Round 26: Autumn 2024
last update/next update
Mina Lachance is 74, Abigail Carmody is 41, Jesse is 39, Mitchell is 5 and Austin and Lauren are both 3.
(Jonas is 46, Maia is 22, Nick is 21)
(Jonas is 46, Maia is 22, Nick is 21)
Narrated by Abigail Carmody
I never pictured myself having four kids but lately, I've been thinking I might even want a fifth! That probably sounds crazy, when I've already got a 21 year-old, plus a 5 year-old and 3 year-old twins.
I'm just enjoying parenthood so much now that I'm older. I feel much more relaxed raising toddlers without the pressure of college and financial problems to deal with. I don't regret Nick at all but I do wish I was a little older when he was born. It was tough!
That's not say toddlers are a walk in the park though.
Austin and Lauren are very mobile now and they get into everything!
I caught Austin outside yesterday and I didn't even realise he'd got out there! He saw the leaves from the window and he just had to get out there and play in them.
No idea where he gets that from!
I never thought Jesse would go for it but I brought it up and he's actually on the same page with me!
So we're trying for another baby! I'm trying not to get my hopes up. It was so hard for us to conceive Mitchell and we were really just extraordinary lucky with the twins. We're just seeing what happens.
It's already a zoo (almost literally!) around here, so what's one more?
They're nice kids, at least! If they were little hellions, we might reconsider expanding the family.
Mitchell is 5 this year and he's showing an interest in cooking, so I bought him a little toy oven, in the hopes of keeping him away from the real one!
He's in Kindergarten now, so he's just starting to get homework. Mum helps him with it usually, because Jesse and I are still at work when he gets home. He says he loves school - now, anyway! I hope he can stay positive about it!
He's the only kindergarten at SPS this year but he's made good friends with Timothy Lane, one of the pre-schoolers. They'll be in the same class next year.
As for Nick, he'll be graduating from university at the end of this year. I'm so proud of him! He's very busy right now, so he hasn't come home for a visit recently.
I was a little sad when he told me he'd broken up with Maia. I really liked her but if it's not right, it's not right.
I could tell he didn't want to talk about it much, so I didn't push it. He's never liked talking about that sort of thing. Caleb says he's the same with him, so I don't take it personally.
I ran into Maia on the street a few days after Nick called. I think she thought I'd want to avoid her but I invited her inside the coffee shop for a chat instead.
I guess I was just a bit worried about her after her expulsion and I wanted to check how she was doing. I hope she doesn't tell Nick I was snooping, because I wasn't!
She's found a job but it sounds like she couldn't hate it more if she tried.
She seems so confused right now. She's got no clue what she wants to do.
But I didn't figure out what I wanted to do until I was over 30, and Nick's dad was almost 40. And Caleb didn't have a college degree either. We both made out okay. I think that made her feel a little better but she's still feeling a bit lost.
I got home that evening to find my brother Jonas had dropped by with his family. We try to get together a lot so the cousins all know each other but I'm usually just excited to catch up with Tatiana.
Mum is usually the one who organises the get-togethers. She loves having the grandkids visit.
They all love her too, which I know she cherishes. The only thing that would have made the night complete for her was if Nick could have made it.
The kids do love hanging out together. Brendan is two years younger than the twins but they all seem to play together without much fuss.
Likewise, Edward is older than Mitchell but he's sort of taken him under his wing a bit.
Dominic and Audrey are both in high school now and are a little old for "kid stuff" so they keep to themselves when they're over here. I can't blame them.
Jonas spent most of the night talking to Jesse. He's planning on quitting his job and opening a gaming arcade and he wants Jesse to be his manager. 
Jesse has been getting a little restless at the video game company he and Jonas both work for, so he loved the idea of doing something new.
Jonas said the job was his if he wanted it but Jesse said he'd discuss it with me first.
And so we discussed it. Jonas has only just bought a shop front, so Jesse wouldn't start for about six months.
It would be a pay cut, which is my main concern. Jonas has enough capital to get the business started and pay Jesse a decent wage but it would still be less than he gets now.
Jesse's so excited about the opportunity though and I think Jonas knows what he's doing, so I gave Jesse my blessing.
He's already reading up on marketing and business: anything he can find that he thinks will help. I've so rarely seen him so serious!
I think this might end up being really good for Jesse. I'm kind of getting excited about it myself!Notes:
- Title is from The Good Life by Weezer. Sigh...I miss old school Weezer!
- I doubt very much that Abigail and Jesse will have another baby. They both have the want, so I took Abigail off birth control. Abigail is getting up there in terms of fertility though, plus they never try for a baby. I leave that up to my Sims, so unless they do try (or if they have an unlikely risky woohoo pregnancy) Austin and Lauren will be their youngest kids.
- So Jonas is the Sim who rolled the "quit your job" ROS this round and when I play his family next, I will hopefully have the damn arcade ready to open. Sullivan doesn't have one so I'll need to download, build (ugh!) or redecorate an already existing building. I'm in the middle of building a comic book store for a mini-challenge at N99, so I figured the arcade might be a good business to have right next door to that (not that Sims care!)
- I decided to start the ROS now mainly for a more realistic timeline but also because I'm not sure what I want to do with Dominic and Audrey this round so I wanted to get some of the business stuff out of the way.
- Speaking of Audrey, the want to fall in love with Charlie rolled away. Now she wants to sneak out with Jack. Which is not likely to happen, being that she's 12 and I don't think she's that kind of girl anyway! ;)
It's already a zoo around here, anyway, so what's one more :-)
ReplyDeleteTrying for a baby is so much fun in real life, it is fun when Sims have that chance. But I agree, I like to let them totally take care of that on their own--I never use the Maxis menu option anymore. Most of my families try enough as it is, or they have birth control failures anyway. Now if Abigal gets pregnant, it will be really special, especially at her age.
It's nice to be able to relax and enjoy toddlers. They really are a fun age if you are not too perfectionistic or stressed for money and energy.
Aww, such a cute couple. It's easy to forget that their foundation started a little rocky.
ReplyDeleteNick is so yummy, can I have him? :P
Oh, Mina is really rocking that outfit in the intro photo. Go Mina, go Mina!
And boy does Mitchell ever look like his daddy! Wow.
Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteFrancesca, yeah, I don't think I've ever had a couple who didn't eventually try. I'm happy if they all have at least one kid. I think it will be close to a miracle if Abigail gets pregnant again. She doesn't seem very fertile, although you wouldn't know it from the four kids!
I'm happy Abigail's had the chance to plan a family on her own terms and she's really enjoying it, with the absence of those major stressors!
Apple Valley, I had to go and check how long ago that whole Caleb/Jesse mess went down! That was 14 years ago - wow! Yes, everything's pretty calm now but it was kind of crazy for a few years there.
Nick's going to make some Sim in my hood very happy one day. ;) A total sweetheart and he's gorgeous!
Mitchell is a lot cuter as a child than he was as a toddler. He looks a lot like Jesse, for sure. I'm hoping this bodes well for Austin, who looks kind of odd right now (he looks much better as an adult - I checked!)
Love the way you incorporated that ROS! Awwww even if they can't have another, they have plenty between the two of them to keep them busy. And imagine how many grandkids they have to look forward too!
ReplyDeleteAww, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to have another kid. I like sims who look a bit odd!
ReplyDeleteWow, has it really been 14 years since that Caleb/Jesse mess happened! Time flies when you're having fun :)
Mitchell does look like his daddy! I like the way you incorporated the ROS into the storyline. An arcade will be fun. I have one set up in my hood, but no one running it yet. Actually, I stole the arcade that comes with one of the Maxis made hoods, lol.
ReplyDeleteMaia is still young, so she has time to figure out what she wants to do with her life. I'm sad that she and Nick broke up, but if they want different paths in life, it's probably for the best. I'm sure another girl will be along soon to snatch Nick up, he's so cute and sweet! :)
Mizzgin03, thanks! And yes, Jesse and Abigail have plenty of kids already. I'm torn between wanting them to have another to fulfill their want and "OH MY GOD, THE POPULATION!". LOL.
ReplyDeleteSari, the odd looking Sims do turn out to look pretty interesting when they're older, which is a good thing. I can't remember what Austin looks like when he ages up. I want to say he looks like Jesse with dark colouring but I'm not sure.
I know, I couldn't believe it was 14 years! But you know, Nick's graduating college and he was just a little boy when that happened, so 14 years would be about right!
Shana, I hope an arcade will be fun! I'm not great at running venue businesses for some reason. I keep thinking of when I tried to run Lost Generation as a playable business but I think the reason I hated that so much was because I was trying to keep it teen only and it wasn't working. I won't have that issue with this - the arcade will be open to all.
Man, I hope I can figure out something I want Maia to do! I think she'll be okay but I don't want her to end up in a job that doesn't suit her because I couldn't think of anything! LOL.
Nick's quite the catch, isn't he? There will definitely be another girl for Nick and another guy for Maia. Not that I have plans or anything! ;)
You know, I always remember your Abigail when I think of the mess my Leila is in right now. They're the same aspirations, but switched around (and of course, the whole love triangle thing, lol!).
ReplyDeleteArcades are fun, and easy! They're expensive to start up, because of all the game equipment, but they charge a lot of money and they're fun to play.
Nick has always been adorable! I can't wait to see what your plans- I mean, what his future holds for him ;)
Laura, ah, interesting! I'd never thought to make that comparison before surprisingly, though there are some big similarities between Abigail and Leila. Same aspirations, both were thrown into family life fairly early, maybe too early, both strongly attracted to someone other than their partner.
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask you about your arcade, actually so I'm glad you weighed in. The money isn't likely to be a problem for Jonas so it sounds like it might work out well for him.
Nick has been one of my favourites since he was a toddler. I'm already planning the next Nick update in my head, even though it's over a year away, in Sullivan time!