(comic via www.whiteninjacomics.com)
Oh how I love April Fool’s Day, a day dedicated to fools and celebrating their gullibility. (That is actually a real word.)
I love to play tricks on people. Last year, I stole an idea from Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project”, and stuck a bowl of Cheerios, milk and a spoon in the freezer on March 31st. The idea was to serve Aubrey her breakfast with the spoon frozen in the bowl. I did it. I thought it was hilarious– she cried. I learned a valuable lesson: No tricking my own chirren. They don’t like it.
This morning on twitter, I read where one of my tweeps had drawn pencil-thin mustaches on her children last night while they slept. I turned green with envy. I want to do that to my kids. But I don’t want to make them cry. So I am behaving and reflecting on April Fool’s Days gone by…
Like the time I was in high school and my mother took me and a bunch of my friends to the beach. The night before we were supposed to leave me and my girlfriends snuck out to the parking lot and moved one of the guy’s car to the parking lot of another building. It was actually his mother’s Volvo. We told my mom what we had done then put his keys back where we had found them and went to sleep.
We didn’t say anything the next morning. We just sat at the window and laughed until we cried as he and the rest of the guys wandered aimlessly around the parking lot looking for his car. There was a lot of head scratching and, “I swear we left it right here”s. My girls and I pulled ourselves together as the guys came back inside and asked us where the car was. We shrugged.
WHATEVER did they mean?? The car was missing? *shocked faces all around*
My mother, who loves a prank, put her hands on her hips and said, “Girls if y’all did something with his car you need to tell me right now, because I’m about to call the police.”
We swore to my mother, who knew exactly where the missing Volvo was parked, that we were innocent. She walked to the wall phone (GEEZ, remember those!?) which she had already unplugged and pretended to call 911 to report a stolen car. The guys were totally freaking out, especially our friend who was about to call his mother and tell her her car was gone. About the time she hung up the phone, we couldn’t contain ourselves any longer and we fell apart.
BUT, my very favorite April Fool’s prank involved Sister Wife (my bestie, don’t worry we share everything but clothes and husbands.) I can’t even remember what prank her husband played on her, which should tell you just how insignificant it was. But we were vengeful. We spent an entire morning plotting our revenge. What would scare him out of his mind?
Wifey has three small children and there were no plans for more, so we decided she would tell her husband she was pregnant. But just SAYING it so soon after he had pranked her, wouldn’t be sufficient. No, we really needed to scare him and show him who he was dealing with. He had to be convinced that she was knocked up. Then, like manna from heaven, the idea came.
Wifey went to the drugstore and bought a pregnancy test, drove to our pregnant friend’s house and made her pee on the stick. Wifey waited until her husband was outside cutting the grass, then walked out of the house with her most serious face. She said solemnly, “We need to talk,” then pulled the positive pregnancy test out of her pocket.
He froze. “I can’t talk about this right now. Give me a minute…”
She nodded and walked into the house without so much as a smile and waited while he cut the yard in turmoil. (Are you crying yet? I am. I so love this story.)
It wasn’t until he finished cutting the entire yard that he came inside and she broke the good news. He was so relieved, I don’t think it even crossed his mind to be angry.
Sigh. I need a prank, people. Help me to live vicariously through you.
What is your favorite April Fool’s Day or prank story?
Tell me, or all my kids are getting eye-liner mustaches tonight and it’ll be all your fault.
OMG! I am SOOO lame! I've never pranked anyone with anything that I can recall. The cereal trick would go over like gangbusters here. I'm not sure I can wait until next year to try it though.
Last year I was about 8 weeks pregnant. I mixed up a cup of water and a tiny bit of ketchup and put it in a ziploc bag. I taped it to the inside of my thigh. I had worn a little cotton dress just to suit my purpose. I went outside one of my fellow teacher's door and flung the door open and told her to come there AND HURRY!!! I busted the bag of water. She came out and saw it. Luckily there was a random student desk in the hallway because I was dying laughing! I bent over, holding my ginormous belly and laid my head on the desk like I was crying. Kalah RAN to the office yelling "oh my god!!! Chesser's water broke!! Call 911!" luckily, I had alerted the office staff and they prevented her from calling. It was wonderful and I doubt I wI'll ever be able to out do myself.
Eight years ago today I gave birth to a little boy who is not happy about his birth date. We keep telling him that it is a happy day!
So, pulling pranks around here is NOT a good idea.
Oh Amanda. Thank you. THANK YOU! I love this story. Adding the ketchup to the bag…just, wow. Such forethought. Such planning!!! Well done.
A little background — I'm a high school teacher, who acts as the senior class advisor.
This morning, my principal and I called a senior class assembly. All the seniors down to the auditorium right after homeroom. I was very disappointed to tell them that due to their lack of fundraising (a huge problem we've been dealing with), senior prom was being CANCELED. They were devastated (except the guys who didn't want to dress up — they thanked me!). All day long I heard moans and groans and tears and promises that they would come up with the money…I could barely keep it together all day long….I just about died. 5 minutes before the end of the day — we made an April Fools announcement over the loud speaker. But we got $650 in pledges from parents, who somehow heard about it — even though cell phones are banned in school! I'm not sure I'll ever top this one — I better start brainstorming now!
I have no stories, but these make my side hurt from laughing!
YOWSA Cara!! You play hard ball! I like your style!!
Really the only April Fools prank story I have is that a guy friend of mine and I began a car war on April 1. I woke up that morning, running late – of course, and walked outside to find my car saran wrapped. I had to cut it off before I could leave. So during lunch, after talking to the campus cop, I left to make a grocery run.I bought petroleum jelly and globbed it under the handles of his door. It went back and forth like that for a good month before we finally called a truce.
I TRIED to prank my boys this year by telling them that they didn't have school on Friday. Then I checked the calendar. Teacher Workday. So REALLY, no school. The joke was on me. Stupid Teacher Workday.
By the way, I found you through Circle of Moms! I'm there too…a few behind you if memory serves. (ok, a lot behind you but that's not the point here) Anyway, glad I found you! I'll be following!
I considered doing a fake pregnancy test, but then I thought about my last two real "surprises," and I couldn't deal with him being excited we were having another one.
My dad once filled the house with fog from a fog machine and then set off the fire alarms. My poor mother.
Charlotte that is SWEET about your Hubs. And your dad made me LOL. I would have had a heart attack!!
I need an edit button. I was 8 MONTHS pregnant.
and oh how I wish my son ate milk in his cereal! However, I'm thinking of tweaking it by using grits instead. Pahahaha!!