Wednesday 15 August 2012

I'm a wheel

Round 34: May 2039 (Autumn)
last update/next update
Maia Novak is 37, Ethan is 33, Willow is 4 and River is 2.
(Jace is 82, Magdalena is 75, James is 64, Madelyn is 59, Evan is 50, Miles is 36 and Matilda is 33)

LinkNarrated by Ethan Novak

After several years as a detective, I finally made it to Lieutenant this year. It’s involved a lot of hard work on my part but it’s all paying off now.

It’s weird talking to the patrol officers and desk sergeants now. They seem so young to me but it doesn’t feel like so long ago that I was in their position.

With the extra pay comes extra work, so I’m under more stress than I was previously. In all my years with the police force, I’ve never spent so many hours at my desk.

Evan tells me it only gets worse the closer you get to the top, so I guess I better get used to it.

Even with the added workload, I’m still really excited about this promotion, so Maia and I made time to go out and celebrate with Matilda and Miles.

We’re often interrupted when we go out with Matilda, when she gets recognised by someone who’s seen one of her films. On this particular night, we weren’t. Matilda especially really appreciated that, being anonymous again for a while.

The rest of us, now that we’re all parents, just enjoyed the chance for some kid-free time and adult conversation.

Maia and I are lucky enough that our parents are willing to watch the kids for a night here and there.

Both our kids are good sleepers these days, so I guess it’s a fairly easy night for them but I still feel bad relying on them too much.

Plus, the kids are so young too and it goes by so fast, and we don’t want to miss everything because we're out all the time either.

But still, it’d be nice to have some time as a couple! We’ll have to try to work in some date nights a bit more often.

We were trying to go once a week for a while, which we were keeping up with in the summer but with Willow at pre-school, we have less time now.

Most of the time Maia and I aren’t at work, we’re with Willow and River.

Lately, we’ve been spending a lot of time helping Willow out with her letters.

She started pre-school this year and they’re starting to learn the alphabet and Willow is struggling a little.

Maia often had trouble at school too, so this might just be something Willow has to work really hard at.

We try to make it fun, so it doesn’t get too boring for her and I think it’s working. Willow is motivated to learn it all, so that helps.

She knows she needs to learn her letters before she can learn to read and she really wants to learn to read!

Given how much Maia hates being pregnant, I’m still a bit surprised she agreed so readily to another baby. It wasn’t the first time Maia’s surprised me but given how horrible she feels when she’s expecting, I really thought it would be a harder sell.

But I guess the desire for that third child won out over that, because we’ve been trying to conceive since October last year.

We were probably a bit too optimistic going into it. Maia got pregnant with Willow and River so quickly that we were expecting that it wouldn’t take us more than a few months this time either.

In the end, it’s taken us until now for Maia to finally get pregnant. Considering Maia’s age, that’s actually quite good but we were extraordinarily lucky before so it was hard not to worry when things weren’t happening.

It’s still early days but Maia and I are already so elated with our news. We want to tell everybody but we’re holding back!

I think I'll be a little sad when I know we won't have any more toddlers or babies in the house, so it's nice to know we'll be putting that off just a little bit longer.

We’re keeping it quiet from Willow until things are more sure. If the worst happens, it’s not really something we want to try to explain to her.

She’s wonderful with River though, so when we do tell her, I think she’ll be happy about it.

We’ve only told our parents so far. Jace and Magdalena were thrilled, as we were expecting.

They weren’t sure Maia would have kids, so they’ve been beside themselves that we’ve had two in such a short span of time and now a third.

I hope they’re not expecting another after this one though. Maia and I have already agreed that we are most definitely done at three. We each grew up in families of three kids and it just feels right to us.

When we told my parents, I steeled myself for Dad to start nagging us about buying a new house before the baby comes. He thinks our place is much too small for three kids.

Surprisingly though, he didn’t say anything at all about the house. He just congratulated us and told us how he couldn’t wait to meet the baby.

I would wonder if Mum talked to him beforehand, but she didn’t know what we were going to tell them either, so maybe he’s just decided to let us be. We’re happy here.

It’s really not that small a house. The upstairs hallway is basically a room in itself and is definitely big enough for a crib. It’s very drab at the moment but it has potential.

I guess I have some work ahead of me. Maia won’t be up to doing much for the next nine months, so I’m going to be on my own with this project. I want to at least have the basics done before the baby gets here.

We know from experience that nine months can go by fast and soon enough, there’ll be a baby who needs a room to sleep in.

Notes:
  • Title is from I'm A Wheel by Wilco.
  • I spent way too long deciding whether Ethan would wear a uniform as a lieutenant. Deb doesn't wear one on Dexter but in the end, I decided I just liked uniforms. :P
  • I figure Ethan and Maia for the laid-back, optimist types, even considering Maia is of "advanced maternal age" (isn't that an awful term?) But we're going to see another baby from these two now and I'm very happy about that! Baby #4 will arrive in February, at the same time as Leslie and Dominic's baby.
  • I totally have a baby boom going on at the moment! I have four babies due - Leslie and Maia's, plus Chloe's and Sarah's. I cannot even tell you how thrilling this is for me.

22 comments:

  1. Haha! I was going to say you had a baby boom on your hands. I am so excited to meet all the new babies too. I'm sure Willow and River will be thrilled with a new baby brother or sister! I know I can't wait.
    I'm glad that Maia and Ethan are still able to go out sometimes and spend some time away from the children. It's going to get even harder with 3 so they just definitely make the most of it.
    Bless Willow learning her alphabet. I hope she has a little more luck than Maia at school. It looks like she wants to learn though, which is a good start. She and River are just the cutest kids.
    I'm so pleased for Ethan to finally be promoted. With the new baby and 'room' to decorate I'm sure it will be extremely useful.
    A sneaky little WCIF if possible? I love desk Willow is doing her homework on... any ideas? Thanks so much!

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    1. It's been a while since I've had a baby boom but this one is still nothing compared to the one I had around 2020/2021. Five babies born in 2020 and then another five the following year! It was nuts! This one isn't quite as scary in terms of "how am I going to fit them all into my school?!"

      Ha, Maia and Ethan are living it up while they still can! Poor Maia gets the worst morning sickness - she throws up like three times in a row.

      Willow has the want to earn an A+, while Maia never really cared all that much. So she has that going for her at least!

      And yes, Ethan's promotion meant they got plenty of cash which they can now use for the nursery/landing! They're not rich by any means but I should be able to decorate the place without sending them broke!

      Hmmm, I thought the desk was by HugeLunatic but I went and looked at HL's version at Sims2Artists and it doesn't have the red drawers - it's just plain white. :\ I'll have to check it in game. I know it's an add-on from the Ikea Expedit set.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. Okay, so none of the pictures at the site are working but the desk is from Sims2Code. Possibly from this set? http://www.sims2code.hk/english/zet024.php

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  2. Adorable, I can't wait to see what Ethan will do with his little project. Having just finished the bulk of our nursery recently I understand the sentiment that 9 months fly by so quickly. Yikes!

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    1. I think Ethan might have to get his brothers to help him out a little with the nursery! Maia is fairly useless (ie., lazy!) at the best of times but when she's pregnant, she's overcome by morning sickness. It'll be a while before she can lend a hand.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Hee, I was just going to comment about your baby boom. I love those, though, so I understand if you're thrilled. :)

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    1. I haven't had a baby boom in so long but I was fairly sure I'd have one this round. I've got a pregnancy/childbirth pose box that I've been dying to use. It had to be released when I had no pregnant women in the hood, obviously, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I am loving this baby boom! I can live vicariously through other simmers having a baby boom, since when it happens to me, I am panicking. It's usually the whole "oh crap, that's a lot of sims to play!" I'm super excited for Maia and Ethan. :D

    We love Dexter! But it's horribly inaccurate. For us, everyone is uniformed aside from detectives. State PD ALWAYS wears uniforms while city PD management will only do so at events/etc. A lot of military similarities in the programs. My husband is a 'civilian employee', so no uniform for him, just a lab coat. It's funny to see uniformed officers waltzing around the lab as our directors/etc, though.

    Poor Willow. I'm glad she WANTS to learn, though. That's definitely going to give her some advantage. Plus, she has a parent that understands the fact that academia doesn't always come naturally to everyone!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. LOL, I already have a lot of Sims to play! What's a few more, right? I really want to see this baby!

      Yeah, that seemed to be what Google said too. I couldn't find any references to lieutenants not wearing uniforms, let alone all that chunky gold jewelry and leopard print LaGuerta wore when she was lieutenant! In game, the lieutenants don't wear uniforms - they wear that ugly brown suit. But I think mine will. I like the uniforms, so I'm quite happy that it's more realistic that Ethan would wear one anyway!

      Poor Willow is better off with Maia than she would be with Lia. Annabel had similar struggles when she was a kid and Lia just wasn't having it! Maia is a lot more understanding, having been through it all herself.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. I'm excited they are pregnant! I was hopeful and then I saw Maia drinking wine while they celebrated and thought they weren't. They've been trying a while and I'm glad it's finally happened! They have adorable kids.

    So you say hallway... I feel like how I use that word is different then you. Is it like an attic? It looks really big and not like a regular hallway like I have but even if my hallway was bigger people walk through it to get to rooms so it wouldn't make a good bursary. Irregardless of my confusion, I'm excited to see how it looks when it's complete!

    And I agree, uniforms rock! Glad he's doing well in his career. Can't believe that Maia is on her way to forty!

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    1. I didn't even think of that! You guys are always spotting things I don't notice. That was before Maia found out she was pregnant though. Very exciting times for this family.

      Hmmmm, no, I only really used hallway because I have no idea what I'd call that room! It's bigger than a hallway but it's not an attic, as it's an actual second storey, not just roof storage. Willow has to walk through it to get to her bedroom but it's not a thoroughfare for the rest of the house. Willow's bedroom is pretty much all that's up there!

      And I found some really nice default replacements for the police uniform too, obviously AFTER I played this session! I can't believe Maia is so close to 40 either. My sims continue to shock me; I played Amar and Adrienne last night and wondered when they got to be 38 and 32!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. This great news for Maia and Ethan.I'm excited for your baby boom and can't wait for the delieveries to begin.I didn't even realize Maia was in her late 30's I just presumed she was in her early 30s, so its must be even more exciting news for her to have another one at 37, especially with it being harder to have children after a certain age.

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    1. Maia and Ethan are pretty thrilled about their news. :) Maia's age meant I wasn't sure she'd fall pregnant but she seems shockingly fertile for 37! Her mother got pregnant at 45 and her older sister was 40 (I think?) when she had her last, so maybe it runs in the family!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. I feel like such a terrible blog-follower! I'm always late with commenting, and I hate it so much!

    Anyway, I love Willow so much! She reminds me of Maia when she was a kid :) And I'm sure she'll be a great big sister!

    I'm excited for their newest addition.
    I really like that shot of them checking out the upstairs hallway. You really do some great posing!

    I'm really jealous of your babyboom of 4, lol! I think I need to put a stop on my sims, they really are rabbits!

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    1. Don't worry about being late with comments, really! It doesn't even cross my mind to be annoyed about anything like that. :)

      There are definitely similarities between Maia as a kid and Willow. I think Willow is a bit more focused though, fortunately!

      I'm pretty proud of that hallway shot. It looks like a really simple picture but it actually took a while to get just right!

      Yeah, I don't know if I can call this a baby boom any more, after reading about your 16 babies just in the first half of the round! Man! Your sims sure like to woohoo, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I can't help but laugh at that shot of Willow doing her homework and getting frustrated about it. I can only imagine how many times Maia made that face herself. I'm as surprised as Ethan that James didn't make a big racket about it. Maybe he's just settling down in his old age, lol. I'm glad those two are finally getting their third.

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    1. I definitely had flashbacks to Maia with Willow and her homework! She's more motivated than Maia was though, which is a big difference between the two.

      James has voiced his opinion on Ethan and Maia's place before, so he just knows he's said his piece and Ethan is free to take note or disregard. He's not the pushy type, like some of my parents/grandparents, but he does like to have his say at least once!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. I have to say again that I love little River in that family pic. So precious, he is. I don’t remember if you said but do you remember where you got his hair? I probably already have it but it’s too late for me to start up my game to check. TIA.

    I really love that pic of Maia reading to the kids. I’m so glad that they’re going to have a third. That’s cool that they’ll stop at 3 like the families they grew up in. It does seem perfect. Both of their kids are so cute that I don’t even care what they have! Lots of babies to look forward to :). Oh and congrats to Ethan for finally making lieutenant! And I hope Willow won’t have *as* much trouble as Maia in school. But she has plenty of time to improve and she actually wants which is a plus.

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    1. I know, I do a little "squee" at him every time I scroll down to this update and see River. Adorable. You can get his hair here.

      The best thing about that pic of Maia reading to the kids is that River crawled over on his own, when Maia got a book out to read to Willow. It was so sweet and realistic! I'm happy they're having their third but I definitely don't see them having more. Maia is getting on anyway, in terms of her childbearing years.

      I think Willow's inherited a good mix of her mum and dad's personalities, which will hopefully make for a slightly easier time at school! Poor Maia never really enjoyed it at all. :(

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. Thanks for the link! I've seen it before but still don't remember if I grabbed it.

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  10. Wow! Another baby! I can't believe it! How exciting for Maia and Ethan!

    I'm interested to see what they'll name the baby. Another nature name, like Brook or Meadow or Rain, perhaps? :)

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    1. I can't wait to see Maia and Ethan's new little one. I'm hoping for a girl, partly because I want Maia's nose passed down to a girl too but also because I like the name I've picked out for a girl so much. It is indeed a nature name, though I won't say if it's one of the ones you guessed. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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