Belly laughs

The challenge of the week...when was the last time you had a good laugh, a belly-almost-pee-in-your-panties kind of laugh...and if you can't remember, why not????

Well that's one thing my crazy family has...we know how to laugh. Is it because there are so many crazies? Maybe? Maybe it's how the rest of us stay sane and how the crazy ones don't go postal...Whatever it is, we do laugh in this family. It's one of the things that attracted me to Jason. He can make me laugh until I'm crying (and/or peeing). Last night, in fact, he had me in stitches. A friend was mentioning that a friend of hers can be condescending to her and Jason started sounding like he was far on the other side of brilliant, implying that's how friend should start talking when condescending friend starts in on her, and he ended with 'would you like to buy a pencil' (ok, I KNOW--- politically incorrect but we were ALL laughing around the dinner table). Then we played Taboo...and Jason's word was 'package' and even though I was on the other team and not supposed to give clues, I jumped in with "and Fabio has a nice....blank" (an aside here, I don't have a thing for Fabio, I think he's actually kind strange looking, but he's a cult stud, so that's why I used his name)....we all laughed, Jason looked hurt (again kidding hurt, not really) and I said, 'well honey you have a nice package too' and laughed again. I had my mother laughing today, after I gave her bad news...because that's what we do....my sister yesterday gave me bad news (news I passed on to my mother because she needs to know) and we laughed about that...and if you knew the news, you'd be appalled at the laughter....but it's what we do. I think the Irish have a good thing with the whole Wake thing when someone dies...the time of sharing the funny, happy, lovely things in a person's life, a time of laughter during a stressful, sad time.

But what truly makes me laugh the kind of pure laughter, from the heart, not from a sad coping place...is my children. Jake is becoming so sarcastic and really I SHOULD do something about that, but he's FUNNY. He rolled his eyes at me the other day and I said, in a mean mommy voice, 'did you just roll your eyes at me' and he said 'yeah, and I'm gonna do it again' and he did....I burst out laughing. Isaac was having a temper tantrum and I looked him right in the eye and said, 'that's not how you do that' and I got on the floor, screamed and pummeled the floor with my hands. He burst out laughing and we both just rolled on the floor laughing and tickling each other. Sometimes...and I'll probably get frowns for this one, I'll hide behind the corner and when the kids run by I'll jump out and scream at them...they get so scared and then just laugh and ask me to do it again and again.

Yup, we're a warped family, but if you were in this family you would develop a funny bone real fast, it's one of our best coping mechanisms! And even in our darkest moments and our most joyful you will hear someone laughing in this family.....so sister dearest after you're finsihed being mad at me for telling brother dearest and mommy dearest call me and I'll tell you a joke or two and you'll get over it.