I was planning to take Nicholas to college with me and live alone but Caleb, even though he's not enrolling, decided to come with me and get a job to help out. So this is how our mornings go right now. I get up and tend to the baby.
Caleb leaves for work. What "work" means is different a lot of the time because he's job hopping. He started out as an intern for an ambassador but he's also done clean up at an auto repair place and some stand-up comedy shows.
The second he gets home at 4pm, I race out the door and run so I can attend my last hour of classes. It's the most I can manage right now. The university family housing is great but they're not very flexible with class times for young parents.
I think we're doing okay though. Neither of us have ever cared for a baby before. I'm the youngest in my family and Caleb was too young to help out when Evan and Amelia were born. We've been thrown in at the deep end, definitely. Sometimes Nicholas just starts crying for what seems to us like no reason at all.
We're still kids ourselves so any second we get to act like kids (when I'm not in class, Caleb's not at work and Nicholas is asleep), we take it!
Caleb's brother David is over quite a bit. He's a student here and he always makes sure to invite us to the dorm parties. We can never both go at the same time but we try to make a short appearance when we can.
Actually, Tatiana and also Kirstin visit a bit too. They don't know much about babies either though, so they only offer moral support.
I wish I'd known Caleb was so domestic though! He actually likes cleaning!
I wouldn't have bothered learning to cook had I know. Caleb's food turns out way better than mine ever does.
And yep, with all this going on, I'm still managing to keep up with my studies. I don't think I've ever completed an assignment or term paper uninterrupted but getting them done is the main thing.
Nicholas was a little easier to care for post-first birthday. Much easier to tell what he wanted and a significant reduction in random screaming.
He just entertains himself in his crib until one of us comes to get him out.
And he's pretty adorable too. That has nothing to do with the fact that he looks just like me, I'm sure.
We're so proud of him now that he's walking. He's getting heavy so it's great that we don't need to carry him around as much.
We recently splashed out and spent Caleb's entire paycheck on this activity table. Nicholas loves it - it keeps him from taking our stuff apart which was his previous favourite past time.
My parents finally made the drive out to campus to visit us. I think Mum is still a little apprehensive about being such a young grandma...
...but Dad has taken it all in his stride.Silliness:
I've always thought Kirstin Sitko looked a bit cartoonish and I think I may have figured out who she reminds me of.
Compare! Kirstin:
Francine from American Dad!
My sister thinks I'm nuts but the bulgy eyes and big lips have convinced me!Notes:
- Sorry for the lame family portrait! I had several issues getting Nicholas to live with Abigail (all caused by me trying to experiment too much!) and I just forgot!
- I know some of you will be interested in the logistics of taking babies to college and how to age them once they're there. I've put some info about that in the comments for Abigail's last update but I'll add it here too.
- Moving in: I moved Nicholas to college using the Family Tree option from Insimenator (this is what finally worked, not what messed me up). Very simple - I just teleported him and added him to the family. I moved Caleb in just by having Abigail ask him. I believe this option is added with Inteen.
- Aging: The only way aging at college makes sense to me is if I pretend 5 days (5 Sim years) pass while they're in college. So by the time Abigail graduates, Nicholas will be 5. Similarly, Caleb will be 26 by the time Abigail graduates, just as he would have if he'd stayed at home in Sullivan. I have aging turned off on this lot though and am doing the aging manually.
- Nicholas was a really difficult baby. Abigail and Caleb have had a much tougher time than Augustin and Hanna did with James and Naomi when they were at college. He'd be fed and changed but he'd start crying randomly a few minutes after they'd put him back down.
- If you're wondering why Caleb is job-hopping, it's because they can't afford a nanny or for Caleb to take a day off work, so he has to get a new job every semester to find one compatible with Abigail's class hours. Money is extremely tight for them. I'm making them put most of it into the bank, so it's like they have almost nothing. They actually have almost $12,000 saved up for when they head back to Sullivan though.
Awww, Nicholas is adorable! :) I'm glad they're managing though, and wow, $12,000 is a great start!
ReplyDeleteThat is really tricky with coordinating the college jobs with their classes. Any of my YAs who work also usually have to switch every semester too. How do you keep track of what their current job is (since YAs don't get a job panel)? I usually write a note down in their bio, but I was wondering if you had a better way?
LOl I agree, she does look like the wife from American Dad. Though, I can't stand that show, lol. I'll stick with Family Guy.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you added those notes about babies and aging on campus. I might have to turn aging off on my family lot too. Since I don't want Ariel's son getting to big before she graduates. Thanks for the tip!
Laura, Caleb is not a young adult. He's just a regular adult and I aged him long before he got Abigail pregnant and I decided to move them in together. But note his profile: I still haven't updated his job (that's his teen job I have listed) and I can't even remember which one he's doing right now! So clearly even job panels don't help me keep track! Where did you get your YA jobs hack though? I think a few of my other students might find that to come in handy eventually.
ReplyDeleteRiverdale, you'll definitely want to turn off aging. Ariel's son could end up almost as old as her when she graduates, if you played without skipping ahead at all. It was nice of EA to make that cheat work on college lots even though if you play the game as is, you don't ever need it. ;)
I'm pretty sure you don't even need a hack for YA jobs. They just have to look at a non-uni residential lot and the option will be there on the computer, so try inviting them over at their parents' house and search there. (My YAs are downtown, which is the only reason they are able to search from uni.)
ReplyDeleteAnd on the topic of aging off during college - I also turn off aging during uni, because did you know that even YAs DO still age (you just can't see their days bar), and it ends up affecting their fertility. I checked somebody's ACR token once close to the end of their uni years, and it said they were like 40 years old or something! You would never know it though, because it resets to normal when they age to adult.
Not that I need any *more* of my college kids getting knocked up, lol, but still... :)
Ah, I see! I'm pretty sure there's a young adult jobs hack out there but it's good to know I don't really need it!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to keep an eye on that aging thing because I'm pretty sure I've checked mine in the past and it said 26 years old all the way through. Certainly none of my graduate Sims have an oddly inflated age when I check them with ACR so it hasn't been a problem for me so far.
Which age hack do you use? Inge's or TwoJeffs'? I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I use Inge's, adjusted for my own liking according to her instructions.
I just heard about that fertility issue recently when I was looking through hacks.
ReplyDeleteAncient Castaway is the site with the hacks for YA jobs to appear on computers. I think that's also where I might have heard about the issue. Once sims move to the main neighborhood, their age will say they have the normal amount of days, but they've actually aged. So you won't see it, but at some point poor sims who went to college down town will not be able to have babies because the game thinks they are old enough to be elders. What a weird glitch.
This was a nice update. It was actually very nice to see the family, the job, and the college in action. As difficult as this family seems to play, it looks like fun!
Thanks Lunar. They are a lot of fun. Wrangling their hours is actually a lot harder than taking care of Nicholas. He's much calmer now he's a toddler.
ReplyDeleteOooh, well, I'm really going to watch out for that now! Does it happen on all lots or just private residences? If it's only private residences, that would probably explain why I've not run into it yet. Almost all my Sims live in dorms at college.
Awww, these two look like they are doing well, good for them! Nicholas is adorable. :D
ReplyDeleteLOL at the American Dad thing. That is hilarious. Now everytime I see her, I'll hear Francine's voice.
(amusingly, my word verification was 'zombi'... where's the "e"?!)
Heh, I've already been doing that. "Quit playing basketball and get married like the rest of us!"
ReplyDelete