Your momma is so fat when I told her it was chili outside, she ran out with a spoon!

I don’t know if Addi said that correctly, but I sure thought it was funny. 

That is a part of our dinner ritual.  One of the boys says something silly, and the other boys jump on it as a way to get Roy and I to laugh.  I’m a lot easier than Roy.  I get started, and before I know it, I’m out of breath, tears are running down my face, and I’m bright red.  The kids think it’s hilarious, and pretty soon they go from busting on one another to busting on me.

“Mom’s gonna bust a gut!” One of the older boys will say.

“HA! You said Mom has a butt!” Hayden jumps on any chance to make fun of my butt.

Roy just laughs with me and asks me if I’m ok.

For some reason I always find Addi’s “Yo Momma…” jokes funny.  The older boys don’t get it.

“ADDI!”  Corey will tell him, “You are my brother.  My momma is your momma. Why are you busting on my mom?”

“You know, all you guys are doing is insulting Mom.  This isn’t how it is supposed to go.” Roy tells them with a smirk.

Me? I’m just laughing and smacking the table.

The other day we were sitting at the dinner table.

“Ohh… New Once Upon a Time is on tonight.” I said.  I absolutely love that show, so I was glad.

“Ohh… big deal, a TV show has a new episode.  Isn’t that what they do?” Joe is not a fan of this particular show.

“Actually, smarty pants, a lot of shows go on hiatus around the holidays.” I remarked.

“Don’t you pronounce it hiatISH?” Joe asked me.  I think he was being sincere, not trying to make me feel dumb.

“No, dumb ASH, it’s haitus.” Corey busted out.  And for some reason, I found this hilarious!

During these trash talking sessions, things are often silly - a lot of “nice zit!” “go look in the mirror…oh wait you broke it, cause you’re so ugly.” Silly stuff like that, but every once in awhile, we get a real zinger, and I just love it.

I suppose some would think it strange that I find joy in the boys busting on each other, and there are times when I do not, but these dinner ‘battles’ are done with smiles on their faces.  They are done with a sense of humor and a lot of laughter.  There is that sense of brotherhood among them, a sense of shared laughter.  That isn’t always there.

And so for me, I will always look back at these “Yo Momma” Battles with a fondness.  These are some of my little memories.