Silas got new rings for his tongue piercing and snake bites since he mentioned he wanted more, as well as new sunglasses and some pop-its because he loves them.
He goes to grab the book and I immediately shout, “Wait! You have to wait until everyone else finishes.” He drops it and holds his hands up with a shocked look.
Bodie got some new small kitchen gadgets he had on his Amazon list, some seasonings from Italy and Mexico, and this really rare organic oil he mentioned would be cool to have.
Odin had mentioned his old pocket knife broke, and he wanted a new one, so I had it engraved with his name. I also bought him some really cool throwing stars since he loves stuff like that, as well as the set-up for multiple targets.
Orin has been wanting to see his favorite band, Black Veil Brides, in concert, and they will be only an hour away in September. I got him and I tickets since no one else likes them, and I’m excited for our future date. I also got him a t-shirt for the concert along with their new CD.
Callum has been wanting some heated socks and gloves since he spends a lot of time outside, and he hates being cold. I also got him a matching Carhartt beanie and a firefighters cross to hang up on the wall that looked really cool.
Once they each look at their smaller things, they all take out the book. They are simple on the outside; black with just their names on them. “Okay, y’all can open them. However, these have to be put up where the kids can’t accidentally find them. I don’t need a country song written about photos of their mother.”
Most of the pictures are the same, but I also took some in each one of their shirts.
As they flip through, I can see them adjusting themselves. They glance over at me when they finish flipping through the pictures.
“Well? Did y’all like them?” I smirk at the dry looks they are giving me.
“You know very damn well we love them. These are absolutely amazing. You are fucking stunning,” Callum replies.
“Who took these though? This is our room, but I have never seen a photographer here,” Bodie asks.
“I used my tripod and my phone. I watched a tutorial on poses and things. Chris offered to take them when I had mentioned wanting to do this, but I didn’t think y’all would be okay with it.”
Silas sighs. “Wildflower, why would we be upset? Chris is firmly into dick—” his inappropriate words are cut off when Callum smacks the back of his head as our kids come running back into the room.
“Right, sausage. Chris likes sausage, and even if he didn’t, we trust you. You are the only one who has a right to say who can and can’t see your body. If you ever want to do photoshoots or anything like that, you never need to be worried. We will never be mad at you for something like that.” Silas comes to kneel in front of me. “We love every single part of you, we will always support you, and we will remind you of what you mean to us and that you’re safe as many times as it takes for you to believe us.” He pulls me in for a sweet kiss.
Silas takes a step back when Callum claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay let’s go get the rest of the day started.”
I’m so excited to see what else they have planned for us.
Isla
True to the guys’ word, they made the kids’ and my Valentine's Day extremely special. After gifts, they took us to the aquarium, then the zoo, two of the kids’ favorite places on earth, then Vivian, Silas, and I got dropped off at a nail salon for some pampering. Having my feet rubbed felt amazing. Trying to carry around two babies, I’ve already gained fifteen pounds, and my feet are almost always killing me. Feeling refreshed, we met back up with the others to head to Dave & Buster’s for an early dinner.
After a full day of activities, we dropped the kids off with Maw-Maw and Will. They had their date while we were out so we could have ours tonight. We got all dressed up and went to an extremely high end steak and seafood restaurant. It was fucking amazing. After dinner, we went to play laser tag, and it was honestly the best date I’d ever had.
Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday, Lochlan’s birthday is Friday, so his party will be on Saturday. I have three days to finish everything I need to get ready for his party. Luckily, I remembered to send out his invitations last week, and it seems like most of the kids are coming, including Katie. It wouldn't be awful if it wasn’t for her mother.
Thankfully, I haven’t had very many run-ins with Victoria since the diner, but I’m sure she will try to start her normal bullshit. She loves to make rude backhanded comments everytime she sees me, and she still loves to flirt with Bodie even though we’re married now. I’m hoping she can act like an adult and behave for a birthday party, but I don’t have high hopes.
I’ve been sequestered in the library where I pretty much spend all my free time when my family isn’t around. For the last thirty minutes, I've been making gift bags for all the guests. We should have about twenty kids all together. Lochlan’s so excited to have his first birthday party where he is allowed to have friends from school.
Bodie suddenly comes walking into the room with his notebook. “Hey, Angel, I wanted to double check what foods you wanted to serve at the party. You wanted to do a dinosaur theme, right?”
I give him a sweet smile. “Yeah, love, let me grab my phone. I pinned what ideas I found on Pinterest.” He comes over and sits down next to me while I pull up my board.
I nuzzle into him while I show him what I thought were cute. “I was thinking white chocolate covered pretzels for dino bones, watermelon cut into triangles for stegosaurus spikes, a meat and cheese tray for ‘carnivores’, pudding cups with crushed oreos that have candy eggs and bones, grapes for dino eggs, a fruit and veggie tray for the ‘herbivores’, and he really likes dino nuggets if you can make some. Or get over your snobbiness toward anything not homemade.” I elbow him in the side gently, giving him a big smile.
“I think I can get past my preference for healthier food for one day so our son can have a good birthday. I was about to go to the grocery store to buy everything… Would you like to go with me? We can spend some alone time together.” He looks so excited at the prospect of us getting time away from everyone, and I don’t have it in me to let him down.
“That sounds amazing, baby. Let me text Maw-Maw so she knows to watch Vivian. I swear she has become so independent since moving here, she never wants to leave the playroom. I’m just going to tell her bye, then we can leave.” He follows me down the hall towards the playroom. The new tablet system we have that helps track the kids’ movements is amazing. It tells us when they leave a room and where they go. In a huge house like this, it is a must.
She’s not in her playhouse like I thought she would be, so I turn to check the treehouse. Bodie walks over from looking in the theater chairs and goes to speak.
I slap my hand over his mouth. “Shhh, look.” I nod over to where our sweet little girl is curled up in a bean bag chair with her tablet, passed smooth out. Her curly brown hair is fanned over her sweet face, and she’s letting out tiny snores. It’s freaking adorable.
