Hey, Guys...

Hey, guys. 
I'm sorry I haven't posted in, like, an incredibly long time...!  Before I get into exactly WHY I haven't been posting as much lately, I want to give you all a heads up. 
As much as I hate to say it, I'm not going to be posting much anymore, if at all.  After the events of the past few weeks, I've decided that I should focus my time on my family as opposed to blogging.  Yes, you guys are practically my family as well, but...well, you'll understand why.   
I've talked it over with Eugene, Belle, and Zarina, and they're supporting me in my decision  - I wanted to make sure it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction to the past couple of weeks.

I may be posting again at one point and on special occasions, but for now, I just want to devote all my time on family. 

In THIS POST, I mentioned those strange Mattel dolls, right?  The ones that were supposedly Audrey and Jordan's adoptive parents, sometime before us?
Well...I was right to feel uneasy about them. 

October 31st - yes, Halloween - I woke up and, like most every morning, I went to check on the kiddos before going back to bed until they got up. 
Audrey and Jordan were missing.  Right out of their beds.  Gone. 
Casey and Zach were sleeping soundly, still in their own beds.  The other two were gone. 
I hope I never get that awful feeling in my stomach ever again.  I can't even put it into words, how it felt to wake up and see practically half of my entire family MISSING.  I can hardly even write about it. 

So of course, I woke Eugene up frantically.  He, half asleep, laughed it off and said they were probably planning a Halloween prank.  I repeated my sentence: "Audrey and Jordan are missing!"  and he came to his senses quickly. 

We wasted no time waking everyone else up, asking if they'd seen or heard something through the night.  Zelia was livid.  I feel that she, given the chance, would have happily torn those two Mattel dolls limb for limb.  She might have had to stand in line. 
Ray was angry at himself.  He, for some reason, thought it his fault - being a light sleeper, he thought he should have heard something, woken up, and caught them in the act.  Zelia had to talk him down.  I haven't seen him so furious in a long time. 
Fitz left to tell Zarina, and by the time the both of them (and Belle) came to the table, Casey and Zachary were up.  We explained the situation to Casey, and then Zarina told me she would stay behind with Casey and Zach. 
So then the search commenced. 
The search party consisted of Eugene, Zelia, Ray, Fitz, Belle, and I.  You would think we would either run into Tangled Fan during this time or run into those two awful dolls - I don't even know their names - but we didn't.  All day, we searched and searched for our girls.  We didn't find them.

For almost an entire week, we hunted for them.  We caught a glimpse of the female Barbie slipping off somewhere, but we couldn't catch her in time.  By then, Eugene's hip joints were just absolutely shot.  He had to stay back, and Zarina volunteered to take his place.  He watched Casey and Zach while we continued the search. 

FINALLY, we found them.  They had escaped, and Audrey had somehow managed to carry Jordan all the way across the room.  We found them hiding UNDER the shelving unit; she told me they'd been kept in the lowest drawer in Tangled Fan's dresser, the one she never uses.  None of us had considered looking in there; those drawers are nearly impossible to drag open for us dolls.  Anyway, Audrey was scared and hurt; Jordan was screaming.  We rushed them home. 
When they were safe and rested back on the table, they explained why they had taken them:  They had wanted to take them back not because they loved them, but because they 'owned' them.  She elaborated that she only acted excited about them when we ran across them on our day out because she was afraid to show any other emotion, thinking that they might come after them right then and there.   Safe to say, the next time we saw Tangled Fan, she told us she'd put them in a box in the attic for good. 

Yeesh.
That's the extremely compressed version.  I've never been happier to see them in my life.  Eugene's slowly on the mend.  They're home safe, and I'm pretty sure that we'll never let ANY of our kids out of sight again, not even at night xD  I can't believe them.  (The couple, not the kids.) 

I apologize for such a condensed post, but I, in all honesty, don't remember enough about to post in great detail about it.  All I know is that we were searching from sunup to sundown, desperate, and emotions were running high. It was just a blur. 

But anyway - before I start crying - I just wanted to thank you guys.  You have stuck with me through all of the absolutely INSANE year I've had the blog.  I love each and every one of you, and cannot thank you enough for following the blog to read about my - and our - insane, tangled, and emotional roller coaster rides that are bound to happen on a day-to-day basis. 
(For example: In eleven months, we've ended up with four kiddos, moved shelves countless times, made friends, lost friends, fallen and received injuries, gotten knocked out to the point of not remembering your own husband, had a baby when it's basically impossible for any other Disney doll (aside from Ariels) to do so...did I miss anything??  Probably...)
I hope we can get the time to breathe for, say, ten minutes before the next disaster?  If that ever happens, I'll post to let anyone still watching the blog know :D 
Thank you again, and...since Zachary is demanding some time with his mother (based on the loud cries and questions of  'Daddy can hold you too, right?  What's wrong, bud?'), I suppose I should stop now before either I'm a blubbering mess and have to explain to Eugene why I'm crying, or Zachary starts a full-blown hissy. 
See you all sometime, and thank you so much.  Of course, I'll leave the blog open in case you want to see old posts.  [:

A Day Out With the Kids and Some Strange....Strangers...

Bright and early this morning, we surprised the kids with a day out. 
The second we mentioned 'horses', the screaming commenced...on all counts.  Audrey started squealing and running about excitedly, then Casey followed suit; this scared Zachary, so he started screeching, and then Jordan started up just to make noise.  Yikes. 
Well, we finally got the crew rounded up and headed out for the day.  I had Pascal on my shoulder, Zach in one arm, and Casey in the other; Eugene had Audrey and Jordan.  Rather, we had them until they wanted down so they could run and play.  We let them get that all out of their system before allowing them to take turns riding the Appaloosa pony.  Eugene and I took turns leading them around and holding the two babies. 

Let me tell you, that was a really patient pony.  It let them ride...and ride...and ride...and ride.  We even held Jordan up in the saddle for a few minutes, and she of course loved it as well.  After they finished up riding, we let them run, play, and explore for the majority of the day.  They skipped their afternoon nap, which was not necessarily the best thing, buuut they enjoyed themselves anyway, and they were very, very tuckered out by the time we took them back to the table (:

On our walk, we came across someone....or TWO someones...that were, ah, interesting. 
A Barbie and her Prince Charming Barbie crossed paths with us.  Only...they acted all excited to see Jordan and Audrey, claiming that they used to be adoptive parents of them.  Audrey was simply ECSTATIC to see them, which confused me even more so.  Afterwards, she talked quite a bit about them, once they had left.  I'm personally a little - okay, a lot - apprehensive, but if she was happy to see them, I'm happy for her.  I just can't shake feeling that something's going to happen, though.  I'm not including any pictures of them because they don't know A) who I am; a blogger, and B) I don't want to post their picture everywhere because I don't know THEM!  And that's just a little creepy. 

But with that aside, I'm so happy we got to get the kids out and about today.  They really needed a day to play and tucker themselves out.  It's the best feeling in the world, watching them run and play and enjoy themselves!  I don't know what I'd do without any of them! 

This Week, Flynn, and Ariel.

Soo.....This week's been interesting.  On Wednesday, Tangled Fan decided to turn her room upside down in an attempt to clean it. 
She thought it was an excellent idea to cram alllll of us on one side of the table. 
All of us. 
Ariel's been constantly trying to get a rise out of me - via insulting me or my children or trying to get Logan's attention by paying attention to Eugene.
I'm pretty sure that yesterday, Eugene was about ready to clock someone upside the head.  He was pretty irritated.  And by someone, I mean Ariel, Logan, or Punzie --Logan because he won't control Ariel. 
(Although, what's he going to do, really??  I don't think she CAN be controlled!)   

Today was probably the worst of things.  Zelia and Ray went for a walk, and Logan and Fitz went elsewhere to talk about girls.  It was just Eugene, Zarina, Belle, Punzie, Piper, Emma, Ariel, and I - and the kiddos, of course; and Merida, who didn't really talk much. 
(You can see the wad of blankets on the one edge there,  it's because it's been SUPER COLD the past few nights.  Ugh...)
Belle and I just talked for a good while, and Zarina hung out with Casey as long as Casey wanted. 
Everything was okay until Ariel walked over to me when Zach started whimpering - just because he was sleepy, mind. 
"He's blind, right?"  Ariel asked. 
I looked up warily at her.  "Yes, why?" 
"I was going to say...no wonder if he cries so much, since you're always holding him.  Even he wouldn't want to see your face.  But then again, since he's blind...no surprise, I guess.  Nothing perfect could--"
I jumped up.  If I wouldn't have had Zachary in my arms, I would have probably done something less-than-nice. 
"You know what, Ariel?  Don't even say it.  He's perfect just as he is.  You can insult and harass me all you want, but don't you DARE say a word about my children.  Got it?" 
She threw her head back to expose her long, pale throat.  Laughing, she shook her head.  "The only way to get to you is through your kids!" 
"Why do you have to torment her in the first place, Ariel?"  Eugene stood up, setting Audrey up with Casey and Zarina.  He put a hand on my shoulder.  "You don't have to, you know.  I know I'd really appreciate it if you'd let her and the kids be." 
She shook her head.  "You are all too sensitive." 
"And you're too INsensitive," I mumbled.  I didn't dare say it too loud. 

This went on almost all day.  She knew now that she could get a brilliant rise out of me if she said something about the kids.  I'm just glad she didn't say or do anything to the kids directly.  That's when I think I'd snap.  I won't bother her if she harasses me about how I'm stupid and not pretty, how I dress 'sloppily', how simple I am...but if she as much as touches a hair on one of the kids' heads....that means war. 

But regardless....as if Ariel wasn't enough (Punzie hasn't been as cruel, surprisingly), Flynn has taken to creating new emails and accounts simply to harass me.  Every time I block him, he emails me from a different, new account.  I'm not even going to post a word of what he's said, but here's the rundown of what he's telling me: 
-I'm an idiot
-I'm an idiot for not deleting my blog after the first time he started emailing me
-Eugene should have left me when he got the chance (when he went missing)
-I'm so bland
So on and so forth, the reason I refuse to post his messages directly on here is because of the content.  Who knew a doll could be so...so...vulgar and crude?  Yikes. 
I hate how between the two of them, they're making me start to think about how truly bland I am compared to, say, Ariel - and even Belle.  They're both pretty (despite Ariel's personality), dress well, (although Ariel's dress is fairly inappropriate) and they aren't insecure or easily upset.  I don't wish I could be like Ariel - no, not at all - but I wish I could be less like myself -- proud of who I am, pleased with how I look, and not boring.  And I'm sure the girls would even be happier if I was more interesting.  Not, like, physical appearances-wise, but...interesting.  Able to tell them amazing stories from my past, or unafraid of letting them do things like leave the table, ride horses, etc.  You know?
I haven't told Eugene about this, of course-- he has enough on his plate, and we don't really have the privacy to talk or anything.  I certainly don't want Ariel to overhear about Flynn - who knows what she'd do or say then. 
Yippee. 

Update on Zach and a Bit of a Scare

Hey, guys!  My little guy's finally getting better, thank goodness.  I was starting to get really scared! 
Last night, I allowed Eugene back in the bedroom, but Zach still slept with us, just in case he'd start having a coughing fit or something.  Today, he's only been sneezing a bit and is back to his normal self, which is awesome!  I might be able to get some sleep tonight....MIGHT.
This afternoon, right after we got the kids down to nap, Eugene led me over to the couch, pulling me down onto his lap and giving me a quick kiss on the forehead. 
"I think we need to schedule a day out sometime soon.  Your thoughts?" 
I smiled.  We hadn't been able to do that in...I don't even know how long.  Since before I found out I was pregnant, probably...I can't remember.  Regardless.  I nodded, leaning my head up against his shoulder.  "Mmh....definitely.  But it couldn't be a whole day out..."
"Why not?" 
"Zach. I don't want to leave Zelia or Belle with a crying baby all day long, plus I couldn't do that to him!"
He took a deep breath, thinking  for a few minutes.  "He's getting better with letting others hold him,"
I nibbled my lip.  "True...but that was before he got sick.  I hope my coddling him didn't create a setback..."
Eugene chuckled.  "Well...there's just one way to find out.  Zelia said she'd be over tomorrow, so..."
I nodded.  "That'd work - if he starts getting upset if I don't hold him, then we'll know that we just can't go out for a full day." 
He nodded.  "Sounds good.  I see you're over the 'you're never leaving the table again, Eugene' thing?" 
I ducked my head.  "Well, as long as the door is shut, the dogs won't be able to get in.  But you're never going anywhere NEAR said door.  Ever." 
Laughing quietly, he quirked a brow.  "Why not?" 
"All it would take is Tangled Fan coming in to grab something, not noticing a dog slipping in..." I trailed off, raising my eyebrows to silently ask if I'd made my point. 
"True," he nodded.
We talked for a few minutes more, but then Zelia and Belle came bursting over to our side of the table. 
"Is Zarina over here?"
I scrambled awkwardly off of Eugene's lap and stood, shaking my head in confusion.  "No..why?" 
Zelia rolled her eyes towards Belle, a look of worry crossing both of their faces.  "This isn't good." 
"What isn't good?!"  I asked, frustrated at my lack of knowledge in the situation.  Worry knotted my stomach. 
"She said yesterday--she was talking with me one-on-one--about wanting to go back in her box, to be displayed that way.  She thinks it is a perfect solution...Ariel has been dreadful towards her, as has Punzie.  They were particularly terrible today." 
I gasped, horrified.  My good mood from earlier completely vanished.  "Come on - we have to go find her.  Eugene, keep an eye on the kids?" 
I knew he wanted to help, but he nodded, and then the three of us took off down the side of the table. 
"Fitz already went to search for her...he was the one who made us realize she was gone," Zelia said as we hoofed it away from the table. 
"I hope he caught up with her before she could find Tangled Fan,"
"Same here," Belle nodded. 

We got halfway across the room before we found them. 
Her eyes widened when she saw us coming towards her.  Fitz was walking alongside her, and I could tell she wasn't pretending to be relieved. 
"There you are..." Belle gasped as soon as we came within a foot of her. 
She nodded, looking uncomfortable.  "I didn't cause any panic, did I?" 
Zelia started to snort, but I elbowed her (hopefully discreetly).  "It's fine.  What were you going to do?" 
"I-I...I was just going for a walk...didn't know it'd cause such a huge issue," she stammered. 
So THAT'S what she looks like when she's lying.  Dualy noted.
I let her off the hook, though, and nodded.  "Okay.  Well, now you know how many dolls care  about you," I said.
She knew what I meant, and gave me a slight nod to tell me she understood.  Fitz looked between us, an expression of confusion clouding his eyes.
"Well, I guess we'll let you guys head back, then.  I need to get back before Zach gets up," I said.  "Zarina, come over sometime and chat, okay?  Please?"
She bit her lip, but she nodded, and we went on ahead of Zarina and Fitz.  I didn't want to, I wanted to have a good long talk with her about what she had planned to do, but I didn't want to embarrass her.  I'm sure she didn't want Fitz to know.  Soo I just headed back to my side of the table, hoping she'd come talk soon.
As soon as I crawled up onto our side of the table, Eugene met me with a concerned expression.
"Did you get to her in time?" his hand hovered over my side, likely ready to comfort me if the news was bad.
I nodded.  "Fitz got to her before we did, actually.  Good thing, too."
He sighed, relieved.  "Good."

Sickness and Concerns, Plus a Save-the-Date

Jordan had a touch of the flu, and apparently, Zachary has problems with his immune syste despite the formula we gave him as a newborn, so he currently has a really bad strain of the flu.  I'm really scared for him.  I've been keeping him away from the girls, (I'm not sure how Casey and Audrey managed to stay healthy, but they did, knock on wood...And luckily, Jordan got some meds and she's okay, too.  Zach got meds, but it didn't help...) Anyway, I've been keeping him in the bedroom, and Eugene has been sleeping on the couch.  He, Zelia, and Ray have been keeping track of the girls, and I haven't left the bedroom since Wednesday evening. Eugene's not happy one bit, and neither is Casey, but I don't want them getting sick--nope, nope, nope. I'm surprised that I haven't gotten sick yet myself, but I'm sure that's coming.  I just really wish my little guy would at least show the smallest bit of improvement...he's really worrying me, and Tangled Fan said we can't do anything else and we'll just have to let it take its course.  I'd like to slap her sometimes.
On a lighter note, Pascal's been extremely conflicted as far as where to sleep.  He wants to spend time with me, but he also wants to spend time with the girls, annnd he also wants to be with Eugene.  The chameleon never even sleeps, I don't think: he just runs back and forth, checking up on and keeping watch over all of us.
With that aside, Zelia and Ray have finally set a wedding date: December twentieth.  So far away....yikes!
None of the details have been worked out, though, and Zelia said she wanted my help and was willing to hold up on planning until we were all healthy, of course.  Goodness, we have plenty of time.  Eugene and I planned ours on pretty short notice, if I remember correctly.  But regardless...Zach's just woken up, so I have to tend to him, poor little buddy...I'll talk to you guys soon.

Concerns and Zarina

Today, Zarina came over to us.  She'll probably be posting about it later; she told me she would, anyway.  Regardless, she showed up at around noon, fighting to keep from crying. 
"D-do you mind if I stay over here a-awhile?" 
We all looked up to see her standing awkwardly at the divider, choked up and looking hurt. 
I walked over to her and nodded, shifting Zachary to one arm so I could put my hand on her shoulder.  "What's wrong?" 
She shrugged, promptly clamming up and letting her hair slip down over her eyes.  I knew she was hiding something, so I led her over to sit beside me. 
Casey quickly jumped into her lap, grinning at her, and she smiled back at her.  "If something's wrong, Rina, it's okay now."  (Casey's nickname for her is Rina.) 
She cleared her throat and nodded.  I tried not to stare at her; tried not to bug her until she told me what was wrong.  Eugene did not do either of those. 
"Well, if something's the matter, you can tell us.  We won't gossip, if that's what you're worried about."  he said.  He was sitting in the wicker chair with Audrey and Jordan, and then all eyes were on Zarina, unfortunately. 
"I got into it with Ariel and Punzie.  So...earlier, everyone went for a walk except for Punzie, Ariel, Fitz, and Logan. Punzie started teasing me for reading.  Ariel joined in on it, and went as far as to take my book and throw it off of the table.  I jumped up and told them to buzz off, and basically, Ariel pushed me really hard, I tripped, and when I fell, I smacked the one side of my face off of that stupid bench over there.  She started to continue harassing me, but Fitz helped me out...I can't stand it over there!" 
I gasped, horrified.  Before I could say anything, Casey spoke up.
"Sometimes standing up for yourself gets you hurt, but it's good that you did it.  I know.  And Fitz was really nice to help you, Rina.  Why was it bad that you were reading?"
Zarina's eyes clouded with tears, and she hugged Casey.  "I know.  They were teasing me because they think it's weird to read." 
Her face contorted as she tried to understand THAT concept.  "I don't know why.."
"Me neither," she cracked a bit of a smile. 
Well, my young daughter has a better way with words than I do, apparently.  (Well, she wouldn't even have to TRY to be better than me with words!)  I was still trying to gather my thoughts!  When she noticed my struggle, she shrugged and told me I didn't need to come up with some intricate response, as she hadn't expected any. 
"I just want to stay here for a couple of hours...I had to leave that side of the shelf, I couldn't stand it anymore.  They've been so terrible!" 
"I know.  I'm sorry you have to deal with Ariel - she's pretty awful.  If you ever need to come over to talk or to just get away from them, Zarina, please don't hesitate.  You know our metaphorical door is always open, day or night."  I offered lamely.  I almost wanted to offer her to stay here, period.  She'd be better off, that's for sure.  I was worried for her. 

Well, she left at around five, once the kids had settled for a nap, and things were calm until around one in the morning.  I couldn't sleep at ALL...worrying about Zarina and Jordan, who officially has a smidgen of a cold.  It's also been really chilly by the window these past few nights, which can't help anything. 
So I was up at around one, making my rounds to make sure that the kids were all warm and comfy.  Pascal was buried deep under Audrey and Casey's blankets, as usual.  Zachary was bundled up, sleeping soundly, and Jordan, though a little stuffy, was also bundled up and sleeping well. 
When I had nothing to do and nobody to check up on, I paced the floor a little bit before heading to the windowsill to stand and look outside for awhile, trying to clear my head. 
That's about when Eugene noticed I was gone, and he made it onto the windowsill in record time. 
"There you are," he whispered.  "What's up?" 
I sighed.  "Just thinking - go back to sleep.  Someone's got to be in their right mind tomorrow," I joked. 
He instead came over and pulled me into his arms.  "Huh-uh.  It's chilly over here, c'mon.  Don't want you getting sick, either," he added when I started to shake my head. 
Disgusted, I went back with him and burrowed under the blankets, hoping that that would be the last of his questioning. 
Psshh, this is Eugene.  My husband will interrogate you until he knows exactly what's bothering you, even if it takes all day or night (or both) to drag it out of you. 
"What's my girl thinking about?" 
"Mmmh...a lot," I shrugged, and he kissed the top of my head. 
"Like what?" 
Sighing, I flopped over onto my belly so I could look at his face.  "I'm worried for Jordan.  I don't want her getting sicker, and I don't want anyone else to get sick, especially not Zach.  I'm worried for Zarina, too....I was thinking about talking to you about letting her stay here, but I-I don't know.  I don't know why I'm so worried, but I just feel like something's up." 
He nodded.  "I'll get Tangled Fan to give Jordan some meds tomorrow morning before she leaves the room.  And I know what you mean about Zarina, but I think she'll be okay.  She'll probably be fine once she settles in completely - she's much more shy than you were, so it'll probably take awhile for her to settle in.  Once she does, I'm sure she'll be okay.  She'll know who to avoid and where to go,"
"Are you sure?"  I asked.
He thought for a moment.  "No, but I'm going with my gut.  Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be okay.  And I'm sure the kiddos will be alright and we won't have an epidemic," he teased. 
I sighed, faceplanting into the bed.  "Okay.  Soo I just spent several hours worrying and obsessing over two matters that you explained out in, oh, five minutes?" 
He chuckled.  "They were valid concerns - and I didn't explain them out or anything, really...I just gave you my opinion." 
I nodded, my head still buried into the bed.  "Thank you." 
"Huh?" 
I realized that he probably couldn't understand that, seeing as I kind of had my face mashed into the bed, so I rolled onto my side, slightly embarrassed.  "Thank you." 
He chuckled, reaching to give me a quick kiss on the tip of my nose before pulling me close and promptly falling back asleep. 

Ariel

Hey, guys - so as Eugene mentioned (his post is right here, if you haven't read it), I haven't posted all week because I've been wanting to hang out with him and the kids, and Tangled Fan also has been hogging her tablet.   Using it for research for school, I guess....it's irritating, nonetheless!  But without further ado..

Today, everyone came over to finally hear Eugene's tale.  By everyone, I mean Zarina, Logan, Fitz, Ariel, Punzie, Belle, as well as Zelia and Ray.  Obviously, Zelia and Ray had already heard his story, buuuut they came over anyway.
When the tale was over with around three, the girls were tuckered out.  They'd been up early, so I got them carried over and tucked into bed while Eugene finished up his story, and then checked on Jordan and Zach, who had fallen asleep a little bit earlier.  I get the feeling that Jordan may or may not be coming down with something....oh boy.  :\ 
Anyway, by the time I was done, everyone had filtered back over to their side of the table, all except for Ariel and Logan.  I gave them a curious expression, and Ariel asked Logan to wait up for her.
What was she up to?
She strode over to Eugene, plastering that smile across her face. 
Oh, great. 
"How could you possibly have made it back safely?  How did you keep motivated?"  she asked. 
Eugene shot a glance towards me, but I stood frozen, watching how he would handle the situation.  Would he blow her off, or would he be cordial?  I wasn't sure which I would prefer he do.  When Ariel followed his glance to me, but then looked over her shoulder at Logan, I saw what was going on. 
She was killing two birds with one stone. 
She knew she couldn't have Eugene, but she still wanted to get to me, and she was also doing this to get Logan's attention.  Playing hard to get and using Eugene, just like how Flynn had used me.  I sucked in a deep breath, wondering if anyone else realized that.
"My kids," Eugene answered her.  "They kept me motivated, as well as my girl, of course." 
"Rapunzel?"  she wrinkled her nose, and actually stepped closer to him.  I glanced at her somewhat provocative dress and my face flamed hot with anger.  I wanted to yell at her, but I couldn't wake the kids.  Instead, I decided to see how Eugene would handle this himself. 
Why I was doubting him, I didn't really know.  Maybe because I wasn't sure if this past month had changed him...I don't know. 
He nodded.  "Yep...Rapunzel," 
"I can't imagine how coming home to her could be much of a motivation.  I mean....come on.  She's so...bland."  I looked towards Logan, who was officially staring at the two of them.  She'd gotten what she wanted: his full attention, and she'd gotten me mad.  To boot, she'd gotten Eugene's full attention, too.  It hurt.  It'd been a long time since I had dealt with these kinds of insults, and I guess I've gotten rusty at dealing.  I bit the inside of my cheek and made for the cutout, wanting to go behind it. 
"Well, I guess--I guess I'll, um, go check on Jordan, I think she might be up...okay, Eugene?" I announced.  I planned to listen to Eugene's response from the other side of the cutout.  Nobody knew that I was headed for the wrong side of the cutout to check on the kids, and Eugene didn't even notice me.  He was just staring at her with an unreadable expression. 
As I noticed this, I didn't pay attention to my feet, annnd I tripped.  My face blazing, I stumbled for the cutout as Ariel gave a charming giggle. 
"Plus, she's clumsy, it seems....oh, dear.  Aren't you going to answer me?"

I slipped behind the cutout and dove for the bed, burying my face in the blankets before I could scream in frustration.  She was completely right, but why was I letting her get to me?  Or was it because of Eugene's lack of a response? 
I listened for him to answer, but I could simply hear hushed tones.  What did that mean?  I gulped, tears slipping down my cheeks when I started wondering if he was truly satisfied with having me as his wife.  I mean....why would he be, especially if a pretty young thing like Ariel shows up?  I heard rapid footsteps, and I hoped it was Ariel and Logan leaving.  I took a shuddering breath as soon as I thought of Logan.  Seeing her try to use Eugene in the same manner that Flynn used me had opened up a lot of memories I didn't want to remember, and wished I would've forgotten forever after my accident.  Unfortunately, they had come back, as well as a lot of other memories. 
And I still wasn't even sure why I didn't trust Eugene.  You'd think that if he came back to us after his month-long disappearance, he'd take that as an opportunity to never come back if he was that way.  But...I just really lack trust, I guess. 

As I was pondering these things, Eugene himself appeared, leaning one shoulder up against the edge of the cutout. 
"Hey, what's--" I shot upright in bed, involuntarily doing a weird gasp-sob, and stared at him. 
"Oh!  Um, n-nothing.  I just...I-" I felt how damp my cheeks were, and wanted to wipe them, but I didn't want to draw attention to my crying if he hadn't noticed. 
His expression changed, and his eyebrows furrowed as he stepped to the edge of the bed.  "What's wrong, honey?"
Did I really have to explain that?!  I shook my head.  "Nothing." 
"Mmm, but the way you just answered tells me there's a lot wrong," he pointed out, sitting down beside me and holding a hand out.  I didn't take it; I just buried my face in my hands. 
"It's stupid.  I'm mad over Ariel, and her little show back there, and I know I shouldn't think the way I was thinking, and I shouldn't let her get to me, but....and then you just acted like you couldn't even see or hear me, and..." I gulped.  "Eugene, answer me truthfully.  I hate to do this or even think of this, but are you happy with me? And do you even know what she was doing back there?!" 
The second I was done talking - I'm surprised he let me get the whole way through my speech without breaking me off, which surprised and concerned me -- he fairly pried my hands away from my face, replacing them with his own.  "Sweetheart..." his voice cracked, and I looked up to meet his eyes.  I set my jaw, trying not to be affected by his obvious distress.  "Oh, sweetheart....I'm so sorry.  Of course I'm happy.  You mean the world to me, and y-you're...you're everything I ever wanted.  I'm sorry.  I did notice you, b-but I was so intent on trying not to scream at her that I couldn't even turn my head.  I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I wouldn't be able to stop yelling.  I couldn't bear how she was talking to you...you have every right to be mad at me, though.  Every single right. But what was she doing, other than the obvious?" 
"She was using you to get Logan's attention.  Just like how Flynn used me," my own voice cracked, which I couldn't stand.  He shut his eyes, nodding, and his hands left my face, reaching for me as if he wanted to hug me.  He must've known that I wouldn't let him, not quite yet, so he let his hands drop. 
"I'm so sorry," he said quietly.  "I didn't even realize that..."
I nodded. "The only reason I did was  because...you know." 
Eugene nodded silently.  "I know.  Honey, I can't tell you how bad I feel that I didn't notice, and didn't say anything to you, and that I made you wonder if I'm happy with you.  You're my best girl, Rapunzel - always was and always will be.  Nothing will change that or come between us, you hear me?  Nothing." 
I took a deep, shuddering breath.  "I-I was stupid to even think that...sor-"
"Don't you say it.  It's fine, and I can understand.  I've been gone for almost a month, and then that happens.  A lot can happen and change in a month, so it's understandable."  I looked down at my lap and nodded again.  I was still an idiot.  "Hey."  he reached to cup my chin in his hand, pulling my face up to meet his eyes. 
"What?"  I asked.
"I know that look.  Gosh, I was hoping I'd never see that look again.  Don't pay any heed to what she says, okay?  C'mere,"
I swallowed, but I reached to slip my arms around his middle, burying my face in his shoulder and sighing.  He slid his arms around me and planted a few kisses in my hair before speaking up again.  "If she ever shows her face again, I'll be surprised, to be honest." 
I pulled away.  "Huh?  Why?" 
"I told her off.  Like...I really, REALLY told her off."  he cleared his throat. 
"What'd you say?" 
"I told her that she didn't know anything, she needed to buzz off, and if she ever comes anywhere near you or the kids again, I'd tell Tangled Fan to put her back in her box, and I was sure that most everyone else, especially Zarina, would agree and back us.  She hoofed it out of here pretty quickly.  Maybe I was a bit too nasty, but I don't really care.  She didn't need to be doing any of what she was doing." 
I took a deep, fairly surprised breath.  "Well...you do have a point, though.  I don't want her anywhere near the kids." When I heard a quiet cry, I paused.  "Speaking of which...it sounds like Jordan's awake." 
Eugene nodded, reaching to give me a quick peck on the cheek before letting me go get Jordan. 

What's Been Up

Hey, everyone.  It's Rapunzel...just popping in really quickly this morning before the kids get up.  I miss you guys. 
I'm trying to help Zarina learn how to get photos up on the blog, so you might get some pictures sometime soon - not sure, though.  They take awhile to load on the page, and she gets bored with it and quits - it's almost kind of amusing, actually!  She gives up way too quickly, though.  Anyway, updates on the kids..okay.  Let's see.
It stormed a couple of times last weekend, and apparently, my little boy has a similar fear of storms.  Poor little guy.  It doesn't help when he can probably sense that I'm scared, too, but I try really hard not to be. 
Casey has been giving Audrey a wide berth, usually hanging out with me or Ray.  Audrey hangs out exclusively with Zelia or Belle or goes by herself - she won't even acknowledge when I talk to her anymore.  I can't stand that...I wish I could do something for her. 
And last but definitely not least, Jordan's at least been a happy little girl.  She's pretty much the only light in this awfulness; she brings everyone's spirits up with her giggling and how she amuses herself. 

Belle has been coming over quite a bit to help out; usually in the evenings when Audrey absolutely will NOT go to bed for me.  She's been such a good help, and I feel terrible that I haven't thanked her properly yet. 
Ray and Zelia are almost always over here anymore, which is, of course, greatly appreciated, and Zarina comes over as well.  Casey's really taken to Zarina  -- which doesn't surprise me much.  I'm glad that Zarina takes the time to hang out with Casey.  That poor kid's been through so much, she needs someone to just play and have fun with.  Of course, Zarina's an adult and she's a little girl, but they get along anyway, and Zarina won't think twice about playing with her.   
Pascal's back to sticking to me like glue; like he did around this time last year.  GOSH. I can't believe that on the thirteenth of this month -- Saturday, to be exact --, I was meeting that gorgeous, perfect guy for the first time.  
Yesterday evening, Tangled Fan gave me a book (The Giver) and a flashlight, so I read a good bit of it last night.  Couldn't sleep anyway....but reading only made me miss him worse at first.  And I just couldn't help but think about all the little things I miss.  How he would hold one edge of the book and I would hold the other; how he'd get distracted and I'd catch him staring at me instead of reading.  How he'd let me cuddle up against him, how he'd kiss the top of my head and whisper 'an I love you' into my hair in the middle of reading.  How we used to spend hours reading together. 
I miss him. 
Don't get me wrong, The Giver is an excellent book so far, but I kept getting distracted, thinking about him. 
Tonight, though, I'm almost excited to read some more.  I'm hoping that throwing myself deeper into a utopia of propaganda will drown out my thoughts.  Hm.  The people in The Giver can't feel anything...that sounds pretty darn great right about now.  Honestly, the kids are the only reason I haven't gone completely insane.  Yet. 
Anyway...I'm sure you'll hear from Zarina again soon, hopefully with pictures.  I'll update you guys sometime again here. 

What's Been Up...

Hey guys...I apologize for not posting anything since...you know.
It's been a very long week and a half .  I don't know if I'll ever be the same again.  The girls have been swinging from fighting to crying nearly constantly.  Rather, Audrey does all the crying and instigates all the fighting.  Casey just doesn't know what to do; I don't either, and I'm scared that she'll run away.  Audrey has developed an extreme hatred for me, I've never seen a child with such anger aimed towards someone.  Zachary has had to learn that momma can't always carry him around, such as when I'm breaking up a fight or taking care of Jordan, and so he's been really upset and that makes me feel even worse.  He's somewhat learned to let Zelia hold him, but he doesn't like it.  And if Ray tries to hold him...let's not even mention that.

Yesterday morning at around six, I heard a small, whimpering cry.  I suppose at this point I should say that I was up this early because I have hardly slept since the 24th. Between worrying about the kids and thinking about him...I'll sleep when I'm in a trash can somewhere.
Anyway, I heard a cry that was not from either of the babies.  Stumbling out of bed, I crept out from behind the cutout to go check things out.
Casey was curled in a ball in their bed, her little shoulders heaving.  Pascal was watching her with a concerned expression, and glanced up helplessly at me.
I knelt beside the bed and put a hand over her shoulder.  "Casey, sweetie..."
She jumped, sitting up to look at me with her red, watery eyes.  Sniffling, she dipped her head in what seemed to be shame.  "I-I tried, mom...I tried not to c-cry.  I knew it would m-make you sad and...and Daddy wouldn't want me t-to...but I-I couldn't keep it i-in anymore..I-I'm sorry-"
I scooped her out of bed and carried her to my own bed. "Don't you apologize, honey.  It's...it's okay to cry.  It's not good for you to bottle it all up inside, so you cry all you need to.  I'm sorry, baby.  I'm so sorry."  I was struggling to keep my own composure, but when she buried her face into my chest and sobbed quietly, I couldn't keep it together anymore.  She cried herself to sleep, and I cried with her.  When her heartbroken sniffles faded into a shuddering sigh, I laid her down beside me and watched her sleep, keeping her close.

At eight when Zachary announced his waking with a loud cry, I got up once more.  All of the girls woke after that, and at eight-thirty, Zelia and Belle came over unexpectedly.  Zelia's been helping a lot, and I fully appreciate it, but she hadn't said anything about coming over today.

"Belle and Ray are going to take the kids to the other side to play for a little while, and you and I are going to have  a talk,"  were the first words from my sister's mouth.
"What?"  I asked.  Before she could repeat herself, I continued.  "I mean...do you really think they're going to want to play or go anywhere yet?"
"Yes," Audrey piped up.  "I wanna go somewhere where you aren't!"
I gasped, but I really should have expected it.  "Audrey..."
"No!  Don't talk.  I don't wanna talk to the person that's at fault for why my Daddy's gone!"
Casey sucked in a deep breath, but I grabbed her up before she could say anything to Audrey to defend me. 
I couldn't even think of anything to say. 
Zelia did, though.  "Audrey!  That's enough.  Apologize to your mother!" 
That's when she looked me dead in the eyes and said "I don't want to.  I don't want to call her my mother anymore, either."
I gasped.  "Audrey!  I-I'm trying my best.  I know you hate me and I know you miss Daddy, but can't you understand that I'm trying?  I miss him, too, I miss him so much. I know it's my fault, but I don't need you to remind me every single day!  I know it's hard, but can you please j-just....just accept that nothing's going to change and that you're going to be stuck with me?"  Maybe I was a little hard on her, but I didn't know how else to get her attention.  I handed Casey to Belle and then knelt to set my hands on Audrey's shoulders, meeting her reluctant brown eyes.  "Please?"
She looked conflicted for a moment, but then her eyes hardened and she pulled away from me and turned to leave with Belle, who had set Casey down and gone to get Jordan.
I stayed on my knees and stared as Belle and the girls left me alone with Zelia and Zachary.
When they were gone, a sob ripped through me.  "What am I going to do, Zelia?  My own daughter hates me!" 
She knelt beside me and pulled me into a hug.  "I'm sorry.  And I'm sorry, but we're going to have a long talk." 
I pulled away from her.  "N-no...I don't expect you to comfort me or to understand what I'm going through.  P-please..."
"But I'm your sister, and I'm the only family you have left, aside from the kids.  So spill it - talking will help you.  First off, you blame yourself?" 
"Y-yes.  He was going to talk with Tangled Fan about taking me for a walk outside, after all.  If it hadn't have been for me, he'd still be here.  And I can't help but feel that maybe when I broke up with him before we got married....m-maybe I'd been right.  He'd still be around.  I wouldn't know him, but he'd be safe.  Zelia, that wonderful, caring guy is gone because of ME!"  I fairly shouted, I was so furious with myself.  That scared Zach, who had been sleeping, and he started whimpering fearfully.  I stood up quickly and went over to him, scooping up and holding him close.  "I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry, baby.  Shh...Momma's sorry."  I bit back a sob.  I was a horrible mother.  I couldn't even do that right. 
Zelia wouldn't back down on the subject, though. 
"Rapunzel, it's not your fault or his.  It's those stupid dogs' faults.  And if he wouldn't have known you?  It would've destroyed him.  It would've destroyed you, too.  I saw you.  You gave each other a year of precious union, despite the trials you both faced.  It isn't your fault!"
"Yes it is," I whispered.  The tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I wanted to scream, to drop to my knees and cry...to collapse and never get back up again. The longer time dragged on, the more I felt alone; the longer I felt I couldn't get through this. 
Zelia grabbed my shoulders, and I get the feeling that she would've given me a good shaking if it weren't for Zachary.  "Stop it.  Snap yourself out of this, now.  I can see it in your eyes, I can see the light disappearing and I don't want to see you dead...dead inside.  Your kids need you.  You need to do this for him, you need to be the best mother you can be." 
I twisted away from her.  "Maybe I should p-put them up for adoption, then.  I'm..I'm a horrible mother.  I-I can't even imagine losing them, and it would tear me apart, but...but I have to think about what's best for THEM, right?  Not me." 
Zelia huffed, obviously disgusted with me.  "Is this all you can do?  Is...is belittling yourself all you can do?  Because those kids love you--"
"Did you hear Audrey?" 
"She'll get over it!  You and I both know that.  Are you really telling me that you'd look Casey in the eyes and tell her she's going back up for adoption, rather than sticking through and knowing that this is just the dark before the dawn?" 
I fell silent a moment, staring down at Zach's blank, sightless gaze. How could I have thought such a thing?  Shipping them all off for adoption wouldn't be the best for them.  They needed me...and I needed them.  I shook my head, tears dripping from my nose as I hung my head.  "I'm an idiot,"
"No, you just don't think clearly when you're faced with a scary situation.  I do the same thing, so it's not just you.  But...please, don't let this dark cloud consume you.  I can see it happening, and I don't like it.  You need to start getting out and doing stuff, instead of moping and thinking about him." 
I shook my head.  "I can't...not yet.  I-"
"You have to."  Zelia said firmly. 
I swallowed, moving to lay Zach back down into his bed.  "Don't you see, Zelia?  I'm back to where I was last year, only I have four children that depend on me.  I can't just go around like nothing ever happened." 
"You aren't, though!  You have me, and Belle, and Zarina....and the kids.  We'll all help with them, we already do!  I don't expect you to run around like nothing ever happened, but you can't get so withdrawn." 
I didn't really think about her, Belle, and Zarina, and kind of felt terrible for it.  I just nodded.  "I promise I won't destroy myself, but....I just need time to come to terms with it and accept that he's not coming home.  Okay?"
Zelia bit her lip, giving me a critical gaze before finally sighing.  "Fine.  Promise?" 
"I promise," I took a deep, shuddering breath in and  held it for a few seconds, trying to calm my crying.  "But what will I do about Audrey?" 
"She'll come around." 
I hope she does. 


In other news, I'm also here to tell you guys that I talked with Zarina today, and she expressed an interest in blogging.  She's going to become a contributor on this blog, just to test the waters and see if she likes it.  This will also help me out, because I just can't juggle four little ones along with blogging, not right now, at least.  So you'll be hearing more from her; someday she may start her own blog, but for now she'll just post on here.  She'll, of course, label her posts to separate them from mine. 
I'm sure I'll talk to you guys sometime, though; don't worry. 

August 23rd-24th, 2014

The night of the 24th, Eugene and I went to sit on the windowsill and stargaze for awhile.  Unfortunately, the night quickly turned overcast and it started to rain, so we instead just sat and enjoyed one another's company, just like we'd done so many times before.  At one point, he pulled me a bit closer to him and kissed my forehead. 
"I can't believe that in just a couple of weeks, you'll have been here for a year.  It feels like we've known each other forever, but at the same time, it feels like time's flown.  Or is it just me?" 
I was surprised.  I hadn't really given much thought to how long I'd been here - plus, the fact that sometimes I couldn't remember when I had really arrived here put a damper on things - but it sure didn't feel like a year!  Grinning, I sighed.  "I can't believe it, either.  Out of my almost four years of being a doll, this has been the best year of my life!" 
"You know what?  I think we need to go for a walk tomorrow.   Just you and me.  Not for the whole day, of course, but we could when Zach settles down for a nap.  You know he's pretty regular with his nap schedule, so we could sneak out for a little while during his afternoon nap.  I already talked with Zelia, and she said she'd be happy to watch the girls for us if we need her to," he said, giving me a hopeful gaze.
I giggled.  He'd thought every single little thing out.  "Well...you know how busy I am..." I teased. 
"Oh, yes.  You're hardly around - you're almost always over on the other side of the table, having important discussions with everyone over there.  And--" he teased. 
Laughing, I shoved him playfully.  "Of course I want to go for a walk.  We haven't done so in AGES,"
"I know.  We need to take the girls for a walk someday soon, too.  I'm sure they'd want to ride - maybe we'll do that after Zach doesn't need his formula stuff anymore.  Then we can make a day out of it,"
I nodded.  "Definitely!"


The next morning, I woke up at seven with Zach, who was crying.  I promptly got him to go back to sleep, and by the time I got back to bed, Eugene was up.
"Morning," I whispered, crawling back into bed and turning to face him. 
"Good morning, beautiful," he smiled sleepily - his usual morning greeting.  Funny how I've known him for almost a year, and we've been married for almost ten months, but he can still give me butterflies.  "Are the kids asleep?" 
"Yeah...Zach woke up for a little bit, but I got him to go to sleep again," I told him. 
"Okay.  So...you looking forward to our walk today?  I am,"
I nodded, grinning and leaning over to give him a quick kiss.  "Yup!" 
After that, we just whispered sweet-nothings while we waited for the kids to wake up.
When the kids got up, Eugene made sure that everyone was going to behave, and then he went to go ask Tangled Fan if we could possibly go outside to walk - a very rare treat.  

At promptly two-thirty-one PM, Zachary went to sleep for his afternoon nap.  Eugene wasn't back, though.  It was safe to say that I was getting really worried, but there wasn't anything I could do except sit around and wait - and that was killing me.

When Tangled Fan came in at around three, I raced over to the edge of the table and started waving frantically, trying to get her attention.  It worked, and so I waited anxiously until she came over. 
"What's up?"  she asked. 
"Where's Eugene?"  I asked. 
"He's not up here?"  was her response.
"No, he was going to go ask you something...he left at around nine this morning," when I saw the confusion on her face, I trailed off.  My stomach twisted. 
"I haven't seen him  - but the dogs were in and out a lot today.  They may have taken him, and you know what that means, right?" 
I did.  The tales of what Tangled Fan's dogs did to us dolls were pure horror stories.  The lucky ones came out alive with mashed, chewed up limbs.  The unlucky ones...well...were dismembered.  The only two ways you can kill a doll?  Dismembering it completely or severe head trauma of some sort.
I stared at her in horror before slowly shaking my head.  "No...no.  He can't....he couldn't have been taken by the dogs...." I felt lightheaded, and slowly sank to my knees.  My head was swimming. 
"Don't freak out yet.  Maybe he got lost - It's a big house for you dolls--"
"He wouldn't get lost," I mumbled.  My lips felt numb and immovable.  "He knows his way around your house." 
She shook her head.  "I'll go search for him outside, then.  I'm sorry, but it's probably not gonna be a good outcome."
That's when Casey came over. 
"Did Daddy leave us?  Is it my fault?" 
I glanced over at her and saw the look of sheer sorrow on her face.    "No, honey.  It's not your fault, and he d-didn't leave us, not willingly...I-I don't know....I don't know what's going on."  I pulled her into my lap, and she buried her face up against my chest.  I looked back up, but Tangled Fan was gone.
It wasn't Casey's fault he'd left the table this morning; it was mine.  If it weren't for my stupid self, he'd still be here with his family, where he should be. 
I was too shocked to cry, but I tried to keep a positive frame of mind until Tangled Fan came back.  Maybe he WAS just lost...

Tangled Fan came back an hour later, shortly after I'd put the girls to bed for their afternoon nap.
She held a single brown boot in her hand, shaking her head. 
"This is all I found of him."
The single, small indent on the top only pointed to one culprit: a dog.
I felt every ounce of strength drain from my body, but I somehow managed to stay upright.  Coldness draped over me from head to toe like a sheet of ice.  I nodded slowly, staring not at Tangled Fan but at the boot she held loosely in her right hand. 
When she left, I still remained standing at the edge of the table; head hanging, stock still.  He was gone.  My husband...the love of my life, the one who I knew I could trust 100%...he was gone. 

"Rapunzel?"  Zelia asked.  "W-what.....what happened?" 
I jumped when she put a hand on my shoulder, and slowly turned to look at her.  She held an expression of concern, which was rare for her. 
I could hardly make my mouth or throat move, but I somehow managed to spit it out.
"Eugene...t-the dogs...the dogs got after him...he's...." I trailed off and gulped,  "he's gone."  Suddenly, a wave of emotion hit me, and a throbbing pain spread through my heart into my stomach and head.  My arms and legs felt as though there were shackles chaining me to the table; I couldn't move. 
Zelia gasped.  "Oh...oh, no..." she grabbed me into a hug, and that's when I lost it.  Hot tears streaked down my cheeks as I wept into my sister's shoulder, and she cried with me. 


The day dragged.  I couldn't wrap it around my head that my husband wasn't coming back. 
Telling the girls that their dad wasn't coming back was the worst thing I have ever done.  Audrey overheard me talking to Zelia about why he had left earlier this morning, and now my daughter hates me: as she should.  It's my fault.  If it weren't for me, they'd still have their dad. 
Jordan doesn't understand why everyone is crying, but she knows that she doesn't like it, and so she's been fussy all afternoon.  Zachary's uncharacteristically quiet.
Tangled Fan came in later to talk to me; she offered to let us do a funeral service, but I refused.  Those who knew and cared about him already knew about his likely death; we were mourning and a funeral service wouldn't help with closure if we didn't even have the remains. 

It didn't truly hit me until that night.  I put all the kids to bed and had a quick talk with the girls before bed. 
"If either of you can't sleep, let me know, okay?  Come back and you can sleep with us--er..me.  I...I'm sorry.  I-if you, um...just...don't be afraid to come to me.  I love you girls so much...and Daddy did, too." 
I gave both of them tight hugs, and Casey gave me a shaky smile.   
"It'll be okay, mommy.  I don't want to cry or be sad, because I know he wouldn't want us to be sad." 
I almost lost it right then and there.  "Y-you're right, baby.  Good night...try to get some rest.  I love you both."  
I tucked them in a bit tighter, gave them both kisses on their foreheads (despite Audrey's disgust), made sure that Pascal was in bed with them, and then went behind the cutout.  I kept it together until I had the bed made.  On a normal night, he'd come back and slip his arms around my waist right about now, hugging me before crawling into bed and letting me rest my head on his chest while we talked about the day, usually until one or both of us fell asleep. 
 I honestly don't know how long I cried, and my chest was so tight that I could barely breath.  My stomach churned, and tears slipped from my cheeks and splashed onto the blanket that should have been covering my husband as he slept peacefully...Where he had been doing just that twenty-four hours ago.  It was all I could do to keep from screaming, it hurt so much.  I didn't know how I could live with this; how I could live with this guilt and loss and on top of that, four little kids and one of which who hates me now, and....and how on earth could I be strong enough for them?  One way or another, I was going to have to be. 

In my silent, painful desolation, I heard a small cry that was not my own...Zachary. 
Forcing myself to pull it together, I stumbled out of bed and went to go pick him up. 
"S-s-shhh, honey...Momma's got you," I whispered, holding him close until his sniffles subsided.  When I crept back to bed, I covered both of us up and let him sleep on my chest, willing my own spasmodic breaths to slow.  Zachary was all I had left of Eugene, really.   How ironic that his miraculous birth had happened not even two weeks before Eugene died...if I would have gone my entire term, my husband wouldn't have been there for his birth, and Zachary wouldn't have known his father.  I squeezed my eyes against a fresh wave of pain, and told myself that I needed to keep myself together.  The kids needed me - all of them, especially Audrey and Casey. 

Meet Zach, and a Photoshoot [=

Yup....this basically shows how chaotic our family photoshoot went.  :P 
I'm sure some of you will be pleased to know that Mr. Zachary is making his debut on the blog today....I wanted a certain picture of him to be the first photo on this post, but Blogger is being weird and wouldn't put the photos in the order I wanted them.  Ugh. 
But anyway, without further ado...

Our family photoshoot.  At least, the pictures that are the least chaotic! :P 

I know...this picture's at a TERRIBLE angle, but that was Eugene randomly bending to kiss the top of his son's head.

For all you Sherlock fans...(if there are any that read the blog...I haven't watched BBC's Sherlock yet -can't find it online-but Tangled Fan talks about it a lot...) here's your chance to shine and play Sherlock Holmes himself: 

What can you deduce by the picture above? 
I'll keep typing random stuff to make a little bit of a space between the picture and the next picture (which should be a dead giveaway) so you can try your hand at deduction. 

 

Was your guess correct?

Can you figure it out with this picture? 
If not...
*sigh.*  Fine.

Zelia. 
Is. 
ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!

He proposed...ohh, what day was it?  Around the middle of the week.  Tuesday or Wednesday, I think?  It's all a little blurry.  All I know is that A) My sister is good at pulling a poker face and B) Zelia and Ray weren't amused that Tangled Fan made them have a photoshoot.  I'd be surprised if Tangled Fan came out of that photoshoot unscathed from burning remarks :P 

Anyway, the story of their proposal? 

Zelia was just sitting quietly beside me, holding Jordan, when she leaned over to me and said, "I'm engaged.  Ray proposed this morning...I left the ribbon on the other side of the table, though."
I almost screamed, but Zach had finally gone to sleep, so I just bit my lip until the urge to freak out passed, and then I squeaked, "Oh my gosh....oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh ZELIA!" 
She gave her classic, 'I don't get why you're so excited' eye roll, but her smile betrayed her. 
They haven't planned anything yet, and Zelia said that they are currently just wanting to take things slow "since they've only known each other since May" (Eugene and I only knew each other for two and a half or three months before we got married, if I remember correctly...) but that's fine and exactly typical of them :D

Of course, Zelia and Ray were giving Tangled Fan issues about taking photos.  Of course, Zelia being the tomboy that she is, she could care less about pictures, and Ray is quiet and doesn't care for attention being drawn to him, likely a side-effect from being ashamed of having temper issues...so she pretended to not be paying attention to them.  And this is what she got:

                                                                              ....

And this was when they realized what Tangled Fan had just done!
:P 
After our photoshoot, we headed back to the table.  Thank GOODNESS we're only feeding Zach four times a day.  Eugene and I were sooo fried from being up all hours of the day and night.  Zelia helped, and Belle and Ray as well - every once in awhile, which was very much appreciated, but it was still a loooong week.  The problem with being up with him every two hours?  He's decided that he's a momma's boy.  Anyone else is simply unacceptable.  He's never seen me, or anyone else for that matter, but he knows who's holding him.  And he knows that it is NOT momma.  Oh my gosh, the child can scream!  (This was decided and found out about three days after he was born, when Eugene went to feed him at three in the morning.) 
Anyway. 

(Random cute picture of Jordan with Pascal, just because she's cute :P)

And I also really like this picture, except for the fact that my hair is in it xD  They sat down to have a very important discussion (who got to play with Pascal after Jordan went to sleep) and Jordan was just intrigued. 

....And WE sat down for a very important discussion.  More like trying to drag wedding ideas and details out of them.  We failed.  :P 

THIS is the picture I wanted at the top of this post.  His eyes cleared up a tiiiiny, minute bit, but he's still 100% blind, and Tangled Fan said he'll stay that way forever.  Oh well - he's fine as he is....pink ribbon and all.  (Okay, so I still have a problem with the pink ribbon, but that was Tangled Fan's doing.)

Everybody Cry Now!

Hot water soaks are tolerable. 
Cold water soaks, however, are NOT. 
Apparently, Belle came over to meet Zach (Zachary)  while I was in the hour-and-a-half long soak it took to get my plastic down to normal; and Eugene filled me in when I got back at around two in the afternoon. 
"Cooold, cold, cold, cold, cold water soaks STINK," I whimpered, rushing behind the cutout to get my usual purple dress on.  Ooh, it felt good to have that dress back on!  As I brushed through my hair, Eugene watched me and talked.
"Belle came over to see him, and she offered to help us with feedings -- Zelia, too.  I'm sure we could work out shifts so two of us are awake through the night, and the other two are awake through the day to feed him.  Then we wouldn't be as brain-dead as we were from feeding him all through last night by ourselves.  Anyway, she says he's the most perfect baby boy she's ever seen, and is completely enamored with him.  Ray came over with Zelia for awhile--oh, and Zelia said she wants to talk to you later.  Anyway, you would never have guessed how good Ray is with the girls.  I think they've taken quite a shining to him, Audrey and Casey.  Can you believe it?" 
I shook my head, grinning.  "Never.  Especially not after how he went on about me...but then again, I guess my sister was the same way.  He's virtually the male, blue-eyed and ginger-haired version of Zelia, for goodness' sake!  And a bit less friendly, though.  They really like Zelia, so I guess I could see them liking Ray."  I finished brushing my hair and turned to look at him.  "There!  Done." 

His face split into that special grin of his, and he slid off the bed to come over and set his hands around my waist.  "And gorgeous, as always." 
"Hmm...I'm just glad to not have all that weight in the front anymore, or worry about being clumsy," I said. 
"Yeah - I don't know about you, but I was kind of a wreck, worrying that you'd trip and hurt yourself or the baby.  Now I just have to worry about YOU when you fall, and not TWO!"  he winked, kissing the tip of my nose. 
I wrinkled my nose in response, but I reached to hug him.  He gave me a big bear hug, which warmed me from the inside out...but a second later, I heard a loud wail.  Zachary.  He might be 'weak', supposedly, but he can still scream very loudly.  That set Jordan off, and...yeah. 
"Mom-MA!!" Audrey screeched.  "We're trying to play!" 
I giggled, pulling away to meet his eyes.  "Never a dull moment, huh?" 
"Nope," he chuckled, letting me go see to the kiddos. 
Zelia was holding Zach, but that didn't help his dilemma, whatever it was.  "He might be blind and only a day old, but he knows who is and isn't his mother, that's for sure..." she had a look of bewilderment plastered across her face, and had no qualms about passing him over to me.  Sure enough, a few quiet words of reassurance later, I had him calmed down and happy again.  Whew.  Maybe letting him sleep on my chest last night hadn't been the best idea, because he's been inseparable all day.  I can only imagine what they went through when I went to have my soak!  Once he had calmed down, I handed him off to his father before reaching for Jordan, who was still sobbing.  I got her calmed down, too, and started bouncing her on my hip, which made her giggle. 
And then Zach started crying again. 
Audrey groaned - loudly - and Casey looked like SHE was about to cry, too, but out of frustration.  It had been a long night for everyone last night, so of course, we had two grumpy girls to deal with today as well.  Belle promptly offered to take them for a walk, just to get them away from the babies.  She hardly waited for an answer before gathering them up and heading off of the table. 
I turned back from watching Belle leave with the girls, and saw Eugene frantically trying to get Zach to calm down.  It only made things worse, it seemed. 
Oh boy. 
"Trade?"  he asked, giving me a desperate, pleading stare. 
I juggled Jordan over to him, taking Zachary instead. 
"Hey, you....you need to learn to let Daddy hold you, too..." I kissed his forehead, and he almost immediately calmed down. 
Just in time for JORDAN to start crying, mad because I'd given her over to Eugene. 
Zelia fairly cackled.  "Ohhh, what have you two gotten yourselves into?" 
I flashed her a LOOK, and she promptly shut up. 

That's basically how the day went.  Pascal hid himself behind the cutout under a blanket and I haven't seen him since.  Good choice, if you ask me!  xD
 At around three, Jordan and Zach finally went to sleep -- at the same time, imagine that! -and Eugene promptly collapsed on the bed for a nap, too.  With two hours to go until Zachary's next feeding, I sat down with Zelia. 
"So...I heard you wanted to talk about something?" 
She sighed.  "Uh...well..no.  Never mind - you've got your hands full right now, and I'm sure you'd prefer sleep-"
"Nope.  I'm okay," I said--even though sleep sounded heavenly right now.   
"Okay.  Well..um....how do you know if you love someone?  Like...you know.  How did you feel when you knew you were in love with Eugene?"  she cleared her throat and looked at me sheepishly. 
 Well.
That was kind of unexpected...but then again, it wasn't.
"Well...." I took a deep breath.   "From what I can remember of the first time I fell in love with him - which, I can remember almost everything by now - I...I don't know.  You just feel...right.  You can't bear to be away from him, you could spend ages just sitting or talking with him, and you don't even really need to talk - just his presence is enough to satisfy you.  He's there for you when you need him the most, and he doesn't judge or criticize you  for who you are.  I don't know..." I trailed off, dropping my gaze down to my lap. 
She nodded.  "Thank you...I never thought I'd ever be asking my little sister for advice like that!" 
"Ray?"  I asked. 
"Yes.  He just....we had a rocky start, and I thought I'd kill him if I had to spend one more day with him when I first met him, but now..."
"There's something sweet, and almost kind...but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined!  But now he's dear, and so unsure...you wonder why you didn't see it there before?"  I paraphrased "Something There" from Beauty and the Beast, and she laughed. 
"Basically.  I just....I want to tell him, but I'm terrified that I'll screw up and ruin our friendship.  I don't know how he feels because, oh - guess what?!  He's just like me!"  she buried her face in her hands.  I'd never seen my sister in such a state!
"Tell him," I said.  "I'm pretty sure he'll not mind." 
"But-"
I repeated myself, and she sighed, nodding.  "I'm just scared." 
"Don't be," I reached to give her a hug, but she pulled away, making weird, choking noises. 
"Nope.  No mushiness, nope, nope, nope." 
I giggled.  "Ohh, sister-mine...I thought you had changed.  Not much, huh?" 
"Don't you DARE think that this means I'm a mushy fool!" 
I instead slugged her playfully on her shoulder.  "I know." 

That night, Zelia said she would come to take her first shift feeding Zachary at one o'clock AM.  I stayed up after Eugene had gone to bed, because Zach was very fussy, still.  I was pretty frazzled by the time I'd gotten him to go to sleep at midnight, and then I sat around and waited for Zelia. 
When she finally came at one, I showed her what she'd need to do to feed him, watched to make sure that he'd go back to sleep for her, thanked Zelia, and then went to bed, praying I could get away long enough to get a few hours of sleep.  I was still kind of achy, and was beyond tired! 
When I'd changed into my nightie, I crawled into bed....and then I heard Jordan wake up and start to cry. 
Eugene, who must not have been totally asleep, promptly snagged my arm. 
"I'll get her, honey, you go to sleep," he whispered  before leaving. 
I curled up on my side, thinking about how chaotic the day had been.  The two older girls were crabby and a bit disgusted with the newest addition needing so much attention, Jordan was just incredibly hard to please today, and...Zach, of course....need I explain?  Would it be like this forever?!  Would Zach ever stop being so clingy to me?  I buried my face in the blankets and tried not to get worked up or worried about it.  Hah, like THAT would happen!
Just a minute later, Eugene came back.  "Zelia took care of her," he mumbled, collapsing in bed and yawning loudly before pulling me close up against him.  "Love you." 
"Love you, too,"  I said...but I must've sounded a little choked up. 
"You okay?"  he peeled one eye open, reaching to stroke some hair away from my face.
"Yes...I'm fine.  I'm just....overwhelmed right now," I bit my lip. 
"I know.  But things will calm down soon, I'm sure!  Everyone was just ticked off today because we all had a long night last night.  I promise, everything will work out.  Now, get some sleep, beautiful," he winked, giving me a sleepy grin. 
Sleep. 
Sounded good to me! 

And baby makes....six!

--Eugene
At two this morning, my very pregnant wife woke me up.
"Eu..Eugeeene!  Get up!" she wailed, and from that, I could assume that I had been hard to wake up.
"I'm up, I'm up...what?" I mumbled in my half-awake state.  When I saw her pained face, tears streaking down her cheeks, I flew upright.
"T-the baby's coming and you need to take the girls to Zelia because I don't want to wa...wake them up--oooh!" she gasped, clutching her stomach and curling around it, panting.
"You can't be!  You have three weeks to go, three weeks!" I exclaimed.  Three weeks left in a term is the human equivalent of three months left in a term.
"Well, it's coming, and I don't think I can change that!" she gasped, giving me a pleading look.  My eyes widened as I realized that it was really, truly happening, I propelled myself out of bed and scrambled to get the girls over to Zelia --albeit quietly...I didn't wake any of the girls, luckily.

When I got back, Pascal was on the bed, staring at Rapunzel with concern. I picked him up off of the bed and let him settle on my shoulder, leaning some of my weight on the bed as I looked at my girl.  She was flat on her back, her breath coming out in hot, fast puffs, and her face was contorted and twisted all up in pain.  I hated seeing her like this! 
"I'm scared," she whispered, rolling her eyes up to me. 
I was, too...I was flat out terrified!  I didn't want to lose my girl again, and I didn't want anything to happen to our child, either.  My heart started pounding as I realized that a  lot of things could go wrong, and that the baby would most likely than not have problems or maybe not even live.  But I couldn't tell her that, now could I?! 
"Don't worry.  Everything will be okay, I promise," I said, leaning to kiss her forehead. 
Wrooong move.
She shoved me away with surprising strength.  "Don't touch me!  And how dare you promise something like that?!  I'm not stupid, and I don't believe in filling someone with f-false...promises!"  she paused, letting a loud cry out as she clutched her midsection.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," I backed up, and she squeezed her eyes shut for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath.  When she opened them, she frantically looked towards me. 
"Don't leave!  I-I need you here!"
"I'm not going anywhere, I just backed up because you told me-"
"I know, but I don't know what I'm sa--ohhh, wow...what I'm saying..." she panted.  "When does this even end?!" 
"I don't know, honey...I'm sorry.  You can do it, though...if I could do this for you, trust me...I would," I told her, stepping forward and wincing when she suddenly gasped, her entire back arching as she wailed.  Her shaky hand grabbed for mine and held it in a complete and utter death grip -- I quite honestly didn't know she could hold my hand that tightly, and I'm surprised she didn't crumple my plastic!

At seven o'clock, the baby boy was born, after a very, very long five hours.  She'd had quite a bit of trouble, but she was okay.  The baby was born....choking and barely breathing; his skin rapidly turning from a reddish color to purple. 
I don't know how that girl managed to fly upright as quickly as she had, seconds after giving birth to said child, but she immediately broke down sobbing. 
"Bring....bring him to me," she managed breathlessly, and I did, not sure what to do.  I didn't want him to die.  I didn't want my wife to watch her newborn son die, and I sure didn't want to watch him die, either.  But I did as she asked, and she quickly took him from me, turning him so his back was to her, and she quickly started patting and rubbing his back vigorously, begging him to start breathing in between choked prayers.  Tears streaked down her face when nothing happened.  I held my own breath, praying myself that he would, somehow, make it.
And then he made a small, bleating cry.
She gasped, stopping her vigorous attempts to make him breathe and turning him around to face her. 
"He's alive.  He's okay, Eugene..." she sighed, and a completely joyous smile lit her face when he cried louder.  "I've never been so happy to hear a baby cry in my life!" 
"Me neither," I loosed the breath I'd been holding before I eased myself down on the bed beside her.  "You did a great job, baby.  And on top of that, you saved him.  I was too slow to know what to do," I admitted truthfully. 
She nodded, lifting his little blond head up to kiss it. 
I was  beyond happy to have a son.  While he would never grow any bigger, it was still nice to have a boy amongst all my girls -- although I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.  And I would've taken another daughter just as quickly as a boy, don't get me wrong!  I slipped one arm around my girl's tired shoulders, leaning to look down at his little face.

We eventually got him dressed in Jordan's night-clothes, which were rarely used (they were long-sleeved and were footed, so that in the summer is  a huge nope.  She always has a fit if we put her in it for nighttime).  It's partly made of pink gingham, but it was all we had, so it would have to work....and soon after, his eyes opened.
Instead of being clear and colored, his eyes were cloudy and ice-blue. 
"D-do you think he's...blind?"  she whispered. 
I'd never seen anything like it.  "I don't know," I wondered if he would track movement yet or not....probably not. "Let's not worry about it until we know for sure, though.  What boy names do you like?" 

At nine, Tangled Fan came into her room for something, and I was able to get her attention. She quickly whisked him off before even asking if it was a boy or a girl, the first words out of Rapunzel's words were asking if he was blind, and she ignored anything else. 

He came back with a pink ribbon...glued to his head; and also pronounced blind and weak but otherwise healthy; he would need some sort of powdered mixture added to some water every two hours for the first week of his life, and then four times a day for the next two. 
Rapunzel focused on the ribbon. 
"Pink?  Why would you put pink on a boy?!" she hissed between her teeth, more than just annoyed. 
"Boy?"  Tangled Fan crumpled her nose in confusion. 
"Yes! It's a boy!"  she yelled.  I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to silently warn her to settle down. 
"It's....oh wow, I'm so sorry.  You see, I have this system where I put ribbons on every baby's head: pink for babies that have parents, and yellow - like Jordan's -- for orphans.  It's so I don't accidentally give someone's kid away."
"Well, can't you make a blue ribbon for boys?  How many others have you--"
"You're the first to have a baby boy!  Boys are extremely rare," she explained.  "That's why I didn't even ask." 
"Well, can't you take it off?" 
"It's super-glued on there.  You're not getting that off without taking his entire head off.  I'm sorry," she said. 
Rapunzel groaned.  "It's fine, I guess...but it's..."
"What about his blindness?"  I broke her off, wondering about the more important issue at hand.  "And will he be okay, and get stronger?" 
"Yes, and yes.  I'll get you guys what you need to give to him, and as far as his blindness, you'll just have to be more vigilant with him; make sure he doesn't roll off of places and get hurt, because he'll be prone to doing that, of course.  And he might be more easily scared, too, so just keep that in mind."   Rapunzel nodded, her eyes filling with tears, and Tangled Fan continued.  "And as for your extra belly, I did some research.  I'll come back tomorrow to take you to a hot water soak, and then you'll have to sit in a cold water soak for half an hour.  That'll bring you down to your normal size, all in one shot." 
"Tomorrow?  Can't we wait -- at least until he's not on that...that formula mix stuff anymore?" 
"No.  The sooner you get rid of that belly, the easier and better it will be," she said.  "Now, I'm going to go gather stuff up to make that mixture, and then I'll make a blanket for him - neutral colors, I promise." 
And with that, Tangled Fan handed the baby back to us and left.
I glanced down at the pink ribbon now glued on his head, and sighed.  It did bother me a little, too, but what could we do about it now?
Rapunzel, however, burst into tears.  "I'm a horrible mother!" 
"Wait, what?"  I looked up from the baby to see her face.  Shifting him around in my arms, I furrowed my brows and stared at her. "Why?" 
"I'm such an idiot, that's why!  I was so f-focused on that stupid ribbon that I forgot to ask about his health!" she cried, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.
I reached to put a hand on one of her shoulders.  "Hey.  That's why there's two of us -- so one can ask the questions that the other forgets!" 
"B-but I-"she lifted her head and met my gaze with her watery, red-rimmed green eyes. 
"No  buts.  And by the way, you're the one who got him breathing normally, so you're obviously not an idiot," I reminded her, removing my hand from her shoulder so I could swipe at her tears.
She gulped, giving a shudder-y sigh and nodding before dropping her gaze to the baby. 
"What should w-we name him?  We discussed a lot of different names..." she trailed off, trying to think. 
"Phil, Cody, Jason...uh...Clark, James, Zachary...Chris, Ryan, Jeremy, and Grant."  I filled in. 
We went back and forth a little between Zachary and Jeremy, but finally decided that Zachary fit best.
"So....Zachary it is," she smiled finally, moving so she could plop a quick kiss on his forehead. 
Right after that, Tangled Fan came back and gave us all the stuff we'd need in order to feed him, showed us how to feed him, and gave us a timer thing to help us keep track of when we'd need to feed him again.  When she left, I turned to Rapunzel, who was watching him sleep. 
"You need to get some rest, sweetie.  Why don't you curl up in with him, and I'll go talk to Zelia and the girls and tell them how everything went?"  I suggested. 
"No...I'm fine.  I want to see my girls," she said...yawning.  Her eyelids fluttered. 
" 'I'm fine', says the girl who can hardly stay awake long enough to answer me," I teased.  "C'mon.  You'll get to see the girls later." 
"But-" she started to protest, so I put a finger over her lips. 
"Nope.  You need to get some rest - Tangled Fan even told you to!  Just remember that we'll be up through all hours of the night, feeding him."  I reminded her. 
She sighed.  "Fine.  But what if something happens to him while I'm asleep?  What if I roll over and--"
"He'll be okay - you don't move around much in your sleep unless something's really bothering you.  Just don't think about that pink ribbon, and you'll not move a centimeter.  Just keep him close and away from the edge of the bed, and he'll be okay," I told her, teasing her about that ribbon. 
Rolling her eyes (although the corner of her lips betrayed her by twitching up into a small smile), she nodded.  "Okay, if you're sure." 
"I'm positive," I told her, taking Zachary from her until she got settled down into the bed on her side.  I set the baby down beside her, spread the covers over her (as she grumbled and said she could take care of herself) and then I told her I'd see the two of them later.


As soon as I went over to the other side of the table, I was nearly attacked by two rambunctious, anxious girls....and about half a dozen worried dolls.
"How did everything go?" 
"When can I see Mommy?" 
"When can I see the baby?" 
"Do I have a  new baby sister?  Oh, I hope so!"
"How's Rapunzel and the new baby?" 
"Everything went okay, right?" 
"Did you pass out like the lily-livered doll you are?" 
I laughed.  Of course that last one came from Zelia. 
"Okay...first off: no, I did not pass out.  You girls can see Rapunzel in a few hours; I finally convinced her to go to sleep while the baby slept.  I'm sorry to those who wanted another girl or a sister; it's a boy.  His name is Zachary, and he is blind and currently weak, but he's getting fed to get strengthened up, and he'll be okay.  Rapunzel's okay, too," I said as a general announcement.  Everyone went silent when they heard the 'blind and weak' part, and a somber mood replaced the excited one from moments before. 
Belle was the first to speak up.  "Well, everything went okay, and they're both healthy otherwise, right?  That is a blessing in itself.  Giving birth is not simple, from what I understand, and a lot can go wrong." 
"Especially with preemies," I added, nodding. 
Zelia nodded, glancing over at Ray, who came and put an arm around her shoulders.  "When can I see them?"  she asked. 
"In a few hours I'll come back over, and we'll figure that out," I told her.  "Where's Jordan, and were the girls good so far?" 
Casey and Audrey, who were cuddled up against my chest, nodded that they'd been good, and Zelia agreed with them. 
"Jordan's taking a nap underneath that big bench.  She woke up around four and was pretty upset, but she fell asleep again at about eleven, so that's why she's sleeping," she added. 
"Okay.  Thank you for watching them, again...especially at two in the morning," I chuckled. 
"Eh, that's what aunts are for, right?"  she laughed.  "They were asleep anyway." 
"So is that why Rapunzel was so pale yesterday?"  Zarina asked shyly, almost so quietly that I didn't hear her. 
"Yeah, most likely," I told her. 
"I thought she looked a bit off," Ariel piped up.  I nodded curtly...I didn't want her to start flirting with me. 
"And she would absolutely not tell any of us that she didn't feel well.  She just said she needed to get back to the table," Ray finished.
"She's...something else," I shook my head.

A couple of hours later, I went back to check on Rapunzel and Zachary.  I found her awake, with Pascal on the bed by her and Zachary was on her chest, his head on her shoulder.  She kept a protective hand over his back. 
"Hey, you...I thought I told you to sleep," I mock-reprimanded her, bending to kiss the tip of her nose. 
She wrinkled her nose in a way that only she could (Gosh, I love that girl...) and grinned. 
"I did, but then I fed him, and I went to go brush my hair, and he got so upset because he was all alone, I guess, and so I had to lay back down and hold him.  He just got so  frantic...I guess it was because he couldn't hear me anywhere, or see me, of course..." she said, but her grin broadened when he nuzzled his small head into the crook of her neck. "How are the girls?" 
"Anxious to see you, as are Zelia, Belle, Ray, and Zarina," I told her, sitting on the edge of the bed by her. 
"Well....bring them over!  It's only two o'clock, but  I miss my girls!"  she exclaimed quietly.  She sat up slowly, letting Zachary remain on her shoulder, and tried to stretch her back and hold him at the same time.  Pascal watched, probably wondering what on earth she was attempting to do. 
"How're you feeling?" 
"I'm fine...I mean, I'm achy, but that's to be expected!  I just want to see the rest of our brood," she giggled. 
I went back to get Zelia and the kiddos, and the two older girls took off for our side of the table at lightning speed.  When I came back to our side, Rapunzel had slipped out to sit on the couch, and the girls quickly bounced up beside her, staring at their new brother and quietly bombarding her with questions.  Zelia sat down and took Zachary from her, and I just hung back and observed.  A year ago, if you would've told me that in a month and two days I would meet my future wife and end up with four kids and...Zelia...for a sister-in-law, I would've laughed my head off.  But man, am I thankful, and I wouldn't trade this for the world!
I'm sure Rapunzel will post tomorrow, and if not, I will.