Let's be honest...

My girlfriend Michelle stopped by the house this morning after walking all the kids to the bus stop... we were chit chatting in the dining room with Summer (my 13 year old) and the subject of snakes came up.  Summer went on and on about how she spent the night at her friends house last week and that friend had a snake that escaped while she was there- she said she was completely terrified and it totally freaked her out that a snake was on the loose.  Then Summer shared a story that had me crying from laughing so hard.  She told Michelle that when she was a toddler, myself and her Uncle Josh took her to the zoo in Minot and we lied to her and told her there was a spider monkey in an aquarium, we lifted her up to see it and at that very same moment a snake struck the glass in that aquarium, not a monkey at all.  I vividly remember said incident- and truthfully, it made me laugh just as hard all these years later, as it did the day it happened.  And yes, I purposefully told her there was a spider monkey in that aquarium knowing it was a snake.  And yes, I knew that she hated snakes, and yes I was hoping for some sort of reaction that would nearly make me pee my pants from the hilarity.

Does this make me a bad person?

Be honest- have you never done something at the expense of your kids just to get a good laugh?

I know those sick people exist- i've seen the videos on youtube! (and i have laughed til my belly hurt!)

these are some of my favorites:

My point is, we've all done it- in some form or fashion... whether its jumping out from around a corner and yelling boo, or waking your children up with a chainsaw-  I think its just one of the many privileges and blessings that come from being a parent...

Now go and plan out your next prank- I know you're thinking of one :)