Complete Chaos

086

It was Thanksgiving day in 1995.

The three kids were playing hide and seek around the house.

Otis, the five year old, was looking for his older sisters. He looked under the table, but no one was there. He ran to the sofa, jumped on it and leaned over.

Nora was bent down behind the sofa. "I found you Nora!" She rolled her eyes playfully. She was tired of hiding and was happy her little brother had found her.

The seven year old got up and said, "good job, baby. Let's look for Melody."

Otis crossed his arms and looked up "don't call me baby," he whined.

She ruffled the top of his head "whatever you say baby," she said with a laugh.

He hated being called a baby by his older sister. The two girls eventually came around and were happy to have a brother; he was their baby. They took extra care of him.

Otis pushed Nora's hand down. "Mommy is going to get mad." He tried to fix his hair.

"Melody get out of there," Julia said from the kitchen.

Melody got out of the kitchen pantry where she was hiding. Otis ran to the kitchen. "I found you," he pointed at his older sister, who was fixing her dress.

"That's cheating, mom got me out," the ten year old complained.

"I told you kids not to play in the kitchen," Julia reminded her three kids.

The oven was on, and it was dangerous for them to play in the kitchen.

Julia was getting things ready for dinner. She rubbed her huge belly as the kids left the kitchen.

They had taken a break from having kids for a few years. They had their hands full with their three little trouble makers. For a while they thought their family was complete, but then they started talking, and both agreed they wanted to try for one more to hopefully give Otis a little brother.

What they didn't expect was the possibility of giving him two younger brothers or worse; giving him two more sisters. She was pregnant with twins. Steve fainted when the doctor told him the first time.

This pregnancy had been the hardest for Julia. She would regularly faint and vomit almost every day. In a few short weeks she would finally be done. She had told Steve no more babies after the twins. Five were more than enough for her.

She loved her three kids deeply and knew she would love these little ones who pushed down her bladder, making her pee her pants most days.

Julia could barely walk. She was eight months and two weeks. The doctors told her she could give birth any day now.

Julia walked to the stove and checked on the potatoes. She brought another bowl closer and brought the warm potatoes to the new bowl, where she would smash them. She got the milk and the butter out of the refrigerator. She added the ingredients into the bowl and she started matching the potatoes.

The babies were moving; she could feel them. "Are you two running out of room," she said, looking down at her stomach. She smiled sweetly and placed her hand on her big belly for a second.

One of the babies moved position inside of her. "You two behave in there."

She had very active kids. It was impossible for the three oldest to stay still in one spot, and she could tell her two other kids would be the same.

She was excited to have all her kids together. It would be complete chaos, she knew it, but she couldn't wait to have all her kids interact with each other.