I can clearly remember when I sold shoes way back in the day and my boss and a co-worker tried to get me to go into the rest room, where they’d rigged up a bucket of water to fall on me. The bait was a first aid kit that I knew was not “on the back of the toilet.” Yuck, who would put a first aid kit there?? Anyway, the point is that I did not fall for it, but I did appreciate their effort and I would have laughed at the drenching.

My daughter told me that her friends talked her into calling her boyfriend at school, they go to different schools, and telling him that she is pregnant. His reaction, “Well, my life is over,” which of course it would not be, but still my heart ached for him when I heard what she had done. It must have felt like an instant punch to the gut. He works so hard at school and every day he talks about his plans to become a firefighter. Why would she think that putting that in jeopardy would be humorous? 

She told me that her friend had a teacher from school (which seriously makes me question this teacher’s common sense) call her Aunt, whom she lives with, to tell her that she had been caught at school with drugs in her backpack. She said that she was going to call me with the same news, but didn’t have a chance. I was flabbergasted.

What is this kid thinking of?  Unplanned pregnancies and drug busts as humor?  When did April Fools turn into horrify your friends and family day? 

I tried to explain my point of view to her. I said, “It would be like me calling you to say that I had cancer, when I don’t.” She said that would be horrible, because cancer kills.  I tried to explain that these other things were huge and life-altering, as well. We did not have a meeting of the minds. We both ended up frustrated, which is no kind of fun or joke for anybody.

What do you think?  What do you consider an appropriate or inappropriate April Fools Day joke or prank?

Bucket of water on the head = funny
Teenage pregnancy = not funny

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

Not A Funny Prank

So here are some they could choose that involved April Fool’s Day:

• Tell about an April Fool’s Day experience you remember from another year.
• Write about a funny, but nice April Fool’s Day joke you plan.
• Write about something nice you can do for someone on April Fool’s Day.
• Tell about a gift you can make for someone on April Fool’s Day, one student suggested.
• Older students could research the origin of  April Fool’s Day and write about it.

Do you have any suggestions?

Post from: Blisstree

April Fool’s Day Writing Prompts

I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a handful of times that I reconsidered my decision to be the mother of just one child. Especially now that my son is growing out of that baby he used to be. But my window of opportunity has closed. I am not young anymore. I have spent 8 of the past 10 years communicating the mission of the March of Dimes. I know what it means to be pregnant at my age. I am rolling the genetic dice, and that frightens me. My doctor will order prenatal testing, again. I will hold my breath as I await the cryptic results of the triple screen, rattle off to a genetic specialist any defects in our family trees, watch the ob count the cavities in my baby’s umbilical cord and chambers in her heart, decide if I then deem it necessary to have him stick that long needle in my belly just to have peace of mind that my baby doesn’t have three heads. And what if she does? I am thankful to have a choice with my pregnancy; I just don’t want to have to make it.

I will have to buy all new baby gear – the stuff I unloaded a year ago with much ceremony. I will have to gain more weight and feel exhausted and yet still try to keep up with an overactive 5-year-old. I will have to go through a difficult delivery again; I will tear and hurt and wonder if my body will be the same again. I will know extreme exhaustion again and that paralyzing feeling of being in charge of something so small and frail and helpless and beautiful. I will have to share that space in my heart that I thought no one else but Truman would occupy.

I’m not sure I’m ready for this.

(photo, Flickr, Fred Jala)

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

OMG I’m Pregnant!

Image: istockphoto

When I was a youngster, we enjoyed April Fool’s Day jokes in our family. However, Mother stressed ones that didn’t hurt other people nor their feelings.

Teach youngsters a sense of humor that encourages laughter, but not laughter at the expense of someone else.  Find jokes that are comic, not mean.  Discover antics that may be slapstick, but not harmful.

My mother told of her father’s sense of humor that involved actions such as wearing his glasses upside down on April Fool’s Day to see if anyone would notice.

Her brothers might button their shirts unevenly, wear a belt buckled in the back, shoes on the wrong feet (if they would fit that way).

She and her sister might put water in the milk pitcher, turn the calendar to May 1 instead of April and see if anyone would notice, pin a bow on the dog’s hair, wear different colored socks.

So Mother taught us to develop comedy that brought laughter, sometimes at oneself, sometimes at others, but not in a harmful or hurtful way.  This became a day of family fun. I hope that I’ve passed this on to my family, too.

What April Fool’s Day fun do you and your family have?

Post from: Blisstree

A Day for April Family Fun

Photo: SXC/Michael Khozyaikin

• Yikes. Some of the ideas for pranks at Kidzworld are just plain gross. Don’t show this page to your kids! However, if you want to pull some pranks, there is definitely plenty of inspiration here.
• Check out Google. The company has a history of pulling April Fool’s Day pranks. A few former pranks? The search engine that brings you tomorrow’s results and the book search that includes a scratch and sniff option.
• The Museum of Hoaxes offers a top 100 list of pranks that makes for a fun read.
• Want to know more about the history of the day? Britannica comes to the rescue with a nice long article.

Post from: Blisstree

Sunday Buffet – April Fool’s Day

Photo via SXC

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am. After all, now there’s a chance that I’ll be able to start sliding under the covers April 1st, only to be trapped in a short sheeted bed. Of course, I’ve never been a big fan of April Fool’s Day, even when I was a kid. (Probably because my three brothers would outprank me every time.) For people who love this holiday, having Disney give detailed tips on performing pranks may be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

So, how do you feel about your kids learning to do pranks from watching the Disney Channel?

Post from: Blisstree

April Fool’s Instructions from Disney

My children love, love, love pulling pranks on my husband and I. We have found salami slices wedged between our underwear, raw eggs in the ice dispenser (only after drinking egg yolk,) and have suffered countless other practical jokes at the hands of our offspring. The scary thing is, it wasn’t even April Fool’s Day! So you can imagine why I am walking around with the eyes in the back of my head wide open and my underwear pre-cut (ready for the wedgie fest that shall commence after school today.)

Am I the only one who is more afraid of my children’s pranks than they are mine? What is the best/worst prank that your child has ever pulled on you? Are you part of the pre-cut underwear club today? Sound off in the comments section…but only while keeping a weather eye out for pranksters!

Image: Kadi Prescott

Post from: Blisstree

Happy April (Mama Didn’t Raise No) Fool’s Day!