Tuesday 2 March 2010

With a bullet

Round 25: Summer 2022
last update/next update

Mina Lachance is 72, Abigail Carmody is 39, Jesse is 37, Mitchell is 3 and Austin and Lauren are 6 months old.
(Nick is 19, Maia is 20, Caleb is 40, Jonas is 44, Dominic is 12, Audrey is 10 and Edward is 7)

Narrated by Jesse Carmody

As much as Abigail and I love our kids, I think having three under three has put us off the idea of any more, at least for a little while. It took us so long to conceive Mitchell so we weren't expecting her to get pregnant so quickly the second time around. Then we found out we were having twins, we were really taken by surprise.



As it is now, it's 9pm before we can even think about sitting down or feeding ourselves and a fourth child wouldn't make that any easier.

And honestly, I don't want to do the nappy thing again. I didn't meet Nick until he was about 9, so Mitchell was my first experience with nappies and I'm still not used to it. I know no one likes changing babies but I really hate it.

What's worse is Abigail seems to disappear every time a change is due, so I end up doing most of the dirty work.

If we could only get Mitchell trained! He's been very reluctant so far.

The kids are actually great though. Austin loves his bouncy chair. He loves pretty much everything, actually.

Lauren just likes chilling out in her crib and she gets cranky if we try to get her to do anything else. Maybe she's a little lazy, like her dad!

Mitchell really loves the robots Mina has been making for him lately.

And we just figured out why they keep malfunctioning. Robots don't like toddler drool.

Nick's classes for the year haven't started yet, so he's been able to come and see us more often.

He doesn't want Mitchell to forget him, and seeing he's too young to talk on the phone, Nick spends a lot of time with him when he's at home.

He's been helping out a bit with the twins, which gives us a nice break.

The last time he came over, Nick brought his girlfriend Maia with him.

We'd all met Maia before, because she and Nick have been friends since they were teenagers but they've been dating now, so it only seemed right that she come with Nick while he's visiting. I don't think we'd actually seen her since she was 13 or 14 anyway.

Abigail likes Maia a lot more than she liked Nick's ex, Josie. Abigail hated Josie. They met at Caleb's wedding and Abigail just couldn't stand her straight away.

Speaking of Caleb, he also came along. Caleb and Abigail are at the point where they can be together and are quite comfortable. Abigail is even good friends with Caleb's wife.
But Caleb and I have never really spent much time together, so there's still a lot of awkwardness between us.

Abigail and I didn't start up under the best of circumstances and I doubt we'll ever be good friends. He definitely gives me some funny looks sometimes.

I tend to avoid Caleb when he's over. It's probably the only time you'll ever catch me taking out the garbage voluntarily.

I take over most of the baby care when Caleb is around.

I think I'm as uncomfortable with him as he is with me. Abigail took so long to make her mind between me and Caleb and it crosses my mind occasionally that she might still have some feelings for him, deep down. I think it's just a little anxiety on my end but I can't say it never worries me.

I've never said anything about it to Abigail, because I know it's better for everybody that she's friendly with Caleb. I think Abigail can sense when it's bothering me though.

She was a little more affectionate than usual when we went out to dinner a few days later. I'm really okay with her being friends with Caleb most of the time. It's only when he's actually around that I ever feel awkward.

The occasional night out is one of the benefits of living with your mother-in-law.

Mina was so keen to have another grandchild, so she was thrilled when we had Austin and Lauren and she loves babysitting.

Mina has 7 grandchildren now and she likes getting them all under the same roof.

It's pretty chaotic with all the kids in the same house but it's cool that my kids will know their cousins. I didn't know mine until I moved to Sullivan when I was already an adult.

There might be another cousin around soon enough, if Jonas and Tatiana get their way - they're trying for a fourth! Mina's not likely to get another grandchild out of Abigail and me so this is probably her last shot at #8.

I've never seen Dominic, Audrey and Edward bickering or fighting. They always seem to get along and they're almost insanely nice. It's too early to tell now but I might be able to be convinced to have a fourth if Mitchell, Austin and Lauren turn out as sweet as Jonas's kids!

Extra:

I was talking about this in Comments yesterday but this girl was trying to flirt with Dominic when I took Jesse and Abigail out for dinner and Dominic was just not having it. Not ready to date? Morally opposed to dating townies? Who could blame him? I've married in a lot of the nice-looking townies and many of the ones left are...not. I'll need to do some surgery soon!

Notes:
  • Title is from With a Bullet by Sam Roberts.
  • Jesse and Abigail both have a fear of nappies and Jesse has changed way more than Abigail has! But they lose 500 aspiration points every time they change one of the kids. Get over it, guys, because you've got a few more years of nappies left yet!
  • Abigail rolled the want to become friends with Maia the next day, so they had a nice long phone call. She never rolled the want to become friends with Josie - she absolutely did not like her.
  • Also, it's pretty interesting that Jesse and Caleb have never rolled the want to become friends. Abigail and Cara wanted to be friends pretty soon after meeting, so there was very little awkwardness there but weirdness between Jesse and Caleb abounds! Love this sort of stuff!
  • Dominic, Audrey and Edward are so cute together - they roll up wants for each other all the time. And I feel almost like a proud mother looking at Audrey - look how tall she is now! Sniff...they grow up so fast!
  • There's something weird going on with this couple's chemistry. Whenever I check Abigail and Jesse's attraction score, it's zero. :\ I know that's not right, because when I did my Valentine's post, they made my top 10. I've reset their turn ons and that didn't change anything. It's possibly on Jesse's end, because there was a little more weirdness with him. He lost his family ties to Anna and Betsy - they're his cousins but they weren't showing the family icon. I've fixed that and I'm hoping I can fix Jesse and Abigail too. They still display as three bolts in the relationship panel and they still do lots of ACR interactions. But that zero is really bothering me. Anyone have any ideas?
  • Jonas rolled a baby want. Do you know how hard it's going to be for me to not let them have fertility treatments now? It was hard enough when it was just Tatiana but now that they both want a baby? Aww. I'm such a sucker for simultaneous baby wants.

16 comments:

  1. I hope Jesse gets fixed. Let us know what you did to fix him as well, please.

    I feel your pain about the baby wants-I draw the line at the 10 kids wants. I don't care if you, your spouse and your entire extended family rolls the want at the same time-it's not happening, sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I read AV's comment as in, Jesse gets a snip. LOL But I hope, as well, that you can get things figured out and resolved with the ACR/relationship icons.

    Tatiana and Jonas totally need a fourth. I don't know how you'd even consider not letting them with the simultaneous wants. ;)

    If I was Jesse, I wouldn't be the most comfy with Caleb ether, just with how long and drawn out and rather confusing it must have been for Jesse during that time. I can understand.

    LOL on the nappy fear! Silly parents, who do they expect to change all those dirty diapers?

    ReplyDelete
  3. hey carla!

    I like Jessie's freckles! cool.

    the twins are cute, and toddler mitch too.

    Love the random apperance by Maya and Edward.

    I like the way your blog is set up, in the personal narratives. It's great geting in Jesse's head and knowing how he's feeling.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for reading, everyone!

    Apple Valley, I hope I can fix Jesse too but I'm all out of ideas on what else to try! Maybe it will fix itself, like Julian's diner did.

    Oh, I can say with 100% certainty that no one in Sullivan is ever getting that 10 baby want! Unless I get that unfortunate sextuplet glitch again, I guess, but to make it 10, they'd have to already have four. My Sims aren't allowed to try for another baby if they already have four!

    Maisie, ha, Jesse probably wouldn't mind getting the snip right now!

    And you know I'm going to let Tatiana and Jonas have a fourth! I love those two so much and their kids are all so sweet and cute.

    Yeah, Abigail really put poor Jesse through the wringer for a few years there! It wasn't Caleb's fault but I can't imagine why either of them would be all that fond of the other guy! Jesse is quite good friends with Caleb's brother Evan though - they were roommates for a few years.

    And I do believe they're expecting Mina to change all those nappies! I won't let her unless they're both at work - I make Jesse and Abigail do them all!

    bbop, the freckles are a Carmody trait! Mitchell will get them too, eventually. I meant to add them this round but I'll just wait until he ages to child now, I guess.

    And thank you. I switch up the writing style a bit every now and then, especially with large households, but the first person narrative is usually the easiest for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha, the fear of nappies! Maybe they should convince Mina to change all the diapers if it's so horrifying to them. Although I totally understand Abigail and Jesse. I always make sure to excuse myself from the room when my 1-year-old niece needs a diaper change LOL!

    Awww, a fourth kid for Tatiana and Jonas. This warms my heart. Their kids are so cute and I can't believe how tall Audrey has gotten!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can imagine how awkward it would be for Jesse and Caleb to be around each other, even though a lot of time has passed. It seems like there would still be some uneasiness there even though everyone has moved on and have happy lives. Maybe one day they'll at least get to the point that they feel okay being in the same room and talking to each other.

    Aw, Tatiana and Jonas definitely need a fourth kid, lol! They make such cute kids. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I find it funny that Jesse and Caleb don't get along at all. But I guess somethings can't be forgiven or over looked. LOL

    Tatiana and Jonas are going to try for number 4! I hope they are able to have anothee baby!

    Hey Carla, do you still have the link where you downloaded the teen enabled adult woohoo at? I can't find it, and it's not available at MTS.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sari, ha, they probably would like to talk Mina into changing all the nappies but I won't let them. LOL. They're your babies, you change them! Mina takes care of them all day, so I let her enjoy her retirement when they're home.

    And I know...Audrey is going to be a teen this time next round! Let's hope her parents can actually conceive! Tatiana is 39, so it might be harder for them.

    Shana, being around each other would bring up all those unpleasant feelings again, for Jesse and Caleb. Usually, they can ignore them and go on their merry way.

    Riverdale, I guess Caleb hasn't really forgiven Jesse because he doesn't really have to. For Nick's benefit, he had to forgive Abigail but he doesn't feel any obligation to do that with Jesse.

    And I hope so too! I'd love to see #4 for Tatiana and Jonas!

    The teen enabled adult wants is here:

    http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=169485

    Too lazy to make the link clickable - it's just past 7am here!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I read this post yesterday but didn't get a chance to comment. I'm so glad Jonas & Tatiana may get their wish for another little one. But I totally agree with drawing the line, and 10 kids is absurd. I know, because I DID the ten kids challenge, and the poor teens had to give up most of their lives to help. That's part of the reason I extracted Nadia Lapin. She was the oldest of 11, and never had a proper childhood. I don't make her do a thing with the babies in her current incarnation in Simdale though!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Francesca, oh, wow! I achieved the 10 kids want once (and the 20 grandkids one, for the same couple) but never again! I did it with adoption, so it was kind of cheaty!

    Lucky Nadia - nice for her to get a second shot at childhood!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have to say, I'm grateful that you add links to your stories because I miss so much in Sullivan. I can barely keep up with your updates. LOL! I missed my darling Caleb's wedding and it was nice going back to it. Jesse and Abigail's twins are so adorable in their little matching onesies! It's great to see Nick making his siblings a priority, even though he's away at school and is dating Maia...we all know how college and girlfriends/boyfriends can take up so much of a student's time. Nick's been raised right...to value family. I'm proud of him.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Simmington, LOL, I'm glad you find the links useful! I play so much and I hate getting ahead of my blogging (I was way ahead for the past two weeks and it was driving me NUTS!), so I tend to update very frequently!

    Caleb and Abigail did an excellent job with Nick, didn't they? Considering how young they were when they had him. It doesn't always work out so well!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I actually have come to really like these two. LOL at their mutual fears of changing nappies though! Hilarious, and somehow fitting.

    It's also nice to see Abigale and Maia getting along so well. That's nice. I mean, compared to Josie, Maia has to seem like a gift!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lunar, they were so desperate for these babies too! Apparently 17 years between children leads you to forget that whole unpleasant nappy thing!

    Abigail is almost as nice as Nick (8 points to his 10), so she didn't take much of a liking to Josie! Maia is much nicer and is a better match for Nick, and I think Abigail can see that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOL, Abigail running for the hills every time one of the kids is "ripe" - I wish that worked in real life ;)

    I can definitely see the tension between Jesse and Caleb. That makes a lot of sense, given how confused she was back in the day.

    Yay for more Jonas and Tatiana babies! I'm always so torn with letting my Sims have big families. I've only had one Sim have four kids in my hood before (Kent Deppiesse) and that was a complete fluke, but I think Hayden will probably end up with at least four in total after Piper is done with him ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Laura, I'd probably still give it a shot, whether it was likely to work or not, if I had as many kids as Jesse and Abigail do!

    Oh, gosh, Abigail back in the day! She gave me so much trouble, that girl. Every time I send her and Jesse on a date, I still half expect her to roll up a want to fall in love with Caleb again!

    LOL, your Piper's been waiting a long time, so I'd say she'd be expecting you to let her have more than one! Four kids is probably the very maximum I'd allow (Sacha had 5 but one was illegitimate, so I'm not counting her). It's so tempting though, when they roll up those simultaneous wants or when their current kids are so damn cute!

    ReplyDelete