Wednesday 25 June 2014

Starlings of the slipstream

Round 35: October 2041 (Spring)

Kimberly Carmody is 70, Nick Moretti is 38, Sarah is 36, Thomas is 10, Ryan is 9, Catherine is 7 and Alex is 2. 
(Susannah is 31, Michael is 10, Jude is 9 and Zac is 7)



Narrated by Sarah Moretti

Our house is definitely a bit noisier now but we've adapted pretty well to having four kids.


Honestly, going from one to two was harder than going from three to four. Alex really only added a tiny bit more to the chaos around here!

It helps that Alex is as easy-going as Thomas, Ryan and Catherine are. If he was a fussy kid, we might feel differently. But he’s a good sleeper, he’s cheerful and he’s not too whiny (for a toddler, anyway). He’s such a joy, really.

For now, we've decided to stop at four but we haven’t ruled out a fifth. If it happens, it happens and we’d adapt once again and welcome it. We have a very good lifestyle right now and we’re reluctant to disrupt it, at least until Alex is off at school. 

One thing about having a big family that seems to happen a lot is that things get broken. Quickly. We bought a new TV recently and it was sparking out the back the next day.

Thankfully, Nick is kind of a handyman and he was able to sort it out after a few hours of work. 

I can’t think what the kids would have done to make that happen but that sort of thing does seem to occur a lot around here!

The thing is, apart from the occasional family movie night, none of us even really watch TV that often.

Over the past year or so, Thomas and Ryan have both turned into total bookworms. 

If ever we’re looking for one of them, they’re almost always holed up reading somewhere.

They’re only a year apart in age, so they can read the same books and then talk about them together later. They were already close but this has been a really nice way for them to bond further.

They do basically everything together. They each have their own friends but they all end up playing together. 

Michael and Jude are the most frequent visitors to our house. Jude was always going to be around a lot, seeing he’s Nick’s best friend’s son but the boys made friends with Michael at school.

I'm so glad they’re both such nice kids. They don’t even mind Catherine hanging out with them.

Catherine’s latest obsession is soccer. We bought her a net for the backyard and that was it. True love!

I actually really love it myself and I'm the one playing with her most often.

I love her energy but I kind of wish Thomas and Ryan’s bookworm tendencies would rub off on Catherine a little bit. 

We had a phone call from Catherine’s teacher, informing us that she hadn't turned in any of her homework for three weeks. It wasn't too hard for her or anything. She’d just rather play outside. 

Nick and I took turns standing over her until she caught up. 

It was not fun for her but hopefully, she’ll try a bit harder to stay on top of it in the future, so she doesn't need to worry about it again. 

Mama does most of the work with Alex during the week while Nick and I are at work and I'm very grateful for that.

She already did the whole potty training thing twice, with me and then Susannah, so I feel a little guilty but she says she doesn't mind.

She says she needs something to fill her days apart from her garden. She’s happy for that something to be taking care of Alex. 

Mama has seriously cut back the time she spends at the salon. Physically, it was getting too difficult for her to go in every day, so she doesn't go in as often these days.

She still owns the salon but has promoted Lucy to manager, who takes care of most of the day to day stuff. 

Mama drops in on Fridays to check in with Lucy and make sure everything is going smoothly.

She has a couple of clients who have been going to her for years as well and they tend to make their bookings on Fridays now, so she can still style them. 

She enjoys going in much more now that she only does it once a week. It just used to drain her energy before. 

Friday happens to be my day off now and it’s also been Nick’s day off for a few years. With Mum at the salon, it’s kind of nice to have the house to ourselves for a bit!

Mostly to ourselves, anyway. We still have Alex around, of course, so it’s not quite couple time. 

We’re lucky enough that Alex still loves his naps though and he goes down for a couple of hours a little after lunch. 

It’s not exactly a date but it’s a bit of time to ourselves in a quiet house. Even just that is appreciated!

We do need to make the time to go out on actual dates a bit more often though. Time at home is nice but time away would be better!

I have always wanted Susannah to find somebody who she could share her life with and I think she’s finally found it with Daniel.

They've been talking about it for a while and they've finally decided to move in together. That will be happening in the next couple of weeks. 

Of course, Mama immediately wanted to know when they’d be getting engaged. That came complete with a reminder that they've been together a year longer than Nick and I had been when we got married. 

I think they were both as diplomatic about that as they could be!

Susannah has been very gun-shy about relationships since things went pear-shaped with Sam, so I'm just glad she’s been able to move on at all.

Daniel is also awesome with Zac, which I know was the most important thing for Susannah. 

Daniel is really good to her and they appear to be very compatible and both want to head in the same direction. If Susannah’s happy, I’m happy and she seems to be very happy with Daniel.

Notes:
  • Title is from Starlings of the Slipstream by Pavement.
  • Yeah, I haven't ruled out #5 for Nick and Sarah! Alex's room is big enough to fit two kids, so if they ever both have the want, I'll let them. Right now, only Sarah is on board. She's 36 though, so her fertility would be declining. 
  • Catherine is terrible about homework! I kept noticing that Thomas and Ryan were rolling wants to do homework every morning. That want only appears when there's an incomplete homework booklet on the lot - it doesn't matter whose booklet it is, any kid or teen can roll the want. So I checked all the kids' desks (I use MogHughson's Desk Locator, so theoretically, they should each be putting their homework there) and no homework. A few days later I happened to have the camera out the front of the house and noticed a pile of Catherine's homework three booklets high!
  • Thanks to everyone at N99 who helped me nut out what to do with Kimberly and her salon! I knew that at 70, she was getting a little old to keep doing it but selling it back to the community would mean Lucy would lose her job. I’d like her to own it, eventually, but she really doesn’t have the money for it right now. So Kimberly is now the owner/once-a-week manager and Lucy gets some more cash in her pocket every week. :)
  • I had to go back and check what I'd said about Susannah and Daniel before when I wrote this. It was so long ago that I couldn't remember if I'd said they'd already moved in together or not! They'd only been considering it though, so let's say they're finally going ahead with it this month. I think I'm due to play them in either November or December 2041, so not too far away. 
  • Kimberly has the want for a relative to get engaged, a relative to get married and to get another grandchild. Susannah is her only relative who is old enough to do the first two and I guess she figures her chances for another grandkid are better with her as well. She's not too subtle.

15 comments:

  1. What a great family, and how true to life, that sometimes people just seem to handle a larger number of children so gracefully. It is funny that Catherine put her homework outside IN SPITE of the desk locator, I have never seen a sim do that, it reminds me of kids who go to great lengths and subterfuge to avoid homework.

    The solution with Kimberly is a really good one, and nice for Lucy. It makes total sense to me. As for her engagement, marriage, and grandchild wants, sometimes it gets aggravating when a family has just had a grandchild, or even two, and the grandparent still keeps rolling those wants.

    Daniel and Susannah are both so striking looking.

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  2. Oh, I forgot, I meant to comment that those couple of hours after lunch Fridays are really nice for Nick and Sarah, but I hope they get to go out too before long.

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    1. Yeah, that kind of came from the fact that ALL the kids have 10 nice points and they have to be easier to raise than Asha and Luc's little 1-nice-point demons but also pretty much all of my friends who have more than two kids. They all say going from two to three or three to four was fine but going from one to two was a massive adjustment.

      I have a few kids who somehow get around the Desk Locator! I don't mind too much - keeps it interesting!

      LOL, I know, you want to shake them and say "hello? You literally just had a grandchild! Can't you enjoy that one a bit before wanting another?!" I don't even tend to write those wants in if the newest grandchild is a newborn, because it's just a bit silly. But two years in, I guess Kimberly has the itch again!

      I downloaded both Daniel and Susannah ages ago. I forget where I got Susannah but Daniel is actually strange_tomato's Morrissey sim.

      Yeah, I'll have to send Nick and Sarah out on a proper date soon. ;) I think it's been a while! It seems realistic with four kids though, even well-behaved ones!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Crazy sims, crazy. I think four is more than enough. Don't tell that to my John though; he's still looking for more. Most of my sims' dates are at home anyway; too hard to get a babysitter. I'm glad to see Susannah happy too. But we are a little overdue for a new engagement...

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    1. I know! Four is definitely enough but if Nick ever rolls a baby want...I'm not sure I'll be able to say no.

      Some of my sims tend to go out on dates more than others. Some of it is probably just what I feel like doing at the time I play them but also, some sims just seem like homebodies to me.

      LOL, actually, last engagement in Sullivan was in July, with Sophie and Oliver. But looking at my play schedule, there are a few more possibilities. I think we'll definitely see at least one more engagement before the round is out. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Wow, a fifth. I think with kiddos as sweet and nice as theirs I would have a bushel of them

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    1. Ha, a fifth is still a distant maybe! We'll see what happens next round. But yes, a big bunch of sweet kids is a more appealing prospect than a big bunch of brats, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. What is the largest family you've had in your game, is it this one? I think they should definitely go for number five, and preferably before they ar 58! They have such cute, and sweet kids, and how funny that Catherine was hiding her pile of homework, and ignoring it. I always forget that the want only pops up if there is homework on the lot, mine always seem to come home with it, so it's usually there.

    I really like the new hobbies for the boys, very sweet seeing them reading together in the living room. Catherine and Sarah bonding over soccer is also adorable, and so atypical for mother/daughter events that I love it even more. Kimberly handing the reigns over and cutting hours works perfectly, and I like that her long standing customers come in on Friday's to see her. The salon looks great from what I can see of it, I'm excited for Lucy take over eventually. I can see her enjoying that aspect of the salon.

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    1. Not including the couple of times I've over-committed and crammed 8 college students into the one household, this family is my equal largest. The Gottliebs were this big at one stage too - after Sophie went to college and Michael was born. It probably seemed smaller though, because the kids weren't outnumbering the adults!

      I kind of love Thomas and Ryan as bookworms. They're pretty active kids (like both their parents), so I think we'll still see them playing outside a fair bit too. I think Nick and Sarah would encourage that kind of thing anyway.

      I was so happy a couple of elders came in when I sent Kimberly down the salon. It made sense to me that most of her long-term clients would be older, seeing she's worked there for so long. I haven't touched the salon yet - it's pretty much exactly as it was when I downloaded it. I want to get rid of those clothing racks opposite the stylist chairs though. I don't use them anyway, so I might put up some shelving with some beauty-related clutter there. :) But the salon is pretty set as it is.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I love this family, they seem so cosy.
    Silly family sims, always wanting another one. I could see these 2 with 5 though, but 4 seems good as well. Maybe Sarah will think differently when Alex starts school as well, and their fridays off, will be just for the 2 of them.

    I'm looking forward to seeing more of Susannah and Daniel. They look very well together. And I hope they can at least fulfill one of Kimberly's wants :)
    I don't get why simgrandparents never seem to be happy with the grandkids they have. They always keep rolling wants for another one, when they already have 5 or so running around.
    Tao and Yena on my hood are the same. They now have 11 grandkids, and they still have the want for another one (which I doubt they will ever get).

    I love Thomas and Ryan as little bookworms (that's one of my favourite traits in TS3 as well). They seem so sweet. I even love Catherine as the sports-enthousiast more! I think it's great that she, as the only girl in the family, likes sports :)

    I never got around to commenting on N99, but I was going to suggest the same thing as you actually did in game. And I really hope Lucy will be able to take over completely one day.

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    1. I think those lazy Fridays with just Nick could sway Sarah's opinion as well. A fifth child would put an end to that for another five years or so.

      Susannah and Daniel are coming up soon in the play schedule, so we'll get to see what they're up to. :) I imagine they'll fulfill Kimberly's yen for another grandbaby eventually, though maybe not as soon as she'd like. Susannah may even already have the want for another baby. I'm not sure.

      Bookworm is one of my favourite traits in TS3 as well. :) I'm liking reassigning a lot of my sims' hobbies according to interests. It seems to be balancing out the hobbies in a way that randomising them didn't.

      I definitely plan to have Lucy take over completely one day. It's just a matter of when.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. So a big house for a big family! I don't see anyone getting in anyone's way in this family even with four kids. ;) Little Alex is so cute and I don't blame Catherine ditching her homework for something a bit more fun. lol I have one family that I've been playing for a while and they just keep on rolling baby wants. They had triplets last time which was unexpected, I thought they were having twins! But I think I'll stop there because that is now a total of 6 kids and I'd feel bad if I let them have anymore. lol

    I'm curious to know what happened between Susannah and Sam but her and Daniel seem sweet together. They'd definitely have cute babies, haha!

    Nice update. :)

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    1. No, plenty of room around here without everyone getting on top of each other, which is quite a feat with a family of 7!

      Oh man, sims with multiples who still want more babies! Insanity. TS3 sims seem even more nuts about babies than TS2 sims, in my experience. You just have to put your foot down at some stage. ;)

      Sam and Susannah were sort of thrown together when she got pregnant. He had a ton of problems getting along with Kimberly and that soured things things a bit for Susannah. Mostly though, they just weren't right for each other, so Susannah ended it before Zac was even two. The update where they broke up is here.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I miss OfB so much when I read your updates. I know I say that often, but it's so true! Stupid EA. Why can't they implement awesome things consistently? I won't even open my mouth about TS4.

    FIVE kids? Oh boy. You'd think four would give them enough gray hairs to stop there, haha! Brave folks. I can't even begin to imagine the chaos that five kids would bring.

    Poor Catherine. The allure of being outside is just too hard to deny, homework be damned! Hopefully she can get it together a little better. Bad study habits will come back and bite her in the butt later on... unless, of course, she goes the athletic scholarship route. ;)

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    1. EA really dropped the ball with businesses in TS3. Nothing they provided gives us anything like what we had with OFB. I should probably shut up about TS4 too though (spoiler warning: I won't).

      I know, Nick and Sarah are crazy people. Or one of them is - I can't actually remember which one has the baby want, lol. I can see them being the kind of people who are totally content with their gaggle of kids. :) I don't know that they'll ever have a fifth but I'd consider it for sure.

      Ah, good point about the athletic scholarship! That could definitely pay off for Catherine one day but we'll have to see what happens in the future. It's a long time away.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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