Reviews: Oh, no! Thanks for letting me know. I'm so sorry for the glitch. It's the third time that it's happened. Sorry, read on... :)
It was a relatively average morning.
Nothing notably new. Eva was scrambling to find her dance shoes for after school as she had her wet clothes in her hand that her mother had forgotten to dry. Dylan was struggling to get dressed, as the sixth grader was easily distracted. And Genesis? The three year old was on an unexplainable sugar high and was currently hiding from her father who was also searching for Evie.
An average morning it was for the White household—well—after the birth of the fourth child.
It didn't take long for Doug to control his daughter and manage to get her occupied with an"ABC" sing-along video. Before Eva arrived, with Evie as a witness, Doug vowed to never let his kids watch the videos. However, things changed 14 years ago when he became a sleep-deprived, first-time parent.
"Evie?!" Doug called to his wife who he found to now be in the kitchen, still in her pajamas. Since she was on maternity leave, he had returned to his full time hours at the Laboratories of their alma mater, Preston View. Though initially he took off two weeks after the birth of his youngest daughter, he had decided to return to work as his wife had persuaded him to, given she "could handle it" with her "years of maternal experience."
"Hmhm?" Evie said dozing off as she put her son and daughter's lunches together. Lately she had been sleepily wandering around the house, with or without Effie. She placed a knife in her son's box and a cup in her daughters, before Doug removed the items and she noticed. "Oops" she said with a smile as he chuckled.
"Sweetie, go lay down. Everything is fine. I can take over. Effie is asleep and Genesis is preoccupied with Moo Moo Babies A thru Z Sing Along" he said hugging her shoulders as she turned to face him a look on her face. She playfully poked his chest.
"Well look who conformed to the ways of his wife. I told you Moo," She said before yawning. "Moo Babies was a genius programme"
He laughed and hugged her closer. "Your twin is driving me crazy and it's just the wee morning hours" he said as she suddenly started to fret and through an apple in both of the boxes.
"You have to get going, it's 9:58. It's late. You're gonna be an hour late" she yawned as she looked up at him, gently taking her hands.
"It's 7:58. Let's get you back in bed" he said taking her on his back and carrying her upstairs.
In the hallway, Dylan was attempting to get Eva to give back his socks, just as Doug and Evie came up the stairs.
"Eva, give him his socks and go finish your breakfast" Doug said as Eva nodded at her father, but before, throwing the socks at her brother and racing downstairs. Dylan got ready to go after her, only to be stopped as Doug grabbed his arm and scooted him back to this bedroom.
"Dylan, put your clothes on and get ready for school. I'll be back to sign the permission slip, but get going" he told the boy, closing his door.
"Dyl didn't get his breakfast, Dougie" Evie said before her eyes shut. "You have to feed him, he'll-"
"Shhhhhhhh," Doug whispered to Evie. "Just rest your eyes and relax. He'll get breakfast. He won't starve" he assured her with a slight smile at her state of sleep deprivation. She lightly nodded with a smile. He opened the door and set her on the bed.
"Just take a quick nap," He said as she took his hand.
"Thank you, Doug" She hugged him as he hugged her back. As they let go, he got up and left a crack in the doorway. He went downstairs and found Dylan waiting with his permission slip and eating cereal as Eva put her bowl away.
"Thanks Eva for preparing your brother's cereal" He said as she smiled and she side hugged her dad.
"You're welcome!" she said happily as her dad laughed. He joined them at the breakfast table and Eva was happy to have her dad's attention. They chatted as usual, Doug skimming over the permission slip as he signed it.
"Thanks, dad" Dylan said, slipping it into his backpack. As Eva and Dylan finished eating, Genesis skipped into the kitchen.
"How old is baby, daddy?" Genesis asked as she walked to her father.
"8 weeks, sweetie" He said as Eva put the work in her bag and waited for Dylan to finish.
"Can she play with me?" Genesis asked bouncing around the table.
"Effie is still too small, baby blue" he said as stopped bouncing, instead she hugged his leg. He smoothed her hair down and as giggled. Eva looked down and mouthed fake giggles and she rolled her eyes.
"Where's mommy?" Genesis asked climbing onto one of the chairs between Eva and Doug.
"Mommy is sleeping. You can be a big girl and color while we wait. Mommy will be up soon, okay?" She nodded her head as she scribbled the page, not respecting the rule of "inside the lines."
"Genesis" Eva said as Genesis smiled at her sister happily. "Inside the lines" she pointed to the picture of a forest.
Genesis frowned and stuck out her tongue. She crossed her arms and put the marker down. "Mommy and daddy said I can color how I want"
"Well it looks prettier when you don't color over the black lines" Eva said as the little girl, still frowning, turned the paper over, grabbed the marker and purposefully outside the lines.
"Dad…" Eva whined. "And she's using a blue marker for the trees. It looks awful"
"It's her unique work of art. Genesis can color however she wants. Inside or outside the lines. Who's your picture for, baby blue?" he asked her. Eva's face crumbled. Why do they insist on letting her do what she wants. Just because she was premature, has blue hair and looks exactly like mom, doesn't mean she gets everything?! Eva thought as she chipped more of the nail polish off her fingers. Though her mom had specially painted her nails and they pinky promised they would try not to chip their nails, Eva felt that it didn't matter. Her mom probably could care less about her nails. As long as her "Blueberry" wasn't upset about anything, life was great in her eyes...
Her thoughts were interrupted as Dylan nudged her with his elbow. With slight annoyance, she looked over. He proceeded to cross his eyes as he blew bubbles in his milk, making her start giggling uncontrollably. The two began to silently speak, something they learned from their father and grandfather, something that often came in handy.
"It's for Papa! He said that the next picture I color of a forest, he wants it. He said he liked the forest before mommy was even borneded" she said. "Did Papa tell you that, daddy?"
"Hmhm. I did know that and now you do too" Doug said bopping her nose.
"How long have you known mom? Like when did you guys start dating?" Dylan asked.
"We met in high school" He said. "So I guess we've known each other for 20 years, give or take a bit"
"And you still liked her..." Dylan asked amazed as Eva playfully hit his arm. "I don't think I'd like a girl that long!"
"It'll be different when you get older" Doug chuckled at his son.
Dylan rinsed his bowl and went to grab his backpack. Genesis clung to her dad's leg and she giggled as he played a shake off game with her. Eva stared at her little sister clearly hurt. That used to be my game, she thought.
It wasn't for another 15 minutes did Evie come back down. She was now sporting a red blouse and a pair of skinny jeans. However, her hair was still in it's messy blue bun.
"Mommy!" Genesis said running to her mom and bombarding her with a hug. Evie leaned down and hugged the little girl.
"Hi, Blueberry" she said. "Hi Apple and Bean" The two older kids laughed at their mother's nicknames for them.
"What's Effie's nickname?" Eva asked putting on her shoes. She smiled as Evie happily smiled back. So she's in a good mood today… Evie thought as she mentally noted it.
"Well, lets see. I call you Apple because that was my first fruit and you were my first, Dyl is Bean because of the ultrasound confusion. Genesis is my Blueberry because of her hair, but Effie, I really don't have one for her. Her name literally came from your dad messing up my name in his sleep. What do you call her?" she asked her husband as she picked up Genesis.
He laughed. "Effie" Eva and Dylan giggled. "No, she's my sunny bunny"
"That's cute, I've never heard you say that" Evie said confused as she heated up one of the many bottles on the counter for the still sleeping infant.
"I just came up with it," he said as Eva took her dad's arm and tugged on it seeing Genesis cling to Evie.
"What's up?" he asked as she didn't answer and she continued to hold his arm. "We need to get going, if you two want to avoid a tardy. Your Aunt Jane isn't that lenient, despite her being both your godmother. Effie is honestly as much of a nickname as we'll get, E" he joked as Evie rolled her eyes and handed him his bag and keys.
"Bye, Mom!" Dylan said running out to the car. Eva waved at her mom and ran out the door, with a short goodbye. She was followed by her brother who gave his mom a hug and Doug gave Eva the keys as she unlocked the car. Genesis climbed out of Evie's hold, just as he kissed Evie, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.
"I'll see you this evening, Evie" Doug laughed as she playfully glared with a chuckle.
"Bye," she said with a wave, closing the door. Evie sighed dreamily like a young girl. Leaning against the door of her home. "Auradon, this is my life. My insane, domestic life."