Mother of the Year

When it came to taking care of two little kids, Pearl would win Mother of the Year.

She was an expert when it came to the wellbeing of a 4 year old, and a baby that was merely nine months old. One minute she would have to answer the wailing cries of a hungry baby Steven from the small playpen in the living room, and the next to the constant running of a hyperactive young Amethyst who had just awoken from her afternoon nap.

“Ugh Amethyst can you not,” she would shout as little Ame made a mad dash for the kitchen where Pearl was once occupied. She gingerly made her way across the room, avoiding Legos, dolls, crayons and coloring books that littered the floor, courtesy of Amethyst, to where little Steven was waiting. When she finally reached the playpen, she looked down to see young Steven standing upright near the side where Pearl was standing; his tiny hands reaching high and grabbing for the air, and his little face and eyes red from crying. In one swoop, Pearl grabbed a hold of Steven and had him in her arms.

“There there Steven, I’m here,” she would coo to the little one to provide comfort. Pearl looked to the kitchen where she could see Amethyst trying her best to crawl upon one of the kitchen cabinets that held the cookie jar, using a nearby chair.

“Amethyst stop that, no cookies until after dinner,” she shouted. Little Ame whipped her head around to meet the stern look upon her mother’s face.

“But I want cookies now,” she demanded, but Pearl just simply nodded her head no repeatedly. Soon Amethyst had fell upon the floor, crying and screaming for not getting her way. Pearl, with Steven in tow went over to access the situation. She placed the baby in the nearby highchair, and got down eye level with Amethyst.

Little tears were running down the young girl’s cheeks as little fists made contact with the floor and cabinets nearby. Pearl placed a hand upon the messy bundle of Amethyst’s short auburn hair.

“You know the rules sweetie, no sweets until after you’ve had dinner.” It took a few minutes before Amethyst calmed down from her little tantrum with the help of Pearl’s soothing. The girl used her small hands to wipe away the remaining tears that stained her chubby cheeks before reaching out to Pearl to be picked up.

Pearl gingerly scooped Amethyst up into her slim arms, afterwards the young one wrapped her tiny arms around Pearl’s neck.

“I’m sorry Mommy.”

“That’s quite alright, just no more tantrums alright?”

Nearby, little Steven began to whimper for Pearl’s attention, due to the fact that he was still hungry. She moved over to the table where the high chair was and placed Amethyst in a chair nearby before proceeding to gather a baby spoon and a jar of baby food.

“I want food too,” Amethyst whined. Pearl looked towards the girl.

“Alright you can have a snack, but no cookies.” The young one nodded her head yes in response. Pearl proceed to rummage through the food pantry before finding one last jar of pureed strawberries and a small box of Goldfish for Amethyst to eat. After retrieving a pale blue baby spoon from the utensils drawer, she returned to the table. She settled the items upon the table, first opening the Goldfish and placing the open box in front of Amethyst before sitting down nearby to feed Steven.

“Look Steven strawberries, your favorite!” Pearl popped the jar and took a long whiff of the aroma of the fruit. She looked to the little one who eyes lit up with excitement; it seemed as though they had morphed themselves into little stars. She took a hold of the baby spoon and used it to take one big scoop of the strawberries before presenting it in front of Steven.

“Ok Steven, say ahhh.” He leaned while simultaneously opening his mouth to receive the food. Pearl fed the spoonful to the little one, who giggled in return all while trying is best to eat the mushy mess that was oozing out of his tiny mouth. Pearl used the spoon to scoop the escaping mush and feed it back to Steven who ate it in the blink of an eye. Soon the whole jar was cleaned out, leaving a happy baby Steven bouncing in his high chair.

“Good job Steven,” Pearl praised, grabbing and lifting the little one out of the chair and cradling him in her arms. She gently patted the little boy’s back to help with any gas, before there was a small burp that escaped from the tiny baby. Amethyst, who was pretending to play house with her food looked up at her mother and Steven with half a Goldfish protruding from her lips.

“I want ups too,” she stated as she ate the rest of the food in her mouth.

“Maybe after you finish eating, than you can get ups.”

Little Ame was set to finishing her snack and get straight to ups, so she ate the rest of her Goldfish in an instant and had her arms extended towards Pearl to be picked up. Even though she was slim and somewhat bony, she was quite strong, so carrying a bubbling baby in one arm and a rambunctious tyke in another was no problem. She leaned in towards Amethyst’s direction and gingerly scooped the little girl in her free arm before carrying them off with her to her bedroom.

“Today’s coupon clipping day, so Mommy’s going to sit you two right here so she can watch you, ok?” Pearl gently placed the two children upon the fluffy salmon colored duvet of her queen sized bed. Steven fell back upon contact, but soon sat upright, and little Amethyst made herself comfortable by spreading her small form across a corner of the bed. Pearl, who sat at herself at the head of the bed, had a big stack of newspapers, a pair of scissors and a file organizer that she plopped next to her on one of the nightstands. She made sure to place a few pillows along the perimeter of the bed so the children wouldn’t be able to fall off, and then cut the large screen tv of the bedroom on to entertain the little ones.

She then got set to clipping coupons, listening to an episode of Sesame Street that was playing on TV. The little ones were giggling and wiggling about on the bed, watching Grover go about on another superhero adventure, and end up crashing into a trashcan. Pearl could only smile.

A few hours had passed, and the room grew a bit dark over time due to the lack of sunlight from outside. Pearl had switched on the lap on the nightstand before it got dark so she could still see what she was doing. The room was a bit quiet, save for the background noise coming from the TV; the Late Night News was on. And both little Steven and Amethyst were passed out upon the bed. Seeing their little sleeping forms brought a smile upon the young woman’s face.

“How precious,” she murmured as she placed a hand on her chest.

She decided to call it a night, setting aside her pair of scissors and shoving off the pile of newspaper that sat on her lap. First, she grabbed a hold Steven, scooping the little bundle of joy in her arms. He snuggled against her chest, feeling the warmth radiating from her body. Pearl quietly walked through the house to the nursery, placing little Steven in his crib and tugging him in for the night. Giving a loving kiss atop his forehead, she turned on her heel for the door, but Steven’s whimpering stopped her. Pearl knew what this meant, and grabbed the nearby Cookie Cat plushie on the dresser before giving it to Steven and walking out.

Next she scooped up Amethyst from the end of the bed, who seemed to have woken up while Pearl was gone. But the minute Pearl had her in her arms, little Ame instantly fell back asleep. She took the small walk down the hall, pass the nursery and to the room across the hall, Amethyst’s room.

Pearl quickly and gently changed Amethyst into her pjs before tucking the little one into her bed. Amethyst snuggled herself under the deep purple comforter and reached on the side of the bed before grabbing and pulling up her purple puma next to her. Pearl gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving and retiring to her room for the night.