will help feed and take care of the puppy, and I told Wayne there are lots of breeds of dogs that don't shed. Plus I know realistically that I'll be the one doing all the work, but I'm ok with that. This is a conversation we have ALL the time. When Nathan and Charlotte don't want to pick up their toys or clean their rooms, we always say, "So how do we know you'll take care of a puppy if you don't want to pick up your toys?" Then they clean up. When we see someone walking their dog, we always stop and pet the dog, and Nathan always asks if the dog sheds. It's so funny! Then he goes on and on about how he and his sister want a dog, and Charlotte chimes in that she wants a pink poodle, and then Nathan tells about how Daddy won't get one for them yet, but maybe one day. I think everyone with a dog in the neighborhood has heard this. 

It just so happens that one of our neighbors just got a puppy, so I came up with the best April Fool's joke...to let Wayne think I went out and got the kids a puppy myself! The three of us planned this for a while, and they were so excited. We borrowed Earl around 5 on April Fool's day and waited for Daddy to come home. Nathan and Charlotte had so much fun playing with Earl for a few hours before Wayne got home. When we heard the garage door open, we all scrambled into our places. Nathan was holding Earl, Charlotte was standing next to them, and I had the IPad ready to take a video. He walked in, saw Nathan holding a puppy, me videotaping, and heard them say, "Surprise! Look what Mommy got us!" It was hilarious! He was completely stunned and said, "What is that?" A puppy, silly! Nathan and Charlotte started begging him to keep the dog...just like we practiced. Wayne was so confused and kept asking whose dog it was. I was laughing and said that it was kind of spontaneous, but we figured he couldn't say no if we already got the dog. It was a little scary to see what good liars Nathan and Charlotte were! Nathan went into this long story about how we went to the shelter and saw him, and he was such a good dog. And he told Wayne that the shelter worker told him that this dog really likes guys with glasses. At one point, Wayne was trying not to show his severe irritation with me in front of the kids, and through a clenched smile, he said, "Mommy, what have you done?"  I could just imagine what was going through his head. On one hand, he was thinking there was no way I would ever do something so drastic without talking to him. But on the other hand, I can be a bit crazy sometimes, and he could actually see me doing it! We finally got Wayne to go sit down and hold Earl (this joke went on and on for about 30 minutes). Wayne actually started to soften when he saw how sweet Earl was. Earl even fell asleep on him! I finally decided to let Wayne in on our joke, and winked at Nathan and Charlotte. They both yelled APRIL FOOLS! all at once. Wayne ended up being relieved, but also a little disappointed! I think relieved won out, but my plan worked in that now Wayne has agreed that we will get a dog sooner rather than later. He thinks we should wait one more year and then get one. We're going to hold him to it :)

The last picture is of Wayne watching the video we took.