Friday 15 November 2013

Dog paddle

Round 34: October 2040 (Spring)
last update/next update


Jonas Lachance is 62, Tatiana is 57 and Brendan is 17. 
(Corbin and Pamela are 55, Dominic is 30, Leslie is 29, Jack and Audrey are 28, Edward and Lucy are 25, Georgina is 16 and Oscar and Stella are 8 months old.)


Narrated by Jonas Lachance


Tatiana and I became grandparents in February, when Dominic and Leslie welcomed Oscar and Stella into the world. We were so thrilled to become grandparents at all and then to get two grandchildren at once was almost too much!

Oscar’s middle name is Liam and Stella’s is Arianna, after Tatiana’s mother and stepfather. Tatiana was very touched by that gesture, I know.

We are really enjoying this new phase in our lives. Oscar and Stella are both such sweet babies. 

Leslie and Dominic have been very lucky in that neither baby has been too troublesome. They’ve had the usual sleep deprivation that is inevitable with infants but nothing you wouldn’t expect with twins. 

We were very quick to offer our babysitting services and we love having Oscar and Stella to ourselves for a little while.

I think Brendan enjoys the opportunity to play uncle for a bit as well. He’s very good with little children. 

It’s nice to know we can give Dominic and Leslie some much needed recharging time as well. 

We can’t wait for more grandkids. Our eyes are on Audrey and Jack next.

Every time they come over, I promise myself I won’t say anything about starting a family but somehow, the topic always comes up anyway!

I don’t think I’m going to get any hints from them though. Jack is extremely private and he’s not the type to share that sort of information.

Left to her own devices, Audrey would probably tell us if they were trying but out of respect for Jack, I know she won’t. 

They’ve both said they want children eventually, so I think we’ll just have to wait for the inevitable announcement. 

Tatiana and I are both so relieved that Brendan seems to have grown out of his moody phase. It was making him quite difficult to live with at times!

He got worse when Liam died. Brendan, understandably, took it pretty hard but after a while, he began to gradually pull himself out of the funk he was in. 

He’s back to what we always thought of as his real self now. I was afraid we’d never see him again! We can actually talk with him again, which has made things so much more pleasant for all of us. 

Brendan is set to go off to college next year and with the end of this year not far away, it’s been the main topic of conversation around here. He earned a 54 on his SAS which gained him admission pretty easily, though not quite enough for any scholarships. He missed out on those by just one point.

Brendan wants to join the SCIA when he’s older, so he’s looking at Political Science as a possible major. It’s not something we would have chosen or even something we expected Brendan to choose but he’s very enthusiastic about it. 

We’re happy as long as he is. It’s hard to believe we’ll be alone in the house soon though!

Brendan and Georgina are still together and she comes around here quite a lot.

She’s shy, just like Brendan and is also planning on heading to university.

She won Tatiana over right away when she told us she wanted to become a teacher.

She’s a year younger than Brendan and I have to say, they seem to be a good match.

I’m not positive their relationship will survive the year apart though. Georgina’s mother is quite strict and she won’t want her daughter traipsing up to the university to visit Brendan all the time.

I'm sure Brendan will visit but he’ll be in an all new, exciting environment and it might be tempting for him to just stay up there more often than not.

Stranger things have happened though, I suppose. Tatiana and I were away from each other while I was in college and we made out okay. We’ve been married for 31 years now.

And then of course, there’s Lucy and Edward. They just got engaged, so they’re obviously doing well too. 

I’m sure you can imagine how excited Tatiana and I are for them at the moment. They’ve set a date now and we’ve got a wedding to look forward to in December next year.

They shared some early planning details with us over lunch recently, with Lucy’s parents.

They want to choose a venue first, which both sets of parents have offered to pay for. 

It’s likely to be their biggest expense and we’d rather they put that money towards a deposit on a house. 

I was worried they’d refuse us but they very graciously accepted. They can consider it a wedding present, if they like.

It was great to catch up with the kids, as always, but it was also nice to get to know Pamela and Corbin a bit better.

Tatiana has worked with Pamela for years, so they’re very well-acquainted, while I’d met her a few times.

I’d never met Corbin before though, despite our wives being so close. 

He seems like a nice man and he likes Edward a lot too, which wins him some points with me.

We’ll be family soon enough, so I’m glad we all get along.

Extras:


Tanja was extremely awesome a few months back and rebuilt a pseudo-Claudette for me. I love this shot of it where you can see a bit of the upper floor. I originally got the restaurant from the Exchange and seeing that's gone now, I had no idea how I was going to get it again. I told her not to worry too much about the decor, as Sophie will redecorate once she takes over. I haven't done that yet but it's lovely looking and totally playable as it is, so I'm not in too much of a hurry!

Also, I always thought Lucy was a clone of Pamela but I snapped this picture of them at lunch and maybe not? Different nose, different eyes. Mind blown. 

Notes:

  • Title is from Dog Paddle by Modest Mouse.
  • Catch up with the Lachance kids! Do you know how desperate I am to age up Stella and Oscar? I am dying to know what they look like!
  • I'd have to go back and check the wedding post to see if this is new but Audrey has a baby want! Jack doesn't...but I'll wait until I get around to playing them to see if I'm going to listen to his nonsense. ;)
  • You may notice some of my sims gaining freckles. Tatiana, Jonas and Brendan all have them but they are quite subtle - even more so because they're all quite dark. But I'm using a genetic system for freckles now (which allows for lots of freckles, some freckles and no freckles), so I'm adding some to some sims in accordance with those rules. I'll link to the Sim Daily post where I read about it if I can find it again!
  • Yeah, no one was eating at lunch. You can blame EA's slightly buggy restaurant system! I could not get all six of them to sit down, although I have done so before (in this restaurant even) with no problems. 

16 comments:

  1. Oooh! I am dying to know what they'll look like, too, Carla. You know that's one of my favorite parts of TS2 and TS3. So lucky to get twins. I've always said that when/if I have kids, I want twins, because then I'm done after one go, lol. ;)

    Sad that the restaurant didn't work! I guess we should be glad they didn't try to implement it in TS3, it's be buggy beyond belief... though I REALLY miss taking restaurant shots!

    I'd love to see Jack and Audrey have babies. Nonsense, indeed! He wants babies, he just doesn't realize it yet. You have to convince him with the gentle nudge of the baby chimes. ;)

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    1. It's definitely one of my favourite parts too! I'm not expecting Oscar and Stella to look too exciting, as I'm pretty sure Leslie's face is just Face 1 but I am expecting them to at least be attractive, lol!

      Yeah, what was that thing they released at the store a few months back? A chef oven or something? And the chef comes out and serves the food to customers, because that's how restaurants work. Fail, EA. Go back and try again. Or don't.

      Exactly, Mao! I have actually had quite a few sims roll up a baby want after they/their partner is already pregnant. They know it's happening, so they just decide to get on the baby train! I noticed Patience had rolled a baby want when I went in to bump her up to the second trimester (which will be the next update).

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  2. They have a lot going on, new grand babies, a wedding and possible future grand babies. They are a sweet couple and I can't believe that they'll be empty nesters soon. With so many empty nesters, you might have to start a retirement community.

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    1. Jonas and Tatiana have had a busy year and there'll be another busy year coming right up too! I can't believe they'll be empty nesters soon either. I'm not sad about it like I often am with my sims. I love them so much, I can't see myself getting bored with them on their own. They're very cute.

      Ha, I tried a retirement community way, way back. I would possibly enjoy it more now but I was so bored by it then that I don't have the energy to try!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  3. I'm with Jonas here, I wouldn't mind if Jack and Audrey would have a baby :)
    But for now they can focus on the grandchildren they already have, and they also have a wedding to look forward to, ... so many fun things going on in their lifes!
    I'm also looking forward to Dominic and Leslie's twins growing up, I'm wondering who they will look like!

    I'm interested in the genetic system you use for freckles, but I'm always interested in these kind of things :)

    Strange about the restaurant not working. I hope it's nothing unfixable...

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    1. Tanja, I think we're all with Jonas here! I won't rush them though, if I play them next and see they're not ready (but I think they are, lol). They have tons going on.

      I'm interested to see what the twins will look like too. I always thought it was interesting that Dominic and Audrey looked so much like Tatiana, while Edward and Brendan were more like Jonas. I wonder if I'll have one twin like Dominic and the other like Leslie?

      I should really add this thread to my bookmarks, so I can stop having to search for it every time this comes up! Anyway, this is the thread. This is me crapping on about how I'm going to use it in my game at N99. I'll put this all in a separate post in a minute, for anyone else who's interested and may not come back to read comments.

      I don't think the glitch had anything to do with the restaurant. I've had it happen in other restaurants and then I've had it work just fine on the same lot at other times. It's EA, unfortunately. About 95% of the time, when sims in a group get the call to come and sit down at the table, they do it but then there's that 5% of the time where they decide they're going to go hang out in the toilets or play piano or whatever!

      Thanks for reading and commenting (and for building me that awesome restaurant in the first place)!

      Delete
  4. Waiting for babies to grow up is such a test in patience. I have babies I'm waiting to age (or even to be boen in the first place) because I love seeing how genes aee passed down. Jinas and Tatiana have the best of both worlds: being able to have these new babies without having to do the rearing all over again and welcoming new people into their family via marriage. I wonder what they'll do with all their new free time ince Brendan is gone.

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    1. I know, right? I promise myself that I'll only age them up early to check what they look like if I'm worried they'll be weird looking. So I did that with all of Nick and Sarah's kids, except Alex. I'm pretty sure Oscar and Stella will be adorable though, so I will wait. It's killing me though!

      Yes, it must be nice to be able to give the babies back at the end of the day! Jonas and Tatiana are going to love watching their grandchildren grow up. It'll be a whole new experience for them and I think they're going to end up with quite a few grandchildren! Definitely at least eight, I imagine, possibly 10-12!

      I don't know what Jonas and Tatiana will be up to next round but I'm kind of excited to find out! It'll be my last round with Tatiana before she becomes an elder too, I just realised!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. The lovely Lachance family! It's so nice to see them gathering. It is weird to think of Tatiana and Jonas being empty nesters soon. :( I guess they need more grandchildren to keep them company! I'm not at all surprised that Audrey has spun a baby want already--now just to get Jack on board!

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    1. You know I love a family gathering. ;) It is weird to think of Jonas and Tatiana with no kids in the house but I'm oddly excited about it too, which is not normal for me! It won't be forever. Eventually, one of the kids will move home with their family, so they can take over the farm. But that's not likely to be until Tatiana and Jonas are a bit more decrepit than they are now!

      Jack has a Family secondary (like Audrey), so I expect that eventually, he'll roll a baby want. But you know...he might already have a kid by then, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. How nice! I'm always excited to see Tatiana and Jonas again. Glad to see Brendan isn't so moody anymore and that he and Georgina are still together. I hope they survive a year apart; they're so sweet together.
    It's always nice to see that whole clan together.

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    1. I love playing Tatiana and Jonas. They were probably my first favourite couple, so I always look forward to playing with them. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoyed them though.

      I don't know about Brendan and Georgina yet. I'd like to play them a little as YAs but we'll see how they go once they're separated. It could go either way, really!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Wow, I can't believe they're about to be empty nesters either. But they seem to have quite a lot going on and I know you'll make exciting updates about them, because you always do that with your elders. :)

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    1. I know, it's pretty crazy! This house was one of the most jam-packed for so long and it's about to become one of my smallest.

      Glad you guys enjoy my elder/empty nester updates. :) I still struggle with those more than any others.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. Ohh I know what post you are talking about, I used it for glasses but not freckles for current sims, but will for newborn sims. Happy for the reminder, because that was a computer and a hard drive ago, so I'll have to fish for the document I made of my sims.

    I am super excited for the twins to age up! I can't wait to see what they look like, the Lachance family is beautiful, so I expect nothing but that from the twins. I cannot believe that Georgina is about to go to college in another year, what ever will Lia do!? I think she will be popping up at the dormitories just to check in on them. I'm glad that Brenden is doing better now and dealing with Liam's death better. Man I hope that Jack gets on board with having a baby! I can totally see him being apprehensive about it, he's always seemed cautious and taken things slow.

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    1. Yeah, you would have seen it when I posted about it on N99. I'm pretty sure you even commented in the thread, actually! It's a fun little system.

      I'm crazy excited for Oscar and Stella to age up. I have four more families to play (and three more houses to decorate!) and then I can do birthdays. :D The Lachances are all so pretty!

      I think Lia will struggle with her girls going to college, being as conservative as she is and knowing full well what goes on there. But she'd also most definitely want them to go, so she's in a bind!

      Jack has two choices here: either he gets on board the baby train or I force him to get on board the baby train by taking his wife off birth control. He's Family secondary, so he'll cope. ;) I'm only half kidding!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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