Demento Bunny and What Makes Me Smile

On winter days when there is a chill in the air and it takes longer to get the kids out the door it is hard to find things to smile about. But these are precisely the times we need reminders of where we find our smiles. For us, here at the house of anything but normal, my kids give me reason to smile every day and my husband’s dopey one liners that he thinks are funny often give me reason to smile too. (Don’t let him know. It only encourages him.)
This picture here makes me smile. We had it printed and hung it in the kitchen. We call it demento bunny. It was taken the day I surprised the kids with a day trip to Wings of Paradise in Cambridge. The butterfly museum was magical and we had a super time. When we got home the kids needed time in the backyard. This is my daughter Ainsley who was P.O’ed at her sister for bending the bunny ears. I thought they matched her tired mood and snapped this picture: Demento Bunny. Most of the things that make me smile revolve around the silly things my kids say and the ways in which they experience the world. A good book can make me smile too. Oh and selling a big article to a magazine that pays well. Yup, that makes me smile!  Lemon Merengue anything makes me smile.

My Smiles
1. It makes me smile when my daughter says “Arm of War” to refer to the armoire in our living room.
2. When Ainsley was five she used to say Caffleeen for caffeine when referring to my coffee. That made me chuckle.
3. Crocuses sprouting throw the snow in March or April.
4. When my niner sings – which she does amazingly well and acts – she performs with a local youth theatre group, it simultaneously makes me smile and cry. Moms know what I am talking about.
5. When my daughter (seen above) who has special needs says something that lets me inside to understand how she experiences the world. Little glimmers of insight that help me to be her Mom.
6. When either one of them says something like this, uttered by my Niner the other day: “My heart is filled with all of the people of the world.”
7. When my kids succeed at anything. Last month both won medals at a martial arts tournament. Nothing makes me smile bigger (or more embrassingly proud).
8. When my child scrawls phonetically as she did last week: “Dear Mom. I luv u. u r doing gret job at riding. (No. I don’t ride, I write.)  Also “U R the bst sistr. I luv u.” for her sister. I treasure the funny phonics.
9. When my husband comes home with some unexpected little treat (flowers, lemon merengue pie, even something I needed but hadn’t been able to buy and it shows me he is thinking about me. New gloves, a sweater, a suitcase. The suitcase showed me clearly how much he supported me speaking at conferences. Big smile.)
10. Husband wearing kid’s pyjamas on his head. On a day when I am struggling with the kids and they are fighting getting dressed, he brings the A game, pulls the humour card and suddenly I remember how great a Dad he is. Smiles all around.
11. Pictures of my kids. Pictures of us on any of our family vacations.

12. The way they still get that magical look of shock when Santa knows their names. Or how my sixer dreams of being a police officer. How did he know that?

Doing good for others and using my voice when others can’t also makes me smile. This Christmas Season I am smiling because I get to take part in this lovely campaign with Mom Central Canada and Conagra Foods Canada. The Snack Pack Share a Smile Campaign has a goal of raising $20,000 for Food Banks Canada in time for the holidays. In order to make a difference all you have to do is sign up on Facebook and like SnackPack Canada. Snack Pack is made by Hunt’s and has a variety of puddings and also juicy gels. Most are low fat. Several are made low calories now. Where there are products made with sugar, they contain real sugar, not high calorie fructose/sucrose and artifical ingredients. ConAgra makes a whole host of products including Hunt’s and To find out more about Snack Packs you can visit http://tiny.cc/ozn6q
The holidays can be a terribly trying time for families living in poverty and you can make a difference on line by sharing a smile. Each and every time you share a smile, Snack Pack will give $1 to Food Banks Canada. You can also enter to win weekly prizes. Every day for the next 10 weeks you will see a different reason to smile with a Snack Pack. The more often you smile, or share a smile on FB with Snack Pack Canada, the more money raised for food banks across Canada. That is a great reason to smile. We will also be talking this one up on twitter with the hashtag #SnackPackSmile.

I am participating in the snack pack program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Conagra Foods Canada I received a gift card as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on my blog are all my own.