Click the link for more information. family). The evergreen English holly ( Ilex aquifolium "She looks like Humbug," she whispered, barely audible, to no one in particular.Maté (mätā`, mătā`), yerba maté (yĕr`bä, –bə), or Paraguay tea, evergreen tree ( Ilex paraguariensis) of the family Aquifoliaceae ( holly holly,Ĭommon name for members of the Aquifoliaceae, a family of widely distributed trees and shrubs, most numerous in Central and South America.
She finished with a slight crack in her voice and sighed, cuddling Mata Hari close to her chest. His actions are graceful, all girls he does please, That daring young man on the flying trapeze Oh, he floats through the air with the greatest of ease, I could see Daddy in my mind's eye, strong and handsome in his acrobat's costume, somersaulting through the air. My eyes began to sting a bit with tears as I watched my mom cradle my baby daughter. Oh, you'll never meet him, he already flew Now this boy that I loved he was handsome and true She was getting some of the words wrong, but I wasn't going to interrupt her. Left in this wide world to weep and to mourn, Like an old coat that is tattered and torn Somehow, miraculously, the voice was my mother's. A beautiful, sweet voice echoing down the halls. It was still dark outside when the sound of melodic singing woke me. It was just a snap of the fingers before she was snoring her little baby snore, like a cat's purr, her head resting against the cushion. I was exhausted, but I didn't want to miss the family meeting Mata, so I sneaked into the nursery and put her in the pink swing. "Welcome home, Mata Hari Classic," I whispered. I walked into the light and finally got a good look at her darling face. When I finally got her home, I slipped into the house silently. After a few hours, I was bone tired and wheeling a squirming, gurgling little bundle out of the hospital with a bracelet around her little wrist that said, 'Baby Classic. It felt somehow shameful to be the only immortal to give birth at the hospital, but you do what you must. However, from the festival grounds, the hospital was walkable. No matter how much I screamed, no one was coming along to drive me back to the house. I felt panicked suddenly and while rushing to my scooter, the unimaginable happened. Every two hours, a pygmy watermelon down the hatch. I was sure to follow doctor's orders with my nutrition too. I wanted to stay on grounds and collect some gems and insects for my potions. He turned a nice shade of pink, flush with happiness, and gave my belly another affectionate rub. He beat the crap out of me at the sport of hotdog eating. "Woman, you have no idea what I'm capable of!" he said back. "This really isn't fair, you know, what with you at such a disadvantage," I simpered, patting my very pregnant belly.
"What if I beat you at a game of your choice?" he asked. Orlando pressed his hand into my belly to feel her move. Without the extra hands on deck, the remaining Classics did the sensible thing with the daycare brood. We decided to take a day later in my pregnancy to visit the festival grounds. It was then that Grandma Mona Lisa had to explain our naming conventions to him. He asked if we'd want to name the baby something for a family member. The hardest thing really is walking around without feeling self conscious about my bland clothing baby bump. The next day, she was right as rain, and back to her favorite toddler with Rosetta.Īs for me, my pregnancy has been an easy one so far! Then again, I've got a great support network. We could all hear her insisting that Granny would have to invite her father-in-law to Snowflake Day this year. Pretty weird, huh? Grandma Eden drank an entire bottle of pomelo nectar after that and Granny had to put her to bed. Then Grim turned to Eden and said very sternly, "I know what you did." Or maybe she just misses Dad as much as I do and is excited to cross over to be with him. First, Penni has seen Grim enough in her life that she gave him a big hug and licked his face (or whatever is under that hood). Later, I'd hear the night as a whole was strange. Penni was just minding her business, having a pee, when Grim decided it was time. Unfortunately this coincided with the end of the daycare day, and the grandmas had to whisk the children away as not to scar them. She died in the evening, early on in my pregnancy, while I was fast asleep having one of my many, many naps. I never got to properly say goodbye to Penni.