The Bus Stop

John's bus stop is at the corner of our street.  It is a house away from our house.  I normally walk with John to the bus stop.  We hang out and talk and wait for the bus.  Since the weather has been very cold lately, we have been driving to the bus stop.  It's ridiculous.  I feel stupid driving, but at the same time, it's been too cold to wait outside for an extended period of time.  Since we are just waiting in the car for the bus to come, I have been letting John sit in the front seat.  He has a lot of questions about the car. "What does that do?" "How do you make the wipers go?"  "When do you use the emergency brake?" "What does the N mean?" I try to get him to focus on one thing and we talk about that. But some days we talk about everything. I can't get mad. I love that he is interested and wants to know more. 

What color is your car?

Every time I pick up Gillian from school, she asks me "Is this your new car?"  I say "Yes" (I have had this car since May, it isn't exactly new).  She then asks "What color is it?"  Every time, I say "Black, you know that."  And then we will drive a little while and then she will ask "What color is your car?"  I don't know why she is obsessed with it, but I answer her every time.  Daddy told me that yesterday on their way to school, Gillian asked Daddy "What color is your car?"  Daddy replied "Gold."  Gillian said "Gold?  Like Antonio?"  Daddy said "What?"  She said "Like Antonio, the gold ninja."  Obviously, they have been watching too much Power Rangers.   

Outside

I picked the kids up from school today. Both of them had red cheeks. I asked John how many times he got to play outside today (normally the highlight of his day). He said "No nap today! You know what that means? We went outside three times today!" I asked Gillian the same question. She said "One, two, three...five, six!" I said, you went outside six times today! She nodded. John shook his head.

We got in the car and I asked the kid if they wanted the air conditioning on in the car or the windows open. They both opted for the windows down. Gillian looked out her window and told me "I see a tree! Mommy look a house! Mommy! I see cars!" The entire car ride home I got a play by play of everything we drove past. At one point John said "There are trees everywhere!"

Driving

I pulled into the driveway tonight, got out of the car and opened John's car door. "Mom, can I go out of the front door?" Sure. Why not. I close the door and walk around to Gillian's side. As I am unbuckling her, she says "Can I go out the door with John?" Sure. Why not. So I close her door. I open the passenger door get my bags out of the car and Gillian immediately climbs into the passenger seat. John was in the driver seat by now and Gillian was riding shotgun. John tested out the horn, touched every lever and button possible. I'm sure the windshield wipers will go off the next time I drive the car. Gillian watched John have fun and refused to leave the car when I said it was time to go in the house. I brought John inside and left Gillian in the car. She sat there for about 30 seconds and jumped out of the car. Driving is only fun when you have someone to share it with you! When we were tucking the kids in bed tonight, John asked "Can I get driving lessons?"