Chapter 9.3 – May 2023 – Their house isn't haunted..

Madhunisha and her family was sleeping safe and sound on this chilly night in May, only accompanied by the faint sound of a piano playing an unrecognizable tune.. The stereo downstairs was off, and so was the tv they just bought last month, and as far as the Narrator knows, their house isn't haunted..

Well.. as should have been expcted, the source of the uneven attempt at a melody or a song came from their neighbours porch, as he had, of course, decided to practice playing the keyboard outside in the middle of the night, because.. why not?

Honestly, it always puzzles me how the spring season in this town always has this cold spell, as it has happened a few years in a row now.. I mean, frost was still on the windows and in the ground when Udisha woke up to greet her son that also just woke up. 

She had just enough time to pick him up and feed him, before going to work. Still feeling exhausted and overworked from pushing herself at the office, and having to tend to the house and take care of her kids when she's at home..

Nishit had spent the night sleeping in his treehouse, and decided to spend his morning hunting for pirates. The two youngest ones took a lot of mom and dad's attention, and so none of them had noticed that he had started to skip doing his homework..

While Nishit was at school, the parents at work and the babysitter taking good care of Madhunisha and Ole Christian, the delivery man came by and dropped off the seesaw that Udisha had ordered for the kids, and the dart board Dudleif had ordered for himself... making the playground area in their backyard a little more complete.

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Madhunisha being fed by the babysitter.

In Palash and Sofias house things were by the usual, with Yumi being in need of discipline..

Sofia appeared to have accepte her fate now, thinking about what the future could hold, and certainly the clock had passed the point of no return and then somehow.... at this point she no longer had a choice..

..but that didn't seem to matter much as she even appeared to enjoy her own appearance, belly and all, while trying on a different hooded sweater and a pair of jeans in front of them mirror.. ;)

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..and speaking of kids, hmm, back at Dudleif and Udishas house Ole Christian was being a good boy and using the bathroom excactly like he should, saving the babysitter from a bit of grief. ;)

Though she was exhausted, Udisha was still happy after having put in another good days work at the office.. or maybe she was actually more happy about finally getting out of it, to run home to land on the couch and watch some tv. ;)

Meanwhile, Nishit was sitting in the school bus patiently waiting for his friend Elen to finish her after school activity..

However, after a while the school bus driver had enough of the waiting and said "Now we're going..I'm not getting paid overtime just because your friend is slow.."

So it was home to do, well, homework among the noise of mom watching tv, daddy playing with Madhunisha and Ole Christian crying for something again..

Well, atleast Dudleif and Madhunisha was having fun. ;)

After awhile Elen did show up just as Nishit was getting fed up by the noise inside and had gone out on the porch to do his homework outside...
Elen was bummed out the school bus wasn't waiting and that she had to bike all the way, before they sat down to their homework together.

Inside Madhunisha had joined her mother in watching tv. The moving images on the screen were interesting, captivating and sometimes confusing.. so she gave up watching and turned her head to watch her dad playing with Ole Christian instead. It will probably take a while before she can get anything out of watching the romance channel. ;)

Udisha kept the focused scowl on her face as her tv watching was interrupted by her phone ringing, but smiled a little when she heard that she got a party invitation. It was from Julienne Knekknes-Skurchk, her sister-in-law. It wasn't the best party invitation she could get, considering Dudleif had cut all ties (or been estranged) with his own family, but still..

It could be an opportunity to have some fun, something which she was in desperate need off. She said she'd be there shortly before she got into her husbands police car and drove to the more affluent part of town..

Their house was really big, bigger than she remembered it from last time she was in the neighbourhood to visit her brother Palash and his wife.. It looked almost intimidating, yet they had left one door open, perhaps as if to say "Come on in.. we have nothing to hide.."

She could hear people talking and glasses politely clinking together over a slow jazz tune played at just the right volume as she walked up the stairs to their porch.. For a brief moment there, it was as if a cold breeze came at her through the open door that made her stop in her tracks and immediately turn around..

She knew all about them from what Dudleif has told her.. these guys weren't honest and hard working like them.. they were thieves and crooks, and maybe even worse.. Something there gave her a chilling sensation, and though she still wanted to attend the party out of curiosity as well as an opportunity to unwind, she couldn't make herself walk through that door..

Well, that, and she was probably much to exhausted anyway.. so without looking back, she got into the car and drove back home again.. Going there wasn't the best idea, it was better after all to be home with Dudleif and the kids..

Nishit had finished his homework and had gone out in the backyard to play tag with Elen.

Udisha thought she spent her time much more wisely giving Ole Christian a bath before carrying upstairs so that he could go to bed in his own clumsy way.. like father, like son.. ;)

Udisha stopped in front of the mirror for a while at the sight of her own reflection... "I didn't know I looked this tired.." she thought as she flinched at what looked like darkened droopy patches of skin under her eyes..

Downstairs Dudleif was reading a bedtime story for Nishit from a pregnancy book he had just 'randomly' picked from the bookshelf....

Udisha was desperate for sleep now, but there was another young one in need of feeding before she could go to bed...

Whatever it was that Dudleif had read for Nishit, it worked, because it didn't take long for Nishit to fall asleep, even if Elen was there in his room playing with the toy blocks in the corner. Well, it was getting late, and it was time for Elen to stamp out soon too as Dudleif approached her to wave her goodbye.

..and finally, after having fed Madhunisha it was finally time for both of them to hit the sack and Udisha could carry her upstairs to kiss her goodnight..

..and everyone could get their well deserved rest once more. Good night. ;)

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..and speaking of sleep, well, it looks like a different, more permanent kind, will soon await some of the oldest of the towns populace..

I didn't know this guy was that old already.. but one I knew was that old, is this character...

Marianne Skurchk, Dudleifs own mother.. Without informing her son, of course, she has already written her will and mentioned her sons Bill and Dennis as heirs to her propery and fortune – but not Dudleif! He's not getting a single cent or speck of dust.. actually, least of all would he get his hands on the dust..

Other happenings:

Nishits neighbour and friend Emilia Stabell-Jones aged up and is now a teenager.

Dille Pindal aged up and is now an elder.

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Chapter 9.2 – April 2023 – First steps (in the walk of life).

This month of April started with one of those rare peaceful moments when everyone in the household was sleeping at the same time without smelly diapers or someone being hungry. ;)

..but of course, hunger builds during the night and Ole Christian was in need of feeding once he woke up. Especially Udisha was feeling the stress now, getting increasingly more and more grumpy.. to put it mildly!

Dudleif has a suggestion, that maybe she should take some days off from work to relax a little..

..or maybe get some time to clean up the house a little. The population of flies is getting a little to big for comfort..

..but Udisha denies this. "I wasn't made to be a housewife" she says. "I really enjoy going to work, and I already lost to much time in the office when I was pregnant with Madhunisha."

The relationship between Bhavan and Beate is still going strong, but there are seemingly no hints of them planning a marriage just yet. Could it be that Beate is to shy to bring it up? :P Nitya has probably forgotten about that one mishap she did last christmas, right? Also, it looks like Bhavan has bought himself a new chopper in the meantime. ;)

For once Sofia is not at the fire station, but home with Yumi scolding her for something. She probably chewed up a chair again..

I'm guessing she is finally on pregnancy leave since she is due to give birth sometime in July. Looks like the decision has been made – there's no turning back now, Sofia. ;)

There wasn't to much activity at the spring festival as of yet as the weather looked pretty cold this spring, atleast so far.. This can't be healthy for the kissing booth personnel.. standing there in the cold weather for so long...

Madhunisha is really determined to learn walking, taking it in stride everytime she falls down.

It looks like she's not going to give up until she can walk over to that couch. Could it be that she has gotten some of her mothers ambition and determination here, perhaps? ;)

That could very well be, because she keeps practicing and practicing.. Udisha, though enjoying her work, was still in desperate need for some fun, so she made sure to stop by an electronics store and buy a tv on the way home from work. It's perhaps a little strange they didn't do that sooner. :P

This is the moment where Madhunisha finally mastered the art of walking – as much as a toddler can master it that is – and this isn't at all bad since she did it all on her own, without any encouragement from mom and dad, and she's only 2 months past her first year. ;)

She turns and looks at Dudleif once she realizes her accomplishment, hoping he will notice her. She babbles in his direction as if to say "Look daddy! Look what I can do!", but unfortunately it's just that – babble. Dudleif doesn't appear to realize what an accomplishment his daughter just did as he carries Ole Christian towards the kitchen to prepare his next meal..

Udisha is exhausted and leaves the responsibility to take care of the kids to Dudleif while she gets some much needed sleep..

Dudleif finally found some time to remove that stinking pile of clothes sitting just beneath the staircase as the kids found each their toy to play with. Though there is still a lot left to clean up around the house and it still smells pretty bad...

Udisha woke up to make use of the tv and is really happy to hear Ole Christian announce that he finally figured out everything about how the peg toy box works.

Soon enough it was bedtime for the oldest and the second youngest member of the household, so she picked him up to carry him upstairs so that he could find his bed. He's still sleeping in his parents bedroom, but eventually as he reaches school age they will have to expand the house to have more bedrooms again.

One last meal for Madhunisha while Nishit was out playing on the spring rider (and skipping his homework..) before he went to play around, and eventually go to sleep, in his tree house.

..and once more, good night. ;)

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Chapter 9.1 - March 2023 - Dudleif and the kids.

Bewickton an early morning in march..

Nishit woke up super early, excited to see that snow had been falling during the night – and that it was still snowing. ;)

Perfect for some time on the spring rider, after getting breakfast and doing his homework before school.

Udisha woke up a little later and was in desperate need of a bath after not finding the time or energy to do it yesterday.. She hadn't heard that Nishit had also gone in there to use the toilet... maybe it's time to build another bathroom?

"Mom!? Haven't you head about knocking!?"
"Oh.. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were in here..."

Upstairs another one was awake, crying out her needs as best as she could. Hopefully her father would pick up on it and come to her aid..

Udisha didn't get her bath this morning, before the carpool car honked outside. Today was gonna be a smelly day at the office...

"What's the matter darling? Are you hungry? I'll take you downstairs and get you something to eat.."

"You're a big girl now, no more milk bottles! Open up!"

 

Of course, this was to cute, so I had to get a video...

After feeding time was over Dudleif, who was also in need of a bath, put her on the floor and encouraged her to play with some toys, before turning around and walking towards the bathroom. That's when the little girl caught me by surprise as she got up on her two feet to practice walking. She turned her head to look in his direction as if she wanted him to see what she was doing, though he didn't notice it as he was already on his way through the bathroom door.

Very stumbly, and she didn't yet know how to put one foot in front of the other and quickly fell down on her little butt. ;)

..but she was making rapid progress, because all of a sudden she was walking across the floor. She took her first steps all on her own without any help. Now that's impressive, she must be a wonderchild, because none of her older brothers did that. ;)

Learning to walk is still tough, and she stumbled and fell quite a few times until she had enough and went to play with the toys in Nishits room instead..

When Dudleif was finished with a long and good relaxing bath, it was feeding time for Ole Christian as well.

Sofia had also just finished a long bath – at the public swimming pool, where she also increased her sports skill to level 3.

Of course, she has a swimming pool at home too, but an outdoors swimming pool isn't the most practical solution maybe when it's still snowing out.

Madhunisha had located her other favorite toy now, the peg toy box as Dudleif went to pick up Ole Christian to finish and important job.

The last stretch of teaching him to use the potty. No more diapers, and more time freed up for the parents as he know can do everything he needs except feeding himself.. about time.

Udisha came home from work, feeling stressed and exhausted and went straight to bed..

Nishit was home from school to do his homework in front of a pile of clothes that just got smellier and smellier...

Madhunisha had returned to play in her brothers room for a while, until who was probably starting to feel a little to old for this, went and picked her up to put her in her crib and go to sleep. I say this, because before this he went into the bathroom to stand and look at himself in the mirror while sighing and thinking ghostly thoughts.. he really looked like a weary old man for a while there...

"Nighty night, sweetheart. Sleep tight, your old man is in need of some rest now.."

Well, unfortunately Madhunisha wasn't really tired enough to go to sleep just yet, and the food he gave her earlier had now made it's way into the diaper.. the situation turned a little chaotic as she woke up Udisha with her screaming, Ole Christian wanted some attention from mom before going to bed and Nishit wanted Dudleif to read him a bedtime story..

Well, Nishit had to go to bed without anyone reading for him this night, as both of his parents were both to tired and had their hands full with the toddlers.. that's what it's like sometimes to be the older brother.

After having her diaper changed, Madhunisha was in need of a refill and this time it was mom's turn. However, daddys hand was probably a little softer.. or maybe she had just decided she didn't like the food, because she turned away when mommy tried to feed her.. so Udisha had to resort to the age old trick of "Here comes the helicopter..."

..before she could put Madhunisha to bed again, for the second time. ;)

Udisha wasn't a particularly grumpy woman, but she was feeling the stress now and muttered a few curses after Madhunisha had fallen asleep.. She really felt like she could need to out to a local pub and have a few drinks right now.. but she knew she had to get up again tomorrow for another workday..

Maybe later she could find the time to do that, if she would still wish for it, but for now... good night..

Other happenings:

Kajsa Tangstads son Nikolai had his first birthday and is now a toddler. Will he become a rebellious rock musician like his mom?

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