Wednesday 28 March 2012

This day

Round 33: September 2037 (Spring)
last update/next update

Josie Clarke is 35, Troy is 34, Jude is 5 and Andrew is 1.
(Lake is 80, Kendal is 61, Aaron, Calvin and Nick are 34, Ryan is 5 and Amy is 2)
Narrated by Troy Clarke

At the beginning of the month, I managed to score myself a promotion. I used to do beta testing and now I’m doing online tech support.

It’s not a fantastic pay increase but I’m not going to turn down more money. I basically moderate a support forum and respond to individual e-mails, so the pay isn’t bad at all for what the job entails.

There are perks involved besides money anyway, like free games from the software company I work for. Some are better than others but they’re free, so who cares?

Josie and I still like to give them a good test run after we get the kids in bed.

The best perk is being able to work from home some of the time. When I’m home, I set up in the comfort of the bedroom. There are less distractions in there than in the living room.

Though, of course, I have the keep the biggest possible distraction in the bedroom with me. His name is Andrew and he’s 19 months old. Already, he's so different from his brother!

He’s got a few toys in the bedroom and but sometimes he’ll get bored with those and decide the toilet is a better toy.

Worse still are his famous screaming fits. Once he starts that, he just screams louder and louder until he's attended to.

Sometimes I don't know what he wants and sometimes he needs to be changed. He fights nappy changes with all the strength he has.

Thank God he still takes naps! That's a great opportunity for me to have a break.

Hard as it is for me to look after Andrew and work, it’s worth it. Josie’s much happier working than staying at home and if Josie’s happy, we’re all happy.

She goes stir crazy staying at home but she’s noticeably more relaxed once she goes back to work. This really is a better arrangement for all of us.

Josie only took six weeks’ maternity leave this time but Jude still managed to get used to the idea of her being around at home.

He wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of her going back either.

It really didn’t turn out to be such a big deal though. Jude is in kindergarten all day now, so Josie gets home just a few hours after he does. He’s adapted really well.

I’m hoping Jude’s very easygoing nature might rub off on his little brother a little bit.

They hang out constantly and play really well together but so far, neither one seems to be influencing the other.

Now that Jude is at school, he’s also bringing a lot of friends home too. He’s good buddies with Ryan and on the weekend, it’s like he lives here.

But Nick is usually the one who brings him over, so I don’t mind too much. We can catch up while they play.

Except when the boys want us playing with them. They like to get synchronised on the swing set and it’s easier to do with us pushing them.

Jude seems so grown up these days. It blows me away!

When Mum and Lake gave Paisley to Jude as a Christmas present, Josie was sure we’d end up doing the majority of the work but it hasn’t turned out that way at all. Jude feeds her, plays with her and mopped up her pee puddles when she was still being housebroken.

Paisley is a huge dog though, so there are still some tasks that fall to Josie and me.

On the whole, she’s very much Jude’s dog and he’s really responsible about it.

I think Josie would still love to have something to complain about with Mum but Paisley’s not going to be it. She’s a pretty good dog.

And now that Mum always calls before she drops over, there’s not much left for Josie to complain about anyway.

I wouldn’t call them friends but they’re doing okay.

Now that Calvin is a dad too, Mum makes a lot more visits to his place. She doesn’t have as much time to bug us now that she’s bugging Calvin to go see Amy.

Aaron and Calvin recently adopted their second child, so there’s even more reasons to visit.

Josie and I went over to meet little Natalie a few days ago. She’s only 5 weeks old, so she’s still so tiny.

It sounds like she’s a much easier baby than Andrew was too. They’ve been getting up in the middle of the night, just to check she’s okay, because she’s not crying nearly as much as they were expecting.

I’m glad it’s gone well for them. They had a setback just a few months ago, so they were lucky it happened so quickly for them after that.

Amy was more interested in playing with Andrew than in the new baby. Maybe she’ll appreciate her sister more once Natalie can do something other than eat and drool.

After we visited Natalie, I started wondering about Josie and I having a third, so I thought I’d float the idea with her, to see what she thought.

About a year ago, Josie said she'd decided she wanted to stop at two but I thought maybe she’d be a little more open to it now, even after our tough experience with Andrew. I mean, we’ve survived, right?

Not quite. Josie actually thought I was nuts. She said she is definitely, definitely done with babies.

I asked her if she’d reconsider once Andrew started school. She just looked at me, which I’m fairly certain means no.

So I think I might just have to accept that the two kids we have now will be all we’ll ever have.

Josie is really against the idea of a third and doesn’t think she’d be happy with another.

I’m trying to see the positive side of it. Jude and Andrew are both really great kids, in very different ways, and with only two, we’ll be able to focus all of our attention on them.

Notes:
  • Title is from This Day by the Sleepy Jackson.
  • Yes, Josie has put on weight! It happened when I did Christmas at her parents' place but I like to think of it as baby weight from Andrew. ;) She'll keep it until she wants to work out or loses it autonomously.
  • I did random rolls again for Calvin and Aaron's adoption and September 2037 ended up being their lucky month. I was expecting them to get a boy this time but Natalie arrived. You probably can't see it in any of the pictures but she has blonde hair and dark blue eyes.
  • Troy rolled the want for another child sometime after I aged Andrew up to toddler. I feel like Josie is definitely done though and I don't think she's the sort to have another just for the sake of her husband. I think she wears the pants in the family and Troy will probably just have to deal. I say "probably", for the same reason I won't rule out a third for Claudia and Jacob. There's always birth control failures, not to mention a possible change of heart on my part (or Josie's!) But I think two might be it and it does feel somewhat right for this family.

20 comments:

  1. Okay, first when in the world did Lake turn 80? My gosh, I know kids grow up fast but adults sure to age fast as well. LOL

    I think two are good for Josie and Troy. But like you said, BC failures do happen so you never know. But I really don't see Josie having a change of heart. And I love her with the added weight. I think she wears it wonderfully!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, I had to double-check Lake's age myself! I think the elders shock me more than the kids and teens sometimes. I sort of stop paying attention to how old they are until I have to do and update and then I think "wow!", lol.

      Troy will probably continue to hold out hope for a change of heart from Josie but I don't think he really expects her to change her mind. She's very stubborn but more than that, she's content with her family the way it is. I like her with the extra weight too, though it took a little getting used to. Those pants have quite the booty!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. I thought her boobs looked bigger, I just thought it was a new mesh you were using. I think two is a really good number for them, I can't see Josie having another one, at least not becoming pregnant with one :p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It can be hard to tell if it's the mesh or if they're actually "fat" sometimes, seeing meshes often aren't uniform. In Josie's case though, she had a little too much to eat at Christmas. ;)

      LOL, are you pushing for an adoption? I think Jose is done with all methods of child-getting!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  3. With my mind always in simbabies, I was really wondering if they were going to have a third child :) But two kind of seems like the right number for this couple.
    Andrew definatly us a different kid than Jude, and I really love that diversity, it makes it more real.
    I was going to ask if Josie put on some weight and than I saw your notes :)

    I'm really glad Aaron and Calvin were finally able to adopt their 2nd child! And I can't wait to see Natalie grow up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I considered letting them have another. They've got a spare bedroom, which I still haven't decided how to fill. But Josie doesn't want one and I think in this family at least, her say would go!

      I like that Jude and Andrew are a bit different. Andrew is much more the kind of child I was expecting from Troy and Josie, so I'm glad I got kind of a wildcard with Jude.

      I've already aged Natalie up, because I just couldn't wait, lol. But you guys will have to wait until next August. ;)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  4. LOL at Josie being done with babies! That face she made was great. I kind of like the weight she has put on, like you said, it seems like baby weight. I barely even noticed it until the end.

    Troy and his video games reminds me of myself! I'd love to get free games! ;)

    I miss having the birth control option in TS3. My Sims seem to have decided to go and autonomously try for babies when I am focusing elsewhere!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Josie makes awesome faces and I especially love it when she makes them at appropriate times! She's a fun Sim to play.

      I wouldn't mind free games either but then again, I always end up back with Sims anyway. I play TS2 and TS3 way more than I play anything else (and, in fact, they are the only games I've played on this computer so far).

      Yes, the Woohooer needs birth control and also more "per Sim" options, like Twallan's Story Progression has. Just because I want one family to keep trying for a baby, it doesn't mean I want every family to keep trying! Okay, I really just want ACR for TS3, lol!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  5. Josie definitely comes off as one of those sims that needs peace. At least Troy knows what he has to deal with. I kept going back and forth with whether my eyes were playing tricks on me in regards of her weight gain. Thank you fro addressing it, lol. I love that, as serious as Josie is, she loves to play games with Troy.

    I'm happy that Calvin and Aaron were able to get their new baby, and two girls!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think Josie might go nuts with one more kid in the house, especially with Andrew being as rambunctious as he is. Two is it for them.

      In game, Josie isn't actually serious - her personality is identical to Troy's! Story-wise, I have to switch it up a bit though and I do think of her as a tiny bit more serious than Troy. Both are Games Sims, however.

      I thought it was kind of cool that Calvin got two girls and Troy got two boys. Awww!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  6. I love that picture of Nick and Troy pushing the boys, so adorable! Jude and Paisley are cute as well. I think two is a pretty good number for them, although I would love to see them with a girl :) Josie looks just fine with her post baby weight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked the pics - I waited quite a while to get a pic where the boys weren't synched up but then I just figured I'd write it in that way!

      I wouldn't mind seeing them with a girl either, even though I can't picture them with a daughter. I mainly just want another girl who looks like Josie, lol!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  7. I think two boys is perfect for these too! You have Josie appeased and I feel like its a Troy/Calvin like combo too, two brothers. Little Natalie!! How sweet is that!! Wow the second time was much quicker! My Siew family wants to move here! lol. I'm excited tere are all these grand babies for Kendal to dote on, just need Chris to find that special someone, and Kendal will be set!

    Funny on Josie's Christmas weight. I like the idea of it being extra weight from Andrew. And the photo of Troy with his tongue is super cute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Troy's IFS is (I think) 6 but there was no way Josie was ever going to let him have six kids! He would have known that going in.

      The second time did feel a bit quicker for Aaron and Calvin. I'll have to go back and check if it actually was. They didn't waste any time after Amy, so it's nice Natalie will be close-ish in age.

      Oh, I know Kendal is definitely with you on Chris finding a nice girl! She's maxed out her skills, she's at the top of her career, so she has literally nothing else to focus her energies on, lol!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  8. I love Troy and Josie's dynamic--Troy is so laid-back while Josie definitely needs control. I bet the baby weight is driving her mad. :)

    Poor Troy though, with his third baby want. It will be interesting to see if that's the last we hear about it.

    I'm so happy for Aaron and Calvin! Little Natalie will be a lovely addition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, the baby weight would be driving Josie nuts, with her perfectionist leanings. And Troy probably hasn't even noticed, lol.

      Yeah, I don't know about Troy and this baby. I usually lock baby wants, just in case they have an oopsie. But I wait for other cues to tell me whether or not another baby is going to be something they want desperately or something that they think would be kind of nice, if their spouse was agreeable. So I'm not sure which way Troy will go yet.

      So keen to age Natalie up. I guess with an August birthday though, that's a way away!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  9. Haha, “if Josie’s happy, we’re all happy”. Why can’t all men be like Troy? A lot of guys never learn this invaluable rule. It would be cool for them to have another one, maybe a girl, but I like them with their 2 boys. I also like bootylicious Josie even if she doesn’t. :P

    That’s too bad that Andrew is such a fussy tot compared to Jude. I like the pic of the guys pushing the boys on the swings. And Jude is such a big boy now taking care of their dog the way he does.

    So glad to see that Aaron and Calvin have their new baby! I think they’ll do fine with 2 little girls. And yea, seriously, when did Lake turn 80?! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Josie would have made sure Troy learnt that rule early on! I'm pretty sure he knew it even before they got together, because just about everyone who knows her knows it, lol!

      Andrew is definitely the kind of kid I was expecting from Troy and Josie. He's totally living up to my expectations. Jude was a lucky fluke, lol. Still, he's a total sweetie.

      I was glad when I rolled for Aaron and Calvin that they didn't have to wait too long. They're extraordinarily lucky but I'm happy they've got their two little girls now. I'm curious to see if they'll ever roll a want for another one.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  10. Jude and Paisley's picture was sooooooooo cute that I don't remember what I wanted to say... And this picture of Amy and Andrew!!!!!! awwwww!! Seriously, Carla, how can we comment seriously on your sims when we're lost in swooning like this?! :D
    I love Josie and Troy. Troy seems pretty involved at his work! (seeing the picture where he plays with Josie!! *lol*)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, sorry to distract you! That picture of Jude and Paisley is probably my favourite Sim dog picture ever though!

      Troy has definitely found his calling in this line of work! I can't imagine him enjoying anything else. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete