» CALL IT DESPERATION //

[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | TAGGED FOR THE MOTHERS GROUP | HOPE IT'S OKAY! To say that Piper was exhausted would be an understatement. She was always tired, and it wasn't just because her three year old daughter, Jasmine, had more energy than Piper had been able to generate in years, it was also because Piper hadn't slept well in years and she now had her own business to run and worry about on top of everything else, but regardless of that, she tried to keep a smile on her face. If nothing else, for Jas. She did, however, find it incredibly rewarding when she went to the community centre, to let Jas run around with a bunch of a lot of little kids her age instead of dragging Piper around with her all the time, and this daycare was like a God-send for her. A lot of the mothers, she knew, also came around to get some down time while their kids played, which was also nice for Piper, who didn't seem to get out all that much other than her cafe. Socializing was never really one of her stronger suits, but the point was that she tried, anyway, at least. Loneliness was something she was quite tired of, to be honest. She grabbed her purse and scooped up her daughter, checking the clock on her wall and scurrying out the door to her car. It wasn't a long drive, but with Jasmine talking the whole time, it seemed like it. Piper had always been the sort of person who needed absolute silence as she drove, until Jas was born. Now, if Jasmine wasn't talking, she needed to have the radio or something on, or else it just didn't feel right. Jasmine had been a talker since the day she was born. Her daddy would have loved that about her, Piper knew. But her daddy was a sore subject for Piper still, even after almost four years. Heartbreak like that didn't just go away, though. Not for anyone, especially not for someone who held onto things like a bulldog, someone like Piper. She pulled up to the community centre before long, informing a very excited little girl of their arrival and almost dropping her as she squirmed out of her arms and toddled off toward the daycare center. Unfortunately for Piper, Jas had not quite grasped the concept of walking yet. It was running. Everywhere. Piper chuckled as she locked the car behind her and hurried off after her daughter, taking her hand gently, "Jasmine, stop running off without me! Mommy's old and slow, she can't keep up!" She chided with a grin, though Jasmine only giggled until she was dropped off with the other kids. Piper sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms against her chest and smiling softly as she watched her daughter run off to play with another little girl right away. She hadn't been back in Capeside for long, not even a few months yet, but she'd remembered everything exactly as it was, as if it was yesterday. It was weird to be back. Good, mostly, but weird, definitely.

[/justify][/center]
[/td][/tr][/table]

[sophie]

“Mummy, is Lukie a prince?”

Sophie grinned slightly, glancing at her daughter in the review mirror as she drove. It seemed like such a strange question for the three-year-old to ask out of the blue. Then again though, ‘A Whole New World’ had just finished playing on the CD they often listened to in the car; Sophie never listened to the radio much anymore when her daughter was in the car. They listened to CD’s of children’s music or sometimes even some classical (she believed even young children should be exposed to all sorts of cultural activities. Their current favourite piece of classical music was Peter and the Wolf, but.. I digress). She just didn’t like the messages some songs on the radio sent to her little girl. She wanted Holly to be exposed to everything positive.

“Yes baby girl.” She agreed, turning down the next song (Be Prepared, in case you were wondering). “Your uncle Luke is a wonderful prince.” The mother bit the inside of her lip. Taking a moment to herself to consider the truth behind those words. He really was. The way he treated Holly like a princess..And even Sophie herself. He was truly an amazing man; there was no denying that fact. He’d come so far, and she was so proud of him. And selfishly? Sophie adored having her Lucas back. There was a long period in her life where she felt like she’d lost him. He was there, sure. He wasn’t Luke though. He wasn’t the Lucas she loved and adored. Now though, he was all that and more- It felt amazing to have her best friend back.

“Are you his princess?”

The little voice interrupted Sophie’s reverie. The question startling Sophie a little. They’d been watching a lot of the Disney movies that featured princess’s lately. Holly just adored anything to do with princesses and was constantly playing pretend at being one. Now, while Sophie knew well enough her daughter’s question was all very innocent. That the child didn’t really understand the romantic connotations behind what she’d asked, Sophie could not help feel a small jolt in her stomach. In her younger days she’d wished and dreamed and hoped to fill that role in Luke’s life. Even before she even understood how deep her feelings had run.

“Mummy!”

The impatient voice broke through her thoughts yet again, demanding an answer. Sophie gave a gentle laugh at the scowl staring up at her from the back-seat. “I’m not sure honey-pie. You’ll have to ask Lukie. It’s his choice who his princess is. But I think it might be you..” She could see the little cogs working in Holly’s mind as she parked the car. Her daughter was weighing up everything she knew about princesses and princes, trying to make her own mind up, Sophie was sure of it. Even for a child, Holly was a thinker. It was nice, that her daughter seemed so deep and in touch... Well, as much as a three-year-old can be. The mother and daughter fell into silence as Sophie shut off her engine and focused on getting herself and her daughter out of the car. Which was strange, because normally pulling up in front of the community centre had Holly in frenzy of excitement. The weekly play group was often the best part of both their weeks.

Once the car was locked, and Sophie had both her daughter and the bag of essentials (which was a lot when you had a child by the way), Sophie made her way into the centre. She knew exactly were she was headed, even though the centre was large. By-passing the actual day care centre, she moved into the room of to the side that was set up with toys for the children and tea and coffee for the mothers (and the odd father) every Tuesday morning. Putting a rather restless Holly down, Sophie smiled as she watched the child take off like a bullet heading straight for Jasmine. Which would mean Piper was there. Smiling to herself, the woman located the other mother and made her way over, waving a friendly greeting. “Hey there. I see the girls have found each other.”

[/size]

[aimee]

Aimee Evans was trying to get herself ready to get out of the house and on the way to the community center but her daughter had other plans, Lily sat on the stairs in her little cheerleading outfit with her shoes on her hands and her hair in an abstract ponytail. Aimee rolled her eyes and took the girl’s shoes, putting them on her feet as she told her that that was where shoes were meant to go. The next task was the hair and it took Aimee about five minutes to detangle the hair bobble from the girl’s blonde hair and find another one to put it into high pig tails. She contemplated getting the girl to change but they were already late and they still had to get there so she just picked her daughter up and grabbed her bag which had been packed from the day before, as if she knew something like this would happen. They headed to the car and Aimee quickly strapped Lily into her bright pink carseat in the back of her teal mini, before settling herself in the front. The drive to the community center was an easy one and Lily was always pretty well behaved while she was in the car, the CD they had in the car was one that Aimee had made specifically, she wanted Lily to have some chart songs but they weren’t all appropriate, this way Aimee had control.

As they drove Firework by Katy Perry came from the speakers and Lily sang along at the top of her voice, something she’d been doing since she was very little. Kids songs made Aimee go a bit mad so she tried to make a kid friendly CD that didn’t feel like it was melting her brain. A few songs later and Aimee pulled into the community center, driving for a bit to find a good parking space. She parked the car and turned to see Lily smile brightly, it had finally dawned her on where they were going. Aimee grabbed her bag and climbed out of the car so she could undo Lily’s seat belt. She locked the car and the two walked into the center hand in hand, just like they always did. Lily led the way through the corridors towards the room which seemed to be pretty close to the back, Aimee was sure that her daughter had a better sense of direction than she did. Before they reached the door they stopped and Aimee bent down so she was at a level with Lily, “do you remember the rules?” she asked the wide-eyed little girl, “remember to share, be nice and don’t let anyone be left out”

[/i] the girl answered with a smile, proud that she had remembered. Aimee nodded and opened the door letting the girl run off to her friends, only running back to briefly kiss her mom on the cheek, just like they did every time they parted.

Aimee noticed that Jasmine and Sophie were already there and Lily was heading straight towards them so Aimee turned looking for the girls mother, it only took her seconds to notice the females on the other side of the room. The brunette beelined towards them, it was odd, there were quite a few moms and dads at this group but the three females had seemed to stick together, the girls all got on really well and so did the parents which was lucky. Aimee smiled as she headed towards them, “Lily kept refusing to get ready, hence her attire and why we’re late” she said with a smile sitting on the spare seat. Lily’s outfit wasn’t too odd, it just wasn’t really everyday clothes, she’d got it from Aimee’s sister who coached cheerleading at a highschool in their old town and they’d had a little outfit made up just for Lily, it was a bit big but the little girl adored it, she was either wearing that or some other form of dress up. The mother’s group had been a godsend for Aimee when she’d arrived in a new town with a little girl and she had no time to think, let alone speak to adults, this kept Lily entertained and gave Aimee a chance for some adult conversation.[/justify][/blockquote]
[/blockquote][/size]

been a long cold 715 words. lonely winter finished. feels like years the mums. since its been clear outfit. slowly melting here ya go. its alright REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0.

[/size]
[/center]

[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | TAGGED FOR THE MOTHERS GROUP | HOPE IT'S OKAY! Piper didn't have to wait long before she was joined by two other young women, both a year or two older than herself, but still quite young to be mothers. The sort of group that had been formed of parents was certainly not something Piper would have been able to have without her daughter. She'd never really had many skills in friend making before Jas. Something about having an adorable little daughter seemed to make people gravitate to her. But Sophie and Aimee were both good friends, as were a lot of the other parents at the daycare every Tuesday, she'd found, and their daughters were so cute playing with her little girl. She could hear Sophie's daughter coming and running straight off to Jas before she even saw Sophie, but she turned and smiled, waving back at the woman as soon as she saw Jas squeal with delight as the other little girl hurtled for her. "Hey." She replied warmly, as Sophie greeted her, and then began to speak shortly. "Looks that way." She grinned, as she noticed Lily running down after Jas and Holly, and she waved her over. It would probably really suck if the mothers ended up not liking each other when their daughters were such good friends, and Piper was greatful that they didn't have to worry about any of that with the three of them. So far as she knew, not a person in the group had never had any sort of problem with any of the rest of them. But she seemed to be very unaware of a lot of things, especially when it came to other people's feelings, so she really couldn't say much about that at all. As soon as Aimee reached them, she began explaining why they were late and why Lily was dressed in an absolutely precious little cheerleaders outfit, and Piper chuckled. "Ah, I think we all know what that's like," She said cheerily, shaking her head and looking back over at their daughters before she began walking backwards towards the source of coffee, gesturing for the other two mothers to come with her. Coffee. Something she practically lived on, with a daughter as active as Jasmine, she had to be able to survive somehow after all. Piper still couldn't understand how much energy could fit into such a tiny little body, and she had no idea if she ever had anything near that much at that age. "So, how have you two been doing?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side as she looked at the other mothers. Piper knew that Sophie was married, but Aimee was a single mother as herself. Though she was almost positive Aimee'd never been married before, and Piper was married when she got pregnant, though her husband had died before Jasmine was born. She'd thought it would seem like she was being rude to ask Aimee about it, though, so she never did. Not that she'd judge her otherwise anyway, but she didn't want to come across as rude. She did that more often that she'd like, and if she could prevent it, she would, and so she did. She turned slightly to make sure she wouldn't ram herself straight into the coffee table, but kept the majority of her attention to the other two women while she waited for their responses, not wanting to seem uninterested or anything.

[/justify]
[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[sophie]

Sophie smiled warmly as Aimee approached. The three girls had instantly bonded, which in term meant the mothers had bonded. Which was nice. They all got along rather well and had enough in common to have other things to talk about besides children so really it was a match made in heaven. While Sophie was the only one who was married, she could definitely understand the stress of being a single parent. Of course she didn’t claim to know exactly what it was like, she did get a taste of it when Nate was doing a lot of over-time (which was more often than Sophie liked) and she found herself really admiring the fact Piper and Aimee did it alone. It took an amazing sort of a woman to be a single mother, and Sophie made sure her friends knew as often as she could that they were doing a fantastic job.

As Aimee explained why they were late, Sophie glanced over at Lily and let out a gentle laugh. As far as ‘outfits your child refuses to take off’, that wasn’t too bad. She’d seen a lot worse. The month when Holly refused to wear pants of any kind was particularly difficult, especially since it was right in the middle of winter. Sophie was still amazed the child hadn’t caught pneumonia or something. She’d learnt though, that children were resilient and while she was still the sort to worry a lot and try to over-protect her daughter, Holly usually ended up being fine. “Piper is right.” She piped in, returning her attention to the conversation. “It’s not as bad as it could be. I’ve taken to hiding Holly’s Tinkerbelle costume, mainly because the wings just end up getting stuck on things as she walks around. Honestly though, she’ll be smarter than me soon, so she’ll start catching onto all my tricks.”

Holly was three going on forty, honestly. Sometimes she’d just give you a look when you explained something to her that clearly said ‘dah, momma. I’m not silly’. Sophie would just have to bite her lip and not laugh at how precocious Holly could be. Of course there were certain people that seemed to encourage her, like Sophie’s parents. They found just about everything Holly did to be fantastic and told the little girl every moment they could how smart and talented she was. Even if she was using those talents to do the wrong thing. That was part of the grandparents job though right? To spoil the child as much and as often as possible. Her parents were really supportive of Sophie though, and often went out of their way to help, so she really shouldn’t complain.

Sophie followed Piper to the table where the refreshments were laid out. Opening her bag, Sophie searched for a few moments before finding the plastic container full of brownies she had brought. The woman had felt like baking that morning, so she figured why not bring the product of that and share it around. Setting the container on the table, Sophie took off the lid with a shrug. “Nate’s away on business this week, so it’s been a little lonely for me and Holly. Thankfully Luke’s been around a lot.” Smiling gently to herself, she turned to the two other woman. “And how are you both? We should do something this weekend. Maybe get the girls together for a picnic?”

[/size]

[aimee]

Aimee was glad to have the other parents, they understood her and as much as she loved her large family they tried to emphasise but they didn’t understand, these women were going through the same thing as Aimee which was nice. Lily was a bit older than the other little girls but that didn’t seem to matter, she would be in the same year as them because she had an early birthday, meaning she would be one of the oldest in her class, Aimee didn’t know if that was good or bad. Aimee was one of the youngest in her class because of her July birthday and she found it annoying because she was always the last to get everything, the last to be able to drive, drink and buy lottery tickets, bummer. Aimee had been asked if she wanted to have Lily join school a year early, so she’d be the youngest in the grade by quite a bit but Aimee didn’t want that, even though the girl seemed intelligent enough Aimee didn’t think Lily was ready, and she didn’t want her to become the runt of the class.

She nodded as they both mentioned they knew what it was like and she laughed lightly when Sophie mentioned Holly’s tinkerbell costume, “oh, don’t even get me started on the tinkerbell outfit” she said letting the woman know that Aimee herself suffered the same problem with a similar outfit. Lily adored dressing up as the fairy from the iconic movie; in fact she had an outfit for each of the fairies from the spin-off movies. Aimee followed the women over to the coffee area, leaving her bag by the chair as it was full of things she may need for Lily, most of which would probably remain in the bag way after they left, Aimee tended to over-pack, she liked to be prepared for every situation. “I’ve been pretty good, my family seems to have decided they want to move to Capeside so now I have my little brother and sister living with me” she said with a soft smile, her youngest brother was yet to make the move but she felt it was only a matter of time.

The brunette listened as Sophie mentioned that her husband had been away on business but luckily she hadn’t been on her own, Aimee wished she had what Sophie had, a proper family with a dependable husband but that wasn’t for her, maybe her prince in shining armour would arrive, maybe he just missed his cue. As Sophie mentioned the girls meeting up for picnic over the weekend the thought hit Aimee, Lily wanted a late birthday party and she wanted her friends there, of course. “actually, it was Lily’s birthday last week but we went back home to see all my family so she didn’t have a proper birthday party, she asked if she could have the girl’s over for a party and then sleepover?” she asked hoping the women and their daughters were free, Lily was really excited about the idea. Aimee hadn’t actually thought about the fact that Lily wasn’t getting a proper party because of their trip but the little blonde remembered and now they were organising a big pink themed event.

[/blockquote][/size]

been a long cold 544 words. lonely winter finished. feels like years the mums. since its been clear outfit. slowly melting here ya go. its alright REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0.

[/size]
[/center]

[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | TAGGED FOR THE MOTHERS GROUP | HOPE IT'S OKAY! Piper nodded knowingly as the other two women agreed on their daughters both obsessing over their Tinkerbell costumes, and she smiled widely at this. Tinkerbell seemed to be the favorite for little girls around the world, Jas had also had a similar experience with wanting the Tinkerbell costume on at all times, but the longest she'd ever wanted to wear was probably the Pink Power Rangers costume that she'd gotten from her favorite (and only) aunt. Probably mostly because she had gotten it from Piper's sister, but then again, pink was an obvious favorite color choice as well, even though Jas had never actually seen an episode of the show. But if that was pointed out, Piper's daughter would ignore it, or give her a, "mommy, that isn't very nice," look. Aimee began first, saying that her family had decided to move to Capeside, and Piper raised an eyebrow. "Really? That sounds really nice, actually. How's that going for you?" She asked kindly, tilting her head to the side. She knew that Aimee had a lot of siblings, and to be honest, Piper sort of envied that, too. All she had was one older sister, who was wonderful, of course, but there was still only one of her, when it came down to it. Maybe if she'd had more siblings there was less of a chance that she'd be such a disappointment or whatever she was to them. But, still, that was just Piper being bitter, again. And then Sophie answered, saying that Nate was away on business this week, and Piper frowned sympathetically. If you asked her, Sophie didn't deserve having to wait for her husband as much as she did. But no one asked her, so she kept it to herself. At least the young woman still had her brother in law, though, even though Piper hadn't met him yet, from what Sophie had said, he seemed like a decent man. "Ooh, a picnic sounds like fun." Piper answered with a smile. She hadn't been on a picnic in a long time, having a daughter would seem to be a good excuse for having one, but when you took Jas to the park the last thing on her mind was eating, it was running around trying everything. At once, preferably, before Piper could catch her and make sure she didn't hurt herself. Her head turned back to Aimee as she began to speak again, inviting Jas to a sleepover for Lily's birthday. To be honest, Piper suffered more than Jas did when she stayed over at someone else's house, Jasmine probably didn't care at all, but Piper was the one with issues of leaving her. But she wasn't going to stop that from her having a good time. Plus, it wasn't specified if Piper was invited to stay over or not. "Well, if it's okay with Jasmine, it's all right with me, my dear." She said with a smile as she poured herself a cup of coffee and picked up one of Sophie's brownies, grinning at Sophie as she took a bite out of it and let out a sigh of content. Brownies were one of Piper's greatest weaknesses.

[/justify]
[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[sophie]

True, Sophie probably didn’t deserve to be left alone as much as she was. However she really didn’t like to seem like she was complaining about it. Even if she did find herself feeling lonely without her husband around as much as she wanted him. As empty as her bed felt the nights she fell asleep without Nate. Sophie tried to keep the negative feelings to herself. For one, Nate wasn’t leaving her alone so much for his own enjoyment- he was working. Paying their bills, making sure Sophie never had to worry about money. How could she bring herself to complain about that? Though, knowing he was doing it for the right reasons didn’t make it any easier. It didn’t make her miss him any less. It also made for really strained interactions between the married couple. Sophie doing her best not to seem upset, and Nate frustrated because he was painfully aware that Sophie was keeping her feelings from him. Needless to say, neither liked the tension very much.

She also didn’t like to say too much around Piper and Aimee. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to see her as ungrateful for the life she had. Sophie didn’t have to work. While she could if she wanted to, Nate made sure he earned enough not to need her income. Which was a pressure that Sophie was glad she didn’t have. The woman loved being able to spend these years at home with her daughter. It was something every mother should be allowed to do. Though Sophie knew that the world wasn’t like that anymore, and while some Woman chose to work because they wanted to, not every mother had the luxury of choice. There was no way that Sophie was just going to ignore how blessed she actually was in order to complain about things that other women probably wished they could complain about.

Her eyes lit up at the suggestion from Aimee. A birthday party? That sounded lovely, actually. He knew how excited the girls would be at that idea and while Sophie felt Holly was just a tad to young to sleep over with random friends, she was willing to make an exception for this particular occasion. For one, She knew Aimee rather well, and trusted that the woman would not allow her daughter to do anything completely terrible, and that she’d look after Holly extremely well. Secondly, it was a birthday party and she couldn’t really bring herself to deny her daughter of such a pleasure. Especially if all the girls were going to be there. Sophie knew that she was a complete softy when it came to her daughter, and she gave in to a lot of things. “Oh Aimee, if you’re sure?” She raised a small brow. “I know what a handful they can be when they are excited.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Piper help herself to a brownie. Smiling knowingly, she offered the other woman a teasing wink. She knew of her weakness, which was part of the reason she had decided to bring the brownies. “Do you like?” She prodded the other woman’s shoulder with her own. “I tried a new low-fat recipe. I’m not convinced though. I think the normal ones taste much better. Even if it goes straight to the thighs!”

[/size]

[aimee]

Lily lived in dress up costumes; she was probably in them more often than her normal clothes, not because she wanted to be someone else but because they were ‘pretty’ she liked to feel like a princess, which is why she wore the fancy dresses but she also wanted to feel grown up which leads us to the cheer outfit. It didn’t bother Aimee though, you were only young once right, and she’d rather Lily be happy than the two argue over a small thing like what Lily was wearing. The small blonde knew when she didn’t have a choice, she understood that if they were going to somewhere special then there would be something special that she would have to wear, but for daycare anything was fine. Aimee was keen to discipline her daughter but there was no point in arguing over silly little things that they needn’t worry about, Aimee liked to keep things happy when she could. Aimee knew that some kids could be bratty and self centred and she was so thankful that Lily hadn’t turned out that way, Lily was a sensitive girl who had hyperactive moments but she was a kind hearted girl, and Aimee was glad that Lily had befriended girls that were pretty similar.

Aimee smiled as Piper asked how having her family round was going for her, “it’s not too bad, I do have two built in babysitters which I pretty nice” she said with a smile, she adored her siblings but it was odd suddenly gaining two more children. She missed her sister’s the most, they were her support network and now she’d got one of them back, sadly it was one who disliked it when Lily and herself stuffed their faces with beef burgers. Don’t get me wrong, Aimee adored all her siblings to pieces but she found it difficult to connect with little Annabeth because the two girls were so different. Annabeth had an insane amount of passion but it was put into something that Aimee didn’t really believe in, she wasn’t against animals but she wasn’t about to become a vegetarian an she wasn’t going to put her daughter at risk but removing meat from her diet either. Aimee wished she had as much passion as her little sister, she knew what she wanted and she was going after it, but because their views didn’t match up it stopped the girls getting too close.

She made herself a cup of coffee as the women discussed the picnic and then moved on to the idea of a birthday party. She watched Sophie’s face and noticed the worry that quickly crossed it, it seemed the girls were worried about leaving their own little girls. The funny thing was, Aimee had never really had that problem, sure she missed Lily but she never worried for her safety when she was at sleepovers, it was probably connected to her family, Lily had always been sleeping over with her aunts and uncles and Aimee had just grown used to it, so sometimes she forgot how other parents reacted. “of course you two are more than welcome to stay if you want” she said with a soft smile, Aimee’s house was surprisingly large. Lily’s dad was a pretty wealthy guy and he helped out as much as he could financially and so when he found out that Aimee was moving to Capeside he bought her the best house he could, one that came with five bedrooms. Aimee didn’t think she needed a house anywhere near that big but now with two of her siblings living with her she did need those rooms, but she still had room for the girls to stay over if that would help them feel better about the children sleeping over.

[/justify]

been a long cold 632 words. lonely winter finished. feels like years the mums. since its been clear outfit. slowly melting here ya go. its alright REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0.

[/size]
[/center]

[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | TAGGED FOR THE MOTHERS GROUP | SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! Jasmine liked dressing up as much as any other girl, but she never really fought Piper about what clothes she wore for the day, she had always been more of the obedient child that Piper, personally, never was, she was lot more like her aunt in that respect, she listened almost all the time and she didn't get into trouble much. Other than the fact that Jas was extremely energetic, talkative, and friendly, and that tended to get in the way of her obedience a lot, she was usually a good little girl. Piper was still not entirely sure how she had given birth to someone so completely unlike her, until she'd realized it was her daddy she took after, even though she had never actually known him. Piper nodded knowingly as Aimee described home life with her siblings newly moving in. Having two built in babysitters sounded like a pretty good deal to Pip, though it wasn't like she ever went out anyway. She was usually a sort of lone wolf, it seemed, which was why it was so nice to have the other women around, being a loner was not of her own choosing, it just always seemed to happen. She wasn't usually a very friendly person, to be honest. Well, she tried, but it never really worked out that well. She did have a sister who volunteered to watch Jas while she was out, and a lot of friends who adored her baby and wanted to watch her, and Piper appreciated that, but, as stated before, there weren't many places Piper went without her daughter. She would always worry the whole time, thinking about her. She was paranoid when Jasmine wasn't around, that was what it was. Absolutely over the top paranoid that something terrible was going to happen and she wouldn't be there to make it better. Of course, that was probably ridiculous thinking, and Piper knew that, but she couldn't help it, she honestly could not stop worrying if she was separated for too long from Jasmine. Piper grinned sheepishly, looking like a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar as her friend noticed her helping herself to the brownies. “Mm, they're still amazing, though,” she told Sophie after she had managed to swallow her first very generous bite. “Then again, I'll eat and enjoy any brownies, so I'm probably not the best judge.” she chuckled, shaking her head and taking another -albeit a lot smaller- bite before Aimee began talking again. She raised her head inquisitively to listen to the other woman speak, and blinked in surprise. “Mmyou wounmt miinnd?” she asked with a mouth half full of brownies before she realized that she still had it in her mouth, and then she covered her mouth, swallowed, and repeated herself more clearly, laughing quietly at herself. “Wow, that was really gross of me. But you wouldn't mind, really?” well, that would be sweet. Being able to stay over at Aimee's with Sophie and all their little girls for a birthday party? - maybe it was just Piper, but she still loved a good birthday party.

[/justify]
[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[sophie]

Growing up, Sophie’s house had always been so full of people. Some stayed for a while, some not long at all. There was always at least one or two foster children in her house at any given time though, and Sophie had actually lost count of how many different kids had come through her house. She never really minded too much, but Sophie had never really had much of a stable set of siblings. Of course, she had Lucas. He’d just about lived at her house growing up, and by extent Nathan. And now, they were both officially her family, and she could count on her brother in law to be there whenever she needed someone. She was rather grateful really, because there probably weren’t a lot women who could say they were best friends with their brother in law. Between Lucas, and her parents, Sophie considered herself lucky to have such a supportive family.

Grinning at Piper, Sophie tried to hold back a laugh at her expression. She’d seen Holly wear something very similar at times when she’d caught her daughter trying to sneak things she knew she shouldn’t have. Holly wasn’t a disobedient girl by nature, but she did like to test her boundaries and was often encouraged by people (Sophie’s parents for one) to do things like sneak cookies before dinner and other such things she shouldn’t exactly do. Honestly, Sophie should be surprised that her daughter wasn’t more spoilt with all the different people that doted on her and couldn’t say no to her. Smiling at Piper, Sophie started to make herself a coffee. “I should give you the recipe. They were actually really easy to make. When I was pregnant with Holly I used to keep low fat chocolate cookies around the house for my chocolate cravings.” It was true that Sophie had been a chocolate fiend when she was pregnant.

Sophie had been about to bring her coffee to her lips when she heard Aimee’s offer. Frowning, the brunette lowered her cup. Putting it back down on the table. It was a really lovely offer, but Sophie wasn’t so sure it was the best idea. “Oh Aimee, that’s such a nice offer but I wouldn’t want to impose. Honestly. I know Holly will be fine. She knows you well enough to feel safe with you. It’s not her I’m worried about to be honest.” Looking down, she bit her lip gently. “I’ve never really done well with spending a whole night without Holly. Even when she’d just with my mother. I suppose I need to let her go sometimes right?” Looking up, she let her gaze land on Piper. “What do you think?” She asked the other mother. It would be nice to have a girly night with her daughter and her friends, but it would also be good for Holly to have some time apart from her mother.

[/size]

[aimee]

Aimee smiled as Piper grinned and they spoke about the brownies, she had to try one. The brunette leant forward and picked the smallest one up, taking a small bite as Piper mentioned that she probably wasn’t the best judge as she’d enjoy any brownies. Aimee was surprised at how much she enjoyed it, she wasn’t a huge fan of chocolate cakes and sweet things, she just found them too sweet and a lot of people assumed she was just too image obsessed but the truth was she just didn’t really like the taste. Don’t get me wrong, Aimee isn’t some kind of health freak, she eats ice cream like it’s going out of fashion but usually she found brownies just too chocolaty but these ones were gorgeous, “no, you’re right Piper these are delicious” she said with a smile. She listened as Sophie said that she should give Piper the recipe, Aimee was a terrible cook but her baking was too bad, she’d got good at certain meals but her and Lily’s menus weren’t exactly too exciting, that was another benefit of having her siblings around, they felt they should thank her by making dinner, and Aimee wasn’t about to complain. Everyone joked that Aimee had to find herself a nice house husband but in reality she thought the chances of that were pretty slim, men like that tended to settle down pretty quickly.

She knew that some parents found it hard to spend time apart from their child and she sensed that Piper might be one of those parents. Aimee felt mean when she said that having Lily away for a few nights wouldn’t upset her but she was used to it, when she was working she was away from Aimee and her parents and siblings babysat her all the time so Aimee could have ‘me’ time, of course she loved Lily to bits but she was trusting and she knew that as long as Lily was happy and content then it was fine. She knew that some parents accidently instilled homesickness into their children, Lily missed Aimee if they were apart for a few days but Lily didn’t suffer too badly because she knew that Aimee would always be coming back, Aimee knew that sometimes your fears could rub off on your children, so she was very careful about how she acted around her little ‘sponge’. Before she’d had a child Aimee had always thought that idea of them being mini sponges was ridiculous, surely they didn’t pick up on little things like swear words or the way you reacted to a balloon popping but now it was so apparent, she noticed how Lily mimicked her behaviour which was why the blondes nickname was sponge.

Aimee listened as Piper asked if she would mind and then Sophie said that Holly would be fine without her, the parents seemed to have different views on the situation and she looked to Piper as Sophie posed the question. “I really don’t mind either way, Meredith and Xavier will be there so it won’t be just me but if you two would prefer to stay then that is fine too, it’s personal preference I guess” she said with a soft smile. She knew that if the situation was reversed she would prefer to have a night off but that’s because she knew that as soon as Lily saw her friends she wouldn’t even know if her mom was there or not, so Aimee might as well take the chance to be on her own. Of course Piper was probably more protective because she spent most of her time with Jasmine, Sophie would be used to being without Holly if she was playing with her dad and Aimee was the same if Lily was with Aimee’s family but Piper had Jasmine pretty much full time. She knew all parents were different and she’d rather the girls be able to come and Piper stay over too than Lily lose the chance to have her friends, of course Lily was also a bit older than the other girls too so Aimee had had a bit longer to get used to being separated.

[/justify]

been a long cold 698 words. lonely winter finished. feels like years the mums. since its been clear outfit. slowly melting sorry for the wait. its alright REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0.

[/size]
[/center]

[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | TAGGED FOR THE MOTHERS GROUP | HOPE IT'S OKAY! Piper's eyes widened greedily as Sophie told her she'd share the recipe, and she grinned a little. “That would be amazing.” She told her friend, licking her lips in case she had chocolate crumbs on her face. Piper not only had a weakness for chocolate, but also for baking. If she had a little more time in life, she would positively love to be a chef. But with Jas running her ragged all the time (because Jas loved to share things with her mommy, she insisted that Piper came with her to see everything she ever did, and Piper liked to keep an eye on her anyway because she put absolutely anything and everything into her mouth), she barely even had enough time to make dinner.  “Aren't they, though?” Piper chuckled as she responded to Aimee, the other woman never seemed to crave brownies as much as Piper did. Though, Piper had never really met anyone who would eat brownies day and night like she would, if she could. If Piper didn't have the self control that she did, she would probably weigh five hundred pounds or more by now, really and truly. She leapt at every chance she got to try a new brownie recipe. Jasmine was just finally starting to like playing in the kitchen with her mother, as long as she got some chocolate out of it, which was a lot like Piper. She frowned a little as Sophie made an exceptionally good point about leaving Holly and Jasmine with Aimee, and slowly, she nodded. “Oh, I have never done well without Jas, either.” she admitted softly, pursing her lips slightly.  But at least Sophie still had a husband, even though Pip had noticed he seemed to be off on business trips often enough. Maybe the brunette understood more about loneliness than Piper usually gave her credit for. But even if he was gone, when he came back, she still had him, something Piper hadn't had in years, she seemed to find herself incessantly jealous of Sophie quite often, though she'd never admit it out loud. Piper did tend to get far too jealous, far too easily. “You're right, as always.” She said teasingly with a little smile. “I'm sure Jasmine will be just fine.” Though she didn't have much to say about how she would fare alone that night. She'd probably just call her sister up and spend the night over there with her. Being completely alone, especially at the nighttime, was absolutely something that she couldn't take. What she really needed was a dog, honestly. Something to make sure she would be okay in the middle of the night if she woke up from having nightmares like she had so often and needed someone to cuddle with. Luckily, Jasmine slept like a rock and was rarely awoken by Piper when she had nightmares.

[/justify]
[/td][/tr][/table][/center]