I’m sharing one hot tip a week for how to have more fun in super-easy ways that will work FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. #nopressure ????  Sign up for my Mom Fun newsletter and never miss a tip!

I mentioned last week how I was pretty depressed and resentful after having my daughter and decided that I had to start making changes; I thought what was the biggest thing missing from my life and LAUGHTER came screaming back at me.

So, I made a New Year’s resolution to laugh once a day. That’s it. My only criteria was it had to be an actual laugh, not a chuckle or a grin, but something where sound emitted from my mouth joyfully without thought.

And it was really difficult at first!

When you’re with kids all day or sitting at your desk or running errands or DOING, we don’t often let loose and laugh (think about the last time you had a true belly laugh – it probably wasn’t this morning when you were trying to find everybody’s shoes to get out the door, right?).

So, I had to work at it.

I’d remember to blow on my daughter’s stomach so she’d giggle hysterically, which would make me laugh. I’d call a best friend and tell them a funny story that got both of us cracking up instead of my usual complaining. I’d watch funny YouTube videos, make silly videos to send my sisters, and pick comedies instead of dramas with my husband. When I was talking to people, I got really good at finding the humor in their stories (and mine!) and would be generous with my laughter.

In short, I made it a habit.

Of everything I’ve done, this has probably had the biggest impact on my life, because now, I don’t think about laughing, it just happens. At least once a day, usually more, which is AMAZING.

We often make time to feel sad and fearful and stressed, but we need to also make time to feel joy!

Okay, enough talking, Kara! How can I make this happen and laugh every day?

1. Use your kids. Listen, your kids are like walking laugh bombs. Tap into that energy. Tickle them, blow on their stomachs, take them to a funny movie, tell them knock knock jokes, hide in the closet and scare them. Decide that they are the funniest people you know and, weirdly, they will become that.

(Also, if you need ideas for fun with your kids, here are a few.)

2. Seek out funny. Whenever I’m feeling low as a mom, I turn to my ladies, I Mom So Hard because they speak to my soul (I seriously went to get the link and now it’s an hour later ????). I also never miss Jen Gotch or Orlando Soria on Instagram Stories and, of course, The Bloggess is my BFF. Right now I’m also obsessed with the TV shows Glow, Playing House, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which reminds me I need to get this done because I have A LOT OF IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO TODAY.

3. Be generous with your laughter. You guys, I am a HILARIOUS person, if I’m around the right people. But, if I’m around people who don’t think I’m funny or stare at me without a tinge of a smile after I’ve finished a story, I start to wither and quickly become very, very unfunny.

So, I’m always ready to hop in with a laugh because there is nothing a funny story likes more than a ready laugh. Plus, most of the time, it makes the story funnier, which makes me laugh more and you get where this is going.

4. Hang out with people who make you laugh. This seems like a no-brainer, but, people are in your life for different reasons and, if you want to have more fun, hang out with folks you can have more fun with.

5. Figure out the funny story. I’m someone who has had car windows explode out of nowhere, had a homeless person sleep in my car (he left a thank you note!), has had multiple purses and backpacks stolen from me while on vacation, was trapped in a nail salon by a man on drugs, had a lady pee on my leg while eating in the Financial District, and once set my coat on fire while trying to get warm in Denmark (omg, and this is just what I came up with in less than a minute).

And they are all hilarious stories that I’ve decided are funny because they are! They could also be tragic and scary and unsettling, but I’ve decided on funny because that’s how I want to live my life. This isn’t to say everything that happens to me in my life is ridiculous, but, wait, no, pretty much all of it is.????

Your challenge this week, should you choose to accept it! (I mean, duh, totally do it, k?)

Decide to laugh once a day. YESSSSSSS!

That’s it! That’s all you gotta do. Commit to once a day! YEEHAW!

PS: And to help make your laughing happen I’m going to be working MY TAIL OFF over on Instagram to make that happen. So, follow along, will ya? 🙂

PPS: For Mother’s Day, we had an epic shaving cream fight and I can’t recommend it enough. It might be the perfect way to laugh tomorrow, just sayin’. ????