Mammoth

Round 8: Spring 2009


Anthony Midlock is 35, Rianna is 39 and Emily is 1.

Narrated by Rianna Midlock

If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would be happy being married with kids I would have thought they were completely insane. But I am happy beyond my wildest dreams. Seeing Emily's face in the morning is the best thing.

Obviously there are things in motherhood that I'm not so crazy about. Like the potty training. It's so boring. But it's still better than changing diapers!

Emily is already starting to talk a bit. Mostly she just babbles something but she has learned to say "mama".

Anthony is taking some time off work so he's helping a lot with Emily so I can rest.

My sister asked me to paint 4 copies of this picture of her and her friends in college. I thought why not. We can definitely use any extra money we can get.

We're having family meals now that Emily can sit on the high chair. She still makes quite a mess with her food but I'm happy as long as part of it goes into her mouth.

We babysat Dawn for a few hours after school while dad was at work and mom took Zach to the dentist. She kept asking me when I would come back to school. I told her I would stay home with the kids until next year.

We had another girl, Sara Cecilia.

I don't know if Emily quite understood what we meant when we said she is now a big sister. She did clap her hands and gave us a huge smile.

Anthony is trying to teach her to walk. I don't know if she's learning but at least they're having fun.

She does have a temper though. She'll scream her little butt off if we don't pick her up from the crib the moment she wakes up.

She calms down pretty quickly though when she gets to play with her little drum. Anthony says she'll become a musician when she grows up. I didn't dare to tell him that it's probably just the noise that attracts her.

Anthony insists that I take a nap in the afternoons. He says that I should rest now that I can. He's going on tour as a roadie in the autumn so I'll be alone with the girls then for some time.

Luckily it seems our kids have started to sleep through the night so at least we get some sleep. I don't know how our neighbor Alexandra handles two toddlers. Her fiancé died unexpectedly right after their twins were born. I gotta say I admire her a lot, raising those boys by herself. I don't know what I would do without Anthony.

Notes:

• Title from "Mammoth" by Interpol
• Emily is a real daddy's girl. She follows Anthony everywhere and often has a thought bubble with his picture in it.
• I'm planning to move this family into a house. I don't like this apartment building at all anymore so I'll probably move all the habitants somewhere else.