Whalebones

Round 18: Days 86-90

last update/next update/Jesse's next update

Narrated by Betsy Carmody

Just as I was about to leave for work, I came across a young guy standing in our front yard. Most people would move along quickly after being caught loitering in someone's front yard but he just waved at me, like he was supposed to be there.



Then I saw Dad run out of the house and greet him warmly. Apparently, his name is Jesse and he's Dad's nephew. So I guess that makes him my cousin.

Anyway, Dad told Mum that Jesse is 18 and has moved to Sullivan (pretty idiotically, if you ask me) with no money, job or place to stay.

So guess who's bunking in with us now? He certainly didn't waste any time making himself at home.

So after he drags himself off the couch, he doesn't go and find a job. No. He goes to play darts...

...and poker at the Blue Lion.

The guy is not lacking in self-confidence, that's for sure.

He's out on dates all the time.

I think he's spent more time downtown than he has here at home.

It's not that I don't like Jesse. We actually get along pretty well.

Anna met him when she came to get Nacho and she gets along with him too.

I just figure if everyone else has to work instead of bar hopping all the time, so should he.

He's just got a lot of growing up to do, I think.

Mum must have sensed all of our frustration about Jesse because she ended up having a little chat with him. She just gently suggested that maybe he'd like to start contributing to the household, if he was going to live here long term. He agreed, thank God.

Kimberly and I started the adoption process and were recently approved. We converted the attic into a nursery (and an extra bedroom for Jesse) and Kimberly really hates the decoration in there. It's like I keep telling her though. It's the baby that has to like it, not necessarily her.

And here she is - Sarah Tamar Carmody! Mum took the day off so someone would be at the house when she was dropped off. The adoption agency was completely inflexible about that. 10am, no negotiations possible.

So Kimberly and I didn't see her until we got home and of course, that was the first thing we wanted to do! I love being a mother - I already want to adopt another one!

I think part of my reason is that they grow up so fast! Sarah's already walking and talking. Kimberly wants to wait a while longer before we look into it again.

I think Mum is keen for us to adopt again though. She keeps reminding us how many vacation days she has saved up!

Dad loves being a grandpa. When he's home, you can always hear singing coming from the nursery. Sarah's not keen on singing though. She's so active, always wanting to run around through the house at full speed instead.

Jesse, surprisingly, is actually pretty good with Sarah! His bedroom is next to the nursery so he often pulls her out of her crib and gets her dressed before we get the chance. He's even done a few nappy changes, which I was really impressed with!

Notes:

• TS3 installation was superfast but Riverview is taking an inordinate amount of time to download with the stupid download manager (dammit EA, let me use MY download manager!) so I'm updating you on the rest of the Carmody session.
• Joseph rolled an ROS - "distant relative moves in". I was really hoping I'd get this one for one of my fresh out of CAS Sims or a married in townie and my wish came true!
• I created Jesse by extracting Joseph and making his nose and mouth larger. I wanted there to be some family resemblance, even though they're not father and son. I figure Joseph and his brother would look alike, so there's no reason Jesse wouldn't look like both of them. Happens in real life too - when my cousin was a toddler, he was pretty much a clone of my dad as a toddler.
• Making Jesse and Joseph nephew and uncle (and making Jesse cousins with Anna and Betsy) was done with SimBlender and was super-easy.
• I'm hoping Sarah will grow into that massive space between her nose and mouth. The parents I used to make her are not freakish looking, so hopefully she will.