10 Smiles from my Kids

10 ways my kids make me smile/laugh:

1. My daughter’s rendition of the classic tale “Five Little Monkeys” goes like this: “Five little monkeys jump bed. One falls off, bumps head. Momma called doctor, said, no monkeys jump bed!” As she dwindles down to one monkey, the doctor is bonking his head and momma is on the floor crying and the monkeys are eating ice cream. Of course, there are hilarious actions that accompany the story.
2. Listening to my son run down the list of things he did at school: “We played outside, ate lunch, had a snack, rested…” I know there was work in there somewhere, but I remember being his age and how it didn’t matter much to me either.
3. Watching my son brush his teeth – you can see his mind working as he does “gorilla growl, lion roar, gorilla growl, lion roar” with his mouth.
4. My daughter’s exact impersonations of people – me, especially. They are dead on. “I said stop that” is her best one. She has the tone, the hand gesture and the look and does it with such conviction.
5. When either of my kids say “Hold me, mommy.” They somehow turn into southerners and have this strange drawl that I can’t place, but it’s stinkin’ adorable.
6. Bath-time for babies – they race, literally, to the tub. They knock over things, run into each other, strip their clothes off and send them flying through the air. It’s like a Jim Carrey movie.
7. My son’s very convincing excuses for why he needs to spin again when playing board games: “I bumped it on my foot,” or “She breathed too hard on it,” and “I didn’t mean to do that, it slipped” until he finally gets the highest number, then the game can continue – but you only get one spin.
8. Both of my children think they need to be carried and placed in their beds. This is getting very difficult with the 5 year old and his top bunk. But how much longer can we do it, really? So we comply. The problem is, both of them turn into spaghetti noodles and we nearly drop them every time. They think it’s hilarious (and so do we).
9. The way both of them turn giggly when paper rips – I still don’t understand what’s so funny about this, but it works every time and keeps them entertained for minutes. It’s innocent and adorable and it makes me smile instantly.
10. Saturday morning “cuddle-cartoons” in mommy’s bed. They both end up snuggled tight and we watch Krypto, Tom & Jerry and Looney Toons while under the comfy blankets and eating cookies, usually.

If you ever need a smile, my children are expert providers. In the meantime, I hope your weekend produces many smiles of your own.