Just Breathe

Chapter Twenty

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no!" Stella sang to her father that night, mimicking the character Vanessa's first line in the song In the Heights.  She was responding to her dad's declaration that it was bathtime, which was almost always a fight.  The twins had recently been listening to the soundtrack of their father's first musical and had picked up some memorable lines.  After multiple listening sessions, Stella in particular had started using some lines to her advantage.

Lin laughed as he caught his daughter by the back of her shirt before she could bolt.  "Nice try, stinker," he quipped as he began wrangling her out of her shirt.  Stella protested but she laughed.  Soon she had been herded into the bathroom, where her mother had started to draw the twins' bath.  After testing the water, she helped a much more compliant Seb into the tub.

"I caught one," Lin proclaimed with a giggling and kicking Stella tucked under his arm.

"Stella, time to take off your Pull Up," Vanessa told her.  "Come on."

Lin set her down on her feet and she stripped, leaving her clean Pull Up on the floor.  "Good girl," Lin praised her.  "All dry! Try using the potty before you get in."

"Mommy can we have more bubbles?" Seb asked from the tub, where he was already playing with some of the bath toys.

"No, that's enough sweetheart," she told him gently.  Lin had been home earlier that day and had picked up the twins from daycare while she'd picked up Lia from group therapy.  She'd only gotten home about twenty minutes before and was ready for some dinner and down time.

"I've got this if you wanna go with Lia," Lin told his wife, sensing her need.

"Great, thank you," she told him, giving him a quick kiss and a tired smile.

"Ewwww," Stella teased as she hopped off the toilet.  Vanessa laughed and messed up her daughter's hair.

"That's what I think every time I have to change your dirty Pull Ups," she teased back. 

Ever the two-nager, Stella rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.   

"I'm proud of you for using the potty," Vanessa praised her, as they were in the beginning stages of potty training with both twins.  Seb wasn't really getting it yet, but Stella was having some success.  "Be good for Daddy.  I'm gonna go eat with Lia."

Vanessa walked out to the kitchen, where Lia had the fridge door wide open, looking for inspiration.  This late in the week, things tended to be a little more picked over.

"Ugghhhh, there's nothing to eat," Lia complained to her mother.  "Can we just order Chinese?"

"We need to eat healthy," Vanessa reminded her.  "It's part of getting you back to being well, remember?"

Lia sighed dramatically and let the fridge door close loudly.  After a follow up visit with her pediatrician, she'd urged Lia to make sure she was eating healthy and regularly.  Part of her bad habits lately included skipping meals and binging on junk food.  It was all a bad combination for her body.

"But broccoli is boring," she protested as her mother opened up the freezer.

"We don't have to eat broccoli tonight," Vanessa told her, perusing the contents.  She found what she was looking for - a container of a pasta dish she'd made a double batch of a few weeks ago.  Lia had loved it so much, she'd made extra for a quick and ready meal.

Vanessa took out the container and placed it on the counter.  "Chicken bow tie," she announced.  "One of your favorites.  How about green beans?"

"Okay," she agreed, studying her nail beds.  Vanessa preheated the oven and found the green beans in the vegetable drawer.

"So how was your second session today?" She asked Lia as she moved about the kitchen.