My nieces are coming! My nieces are coming! My parents are bringing my nieces to visit. All of those FaceTime calls are finally paying off. Maybe I should start at the beginning.

My nieces live in Hawai’i. I live in Washington state. There is an ocean in between us. Visits are very costly, and usually result in my seeing the girls only once a year. However, the girls have now gotten a few years under their belts and can finally speak to their fellow humans. At 2 years and 5 years old, they are making their thoughts and wishes known.

And they want Aunt Heather!

An angry, chubby, rainbow unicorn sitting down with the phrase 'made with genuine unicorn tears' under him.

Commence Operation Unicorn*

Almost every weekend results in a FaceTime call. On desperate weekends, they FaceTime me twice in a day. That usually means a grandparent or parent is down for the count and in desperate need of a nap. That’s when I get to run at toddler speed, often becoming nauseous on my couch as their phone jiggles rapidly. I get to marvel at toddler drawings made with crayons and a dose of artistic gusto. Better yet, I get to ride on those little rocking horses that I outgrew three decades ago.

Those should be available in adult sizes at Ikea.

I also get to fill up whoever’s iPhone or iPad is being used to call me. That’s right, the babies have learned how to take photos of me while they FaceTime. My father had an entire album full of the goofy faces I made in order to hear my nieces laugh.

I love those little hooligans.

So, we’ve been working on Operation Unicorn for a few months now. The girls ask to see me, I ask to see them, and we all put on desperate faces with a tear running down whenever my parents are around.

It worked.

*I am the unicorn in Operation Unicorn thanks to being the only aunt in their entire world. I may (read as ‘I did it’) have dyed my hair purple just in time for their arrival. Hey, one doesn’t hold onto the title of Unicorn without some effort on their part!

Check out my Facebook page @ShankYouHeather and @ShankYouDesigns

I also tweet like a bird on Twitter @HeatherKeet

You can also find me on Instagram @ShankYouHeather and @ShankYouDesigns

Lola and I opened a store so we can sell our funniest blog sayings on cool stuff. Check it out at Shank You Very Much

53 replies on “Operation Unicorn…”

  15. I love that you are a hands on aunt but even better that you can babysit via cyber space! That’s brilliant, I don’t know why I have never thought of this seeing that my parents live in Ghana and I often need a nap. I might just use this in future. Sounds like you are a rocking aunt – let me know if you need more nephews and nieces – I have 2 of each gender for you. xxx Enjoy your time together

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    1. Thank you! And yes, use technology to gain yourself some peace and quiet for a while. My niece and I were laughing a few weeks ago because my mother was completely asleep on the couch and snoring while I FaceTimed. She just needed that five minutes of peace that I could bring with technology.

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    1. I knew there were other adults who thought it was ridiculous they don’t make them in adult size! I did fire off an email to IKEA. I’ve gotten no response but if I do get one, I’ll update you!

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  26. I loved being the fun aunt! There is nothing like nieces and nephews. I was both my niece and nephews 1st grade teacher. My niece took it in stride. My nephew talked at the dinner table like I was a different person. I should state we all lived together in a big house. At home I was Aunty Rae. Aunty Rae did this…said that…! At school it was Miss Gnann said this and said that. He would tell me about his day talking about Miss Gnann. It was kind of funny. Enjoy your time with the girls. Hearts, flowers, unicorns, rainbows….it will all come!!! #anythinggoes

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