Dear Readers,
This blog will mark my journey toward having my 10th child. After this I will be 1/10th of the way there. It feels like such a major milestone and let me tell you the journey to get to this point has not been easy. Lately my life has been filled with so many ups and downs I was starting to doubt that I could do this but then I just had to look at my children’s faces and I realized that even the toughest moments are worth the joy they bring to me.
First let me start out with some happy news.
As you may remember, the day that Markus was born, my daughter Laura also went into labor and had her son Greg. Since Laura was at my house when she went into labor, my daughter Carol gave us both a ride to the hospital. While she was waiting outside she met a nice man named Freddy Brownlee. He is a journalist with the Hidden Springs Herald. The two had an immediate connection and have been seeing each other ever since.
Carol graduated with honors and was named valedictorian just like her older brother. I am so proud of her.
Following graduation Carol decided it was time to move out. She decided to move in with Freddy. The two are in an exclusive relationship but so far not engaged. She told me they are both very focused on their careers right now and are not ready for marriage and kids. They are also doing some traveling. They recently went to France to some interior design show and to Egypt so Freddy could do a story about an archeological dig.
Markus is getting bigger and bigger everyday. In fact it will be his birthday soon. I can’t believe how fast they grow up.
Of course just when I am trying to get ready for Markus’s birthday party the dishwasher breaks. AGAIN!!! I swear that thing brings every time we are about to have a birthday.
Fortunately, in preparation for his dream of one day becoming a firefighter Ernest has been study up on how to fix things. I guess Ed told him that one of the main jobs around this station is doing repairs to the fire truck and alarms. So with his new skills he was able to fix the dishwasher and I didn’t have to call a repairman.
I have been really worried though about Charlotte. She has been acting out lately. She chopped off all her beautiful hair and she has started dressing, in my opinion, very inappropriately for someone her age. Last week she got detention for spaying graffiti all over the outside of the school building.
She has been dating some kid from school named Tyler Akers. I asked Steven about him and from the sounds of it the kid is bad news.
Then today when she came down for Markus’s party she was wearing what looked like a black vest with no shirt underneath, a mini skirt, and knee high leather boots. I took one look at her and made her go change.
She came back down in jeans and a tank top which was much better.
Markus grew up into such a cute little boy. He has my hair color and eye color. In fact I see very little of Michael in him.
After the party I got all the kids in bed and bed time stories read. Then it was off to bed myself.
Unfortunately, I was woken up at 3 am by a ringing phone.
“Hello,” I said as I made my way downstairs so as not to wake the kids by talking on the phone upstairs.
“Hey, Eve. It’s Sebastian.”
“Sebastian? Why are you calling at 3 am? Is everything ok with Steven, Kim and the kids? Is it Renauld?”
“No, Eve we are all fine. I am actually calling about Charlotte.”
“What about Charlotte?”
“One of my buddies on the force picked her and some punk kid up at that dive bar on Westchester. As you can tell they were out well past curfew and they had both been drinking. We have a squad car bringing her home. Since she is your daughter I pulled some strings and called in a favor. She will be charged with the being out past curfew but we won’t charge her with drinking. But I can only do this once so if she is caught drinking again there won’t be anything I can do.”
“I appreciate it Sebastian. Thanks for everything.”
By the time the cop car pulled up with Charlotte I was furious.
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AT THIS HOUR YOUNG LADY? AND WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SNUCK OUT OF THE HOUSE AND WENT OUT DRINKING! YOU ARE ONLY 15 YEARS OLD. NO GO TO YOUR ROOM. YOU ARE GROUNDED.”
The next morning things were tense at breakfast.
“Hey mom, Marc asked me if I could over to play video games today? Is that ok?” Ernest asked.
“Sure,” I said. “I have been wanting to go over to Laura’s anyway so I will take you after breakfast.”
“Don’t forget mom you said we could go to the festival with dad today,” Jane reminded me.
“That’s right, I will drop you to off at the festival with your dad and then Ernest and I will head over to Laura’s. Charlotte, I trust that you are responsible enough to watch Markus while we are gone.”
“Yeah fine whatever,” she mumbled.
I dropped the kids off at the winter festival and from what I heard later from Jakum they had a blast. Julian went snowboarding.
And Jazul taught Jane how to ice skate.
When I got to Laura’s house, Ernest ran off to Marc’s room so they could play the latest video game. Laura was teaching Greg to walk and told me she would be done in a few minutes.
Being Sunday, it turns out that Laura’s husband Wyatt was having a few friends from work over to watch a some big football game. One of his friends was named Armani Monroe (downloaded from the Exchange, created by LadiiRichi3). He had some of the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. I will have to consider him for a future father. I am still undecided how a feel about Brenden Montgomery and having his vampire baby.
Before leaving I had to spend a few minutes playing with my little grandbaby. Greg is such a cutie and looks so much like Laura. I think Louis Swete would be happy that his legacy lives on.
What I didn’t know was that while we were out Charlotte had invited Tyler over to the house and the two of them were making out on the couch.
I walked into the house and found them that way.
And to make matters worse poor Markus was upstairs screaming his head off. He needed his diaper changed and it was way past his bed time.
I told Tyler to get out of my house and then I went upstairs to tend to Markus. When I came back down I was ready to let Charlotte have it.
“I TRUSTED YOU TO WATCH YOUR LITTLE BROTHER AND WHAT DO YOU DO? HUH! YOU IGNORE HIM SO YOU CAN MAKE OUT WITH SOME PUNK! YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR TWO MORE WEEKS. ACTUALLY MAKE IT FOUR. WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DRESSING LIKE THAT. NOW GO TO YOUR ROOM.”
Let’s just say meal times continue to be tense around the Gutenberg household.
It has also been a really long winter and it seems like one or of all us has been sick at one point with a cold of some sort. Poor Charlotte has had the flu so bad that I have considered lifting her punishment just to make her feel better. After all with the stomach flu it isn’t like she is going to be going anywhere anyway.
The winter was so bad we also had back to back snow days. During that time Marc came over to play video games with Ernest.
I was able to potty train Markus.
And teach him how to walk and talk.
On the second day I decided to invite Steven and his whole family over for the day. It was so great seeing him.
He brought over twins Antonio and Anthony.
They had a blast playing outside in the snow with Jane and Julian.
Later that night after Steven and his family had gone home I noticed Charlotte just sitting outside staring off into space.
“Honey, are you alright?” I asked.
At first she didn’t say anything. She just threw herself into my arms and cried and cried. Then finally she said, “I miss Julies so much. And every time I see Chaucer or Steven I get so angry because they got to marry Julies’s brother and sister. They get to be happy and I am left missing him so much. I loved Julies since we were kids and I always thought one day we would get married and I was happy at Prom when he asked me to be his girlfriend. And then he died. But Steven gets to be with Kimberly and Chaucer with Ralph. It is so unfair. And I feel so guilty for feeling like that because I am happy for them and would never want something to happen to either one of them but I just . . .”
With that she started sobbing again.
“Mom there is something else I need to talk to you about.”
“Ok, but it’s freezing out here. Why don’t we go inside first ok?”
When we got inside Charlotte went upstairs to change out of her wet clothes into something warmer.
“Mom, I know I have made some bad choices lately. Things I wish I could undue.”
“Oh, honey everyone makes mistakes. I just wish you would have talked to me sooner about how you were feeling. I should have realized that you were upset after Julies passed away and I should have realized how hard seeing your brothers marrying his siblings would be for you. Sebastian took care of the drinking thing, I paid to have school walls cleaned, it is all ok really.”
“I wish it were that simple,” she said.
Next thing I knew she was in my arms again sobbing.
“I slept with Tyler. I thought I just had the flu these last weeks but I am late and I took one of the tests you keep in your bathroom and it was positive. I’m pregnant. I went to Tyler’s house to tell him but his mom sent him off to some military school and she won’t tell me which one. I tried calling him but his phone has been disconnected. I don’t know what to do.”
My first instinct was to yell and scream at her. She is pregnant at 15 – oh, boy what was she thinking. But I knew that wasn’t what she needed right then.
“Honey, it will be ok. You have me and I have managed to have 9 kids so I think I know a thing or too. You have your older brothers and sisters too. We will all be here for you. And despite recent behavior you are great with kids. Your younger siblings adore you.”
I am actually surprised that I hadn’t noticed before seeing as she already has a slight baby bump.
I was right about her siblings being there for her. Jane is super excited about being an aunt. She is already one of course but for the most part her other nieces and nephews (with the exception of Greg) are close to her age or older.
Ernest has also been very supportive and is always there to offer a comforting shoulder when needed. I have heard from Laura who heard it from her son Marc that Ernest has also gotten into a few fights at school after hearing kids say insulting things about his sister. I don’t encourage the fighting but I am glad to know he has her back.
When prom came around Charlotte surprised us all by saying she wanted to go. I thought prom would bring up to many memories of Julies but she said she was finally feeling ready to move on from him.
I hired a limo to take her and Ernest to the dance. It sounds like they had a good time. Ernest was named Prom King and was really excited.
Charlotte is due any time now.
She is just miserable. She can’t seem to get comfortable in her bed and not wanting to wake up Jane with all her tossing and turning she usually gets up in the middle of the night and goes downstairs to read or watch TV.
Sometimes she does manage to fall asleep on the couch for a few hours.
Sometimes I hear her talking to the baby. Telling him/her that it is time to come out. Even though she is so young I do think Charlotte will make a great mom.
One morning I was making breakfast when I heard Charlotte in the living room shout.
“Oh my god, oh my god”
I ran out to see what was wrong and found Charlotte standing in a big puddle on the floor.
“I am so sorry mom, I was sleeping and I woke up and got up to use the bathroom but I guess I couldn’t hold it and peed my pants. I am so sorry. I will get the mop and clean it up right away.”
“Honey, that’s not pee. Your water just broke. You are going to have the baby.”
A few moments later the contractions hit her and she doubled over in pain. I am ashamed to say I panicked a bit. You would think after 9 kids I would be used to this but I guess seeing your child in labor is different.
I got Charlotte to the hospital and after a very long (19 hours) of labor she gave birth to a beautiful little boy she named Trevor.
After Trevor was born I insisted that Charlotte go back to school as soon as possible. I didn’t want her getting to far behind. So I would spend my days taking care of Trevor and Markus.
I would get Trevor changed, feed, and then down for a nap.
Afterwards Markus and I would play or read stories together.
Before long it was time for the twins birthday. I have been nervous about this birthday since I found out they were merchildren.
Now that the are becoming teenagers they will get their fins and start requiring more time in water.
They both aged up beautifully.
Apparently a long last relative from back in Bridgeport passed away and left me some money so I used it to put in a pool for the twins.
They were thrilled and couldn’t wait to try out their fins for the first time.
However, the water in the pool doesn’t hydrate them the same way natural bodies of water do.
So the two find their way out to the nearby springs and lake whenever possible.
Even since Trevor was born Charlotte is like her old self again. She ditched the eye make-up and the black clothes and has been letting her beautiful hair grow out again. All the kids are doing great in school. I love seeing them all around the table doing homework together.
Charlotte has proven to be a great mom and spends all of her free time with Trevor.
Soon it was once again time for a birthday. This time for Charlotte, Markus and Trevor. All of our family and friends came to help us celebrate.
Charlotte grew up into a beautiful young adult. She has always loved music and wants to play in the symphony and compose music for movies.
Her son Trevor is such a cutie with chubby cheeks and her blue eyes and hair.
And my little Markus grew into a handsome little boy.
Unfortunately the party ended early when the grimm reaper showed up to take Renauld Vanderburg. Seriously, what is with the Vanderburg’s dying at my kids birthday parties.
The next day was Charlotte’s graduation. I am so proud of her. She went through a lot in the last few years.
We were surprised to see Tyler Akers there. I guess he finished military school in time to graduate with the rest of his class back in Hidden Springs. He looks a lot different. Gone is the eye make-up, piercings and mow-hock.
“Hey, Charlotte. How have you been?” he asked.
“I have been ok. I tried calling you several times over the last few years.”
“We were not allowed phones at the school and the only people we were allowed to write were our parents. I sent you letters through my mom. Did you get them?”
“No, I stopped by your house once though to talk to you. That’s when I found out you were at a military school. I told her something though to pass on to you. Did she tell you?”
“No, I would ask about you. If you had any letters for me but she said she never heard from you.”
“She lied. I went to tell you and her that I was pregnant. This is your son, Trevor.”
“I have a son? She should have told me. I missed so much of his life. My father was never around growing up and I promised I would never be like him. That if I ever had kids I would be there for them.”
“I know, Charlotte, that I was a major screw up. I learned a lot in military school and I believe I have grown a lot. I joined the military and have a job here in Hidden Springs. I thought about you all the time while I was away and seeing you again was one of the things that got me through some tough days. I would really like a chance to be a family with you and Trevor. I just got a place of my one here in Hidden Springs and I would love if if the two of you would come and live with me. The place has three bedrooms so you could even have your own room if you wanted.”
I of course thought moving in with him was way too soon but Charlotte is a grown women with a kid of her own. She is capable of making her own choices. And I do admit that Tyler seems to have grown-up a lot since the last time I saw him.
While at city hall for graduation I managed to meet two new men. Rephaim Turner (child 46 in Dawn Turner’s 100 baby challenge, downloaded from http://dawnturnersbabychallenge.blogspot.com/) and Levi DeLima (not pictured, downloaded from the Exchange, created by LibBee13). I think both men will make great future fathers.
When I got home I called Brenden and told him I had decided I would have his Vampire baby. He was thrilled and said he would be right over.
Turns out Brenden is a cop and was just getting off shift. I greeted him at the door and invited him inside.
“I know this is going to sound crazy,” he said “but I just got off a long shift and haven’t eaten all day. I am out of plasma fruit. Do you mind if I drink some of your blood? I promise it won’t hurt and it won’t turn you into a vampire.”
I am not sure what possessed me to agree but I did.
It was a weird sensation and left me feeling a bit weak in the knees.
Afterwards he carried me upstairs to the bedroom and we got to work on baby number 10.
The next morning it was Markus’s first day of school. Ernest was a great big brother and sat with him on the bus.
I can’t believe the last of my babies is off at school. I can’t remember the last time the house was empty. I admit that as the bus pulled away I cried.
I decided to spend my day cleaning house. I washed dishes, scrubbed toilets, and made the beds.
Though I am not sure why I bothered with the toilets. Seems like the morning sickness has started and no sooner would I get a toilet clean I was trowing up in it.
The next day was a holiday so there was no school. Normally we would go to the festival but with the twins love of water I decided to take them to Meadow Beach instead.
Ernest went windsurfing.
The twins swam.
And Markus went fishing. I told him to be careful though not to snag his siblings by mistake.
Later we all had a picnic.
While at the beach I felt the baby kick for the first time.
When we got home we found a broken dishwasher and water all over the kitchen floor.
Thankfully Ernest was able to fix the dishwasher again.
I swear with this pregnancy I have no energy. All I want to do is sit around and watch TV and relax. Markus has become my little couch buddy and we sit and watch cartoons together a lot.
This morning when I woke up I actually felt like I had energy for the first time in weeks. I figured I would make the most of it and go whip up a big breakfast for the kids. But no sooner did I walk into the kitchen when the contractions hit.
I made it to the hospital with only minutes to spare and at 6:05 am I gave birth to a baby boy named Byron (after Lord Byron). Byron inherited his father’s vampire trait.
I also gave birth to Byron’s twin brother Beckett (after Irish playwrite Samual Beckett). Beckett has his father’s red skin but is not a vampire.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this family with two mermaids and one vampire.
100 Baby Challenge 