Hi Molly,... Very glad you like KA's new stomping grounds.
Now about those graemlins, if you use the visible
Quick Reply space, you would need to click on the button
Switch to Full Reply Screen in order to access smilies.
If you use the
Reply button underneath anyone's post (which directly addresses your reply to a specific poster) clicking the
happy face icon will open up a small selection > and underneath them, clicking
View More Smilies will open the full bunch of
M&M's in the jar.

.....etc.
The
Posting Icons are different - they are the ones that match with the title of a post (note the exclamation point I've used) and appear on the forum's list of topics when a you begin a new thread.
Just starting fooling around by clicking on stuff, I promise you won't break anything..!
Hugs