Flynn here...Screamfest Thursday, for lack of a better title..

I was up with Hallie twice through Wednesday night. 
Both times, she went to sleep fairly soon.

I was awakened to the sound of Hallie crying loudly bright and early at seven in the morning. 
Crawling past Rapunzel, who was still sleeping, I went out to get her. 
By the time I'd picked Hallie up, Allie was starting to whimper as well. 
Weelll...if I didn't pick Allie up, too, she would start screaming too.  So I picked her up in my other arm and bounced the both of them for a few minutes.  Thankfully enough, Merida woke up at the sound of Allie's crying, and she came over. 
"I'll take my little stinker from ye.  Ye look like ye have yer hands plenty full enough with yer own."  She said, holding her hands out at Allie.  She scooped her up out of my arms and went to settle her down. 
In the meantime, Hallie was crying even louder yet. 
She didn't quiet down, either.  She woke up Jase and Alexis around quarter till nine. 
Hoping to get a good impression on Alexis this morning, I made my way over to them both and told them good morning. 
"Morning, girls...this silence is wonderful, isn't it?"  I said slightly sarcastically, gesturing towards Hallie. 
"Morning, Daddy!  Yeah..why's she crying so much?"  Jase asked me, looking up at me with wide eyes. 
"I have no-o-o-o clue at all, dear.  I wish I knew, but I don't...How are you this morning, Alexis?"
The little redhead glanced up towards me, and then hunched her shoulders up and stared at the ground.  I saw her mouth move, but Hallie was crying just loud enough that I didn't hear her...and I didn't want to press her, so I just left her be. 
I resumed my attempts to quiet Hallie, and Allie was crying again now too.
After a while, I thought I heard Jase yell something loudly, but I didn't know if she was just playing with Alexis or not, since I couldn't hear over Hallie and Allie combined, so I didn't butt in.   
Pretty soon, I saw Rapunzel emerging from under the bench.  I was going to make my way over to her, but before I could catch her eye, she darted off to break off whatever Jase and Alexis were doing.  They must've been fighting over something, but over what? 

When she'd broken up the fight, I strode over to my wife, noticing her pale face and I saw - didn't hear, but saw - her shoulders droop and her chest heave in a sigh. 
"What's the matter, hon?" I asked, worried. 
"Nothing..." she trailed off and glanced down at Hallie, refusing to meet my eyes.  "Want me to take Miss Screams-A-Lot?" 
Nothing?  Yeah..I'd heard that before...
"I can handle miss Hallie.  What I'd like to know is why you look so..." Zombie-like?  Sick? Crummy-feeling?...How did one tell their spouse they looked sick or whatever? "...like...I dunno."
Wrong move. 
"Like a zombie?  Thanks.  I'm fine."  She grumbled, crossing her arms and refusing to look me in the eye. 
She was definitely not telling me the truth about how she felt, but it was no use picking a fight or anything.  "I'm not sure I believe that, but I'll let it slide.  What were those two fighting about?"
"Alexis apparently called you names, because she's afraid of you... And Jase flipped on her.  I broke it up." 
"I see," I said, giving her a quizzical glance.  I hoped she'd spill the beans and let me know what had her irked, but she didn't.  So I just left to continue tending to Hallie.

Allie cried off and on all day long.  Hallie cried for the better part of the day, and she only stopped to take one single nap. 
When she was taking a nap, I walked over to my wife, who was looking worse by the hour. 
"Are you sure you're alright?"  She was sitting on the wicker chair that Blondie had abandoned for awhile, and so I leaned over it from behind. 
She tipped her head up to look at me.  "Yeah, I'm sure."
"Need to talk?" 
Shrug. 
"Alright..." I said, glancing one more time at her bloodshot eyes.  Wait..bloodshot.  Didn't people get bloodshot eyes if they had bad headaches, migraines (yuck, I don't want to talk about THAT), or from lack of sleep or whatever?  I hoped she didn't have a headache. 
"Do you-"
"I'm fine, hon."  She gave me a small smile and rested her head on the hand I'd put on her shoulder.
"Okay...well, if you wanna talk or anything, let me know."  I gave her shoulder a squeeze and then turned towards Alexis, who was sitting with Jase. 
Jase had been...well...nasty all day long, after her little spat with Alexis.
"How are you two girls doing?"  I asked.
"Fine."  Jase shot a glance towards Alexis, and Alexis shrank back. 
"Do you two want to go for a walk or something to get out of here for a bit?  I'm sure Momma-"
"No, I'm fine."  Alexis mumbled. 
"Yeah.  I guess I'll stay, too."  Jase told me as well. 
"Okay, if you're sure."  I gave them both a small smile, but Alexis refused to even look at me. 
That's basically how the whole day went. 
By the time ten PM rolled around, Rapunzel looked ten times worse than she had this morning, Jase was grumped, Alexis was still unrelenting on her shyness towards me, Hallie was still crying, Allie had finally calmed down...and I think just about everyone was ready to snap at the smallest thing.
Right before Rapunzel started to crawl into bed behind me, Hallie started wailing. 
"Get some sleep...I'll be back if I can get her to go to sleep.." she mumbled sleepily, and she was gone before I could offer to get her. 
I listened to her quiet chatter with Hallie for awhile, but I eventually fell asleep.

Next time I woke up, it was Too-Early-In-The-Morning-O-Clock, and my wife was crying.  To herself, but I could still hear her.  I felt for her beside me, but she wasn't there, so I sat up and looked around.  When I saw her, she was balled up near my feet, her shoulders heaving. 
I scooted down beside her and asked her what was wrong. 
"Hmm?"  she glanced up at me in alarm.  "N-nothing." 
Nothing, yet her voice cracked. 
"There's obviously something.  C'mere," I told her, reaching to hug her. 
"I'm telling you, it's-"
I broke her off by pulling her close to me, but she pushed me away. 
Oookay. 
"You're going to tell me one way or another, girl."  I stared at her for a few minutes, and she wouldn't look at me. 
I flopped onto my back, still staring at her, and she scooted towards my head so she could try to stare me down. 
She lost.  "You're not gonna back down, are you..." she said, sounding tired, deflated, and upset. 
I silently offered for her to lay down beside me, and she continued to look at me as she took in a ragged breath.  My heart squeezed with sympathy for her, because whatever it was had obviously gotten her pretty upset. 
She curled herself up into a ball at my side, and I wrapped my arms around her and held her heaving shoulders until she regained composure. 
"I-I'm...sorry I shoved you.  And you're right.  I'm tired, run down, I wish I knew what was the matter with Hallie, aand..and poor Alexis is so scared of Ray coming back that she had a nightmare tonight about him.  And I wish she wasn't so scared...and I have a massive headache and I can't go to sleep because of it..." she paused, glancing up to meet my eyes.  "You have really gorgeous brown eyes, you know.  Oh, gosh; did I really say that?  I'm so dumb..I'm just - just too tired to even really THINK straight!"  she half sobbed, half gulped out. 
Well...that last part there was pretty random.  Okay, REALLY random and off the wall to be precise, but the rest was understandable. 
And she'd seriously gone all day long with a headache, with the babies screaming and all the other tension going on today?  She was obviously stronger than I was if she'd kept her cool all day long with a headache.  I just felt bad that she hadn't told me, but at the same time, I wasn't surprised that she hadn't. 
"I'm sorry, hon.  I wish I knew what was up with Hallie, too.  But don't worry...Alexis will come around.  But why didn't you tell me you had a headache?  That's crummy."
Her shoulders pulled up into a shrug.  "I didn't think I needed to.  I mean, you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it, anyway.  That, and I felt kind of dumb being so grouched about it, when that's not even CLOSE to what you dealt with, with the migraines."
"Yeah, but it's not dumb.  Headaches stink as well."  I told her.  I wanted to give her a kiss, but I didn't want to aggrivate her, so I didn't. 
She stretched her legs out and wormed a bit closer into my side, and so I tightened my arms around her.  She put her head on my chest, and my heart pounded for a few minutes.  I fumbled for something else to say, and I finally offered to get up with Hallie through the night. 
"No...I can-" she mumbled, her voice slightly muffled. 
"You can go to sleep and get rested up.  Your headache will go away if you get a good night's rest."  I told her, hoping she'd think about that and accept it willingly. 
"But you'll-"  she started. 
You'll get a migraine. 
Well, these things happened sometimes. 
But you, my dear, need to get rest. 
I'm supposed to be cured of migraines, anyway. 

I didn't say any of these things, I just broke her off and said, "Be just fine.  I was fine today, and I will be fine tomorrow."
She sighed in defeat.  "Okay...well, thanks, honey." 
"Sure, hon."  I paused, deciding to risk teasing her.  "Oh, and for the record?  You've got the most captivating green eyes."  So it wasn't really teasing..it WAS true, but hidden in a tease.  If that makes sense. 
"Knock it off."  she grumbled, huffing. 
"Oh, I'm just teasing, hon.  Actually,..." Woops.  I hadn't thought THIS through.  "I-it's true, and I'm...not really TEASING, but - you know." 
"Y-y-y-y-y-yeah-h."  she drew the word out, and I could hear her getting irritated with me. 
"Okay, I'll let you get to sleep now.  Night," I paused to plant a kiss in her hair and then I pulled her just a bit closer and sighed as I realized how tired I was.  She gave me a one-armed hug and I wondered if she could hear my heart pound, since her head was still on my chest. 
"I love you, my dear girl...  I hope tomorrow's a better day," I told her, but she didn't answer, and her chest rose in deep, even breaths, so I figured she'd finally gone to sleep.  I removed one of my arms from around her and carefully reached to pull the handkerchief over her, hoping to goodness I didn't move around enough to wake her up again.   [Yeah.  Try to hold someone at your side, with their head on your chest and an arm around you.  And reach something juuuuust an arm's length away, without moving a centimeter.  Or waking anyone up.  Not the easiest thing in the world!]  And then I went to sleep.

Well, my Thursday was...Interesting....

The morning after we began fostering Alexis, I woke up at, like, 9.  I had slept sooo hard, but I still woke up with my first headache ever.  Bleagh.  I didn't tell anyone, though. 
Flynn said he'd gotten up with Hallie twice, but she was good other than that. 
When I stumbled out from under the bench in the morning, squinting with sleepiness, all havoc was being wreacked. 
Hallie was screaming, even ALLIE was fussing and....Jase was apparently having it out with Alexis.
Oh boy. 

Since Flynn and Merida had Hallie and Allie covered, I hurried over to the other two girls. 
"Girls, girls!  Knock it off!  What is going on?!"  I exclaimed, grabbing Jase's arm in one hand and Alexis' in the other and pulling them apart from one anothers' slapping hands. 
"She called Daddy names!"  Jase yelled reproachfully at Alexis. 
"Why did you call him names, Alexis?"  I turned to her and asked. 
"Because."  She glared reproachfully at me. 
Wow.  If looks could kill... 
"Because why?" 
"He's...I do that when I'm scared of someone, okay?" 
"I told you, you don't have to be scared of him!  He's not Ray!"  Jase yelled.
"Jase, honey...quiet down.  You don't have to scream to be heard over Hallie and Allie, even though it might seem like it.  Now, Alexis...why are you scared of him?"
"Ray put a good dose of fear into her once after she called him something because she was scared of him."  Jase said for her, and she wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Okay...but why did you start a fight with her?  Yesterday, you were so happy to see her..."
"Because she doesn't need to call Daddy names!" 
"Okay.  Now, Jase...you don't need to pick fights with your adopted siblings just because she says something you don't agree with, okay honey?  And Alexis, I can understand why you're scared, but name-calling doesn't help anything.  And your Daddy won't hurt you, I promise.  Alright, sweetie?"
"Sorry, Momma..." Jase looked sheepishly up at me. 
"It's alright.  Just don't be so quick to fight, okay?" 
She nodded and I left her go.  I let go of Alexis' arm as well, but she didn't twitch. 
"Lexi...mind if I call you Lexi?"
She shrugged, staring at the ground. 
"Are you upset at me now?" 
She shook her head silently. 
"What's wrong?"  I wasn't sure if I should pull her close into a hug or if I should leave well enough alone. 
"Was just...nothing." 
"Well, if you're thinking about it, it must not be nothing," I knelt beside her and wrapped my arms around her.  "You can trust me." 
"I've just been fostered by so many other couples that I can't help  but wonder how long I'll be here." 
My heart squeezed for this poor girl.  "Oh, honey...don't worry about that stuff." 
"But really.  I don't think I'll be here long, by the looks of things."
"What?"  I asked, completely confused.  What was she talking about?
"Babies screaming, I know just by looking at you that you're unsure about this yourself..add that together and you've got a recipe for returning me." 
Well, she was an old pro.  I could feel my headache worsening as we talked. 
"We'll see.  I'd like to keep you around, though, honey, really."  I gave her a hug and looked down into her cool, emotionless face.  It must have taken a lot to make a six-year-old doll to be like that. 
She walked away, and I stood with a deflated sigh. 
"What's the matter, hon?"  Flynn strode over, Hallie in his arms. 
"Nothing..."  I fibbed, looking away from him and down at Hallie.  "Want me to take Miss Screams-A-Lot?" 
"I can handle miss Hallie.  What I'd like to know is why you look so...like...I dunno." 
"Like a zombie?  Thanks.." I grumbled. "I'm fine."
"I'm not sure I believe that, but I'll let it slide.  What were those two fighting about?"
"Alexis apparently called you names, because she's afraid of you..and Jase flipped on her.  I broke it up." 
"I see."  he gave me another puzzled glance and then left. 

Annnd that's basically how the whole entire day went.  Hallie screamed.  And screamed.  And cried...and cried...and..well, you get the gist.  And because of Hallie, Allie cried plenty as well.  Merida was starting to get a little snippy with everyone else because of that.  Jase was still somewhat miffed at Alexis, and Alexis was..Alexis.  I tried plenty to include her, but if I was anywhere near my own husband, she wouldn't go anywhere near us.  Rayne convinced Merida and Blondie into a walk, so it was just Flynn and me against two screaming babies, one horribly shy girl, and another girl that was volatile as all getout.  My headache was raging by the time it was night. 

We all got the babies to go to sleep, the girls to simmer down and go to sleep, and we were heading for bed when Hallie started crying.  Aaaagain. 
"Get some sleep...I'll be back if I can get her to go to sleep."  I mumbled to Flynn as I turned on my heel and made my way back to Hallie. 
I scooped her up.  "Little girl...why on earth are you so upset?  I would love to know..."  I told her, giving her a cuddle and plopping down. 
She quieted down eventually, and I was able to lay her down and go to bed.  For however long THAT would last!
I stopped when I heard slight, muffled noises coming from Alexis and Jase's direction. 
I crept over and peered down at them. Alexis was wide awake, and I could see the tears in her eyes. 
I immediately scooped her up and gave her a concerned look.  "What's wrong?"
"I had a scary dream," she mumbled, as if she was embarrassed. 
"Oh, that's not good," I told her.  "You wanna elaborate?"
"I just...just dreamed that Ray was back.."  she whispered quietly. 
"Ahh...well, you don't have to worry about that happening.  He's not coming back."
"How do you know?" 
And that's how I ended up spilling my whole spiel about how he'd tried to take Hallie and Allie away from us, and what he'd done to me and so on and so forth.  When I was done, she immediately leaned into me and wrapped her tiny arms around me in a hug that made my heart squeeze. 
"You're brave, I guess...he never hurt me that bad.  And you aren't scared of boys after that." 
"I'm not very brave.  I was scared, too.  And if you give your Daddy a chance, you won't be scared, either.  He's really nice, trust me.  He might like to tease, but he's not mean by any stretch."
"I'll try...but it's hard."  She squinched her face up and looked at me. 
"I can understand.  Now...do we feel better?"  I asked her. 
"I dunno...I guess so.  I'm just scared." 
"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"
A very firm NO came from that one.  "I'm fine." 
"Okay...well, you need to get to sleep, then, and so do I."  I told her, giving her one last cuddle and kissing her forehead.  She quietly went back to bed, and I headed back there myself. 

I was soooo worn out, and my head ached, and I couldn't sleep because of that.  I was in tears by one o clock in the morning, when I STILL hadn't gone to sleep.  I didn't want to wake Flynn, so I curled up at the other end under the bench, and cried to myself - I'm pretty good at silent crying if need be. 

I needed a good cry, and a good cry I intended to have.  But soon, I heard Flynn. 
"Hon? What's the matter?" 
"Hmm?  N-nothing."  I hated the fact that my voice cracked.  I looked up and saw he was sitting up beside me, peering at me with a concerned look on his face. 
"There's obviously something.  C'mere." 
"I'm telling you, it's-"
He reached to pull me into a hug, but I pushed away from him, knowing that if he would as much as touch me, I'd burst into tears.  Again. 
"You're going to tell me one way or another, girl."  he raised his eyebrows at me and stared me down.  He flopped down on his back, but he still stared at me. 
I crawled up to the other end under the bench and returned his pensive stare, but I lost, and I suddenly felt deflated.  "You're not gonna back down, are you."  my voice wobbled. 
He silently held an arm out from his side, and I took in a ragged breath as the tears got the better of me once again.  I curled up in a ball on my side, and he silently wrapped his arms tightly around me, holding me until I got control of my composure again.  "I-I'm..sorry I shoved you.  And you're right...I'm tired, run down, I wish I knew what was the matter with Hallie, a-and...and poor Alexis is so scared of Ray coming back that she had a nightmare tonight about him..and I wish she wasn't so scared...and I have a massive headache and I can't go to sleep because of it..." I glanced up at his eyes, which were filled with concern.  "You have really gorgeous brown eyes, you know...oh gosh, did I really say that?  I'm so dumb...I'm just...just too tired to even really THINK straight!"  I gulped out; embarrassed, upset, and just..ugh. 
He took a deep breath and stared at me a few moments before he replied.  "I'm sorry, hon.  I wish I knew what was up with Hallie, too.  But don't worry..Alexis will come around.  But why didn't you let me know you had a headache?  That's crummy." 
I shrugged.  "I didn't think I needed to...I mean, you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it anyway.  That and I felt kind of dumb being so grouched about it, when that's not even close to what you dealt with, with the migraines." 
"Yeah, but it's not dumb.  Headaches stink as well."  he held me close as I unfurled my legs and wormed in a bit closer to his side, putting my head on his chest.  "I'll get up with Hallie tonight."
"No..." I mumbled.  "I can-"
"You can go to sleep and get rested up.  Your headache will go away if you get a good night's rest."
"But you'll-"
"Be just fine.  I was fine today, and I will be fine tomorrow." 
I opened my mouth to protest, but I just sighed and thanked him. 
"Sure, hon.  Oh, and for the record?  You've got the most captivating green eyes." 
Seriously...he had to rub in my awkward in-the-brain, out-the-mouth moment?  "Knock it off."  I grumbled with a huff. 
"Oh, I'm just teasing, hon.  Actually..it's true, and I'm .not really TEASING, but..you know." 
Alrighty then.  "Yyyyyeah." 
"Okay, I'll let you get to sleep now...night," he planted a kiss in my hair and pulled me a bit closer with a sigh. I reached over to give him a one-armed hug and then I was FINALLY asleep. 

So that's where we're at now.  I really, really hope that Hallie starts going back to the sweet little baby she used to be...and I hope Alexis comes around.  I'm hoping that our little heart-to-heart tonight helped her to realize we're not out to get her or whatever, but we'll see.

Flynn here...Alexis

Hey everyone....wow, I haven't posted here in forever.  Sorry, guys! 

As you may know by my wife's recent posts, Tangled Fan asked us if we'd adopt another girl, named Alexis...who is around Jase's age.  You may also know that Hallie has been crying and screaming lately.  A. LOT.  I wish my wife would allow me to get up with her once in awhile - it wouldn't kill me.  Even if I do end up with migraines, and Tangled Fan had said I was cured anyway.  But no...she about ran herself into the ground this week, staying up with her.  I'd offered several times to get up with her, but she wouldn't let me.  Regardless..
Tuesday night, she was really fussy...again. 
We went to bed at seven, because we knew it would be an early start tomorrow morning, but Hallie started crying an hour later. 
"I'll-"
"No, hon.  You get some sleep, and I'll quiet her down."
"But you need-"
"Huh-uh."  She shook her head and then left to get Hallie.
I did go back to sleep for awhile, but around one in the morning, I woke up and reached to pull my wife close to me...but my arm hit the top of the dresser, instead of her side.  I peeled my eyes open and felt around, but she wasn't in 'bed'. 
I stumbled out from under the bench and then stopped, blinking.  When I could halfways see in the darkness, I saw her.  She was laying on her side, curled in a ball with Hallie up against her.  Both were sleeping so soundly, I considered just leaving them there.  But when I saw how close to the edge of the dresser they were, I figured I'd best move them. 
I picked Hallie up and took her to sleep with Jase and Allie, praying she'd stay asleep the rest of  the night.  When I made sure she was going to stay asleep, I turned back to my wife.  I carefully scooped her up, hoping to not wake her up, either.
I set her on her back and pulled the handkerchief blanket up over her, looking down at her sleeping face.  I risked touching my lips to her forehead, and then laid down on my back, sighing and shutting my eyes. 
For a second, anyhow. 
Suddenly, I felt my shirt collar being pulled, and then my wife grabbed me into a kiss.  So much for being asleep.  My eyes flew open in surprise, but then I shut them again and enjoyed the kiss until she pulled away. 
"Did I wake you?"  I whispered when she pulled away.  She situated herself on her belly, propping herself up on her elbows. 
She shrugged, so while I waited for an answer, I pulled the handkerchief back up and then spread my arm out to invite her to curl up beside me. 
She quickly accepted, and my heart squeezed when she put her small hand on my chest and rested her head beside it.  And then she gave me a smile to boot. 
Trying to find something to say, I asked her if she was ready to meet Alexis. 
"I guess - anxious, but ready."  she told me, and I gave her shoulders a squeeze before telling her that she needed to get to sleep, adding that hopefully, Hallie would sleep the rest of the night. 
"That's for sure."  she told me, giving a little sigh and snuggling in a bit closer.  "Love you." 
A broad smile crossed my face when she said that, and my heart squeezed before I told her I loved her as well.  I reached to kiss her hair and within a few minutes, I was back in Sleep-Land. 

The next morning came a bit too soon.  My wife was still asleep, so I watched her blissful face for a couple minutes before I figured she needed to wake up 
"Wa-a-a-a-ake up, darling.  Rapunzel...wake up.  Rapunzel...hon.  Rapunzel...Rapunnnnzelll...dear, wake up....We need to get moving...wake up, Rapunzel....Rapunzel.  Ra-"
"I'm up, I'm up already!"  she fairly grumbled, peeling her eyes open. 
Okay...so maybe I overdid my annoying act a bit much.  "Good morning to you, too, my little sunshine."  I told her sarcastically, and she laughed. 
"Sorry."  she finally lifted her head off of my chest to look at me.  I grinned at her drowsy expression, and a smile teased her lips.  "What time's it?" 
"Tangled Fan will be back in..." I trailed off as I thought about the time.  "Probably a half an hour."
"Half an hour?!"  she moaned and let her head drop dramatically onto my chest.  "Can't we just stay here...and go back to sleep...while Hallie's actually not screaming?"
 Boy, didn't THAT sound like a good idea.  I chuckled, though.  "Tempting as it sounds, we need to get moving." 
She sighed, and started to push herself up and sit.   I impulsively snaked my hand out, grabbed her arm, and when she turned to give me a confused look, I took her chin in my other hand and pulled her close to kiss her. 
When I parted my lips from hers, she gave me a dazzled smile, so I gave her a grin back. 
Her face started growing red, and she looked down before leaving to brush her hair out. 

So I stayed under the bench with my eyes shut, thinking about my wife.
Suddenly, though, I heard her say, "Watch this."  to someone..so I figured I'd just keep my eyes shut.  If she was going to try sneaking up on me, she'd get a good surprise - how could I pass that up?!! 
I felt her finger trail lightly across my cheek, and I resisted twitching. 
Then, I heard her draw in a breath, inches away from my face. 
Perfect opportunity. 
My eyes flashed open, I grabbed her arms, and I yelled "Boo!" at the same time.  Who says men can't multitask?  They can multitask when it comes to teasing, anyway. 
She screamed, doing a weird yanking away/slapping at my hands dance, and then smacked her head off of the bench. 
That was classic. 
I started laughing, and sat up.  I could hear Merida laughing her head off as well. 
She rubbed at her head and looked in my direction.  I couldn't keep from laughing.  I pressed my lips together, but that didn't help.  My wife wandered over towards me, and I figured I'd give her a quick kiss to show I didn't exactlyyyy mean to laugh at her expense.  She came in close to me, and I was just about to kiss her, when she planted a hand on my chest and shoved me down onto my back. 
"Hey, no fair!"  I laughed.  She giggled at me and shook her head. 
Merida finally stopped laughing, and Rapunzel stuck around.  She held a hand out to me, grinning, and I cautiously took her hand, expecting her to either be nice and help me up, or pick at me and do something un-helpful.  She decided to be helpful. 

A little while later, we were standing in front of a certain little girl by the name of Alexis. 
She had curly red hair and greenish-blue eyes, and her appearance reminded me loosely of Merida. 
She was shy, and terrified of me. 
She was also formerly adopted by Ray and HB.
After some quiet discussion, we decided we'd try fostering her.  I was a bit unsure that she'd ever learn to trust me - I mean, she'd totally flip if I'd as much as look at her cross-eyed.  But I wouldn't give up on a chance to show her I wasn't going to hurt her, either. 

So that's how we ended up about an hour later, back on our dresser and trying to get acquainted with Alexis. 
We found out that Jase and Alexis had been adopted at the same time by HB and Ray.  We also found out (sorry about the off-the-wall random moment) found out Merida is REALLY as bad a singer as she said she was! 
The majority of the day went pretty well. 
Jase, on several occassions, tried to get Alexis, or "Lexi", to warm up to me - all of which failed.  The shy little girl kept close on my wife's lap, beside Hallie. 
Speaking of Hallie, she was very good all day long.  She only really cried once or so.  Anyway...
The day went by pretty quickly.  All too soon, we were heading to bed ourselves, after we put the babies to bed. 
We gave Jase hugs, kisses, and exchanged I love yous with her, and then I watched as my wife reached to pull Alexis into a hug.  She gave her a kiss on her cheek, but Alexis remained blank-faced and unaffected by Rapunzel's tenderness. 
I reached to give Alexis a hug and kiss goodnight, but she grabbed onto Rapunzel's neck so tightly I thought she'd choke her.  She buried her face in Rapunzel's shoulder. 
"Good night, Alexis.  Love you,"
Her little head jerked up from my wife's shoulder, and she gave me a silent, wide-eyed stare until Rapunzel set her down and Jase hauled her over to where they'd sleep. 

When we went to bed, Rapunzel promptly flopped down on her back and heaved a huge sigh.  I laid down beside her and she turned her head to look at me.  "Was this a good idea?"
For a few seconds, I wondered what in the world she was talking about.  But then I remembered - gee, how could I forget?  "She just needs time.  She's just scared, shy, and no wonder; if Ray had her.  I'll get her to warm up to me, I'm sure." 
"You're right.  And that's true as well..you're good at getting people to warm up to you!" 
She flopped onto her belly and gave me a smile, propping herself up on her elbows. 
"She just needs time...it IS a lot different from when we started fostering Jase, though.  Anyway...we should probably get some rest."
She nodded, and I met her eyes for a moment before I reached to kiss her. 
And then Hallie started to cry. 
We froze, and then she pulled away with a sheepish glance towards me.  "Night, honey...I'll be back whenever I can be back."  With a sigh, she left. 
I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't, so I just listened for her to come back to 'bed'. 
Pretty soon - I was surprised that she'd gotten her quieted down so quickly - she came back in, curled up nearby, and she must've thought I was asleep. 
I turned onto my side and whispered in her ear, asking if Hallie had gone to sleep. 
She rolled onto her belly and propped herself up.  "Yup...for now.  The big girls are asleep, too."  (Jase & Alexis). 
"That's good..." I told her, studying her pretty face. 
"I didn't wake-"
"No, you didn't."  I told her. "C'mere."  I held a hand out to her, and she quirked a brow and gave me a 'what in the world' look, but she took it.  I reached up and pulled her into a kiss.  When I started to pull away, she gave me a sweet kiss back.  It ended all too soon and so I brushed the hair from her face, giving her a grin even though I'm sure she couldn't see. 
I told her good night, and that I would get up with Hallie through the night, so she could get some rest. 
"Thanks, hon...but I can get up with her.  No big"- she paused to muffle a yawn-"no big deal."
  Really?  "Tangled Fan said I was supposedly cured of migraines....why not put it to the test?  Then you don't have to obsess about me getting eight hours of sleep, and I can be a Daddy to Hallie and if either of the other girls gets up through the night.  And you don't have to run yourself down.  It's a win-win-win!"
She laughed through her nose and sat up, looking at me. 
"I'd prefer not to put it to the test, though.  I don't want to risk you-"
At that, I sat up and pulled her into a kiss to break off her sentence. 
She shook her head.  "I don't want to risk you getting-"
I broke her off again, with a mischievous grin.  "Do I have to do it again?" 
"Oh, shush up!"  she said, unable to hide the silly grin on her face and the fact that she was holding back a laugh.  "I'm...being serious here."
I leaned close to whisper in her ear.  "Then why do you have that goofy grin on your face, if you're being Miss Serious?" 
She almost burst out laughing, but caught herself and just snorted. 
"Oh, why do I even bother...!" she groaned at me as she let herself fall facefirst onto the dresser. 
I laughed through my nose at her and rubbed her back for a few seconds before I flopped down as well. 
"Night, hon.  Love you so much."  At least, that's what I thought she said.  It was kind of hard to hear her when her face was pressed into the dresser top. 
But regardless.  "Love you too, dear girl."  I mumbled before I went to sleep. 

Meeting Alexis

Hey everyone...sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  Hallie's STILL been fussy off and on, but we've been managing...barely ;)  The good part is that I can listen to my hubby sing quietly to her.  I'm serious, she'll quiet down if you sing to her!  It's weird, but hey...get to hear my hubby's awesome voice a lot!  (: Anyway...
Last night, Hallie was particularly fussy.  We had set a time that we would go to meet the girl, Alexis, and it just happened to be early tomorrow morning.  Of course. 
We all went to bed around 7, and Hallie was sleeping peacefully.   We covered up the kids with a small doll blanket Tangled Fan had given us, and then Flynn and I used one of the two handkerchiefs Tangled Fan had given us as well...the nights were beginning to cool off.
I was optimistic and excited for a good night's sleep.  For about an hour. 
When she started wailing, I got up with her, telling Flynn to get plenty of sleep. 
I got her up and wandered around for awhile, quieted her down, and then laid her back down.  The second she left my arms, she started huffing and her face crumpled. 
I scooped her back up and she quieted. 
"Sweetie pie...you need to go to sleep, baby."  I whispered to her and she grinned.  "I dunno why you think you need to be with Momma or Daddy every second, but that's okay too.  Will you sleep for me if I take you back to snooze with me and Daddy?" 
She started to whimper again.  Well, there's the answer to THAT question. 
"Okay, okay.  We won't go to bed with Daddy."  I whispered, humming quietly to her for a few seconds.  She stopped, and after awhile, her eyes closed.  I tried to lay her back down...but nope. 
So I sat with her and held her until I don't know when. 

Sometime through the night, I woke up to feel two arms gently scooping me up.  I couldn't even open my eyes, I was so tired.  I didn't hear Hallie, but I could tell she wasn't in my arms anymore.  So by process of elimination, Flynn had likely woken up, realized I was still out here, found me asleep, taken Hallie and lain her down with Allie and Jase...and so now he was taking me back to bed.  I started to open my mouth in protest, but instead, I just buried my head in the crook of his neck. 
I felt myself being lowered onto my back and then the handkerchief being carefully spread across me.  His lips touched my forehead in a careful kiss, and then  I heard him flop down beside me, loosing a tired sigh, and I randomly thought about how lucky I was to be married to him.  So in one deft movement, I rolled over and pulled him into a kiss.  When I pulled away, I managed to peel my eyes open again - but just barely.  I could hardly see through the darkness, anyway. 
"Did I wake you?"  he whispered. 
I shrugged, propping myself up on my elbows.  His eyes flicked down and he reached to pull the handkerchief back up, and then he spread his arm away from him. 
I accepted the silent offer and rolled over to face him, cuddling up as close as I could get.  I rested my head and my hand on his chest and rolled my eyes up towards him, giving him a smile. 
"Ya ready to go meet Alexis later?"  he whispered, apparently not ready to go back to sleep.
Well...I was really nervous, but at the same time, I felt ready.  "I guess...anxious, but ready."  I finally said, and he put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me tight. 
"You should get to sleep, sweetie, and so should I...we'll see what the morning brings and hopefully, Hallie will sleep through the night."
"That's for sure...love you."
I could hear his smile when he answered me.  "Love you too." 
He plopped a kiss in my hair and I was out like a light. 

This morning, I woke up hearing my name being repeated an annoying amount of times. 
"Waaaake up, darling...Rapunzel...wake up...Rapunzel....hon....Rapunzel..."  and so on and so forth. 
"I'm up, I'm up, already..." I grumbled, working at peeling my eyes open. 
"Good morning to you, too, my little sunshine."  Flynn said sarcastically, and despite myself, I laughed. 
"Sorry."  I chuckled and lifted my head to look at him.  He gave me that grin, and my heart squeezed.  "What time's it?" 
"Tangled Fan will be back in...probably a half an hour." 
"Half an hour?"  I moaned and let my head flop back down dramatically onto his chest.  "Can't we just stay here..and go back to sleep....while Hallie's actually not screaming?" 
He chuckled.  "Tempting as it sounds, we need to get moving." 
I sighed reluctantly.  I felt like a zombie or something...I mean, I'd been getting about six hours of sleep per night, interrupted periodically by Hallie. Flynn could always get up with her, too, but I didn't want him getting migraines.  Anyway...I'm rambling.  "I suppose you're right." 
I started to sit up, but he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me close to give me a gentle kiss.  When he pulled away, I gave him a grin, my heart fluttering. 
He matched it and then I looked down, my face slightly warm.  "I need to go braid my hair, I suppose...don't want to scare the poor girl." 
"You won't," he laughed. 

After I'd brushed and braided my hair, I went back to peek under the bench.  Everyone else was up, but Flynn wasn't out there.  I bent to look in on him. 
Was he seriously sleeping?!  Looked like it to me. 
So of course, how could I pass this opportunity up? 
I started to creep in, but Merida stopped me. 
"What are ye doin'?"  she whispered.
"Watch this."  I nodded towards him, and a sneaky grin lit up her face. 
She stood back, and I crept towards him.  I carefully trailed my finger down his cheek in an attempt to simulate something crawling across it, but when that didn't work, I leaned down to say 'boo'. 
Just as my lips were forming the word, I quickly found out he was NOT sleeping. 
He yelled 'boo' and grabbed my arms at the same time.  I screamed and yanked away in surprise, smacking my head off of the bench. 
Laughing, he sat up.  I heard Merida cackling in the background, and I glanced around to look at her.  She was bent over, and her face was about as red as her hair, from laughing.  I absently rubbed at my throbbing head,  then glanced over at my husband. He tried to press his lips together and stop laughing, but he took one look at me and started to shake all over, until he finally gave into the laughter.
I rolled my eyes and went over to him.  He must've thought he could kiss me after doing that, but I had a little surprise up my sleeve.  When he reached up to pull me into a kiss, I leaned in towards him as if to accept the kiss..but then I gave him a shove on the chest, pushing him back down. 
"Hey, no fair!"  he said, laughing, and I finally started to giggle.  By now, Merida had tears streaking her cheeks. 
I was nice and stuck around to help him up.  When he was up and we were out from under the bench, he kissed my forehead.  "You alright?"
"Never better."  I chuckled.  "It only hurt for a couple minutes." 
He snorted, trying to suppress more laughter. 

After that, Tangled Fan came in and after we said bye to Jase and Hallie, we were off.  Before we left, though, she presented us with a nice little blanket for the babies...great!  Anyway, that was a lil off topic.. :D  Anyway. 

When we got to where we were going, she plopped us down near Alexis, and then stood back and waited.


I glanced at Flynn, swallowing hard.  Alexis glanced at us with a scared expression on her face. 
"She's shy," Tangled Fan told us.
I nodded silently and then walked slowly towards her, not sure of what to do or say.
"Hey, Alexis..." I finally managed, crouching down by her. 
This was so different from when we met Jase.  Jase had practically thrown herself at us, babbling a hundred miles per hour. 
"Hi."  she glanced at me, eyebrows furrowed. 
"Did Tangled Fan tell you we were going to come see you?"
She nodded.  "I-I'm glad to meet you." 

I gave her a smile and scooped her up, standing.  "Do you want to tell us something about yourself?" 
"I'm six.  I need a new home, I've been tossed around a lot.  The last couple that had me were really mean.  And I want a little sister." 
"That's good...we have two little girls already - one's right around your age, so you can play together," I told her, and a spark of interest finally glimmered in her eyes. 
Until Flynn made a move to scoop her up out of my arms.  She gasped and clung frantically to my neck, and started breathing heavily. 
"It's alright...he's really nice.  Why are you so scared of him, sweetie?"  I asked her. 
She stared warily at Flynn until he backed off a few steps.  "The last couple that had me was really mean and the guy was especially." 
I thought furiously.  Had she been with Ray and HB before?  "Ray and HB?"  I asked her. 
She nodded. 
"Oh, I'm so sorry.  You don't ever have to worry about him being mean to you."
She squirmed to be put down, and I walked over to Flynn. 
He pulled me close to his side and whispered in my ear. "Well...are we gonna foster her?"
I reached up onto my tiptoes and whispered back. "I dunno..she's just so scared. But I'm sure if we show her we're not like Ray and HB - yeah. They had her for awhile too. Anyway, I'm sure she'll come around."
"Okay. Then let's do it," he said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before turning me to face Tangled Fan.

After about a half an hour, we were back home with Alexis.
She clung to me like nobody's business. I had to work her arms from around my neck before I could set her down on top of the dresser.
I introduced her to everyone, and she promptly went over to Jase.
"Jase?" she asked, peering at her.
Jase's face brightened, and she grabbed her into a hug. "Lexi!"
"You know Alexis, Jase?" I asked, smiling at their big grins.
"Yeah! We were both.." Jase's smile vanished. "We were both with HB and Ray at the same time."
"Ooh," I nodded understandingly.
Jase parted from Alexis and bounced over to Flynn, who had just sat down. She plopped herself down on his lap and gave him a cute little grin that even made ME smile!
"C'mon, Lexi! Daddy's awesome. He won't hurt you."
"That's okay...I'll stay with her," she said, backing up against my legs. I scooped up Hallie and put a hand behind Alexis' head.
"It's alright, honey. He won't hurt you, you know that, right?"
She shrugged, and I just left it at that. I couldn't really blame her for being so flighty, though, if she'd been with Ray and HB.
"How was miss Hallie today?" I turned towards Merida and sat down, pulling Alexis onto my lap as well.
"She was pretty good...she cried a little bit but when she heard my gosh-awful raspy singing voice, she decided she'd quiet down just so she wouldn't have to hear me anymore!" she laughed.
"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad." I chuckled.
So she decided to give us a quick little serenade.
I was wrong.
"O-oh," I said, wide-eyed.
"Wow." Flynn said, and I glanced over. He wore the same expression as I probably did.
"Told ya!" She laughed and scooped up Allie.

We spent the day getting acquainted with Alexis, and the day flew by.
In the blink of an eye, we were getting the babies ready for bed.
When the babies were sleeping soundly and covered all up, we turned towards the 'big girls'. Jase gave both of us enthusiastic hugs and kisses goodnight, and exchanging I love yous, but Alexis hung back. Finally, I pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek, telling her good night. She just stayed like a board - stiff.
Flynn went to give her a hug, and she grabbed onto my neck and buried her face into my shoulder.
So he just told her. "Good night, Alexis...love you."
She glanced up towards him, wide-eyed. Had she ever heard someone tell her they loved her? Surely...
I set her down, and Jase took her by the hand and fairly dragged her over to their new designated 'bed'.
I checked one last time that Hallie was asleep, and then we headed to bed ourselves.
"Was this a good idea?" I whispered when we got to bed, turning my head to look at him.
"She just needs time. She's just scared, shy, and no wonder, if Ray had her. I'll get her to warm up to me, I'm sure."
"You're right. And that's true as well...you're good at getting people to warm up to you!" I gave him a smile and rolled over onto my belly so I wouldn't get a crick in my neck. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked down at his face, slightly mesmerized by his deep brown eyes.
"She just needs time..it is a lot different from when we started fostering Jase, though. Anyway...we should probably get some rest."
I nodded, and he finally met my eyes before reaching to slowly pull my chin down towards him. Our lips just started to meet for a sweet, goodnight kiss...when...you guessed it. Hallie decided she wasn't sleepy anymore!
We both froze, and I looked sideways as I listened. When she didn't quiet down after a few seconds, I pulled away with an apologetic glance towards him.
"Night, honey. I'll be back whenever I can be back." I sighed and left to see what was up with Hallie. As was the new normal.

I scooped her up and wandered around a bit. Hallie quieted down pretty quickly, but I held her to make sure she fell asleep and stayed asleep. I checked to make sure Jase and Alexis were still sleeping soundly, and they were. Then I just hummed until she seemed like she was going to sleep for awhile.
I laid her carefully down under their new blanket and kept a hand on her arm until I knew she was still asleep. Then, I quietly crept back to bed, for however long that would be!
I curled up on my side, away from Flynn, and was just allowing my eyes to go shut when he turned and whispered in my ear. "She asleep?"
I rolled onto my stomach and propped myself up. "Yup...for now. The 'big girls' are asleep, too."
"That's good..." he said, and I could feel him studying my face in the darkness.
I hoped I hadn't woken him up. "I didn't wake-"
"No, you didn't. C'mere." He held a hand up, and I quirked a brow.
What on earth? I took it, though, and he set it back down beside him. That was all fine and everything, but that was going to be uncomfortable as-
Then, he pulled me into a kiss that was somehow gentle and passionate at the same time. How did he even do that? My heart pounded, and I shut my eyes, enjoying every last second of it before I returned it. When I pulled away, I once more propped myself up to look at him. He let go of my hand and reached to brush the hair from my face. I could see his sweet grin through the darkness, and my heart squeezed. I wanted to kiss him again, but I didn't want to seem weird. I'd already kissed him once just a few seconds ago, anyway. So I just bit my lip and gave him a smile back.
"Good night, my sweet, dear girl. Get recharged - I know the past week or so has been pretty rough and sleepless for you, so I'll get up with Hallie tonight."
How could I not just melt at THAT - an endearment AND a wonderfully awesome offer... that I knew I'd have to turn down anyway because of his migraines??
"Thanks, hon, but I can get up with her. No big-" I broke off to yawn, covering my mouth. "No big deal."
"Tangled Fan said I was supposedly cured of migraines. Why not put it to the test? Then you don't have to obsess about me getting eight hours of sleep, and I can be a Daddy to Hallie and if either of the other girls gets up through the night. And you don't have to run yourself down. It's a win-win..win!"
I laughed through my nose, sitting up to look at him as I pulled the handkerchief up to cover my legs. "I'd prefer not to put it to the test, though. I don't want to risk you-"
He broke me off by sitting up abruptly and pulling me into another kiss.
When he pulled away, I shook my head. "I don't want to risk you getting-"
"Do I have to do it again?" he gave me a mischievous grin.
"Oh, shush up." I told him. "I'm...being serious here." I had to conceal a laugh, though.
"Then why do you have that goofy grin on your face, if you're being Miss Serious?" he leaned close to whisper that in my ear, and I snorted, catching my laugh just in time.
"Oh, why do I even bother..." I groaned, flopping and doing a faceplant.
He laughed through his nose, and I felt him rub his hand on my back for a few seconds before he must've laid down as well.
"Night, hon. Love you so much."
If he answered, I didn't notice, because I was out like a light.

 

Another quick little post - forgot to add this in the last post!

Hey all...forgot to add this in the last post I put up.  Flynn and I ultimately decided to stop the "Month in review" posts.  We're at the point where bascially, you get everyone's point of view and we don't necesarily need to post them...Plus, we've been sidetracked from them so much.  But if anyone wants us to review any specific posts, please let us know and we'll see what we can do :D  It is fun to blog at the same time with my hubby, but it's just not been working out.  Plus, it can't help that Tangled Fan keeps using the computer!  Something about selling stuff.  I dunno...all I know is that her iPod is dead and she hasn't charged it yet, so I can't even use THAT to go online and blog!  Regardless...just wanted to let you guys know so you wouldn't be expecting any more month in review posts...! 

Expanding The Fam. ...?

Hallie was pretty good through the night.   I'd only had to get up with her about twice. 
But then she woke up bright and early at 7:30 when Tangled Fan's alarm went off. 
I woke up with a jolt as she squealed and started to cry, and I started to sit up, finding that peeling my eyes open was a challenge. 
Then I felt a tender hand on my shoulder, and Flynn whispered in my ear, "I'll get her.  Go back to sleep." 
"I ever tell you how amazingly awesome you are?"  I mumbled, my eyes going back shut, and he chuckled. 
I yawned, and tried to go back to sleep.  I don't know how Flynn could be up and aware of his surroundings...but then again, he'd been asleep when I had had to get up through the night with her.  I just couldn't function on less than six hours of sleep!
I also knew that Hallie was my responsibility as well as Flynn's, so it would only be fair that I got up too.  No use laying around if you can't actually sleep...unfortunately. 
I opened my eyes and sat up to see Flynn coming back under the bench, Hallie in tow. 
"Go back to sleep," he told me again. 
"Can't...but how much sleep did you get last night?"
"I'm fine.  You look like a zombie right now, to be frank.  Catch some more z's while you can," he told me, bouncing Hallie up and down. 

So I did. 

I woke back up around 9, refreshed. 
When I came out from under the bench, I was greeted by another round of loud screams.  Oh, goody.  I'll tell you one thing - that little child has quite the set of lungs on her. 
And Tangled Fan was talking to Flynn.  Wait...what? 
I yawned and walked over to stand beside Flynn, taking Hallie from him.  "What?" 

"Oh, good - you're up." Tangled Fan said. "I was just telling Flynn about this...so the other day, when I was cleaning my closet out, I found a little girl doll that could be adopted. She's around Jase's age, and it wouldn't be until I found some clothes for her to wear - she's nude right now for some reason. Would you mayyybe be interested in meeting her sometime?"
Well, what an awesome time to ask someone if they want another kid - when the baby they have right now has been screaming her head off almost constantly for hours on end.
But then again...Jase for sure would like a buddy to play with, I'm sure. And really, the older kids weren't as much work as the babies were. But on the other hand, having just the two girls was pretty nice.
"Will you send her to eBay if we don't?"
"Nooo, definitely not. You see, her hand was slightly chewed by one of the dogs, years back, and so she can't really be sold on eBay. It'd probably be Goodwill."
I gasped. "That poor little doll!" I gave Flynn a horrified look, and he matched it with just about the same expression.
"So...do you need time to think about it?" Tangled Fan asked.
"I suppose..." Flynn gave me another sidelong glance.
"Okay. I'll let you know again when I have some clothes for her." And with that, she was gone again.

Flynn turned to me. "Morning."
"Morning," I laughed. I reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek, and he grinned at me, putting a gentle hand on my side.
"How're we holding up?"
"Well, I'm not a bawling mess, am I?" I asked. "I'm fine. I just would like to know what's got her so upset!" I glanced down at Hallie, who was whimpering, but had quieted a little bit.
He nodded. "If you want to go elsewhere for awhile, I can handle her."
"It's fine," I told him, adding a thankful smile. "But what's got my interest is that girl. What do we do?"
He glanced down at Hallie and back up at me. "I think we should wait until we can actually hear ourselves thinking..."
"True," I laughed. "Hallie, goodness gracious, little girl! What's gotten into you?" I bounced her around in my arms a few minutes. "How long has she been awake?"
"Since 7:30. She probably needs to go back to sleep, because she was woken up by the alarm this morning." Flynn said.
"Yeah...you're probably right." I sighed. Finally, I started humming quietly to her.
After awhile, she calmed down and actually gave me a little grin.
I glanced towards Flynn, who was sitting and talking with Jase - I suspect about the girl - and he glanced up and gave me a raised-eyebrow, 'you mean you actually got her to quiet down' stare.  I laughed and looked back down at Hallie. 
"Now that's my sweet little girl!"  I told her.  She seemed to have settled down, so I set her down near Allie. 
As soon as I turned around, Flynn swept me up. 

He pulled me into a kiss, and I jumped with surprise, but then I put my one hand up on his shoulder, kissing him back. 

When we pulled apart, he gave me a grin. 
"What was that for?"  I asked. 
"For being you," he said simply, straight-faced. 
Deciding to tease, I said, "Ahh.  You're just glad I was able to get miss Hallie to quiet down!" 
He chuckled and gave me a quick hug before letting me go. 

 

Then, I decided to get Jase and talk to her about that girl. 

I took her into my lap and she gave me  a dimple-y smile.  I took her hands loosely in mine and smiled back at her. 
"Baby girl...what would you say if we ended up adopting another girl?" 
"She's the one Daddy was talking about?"
"Yeah," I agreed. 
"She's around my age?"
"Supposedly."
"Is she nice?"
"I don't know.  We haven't seen her yet, but when we do, we'll take you with us." 
"Okay.  Well...I wouldn't mind.  When can we go see her?"
"I have no idea," I said.  "We have to-"
"You're going to adopt her, right?  I'd love to have a playmate." 
"I have no idea," I repeated, laughing.  Turning to Flynn, I added, "I think we have a definite yes from her."
"Yes, PLEEEASE."  Jase corrected me. 
We ALL laughed at that one. 

"Yes...please.  We have a definite yes, 'please' from her."  I told him. 

Then I went over to Rayne and Blondie.  As I was going to ask them what their opinion was, Hallie started back up.  Again. 

Instead of talking about the girl, I said, "What is going on with that child?!" 
Rayne shrugged, and I sighed.  "I just hope she calms down soon."
I started towards Hallie to scoop her up, but Flynn was already on it. 

"I think I'll take her for a walk, hon.  If nothing else, it'll give the rest of you some peace and quiet!" 

"I can take her," I offered. 
"Naw..I can take her, too."  he grinned at me.
Thank goodness.  That award-winning grin on top of that offer?  Did he get any better?!  I gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, and he gave me a peck on the nose.  "See you later, dear girl."
"See ya," I smiled at him and watched them leave. 

So then, all of us girls gathered together.  I picked up Allie and held her for awhile (Merida's legs
were bothering her) and held Jase on my lap as well. 

We chatted about the girl.  Basically, the answer from everyone was that if Flynn and I both felt we could handle three, then to go for it.
The thing was that I wasn't sure we SHOULD.  I mean, I would be okay with it, and I KNEW Jase would be, and Flynn probably would be fine about it too.   But would we realize we'd stretched ourselves too thin, when it was too late to undo it?  I just didn't want that to happen.  And-
What was that sound?
"What is that?"  I whispered. 

 

We all turned to look towards the bed. 
I listened harder. 
"Now she's here, shining in the starlight..now she's here, suddenly, I know...if she's here..."
"Is that...my husband?  Singing?" 
Merida nodded slowly, and we all gave one another awed glances.  I put a hand over my chest and turned back to stare towards Flynn and Hallie. 
"Yer hubby can sing," Merida finally managed to whisper. 
"Uh-huh..." I mumbled, a smile slowly creeping up on my lips.  I had no clue he could sing that well!  Oh my goodness...his voice was so smooth and perfect.  I was wonderstruck! 
Then I realized that he had stopped...and he was heading our way. 
"Guys!"  I hissed.  "He's-"

Too late.

"She's out cold," Flynn came up onto the dresser. 
I gave him a smile, hoping to goodness that the others weren't staring at him.  Finally, I found my words.  Unfortunately, the wrong ones slipped out.  "No wonder she calmed down!"
"Why?"  he gave me a quizzical look.  "And why's everyone staring at me and Hallie?"
Well, crumbs. 
"Umm...Well, w-we heard...ah...here, lemme take Hallie and lay her down."  I jumped up and offered to take her. 
"No, I can get her."  he inched past Merida, and everyone's eyes stayed glued to him. 
Awkward. 
He laid her down on the floor beside Allie, who was sleeping as well, and then turned towards us. 
"Would someone please spit it out?" 
"You...we, um...we heard you s-singing to her, a-and...you're.."
"You heard me?"  his face turned red.  Gosh, mine was probably red, too.  Mine and just about everyone else's. 
"You're flawless!"  I spat out, finally. 
"Oh." he gave me a wide-eyed expression.  "I'm not the best-"
"Oh, yes you are!"  Rayne piped up.  I overlapped her with basically the same thing. 
He laughed and came over to me.  Squeezing my shoulder with his hand, he asked how our little while of peace had gone. 
"Excellent, dear.  Thank you so much.  Have I told you how awesome you are?"
"Only once already this morning," he laughed. 

We all went to bed around nine.  Hallie had calmed down substancially, and at nine o clock, she finally decided to sleep.  I really hoped she'd sleep through the night! 
When we got to bed, Flynn flopped down on his side and I did, too; facing him. 
"So..." Flynn started, brushing the hair from my face.  I got a tingle up my spine when he left his hand on my cheek.  "It seems that if you hum or sing to her, she quiets down.  I'm not sure why, but hey - at least something works!"
I grinned.  "Honey, she'd for sure go to sleep for you.  Your voice is soo soothing and deep, and...just wow.  You're a really good singer." 
He rolled his eyes.  "I am not." 
"Are too!"  I gave him a push.  He chuckled quietly and then suddenly pulled me close to kiss me. 
When he pulled away, he rested a hand on my waist.  "So...what are your thoughts on that girl?"
I rested my hand on the hand that was on my waist and sighed.  "I have no idea.  I mean...the older kids are a lot easier to care for, and it's not like we'd be adopting another baby.  But can we wing it?  What do you think?"
"I don't know, either.  Basically, I think the same as what you just said." 
He reached over and plopped a kiss on my forehead.  "Maybe we could try fostering her for a bit." 
"Well, I never thought about that.  I suppose we could try it.  If you're okay with it and everything, too." 
He yawned, and then mumbled a 'c'mere'.  At first, I was confused, but then I got what he meant.  I rolled over onto my other side and he pulled me close to him before he whispered in my ear.  "Sounds like an excellent plan, dear girl.  But don't feel pressured about anything, and you let me know if you need to talk about anything, okay?  That's what I'm here for." 
"Uh-huh..." I trailed off as I snuggled closer to him and went to sleep.

My sleep definitely wasn't peaceful, though. 
I woke up at Nobody-Should-Ever-Be-Awake-At-This-Time o' clock and realized my head was...beside Flynn's feet?  I looked up, blinking, and through the darkness, I made out a hand that was being held out towards me. 
I took it, and Flynn pulled me upright towards him. 
"Why was I...down there..." I mumbled drowsily, yawning and flopping onto my belly and doing a faceplant. 
"You've been tossing and turning all night long.  Need to talk?"  he sounded wide-awake. 
"Sorry.  An..and I dunno.  I'm just really sleepy.  Been thinking about that girl, is all." 
"Uh-huh."  he said.
"Well...." I sighed and propped myself up on my elbows, looking towards him (for all the good it did, since I could hardly see ANYTHING.)  "I'm just worried that we'll get ourselves knee deep in something we can't crawl out of." 
"We don't have to even foster her.  We can just tell Tangled Fan no." 
"No...I mean, I WANT to, but I'm just..scared of messing up, I guess."  I sighed again and squeezed my eyes shut, blinking the 'I need to go to sleep' sting out of them. 
"I can get that...I mean, I'm a little nervous as well.  But we'll see.  I mean, if we're fostering, it's kind of like a test drive.  Y'know?" 
"Yeah," I said, more awake now.  "So, do we tell Tangled Fan tomorrow that we'll foster her?" 
"I suppose...I'm okay with fostering if you're okay.  I don't want to push you into anything."
"Okay.  We'll tell her if we get the chance to, tomorrow.  For now, we both need to get to sleep again." 
"Yup...night.  Thanks for the midnight pep-talk," I joked quietly, rolling over onto my side and sprawling my arm out across his middle. 
"Anytime, dearest..." 
My heart squeezed, and then I was out. 

 

 

Month and...four week anniversary :D

Hey everyone! (: 
Today is our month and four-week anniversary :D  I cannot believe that on September 4th, we'll have been married for two months already!!  (:  I guess that time flies when you're having fun....and getting injured right and left, having crazy Barbies trying to take your children, and a host of other things.  Anyway. 

Thursday morning, I woke at eight, just as the open window was beginning to allow the humid-ness of the outside to leak indoors.   The cold streak from last week was long gone; quickly replaced by more summery weather.  
I glanced up at Flynn and saw he was already awake as well.  Laying on his back, he smiled over at me.  I returned it, and then rolled over to face him. 
"Morning, my beautiful lost princess."  he said, a grin teasing the corners of his mouth. 
He'd been calling me his 'lost princess' since we'd watched the movie.  I quite honestly hoped that this phase would end soon, because it sounded weird and I am definitely not princess-like..but I still got a laugh out of it. 
I rolled my eyes and propped myself up on one of my elbows to look at him.  He reached over and gently pushed the hair away from my face and tucked it behind my shoulders, and when his warm hand lingered on my cheek, I took a hold of it and held it there, grinning at him. 
Then, I put a hand on his chest and leaned over to give him a kiss.  When I pulled away, he gave me a surprised, yet pleased grin.  "Morning, hon," I added with a quiet laugh. 
My hubby put an arm around my shoulders and gave them a squeeze, so  I rested my head on his chest and enjoyed a few minutes of quietness.  He broke the silence first, though.
"So...I've got a few things planned for today," he told me. 
"Oh?"  I flopped over onto my back and turned to look at him. "And what's that?" 
"You'll see,"
I shook my head.  "You're impossible." 
"Impossible, yet you still love me."
"Oh, I dunno..." I teased, trailing off and tapping my lip with my finger as if I was actually considering otherwise.  He laughed through his nose, cupped my chin in his hand, and was just starting to give me a slow, tender kiss, when I heard a small cry. 
With slight reluctance, I pulled away from him and raised my eyebrows, waiting to see if Hallie would go back to sleep or if she was up for the morning.  And then a more demanding whimper came, so I turned and crawled out.  Flynn followed me and when I scooped Hallie up, I didn't realize he was right behind me.  I turned to walk back and forth, to calm Hallie, and bumped into him with a thump.
"Oops-sorry!"  I exclaimed quietly.  He pantomined falling backwards, and I laughed...loudly, by accident. 
That woke Rayne.  And Jase. 
My face grew hot with embarrassment, and I apologized.  "Sorry, guys!" 
Rayne chuckled and said it was fine, but Jase just gave me a dirty look and went back to bed. Alrighty then! 
"You guys can head on out to do something, if you've got plans.  I can watch the kiddos when they get up."  Rayne offered, taking Hallie from me. 
"How'd you know-"
"It's Thursday, dear," Rayne laughed.  "You two always do something on Thursday!" 
"I suppose so.  But-"
"We'll wait till-" Flynn started to overlap me.
"Go!"  Rayne exclaimed, giving us both gentle shoves towards the edge of the bookshelf. 
"The queen of the dresser has spoken."  Flynn joked, straight-faced, and then dodged her joking attempt to swat him.  "Better go before she beats us up." 
I laughed and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, hopping down onto the bed. 
He followed me and we made our way to the trunk.  We jumped down onto the trunk, and then Flynn hopped to the floor from there, holding his hands up to me. 
"I can make the jump, Flynn," I told him. 
"Yeah, but I can catch you as well." 
I rolled my eyes, but I knew there was no budging him on said issue...so I jumped. 
He caught me, and whirled me around in a quick half-circle until he was facing the other way, and then he put me down, giving me that grin. 
I giggled and then turned away to start walking.  He followed along beside for a few minutes, and then he snagged my hand. 
I turned to face him.  "What?"
And then I heard the music come on.  I glanced up and saw he'd sneaked Tangled Fan's iPod out of the drawer without me noticing.  Either that or he'd done it before I'd woken up. 
I laughed.  "You..."
He gave me a wink, and I slung my arms around his neck comfortably.  He settled his hands around my waist and we slow-danced our way through Taylor Swift's "Enchanted".  Then, I heard her new song, "Red", come on...I love that song and can't help but start jammin' out when I hear it... :D 
I started doing some odd jig to accomodate the beat of the music.  Flynn let go of me, and I laughed, juking back and forth and bobbing my head to the music.  After watching my antics, Flynn finally caught my hands and we danced along together to the song.  After that song, the "I See the Light" song from "Tangled" came on.  And I must admit, after hearing it the other day, I LOVE it!  (:  Flynn drew me close again and I rested my head on his shoulder as we slowly stepped back and forth to the rhythm. 
"I love this song," I whispered. 
"Well, it is the song in the movie when we both basically admit our love for one another."
"Yeah, but we've already done that." 
"True." 
When the last notes of 'now that I see you' were fading, Flynn suddenly took my chin in his hand and brought my face up to look at him.  When I looked up at his face, I realized he was giving me the most loving, tender gaze.  I gave him a smile, and he leaned down to give me a passionate kiss.  My heart thundered.  When had my heart really thundered over him? It had been awhile, I think.  But maybe not.  Or maybe I was just getting so used to the feeling that I didn't even notice it anymore.  But anyway.  When he finally pulled away, the next song was just coming on. 
He stroked the pad of his thumb on my one cheek and he still held my chin in his hand.  I gave him another smile and reached up to give him a peck on the cheek.  My heart could seriously stop racing anytime now....I got a little embarrassed, wondering if he could even hear my heart pounding.  I glanced down and fumbled for something to say, but nothing came out, which embarrassed me even worse.  You'd think that after almost two months of being married to this guy, I wouldn't get embarrassed around him over much of anything...but obviously, I still do.  He finally let my chin go and I released a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding. 
"What?"  he asked, peering down into my face with a mildly concerned expression. 
Geesh, had I been that obvious?  "Oh, nothing.  Just thinking, I suppose."  Thinking about how weird I was to still get embarrassed around him if he as much as gave me a kiss.  Which is a normal thing for husband and wife to do.  But no...I have to go be -
"About what?" 
Oh, crumbs. 
"Nothing..ah.., I um, just really appreciate that you still like to...to dance, and go for walks, and..stuff." 
He chuckled and gently loosened his arm that was around my waist.  After that, since the other song was half over, we just stopped it and quit dancing..since that had been the last song on the playlist. 
When we'd shut the iPod off, he turned towards me.  "So, what do you want to do now?"
I shrugged.  "Whatever you want to do, hon." 
With a sigh, Flynn slung his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.  "Love you," 
I decided to tease.  "Well, I pretty much figured that." 
"Oh, really now?"  He asked, turning away to set the iPod up off of the floor.  "Are you so sure of that?" 
My sarcastic streak came out a bit, jokingly.  "Well, we're kind of married, and-"
Next thing I know, he's grabbed me up and started tickling.  I shrieked with surprise and wrestled away from him, slipping under his arms and taking off running. 
I turned to run backwards as I saw what he was doing.  He was chasing after me, and I laughed at his goofy face. 
"Hey, watch-"
"Yeah, yeah...you'll tell me to watch out for something, but-"
THUD. 
Half of me rammed into one of Tangled Fan's bins.  With an 'oof', I stumbled sideways and fell down on my backside. 
Flynn came jogging the rest of the way over, and I couldn't tell if he was worried or if he was trying to keep from  laughing. 
"You alright?"  He asked, holding a hand out to me. 
I shoved the hair from my face.  "I'm fine." 
"See...and you thought I was trying to trick you."  he said, and I could see the grin creeping up on the corners of his lips. 
"Yup.  You're mainly why I have trust issues!"  I joked, taking his hand and standing up. 
"Oh, c'mon...I didn't do anything when I offered you my hand." 
"Oh, but I bet you were thinking of things to do."
"Well...I won't say I didn't think of something, but I had enough self-control not to do it," he gave me a funny, almost soulful expression, and I giggled. 
"It's good to know that you at least know what self-control is."  I gave him a push and he grinned. 
Coming back over, he gave me a playful shove right back, and even though I only stumbled a couple steps, I gasped.  "Hey!" 
He took my hand loosely in his and spun me around.  "Want to go sit up on the window?"
"Sure,"  I smiled at him and led the way. 

When we got up to the windowsill, though...it was sopping wet.  It was raining, and the window was open a bit. 
Just as we were descending back down, Tangled Fan came blasting through the room and slammed the window shut.  I don't think she even noticed us :D 
When she was gone, I looked at Flynn...and Flynn looked at me...and I laughed.  "Well, she was in a hurry about that!" 
"Guess so," Flynn chuckled. 
"Soo...what do we do now?" 
"I say we work on drafts for that month in review thing..for a little bit, anyway?" 
"That could work," I agreed. 


We worked on that for a good while, and when we got back to the dresser, Hallie was wailing like nobody's business. 
"She's been this way ALL day long."  Merida, looking pretty frazzled, told me as soon as we got up there. 
"Ohh my goodness, my poor girl!  What's the matter, sweetie?"  I asked Hallie, taking her from Merida.  Looking up at Merida, I added, "I'm so, so sorry you guys had to watch her today, if she was crying like this!" 
"It's fine.  I just don't get why she's been fussy.  She's like this if someone holds her, but if someone isn't holding her?  Uhhh...you don't want to know.  She hasn't taken any naps today, either, so that can't help matters.  Jase was a good girl, though...she tried to help out with her little sis."  Merida cast a glance towards Jase, who was crashed on the wicker chair, sleeping. 
"Ahh," I said over Hallie's crying.  I looked down at her and bounced her in my arms, but she still kept up her red-faced squalling. 
Flynn gently took her from my arms and asked Hallie what the matter was.  When she still didn't quiet down, he carefully tossed her in the air a couple inches, and then caught her; which usually gets a giggle out of her;  and then tried the 'airplane' method of distraction.  Nooope.  Definitely not.  She started screaming even louder. 
"Flynn, honey.  I don't think she likes any of that...at all...it's doing more bad than good right now."  I said, touching his arm and reaching to say it in his ear, since nobody could be heard over her. 
"What do you think caused her to be so fussy all of a sudden?  She's been sooo good lately." Flynn asked. 
"I have no clue.  She just started crying, and wouldn't quiet down.  Allie got all shaken up after awhile, too, and it was like Screaming War 1 up here - who could scream the loudest?  I think Hallie won - and then...just whew."
"Do you think if we take her for a walk it'll-"
"Blondie took her for a quick walk down on the bed, and it didn't help."  Rayne tossed in. 
"Oh boy."  I sighed.  "Hopefully, she'll calm down.  I bet she'll go to sleep soon and sleep hard tonight, though; if she hasn't slept at ALL today." 
Hah.  Famous last words. 

At ten, we went to bed.  Hallie was still whimpering at a pretty decent, loud rate.  I had tried to get her to sleep by walking back and forth...and back and forth...and back and forth...but she still wouldn't.  Finally, I just took her back to bed with me when Flynn went. 
"What should we do with Miss Cries-A-Lot, hon?'  I asked him, sitting down with Hallie in my arms. 
"I dunno..see if she'll sleep with us."  he told me, stroking the hair from my face.  I was quite sure my hair was disheveled, because I hadn't braided it this morning and hadn't brushed it since. 
"Okay, but I'll probably go out to sleep on the whicker chair with her, if she doesn't quiet down soon." 
"Why?"
"She'll keep you up," I explained. 
"Oh, good grief.  I can hear her just as well out there as I can in here, so you might as well be a little more comfortable, sweetie.  She'll go to sleep soon, I bet." 
I gave him a skeptical smile and yawned. 
"I'll take her for awhile if you want to grab a quick power nap."  he offered. 
"Nope..I can handle her," I said, bouncing her in my arms. 
"Sure?"
"Positive.  Thanks for the offer," I said. 
I went to crawl out from under the dresser, to resume my 'go to sleep, baby' pacing, but before I could leave, Flynn pulled me into a gentle kiss.  "You've come a long way, hon.  About two months ago, you had a nervous breakdown because they were crying." 
I grinned and started to lean over to kiss him back,  but then she gave an extra-loud squeal.  "Okay, okay, honey...I hear ya.  We've all been hearing ya for several hours, baby girl..."
I walked back and forth with her until I thought for sure my legs would fall off.  Her cries started to get a little quieter.....progress, right??  So I decided to fumble my way down to the bed.  Tangled Fan still hadn't come in to bed, so I could walk on it.
I wandered around on it and then sung quietly to her, trying to calm her down. 
I sang 'I See the Light', just because it seemed to be a good, quiet, slow song.  And I sung a couple rounds of 'Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star' as well. 
FINALLY, around midnight or one-ish, I headed back to the dresser.  Hallie was silent and sleeping soundly. 
I laid her down beside Allie and Jase, and prayed that she wouldn't wake up. 
Success!  She took a shuddery breath, but then she went right back to sleep. 
I backed away slowly, and then crept to bed, so as to not wake anyone.  If anyone had been ABLE to go to sleep. 

I quietly laid down on my side, facing Flynn, and assumed he was sleeping.  But he wasn't.
He propped himself up on his elbow and gave me a smile through the darkness.  "Did she finally go to sleep?"
"Yes...knock on wood."  I laughed through my nose when he tapped on the bench we were under.  "Annd here's to hoping she stays asleep!"  I added. 
"I heard you singing to her," he whispered, stroking my hair. 
"Was I that loud?  Sorry-"
"No, it's fine.  You weren't very loud at all.  I was actually going to compliment you on your singing."
"Oh, I'm not that good." 
"Yes, you are."  he said, pulling me close and kissing my forehead. 
I sighed, my eyelids drooping, and he rolled over onto his back, still keeping an arm round my shoulders; pulling me closer to him.  I set a hand on his chest and managed to keep my eyes open long enough to give him a smile, glad to have such a sweet hubby.  I allowed my eyes to go shut, as I mumbled a good-night. 

Month in review - 'honeymoon day' :D

Hey everyone!!! Yes, we are FINALLY getting back to the month in review posts, after our Ray & HB fiasco.  Whew. 
Anyway, to refresh your mind, you can find the original posts HERE and HERE (:
And also, my text will be purple and Flynn's green. 

We're starting off with my side of the post, so here we go (: 

Haha, I remember that.  Your hair was so messy.  Oh, knock it off. Just like I told you to do then, too!  :D 

And poor Jase...just to think about how glad she was in the morning to wake up and realize she was in a home?  Wow. 

Yeah, I know.  Poor girl...well, at least now she's got a home with us.  (:
And oh gosh...you used to tease me so much! 
Used to? 
Okay, lemme rephrase.  You TEASE me so much.  Minus the 'used to'.  You never stopped.
You wouldn't like me any other way, though.   And 'award winning grin'?  Why thank you.

If anything, you're good for a few laughs, hon.  And goodness...I can't believe you beat yourself up so much about rushing into marriage and adopting the girls...yikes. 
Well...when you make your sweet, adorable wife cry-

Oh, knock it off, would ya?  :D 
Ahaha...and this was the first time we danced...oh my.  That was an embarrassing, painful trainwreck! 
You're pretty good for a few laughs, too, hon.  You weren't that bad....
And you know what I've been thinking?  We haven't had our daily walks/talks in a lonnnng time. 

Yeah, I just thought about that as well!  We need to get back in the habit of it.  Although, we do talk in the evenings before we go to sleep. 

Yup...and this was also before we'd even lay down beside one another at night!  Hahaha...wow.  We have come quite a long ways, if you ask me. 

And I agree!
Oh no.  Are you seriously going to read that last paragraph? 
Yes I am, dear girl...haha wow, thanks for the compliments! 

That you weren't supposed to see. 
When we share a blog, it's kind of hard to keep things private like that :D 
True.  Well, let's get to your side of the post....
'Funny feeling in my stomach'?  That's called butterflies in your stomach, hon. 
But I'm a guy...butterflies in my stomach sounds weird coming from a guy! 
Fine.  You have manly butterflies in your stomach, then. 
Hah...I'll stick with funny feeling.  :D
Hmmm...I didn't feel your heart thundering, but yeah, I'm as pathetically fascinated with you as you were with me. 
I 'was'?  How about I AM? 
Whatever tense you prefer; past or present...doesn't matter to me! :D  And goodness.  You hardly even noticed me stomping your feet, almost yanking you down with me when I stumbled....etc?  You must not have been paying attention very well. 

You've got that right..I wasn't paying attention to the dance itself, more like paying a lot of attention to the stunningly gorgeous face right in front of me!
Shush up.  Stunningly gorgeous does not-
Shush up.  Yes it does. 
Two can play at this game, dear.  Just remember that.  I'm always right anyway! :D
But let's make an exception this one time...
How 'bout we get back to the post?
Ahh...reading this is making me want to dance...

Note to self:  Next time we can get away from the dresser for a bit without our lives being threatened by crazy Barbies, take Rapunzel dancing. 
Ha, ha...and to think we were hesitant to kiss each other back then?  Woops. 
Yeah...not anymore, right?  Unless we've just had an argument and I'm scared to touch you, for fear that you'll fly into me. 
I'm not that bad, am I? 
[Cue the cricket chirps...]
Alright, alright, I get the message.  :D 

Well, that's the end of this post...hopefully we'll be able to get onto a more normal posting schedule for these posts....for now we'll probably head back to the dresser to spend time with the girls! (: