Greg is working some long hours as tax season hits high gear. The weather is getting warmer (40F?), the snow and ice are gone, and there is now an extra hour of sun - or at least not darkness. So in the last couple weeks the kids and I broke the confines of our winter quarters and have been exploring. The water in the ponds and streams near our house is high and fast. This makes it doubly fun for hunting and throwing rocks. The kids are great at spotting red-wing blackbirds, Canadian geese and ducks - all of which are plentiful. I learned that some post-melt gear is essential - like rubber boots. And my washing machine is feeling the brunt of our muddy excursions.

Today we went on our longest bike trip ever - to the toy store. I don't know how far it was but my legs are still warmly numb and tingly. Things grew very quiet on the ride home.

I am cleaning the TV room this morning and complaining aloud about how the couch is eternally sprinkled in crumbs. Audrey expertly tells me, "to clean the crumbs off the couch you have to jump on it an then to clean the floor you have to vacuum it."

Colin finds me at the computer yesterday evening and requests a "show on da pewter." I lift him into my lap and he helps me pick out a Thomas netflix. Its rare that I am granted an opportunity to hold my busy boy anymore so I relax in my chair to watch the show with him. The intro music begins and Colin slides off my legs and tugs at my pants saying, "soot, soot Mom." It only takes a second or two for me to translate, "scoot, scoot Mom."
"Scoot" is the word Colin hears when Mom is busy in the kitchen and doesn't want him or Audrey around :(

Audrey and Colin accompanied me to the DMV to register our car and get Illinois plates (that's right, we've been here nine months :) On the way out of the DMV I'm telling Audrey that Dad will put these plates with numbers on our car. After a minute or two Audrey asks, "Mom, why does our car need the brass plates?"