Sunday 22 May 2011

Frontwards

Round 31: June 2033 (Winter)
last update + wedding update/next update

Calvin and Aaron Clarke are both 30.
(Kendal is 57, Maia is 31, Troy is 30, Ethan is 27 and Jude is 11 months old)

Narrated by Calvin Clarke

Maia moved out of this place and in with Ethan a few months before Aaron and I got married. It was getting so crowded around here, so it couldn't have happened at a better time.

It's very nice being able to spend time together without interruption.


Maia was very respectful in terms of giving us privacy but it's not really the same as having the place totally to yourself.

I hardly realised how little time Aaron and I spent alone before but hanging out with him after work is my favourite part of the day.

We've been talking a lot lately about my future career options. Or I have, anyway.

I love playing basketball but I know I can't do it forever. I have maybe 10 years, maximum and then there'll be plenty of younger guys ready to take my place.

Aaron doesn't seem to think I have anything to worry about. He's sure I'll get a coaching position before that time comes.

Maybe I will but I'm being realistic. I might not. And if I don't, I need a back-up plan. I just need to figure out what that is.

I wondered if Aaron might miss Maia but neither of us have really had the opportunity. Seeing she's practically Aaron's sister-in-law now, we still see her all the time.

Maia is sweet but I have to admit, her flakiness did tend to bother me when we were living together. Now that I don't have to deal with it directly, it doesn't bug me.

We always have a great time when we get together.

You'd think with the amount of time Maia spends with us, and the number of times Aaron has thrown hints her way, she'd have picked up all of her stuff well before she actually did.

But she kept putting it off and making excuses, so we were stuck with it for a good while after she moved out.

It was only a couple of months ago that we finally got rid of it and it was only because Ethan started bugging her about it as well.

Once the room was emptied out, we moved our computer in there and turned it into an office. It really freed up some space, which we are definitely short on in this unit!

I know Mum was hoping we'd turn it into a nursery for her next grandchild.

I don't know if anyone loves being a grandma more than she does.

She's not nagging...yet. I've been surprised at her restraint, actually but she's definitely not making a secret of that fact that she thinks a kid should be next on the list for us.

At the moment, Aaron and I are happy just doting on Jude, not to mention my stepsister's kids.

It's less stressful than thinking about starting our own family.

I didn't really start thinking seriously about kids until after Troy and Josie had Jude. Troy seems like he's really taken to fatherhood.

He's so enthusiastic about it that it's hard not to start thinking about kids myself.

Aaron has always been keen on a family and he loves that I'm starting to talk about the idea too.

We'll probably adopt over trying to figure out some kind of surrogacy arrangement but we haven't really looked at our options properly yet. I'd like to be in a real house before we do that.

Aaron would like to get started on the house hunting yesterday. He's always pointing out houses he likes and could imagine us living in. Aaron likes to dream big.

We don't even have the money for a small house, let alone the huge mansions Aaron's looking at.

He's trying to convince me to take out a loan, so we can buy something right now.

I'm just not willing to take on that kind of debt though, when if we're careful with our spending, we can buy a house outright. Aaron thinks that's going to take way too long but we're saving, as well as investing a little in the stock market. I think we could be ready to buy in a couple of years or so.

Notes:
  • Title is from Frontwards by Pavement.
  • I've decided that if Calvin doesn't make Assistant Coach by the time he's 40, I'll find another job for him. It's early to think about it but Calvin's a practical kind of guy and I think he would think about something like this pretty early.
  • I'm taking advantage of having full control over Aaron and Calvin's family and I'm making them wait, lol! When the time comes, they will almost definitely adopt. A long time ago, I thought of Maia possibly acting as a surrogate for them but I don't think I'll do that now. I think Maia would do it but it would make more sense to me if it was something she'd do after she'd had her own kids.
  • The house Aaron and Calvin are looking at, if you're curious, is Tate and Zelda Benton's place. It's not for sale, nor could the guys afford it if it was. But isn't it fun to check out awesome houses sometimes?
  • Sneak preview of Jude! I was so excited to age him up and to let Patience have her baby that I ended up doing Birthdays before this play session. You can't see him properly in any of these pics (which was intentional!) but there will be lots of close-ups of him in Birthdays. That's already written, so look out for it tomorrow!

21 comments:

  1. As much as Kendal drives me crazy, I think she's right about these two. They would be wonderful parents.

    A huge house? Why?

    I'm kind of boggling about the prospect of Maia being a surrogate. They would have to nail her to the floor because she's very immature at this point and she hasn't had any children of her own. I don't think that would be fair to her.

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  2. Oh I like Zelda's walkway! What type of plants are they?

    Jude looks like he has Calvin/Troy's eye shape!! Looking forward to a full frontal picture! I always thought Maia would surrogate for them too. Curious how you'll do it if you don't use her.

    I really like their little cramped place, and see Maia happy with Ethan. This is the group that has taken forever to really grow up, and do all the big adult things. Still waiting on Maia. ;)

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  3. S.B., heh, Kendal drives her sons crazy too! But Aaron and Calvin would both make good dads - it'll happen for them one day, it's only really a question of when, not if.

    Aaron is a Fortune Sim, so he does like his luxuries. I don't know if they'll ever actually get to any of these huge houses he likes though!

    Yep, and that's pretty much exactly why Maia won't be a surrogate for them. When I was tossing that idea around, I think they were all in college and I didn't realise Maia was going to take this long to grow up, lol! So Aaron and Calvin will definitely adopt, when the time comes.

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, the Benton house, thankfully, came pre-landscaped! I would have no earthly clue what to do with all that space! But looking at some other pictures of the walkway, I think the flowers around it are from M&G. They look like blue pansies to me.

    Jude's eyes are the one feature I'm not sure about. They look larger than Troy's eyes but they also seem to be turned up in a way I'm not sure Josie's do. So we'll see tomorrow.

    Calvin and Aaron don't have any sisters (well, Calvin has stepsisters but I don't think he'd ask Rose or Patience), so there's not really any other woman they're close enough to ask something like this of. So I'm going to stick with adoption this time. :)

    Maia's update is coming up really soon, so we can see how she's going with Ethan. I'm just waiting for that one to get knocked up - it's amazing that she hasn't yet!

    Heh and this gang did take a while to grow up! They were all close to 30 by the time they moved out of their roomie situations and got married. I usually get my Sims going before then but I was having fun with this gang!

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. I was wondering if that was really Jude as a toddler already and I can't wait for the birthday post :) I was surprised that Maia was a potential surrogate...especially considering her personality.

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  5. I love pointing out the awesome houses whenever I go for walks! Lol.:) It's okay Aaron, you may as well dream big.
    These two would make amazing parents, I know it. I can't wait for them to adopt.:)
    Great update!

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  6. Ah well, it can't hurt for Aaron to dream a little - just as long as he knows reality! It's good that Calvin seems to have a more sensible, practical head on, so that they balance each other out. I think they'll make great parents as well!

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  7. It never hurts to dream big, one day those dreams might just come true and they would be able to buy themselves a big house. Those two would make good parents, agree though that Maia is still immature and adopting would be a lot better option for those two.

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  8. Apple Valley, LOL, yep, Jude is 1 year old as of the birthday update which will go up today! It feels like he's taken forever to grow up.

    As I said to the others, Maia would do the surrogacy for Aaron and Calvin if they asked. But just like S.B. said, it wouldn't be fair to her. She's really not ready to take on something like that and may never be. It's a pretty big deal!

    Thanks for reading!

    coolkat2, I do the same thing. And in the real estate listings! Aaron and Calvin have a better chance of affording a huge house than I do - even with all my fees in place, it's still much easier for Sims to make money than it is for us.

    Not sure when Aaron and Calvin will get around to adopting - likely in the next round or two, I guess!

    Thanks for reading!

    Shake, once he sits down and thinks about it, Aaron knows they can't afford a place like that. Aaron just seems a little unrealistic to Calvin, because Calvin is so practical and doesn't engage in that kind of dreaming!

    They do balance each other out nicely though, which should make for a fairly well-rounded set of parents!

    Thanks for reading!

    Speechless, well, we'll see, eh? If Calvin makes the Hall of Fame, he'll be making close to $10,000 a week. On that kind of salary, a big house might not be such a crazy dream.

    Yep, adoption is definitely the way I'm going for Aaron and Calvin. I'm excited to get going with it but I'll have to see what happens.

    Thanks for reading!

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  9. OOh, I'm really looking forward to seeing these 2 as dads! They will do great when it happens! It would have been great if Maia could be a surogate, but on the other hand, she may not be the best person for it.
    The house they were looking at, looks really great, and maybe one day they can afford it, but at the moment it might be a little but too much!

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  10. Tanja, me too. Aaron and Calvin will start to talk seriously about parenthood once they're in their own place. They have about $25,000 in cash at the moment, so Calvin's not kidding when he says he thinks they could do it in a few years.

    Zelda might have something to say about Aaron and Calvin buying that house anyway! Tate would like to sell but she wants to stay put.

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. I agree with Calvin's more cautious approach, but I'm pretty boring LOL.

    I love the bit about Maia taking forever to get her stuff out of their apartment--that's so realistic!

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  12. Rachel, I tend to waver between Calvin and Aaron's approach. I like to look at the fancy real estate listings and daydream about winning the lottery but I am mostly all too aware of how unlikely it is to ever happen on a teacher's salary!

    Heh, Maia's room was still just as she left it when I loaded the lot. That's my fault, obviously, but it just seemed like such a Maia thing to do that I had to write it in. I just can't imagine her doing anything promptly!

    Thanks for reading!

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  13. They would be great parents, and I'm sure Josie would love if a bit of Kendal's attention could be on other kids! Of course, she has now also Patience's kid. I don't remember how her relationships are with Patience?
    Anyway, Calvin and Aaron are really an adorable couple!

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  14. Sandy, I think Aaron and Calvin would make great parents too. I'm looking forward to making that happen for them! They're a very sweet couple. I intended to have them wait until college to get together but every time they were around each other, they just kept grinning. It was so cute and I couldn't resist.

    Kendal is Patience's stepmother and she's quite close to both of her stepdaughters. Probably a bit closer to Patience, actually, because Patience was only about 12 when Kendal and Lake got married; Rose was already out of the house and in college.

    Thanks for reading!

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  15. Aww, Aaron and Calvin are such a sweet couple. I hope they get to be parents soon because I think they'd be wonderful.

    I always look up the huge houses on real estate websites even though I have no intentions (or funds) to ever move into one. The Benton house looks awesome, I wouldn't mind living there IRL.

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  16. Sari, I'll probably start looking for a house for them, intending to move them in next round. I'd like them to start the adoption process then - because I think they're really sweet too. ;)

    I wouldn't mind living in the Benton house either - as long as I didn't have to clean it!

    Thanks for reading!

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  17. Aaron and Calvin are great. It's fun to see them all settled down and getting comfortable in their home together.

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  18. HeredonCove, I love playing Aaron and Calvin. I can't wait to get them into their own place and have them truly settled.

    Thanks for reading!

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  19. I'd love to see these two adopt! I think they'd make wonderful parents, especially to a child who maybe worried they'd never have a family. It would be a wonderful gift for some sweet little sim child.

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  20. Aww I can’t wait until these 2 adopt (although I know your population can wait! lol) They’ll both be great with children. Hopefully all the babies being born around them will keep Kendal off their backs for a little while. I definitely agree about Maia not being the surrogate for all the reasons you and others mentioned. Definitely saw her maturing a little earlier than 30!

    There are a lot of huge houses around my area so when we pass one, my husband and I pick one and talk about how when (not if, WHEN) we win the lotto, we’ll tell the folks in the house that we’ll pay them X amount of money to get out LOL!

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  21. Lunar, you'll definitely see it happen sooner or later. It's unlikely I'll have an Adrienne situation on my hands again when they're ready to adopt, so it will probably be a toddler rather than a baby. It will be a lucky kid though - Aaron and Calvin would be great dads.

    Thanks for reading!

    Danielle, LOL, yeah, my population can definitely wait! Aaron and Calvin have plenty of experience being uncles now (on Calvin's side, anyway), so hopefully, they'll have a smoother transition to fatherhood.

    Oh, I know...poor Maia. She took a long time to find her feet but I think she's doing well now. Finally!

    Ha, that's hilarious! I spend way too long thinking about what I'd do if I ever won lotto. It's such a fabulous time-waster, considering it will never ever happen!

    Thanks for reading!

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