Where you'll find me now

Round 28: Spring 2028

last update/next update

Eliot Lane is 42, Cordy is 35, Timothy is 8 and Simon and Matthew are both 3.

Narrated by Cordy Lane

I was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame and a little ceremony was held for me at Town Hall. I received a plaque and everything!

I feel so accomplished now. I'd been working towards being the best of the best in the swimming world since I was a little girl and it's amazing to have finally reached that goal.


I should really find a more impressive place for it than above the old TV.

But still, I'm feeling very proud, as is Eliot.

I think that's partly because it gave him a great excuse to have the whole family over to our place. Like he's ever needed an excuse before. Anyway, we've got a pool which is wonderful for the kids (and some of the adults)!


Simon and Matthew stayed inside and played with Gabriel and Ruby.

I was a bit worried about my boys and the younger kids, because they're so much bigger and very bold, especially Simon.

Luc assures me that Ruby can take care of herself though. He wasn't worried.

Ruby ended up making quite good friends with Matthew, which was adorable.

Timothy adores his little cousin too.

She's such a little charmer, my niece! Kind of like her dad.

She's not shy about demanding what she wants either, which usually seems to be attention. Also just like Luc.

I wonder how Ruby will take to a little brother or sister. She's used to having both of her parents doting on her, with no other kids to steal her spotlight.

Come May, we'll all find out. Asha's happy about it but Luc's really happy.

Luc's been wanting kids since Timothy was born but it took Asha a lot longer to come around to the idea.

He's been such a good uncle to my kids and I was keen to see him as a dad myself!

It's very nice only swimming for pleasure now. It's completely different from getting up at the crack of dawn to train, or to train others, like I was doing when I was coaching.

Timothy gets out there with me too - he's still a water baby. I would love it if Matthew and Simon were the same way but they're too young right now.

I'm not the type to just rest on my laurels though. I need to challenge myself. My plan was always to swim for as long as I could and then finally dust off that law degree and use it.

I knew it would mean a pay cut though, as well as longer hours until I established myself, so I had to discuss it with Eliot.

Eliot didn't seem to think either of those problems were insurmountable. We're not exactly destitute. He's right about that and I'm very thankful for it.

And Eliot has never been reluctant to pick up my slack, child care wise, whenever it's been necessary.

I go a bit stir-crazy if I have to take care of all three boys on my own but Eliot thrives on it.

I sometimes get a little jealous of how great he is with them.

But I'm happier working full time so I was still excited to be hired at a law firm. It's reception work, which is a little soul-crushing seeing I have a degree I want to use but I can work my way up. I'm already dreaming about making my way all the way to the top!

I get home in time to put Matthew and Simon to bed, which Eliot leaves for me to do. I just wanted to have that little bit of bonding time with them. If I didn't, I'd probably never see them!

Timothy got used to me coming home at the same time as him, or earlier, and he's been asking Eliot why I have to work so long now.

I don't think I have much longer before Timothy is no longer so attached to me, so I'm making the most of it.

He spends most of his time with his friend Mitchell.

Mitchell is a year older than Timothy, so I hope they stay friends when Mitchell goes off to high school in a few years. I worry about Timothy making friends, because he can be so shy.

Mitchell's dad Jesse used to be Eliot's roommate though, so maybe the boys will stay friends just through sheer proximity. Jesse is over all the time and he usually brings Mitch with him.


One day, not long after starting my new job, I started feeling unwell. Just really queasy and generally horrible.

We were using birth control religiously, so it shouldn't have happened but it did - I'm pregnant again. Eliot is thrilled; I'm having a minor freak-out.

I really never pictured myself having more than two kids, so even three was a surprise. Four though? That takes us from a kind of big family to a really enormous family, at least in my mind.

And I only just started at this new job. I'm sure they'll love me going on maternity leave not even a year after I was hired.


Eliot's idea is for him to take leave instead. I'd take whatever I needed to recover physically and then go straight back to work. I guess it's not for every woman but I actually really love that plan. I'm anxious to advance and taking a year off after this baby arrives is not really something I want to do.


I'm still nervous about having such a huge family but I'm more relaxed knowing it won't affect my career as much. Now I can just focus on bugging Eliot with my usual pregnancy habits, like eating right out of the fridge because I just can't wait for him to finish cooking!


We've told Timothy about it. We'll have to move this time, which means it will be an even bigger change for him.

But Timothy seems okay with everything. He was very excited about the twins and he's excited again.

We love this house and it seemed huge when we moved in but with three kids, it's just not the case any more. We've been holding off on buying things we could well afford, because we just have no space for them. I'm really looking forward to getting a larger place!

Extras:
Simon convinced just about every Sim at the party to pick him up at once stage. He's very outgoing.

Matthew's very shy, so he just chilled in the corner most of the time.

And hey, do I have a hack that allows this or something? I'm positive that pets and kids couldn't sleep on the same bed at the same time before!

And just some Simon-and-Matthew randomness (with bonus Napoleon) because they'll turn 4 very soon! I can't wait to see what they'll look like.

Notes:

• Title is from Where You'll Find Me Now by Neutral Milk Hotel.
• Eliot rolled the Family Reunion ROS this round. This family ends up having pseudo family reunions a lot, because Eliot's aspiration means he rolls lots of wants to see various family members. But you don't have to twist my arm.
• So if anyone was wondering if ACR birth control works on the Maxis woohoo interaction, I can definitely tell you that it doesn't! I had Cordy and Eliot talking on the bed and then wanted them to go to sleep but was too lazy to cancel the "relax" interaction, wait for them to get off the bed and then have them get back in. So I just had them woohoo and now, oops! Cordy and Eliot are having a baby. Or maybe babies. :\ Eliot's still got that benefit! I didn't remove it from him because I was so sure they were done!
• I'm looking forward to moving this family too. They have $135,000 in cash so I don't think it will be too difficult to find a suitable place for them. I'm going to wait until Cordy's second trimester, just to make sure it's not twins again. That will require two additional bedrooms.
• I am hoping for a boy, because of the boy shortage, but also because I would really love a family of four boys. I've never had one (or one of all girls either, actually). I'm sure I'll get a girl now, because I'm so keen on Cordy having a boy.
• Assuming Cordy gets to the top of the Law career, she'll be my first Sullivan Sim to get to the top of two careers! Become Attorney-General is her LTW (default LTW is Become the Law) but she rolled the want to Reach the Top of the Law Career after her first day. And she's on Level 2. I've never seen a Sim roll that unless they're already at Level 8 or 9. So she's very motivated!
• I can't find Jesse's tattoo box. :( Which means I don't have Owen's either. That box isn't fixed so I have to reapply them each session and I know I put them on Owen when I played that family just a few days ago.