Saturday 15 January 2011

Love for granted

Round 30: March 2031 (Autumn)
Narrated by Camilla Sitko

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the family housing but our little house is actually very nice!

But then, my mum doesn't do things by halves. It was one of her election promises to make improvements to the campus and she really has. I guess that's why she was re-elected.

I don't think she was expecting her own daughter to be one of the students who would end up needing the new family housing but she says she's extra glad she pushed it through now. My parents were definitely not thrilled when I got pregnant but they've been supportive from the beginning.

Mum is adapting to being a grandparent - it took her a little while, because she still feels like she's too young to be a grandma. I never thought I'd see her on the floor singing nursery rhymes with Grace but she really did! It was even her idea!

There was never any question with Dad. He adores Everett and Grace. Mum says if Charlie and I were ten years older, he'd probably already be pestering us for more grandchildren!

Grace and Everett are enough as it is, so we'll be waiting a while on that! As far as toddlers go though, we probably got quite lucky with the twins.

Or at least, that's what my parents say. Dad says that when Lila and I were toddlers, Mum was convinced Lila had it in for her with all the time she spent acting up and causing trouble.

Fortunately, Grace and Everett don't really cause too much trouble.

Charlie's parents bought them an activity table and they love scribbling with that.

Grace has started doing this really cute little thing: whenever she's finished one of her pictures, she claps! It's adorable.

I wasn't really sure if they'd like playing together. I don't have any brothers and there's a huge age difference between Charlie and his sister, so I didn't really have anything to compare it to. But they prefer playing together over playing alone.

This place is perfect for us but we'll only be allowed to live here as long as one of us is a student. So we're attempting to save most of our scholarship and grant money until after we graduate. Maybe we can get a decent place.

Maybe. I'm already stressing about that. I don't know how we'll be able to afford a place for us, plus two kids. I'd like to find somewhere without our parents' help, if we can.

Charlie thinks I should stop worrying about it. We're already doing as much as we can to save for that, so there's no point thinking about it too much more.

I guess so. It's hard not to think about it though. It keeps playing on my mind.

I knew it would be but it's so much harder with the twins now that I'm away from my parents. I really miss living with four adults who actually know what they're doing, as well as my sisters when I need an extra pair of hands.

Lila is here on campus with me, so when we need her, she's usually around.

From the second I found out I was pregnant, she said she'd be there to help out and she's really stuck to that.

We can hardly get rid of her sometimes, actually. Not that I'm complaining, because she is a huge help, especially here, away from our families.

In a way, Lila is better with Grace and Everett than Charlie is.

Even though I had a lot of help at home, I feel like I was able to get into a bit of a routine with the babies and am a lot more confident with them than Charlie is.

Charlie came to visit as much as he could but it's not the same as living under the same roof 24/7. He is definitely struggling a little with that; it's kind of a shock to the system for him.

He's getting there though. He handles the day to day stuff a lot better than he did a couple of months ago.

Charlie's always been great with the fun stuff though and Grace and Everett both love their daddy.

We don't have a babysitter or anything, so it's lucky that our classes line up quite conveniently. Charlie comes home from his class just in time for me to head off to mine.

But that only works if Charlie leaves right on time and unfortunately, sometimes he doesn't, which means I have to show up late for class. I try to sneak in, so I don't disturb anyone but in the middle of a quiet lecture theatre, everyone notices a huge door swinging open.

I'm not the only one who comes late but I'm the only one who's been late so often.

Professor Hyde has been fairly lenient with me so far but I've been given my first warning.

I tried to explain my situation but he said everyone has obligations and it's our own responsibility to ensure they don't interfere with our classes.

I was upset, so I went to the studio for a while. I wanted to talk to Charlie when I got home but I didn't want to end up yelling at him and starting a huge fight. I wanted to be rational.

So I told him how often I'd been late to class because of him, that my professor isn't happy and that my lateness could end up affecting my grades.

At first, Charlie thought I was saying that he was staying late on purpose, which I wasn't.

I know he honestly just doesn't pay attention to the time but he doesn't have that luxury any more. I need to go to class and I can't do that until he gets home.

I think I made him feel pretty guilty. But maybe that's a good thing, because he did promise to do better and maybe start wearing a watch!

Extras:

Just some spam that didn't fit into the update!

This is more indicative of my parenting than Charlie and Camilla's. Had I let them do what they wanted, they probably would have got both kids to their cribs in time!


Notes:
  • Title is from Love for Granted by Phoenix.
  • Grades, before I talk about anything else; Camilla has a 3.6 GPA and Charlie has a 3.5. I'm using college Harder Grades now. Camilla would probably be sitting pretty with a 4.0 right now but she didn't do her term paper, so she couldn't earn a grade above B+.
  • As you have probably noticed, Kirstin has been re-elected as governor of Sullivan. Thank you so much to the 85 people who voted. :) For posterity, I'll record the results here. Kirstin - 38 votes (44%) Zaria - 28 votes (32%) Eliot - 19 votes (22%)
  • Kirstin rolled the want to teach a nursery rhyme to Grace, which I wasn't expecting! It was very cute though.
  • David, in case you didn't guess, has rolled the want for a grandchild. He'll hopefully be waiting a long while for his next one!
  • Charlie's lateness home and Camilla's subsequent lateness to class was gameplay inspired. Both semesters, their classes lined up so that Charlie's class ended when Camilla was due to leave for her next one. But Charlie would never come back onto the lot until 20 past the hour, so by the time I had Camilla finish doing whatever she was doing, she'd be bolting out of the house to make it to class in time!

17 comments:

  1. The twins are very cute and I hope Camilla's grades don't suffer too much. Your sims are lucky to have family housing, my university doesn't have family housing.

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  2. Did you put the desks sideways like that on purpose? I want to know just in case I need to stage a college classroom.

    A couple of WCIFs: the nursery set, the dollhouse and the activity table (is that a new mesh?). Thanks!

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  3. You made your student housing super nice. I'm not that nice to my sims though, I don't want them getting used to the idea of super luxery, since once they get in the real wrold it won't be that great. ;)

    I'm glad things are going so smoothly for them and the kids.

    As for the harder grades mod. How much harder do they have to work? I ask since I'm thinking about putting it in my game.

    Laurel Crossing, the table is from Clutter a Holic, or at least I think it is. That's how I have it labled in my DL folder.

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  4. Apple Valley, I love Grace and Everett - I took way too many pictures of them!

    Camilla is a more conscientious student than I thought she'd be, so hopefully, her grades will hold steady. Even with her tardiness. ;)

    Technically, I probably don't need the family housing any more, seeing my students can live in the regular hood. But I like the idea of them having somewhere to live on campus, cheaper than renting an apartment or buying a house.

    Thanks for reading!

    Laurel Crossing, hmmm, I'm pretty sure those desks are made to sit that way and are not actually sitting sideways. So I did place them that way intentionally.

    The nursery set is from Sims2Play and Riverdale is correct about the activity table - that's from Clutter-a-Holic. No idea about the dollhouse. :\

    Riverdale, well, I'm the one that has to look at the housing, lol! I get bored with it if it's too bare or looks ugly, so all my Sims tend to have nice looking homes, even if it's unrealistic!

    Harder Grades doesn't really make them work that much harder. The skill requirements are not changed at all, for example. There are 3 different versions of the hack and you can install 1, 2 or 3. I just have 1 of them, the one that limits grades to a B+ unless they complete a term paper. Most of my Sims roll term paper wants eventually, so I'm betting there will still be a lot of A+s but it's rare that I get a non-Fortune/Knowledge Sim who rolls the want to do one every semester, so I'm probably going to get a lot less Sims graduating with a 4.0!

    Thanks for reading!

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  5. Okay, I am really becoming sap over these adorable kids pics. I am terrible, I grow my kids up, I really should play with them a little. I love the twins hugging each other *awwww* moment!

    Hope Camilla can keep her grades up, a lot of spinning plates in the air. And can I say Prof Hyde is raowooor!

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  6. The house looks really nice. And big!

    This is such a lovely family. The kids are adorable and it's nice to see that Charlie's getting used to parenthood slowly but surely. Camilla's had more time to get used to taking care of the twins so it's no wonder that she's like a pro with them now.

    May I ask WCIF the harder college grades hack? Most of my students get a 4.0 too easily.

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  7. Drew, well, you do have some cute kids in your game! You should definitely play with them a little. ;)

    The "huggle" is one of my favourite interactions for toddlers. It's even cute when it's rejected, lol.

    Ha, well, Professor Hyde is definitely better looking than any of my professors ever were!

    Thanks for reading!

    Sari, the house is pretty spacious! I liked my previous family housing but the houses were pretty poky. It was hard to fit in all the things they needed.

    Charlie and Camilla are both coping as best they can. It's going to take Charlie a little longer to adjust than Camilla but the good thing is that he's really trying.

    College harder grades is here:

    http://www.ancienthighway.net/smf/index.php?topic=40.0

    I should add that to my Hacks post so I don't need to run a search at N99 every time I need to link it!

    Thanks for reading!

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  8. This was so realistic--it would definitely be an adjustment for Charlie to have to live and help with the children around the clock, and Camilla would be more experienced with caring for the children. I also found the discussion of Charlie's lateness to be particularly poignant. It makes sense that he would be less responsible and would need to be reminded of that.

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  9. just adore the shot of Everett with the doll in his mouth! He might be playing Barbies with Grace, but he has his own rules LOL!

    Using the class timing and overlap was inspired. It would be like Charlie to dawdle a little and then get defensive.

    Take all the shots you want of these two. I have tons of toddler and children shots I never post; I'm so glad you go ahead and do it!

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  10. These two seem to be doing well enough. Poor Charlie though, I'm a little concerned for his adjustment with suddenly living with a girl and twins. That's a lot of change from last year for him.

    The twins are uber adorable. And Lila is so pretty, both girls are. I don't know why bit I never really saw that o thought much about it until rather recently.

    And darn, I wasnt thinking about the twins during election time! Maybe I shouldn't have voted for Kirsten! It'd be more realistic you know. ;)

    How is your student housing set up for these two? Apartments with the gold
    album? I haven't had to do babies on campus since Finn and Nicole with Grace If I'm remembering correctly and that was years ago.

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  11. Those kids are so cute! Camilla and Charlie are doing really well balancing college and parenthood. This is a big adjustment for them - living together with the twins without their parents to help - and it seems like they're handling it pretty well.

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  12. Rachel, as committed as Charlie has been to standing by Camilla in all this, he also didn't really realise how hard it would be once they started living as a family unit. He's definitely finding that out now.

    Thanks for reading!

    S.B., LOL, yeah, it's a very male way to play with Barbies! I remember my sister and I used to hate when our (male) cousins got into our Barbies!

    I think Charlie will continue to struggle with being responsible for a while yet, because it's still not really habit for him. It's not really his natural state of being either. Of my Sims who've become teen parents, he's probably the least prepared!

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, Charlie and Camilla are doing all right, allowing for the fact that they're both still finding their feet, especially Charlie. It's a much bigger change for him. Even with visiting Camilla and the kids last year, he still had a lot of freedom to do whatever he wanted.

    I have always thought both the Sitko girls were really gorgeous, so I had high hopes for Grace and Everett. ;)

    I was actually thinking about that during the election! A pregnant teenage daughter probably would have been quite scandalous to some, especially seeing Kirstin is not the type to hide it or apologise for it.

    Camilla and Charlie's house is actually set as a dorm, so they moved in for free. Then I calculate 10% of the house's value, round it off and have them send that to the hood as a one-time rental fee. It ends up working roughly the same as the private residentials in a uni hood. It's the same thing that I did with Rebecca's house, when she was at uni.

    Thanks for reading!

    Sarah, I adore Grace and Everett already! I'm pretty certain how Everett will turn out, because he's so much like his dad but I'm really curious to see Grace as she grows up.

    Camilla and Charlie are handling things as best they can, which is fortunately quite well. I'm sure there will be some more stumbles and hiccups along the way though.

    Thanks for reading!

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  13. Great update. Those kids are the just the cutest ever (I feel like I always say that lol). They should be child models lol. Anyway, great update. I'm glad things seem to be going well for these 2. I like how you staged the classroom and Camilla coming in late. Charlie better get into the routine and quickly! I can understand the huge change but sometimes changes like this kind of smack you in the face.

    And a 3.6 GPA is nothing to sneeze at. That's great if it were real college (though in real college, they'd be take 4+ classes a semester instead of just 1).

    I took a look at my student housing last week and I think I will be replacing the houses, AGAIN. The one set of houses are SO TINY! I can't imagine 2 sims living there, let alone 2 with a baby. Charlie and Camilla's house looks very nice and spacious. I guess I'll need to go hunting for houses again. I'm always torn because I don't want them too big because it's not "realistic" but I don't want them too small where I can't place anything.

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  14. Charlie and Camilla seem to be doing fine, I hope they can keep it up because I'm afraid it's not going to get easier.
    It's nice that Lila comes to help them out.

    Grace and Everett are adorable!!

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  15. Danielle, yep, Charlie needs to pull up his bootstraps. He wants to do the right thing but until now, he really didn't have much idea as to what that was.

    I would have loved a 3.6 GPA when I was at uni. Mine was...nowhere near that, lol! Even my crap students seem to be excellent students by real life standards! Troy graduated with the lowest ever (2.9) and even that wouldn't be awful in the real world.

    Tiny houses are tough for me. I had a ton in my uni hood uni but I didn't transfer any of them over. They were just too tiny. Hard to decorate, hard to fit the essentials in and hard to take photos in. The last point is probably the biggest one for me! I ended up building Charlie and Camilla's place because I couldn't find anything that was exactly what I wanted. It's still not exactly what I wanted but it's close. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

    Tanja, I think some things for Charlie and Camilla might get easier but they'll face new challenges which will be just as difficult as the old ones. Or they could be lucky. We'll see how they go.

    Lila is a woman of her word. ;) It would be hard to resist such a cute niece and nephew!

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. Awww, the kids are really adorable! Love the picture at the end of Charlie hugging his daughter. Gah they're both so young! But it's nice to see them getting along with life so well and adapting.

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  17. Lunar, well, Charlie and Camilla are trying their best. They have a lot of support from their parents, which is good but there are still going to be things that crop out that they will be missing out on. That's going to be tough for both of them.

    Thanks for reading!

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