April Fool's Day Pranks/ Get Your Game On!

April Fool's Day is two weeks from today, so I'm sharing 30 Harmless Pesky Pranks courtesy of Amy at Lady Create a lot . Some of these are so funny, I wish I had known about them when my kids all lived at home.

Pesky pranks

1. Spray nozzle or taped faucets- take a rubber band and wind it tightly around the kitchen sink's spray nozzle and leave it aimed at the person. When they turn it on, they will get drenched.

2. Fingernail polish spill- take a piece of wax paper and a bottle of fingernail polish that you don't mind ruining. Spill out contents onto paper, let dry, peel paper off, and leave on victim's clothing or an important document.
3. Blue teeth/ numb mouth- put a small drop of food coloring in center of toothbrush. Make sure to use the same color as the bristles. ALSO, you could put some Oragel numbing gel deep in the base of the bristles.

4. Superglue shampoo lid shut. It will make them have to unscrew the lid.

5. Icy Hot/Bengay or thumbtack toilet seat- smear a small amount of Icy Hot or Bengay on toilet seat and wipe it mostly off so you can't tell it's there. TRUST ME, it doesn't take much for it to work. You could also line toilet seat with thumb tacks.

6. Block the remote signal with a piece of opaque tape.

7. Soap that won't lather- paint soap with clear fingernail polish and leave in the shower.

8. Glue end of tiolet paper roll onto itself so victim can't find it.

9. Glued-shut card- make a nice card for someone you owe a "thanks" to. Glue it shut so they can't open it.

10. Tape light switch down so they can't turn the light on.

11. Vaseline door knob- place a glob under the bottom of door know so you can't see it.

12. TP the bed- While victim is sleeping, roll TP under and over bed so when they wake up, they're stuck.

13. Place piles of confetti on top of ceiling fan blades so when it turns on, surprise. This one would be fun for someone's birthday, too.

14. Plastic wrap shampoo/salt shaker- Unscrew lids, place a small piece of plastic wrap over opening, replace lid, and tear off the excess evidence.

15. Karo syrup towel- It's clear, so you can't tell it's on there until it's too late.

16. Hair gel hand soap- replace your liquid hand soap with the same color of hair gel.

17. Can't use-it gel/hairspray/cologne- using a temporary glue or double-stick foam, stick most frequently-used items to counter top or bathroom cupboard so they're hard to pick up.

18. Whoopi cushion on chair... you could also use bubble wrap!

19. Shoe surprise- you can stick either legos, small water balloons, or frozen coins inside victims shoes.

20. Cereal box/candy bag swap-out in original packaging.

21. Bedroom doorTug of War- This prank can be pulled on two victims who have bedroom doors directly across the hall from each other (dorms usually work well for this). Use a rope to tie both door knobs to each other, with just enough slack to allow one door to open a crack. Then knock loudly on both doors at the same time. The victims will end up in a tug of war trying to get out.

22. Take a needle and thread and run it through every pair of underwear in the victim's drawer, so that they are attached in one long string. When they get dressed, they will grab one pair but end up with them all.

23. All Sewed Up- This prank has to be done to a very sound sleeper. While they are sleeping, sneak in and use a needle and thread to sew their pajamas to the bed.

24. Have A Cold One- If your victim wears the same hat every day, take it the night before, get it wet, and put it in the freezer. Right before the victim gets ready to leave, place the hat in the normal place. They will get a chilly surprise. You can also do this to a woman's bra.

25. Out is the New In- Turn your victim's backpack inside out. Wait until they're not around, then take everything out of their bag, turn it inside out and replace the items. Then wait for their surprised reaction.

26. Blast 'Em- Set the victim's TV to an obnoxious channel like Cartoon Network or the heavy metal channel, and turn the volume up to max volume. Now turn off the TV set. When your victim comes back and turns on the TV they will be surprised by a blast of loud programming.

27. Going Buggy- This one takes some prep time, but I think it would be cool. Take a picture of the top part of the kitchen counter. Go on the internet and search for a picture of a cockroach. Then, copy it on to the picture of the counter. Print out a few copies (cut off any extra white space), and place them on the counter. At first glance, your victim will think the kitchen is infested. This would be awesome to do to a germ-a-phobic friend. :)

28. The Run Around- Set this prank up ahead of time by letting the kids know you're planning on having some painting done in the house. Then, before they come home from school, put up two signs: on the front door - "Wet Paint - Use Back Door," on the back door - "Wet Paint - Use Front Door." Then see how many times they'll run around the house trying to get in.'

29. Set your friends/family up to think you've prepped a whole bunch a pranks for them... them do nothing and watch them nervously anticipate tricks that never happen all day. This is the lazy-holidayer's approach. Oh well, at least it's something!

30. While You Were Sleeping- Carefully paint the toenails/fingernails or draw eyeliner mustaches on your victim while they are sleeping. We did this to our kids last year. It was so awesome because they had no idea (about the mustaches) until they went in the bathroom to get ready! One of them didn't discover their pretty toenails until after school that day. Haha, got ya.

31. Job/Chore Chart Switch- If you have a job/chore chart in your home, change it up! Instead of their usual jobs, have them do things like: Bark like a dog 10 times, Pay the bills, Drive the kids to the park (great for young kids), Mow the lawn using scissors, Wash your clothes by hand, Sweep the driveway with a toothbrush, Jump on the trampoline without stopping for 20 minutes, Touch your nose with your tongue, Tickle Elmo, Count your toes, Sing an opera song--mom's choice, and more. Of course they know you're joking, you decide if you want to use things they can really do or not. My kids didn't end up doing any of them, but sure got the giggles while reading them! You can get creative and come up with whatever is funny to your family.
32. Have you ever heard of the Mento's and Diet Coke explosion experiment? Well, HERE'S a video showing how to turn it into a prank! So awesome! Just make sure it's done OUTSIDE! Maybe at an outdoor BBQ or something.

Last, but not least...

33. Set alarms & clocks ahead an hour- this one is probably the most important one. If you plan to do a bunch of time-consuming pranks, DO THIS FIRST. You don't have to do it to all the clocks, just the alarm or cell phone, and the bathroom/bedroom ones they see first.

Please, if you end up doing any of these pranks, drop me a note. I'd love to hear about it.

The Escalator Dilemma

If you don't find this funny, you may want to get help. Something may be seriously wrong with you.

Como Se Dice "Don't Break My Routine" en Espanol?

Cody loves holidays AND speaking Spanish, therefore, I think it's appropriate to air out my archives and share the following experience, originally posted October 4, 2010.

When Cody was in high school, he chose Spanish as one of his electives. He enjoyed it so much that he took it his sophomore, junior and senior year.

Every day, at the beginning of the period, the entire class would, in unison, say the alphabet in Spanish. One particular day, this important part of the routine was skipped. Cody became upset and no one could figure out why. Of course Cody would never just come out and say what was bothering him. By the end of the period, tears were streaking down his cheeks and when the bell rang, he would not budge! When the teachers and peer tutor finally figured out Cody was upset because the class didn't say the alphabet, they tried to convince him it would be okay. The class would be sure to remember to say the alphabet the next day. However, no amount of coaxing or persuading would get Cody out of that desk!

When students of the next period began to arrive, the teachers realized something needed to be done about Cody, who by this time was full on crying and causing a scene. They decided to pick Cody up, desk and all, and move him into the hall.

I don't remember what happened after that. Obviously Cody eventually calmed down and got over it, but I'm not sure his Spanish teacher ever did.

Funny Expressions

Yesterday my husband told our son he was "Full of Piss and Vinegar". I asked him "What does that mean? I have been married to you for twenty-eight years and I've never heard you say that!" He told me "I don't know. It's a southern thing."

Then I started thinking about some of the funny expressions that I've heard my parents and grandparents use. Here are a few...

Doohicky- anything you can't put a name on

Knee High to a Grasshopper- describes someone who is short

You're Cruisin' for a Bruisin'- you're going to get in trouble

I Have a Bone to Pick with You- you disagree and want to discuss it

Mind your P's and Q's- Be good

Yessirreebob- Yes! For sure!

Oh Horse Feathers!- I don't believe it.

Fork Over- Give me some

School of Hard Knocks- learn the hard way

Quit Horsing Around- quit goofing off

I think it's interesting how some expressions change over time. I remember the first time my son heard me say "Soused". He thought I made it up until he heard an older gentleman say it.

What goes around comes around. I'm sure children of the younger generation will laugh at their parents when they say things like...

I'm Down with That- I'm okay with it

PHAT (fat)- Pretty Hot And Tempting

Tight- very close, as in Best friends are tight.

Word Up?- "What's going on?"

Sick- meaning cool or neat

Can you think of some funny expressions that you'd like to share?