Friday, April 1, 2011

April Fool's Day With Kids - A Little More Chaotic Than a Typical Day at Our House



Celebrations

Mini MommyBlogExpert Making Faces at Mom
iPhoto by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

In assorted countries the world over, April Fools' Day is traditionally celebrated on the first day of April.  

I'm betting that most of us played pranks ourselves as kids so the holiday's customs themselves need little explanation. 

But, here's something really interesting that you might not know.  The earliest recorded All Fools Day, as it is also known, is widely believed to have been included in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which dates back to over 600 years ago, in 1392.

In 2011 -- at least at our house this morning -- I'm happy to report that April Fool's is alive and well.  That's thanks to prankster Mini MommyBlogExpert who preyed on me (and to some extent, other family members) with all kinds of tricks from the moment I opened my eyes today.  As a matter of fact, come to think of it, she actually got an early start the night before by short sheeting everyone's beds at our house Thursday evening.
Toothpaste on the door
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Upon waking up, I heard my daughter cackle with a slight urgency in her voice, "Time to rise and shine!"  Time to play a game of human Mousetrap was more like it, as you will see after I tell you about the rest of today's April Fools Day extravaganza.  
Booby Trap Chair
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Half asleep, I stumbled to the bedroom door.  As I opened it, my hand stuck to the sticky toothpaste she had slathered all over the handle.  A little cranky, but still groggy, I opened the door all the way only to be greeted with a chair that she'd rigged to slam on the floor, just missing my feet.

Thinking the storm had passed, I headed to the kitchen.  I was looking forward to peacefully having breakfast, drinking my coffee, and reading the paper like I always do to start my day.  Things were going great, until I opened the refrigerator to get some milk for cereal. 
The refrigerator was also rigged
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Surprise! Our fridge had been booby trapped, too -- as a dozen magic markers rained down on me while I reached inside.  As if that wasn't irritating enough, when I got to the table and poured the milk into my cereal bowl I found out this thoughtful daughter of mine had dyed the milk green.  

I shouldn't feel too bad, though, because my sweet girl also colored the dog's water purple.  I guess she forgot that dogs are color blind, ha!
Little Dexter's Purple Water Bowl
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Ok.  That's got to be the end of her jokes, right?  Wrong.  The next thing I did was make my coffee which I hand grind every morning with an antique coffee grinder.  The grinding went fine, but as I opened the drawer to collect the grounds for my morning java, I found several creepy crawlies.  I discovered a dog bone and some candy in the coffee maker, too.  Luckily they were all fake, but they did surprise me.
Yuck: Creepy Crawlies in the Coffee Grinder!
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Finally I was enjoying my Constitutional morning caffeine and reading the paper.  I should have suspected something because the house was unusually quiet.  But soon I was to find out that I wasn't even close to the end of all these shenanigans. 

After breakfast, I went to get dressed only to discover that my sweet teenager had taken blue lipstick and completely blacked out the lenses on my eye glasses!  Just for good measure I also noticed that she had written "Happy April Fool's Day" in red lipstick all over the toilet paper roll.
Blued-out eyeglasses
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

I really panicked, though, when I went to turn my computer on to check my morning email.  There on the computer was a note saying she broke my computer!  By this time, I was already thinking of a plan to get her back for all these pranks.
My daughter "breaks" my computer
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

While the prankster was at her tutor this morning,  the other kids (who weren't much involved in all most of the tricks) and I moved her desk to block the front door.  Then, we dumped all her clothes into her bed.  When she came home, the April Fool's payback joke was on her!  The picture below says it even better.
iPhone Self-Portrait by Mini MommyBlogExpert  
 
This time, the joke's on you, Daughter!

What kinds of pranks have you done for April Fool's Day?  Conversely, what kinds of jokes have been played on you?  What is the funniest or craziest kid-caused trick you've ever heard of?  Leave a comment and share it!

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2 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun day for all:)

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    Have a great week
    Renit

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's hilarious! My husband got me with the classic "rubberband around the kitchen sink sprayer" when I was about to wash some dishes. My payback was that I made HIM do the dishes!

    ReplyDelete