My morning commutes...

My morning commutes to daycare with Caden and Maggie are always interesting and full of chatter.  I never know what the conversation with my toddlers will be but we have basically the same conversation every morning it may not be the same order but it usually goes something like this:

Maggie, "I see the stars, I see the moon"
Mommy, "yes honey they are out this morning, lots of stars"
Caden, "Why isn't the sun out?"
Mommy, "It is sleeping"
Caden, "It needs to wake up right now"
Mommy, "I agree Caden but unfortunately it is tired today and running late like us!"
Caden, "how come?"
Mommy, "it just is honey it will wake up soon"
What else do you say to a little quizzical boy who is almost 3?  At least we are learning that the sun and the moon aren't usually out at the same time!
All of this is our on short trip down Parkside

Next conversation starts as we turn onto Ridge Avenue
Caden, "that's the way to Papaw Casey's house"
Mommy, "yes buddy that is how we go to Papaw Casey's house"
Caden, "we go back to his house again to see him?"
Mommy, "of course!"
Caden, "the babies go?"
Mommy, "Sure will"

By this point we have reached the stop light at Ridge and Belleview.  This trip takes a whole 2-3 minutes and then we start another conversation:
Maggie tells me if the lights are red, yellow or green and whether or not we can go - after all "Green Means Go mommy!"
As we turn onto Belleview and head to Route 50 we usually see a school bus, well at least during the school year
Caden, "There's a school bus!"
Maggie, "I see the school bus, it is yellow"
Mommy, "very good guys."
Caden, "Is Mason on that bus?"
Mommy, "No Buddy, that isn't Mason's bus"
Caden, "How come?"
Mommy, "He rides a different bus"
Caden, "Oh okay"
Everyday it is Mason who he asks about - not any of the other boys who also get on the bus and I don't know why but it is always Mason.

So by then we have made the turn to head down Route 50 - just 3 more minutes to get to school:
Caden, "There's Connor's House"
Mommy, "yes buddy that is where Connor lives"
Caden, "I go back again"
Maggie, "I go too"
Mommy, "yes you can go back again"
Caden, "I play with the monster trucks" - mind you he has only done this twice but that kid does not forget!

Now this week we have added another conversation to the rotation:
As we turn to go up Stateline, after Maggie has told me what color the light is and whether I can go or not, I hear from Caden,
"I go to the new house" - meaning Uncle Adam, Aunt Haley and Natalie's new house
Maggie, "I like that place!"
Mommy, "yes we will go back again"
Caden, "the babies go?" This is his big thing since the babies have been born, this sweetheart wants to make sure no one is left behind!
Mommy, "of course they can go"

And then we pull into the parking lot and start our 5 minute journey into school - not kidding it takes 5+ minutes to unload and motivate the kids into school plus another 5 minutes for putting up our coats and saying goodbye.

Then once I am back into the car, by myself, I try to remember to turn off our Elmo CD (sometimes I forget I am listening to Elmo for at least 5 minutes) I smile because that is just the best way to start off a busy day. 

The point from waking up to getting us all out of the door into the car is not always a pleasant but once we are in the car, Caden has his milk, Maggie has her 'nola bar - if she is fully awake, those 15 minutes of my day are simple, beautiful and a time away from everything else except a few precious moments with my toddlers (I just stopped myself from typing babies, they are definitely not babies anymore).  I know there will come a day when we will get in the car, they will put in the earphones for their ipods, or whatever the technology is for that time frame, and we won't get to have these simple but amazing conversations so I am cherishing each and every one of them, even if they are basically the same thing every day.

To continue the November Thankful theme I hope it is obvious, that I am very thankful for my time with my toddlers, even if it is 15 minutes in the car on our way to daycare, I will take it! 

And I am very thankful to that friend who 2 years ago told me to write it all down, write down what they are saying because you will quickly forget!

Just a few photos of these fun loving toddlers that show their spirit!

Maggie wearing Uncle Adam's Motorcycle helmet



Proud Big Brother - helping with those babies!