Friday was rather busy for him as well, but Rafael was relieved when evening came around and he was walking through the front door of their home.
They had a rather calm evening and made sure to send Noah to bed at a decent hour as he had a birthday to go to the following day.
Apparently, that hadn't been enough, however, as their son was being decidedly whiney and uncooperative with Rafael while Olivia was occupied with Sofía.
The attitude continued to go on for a few minutes, the boy grumbling about breakfast and whatever else he wanted to, but eventually Rafael decided to go ahead and nip the attitude in the bud. "Oye, te levantaste con el moño virado esta mañana." (So you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.)
The seven-year-old boy instantly grumbled something under his breath, not for the first time that morning.
He got down closer to his son's eye level and spoke calmly and yet firmly. "No jorobes más que el horno no está para galleticas." If Noah was going to misbehave all morning, they were not about to send him to someone else's house for the afternoon. If he wanted to go to the birthday party he needed to start being respectful. Something both Olivia and himself agreed upon. (Stop horsing around because now's not the time to push it.)
The boy adopted a rather sheepish look, fully aware that he was pushing the limits of what behaviour was going to be tolerated. He then nodded and looked at Rafael before speaking. "Lo siento, papi." (I'm sorry, Papi.)
"Está bien," he responded with a small nod, "pero termina tu desayuno, Mijo. Cuando hayas terminado, quiero que limpies tu cuarto. Tu madre quiere que lo termines antes de que vayas a la fiesta de cumpleaños, ¿recuerda?" (It's fine, but finish your breakfast, Mijo. When you're done, I want you to clean your room. Your mother wants that done before you go to the birthday party, remember?)
The seven-year-old clearly opted not to push his luck, which suited Rafael just fine. He really wasn't in the mood for even more bickering. "Sí, lo sé. Y mis juguetes que están en la sala. Me acuerdo. Lo haré." (Yeah, I know. And my toys that are in the living room. I remember. I'll do it.)
He nodded. "Gracias, Mijo." (Thank you, Mijo.)
Just then Olivia walked in, energetic fourteen-and-a-half-month-old in hand. She put Sofía down and the little girl immediately ran over to her high chair, grabbing at the cheerios that were still there from earlier. "What are you two boys up to?"
Rafael turned to face her. "Just reminding a certain boy of his chores." There were a few things they all needed to get done, but most of it was on Rafael and Olivia. Still, there were a couple of things they had Noah do, trying to teach him a measure of responsibility. Thankfully, Lucy had helped Noah with his homework the day before, so that was all done and they didn't have to worry about it.
She nodded. "You know the deal."
Noah rolled his eyes. "I know, Mom."
"Who all's going to Jeremy's today?" she inquired.
"Not sure," Noah said after a moment. "I know Mickey, Alyssa, Will, Anna and Caleb are going, but -" The boy gave a little shrug. "Don't know who else."
"Well," Olivia replied, "I'm sure you'll all have fun."
"Yeah, we will!" the boy said with a big grin. "And Jeremy's going to love his gift." Noah had picked out a red, Air Hogs, Zero Gravity Laser car. Jeremy absolutely loved cars and seemingly had various sets scattered everywhere at all times.
"Knowing him," Olivia said, "you'll probably make his day. That kid can never have enough cars to play with. He's like you and lego."
Noah snickered. "You're not wrong."
After Noah finished breakfast, he immediately put his dishes in the sink and started to throw the Lego on the living room floor in its bin. That didn't need to be put away, but they did need to be able to vacuum. Most of the other toys though, did really need to be put away so they weren't broken or lost.
Olivia put Sofía in her high chair and set her up with her Color Wonder book, before walking up to Rafael and pulling him in for a quick kiss. "You got her, Rafa? There's a bunch of laundry that has to get done and a bathroom to clean as well."
"Yeah, I've got her, Liv." He gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll check on Noah in a bit too and clean the living room after I'm done in here."
"Thank you, Love."
He gave her a small smile. "No need, Cariño."
"I hope you know how much I appreciate the type of father you are to our kids." That hit him hard and he had little doubt the emotions were clearly shown on his face. Having not had a decent father himself growing up it meant a lot for him to hear that she thought he was doing a good job by their kids. "You're great with them."
"You're my home," he said earnestly. His family was his world. He'd do anything for them. "I want to give you guys the best I can."
"I know," she said, "and I love you for it." With that, she gave him another peck on the cheek and headed upstairs to get her own part of the housework done.
Finishing the dishes, he stopped to pick up a few of Sofía's markers that she'd unceremoniously thrown on the ground while colouring. He tickled her, causing her to laugh, and then took a minute to colour with her.
He then wiped the counter down and swept the floor before setting Sofía up in the living room while he cleaned that.
After he was done in the living room, which didn't take long, he took Sofía out of her high chair and went upstairs with her to see how Noah was fairing with his bedroom.
Walking into the bedroom, he was pleased to note that Noah had been doing as asked and had largely cleaned his room. Content, he made his way over to where Noah was putting a pile of clothes in his dresser. Olivia cleaned and folded the clothes, but it was up to Noah to actually put them away. "Se ve bien." (It looks good.)
He put Sofía down and she immediately made her way over to one of Noah's stuffed animals that had caught her attention.
"Casi termino," his son replied happily, getting Rafael's attention immediately when he spoke. "Solo tengo que terminar de guardar la ropa." (I'm almost done. I just have to finish putting away my clothes.)
"¡Buen trabajo!" he said, ruffling the boy's hair playfully. (Good job!)
Noah closed the dresser drawer a short moment later, all the clothes now put away, and then looked up at Rafael. "¿Sigues yendo de compras más tarde?" (Are you still going shopping later?)
"Sí," he confirmed, "tenemos que hacer las compras. ¿Por qué? ¿Querías algo?" (Yes, we have to go grocery shopping. Why? Did you want something?)
"¿Puedes hacer torrejas pronto?" (Can you make torrejas sometime soon?)
"Creo que puedo manejar eso," he replied cheekily. It had been a while since he'd made that particular dessert. (I think I can manage that.)
Noah immediately grinned at that. He'd liked the dish from the get go. "¡Yupi! ¡Son riquísimos!" (Yay! They're so good!)
He had to chuckle softly at the boy's enthusiasm. "Sí lo son." He then tilted his head slightly. "¿Cómo te quedan los zapatos?" (Yes, they are. How do your shoes fit?)
The boy simply shrugged in response. "Todavía me quedan bien. Bueno, mis tenis al menos." (They still fit fine. Well, my runners at least.)
Rafael nodded and then glanced around the room again, double-checking that Noah hadn't just shoved things under his bed or the like. Not that he didn't trust Noah, but it wouldn't be the first time that that was how things had gone down. "¿También limpiaste el clóset?" (Yes, they are. Did you do the closet as well?)
Noah gave a nod of the head immediately. "Claro que sí. Mi cuarto esta limpio. ¿Puedo ir a jugar ahora?" (Of course. My room is clean. Can I go and play now?)
He nodded and gestured for Noah to go ahead. His chores were done. "Dale. Ve a jugar en el jardín. Tu mamá o yo te avisaremos cuando sea el momento de irse." (Go ahead. Go play in the yard. Your mom or I will let you know when it's time to leave.)
