WTF (What The Fools?)

Figures when we don't have time to think of any April Fools' jokes, Mother Nature has a few up her sleeve. I mean What the Flake? These snowflakes this afternoon were seriously huge. My poor Easter tulips from hubby had no idea what was happening. Do we open? Do we close? What?!

Just craziness. And yes, it did stick to the deck and the grass. The roads? Not so much, thankfully.

And as those big flakes fell, I saw this poor, confused, and obviously super pregnant mama robin trying to figure out why some of the grass was green but there were these big white flakes coming down.

Kind of like our whole family has been feeling for the last 60 hours. Things were good and now we have these large flakes (aka Challenges, Scary Thoughts, and Major Concerns) raining down on us.

I was so happy to see that despite the confusion and tough times weighing down on her shoulders, Mama Robin was able to fly.

Hopefully the same will happen to my mom and siblings and all extended family as we pray for my sister Rachel. By some miracle she is still here. Let God lift the weight, take charge, and let us fly!

Well Played, Mother Nature

Honestly, if I hadn't witnessed it myself, I would have been skeptical of anyone here saying we had a winter storm overnight. April Fool's Day, anyone?

But here were our wake-up views on Blue Jay Drive.

Mr. Deck Chair saying "I did not come out of hibernation for this!"

Then 8 hours later...

Crazy, right? But we'll certainly take it. I really didn't need to shovel this morning. Part of me was being nice and the other part was just getting some exercise.

But we literally were in meltdown mode all day so that works, too!

Didn't have anything firm on our agenda. So I did get a little decluttering work started on my Scrap Cave. Instead of buying new storage bins for new crafty things – like Cricut vinyl – I decided to get rid of current stuff I don't use and make room fo it. It was a good start. Catch me at a weak spring cleaning moment and this happens sometimes.

To celebrate – not really – we got shrimp pizza from Two Lakes (which just opened for the season) and watched Final Four hoops action. The pizza was delicious and the second half of the first game proved to be close and interesting. Now onto the second game – with full bellies and perhaps a living room window cracked open for fresh, spring air.

We're not going down without a fight, Mother Nature!

No Joke

Not really April Fools related, but I've now been out of the office 757 days. Whoa. That's seems like a joke to me!

We allegedly will be returning in the coming months – maybe summer since we've already jumped into a new month. In the meantime, I'll deal with the humor of the other guy who has an office in this building.

This afternoon as he headed out the door to go work his church fish fry, he exclaimed something like, "#$#$%&%$ I didn't know I stepped in dog poop and I've tracked it all over house!" Of course, I thought it was an April Fools' joke because, well, we don't have a dog!

But a half dozen of them live in the 'hood. And apparently they either pooped where they weren't supposed, or Jim walked where he wasn't supposed to. Either, the hallway looks like a Paper Towel Covering Resolve Carpet Cleaner Landmine.

Happy April 1st.

Hope it didn't stink.

Playing the Fool

It's a cruel trick to have the opening day of the baseball season on April Fools' Day. I mean look at last year. We got fooled into thinking we had a full season ahead. Then bam. Stupid pandemic and we were celebrating opening day in late July.

Today I was excited as the pre-pandemic photo above because it seemed "pretty sure" we'd be starting today. And doubly excited because my Twins were going to be on TV here since their first series is against the Brewers. Never mind that it was in the middle of the work day.

So I took a late lunch to watch the first inning on TV, then listened to most of the rest of the game on Sirius radio. Most is the key word here.

The Twins had a healthy lead after the 8th inning so I took a walk to go deliver some senior photos. I was listening to an audio book, oblivious in my Twins sweatshirt. Got home and hubby asked if I was OK. Then said the Brewers came back and won. 

I'm like, no, this is an April Fool's joke. I mean you know my husband! But nope. Jokes on me. Twins lost 6-5.

The bright spot is that IT'S BASEBALL SEASON! And we'll have a hundred more games than last year to win – or make fools of ourselves. 

Play ball!

#twinsterritory #wintwins

April Fooling Around

The general consensus around the universe is that the month of March sucked. And April Fools' Day should be canceled. As noted above, no prank or joke could possible match up to the bizarro reality we're living in right now.

Still, I felt it my duty to bring some fun to the occasion...

The thing about working from home is that you can roll out of bed, walk across the hall, and you're at work. I do shower every day. I sometimes wear the same clothes. But I have at least forced myself to wear jeans instead of sweatpants. I need to know that I can zip those jeans every day and not lose the battle to the Quarantine 15. Granted, they're my "fat pants," but still.

The other advantage of WFH is that I haven't worn makeup or curled my hair and no one (except that guy in the office next door) is any wiser. Until today.

Some of the managers have seen all the fun people are having with video conferencing instead of just phone conferencing. So we were warned last night, we were switching on the cameras today. And baseball caps were allowed. Yay.

Of course, I got to thinking last night in bed that I should wear a funny hat or something for April Fools' Day. Then I remembered a few items I ran across while cleaning in the basement this weekend... And a fool was born...

Yup. Working from home is all fun and games until you have a video meeting on April Fools' Day. Then it's really fun. And the boss may question what I do when left unsupervised, but it did bring a few laughs.

And we so desperately need those these days. Don't we?

Hope you found some time today to escape the stress of everyday life and be a little foolish! I mean c'mon, we've got to make April a better month than March. We're all in this clown car together!

No Foolin'

I must be getting old. It didn't cross my mind to play any April Fool's jokes on anybody today. Saw a few funny ones, though.

Hats off to Culver's for introducing what could possibly be the grossest flavor around. Nope. Wouldn't dream of trying it.

To get the perceived taste out of my mouth, I did go to DQ though. As it happened, I went straight from work to a meeting at church then to the library to catch the playing of Bohemian Rhapsody movie with my friends Cindy and Sharon.

No time to eat supper in there. So even though it was after 9 p.m., I knew DQ was still open. Can you believe they can still make the Christmas-y Candy Cane Oreo Blizzard? No foolin'. And it was way tasty, even if my teeth were chattering while I waited in line.

Was warmed up dancing (to myself) and singing Radio Ga-Ga. Yep. I'm a fool. No thought in my head about being embarrassed whatsoever!

Did you get fooled today?

Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature

We are now experiencing the April Fools Day version of the Groundhog Day movie. New morning but same scenario. I just wish Mother Nature wasn't in on the gag. It's not funny anymore.

And it's only Day Two.

So that whole business with the calendar saying it's SPRING. Just ignore that. Here in central Wisconsin we are actually in a Winter Storm Warning. Not just a Watch – but a warning.

Two weeks into "spring" and we've got snow days lined up from here to Wausau and north. Pretty sure by now the school districts are out of snow days. But it seems like the smart move this time...

That's us – right in the middle under the 11 inches-PLUS. Uff da. They first said 5-8 inches, then 6-10 and just decided to go for it with 7-11 inches. The sneaky part is that there may only be 2 to 3 inches on the ground in the morning. But then, about 8 a.m. or so, they (the smart guys) said it will snow 1-2 inches per hour.

Yeah, sounds like a good day to plug in from home.

Beyond the weather, it was also a screwy day for the Spring Breaker. First he had to go to the walk-in clinic for a painful sinus infection. Thankfully, the antibiotics are helping already. Then, after I got home from work, he was waiting for his ride back to Platteville and about 6 p.m. he heard from them... They were already in Platteville! Oh boy. Talk about some miscommunication there.

If we didn't have this Winter Storm Wilbur staring us in the face, you know this momma bear would have driven Carter down there, stayed overnight and come back in the morning. Instead, we had to let him take "his car" (well, the one he drives the most) and he'll have to play musical parking spaces for the next 6 weeks. Definitely not paying $300-some for a permit at this stage in the semester. He knows people off campus. He'll make it work. The important thing is that he just texted that he made it there safely.

One less driver we'll have to worry about tomorrow. For the rest of us, we'll have to see if Mother Nature's blue snow belt shifts during the night. Even if it changes to a lighter blue, it's still not a funny joke.

We are not amused, Mother.

Nappy Easter

I love our church altar on Easter. With all the flowers just another sign of new life! It's beautiful. The ones outside will have to wait to rise – now that we've got the snow cover again!

The choir sang at both services today so I got home about 11:30 a.m. That was about the time College boy came to life...

He is risen, too!

I was going to mock him but if I do, hubby will find a way to post video of me napping in my recliner shortly after that... and snoring. I think it's a stuffy nose, but it you cranked the sound, it might resemble a snore. Thankfully he's not on social media any more!

To wake myself up, I did take a walk in the freezing temps. That did the trick. And I have my 10,000 steps. No April Foolin'.

We all went over to Jim's sister's for Easter dinner. Yummy stuff. And nice visiting, of course.

Tonight Carter is packing up to head back to P-Town tomorrow. That seemed like a quick Spring Break. But we did actually get to see him and spend time with him more than Christmas Break. So that was better than any treat the Easter Bunny could have delivered.

Peanut butter eggs really are a close second, though.

Hope you had a happy (or nappy) Easter, too!!

No Foolin'

I was on high alert today knowing my high degree of gullibility doesn't mix well with the April Fool's holiday. Was pleasantly surprised that, as far as I know, I was not pranked in any way.

Especially by Mother Nature. She definitely followed through on the promise of a spring-like day! In fact, there were a lot of signs of spring today.

The Assumption baseball team had a brat fry fundraiser at the west-side IGA today. Was there to help with set up, hang the new banner I designed (above) and see if hubby or any of the other coaches needed assistance. They had it under control so I was back home to get some freelance work done.

A little after noon I went back into town and got brats (for Tony and me) at the baseball fundraiser then crossed town to the east-side IGA and picked up drinks and dessert at the softball tournament team brat fry fundraiser. Gotta support the teams!

When I got home, I quickly realized the spring day was getting a bit summery. I put up no resistance when Mr. Deck Chair kidnapped me for a good hour. Yes, it was seriously that nice out. By my standards anyway.

Sunny and 60 works for me! I did feel a bit guilty for being lazy and decided to get a walk/run in. Thanks to Mother Nature, no excuse it was too cold or rainy. Got 4 miles in, alternating running for 2 songs and walking for 1. Whatever works, right? All the steps still count.

That was the extent of my motivation. Hubby and I were both pretty tired today after our late night out so even the combination of fresh spring air and caffeine was not going to get any house- or yard-work done. Maybe tomorrow.

I did accomplish finishing our book club selection for April. We are reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I have read a lot of books related to WWII. This one was the story of two sisters in France. No spoilers but I read it on my Kindle and pretty much bawled through the last 10%.

So now I need to switch to something light and happy before I go to bed. I could probably let Mr. Recliner kidnap me to watch an episode of Big Bang Theory with Jim. But that sounds like too much work to get back out of the chair.

Spring is in the air. Not in my step. Probably could just go to bed. No one can prank me while I'm sleeping, right?

Shhhh.... Don't give him any ideas!

No Foolin'

Pretty sure Mother Nature played the best April Fools joke of all time, surprising us all on April 2nd with a snow storm. Well played, Mother Nature.

We knew there might be flurries overnight but did not expect to wake up to several inches of you know what. This is not the type of April Showers we have in mind to bring May flowers.

I had to go into the office today to finish a project. My little Honda Hybrid was dragging through the snow because plows tend not to come out in April. I did meet one on the main road after I dragged bottom through the subdivision to get out. Later, of course, it was sunny and the snow melted off of paved surfaces.

The wind stayed all day, though, and it was too chilly to try to get out for a walk. Had a busy day of chores and errands anyway. After my short time at work, I had to run over to the florist and order a corsage for next weekend's prom. Then jetted across town to support our girls soccer brat fry. Went home but had to run into town later to get some goods for a house warming potty.

Or make that party for a new potty, aka nice new laundry room and bathroom at our neighbors'. Not really a party, just nosey neighbors like us and the ones next door bearing food and drink to check out the completion of a renovation project across the street. Had a fun evening sitting around eating, drinking, laughing and sort of watching hoops. Not that any of us cared too much about that.

If Mother Nature wasn't in her psycho mood, we could have done all that around a camp fire!

This weather is getting old!

But not has old as us or me, at least, yawning at 10 o'clock and ready to come home. Apparently 4 cups of coffee do not equal energy and youth. I may have to up my dosage on Saturdays so I am not the neighborhood potty party pooper.

Now if we could just convince Mother Nature and Old Man Winter to take their party elsewhere! No foolin'.

Short on Spring

It's a special day today -- and not because it's April Fools' Day or Election Day.

Carter's school dress code prohibits wearing shorts from Nov 1-March 31. Naturally, despite the fact it's only 32 degrees on April 1, shorts MUST be worn today!

After I picked him up from baseball practice, he said he did not get cold today and that a LOT of kids wore shorts. (Of course.) I guess they just ignored Mother Nature's joke on us -- giving us 60s one day and 30s the next.

I had a busy day at the office so I really didn't care. Now that it is still light out past 7 p.m., though, it sure would be nice to take an evening walk. I guess I can blame Mother Nature for my gaining back weight I lost, right?

I suppose if it is officially "shorts weather" now, I better find that beach body I've been looking for for years now. Even tonight when I was multi-tasking -- watching The Voice and pricing garage sale items -- I still didn't come across it.

I know it's here somewhere. But just like spring, it makes rare appearances.

Dang. I've got my work cut out for me.

No Foolin'

I know the day's not over yet, but I escaped getting fooled today. For the most part.

Mother Nature stepped in right away. It was sunny out early. Here I had this last-second thought to grab a jacket. Good thing. Here we're driving along to work and the radio announces it's 18 degrees.

Not a joke.

Baseball practice, which was scheduled indoors anyway, was canceled today. So while we slaved away at work, Carter had two friends over to "hang out" and behave, naturally. I kind of expected that between the combined power of 3 teenage boy minds, they'd pull something. But honestly, I think they were so worried about squeezing in video games and ping pong games and hot tub time, they didn't even realize it was April's Fools Day.

Now I'm kicking myself. I could have pulled off a good one!

I'll have to think of something while I get my Blake and Adam fix on The Voice. Somehow, I expect I'll be a bit distracted, though.

So breathe a sigh of relief, boys!

No Foolin'

I'm a little nervous. It's 7:30 p.m. and so far our house has been prank-free on this April Fools Day.

First of all, that means I have been far too nice. Secondly, it means the guys have been too busy. Or have they?

It probably has helped we haven't spent much time all together. Hubby and I went to our churches this morning and Carter tried to get some much needed sleep (he's been sleeping poorly the last few nights). We went to 10:30 service and got home about lunch time. The guys went hitting and I went shopping. Had to find something for Carter's Easter basket -- whether he believes in the Easter bunny or not.

Today we finally saw the return of spring after a chilly week. So I got out for 3-mile run/walk. It was just breezy enough that it really wasn't hot and certainly not warm enough to stay outside for long. I did sit on the deck -- in a sweatshirt -- and read a little bit. I am getting into Catching Fire (book #2 in the Hunger Games series) and need to finish. Now that Jim finished the first one last night, he is anxious -- like me -- to see what happens.

So I might sneak to bed early to read more -- and possibly avoid any foolish behavior.

Wish me luck!

Fooling Around

What's the old saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?

I make it a point not to get fooled on April 1st -- which means I have to be on my guard around even those unsuspecting characters. I also make it a point on April 1st to try to fool at least one person.

This year, Carter was my victim.

I knew based on routine this week, that Carter would call me around 9:30 or 10 right after he rolled out of bed. Usually before he eats anything or even has a chance to watch much TV. So I figured I could fool him with some devastating sports news -- if I made it sound believable.

When he called, I asked if he'd seen the big story on SportsCenter yet. He said no. I told him Ray Allen (one of his favorite Celtics) was retiring immediately so he could go out on top after securing the 3-pointer record and winning last night. Carter was shocked and not happy.

Don't worry. I wasn't going to push it until he cried or anything. He was surprised when I said, "April Fool's!" Then woke up a bit more and started plotting his own joke.

In the afternoon, he went over to play with the girls next door. Before he left he put some peanut butter on his shoe. When he got there, he said something like, "Oh no! I stepped in dog poop!" Then proceeded to lick some of the tasty "poop" off his shoe!

Knowing how squeamish Carter can get, they pretty much suspected right away it couldn't be the real deal. At least he tried!

Now I am hoping that I actually am the butt of an April Fool's joke -- because I don't want this to be true...

The Twins are playing their first game of the season at Toronto. Of course, it's not on TV HERE so I have to follow it on the computer. A few minutes ago they were down 10-zip. Yes, 10! Must be the computer playing a joke, right?

I wore my Joe Mauer jersey all day today for good luck. But apparently it is too early in the season for my karma to reach long distances -- especially without a passport. Grrr. At least they are on the board now in the 7th inning and rallying!

Don't worry. Even if we don't rally all the way back, I am not foolish enough to think this is a bad sign for the rest of the season. It just means we've got nowhere to go but up!

I Love the 80s

We figured it would be a pretty quiet April Fools' Day without our little prankster underfoot. But there was much loud rejoicing today, thanks to Mother Nature.

I was among the noisemakers.

Nothing says "Welcome to Spring" like watching the thermometer go up and up and just sneak past the 80-degree mark. (I love the 80s!) I have a hunch there were records set all over the state. I was reminded of my visits to Texas in the spring... A nice warm wind so you don't feel overwhelmed by the heat.

Hopefully, you were able to enjoy it -- even just a piece of it.

For my part, I took a walk/run at lunch. I jogged when I wasn't facing the sun, then walked -- slowly -- with my smile held up when I was facing the sun. Gotta soak up every bit of it. Later in the afternoon, I sat out on the back steps at work and proofed some pages. Just can't get enough of that sunshine -- especially when we know it's all gonna change in 36 hours.

For his part, hubby got out of work a little early this afternoon and went golfing with a friend. I'm not even jealous. We both took tomorrow afternoon off so we can go to 1 o'clock church, then hit the links... and pray God watches over us for both events.

No word from Camp Carter yet but I know it was supposed to be about 70 out in Virginia with our 80-degree weather headed out there tomorrow, just in time for his car ride home. We likely won't see him until Saturday night. I do have a few surprises for him (naturally!), but I won't have anything ready if I don't get off the computer! Plus, I gotta go find my clubs!

Ahhh, I love Spring when it pretends its Summer!

April Fools?

When I woke up this morning and saw the pretty snowflakes falling down, I thought for sure Mother Nature had her days screwed up. This isn't April Fool's Day! It's April 21st!

Then I woke up a little more and remembered I live in Wisconsin. It would be more unusual if this type of thing didn't happen. Still, I am not a morning person and wasn't finding the humor...

Sometimes I don't know when to take a joke (just ask hubby). But then, I don't always know when someone is joking. It's probably not safe to assume that just because I am occasionally sarcastic (OK, more than occasionally) that everyone else is, too. Sometimes they probably mean what they say.

Sometime last week, there was a buzz started in our community involving some potential violence set to happen at our high school Monday -- which happened to be the 10th anniversary of the Columbine tragedy.

At this point, who knows if someone was joking and it escalated out of control from there. But by yesterday afternoon, hundreds of students left the high school after they and their parents became concerned about the rumored threats.

Apparently, early last week, school officials had already requested additional police presence at the school Monday because it was the Columbine anniversary. That, combined with rumors that passed through Facebook pages and text messages throughout the weekend, caused anxiety. By early afternoon, about 600 of the school's almost 1,500 students went home.

To whoever started the joke -- whether a real joke or a real threat: Not funny.

My heart fills with a sense of dread just thinking that there are potential threats to our children's safety. It shouldn't be that way.

Just last week, Carter had a "lock down" situation at his school because 2 fourth-grade girls went missing while out on a gym class jog through the school forest. Did they get lost? Were they abducted? Police were called and the area searched. In the end, we find out the girls are safe ... because they decided to skip out of school and go to a friend's house nearby. This starts in fourth grade?

Obviously, when people are acting selfish and doing or saying something for their own pleasure (or sick enjoyment) it affects a lot more people than they realize.

I may dislike Mother Nature's cruel joke to dump snow when May is next week, but I'd take that any day over a threat to the safety of the big boys and our May Day baby.

April Fools

Mother Nature sure played a cruel April Fool's joke on us with an overnight snow storm. Even though we just got a dusting in our area, I made it work to my advantage.

By the time I got my sniffling, sneezing, stuffy head self out of bed this morning, Carter was already on the couch eating a bowl of cereal. "Why did you get up so early?" I asked. "Didn't you know we had a snow storm last night? There's no school today!"

"Oh man!" he responds with a groan. "I could kill someone." Which I'm sure meant he'd rather have stayed in bed. Knowing neither one of us has much of a sense of humor in the morning, I really didn't let him sweat it out very long before I said, "April Fool's!" When we saw on the TV that there were several schools Up North that were in fact closed today, he was actually disappointed my prank wasn't for real. I was disappointed, too. I would have loved to drag my sorry butt back to bed for the day!

Don't let Carter fool you, though, I am quite sure he wanted to go to school today. Especially after last night. He got a phone call. From a girl! When he brought the phone back out to the living room, 9 minutes later (but who's counting), we asked who is was. Shayla. What did she want? "Oh she just wanted to know if it was raining here." And it took 9 minutes to answer?!

Perhaps I will not be a mother that deals well with girlfriends when he's a teenager. But in my defense, this phone call came within days of one conversation where Carter (a 4th-grader, mind you) says two people in his class are "going out." Another conversation where he asked, "Mom, when can I start wearing cologne?"

Yep. I'm the fool today. The fool who thinks my little boy is not growing up!