The Humility of Blue M&Ms

So one of my favorite movies is What a Girl Wants starring Amanda Bynes, Kelly Preston, and Colin Firth (be still my heart!). I won't go into the plot and the reasoning behind my love of this movie...just wanted to give a little background to my story. There is an exchange near the beginning of the movie between mother and teenage daughter, the former trying to cheer up the latter. The mom says "I love you a million swedish fish" and the daughter answers "I love you a million red M&Ms." (Forgive me if I misquote...it's close enough for what I'm trying to explain). It is obvious by the exchange that this has been a private little tradition for the two of them, probably since the daughter was a small child. I really like associating love with intangible amounts of something tangible...and I love candy. So I decided to start this tradition with Mari. If you're still hanging in here...read on for my dose of very cute humility.

The scene: Mari in her PJs, books read, music on, sitting in the rocking chair before bed, head nestled on my shoulder, speaking in very soft, sweet tones.

Mom: Mari, I love you.
Mari: I love you too, Mommy.
Mom: Mari, I love you so much.
Mari: Mommy, I love you so much too.
Mom: I love you more Mari.
Mari: I love you more too so much Mommy.
Mom: Mari, I love you a million blue M&Ms.
Mari sits straight up, looks me in the eye with her eyes flashing bright....
Mari: Mommy, I LOOOOVE Blue M&Ms!!!!!!!