Monday 27 September 2010

Slight return

Round 28: Spring 2028
last update/next update
Steve Nihill is 33, Olivia is 31 and Ramona is 1.
(Caterina is 73)

Narrated by Steve Nihill

We've been in our new house for about a year now and it fits our family so well. Olivia still doesn't have a separate sewing room but our bedroom is so big that she can keep all her things in there and we still have plenty of space.

Now that she's home a bit more often, she's been using some of her free time to make clothing to sell. We have a mortgage to pay off on this place, so every bit of extra cash helps.

She's made a few toys for Ramona too.

Not that Ramona doesn't already have more toys than she knows what to do with.

Her nursery overlooks the park across the street, so Ramona's a very lucky girl.

We spent a long time decorating the nursery, considering Ramona will have outgrown it in a few years but it's a great room.

But we're planning on having another baby and it's a gender-neutral room, so maybe we'll get to use it again soon.

Olivia brought up the idea of a second child a few months ago. Very tentatively, because I was quite freaked out about the idea of parenthood before agreeing to try the first time.

She was ready to give me a few months to think about it but I was all for it this time, and I agreed almost immediately.

I was expecting so many more sleepless nights than we've actually had. We go in and get Ramona at about 6 every morning and she's usually still asleep, or sitting up happily in her crib.

We got really lucky with Ramona. Babies don't seem quite so terrifying any more.

She gets into plenty of mischief too, like making herself filthy by splashing in rain puddles.

But she has mostly been a really easy baby and she's made me very excited about having another.

We're almost reluctant to leave her when we go out, because she's such a joy.

But Caterina begs us to babysit sometimes, so we take advantage and head out together when we can.

After all, Olivia and I still haven't been married for that long.

We didn't get much of a chance to do anything together as a married couple before Ramona came along.

We're still newlyweds really but we often don't get a chance to act like it. Ramona's a good girl but she's still time-consuming.

We end up talking about her most of the night anyway. But she's definitely the centre of our lives now, so that's only natural.

It's still nice to get a break and go on a date once in a while. A lot of our friends have found that really difficult, post-kids, but we're going to try to see if we can keep it up.

It takes Olivia's mind off trying for a baby. We've only been trying for a few months but she's getting a bit frustrated that we haven't been successful yet.

Last time, we decided to start trying on our wedding night, on a whim, and nine months later, along came Ramona.

We were probably just insanely lucky the first time around and I don't think it's realistic to expect it to happen like that again. But I admit, I'm a little disappointed it's not happening right away too.

But we're both still young, so we're trying to stay positive. Everything seems to be on our side, so I think it'll happen for us eventually, if not soon.

Notes:
  • Title is from Slight Return by the Bluetones.
  • I lost a ton of pictures from this update. I was having graphics glitches with this house and I thought the pics were saving but when I checked them today, a lot were blank. :( So there were bits I wanted to include that I didn't but seeing there was still plenty to get across the main bits, I just went ahead without them. Still, there were some cute ones, like one of Ruby throwing a huge tantrum with Ramona sitting calmly next to her sucking her thumb. Which just sums those two up perfectly.
  • Apart from the glitches (which seemed to clear up when I restarted and reloaded), I really enjoyed playing this family. Steve and Olivia are so cute with Ramona
  • Ramona is such a pretty little girl. I think she's going to turn out really gorgeous when she grows up.
  • I'm glad Steve and Olivia didn't get pregnant this round. I kind of like it when some of my Sims don't conceive straight away and I haven't had a couple like that in a while! Everyone's been very fertile lately! But also, I already have two (possibly three) babies due next year. I've got my fingers crossed for Steve and Olivia next round!

14 comments:

  1. Bummer on losing pictures, I hate when that happens. Ramona is uber adorable. I really like this couple, and holy gigantic bedroom! Ramona has a great view from her bedroom, I really like all those windows, and the french doors are great. I never think to put those type of doors inside a house, even though my Dad's house has several of them!

    I wish the picture of Ramona and Ruby had been saved, sounds adorable. This update definitely needed more toddler cameos. ;)

    I like when it takes a bit for sims to get pregnant too, It seems to become difficult in my game in the late twenties, so I can see how it might take longer for Olivia since she's past that.

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  2. I hope they have another child...eventually. I wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer, it seems like Ramona just arrived.

    I agree, the bedroom is HUGE! This must be the new house you were talking about. Wow, the rooms seem really large.

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  3. Thanks for reading! :)

    Maisie, I thought Ramona was a bit boring looking at first but she's not. She's really sweet.

    And yeah, gigantic bedroom is right! This is actually the house Cordy and Luc grew up in and that was their grandmother Drusilla's bedroom. I didn't know what to do with all that space, so I hated the house then, lol. Those French doors in Ramona's nursery actually lead onto a little balcony. I never think to use those inside either!

    In my game, Sims never seem to have any trouble until the early 30s, which is exactly where Olivia is now. Even in their early 30s, they generally conceive pretty quickly so Olivia and Steve are a bit unlucky.

    Apple Valley, I hope so too. I don't want Ramona to be too much older than her little brother or sister, so I'm hoping for next round for Baby Nihill #2.

    Yep, this is the new house! There's plenty of room to grow, lol.

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  4. Too bad about the lost pictures but I like the ones you used. The nursery is just jaw-dropping gorgeous!

    Most sims seem to get pregnant just by looking at each other (well not really) so it's refreshing to have couples who have to try a bit longer. Hopefully they'll get pregnant next round :)

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  5. I think Ramona will drive har daddy nuts when she will be bringing home boys, and starts dating! And I'm sure she will break some boys' hearts while driving her daddy nuts!
    But she's a sweety and Steven and Olivia are really amazing with her.
    I'm going to keep my fingers crossed with you for them next round, but as you said maybe it's not a bad thing they didn't conceive immidiatly.

    OMG, Ramona's view! I would love to have such a view from one of my window, preferably my livingroomwindow :)
    And I like Olivia's sewingroom/bedroom :)

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  6. Wow, that's a big house! They've certainly got room to grow their family... but like you said, its good that they didn't conceive right away. Most sims do seem to get pregnant way too easily.

    Pity you lost the pictures...glad you had enough that worked to put together the update.

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  7. Awwww! My namesake is so well behaved! Steve and Olivia are such a cute couple. I still haven't forgotten their newlyweds.

    That picture with Olivia and Ramona sitting by the window, is that really a toddler bed turned window seat? If so, that's really cute and creative. If not, meh, it's still cute.

    I love Ramona's nursery. I actually like most things you decorate and feel jealous because I don't seem to have the patience to do it quite often. I wish I could have seen the picture of Ramona and Ruby. Sounds like it would be a nice picture to put on the walls of their rooms as they get older.

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  8. I love their new house! Ramona's nursery is beautiful. I can imagine Steve and Olivia spending a lot of time decorating it for her. :)

    Ramona is so cute. I'm glad that Olivia and Steve still take some time to get out on a date every now and then. Hopefully they'll conceive next round, but I do like it when not every couple gets pregnant right away. I think it's more interesting to have varying timespans between siblings instead of all of them being one year apart (like how I used to play my Sims when I first got the game, they'd always have one kid right after the other, lol!).

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  9. Ramona's room is way too cute! They are just a very sweet little family.

    Too bad about the glitch though! I've had that happen to me sometimes with Gadwin and TS2, but never figured out the issue. It's like it thinks something else is active. Sometimes I've gotten pictures of the task bard!

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  10. Sari, oh, when I started coming across those blank pictures, I was praying that this picture or that picture would be safe. Most of the blanks ended up being of Asha and Ruby's visit. Unfortunate but at least, I got all the other "points".

    Ha, yes, they really do! Jonas and Tatiana were like that. Dominic, Audrey and Edward were all really easy for them to conceive and are thus quite close in age. Brendan took them longer and she needed fertility treatments, because she was much older then. I like having these sorts of issues to write around.

    Tanja, yes, I think Ramona could end up being popular with the boys...if my game would give me some, lol!

    Well, Steve said Ramona was lucky, didn't he? She's certainly got a better view through her bedroom window than I have through any of my windows!

    Blackcat, it's really huge! I'm glad Olivia sews, because otherwise, I wouldn't be sure what to do with that bedroom! Which reminds me that I forgot to put Steve's violin in. I'll have to do that next time I play.

    Steve and Olivia tried three times, with no success. I guess they haven't tried hard enough yet. I do hope they won't have too much trouble, but I guess we'll have to see.

    rome_raven, lol, she really is! She's a perfect little angel.

    Ramona and Olivia are sitting on a couch/window seat. So Olivia is really sitting and Ramona is posed. But yeah, I still think it's cute too.

    I take the time to decorate because I tend to get bored with my lots if I don't. That's the only reason I started doing it, but then I grew to really enjoy it. I just moved Cordy and Eliot into a new house last night and it is filled with Maxis crap objects and awful wallpaper and flooring. I am looking forward to gutting the place and replacing it with nice stuff!

    Shana, I like to think Olivia painted the mural, seeing she's so arty. And she does paint, though she sews more often.

    Steve and Olivia kept rolling the want for a date. It was like they were saying "Please! We're newlyweds with a baby!"

    At the beginning of Sullivan, my kids were usually all about 5 years apart, often further! I'd wait until the kids were toddlers before I'd let the Sims try again and because of the way I did aging then, it made for some widely-spaced siblings! I like it better now, because it now seems that sibling gaps are more about my Sims' life circumstances than anything else. Some are careless with BC and have one after another, some struggle to conceive and some are very careful and plan their families very sensibly. It's so much more realistic this way.

    Lunar, I adore this family. I don't think I would have been able to stop playing them if I didn't have those glitches. By the time I reloaded, I just had time to get the pics I wanted and then I had to quit out. It was really late!

    I was getting those sort of glitches where there are textures floating and weird things splayed across the floor. It's scary looking. So nothing was rendering correctly, so Gadwin couldn't capture it, I guess. :\ When Asha and Ruby were over though, everything looked normal on the screen. It was laggy but it looked right. So in conclusion, who knows? LOL.

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  11. Aww I like this little family. Ramona is too adorable. I can't wait to see what she looks like when she gets older. But I'll enjoy all the cute toddler pics of her now. I hope they can conceive next round. That'll leave a decent gap in between their ages.

    And I really like their house! Ramona's room is so cute. I would have loved to see that pic of Ruby having a tantrum while Ramona just sat there sucking her thumb. It's like one of those pictures you show them when they're older as proof that their personalities shined through even at such a young age.

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  12. Danielle, I'm super-excited to find out what Ramona will look like as a child but at the same time, I'm glad I'll have a little longer with her as a toddler. She really is very sweet. Hopefully, next round there'll be another one the way.

    I'm going to have to try to pose that picture because it really was just Ramona and Ruby all over. I've got Squinge's toddler pose hack and I'm pretty sure those two animations are included. I'll have a play around with it tonight.

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  13. Agreed, it's so rare they have trouble conceiving - in fact, most of mine get knocked up before they're even trying! It is nice to have some variation. But then I'll have a couple I want to try, and actually wouldn't mind for it to happen right away, and they won't, lol!

    I love Ramona's nursery! That wall is amazing! Do you remember where you got it?

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  14. Laura, exactly! I can't stop most of mine from getting pregnant! I have my fingers crossed that Olivia gets knocked up next round. I don't want this to be a 10 year thing, like poor Zelda!

    Just about everything in Ramona's nursery is by Cassandre at Black Pearl Sims. It was a set made for their first anniversary. I went hunting for it at BPS when you asked at N99 (I think it was you, anyway), but I couldn't find it again. But that's what the info says and maybe you're better at navigating that forum than I am!

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