Olivia sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She was beyond frustrated and on the verge of tears.
"Juliette, I told you to get down from there three times now; you are going to hurt yourself."
"I can't get down, Mama," her oldest daughter whined.
"Well, I can't get you down! I have a baby in my belly, I'm cooking dinner, and I have to keep an eye on your brother and sister because they aren't listening to me either!"
At that point, Juliette jumped down and ran to the room she shared with her sister, crying. Her siblings ran after her to comfort her. Olivia sat down in the chair, completely overwhelmed. She could barely handle three kids at home, how was she going to handle a fourth? She started to sob as her husband walked in the door.
"Olivia?" he crossed over to her and knelt down in front of her knees. "What's wrong?"
"I'm a bad mother!" she sobbed.
"That's ridiculous. Where is this coming from?"
"The children weren't listening to a word I said today, and then I snapped at Juliette and made her cry. I can't handle three children, Nostradamus, how am I going to handle a fourth?"
He sighed and felt guilty. He had left Olivia by herself most of the pregnancy; his clinic had recently taken off. He wasn't there to help like he was with the other three. "I'm sorry, love."
"It's not your fault I'm a bad mother."
"You are not a bad mother. I just haven't been around to help."
"You have been gone a lot," she sniffled.
"I'm sorry. I'll try and be around more, especially when the little one gets here."
"Thank you."
He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her head. "You're just overwhelmed, love. I'll talk to the kids, and tell them to take it easy on you. You go and lie down, okay? I'll finish dinner."
"Okay."
"Just relax and let me take care of it for the rest of the night."
Olivia went to her room and collapsed on the bed. She promptly fell asleep, and for once in six months, didn't worry about a thing.