Saturday 14 July 2012

Don't think twice, it's alright

Round 34: January 2039 (Summer)
last update/next update

Kimberly Carmody is 68, Nick Moretti is 36, Sarah is 34, Thomas is 8, Ryan is 7 and Catherine is 5.
(Maia is 37, Troy is 36, Ethan is 33, Jude is 7 and Willow is 4)
Narrated by Nick Moretti

Once Sarah and I decided to move house, we were lucky enough that the process was fairly quick from there on out.

It helped that after really looking at our finances, we found that money was not going to be much of an issue. We’re not millionaires by any means but we knew we could afford a home with plenty of space for all of us.

Even though this house is much bigger than our old place, we’re in a better financial position now than we were before.

I guess not having to constantly call tradespeople in to make repairs on such an old house really makes a difference. Everything actually works here!

And of course, Sarah is actually making more money now. Ever since she made partner at her firm, we really haven’t had to worry about finances.

We’re all settled in now and are really loving our new house.

The kids all have their own rooms now but Thomas and Ryan are clearly used to sharing. They’re always in and out of each other’s rooms.

They’re not too interested in Catherine’s dolls, so she usually has her room to herself.

Catherine has always had her own room but this one is very special to her, because Sarah and I let her pick out all the colours and help choose the furniture too.

We haven’t done much with the yard yet but the kids are loving finally having a decent-sized yard to play in. Thomas, Ryan and Catherine take after both me and Sarah and are all very active. They have a lot of energy to burn off and now there’s plenty of space for that.

Kimberly hasn’t been taking advantage of the great outdoors much, which is unlike her. It’s been really hot this summer, so she hasn’t felt up to it.

She’s put on a little weight as a result, which she’s not especially thrilled about. Sarah really takes care of herself, so she’s been nagging Kimberly to get some exercise. She doesn’t care that her mother is bigger than she used to be but she does worry about her health.

Sarah managed to goad her into working out together a few times but Kimberly mostly complained about it the whole time.

Kimberly knows Sarah was trying to help but she’ll just be waiting until the weather gets cooler, so she can start going on her hikes again.

Hiking is the only exercise Kimberly really enjoys and will do voluntarily.

I think she might enjoy walking our new dog, Christy, too. Christy could certainly use all the walks she can get.

We thought getting an adult dog might mean we’d skip the hyper puppy stage. Christy is fully grown though and she shows no signs of slowing down. She’s always tearing through the house at top speed.

But then, an active dog fits right into our family. We have plenty of room and no shortage of kids willing to play with Christy whenever she wants.

The kids were all hoping for a puppy but they were so excited to have a dog at all that they really didn’t care.

Of course, Ryan had to have Jude over, so he could introduce Christy to his best friend.

Thomas and Ryan got the idea that they wanted a dog of their own when they met Jude’s dog Paisley, so they were excited to show Jude they had one of their own now.

Ryan wants Troy and Jude to bring Paisley over for a doggy play date some time.

Not the most practical suggestion, seeing Troy and Josie don’t have a car but maybe we can take Christy to a park near their house sometime and meet up.

Maia and Ethan did bring Kaiser over last weekend though. Kaiser is getting pretty old now, so he’s not quite as keen to play as Christy is.

They didn’t fight or anything though, and Kaiser seemed willing to at least humour Christy, so we'll call it a success.

Catherine buddied up a little with Willow. They hadn’t really played much together before but they had a great time.

Catherine is the grade above Willow at school, so they’re quite close in age. That hasn’t stopped Catherine from mothering her somewhat.

I guess she’s the baby of the family, so having someone around who is younger than her is a bit of a novelty.

Maia mentioned that she thought Catherine would make a good big sister, knowing Sarah and I have been talking about a fourth.

She was being nosy, trying to see if we’d started trying yet or if we were maybe expecting already but Sarah and I were very non-committal.

In fact, Sarah is pregnant with our fourth right now. Sarah’s career and the fact that our house was way too small for another kid were the only things holding us back. So when Sarah was promoted and we moved shortly after, we decided to go for it.

It’s very early though, much too early to start telling people. We haven’t even told Kimberly yet and she lives with us.

Sarah’s nausea might soon give the game away though!

Kimberly will be thrilled when we do tell her. Four grandchildren apparently isn’t enough and she would love another one.

We’ll tell her, as well as my parents soon and then we’re going to wait another month or so before we tell anyone else. We’re so excited though, so it’s going to be hard to keep our mouths shut for that long!

We’ve both always wanted a big family and I’m so happy everything has fallen into place to let us have one.

Notes:
  • Title is from Don't Think Twice, It's Alright by Bob Dylan.
  • Sarah and Nick's new house was built by Tanja and shared as part of the April Project at N99. It is incredibly awesome. Enormous, yet somehow they still had $20000 left once they'd furnished it. And I fully furnished it, as you can probably see - not just the basics. Anyway, that's why I wrote in the little bit about how much better they're doing financially at the moment. I'll put up a lot tour soon - I already have the photos.
  • Kimberly rolled the ROS to put on weight, except she was already as big as a Sim can be. ;) Let's pretend she wasn't! Anyway, she has zero motivation to work out or do anything active, so I guess she'll be staying the way she is.
  • And yay, another baby is on the way! It feels like my hood is as it should be now - someone is finally pregnant again. I haven't had anyone have a baby since Adrienne and Amar had Beau! I don't know if I'm hoping for a girl or a boy this time. Maybe a girl - make it even!
  • An update on my crashing problem, it is sadly not fixed. I thought it might be but I wasn't 100% confident. In this session, I crashed once while saving (though fortunately, I'd saved not too long before) and then again when Nick was coming back from a community lot. :\ I'm not positive what my next step will be but I hope I can fix this once and for all.

18 comments:

  1. The house is looking great (can't wait for the lot tour) and I am so happy that Sarah and Nick finally have the money and house to expand their family. I can't wait for another cutie in the hood! Adrienne and Amar having Beau seems so long ago. I adore that picture of Nick rubbing Sarah's belly- his face is adorable. How did you get him to rub her belly if she didn't have a bump showing?
    I really hope that your crashing problem is fixed soon. Fingers are well and truly crossed for you! It sucks when something like this happens.

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    1. I did always see Nick and Sarah with more than three kids, so I'm glad they're having another. Three is so average in my hood, lol! Beau's a whole year old now, which means it's been almost two years since anyone conceived a baby in Sullivan - that is nuts!

      Nick is rubbing Sarah's belly with the help of allmenus on. :) I don't know if it would work on a non-pregnant Sim but as you can see, it works just fine for Sims in their first trimester, like Sarah is. :)

      Thanks Hannah! The crashing problem is incredibly frustrating and I'm hoping I can get it fixed without stooping to my last resort - rebuilding the hood! I'll do it if I have to but would rather not, as I'm sure you can understand!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. I hope the crashing gets fixed soon. Yay for another baby, so exciting and the house looks great can't wait for the tour :)

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    1. I hope so too. I tried turning down the view distance to Large (had it on Extra Large) on Pru's suggestion, seeing I had to go in and collect tuition fees today. I managed to load and save the five or six lots I had to go to with no trouble. So it didn't hurt, at the very least. I'll try taking Jack and Audrey out on a little date when I play them, and see how it goes.

      Tour should be up on Tuesday. :) I'm really happy with this house and I think the new baby will be quite content in his/her little nursery too (which I didn't show at all but you'll see in the lot tour).

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Sorry you are still having crashing problems. Nick and Sarah's kids seem to have sprouted up overnight! Where did the time go?

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    1. Thanks - I hope I can solve the issue, preferably soon!

      This is the first round Nick and Sarah haven't had a little one in the house, which seems crazy. I guess they thought so too, because they tried for a baby as soon as I took Sarah off BC, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Boo to crashing! I've seen all the tweets while I was away and had hoped you managed to find a solution. Ugh. I hope something starts working soon! :(

    Yay for another baby! I can't wait to see what it is. I'm not sure I have a gender preference, I'm just always excited for babies. ;) I want to see what they look like.

    The house looks great and I can't wait to see a tour. I wish I was patient enough to decorate more. Sometimes, the mood strikes me... other times, I just plod through and put the essentials. The more cash a sim has, the more likely I am to decorate, LOL!

    I love that their dog is just as hyperactive as the rest of them. What a good fit!

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    1. Me too. :( I have had suggestions at N99 to turn some of my settings down. It doesn't seem like that should be the issue, seeing this computer is quite powerful but the crashes don't really make much sense, so I'm trying everything.

      I'm always keen to see what the babies will look like too, which is why a first birthday is a bit more exciting than a birth, lol. I don't mind much what Sarah and Nick have. I'm mostly hoping girl, but I can't imagine being too disappointed if they have a boy instead. I don't really like the girl name I have picked out though. ;)

      I'm going to put all the pics together for the tour today, so it should be up tomorrow. :) Decorating with money is definitely more fun but I try to make the effort anyway. I find it makes playing the family more enjoyable for me if I like their surroundings.

      It was a stroke of luck with that dog! I usually check the personality before I buy the dog, because I don't like to make them Aggressive. As it happens, Christy is Cowardly and incredibly Hyper. The first thing she did was run through the house like that!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Ugh how frustrating that you are still crashing. Have you really blown up your dl folder since getting the new computer? Maybe the game itself has a limit? Cause I know your specs are awesome.

    As for this update, woot! So excited that they are having another baby! I think a boy would be great! I'd like to see Catherine raised as the only girl I think. I wonder if you'll get another blonde!

    From what I can see the new house looks great! Looking forward to the tour. As for Kimberley, I was worried you were gonna kill her off! Glad it was just ROS at play!! And the new dog christy is the perfect fit, the name humors me, I've never heard it used on an animal, and it's one of my close friend's name.

    Can't wait til they have another baby. Is this their last baby then?

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    1. I just checked and my August 2011 back-up downloads folder (the most recent back-up I had before my new PC) was 13.4GB and my folder is currently 14.2GB. Keep in mind that I had downloaded extra stuff between August and the time I got my new computer and that computer was handling it. So I don't think it's the amount of downloads but if I crash when I play Audrey and Jack, I might drop that downloads backup in and see how I go.

      Now that you've said it, it might be fun to have Catherine grow up with three brothers! I could always see Nick with daughters or sons but I don't think I ever saw Sarah with daughters. I'm just going to take whatever I get and see what happens. I think this will probably be their last, though the nursery is large enough to squeeze in another bed if I change my mind!

      Heh, no, not yet for Kimberly! Although she's probably lucky she aged up when she did. She probably wouldn't last too long under your death system, which I plan to start using with my next bunch of elders! She's unfit and she's not very sociable.

      I don't where I got Christy from, lol. It just popped into my head. It had to be a chocolate lab and she had to be named Christy. I like pets with people names. My mother's aunt had a cat named Steven, which I find hilarious!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I was so looking forward to this family's update, just so I could see their house! I can't wait to see the tour, and what you've done to the place! I like what I've seen so far, and I can't wait to see more!

    I'm so excited that they are finally having another baby! A gril would be nice, to make things even, but I kind of like what Maisie said as well, I kind of like the idea of Catherine being the only girl in the family.
    That dog really fits this family, he really adds to the crazyness of 3 children!

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    1. I'm glad you like what you see so far! The tour just went up this second, so now you can see the rest. :)

      I'm pretty excited about another baby as well, even though at one point, I was going to make them stop at three. Nick and Sarah make such lovely kids though, so I had to let them mix their genes at least one more time! I can see good things about them having a boy or a girl, so I'll just sit back and let the game take care of it.

      Christy is great! I couldn't be happier with her personality. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Yay for Nick and Sarah! I'm excited for them. :)

    LOL about Kimberly rolling the weight gain ROS--what a wonderful way to explain the weight gain, too. :)

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    1. I am too! Especially seeing my game seemed a lot more stable last time I played. so next time I visit Nick and Sarah, it might not be so frustrating!

      Heh, glad you liked it! A lot of people tend to gain weight in winter but I actually find it easier to lose weight then, because exercising outside is a little more pleasant to me. So I was drawing from my own experience!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. Congrats to Sarah on making partner! So glad that they're doing so well in their new house. And yay on another baby! What we've all been waiting for! :D I <3 their kids so much. So adorable and sweet. I'm glad Catherine will be able to be a big sister. Christy is a really pretty dog. I like her coloring.

    I hope Rebecca decides to shed those extra pounds. It does suck working out when it's unbearably hot, though, speaking from my experience right now. But, I'm probably as lazy as she is lol.

    How's your game been that past few days? I saw that you were able to take Audrey and Jack out and back without issues. Hope it's fixed!

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    1. Sarah made partner a couple of years ago, actually, but things have been smooth-sailing for them financially since then. They're doing pretty well, so baby! I know, lots of you have been waiting for this and come October, we'll get to meet Baby Moretti. :D

      Christy is a cutie; she's just the default labrador with all the fur layers changed to dark brown. I have to say, I was wishing we had as many options for customisation as TS3 Pets though! It's almost overwhelming how many options there are with that!

      The game is doing pretty well at the moment. I haven't crashed since I played this session with the Morettis, touch wood! Audrey and Jack went out with no issues, as did James when I played the Novaks. Keeping my fingers crossed!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Yay for another baby! I love when sims have babies! Sadly, nobody in my hood is interested at the moment so somebody may forget to take their birth control.... You can never have too make babies :D (well, you can if your non-maternal sim has triplets...)

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    1. Oh, I have the Triplets and Quads mod but I've only been brave enough to hit random once. And she ended up with a singleton anyway! I have a rule that sims over 40 have to click random, like how in real life, older women are more likely to have multiples.

      Nick and Sarah make such cute babies, so I just had to finally give in to that baby want they both had! You'll see the baby as a toddler before the end of this round. :) Aged up just a couple of sim-months ago.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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