Snowflake Day

We finally have a bit of variation in this household now that my new daughter, Lomaraniel, has been born. I feel as if I can safely say that we won't be having another fair-haired, green-eyed child to add to the count. When I told him that, Derrek actually bet me that the universe would give Lomaraniel fair hair and green eyes just to mess with me. I took the bet, but now I'm secretly worried that what Derrek said will come true and the universe will mess with me.

Idhren has been in a very good mood recently. His squabbles with Elwen have practically come to a halt, and he's willing to help out with almost any chore. The reason for his cheerful attitude is that he's recently begun dating one of his classmates, Vicky Herman. I've spent a fair amount of time getting to know her in hopes of avoiding any kind of complications like what occurred with Thrin, Linn, and Riviel, or even Nikara and Khang. Thankfully, Miss Herman is quite the well-grounded and responsible youth. I'm confident she and Idhren will work well together as a couple.

I called the phone number Lar gave me to let him know Lomaraniel had been born. I expected to hear back from him right away, but I heard nothing as the weeks went by. I even called Pararil despite the fact that Lar had left Monte Vista a long time ago. Pararil had no idea as to where Lar would be now. I was beginning to be worried and disappointed when Lar finally showed up without warning a week later. He apologized for his late arrival and lack of communication. He had been constantly moving to places with absolutely no reception.

Then he had spent a week at home trying to find out how to make connection with one of the human contacts. It was a bit difficult, but Lar found one. He had even managed to talk personally with him to discuss the issue I've been having with the sudden stoppage of communication from my family. Hopefully the contact would now be able to find the source of the issue and fix it.

I must have thanked Lar a thousand times during his stay. This was an impressive feat considering that Lar was only able to stay for one lone day this time. He adored Lomaraniel, and Idhren and Elwen thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with him again. The two of us found a quiet moment to ourselves and spent it relaxing in the hot tub. I can't even recall all the things we talked about for there were so many of them. It was much harder to say goodbye when Lar had to leave, because this time we had no idea when he would be back.

I was especially sad that he couldn't stick around for Meldiron's upcoming birthday. It was only two days after Lar left. Meldiron is looking a lot more like Irv as he gets older, which means he's going to be quite handsome when he grows up.

Winter has arrived, but you would think that summer never left. It's still ridiculously hot- around 93 degrees every single day. Elwen is thrilled because it means she can still use the slip-n-slide all she wants.

Part of the old me that remains in my heart somewhere wants to blame the humans for the hot weather. I knew enough even living on my side of the wall that humans were putting their own comfort over the safety and health of the entire planet by refusing to change their ways of using harmful atmosphere destroying chemicals. While the situation continues to be true to some degree, I now know there is no way any people could be responsible for such a dramatic difference. This warm winter is nothing more than one of those rare instances where nature is confused as to what season it is supposed to be.

I wonder if the warm weather is what made the days pass so easily. It was time for Lomaraniel's birthday, and Derrek came over to celebrate it with us. There was no surprise or shock when she ended up with Derrek's dark hair. Mara did inherit my ears though, so that streak is still going. We all had a good time celebrating, and it was especially nice to have a bit more spare change in hand when Derrek paid for the bet he lost.

Mara's birthday wasn't the only one we had recently. Elwen's was shortly after. I told myself a long time ago that I needed to be open-minded in regards to the clothing my children choose to wear, but the style Elwen has chosen is pushing the limit of my tolerance. I'm trying to find a compromise with her without being overly demanding or forceful. The task is proving tough seeing that Elwen is quite the stubborn child.

It was early morning on the day of Idhren's birthday when another thief graced our home's presence. Once again, I had to thank our alarm and the fast response of the police. The thief was caught without problem, and we barely lost any sleep over the whole situation.

It didn't damper Idhren's birthday at all either. The day was even the best we'd had all week since it was also Friday. We could celebrate without worrying about school or other obligations. Idhren decided that he would remain home for at least the weekend. Elwen wanted him to teach her how to drive, and he said there was a couple things he needed to take care of first before he went anywhere. I told him to take all the time he required.

I found myself in good fortune. It had been a long time since I had entered the tavern. The entire time I was growing up I was always told human taverns are places where you couldn't move without bumping into intoxicated men and women who were near ready at a moment's notice to deprive themselves of their moral and decent center. It was my assumption when I first came that I would never lack in abundance of weak-willed men to help me out. Of course, it is clear by now that most men have much more integrity than the other elves give them credit.

However, I met Mr. David Lake who had just enough to drink that his inhibitions were lowered to the point where he fell for my advances, but not nearly low enough that I felt like I was taking advantage of his intoxicated condition.

When Idhren told me he had some things to take care of before moving, I never imagined that him proposing to Vicky was one of them. I don't think she expected it either considering that she and Idhren are fresh out of high school, but she ecstatically said yes. The two of them are talking about having a small wedding soon so that they can purchase a nicer house instead.

I've found that the urge to write again has really hit me. It had been so long since I've published anything so I started writing shorter books to get back into the swing of things. The plan is to slowly work my way up to bigger projects. Everything has been selling really well so far, which is only motivating me to work harder. I wonder just how many books I can put out between now and the time I return home. Maybe I could set some kind of record.

The next couple months revealed that I was pregnant with David's child. I found it strange that my cravings had been much more intense and frequent then they have been for quite a long while. The last time I remember them being this way was when I was carrying Erondir and Fiendir. I even went back to the hospital for an extra ultrasound just to make sure I wasn't having twins again. They told me that I was not having multiples. My growing girl was simply a little hungrier than my other children.

A couple days before she was born, Lomaraniel had her birthday. Mara, I suppose, acts a lot like what most parents would describe their ideal child to be. First off, she's very cute. She's also incredibly athletic, but has the brains to match. Adding to her charms is her confidence and bravery. I almost wish I could have been more like her when I was young. Of course, my children are all equal in my eyes and even dear little Mara shouldn't have the burden of being called perfect placed on her. She has her faults just like everyone else does. 

I guess she still is pretty blessed considering her worst fault is her addiction to video games. She and Meldiron play them non-stop if I lax on my suggestions to go play outside. Thankfully, they aren't able to use to excuse of bad weather on me. The temperature has remained as warm as ever. We probably won't even get any snow at all this year.

Snowflake Day still had to be enjoyed though. Another gift-giving party was in order. I think it can go without saying that at the end of the day, both Vicky and I ended up with the best presents. My labor started a bit after breakfast. I knew my due date was soon, but I wasn't expecting it for at least another week. I gave birth to one beautiful, but shockingly tiny, baby girl. It was then the realization hit me that I had been right along. I was indeed having twins. Another girl soon followed. Though I suspected it, the event was hard to believe. Despite the signs, all the ultrasounds I had clearly showed that there was only one baby. It is a mystery how my second daughter managed to stay so well hidden .

Serith and Tirith came out healthy with strong lungs even though they came early. Only about ten minutes passed before a headache started to set in.

Even though I was exhausted from labor and had the stress of tending to an extra child, I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity to spend time with my other children and all our friends. I did my best to hold back my cranky attitude. The party was great fun, although I didn't receive anything I haven't already gotten before.

It was then time for Vicky to get her present. She was heading towards the bathroom when her water broke. Little Nigel, one of Meldiron's friends, saw it happen and became a hysterical. He thought she was dying. I quickly calmed him down before I sought out Idhren who was talking to Ettelendil in the living room. He took Vicky to the hospital, where she gave birth to her own baby girl named Latonya. My daughters and granddaughter now share the exact same birthday......