A typical Jackson day
"Mom!" Yelled Ashley my middle daughter. I walked into the kitchen to see smoke coming from our oven. Well at least now I know she got my cooking skills, though I wish she had Percy's. So much for her making dinner, I gave her the signal, and she walked to my phone before pressing 1. My daughter knew too well that I had the pizza place on speed dial. I looked over towards my dining room table to see my 14 year old daughter doing her algebra homework.
"Ocean, are you almost done over there, because it's really time to set the table." I called out dodging the toys on the floor, whilst trying not to drop the glass I was cleaning.
"Almost done mom," she called out, and in a matter of minutes she was packing up her backpack. I looked over to my youngest child and my only son, Colin. I massaged my temple as the bubble guppies' theme tune starting blasting from our living room television.
"Cole honey can you turn that off, it's giving mommy a headache. While you're at it please come over here a start picking up these toys." I told him before sighing and sitting down.
"But mommy Bella was playing in here too so why do I have to clean up her mess," he protested stomping his foot.
"Bella, come in here and help Colin put away these toys." I called up the stairs. My 6 year old daughter soon appeared by the kitchen door with a Barbie in each hand. It looked like she was just about to say something, but I gave her my signature glare and she closed her mouth and began picking up the toys in the corner of the kitchen. I sat down at the kitchen table and watched my children so there chores. I looked outside and saw our Dalmatian Lola sitting by the back door. I spotted Ashley just about to sit down and pointed towards the dog. She got the message and walked to the other side of the house to let Lola in. I went upstairs to get some money for the pizza guy, and came down just as the doorbell rang. I opened up the door and gave the pizza guy 5 dollars, and grabbed the extra-large cheese pizza from his hands. I turned around and walked back to the kitchen to put the pizza down, and got a shock when someone placed there hand on my stomach. Smiling I turned around and started into the sea green eyes of my husband.
"Your home from work early seaweed brain." I told him before I planted a kiss on his cheek.
"That's all I get! He mischievously asked, and turned around to make sure the kids weren't looking before placing his lips on mine. I guess we were both caught up in the moment, as I was dragged back to reality when I heard my kids yell, "Gross mom and dad just eww don't do that in front of us." I smiled and turned around to see them grabbing the slices of pizza from the box.
He looked around the spotless house, and poked my stomach. "You're supposed to be taking this easy you know Annabeth, that's why you're not a work right now. The doctor said you should take things easy till the baby's born. You don't want anything to happen to this little guy do you wise girl?" He said before grabbing a piece of pizza and sitting down. Smiling I sat down at grabbed a piece if pizza from my husband's plate and looked over my children eating. The Jackson residence was a bit crowded, but hey we like it a little crazy. I smiled at Ocean helping Colin take bites out of his pizza without making a mess. It was hard to catch peaceful moments like this but I always managed to. Automatically Ashley and Bella began taking the plates away and piling them in the dish washer. I thought back to what Piper had told me last time she visited, you've got them trained well.
I don't like being around Piper as often now, because I feel guilty. Piper and Jason got married at age 27, Jason being the responsible one he is waited until they had a perfect income and good home before proposing. About 3 years after their marriage Piper wanted children, so they started trying for children. After 7 months of trying, Piper got pregnant but miscarried after a month. Surprisingly she got pregnant again after 3 more months, but miscarried at the beginning of her 2nd trimester just before they found out what gender the child would be. The doctor told her that most likely her body couldn't handle children. Someone from the Apollo cabin explained to them that the goddesses weren't doing anything against her, and what the doctor had told them was true. Piper was heartbroken, but didn't want to adopt as it wouldn't be the same. They tried all sorts of methods, but nothing worked. It wasn't anything against Piper, but I felt bad every time I saw her.
Piper and Jason were the stable family and we were the crazy one. Percy and I gave each other promise rings at 18. At 20 he proposed halfway through college, and as soon as we both graduated at age 22 we got married. That same year I found out I was pregnant with Ocean. Ocean is now 14, which is almost hard to believe. When parents tell you they grow up so fast, they actually do. When I was 25 I became pregnant with Ashley, so Ocean had a little sister at the age of 4. For a while the 4 of us were a happy family, still living in that tiny apartment in downtown New York. When Ashely was 4 and Ocean was 8, we moved to a house in the suburbs, because I found out I was pregnant with Bella. I gave birth to her when I was 29. Percy loves the 3 girls dearly, but he wanted another guy in the house and I missed having a baby. Unlike all my other pregnancies we planned on having Colin, and I gave birth to him when I was 32. Time really flies, now I'm 35 and pregnant with my 5th child. It seems only yesterday that I was bringing home Ocean for the first time. I turned around and stood up from the table to go stack the dishwasher when I saw Percy already doing it. He pointed towards the living room, and the needles and yarn sitting on the coffee table.
The one thing I could never do was knit. I know that it's simple, in, over, and through, but my work is always a mess. It annoys me that I survived so many wars, and yet cannot knit. Ashley has tried many times to teach me, but I never seem to get it right. I always end up dropping a stitch, quietly I began to sneak away upstairs to read and get away from the knitting. I thought I had gotten away until I felt familiar warm arms wrap around my waist and guide me back to the evil yarn. Percy even got out some yarn and needles to show me how his mom had taught him to knit.
I guess I had to have fallen asleep, and woke up to Percy laying a blanket over me. I looked at the blanket and saw that it was new. I put two and two together and realized Percy must have knit this while I was sleeping. It was so comfortable that instead of going upstairs I just closed my eyes again to go back to dreamland.