The Bus Stop Chronicles

I had to start with Miss Lydia again.  Isn't she adorable?  She is, after all, the center of our bus stop chronicles...without her, none of these stories would have come to pass!  Read on...

Mr. Aiden has a way of running around and making a mess of so many things; I'm trying to learn to let him be a boy--insisting that he stay a boy.  Sometimes...I forget.  We drove to the bus stop last week and waited in the car for Connor to arrive.  It was cold, and Lydia was crying, so I hopped out and hopped into the back seat with Mr. Aiden and my Little Miss.  I took her out of the car seat, talked with her, and looked at Aiden staring at me--fixated on my freckles.

Aiden: "Mom, where did you get those grey dots from?"

Me: "What grey dots honey?"(I knew precisely what he meant)

Aiden: "Those...there and there and there and there and..." (pointing dramatically all over my face and arms--ALL OVER!)

Me: "Oh, well, the sun kissed me!"

Aiden: (A goofy grin and roll of the eyes...he's all too smart at only 3 years old!  I believed my Mom when she told me that.  I think I was 8!  Naive?  Yep, and still am!)

Aiden then decides to hop into the front of the car, hop out of the drivers side door, leave it wide open, and run to the women and children across the street who were waiting for their kindergartners.  He spoke to the...women!  I reached down to open the back door and found myself locked inside...child safe locks.  I restrained from yelling him back into the car and rolled down the window casually, smiling all the while, and opened the door from the outside.  I was screaming inside, mentally!

And there's a busted lip from our most recent bus stop morning.  He was walking--balancing--on the curb, 10 feet away from me when I heard, "Crystal, he fell!"  I turned and saw a mother running to his aide.  I sighed and slowly walked towards him, ready to say, "Get up honey, you're fine!"  Then I saw his busted lip.  Instead, I said, "Looks like you're gonna' be okay!"  I am a mother to boys--lots of accidents and heart racing drama, I've become casual in my nurturing skills lately!

Now, Connor is a light..letting our family secrets loose!  I walked out the door yesterday morning with Lydia wrapped in a fleece blanket, pink fuzzy jammies and a cotton polka dot hat.  When I stepped outside, I sensed it was a bit cold for her, but it was enough of a job getting Connor out the door, and we had to make it to the bus on time.  I knelt down with Lydia at the bus stop so her brother's could talk to her--she smiled and babbled enough to lure a little Asian girl to her side and the attention of all the other little girls and their Mommies.  Connor announced aloud:

"When Mommy was saying the family prayer this morning, Lydia said her personal prayer--it was so funny!" (Lydia babbled through the prayer.)

I can only imagine their thoughts--Family prayer? Personal prayer? Lydia prays?  How many prayers do Mormons say?

We pray A LOT...I have to just to get through a day!

I then heard a woman say, "I would have bundled her up more!"  I was bright red, but my disheveled appearance spoke for my ill prepared morning!

And...an update on Steve.  This is how he studied for his last test.  The computer sat conveniently under the book for a mental break, TV remotes within hands reach, and my nap pillow from Christmas 2 years ago.  My mother in law insisted I would need it as I started my nursing clinical rotations.  Three semesters later, a miserable 1st and 2nd trimester (pregnancy), ** extra pounds, dark circles under my eyes, an overdue baby, and still more classes now and in the summer, AND I have yet to nap with that pillow and the convenient matching eye mask.  At least someone is enjoying it!

P.S.  Connor missed the bus this morning...thanks to a Mommy who hates alarms and a Daddy who loves to sleep!