Round 34: January 2039 (Summer)
last update/next update
Evan Moretti is 50, Ione is 43, Aurora and Bianca are 13 and Francesca is 5.
(Olivia and Lia are 42, Justin and Xavier are 18, Matthew is 14, Ramona is 12 and Catherine is 5)
(Olivia and Lia are 42, Justin and Xavier are 18, Matthew is 14, Ramona is 12 and Catherine is 5)
Narrated by Ione Moretti
Justin and Xavier are now settling in on campus, so it’s just me, Evan and the girls here at home. He’s officially outnumbered.
I don’t think he minds much. If we had especially dramatic girls, he might but they’re not. I’m hoping hormones don’t change it but Aurora and Bianca are still very even-tempered and sweet.
And fortunately, we have many years before we need to worry about Francesca and hormonal shifts in personality!
The boys still visit a couple of times a week. Classes haven’t started yet, so they’re really just hanging around campus all day with nothing in particular to do.
I was hoping they’d drop in frequently, so I’m glad. It’s the first time they’ve ever been away from us, so I’ve been missing them a lot.
Evan has been worrying a little too. He’s always been more of a worrier than me. I went to college myself though and I came out of it unscathed. And I didn’t have a twin brother and a cousin coming along with me either. I know our boys will be just fine.
Justin, Xavier and Declan are all living in the same dorm together. Justin’s got his own room and Xavier is rooming with Declan.
It sounds like they’re doing well, though I think Justin is more excited about being reunited with his girlfriend Louisa than anything else.
Francesca really misses having the boys at home. She loves her big brothers.
She’s not going to like it at all when they get busy with their classes and can’t come home as often.
Luckily, Aurora and Bianca both still dote on Francesca, so she can’t say she doesn’t get any attention at home.
I thought maybe they’d grow out of treating their little sister like an extremely large doll but so far, they’re still very close.
The girls are actually really great with her. They’re all off school until February and they’re doing a great job keeping her occupied. Her siblings are so much older than her, so she likes it when they include her in whatever they’re doing.
Thank goodness for Aurora and Bianca that Francesca is also happy to play with her own friends too.
She and Catherine are very close and she’s over here as much as Francesca is over at her place.
We got that Water Wiggler for Christmas years and years ago and it’s really paying off this summer. Catherine and Francesca have been basically living under it.
Catherine being around so often has meant that Aurora and Bianca have still had plenty of time to do their own thing this summer.
They’ve been spending a lot of that time sunning themselves in the backyard, which I wish they wouldn’t do.
Especially Aurora. She’s like me - very fair - and I worry she’s just going burn herself to a crisp out there. Bianca seems to have tired of it now, which I’m hoping rubs off on Aurora.
Bianca has found herself a new hobby - sewing. She’s only making pot holders at the moment but she’s getting better all the time.
I had Olivia come over and show her a few techniques on the machine and Bianca has been practising ever since.
Olivia’s daughter Ramona came over with her and she and Bianca ended up really hitting it off. They’re both on the brainy side and neither is at all interested in boys yet, except in a very abstract, far-off-in-the-future sort of way.
They’ve made plans to do something together next week. Bianca and Aurora are both so shy that they tend to stick to themselves, so I’m glad to see Bianca branching out a bit socially.
Aurora has been getting to know more people too, especially Matthew Lane.
She’s been hanging out with him a lot so far this summer and I wasn’t especially surprised when she asked me and Evan if she could go on a date with him.
Evan and I know his parents very well and Aurora seems to like Matthew a lot, even though we were a little nervous about the idea of her dating, we ultimately decided we’d be okay with it.
We’re going to be monitoring them pretty closely and we made sure Aurora understood that. No dates on school nights (assuming they’re still interested in each other once school starts up again) and home by 9:30 on the weekends.
Aurora is very agreeable, so she was quite happy with those terms!
She and Matthew have been on a few dates since then and so far, so good. When they’ve been out at night, Aurora has always been home well before curfew, so hopefully she can continue being responsible about it.
We might talk about loosening the restrictions next year, when she’s a little older.
I really hope Aurora and Bianca can skip all of the boy woes my niece Caitlin and Lia’s daughter Georgina have been having lately. They had a big blowout over a boy. Caitlin is still quite angry with Georgina and they're just not like they used to be.
It’s very upsetting. They were once so close and we’re both hoping that can get there again.
There’s not a whole lot we can do to help them along though. I think we just have to let them figure it out themselves.
Lia and I still end up talking a lot about the whole situation at work though!
Speaking of work, it’s going really well for me at the moment. This started out as a position Lia gave me when I was absolutely desperate for work and I never planned to stay this long. But here I am, five years later!
Lia even gave me a promotion just before Christmas! My new job title is “Youth Services Librarian” and I run the children’s section of the library.
It’s more money and I love kids, so I do enjoy the work. It’s a good way to scratch that baby itch when I have a moment of madness and think I want another kid! We definitely don’t need six children!
Still the library is not where my heart is. I love making my toys and my aim is still to buy a nice shop where I can sell them.
That dream seems very far away at the moment. Justin is on a full scholarship but we still have to pay for Xavier’s tuition. And it won’t be long before we’ll be facing the same sort of fees for Aurora and Bianca, who both already want to go to college.
Evan and I have talked about it, trying to figure out if it might be possible within the next five years or so. Unless we win the lottery, starting a business just would not be a responsible thing to do.
So I’m putting it off once again. Maybe when Aurora and Bianca are ready for college, we’ll be in a better state to think about buying a store.
I’m sad to be pushing it aside but making sure the kids can all get an education is more important to me. When it comes down to my shop versus the kids, the kids will win every time.
Justin and Xavier are now settling in on campus, so it’s just me, Evan and the girls here at home. He’s officially outnumbered.I don’t think he minds much. If we had especially dramatic girls, he might but they’re not. I’m hoping hormones don’t change it but Aurora and Bianca are still very even-tempered and sweet.And fortunately, we have many years before we need to worry about Francesca and hormonal shifts in personality!The boys still visit a couple of times a week. Classes haven’t started yet, so they’re really just hanging around campus all day with nothing in particular to do.I was hoping they’d drop in frequently, so I’m glad. It’s the first time they’ve ever been away from us, so I’ve been missing them a lot.Evan has been worrying a little too. He’s always been more of a worrier than me. I went to college myself though and I came out of it unscathed. And I didn’t have a twin brother and a cousin coming along with me either. I know our boys will be just fine.Justin, Xavier and Declan are all living in the same dorm together. Justin’s got his own room and Xavier is rooming with Declan.It sounds like they’re doing well, though I think Justin is more excited about being reunited with his girlfriend Louisa than anything else.Francesca really misses having the boys at home. She loves her big brothers.She’s not going to like it at all when they get busy with their classes and can’t come home as often.Luckily, Aurora and Bianca both still dote on Francesca, so she can’t say she doesn’t get any attention at home.I thought maybe they’d grow out of treating their little sister like an extremely large doll but so far, they’re still very close.The girls are actually really great with her. They’re all off school until February and they’re doing a great job keeping her occupied. Her siblings are so much older than her, so she likes it when they include her in whatever they’re doing.Thank goodness for Aurora and Bianca that Francesca is also happy to play with her own friends too.She and Catherine are very close and she’s over here as much as Francesca is over at her place.We got that Water Wiggler for Christmas years and years ago and it’s really paying off this summer. Catherine and Francesca have been basically living under it.Catherine being around so often has meant that Aurora and Bianca have still had plenty of time to do their own thing this summer.They’ve been spending a lot of that time sunning themselves in the backyard, which I wish they wouldn’t do.Especially Aurora. She’s like me - very fair - and I worry she’s just going burn herself to a crisp out there. Bianca seems to have tired of it now, which I’m hoping rubs off on Aurora.Bianca has found herself a new hobby - sewing. She’s only making pot holders at the moment but she’s getting better all the time.I had Olivia come over and show her a few techniques on the machine and Bianca has been practising ever since.Olivia’s daughter Ramona came over with her and she and Bianca ended up really hitting it off. They’re both on the brainy side and neither is at all interested in boys yet, except in a very abstract, far-off-in-the-future sort of way.They’ve made plans to do something together next week. Bianca and Aurora are both so shy that they tend to stick to themselves, so I’m glad to see Bianca branching out a bit socially.Aurora has been getting to know more people too, especially Matthew Lane.She’s been hanging out with him a lot so far this summer and I wasn’t especially surprised when she asked me and Evan if she could go on a date with him.Evan and I know his parents very well and Aurora seems to like Matthew a lot, even though we were a little nervous about the idea of her dating, we ultimately decided we’d be okay with it.We’re going to be monitoring them pretty closely and we made sure Aurora understood that. No dates on school nights (assuming they’re still interested in each other once school starts up again) and home by 9:30 on the weekends.Aurora is very agreeable, so she was quite happy with those terms!She and Matthew have been on a few dates since then and so far, so good. When they’ve been out at night, Aurora has always been home well before curfew, so hopefully she can continue being responsible about it.We might talk about loosening the restrictions next year, when she’s a little older.I really hope Aurora and Bianca can skip all of the boy woes my niece Caitlin and Lia’s daughter Georgina have been having lately. They had a big blowout over a boy. Caitlin is still quite angry with Georgina and they're just not like they used to be.It’s very upsetting. They were once so close and we’re both hoping that can get there again.There’s not a whole lot we can do to help them along though. I think we just have to let them figure it out themselves.Lia and I still end up talking a lot about the whole situation at work though!Speaking of work, it’s going really well for me at the moment. This started out as a position Lia gave me when I was absolutely desperate for work and I never planned to stay this long. But here I am, five years later!Lia even gave me a promotion just before Christmas! My new job title is “Youth Services Librarian” and I run the children’s section of the library.It’s more money and I love kids, so I do enjoy the work. It’s a good way to scratch that baby itch when I have a moment of madness and think I want another kid! We definitely don’t need six children!Still the library is not where my heart is. I love making my toys and my aim is still to buy a nice shop where I can sell them.That dream seems very far away at the moment. Justin is on a full scholarship but we still have to pay for Xavier’s tuition. And it won’t be long before we’ll be facing the same sort of fees for Aurora and Bianca, who both already want to go to college.Evan and I have talked about it, trying to figure out if it might be possible within the next five years or so. Unless we win the lottery, starting a business just would not be a responsible thing to do.So I’m putting it off once again. Maybe when Aurora and Bianca are ready for college, we’ll be in a better state to think about buying a store.I’m sad to be pushing it aside but making sure the kids can all get an education is more important to me. When it comes down to my shop versus the kids, the kids will win every time.Notes:
- Title is from Refugee by Tom Petty.
- Someone at N99 built a pretty amazing toy shop and ever since I saw it, I've kind of wanted Ione to buy that one, instead of Lullabies (which I'm going to turn into a baby store). It is more expensive though, so it might be another several years before she can buy it!
- Bianca hasn't really rolled many romantic wants and the ones she has rolled have been all generic. She's obviously going to be a later bloomer than Aurora, who is raring to go with Matthew. ;)
- Finally, you'll have to forgive me if updates are sparse for a while. I'm having some pretty bad crashing problems with my game. They started when I was almost done with this update and needed about 10 pics more; it was like pulling teeth to get them! At this point, I think it's a problem with CC (the hood seems to work fine with no CC) but it might take me a while to weed through it all to find the culprit. For all I know, I could find it tomorrow but I may not. So if there are no updates for a while, that's why. :\
I still can't believe their kids are in uni! I wish she could get a store too, have they thought about a loan? And Francesca is so spoiled by her older siblings, I hope she remains sweet.
ReplyDeleteI know, the boys are all grown up now!
DeleteIone and Evan have considered a loan and it's still a possibility. The loan they would need at this point though would be enormous, so I'd like them to save a little before they take that on. Especially seeing they have to put four kids through college.
Francesca inherited her parents' niceness, which means it's maxed out. Hopefully that means she won't turn into a spoiled brat!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Aurora and Bianca seem like pretty perfect teenage daughters at the moment! They're still young though so it could all change. Aurora and Matthew are so adorable. I love Bianca too, I hope she really improves on her sewing- there could be another fashion designer in Sullivan! Francesca is absolutely adorable and her siblings are all so nice to her!
ReplyDeleteEvan and Ione lucked out somewhat with their kids. They're all very sweet, though there's still time for a rebellious stage for any of them. I'll see how their wants go. Ditto with Aurora and Matthew - I have no idea what's in store for them. Trying to solve my crashing problem, I've been into this house dozens of times though and Aurora is still quite keen on Matthew.
DeleteI do have fashion design in mind for Bianca. She's got a maxed out interest in Fashion and no career LTW, so the only thing stopping her is me. And I'm all for it. The Fashion Design career is really a lot of fun for me. I may even have a lot for it too, once my game is sorted, so it'll be even more fun.
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First of all, I hope you can solve the crashing! As someone who's had her fair share of crashing, I can totally relate and you have my sympathy. It's so frustrating when it's totally random and you can't figure out if you've fixed it or not.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun update! Too bad for Ione that she had to push her dream of the toy store into the background again but hopefully one day she'll be the proud owner of her own shop. I love how Aurora and Bianca dote on Francesca. It'll be interesting to see if it continues this way or if they start rebelling at some point.
It's comforting to know others have been through the same thing! This is the first problem I've had that has taken me more than a couple of days to solve, so I know I've been lucky so far. I hope I can nail it down today.
DeleteI'm starting to feel like Ione will be close to retirement age by the time she gets that shop, lol! It's definitely still something I want to do for her, so I'm plugging on though.
I've heard it can go either way with siblings with large gaps between them. They either get along pretty well because there's nothing to fight about, or they find each other very annoying because they have nothing in common! So far it's the former for the girls. :)
Thanks for reading and commenting!
That sucks. I had to go through all my DLs a month or so ago because no one in a neighborhood would age, when I found that the whole neighborhood had somehow gotten corrupted. Oh well, it was Veronaville, so I could just reload. I hope you can find it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like whenever Ione gets close to buying her toy store something else happens to set her back, but I'm still rooting for her. She and Evan are pretty permissive to let their daughter start dating at 13, even with restrictions. I hope Aurora doesn't make her change her mind. LOL about the girl thinking of Francesca as a lifesize doll! I'd rather that than them resenting her.
Ugh, that sounds like a pain and a half too! I'm hoping it's CC, because the hood does seem to work without it. It's hard to narrow down though, because even with all my CC in, the game doesn't always crash at any one point. :\ So I've been loading up the three families I did crash with and having them do all the things I tried to have them do when I was crashing. It's a long process.
DeleteYes, Ione has had multiple setbacks with her store but this time, it's really her just thinking about it and deciding it's not the best time for it at the moment.
Aurora is fortunate her parents are letting her date. Evan and Ione weren't dating yet when they were that age, so it's not something they have experience with. If it wasn't Matthew, they'd probably be thinking again.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I'm so sad that the boys are in uni, and she still doesn't have her toy shop! I LOVE that toy shop though! I put it in and it's just awesome! I think that will be great for Ione! She's a very selfless type of mother, but part of me wishes she could have this dream of hers!
ReplyDeleteAurora and Bianca are too adorable, and super sweet with Francesca! I think this family is great with the Francesca bringing up the rear, she's such a youngest child type of girl. I can't believe they are allowing dating though!!
Yeah, Ione just wouldn't buy the shop if it was going to cause the kids any hardship. :( And if she does buy it, there's a good chance they won't be able to afford uni for one or more of them. She's really going to appreciate it when she finally gets it, after waiting so long!
DeleteI'm glad Evan and Ione had their little accident with Francesca. She's such a darling and the kids all love her too. She might have to wait a bit longer to date, if this thing with Aurora and Matthew goes badly. ;) I imagine Evan and Ione might be a bit more cautious with her if it does.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I hope she can have her toy shop too, it's adorable and she really deserves it. Not that being a librarian is so bad either (it's my IRL job, after all) but she's wanted one forever. I'll keep my fingers crossed for that.
ReplyDeleteI've often said that if I wasn't a teacher, I think I'd quite like to be a librarian! Ione is enjoying it more than she thought she would but it's not her big dream. Maybe this family will roll a lottery win ROS one of these days!
DeleteThanks for reading and commenting!
It's nice that the boys are adjusting well to college life and that the family is adjusting to their not being home. Bianca and Ramona are cute together as two introverted friends. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping Aurora and Matthew won't take things too far...
It's too bad that there's no real way Ione can get her shop anytime soon. It's just a reality of having kids that their needs will end up taking priority. Maybe they will get some sort of unexpected windfall down the line and that will help get her closer to achieving her dream.
It must be kind of a relief to have two less people under the roof, with such a big family. Even if they all do miss the boys as well!
DeleteAurora and Matthew are incapable of taking things too far at the moment. I have woohoo turned off for them. I turn it on at 14 though, so that'll be the tell.
An unexpected windfall is exactly what Ione needs! Until then though, she's definitely the type whose kids would take absolute priority above all else.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
It's sweet that they all are so good with their little sister. I always love seeing those things!
ReplyDeleteIt's good that the boys are adjusting to college so well, I hope it will go as good once classes start!
I so hope Ione gets to buy her toyshop one day! I guess all moms put their children's needs before their own.
Yeah, these kids are all really close. It's nice to see. I loved the girls with Francesca when she was tiny though. I ended up framing some of the photos I got with them then, because they were so cute.
DeleteHa, classes will be the real test, won't they? I'm sure Justin will do well but I'm worried about Xavier. He found high school pretty difficult. :\
I'm making Ione and Evan drop every bit of spare cash they have into their bank account, so they build up interest. Hopefully it will pay off one day and she can get her shop!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I just said it like a second ago but I really like Ramona's look. She's so cute! I'm glad she and Bianca are becoming fast friends. That'd be cool if Bianca got into fashion. She already has great style and she's still so young! That's sweet that the girls still include Francesca in whatever they do but still have time to go off and do their own thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Evan and Ione aren't worried about Matthew Lane like other parents are worried about his brother lol. They look really sweet together and if things don't last, hopefully they won't have to deal with drama like Caitlin and Georgina.
I hope one day Ione can get that toy shop. It must be so hard to keep pushing off her dream but she's right to put her children and their education first. That toy store IS awesome! Way more awesome than I would have done, I think LOL. I can't wait to grab it and all the other goodies.
I'm trying to use glasses more often and they really suit Ramona, especially seeing she's Knowledge and on the serious side. :) And Ramona/Ruby and Aurora/Bianca have been a bit insular, so I'm having them branch out now that they're older. It's more realistic for them to have a few close friends, rather than just one.
DeleteLOL, Matthew is quite different to Simon! He's a total brain, so there's less to worry about with either of them being "distracted"! No one else has shown any interest in Matthew so far, so Aurora will hopefully get to keep him to herself and avoid drama!
The toy store is so amazing and I can't wait to set it up. But Ione waiting for it for so long will make it all the more sweeter once she finally gets it. :)
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Okay, so reading from the beginning has finally defeated me and i've skipped ahead 10 rounds! It's lovely to see how a lot of the old faces have changed over the years. I had managed to read up to Ione preparing to marry Evan and now here they are, happily married with 5 kids! I hope Ione eventually gets her dream store.
ReplyDeleteLOL, reading everything from the beginning is quite a task! From today's update onwards, I'll be adding household profiles for each family, which should make it easier for people to jump in wherever I am currently. So watch out for those when you catch up, if you get confused!
DeleteYeah, the 5 kids was totally unintentional! Bianca and Aurora were planned but I wasn't exactly expecting twins when I let them try for a baby again. I wasn't expecting Francesca AT ALL (BC failure!) but hey, things happen! They're all adorable, so I can't be too upset. :)
And I just realised I have a typo in this update - it's Round 34, not Round 32!
Thanks for reading and commenting!