We had to move quite suddenly at the beginning of this summer, due to an electrical fire in our home. Thankfully, it happened while we were all out so no one was hurt.
Of course, that also meant that we weren't able to save any of our belongings, so we're starting afresh. Everything in the house had to be bought new.
It was sad to lose our home - there was so much history there. Mum and Dad got married there, as did Owen and I. I grew up there and then raised my own children there. But I can't say it was a huge financial hardship to get back on our feet again and it's a beautiful home we have now.
The worst thing about it was when Adrienne came back to Sullivan to stay with us after she had the baby, she didn't really get to come back to her real home.
She seems happy enough just to be around the family, but it would have been nice for her to be in a more familiar place.
Adrienne is doing okay, considering the circumstances.
A little quieter than usual but she's been through a lot and has plenty to think about.
She and Nick broke up when he found out she'd cheated on him. The baby isn't his but Nick called the house a couple of times, just to see how Adrienne is doing. The conversations were a bit awkward for Adrienne but she was happy to hear from him and that he cared enough to contact her.
Before she came home, Adrienne was worried she'd hear a lot of "I told you so"s from Mum. Mum had just given her a lecture about birth control before Adrienne went off to college.
Mum's not really the type though, of course. What's done is done and Mum was in the same situation herself once. She made a different choice but she understands better than any of us how Adrienne must have felt.
Since she gave birth, Adrienne has seen Sylvia just the once. Her foster mother brought her over one evening, after Adrienne asked if she could see her. I was a bit surprised Adrienne wanted to see the baby, because while she was pregnant, she didn't express much interest in being involved at all.
She's a pretty little girl. It's strange though but she doesn't really feel like my granddaughter. Maybe that's just me not letting myself get attached.
I think it's probably much harder for Adrienne. We're not really sure how often Adrienne will see Sylvia once she's placed with a family. That will have to be negotiated between Adrienne and the adoptive parents.
At least we know Sylvia is well taken care of. Zelda barely took her eyes off the baby for the whole visit, even when she was in conversation.
I keep reminding Adrienne there's still time to back out of the adoption. I'm not trying to convince her, but I don't want her to end up regretting her choice either.
Adrienne says that although she liked seeing Sylvia, she still can't imagine caring for a baby at this point in her life, especially on her own.
She seems pretty sure right now, so I just hope this is what she really wants.
Adrienne will probably end up owning my boutique when I retire, so I wanted to show it off to her while she was home visiting.
I didn't bring her in to put her to work but she ended up taking over for a little bit while I tried to impress a reviewer. 
They're supposed to be incognito but James saw her at his car lot a few weeks ago and she made herself pretty obvious, pulling out her pad and writing down notes every few minutes.
The extra attention I was able to pay her worked out well, because I won a Best of the Best award! We still haven't really been open that long, compared to other businesses around here, so I'm very proud.
Cordy has gone back to work full time, so Dad has been watching Matthew and Simon during the day and then Timothy after school.
He has Adrienne to help out right now but I don't know how he'll cope with three little boys once she goes back to campus. He's not as spry as he once was - not that you can tell him that.
But family is one of the main reasons Dad retired in the first place, so you won't catch him complaining, even when the boys are running him ragged.
Owen and I wanted Adrienne to stay with us a little longer but she wanted to get back to campus before classes started, just so she could settle in for a while.
Owen's main concern is that Adrienne will jump right back into dating again, now that she's had the baby. I hope that she won't but Owen is very worried that she hasn't made that promise. All she said was that we have no need to worry about her.
How can we not worry though?
We hardly see Malcolm any more. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration but he's so often at work, school, or out with girls.
I can't really keep up with him. He goes out with a girl named Opal quite a lot.
But then Hope Collins is always over at our house too. I never know what's going on with Malcolm, girl-wise. I feel like I'm always out of the loop. I just hope he puts off sex until he's older. I guess he might have learned a lesson from what happened with Adrienne but you never know. Kids and their hormones. It's still something I worry about.
Malcolm is so excited right now because he's been accepted into Suffolk University. He'll begin his freshman year in 2028, so he's still got quite a while before he goes. But he's been so set on medical school since he was very young and he's relieved he's got a good shot of going now.
I can't believe both our kids will be out in the world on their own soon. I'm trying to be positive about this but Adrienne's experience has made me very wary. I hope Malcolm's time at college is a little more typical than his sister's has been.Notes:
- Title is from Give It A Day by Pavement.
- Naomi was the Sim who rolled the house fire ROS this round. I hated the Novaks' old house something fierce, so I was fine with it. I know I've spoken before about selective photography, where I make lots look less crappy with careful angles. Well...the Novaks' previous house was definitely a good example of that!
- I meant to take pictures of the house before I moved them and stage a fire or something but I forgot. I was pretty excited to get rid of that damn thing and I ended up bulldozing it before I remembered to take any pics!
- Adrienne and Nick are taking over this round, LOL! I think I'm pretty much done with Nick for this round but we'll visit Adrienne again in the uni update, Sylvia in the Benton update and then Sylvia's future adoptive parents in the Draper 2 update. Phew! Then I think I might be done with this story arc for the round!
- Malcolm is the first teen I've had "graduate" (quotes, because this is the last time I'll play him before college, although he'll show up in next round's high school update) with an A+ since I installed Harder Grades. He still only earned 4 scholarships, however.
- There is, so far, no funny business going on between Hope and Malcolm. She rolls a lot of wants for him, but they're all platonic ones so far. I'm keeping an eye on them!
Hahaha! Nick strikes again!
ReplyDeleteLol, I was hoping for a little bit more Malcolm drama, but I'm fine, this family is crazy enough as it is anyway!
Their new home looks lovely, and it's good to see that Naomi and Owen are trying to keep a hold on the whole Adrienne situation!
Wow, Malcolm is really enjoying his teens. It's interesting to see the family's thoughts about Adrienne and I was surprised that she wanted to see the baby.
ReplyDeleteThe house is great-too bad they couldn't save anything.
Thanks for your comments!
ReplyDeleteTessa, you know, Malcolm rolled one want for a date this round so I sent him out with Opal and then he rolled romantic wants for her while on the date. But apart from that, he really only wanted to skill this round. That's why we didn't see much of him. Hope dropped over autonomously.
Naomi and Owen are doing what they can but Adrienne's a big girl, so if she's going to make the wrong decisions, that's what she's going to do. :\
Apple Valley, Adrienne didn't see Sylvia in hospital - she went straight to Tate and Zelda, so I figured she'd want to see her, even if only out of curiosity.
And thanks, I like their new house and furnishings much better anyway. :) Their previous house was one of the oldest ones I had in the game. It had been decorated pretty much the same way since Augustin and Hanna got married!
I love their new house. I wouldn't mind if a fire or a tornado destroyed some of the oldest buildings in Wellington too.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne and her family seem to be coping quite well. I hope she's learned her lesson though. I understand why Owen and Naomi are so worried about her.
I see you don't only do selective angling... but also selective savings from the electric fire. Do I spot a family portrait by the door? :p
ReplyDeleteTheir new house is really quite lovely, the pool and living area are both really nice. I haven't had that ROS roll yet, and I can't imagine liking it, since I went to all the work to build/download everything.
I was wondering if Adrienne was having second thoughts on the adoption when Sylvia was there by her request.
Is that Opal a townie? Cause my Cole London had a very long fling with a red-headed Opal, before he fell for Lucy (Opal's BFF) and dumped Opal... If it is the same townie, I'd be happy to see her again, she was always cute and quirky in my hood. :)
I hope Malcolm is keeping smart after the Adrienne problems, and that Adrienne stays smart back in college. Do you have her on birth control so she doesn't have that acr "try for baby" again... or did you take her off the "unwed tfb?"
I like their new house too. I wouldn't mind rolling that ROS for a couple of households in my hood but knowing my luck, it'll roll up for the 1 or 2 that I DON'T want to move (like the Hu's since it took forever to find a lot I liked with enough yard space for their crops).
ReplyDeleteCool, Malcolm must be pretty smart then to get an A+. I have a few who have A+s still but I randomized their skill points to an extent a while ago. I hate when you make new families in CAS and everyone starts out at 0 skill points. But when my next batch of kids are born, they will have to work much harder to get an A+.
Man, I can't believe Naomi is 51. It doesn't seem like she's that old. But she does have almost 2 grown kids now. But she still looks good.
I love their new house! I noticed the family portrait that Maisie noticed. ;) But I would have saved the family photos too, lol! You could always say they just ordered more from their photographer or got copies of photos from family. :)
ReplyDeleteI can understand Owen and Naomi being really worried about Adrienne. I'm hoping she's learned to be very careful from now on and won't find herself in this situation again! Her parents are handling it well this time, but I can imagine that if it happens again it might put a huge strain on everyone involved and her parents might not be so understanding.
I haven't rolled the fire ROS yet. There are some houses I wouldn't be too upset about bulldozing, but like Danielle, my luck would probably be that I'd get the ROS for the few families I don't want it for, lol.
Sari, thanks!
ReplyDeleteOwen and Naomi are a bit more liberal than the Kirby family, or even the Romillies so they took the news a little differently. Both of Owen and Naomi's kids were risky woohoo babies, so they don't have much room to judge in that area anyway.
That said, they were in a committed relationship whereas Adrienne was just sleeping around. So they're parents and they're going to be concerned. :\
Maisie, heh, yes, I saved all the portraits, actually. :)There are at least three others in the background of other shots.
We'll find out Adrienne's thoughts on the matter in her uni update. Which I'm wondering how to write now, because I wanted to focus a little more on Sarah this time but I really do need to deal with Adrienne. Eh, I'll figure it out!
Indeed, Opal is a townie. I really like her but I don't want to make her a playable NPC just yet (and she only has one bolt with Malcolm), so next time you see her, she'll likely have a new name and a makeover.
Unless one of my teen girls I haven't played yet this round takes pity on Malcolm, he'll be going off to college a virgin. So hopefully he doesn't go as crazy as his sister did!
Adrienne only has 2 neat points so under my new rules, she's not allowed to use the BC. I will make damn sure she's that unmarried TFB is OFF for her this time though!
Danielle, I don't know what I would have done if I'd rolled this for a family where I actually liked their house! I'm at the point now where I actually like most of my Sims' houses.
I used to randomise skill points but I don't any more. It's unrealistic for them to start out with nothing (assuming they're not toddlers) but jobs are already so easy for Sims that I'm loath to do anything to make them easier.
Naomi's getting some fine lines around her face but otherwise, she's pretty amazing looking for 51, isn't she? I'm a bit looser with what I let her wear because she's a fashion designer. So she gets to wear minis, while most of my other middle-aged women tend to cover up a bit more once they reach that age. When Asha gets to be that age, she'll probably be the same.
Shana, heh, in this digital age, most of us have copies of pictures online if not elsewhere, so I figured the Novaks did too. It saves me the effort of doing all those portraits again.
Owen and Naomi definitely might not be so understanding if Adrienne got pregnant again. The whole thing has been a huge strain on the family and none of them are keen to go through it again.
I'm sorry for the late response, but I haven't been home the last couple of day :s
ReplyDeleteNick is so sweet, calling to check if Adrienne is doing fine, even after the way she treated him! But then again, I keep telling how sweet Nick is, you must know it yourself too! :)
Just like Naomi, I hope Adrienne won't regret her choice, even though Adrienne is sure about it.
I so hope Adrienne will not act the way Owen thinks she will, but I'm a little bit afraid for her.
Their new house is looking great, if you say their old house was looking crappy, I've never noticed it, you did a great job hiding it!
Tanja, I think Adrienne is probably bound to have at least brief moments of doubt that she's done the right thing. It was a big decision she made.
ReplyDeleteI hope Adrienne won't go crazy when she gets back to campus but ugh...I don't have much hope. We'll see!
I was very careful with how I took pictures of their old house. You wouldn't have been able to see how awkward some of the rooms were and how the upstairs bathrooms and bedroom were WAY too big! That's what happens when I try to extend houses on my own. I can see myself starting to hate Jesse and Abigail's house down the track, although I don't mind it right now.
Poor Naomi! haha, after Adrienne, I can see how she'd be nervous. Especially with her son bringing home girls.
ReplyDeleteI also wondered about the portraits. I figured you wouldn't let those go, and I'm glad you didn't.
Lunar, yes, Adrienne's given Naomi a few grey hairs, I'm sure. Fingers crossed Malcolm is a bit more responsible. He's got a bit more direction than Adrienne but Susannah did dump him for having nothing but sex on the brain. So we'll see how he acts once he gets to college.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I remembered to grab the portraits before I bulldozed! I've definitely forgotten in the past, although not with Sullivan so far.