Friday 12 August 2011

Dreams

Round 31: September 2034 (Spring)
last update/next update

Rob Ashton is 33, Patience is 32 and Felicity is 1.
(Lake is 77, Kendal is 58, Claudia is 33, Josie is 32 and Jude is 2)

Narrated by Patience Ashton

The weather has been beautiful lately, so Rob, Felicity and I have been taking advantage of our little backyard.

We hardly ever spent much time out there before Felicity was born but now that she's here, it doesn't seem right to stay cooped up inside all day.

We went through a little bit of heartbreak before we became parents but we're enjoying every minute of it now.

One of my favourite things now is to watch Rob and Felicity together. It's such a change from the first few weeks where he looked like he was worried he was going to break her.

Rob can be incredibly serious sometimes and I wasn't sure how he'd be with a toddler. He's really wonderful with her though.

I'm pretty sure I never ever heard Rob sing pre-Felicity, but he's down on the floor all the time now, teaching her nursery rhymes. It's really sweet.

Because of my job, Rob ends up doing more nights with Felicity than I do and from his reports, they have a great time.

She's only 14 months old but she's such a daddy's girl already. She has Rob wrapped around her little finger.

I'd really like to scale things back with work, because I want to be around more for Felicity.

Slowing down a little would also mean I could spend more time with Rob. Apart from the matinee, all our shows are at night, so there are days when we only see each other as he's coming home and I'm leaving.

I would love to work less but the fact is, I need to keep my name out there. If I pull back too much, I'll be forgotten. Rob thinks I should just take more time for the family if I want to.

It's not that simple though. My job just doesn't work that way. I was lucky the producers of my current show were so accommodating as it is.

When I was pregnant, they had my understudy take over the second I started to show. Since Felicity was born, the understudy has been doing an extra one of my shows, so I can have more time at home. I've asked for enough. If I ask for more, it would be easier for them to just cast another actress.

I'm not too down about it anyway, because I do love my job. I just miss Felicity when I'm at work, which seems pretty common among other mothers.

I know Claudia felt that way with Daphne. Seeing she was never really that passionate about her job anyway, she gave it up completely and is a stay-at-home mother now.

Josie thinks Claudia is insane. Josie was so bored on maternity leave and couldn't wait to get back to the hospital.

Troy is currently trying to convince Josie to try for baby number 2. She's not quite sure she wants one yet and part of it is that she's dreading pregnancy and the maternity leave that comes afterwards.

I hope she comes around though. They're doing such a great job with Jude. He's so sweet and gentle with Felicity.

He's definitely not the kind of child I ever pictured Josie raising!

There are lots of little kids around us right now, so lots of our down time is spent with extended family.

Dad has become a bit of a softie in his old age and likes to do the grandpa thing on weekends. He's so cute with all the grandkids. He loves it.

We want Felicity to know all of her cousins as well, seeing that, for the moment, she's an only child.

I had been fully expecting Kendal to start inquiring about when Rob and I were planning on a second kid by now. When Jude was about Felicity's age, I think she was already asking Troy.

So far though, she only asks about Felicity and how she's doing and steers clear of any talk about more kids.

I think she's sensitive about the baby we lost and doesn't want to put any pressure on me about pregnancy or anything.

I'd been worried about how I'd react to that kind of line of questioning, so I'm really glad it hasn't come up.

I wasn't really sure if I'd get to the point where I wanted another baby. After my miscarriage, I just found pregnancy to be stressful and emotionally draining. I didn't know if I wanted to go through that again.

Rob admitted early on that he wanted another one but he stressed that he would be totally fine with it if we didn't and Felicity stayed an only child.

As Felicity got older though, I realised I didn't want her to be an only child. She's an extrovert, like me. I'm sure she'd be fine if she didn't ever end up with a sibling because it would be all she would know. But I do really want to try to give her one.

On top of that, I'm just getting sad thinking about all of Felicity's "firsts" and how if we don't have another, I'll never get to experience those milestones again.

So we're going to try again but we're only in the planning stages right now. This unit is perfect for the three of us but if we want another baby, we'll need to move. Then we can start trying.

We're both very nervous about starting that process again. We're going to stay positive though and look forward to hopefully giving Felicity a baby brother or sister in a couple of years' time.

Extras: Daphne was actually there with Claudia (Iris stayed home), even though you didn't really see her.

Jude is quite a nice little boy but you can see he's inherited some of his parents' attitude here!

I mostly just couldn't stop taking pictures of Felicity though! So cute!

Notes:
  • Title is from Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.
  • Patience rolls a lot of wants for Felicity and Rob while she's at work, which is quite sweet. But I don't see her as the type to give up her career for her family. It's her LTW (unlike with Claudia), so I see it as something extremely important to her.
  • I was waiting on Patience to roll another want for a baby and she did. She's still on BC right now, as I can see both her and Rob being a little bit apprehensive about trying again. But Rob wants two and Patience wants nine (not going to happen!), so I figure they will try once I take them off the BC. So maybe next round?
  • I really want to come up with some kind of system for paying my actors better. Patience is currently a Broadway Star. I looked up how much money a lead actor on Broadway would be getting and it's pretty highly paid! In real life, I don't think a successful actress and an attorney would have much trouble buying a fairly nice house. I don't want them to be motherloded into oblivion but I do want their financial situation to be somewhat realistic. Right now, they've only got about $30,000. That will buy them a house but they probably won't have much left for decorating.

24 comments:

  1. I could totally tell that you are in love with Felicity because of all the adorable pictures of her! (That and who isn't in love with Felicity? She's the cutest sim toddler ever!) I really hope Patience and Rob have another baby. They look like such loving parents and it'd be nice to see them with one or two more.

    Successful actresses in real life are motherloded out the wazoo, so I really think that would be realistic! But maybe you could look up the other Sims jobs and what they would make in real life, and then scale the acting profession down? Like look up what doctors make in real life compared to your in-game doctors and then scale all the other professions down to match it....That's only a suggestion, so I'm interested in seeing what you come up with!

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  2. I love Patience! She's basically become my favorite sim that you blog about. Even though she and Rob want another child, I think they're the kind of couple that would do good with one kid if something wasn't to work out this time around.

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  3. Mandie, LOL, I couldn't resist taking tons and tons of photos of Felicity. She's so adorable. I would love it if she got a little brother or sister. :)

    Motherloded out the wazoo! Very true and attorneys don't do so badly for themselves either. ;) I strongly suspect there's no rhyme or reason to Sim pay scales but I've never let that stop me trying to make sense out of nonsense before. ;) That's a great idea and I'm going to have a look at the rates of pay and see what I can figure out. :)

    Thanks for reading!

    Allison, aw, I really love Patience too, so I'm glad you do. She's a lot of fun.

    I definitely agree with you about Rob and Patience though. I could definitely see them being okay with one child, if she never gets pregnant. I don't think I'll go the fertility treatment or adoption route with them, if it doesn't work out, but who knows?

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. Felicity is just a little peach. She's so cute and seems like a really sweet girl.

    As someone who motherloded her actress/business tycoon couple into oblivion I'm all for giving more money to Patience and Rob. I think Maisie's idea about checking what other professions make IRL is very good.

    I'm glad Patience and Rob have decided to try for another child. Hopefully next time they'll be able to enjoy the pregnancy more since they've already experienced the best outcome once :)

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  5. Felicity is SO adorable! I can understand why you couldn't resist taking lots of pictures of her. ;) I'd love to see them have another cute baby, but I understand how hesitant they would feel about it. I hope that if they do get pregnant again, it's an easy, healthy pregnancy!

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  6. Felicity is beyond adorable!! And I'm with everyone else, Patience should definitely be making a lot of money. I've been trying to make pay more realistic in my game as well. There is no rhyme or reason to the pay scale in the sims. I don't think the creators thought simmers would take game play as far as we have, so adjustments have to be made on our end lol. I hope they do have another child, though I totally understand Patience's fears. But really, when genes mix that great it's almost a crime not to mix them again!

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  7. Sari, Felicity is a total doll! I love her.

    I think Patience will definitely have more money next time we see this family. I just have to decide how much! I'm definitely going to take Mandie's suggestion and have a look at the other pay scales.

    I'm really, really hoping that if Patience and Rob try again, this pregnancy is completely smooth-sailing.

    Thanks for reading!

    Shana, I know, isn't she gorgeous? Such a sweetheart.

    There's a lot of hesitation there for Rob and Patience but both want more kids (well, Rob wants ONE more), so there's some excitement too. I hope it goes exactly as they want it to this time.

    Thanks for reading!

    Mizzgin03, I think by next round, Patience will be making a lot more money! I can just see this turning into a big project for me though - I'll decide on something for Show Business and Music and then I'll start thinking the pay for Athletics is unrealistic. LOL, I'll never stop!

    Heh, Rob and Patience really did contribute the very best of their DNA to make Felicity, didn't they? We'll see if #2 eventuates - I hope so.

    Thanks for reading!

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  8. I'm glad Patience is willing to try for another. I don't blame her for being uneasy about the whole thing though. Stuff like that really makes me wish I could still use InTeen.

    I liked seeing her getting together with Josie and Claudia and seeing how different their parenting situations are. The other kids are adorable too.

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  9. I thought that Patience would be far more reluctant to want another baby after the miscarriage. I'm happy that they're at least thinking about it. I'm sure they'll make another cute baby. Felicity is a doll.

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  10. Fini, I was so glad when they updated InTeen for AL. I missed it when I couldn't use it. It really adds some realism, though it's a very sad realism for Sims like Patience.

    Josie, Patience and Claudia are all different and I don't think I quite realised how different until they all had kids! I had so much fun with these girls as roommates, so I still like getting them together.

    Thanks for reading!

    Choco, there's definitely a little reluctance there but Patience also feels a strong pull towards having another. She never saw herself as the mother of an only child. And seeing she and Rob are loving being parents so much, that added to that pull for her (and for him).

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. Awwww! Felicity is just adorable! I'm glad Rob and Patience are adjusting to being parents so well. I can't wait for them to have another one! :)

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  12. coolkat2, Felicity is a pretty cute little munchkin, it's true! We'll have to see if Rob and Patience try again next round. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  13. I hope they try again, but then again I love them as a family of three.

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  14. Oh my god! Felicity really is one of the the cutest toddlers ever!! But with such handsome parents, there really wasn't any other option :)
    I'm glad Rob and Patience decided on another little one, though I would have understood if they didn't, seeing their history!

    I never thought about letting my sims earn more than their careers let them, but it's a great idea! Some of those wages really aren't realistic, su it makes perfect sense to adjust them.
    If you're willing to share, I would love to read more about it.

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  15. Apple Valley, I think I would be happy with either situation - Felicity staying an only child, or getting a little brother or sister. We'll see!

    Thanks for reading!

    Tanja, Felicity is just as cute as a button, really but yeah...there probably wasn't any way that she wouldn't be! Who could blame Rob and Patience for wanting another?

    I don't know if I'll ever write a post about pay scales. It's so much maths and I'll be lucky if I can make sense of it in my brain, let alone write it down! Also, I'll be taking it on a case-by-case basis, rather than saying "all supporting players will get X amount". But if I think I have anything useful to add, I'll stick at the end of one of the relevant updates, in the Notes. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. Felicity is seriously too cute for words! I really adore her, and I'm so happy to have so much pic spam of her to look at! It's great seeing all the family together, and all those little kids running around, what a change the past few years have brought for Lake ins his grandparent role.

    And yay for a new baby at some point in the future! I'm glad, Felicity is too cute to waste those genes. ;)

    For the career aspect, maybe tie in a bonus you give when you think she's been in a big production. For instance she'll spend lots of time practicing, and then she'll have opening night, maybe once a year or twice? I don't know much of anything about broadway actors and pay, but I'd adopt something of this sort, it's what I did for Jude with his tour.

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  17. Rob is so adorable with Felicity! And, well, I can only add my voice to the "Awwwww" wagon in front of such an adorable little girl. She's so precious!
    Patience is brave to wish another kid. I would have thought she'd be blessed with Felicity and would dare to take any risk.

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  18. Maisie, I'm glad, because there will probably be more pic spam every time Felicity is featured in any update, lol!

    I know! Lake had no grandkids at all for a long time, then came Sylvia and she was the only one for so long. Now he's got grandkids coming out of his ears!

    I think the pay thing will definitely be more of a bonus thing, as opposed to actually editing pay. I haven't figured out the details. Patience will probably end up in movies eventually - she's close to promotion - so I might not bother figuring out a Broadway thing for her. From what I read though, the pay depends on your role and how famous you are. Julia Roberts earned something crazy when she did Broadway but a lesser-known actor would get maybe $1500-3000 a week, depending on the role.

    Thanks for reading!

    Sandy, I'm such a sucker for dads and their daughters and Rob is very sweet with Felicity. She's adorable.

    Patience is definitely very nervous about getting pregnant again. But at least now, she knows she's able to carry to term and she's feeling a very strong pull to have a second. So hopefully next round, these two will have another. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  19. I already mentioned it at N99 but I love the family pic at the beginning. Rob looks so cute and looks like such a sweet guy. I had no doubt that Felicity would be a daddy's girl. I love the pic of Jude hugging her head *swoon*. And the pic of Patience teaching Felicity how to walk is adorable as well. I just like how Felicity is looking up at Patience. I just love all the pics Felicity is in, really. And I'm glad that they're deciding to try again and I hope they have much better luck this time around.

    If you figure out some kind of system for your actors, please keep us posted! At least they have some money to their name. Patience could be like Nicholas Cage... an amazing lead actor who had 2 homes go into foreclosure :\. I've been trying to think of a system to give all my sims a little extra money each time I play them. I play each family once every 6-9 months right now and it doesn't make much sense for them to have the same amount of money they had when I played them several months earlier. But it became too complicated for my brain and I also didn't want my sims to become too rich too soon.

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  20. Danielle, I love that family pic too - I'll have to frame it when I think of it. I just couldn't stop taking photos of Felicity and her mum and dad. They make such a sweet little family. I hope it goes smoothly for them next time too.

    Oh, wow, I didn't know that about Nicolas Cage! I guess Patience should thank her lucky stars, eh? ;) I expect that I'll talk at least a little about whatever I end up doing with Patience and Matilda's careers but I still haven't figured it out as of yet. I've had the same thought as you about my other Sims as well but decided to leave it for the same reason - it's really not hard to become rich in this game and I'm not going to help it along!

    Thanks for reading!

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  21. I love their family portrait! It's so cute and realistic.

    So many cute baby pictures in this update! Awwww! I love seeing the girls hanging out all together and bringing their kids to hang out too.

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  22. Lunar, that picture is definitely one of my favourite ones ever. I've just finished my round, which is when I normally take the opportunity to do some organisational stuff around the hood and I think one of those tasks will have to be framed pictures, including that one!

    I'm pretty glad I've been able to maintain Claudia, Josie and Patience's friendship. They were one of the roomie households I've most enjoyed, out of all the ones I've had so far. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  23. I figured that Patience would want another child--I'm glad they'll be trying!

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  24. Rachel, yeah, me too! People don't usually go from wanting nine kids to being content to stop at one, even with pregnancy troubles. So it makes sense for Patience to have at least one more, I think.

    Thanks for reading!

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