The Lies I Believed

Where Does The Day Go?

I rolled over to find Asher already gone. He had been replaced by Dominic and Jasmine. I smiled to myself, knowing they wouldn't be awake for another hour. It's best I be fully prepared for the rest of the day. If I didn't get up now, I would be struggling to keep up with them until the party tonight. Diane would be taking them off of my hands and passing them on to Brad whenever we left tonight.

I showered and got dressed, and picked out outfits for the kids. They took the longest just to find something to wear. I started on breakfast, knowing they were going to want something nice today. I knew their favorite breakfast foods like the back of my hand, so it's almost too easy to guess what they will and won't eat.

In the middle of making French toast roll-ups, Jasmine came downstairs. She joined me in the kitchen, sitting at the island like she had business to take care of.

"Good morning, sweetie," I greeted her.

"Good morning, mama." She just stared at me. "Grandma said she's going to take us somewhere today."

"Oh, really?"

"Mhm, then we're going to go with Grandpa and he said he's going to take us to a park."

"A park?"

Brad doesn't seem like the type of guy to take anyone to a park. Even if it's just Central Park. There's always too many people out there and Brad hates people. Being at an amusement park is going to be the worst thing he decides to do. Especially with Tasha still working and Karli pretending she doesn't have any nieces and nephews.

"I'm going to pack your stuff while you eat, okay?"

"Yup."

"Dominic is still sleeping?"

"Mhm. I tried to get him up, but he went back to sleep."

"Alright. After I finish this, I'll go get him and you guys can eat together."

Honestly, I don't get why people think raising a family is hard. What's hard is pretending you want to be around them 24/7. I love my kids and all, but having some peace is what I'd like more than I should. I get that some people are single parents, or have a working or deadbeat partner, but when you put your mind to it, there's nothing you can't accomplish. Kids will be kids. If you try to raise them the right way, then they'll turn out fine.

I don't think I've ever had to yell at any of mine. They're well-behaved and know what no means. It took a bit of time to get them to realize that they couldn't get everything they wanted. Especially Jasmine. Luca was always stuck on making sure she had what she asked for. It always made me look like a bad parent, but now she knows better. Dominic won't be hard to teach since his sister and Vincent are here to help him.

Speaking of Vincent...He's like his own parent. He knows how to get by without asking for permission. He knows that if it doesn't involve putting himself or his family in danger, I'm fine with it. I don't know how Asher dealt with him, but it looked like he's never really been reprimanded as a child. That's good, but I don't know how to feel about that. There's going to be a day where he does something we don't like and can't really do anything about it.

When I finished breakfast and turned to face Jasmine, I saw that Dominic had joined her. I made them a plate and gave them strict instructions to brush their teeth and to get dressed after breakfast, while I packed their clothes. If they did as I said without complaining or slowing around, then we'd be on schedule to meet with my party planner.

Vincent wasn't going to be home until well after lunch, so that would give us plenty of time to get everything ready. Sha'Kera wouldn't be able to make it, but Hayden promised to show up for a bit before heading to Palm Springs before us. It's best he did that, so Vincent wouldn't question why his uncle was traveling with us. That would be less worry for me since Hayden likes spoiling things before they happen.