More than just pranking

In my house, April fools day is more than just a day. We plan and scheme all year to prepare for the big day. I allow the boys to get one or two up on me but I always make sure my schemes get them better! It's good for them to know that I'm capable of tricking them. But honestly? I love that they'll carry on this tradition to their own families and that the memories we've created will last a lifetime.

Here's some of my favorite tried and true pranks to play on your kids. Some are classics but maybe some will be new to you and you can make some more memories with your kiddos!

 - after the kids go to bed, fill a clear cup with juice, insert a straw and freeze. I love watching them suck on the straw till they're blue in the face.

 - I told them we were out of cereal and they could have Oreos for breakfast. I scraped out the cream and replaced it with toothpaste. Ha!

 - I don't do Saran Wrap on the toilet. Funny but mom is the one that has to clean up the pee mess. Um, no thank you. So one year, I put Saran Wrap covering the boys door frames. That one was particularly funny.

 - Three of my favorite food pranks: one) get a cereal bowl and fill it halfway with water then freeze. Then put cereal in it the next morning with just a titch of milk. Two) for lunch, I made the boys a ham and cheese sammich (yes, it's sammich in our house) but I didn't take the wrapper off the cheese slices. And lastly, three) I made a pan of brown E's. I cut out a bunch of E's with brown construction paper, put them in a pan, and covered it with foil. That one pissed them off because what boy doesn't like brownies?

 - One of my favorite pranks I've pulled a couple years now was to set out their clothes for school but have them be too small. (I keep a box of clothes they've grown out of for just this purpose!) I also stuff their shoes with toilet paper. It's a hoot making over "I can't believe how much you grew overnight!" It's the little things that tickle me.

 - My all-time favorite prank however was giving them moustaches and beards while they were sleeping. Gabriel screamed when he looked in the mirror because he thought some man was looking back at him. Michael thought he "became a man" overnight.

This year, I'm going to do the water in the cereal bowl again (I haven't done it in a couple of years), put salt on their toothbrushes, baking soda in their toilet (it foams when they pee!) and duct tape the truck mirror to prank hubby I broke it off.

Happy April fools!!

Dawny Wendy