Smile!

We took family photos recently and repeatedly reminded the kids to smile for the camera…turns out my favorite picture of Rachel is the sassy look without a smile.  Sometimes the authentic expressions are more precious than the “happy” ones.

Whether nature or nurture – people have told me and my siblings that we all smile a lot.  Here is a random list of 10 things that made me smile last week:

-          Elise and her dad printed out a list of “fairy books”.  It turns out there are 160 of them and I think Elise intends to read every one!  Did you know there is a ‘guinea pig fairy’ AND a ‘hamster fairy’?

-          Watching my little fellow Stephen…so chunky and all boy….except for the pink princess pull-up that peaks out from the top of his navy shorts!

-          I had to create my own exercise in the ‘Lose It’ app on my phone:  holding 42 lb toddler during tantrum – 50 calories per 10 minutes.  Carrying previously mentioned toddler up stairs during tantrum – 35 calories.  Holding door shut so toddler can’t escape bedroom – 35 calories.  When assigning an icon to the exercise, I picked the wrestling icon.

-          Rachel’s obsession with my phone ended immediately once a new phone was brought in the house. She told me that Sprint is her favorite store.  Her love of cell phones exceeds comprehension.

-          Elise asked me to ‘fast forward backwards’ her tv show.  Need to introduce the word ‘rewind’.  With dvrs and on-demand programs, “live tv” is almost incomprehensible!

-          While  watching my Zumba instructor this week, I happened to glance forward in the mirror and was startled by how the dance moves looked on me.  Don’t know how the instructor keeps a straight face when she is facing us – but from now on my eyes stay on her and I live in the illusion that my dance moves look just like hers.

-          Elise’s love for Great Wolf Lodge exceeded expectations.  The following day in a quiet moment she smiled and said “I just can’t stop thinking about Great Wolf Lodge!!” Very grateful to the Dinsmore family for taking her!

-          Elise’s excitement over being an usher at church this week… she aimed to get there early because the first 2 ushers to arrive also got to pass out bulletins.  Singing in the musical was great for her – but the real highlight was passing out those bulletins!

-          Walking out of preschool last week, Stephen insisted on going back to the classroom.  He had forgotten to give Ms. Hillary a hug.  Sweet boy.

-          Rachel insisted on eating dinner with only a shirt on.  Which was ok until she also insisted on sitting on my lap.  Something about eating dinner with a naked bum on your lap just isn’t right… and I am the girl that doesn’t mind getting in bed with shoes on.

These random moments during the week propel me during the challenging ones and the less amusing tasks of feeding/bathing/cleaning up after 3 young kids.

In high school I co-wrote the following list with Erin Welch on reasons to be happy (creating these lists were a favorite pastime during Mr. Powell’s chemistry class).  Here are just a few excerpts that illustrate the oddities of the teenage mind, and continue to make me smile many years later:

Reasons to be Happy:

-          We haven’t got gingivitis.

-          We don’t work for GM.

-          There was a bumper crop of pineapple this year.

-          You have never been plagued by body lice

-          There is not a dead trout in your purse.

-          Your name is not Glen.

-          You are not presently trapped beneath a 240 lb piece of bark

I hope you smile today and mean it. :)
Here are a few more pictures from our family session.