Thursday 13 November 2014

Weird divide

Round 35: February 2042 (Summer)
Lachance 2 household profile
Jonas Lachance is 64 and Tatiana is 59. 
(Dominic is 32, Leslie is 31, Audrey and Jack are 30, Edward and Lucy are 27, Brendan is 19 and Oscar and Stella are 2)
Narrated by Tatiana Lachance

This has been an especially busy start to the school year for me. I’m still principal but am also back in the classroom, this time with the older kids.

We lost Finn this year when he became principal of the high school, so I’ve taken over his class. I’d forgotten how hard it is to do both jobs, so I’m really looking forward to being able to hire a new teacher eventually. 

Selfishly, I’m glad Dominic hasn’t been able to talk Leslie into another baby yet. It means she’ll stay at school with us for at least another year.

One day, I really would like to see them have another though! I admit I do remind them of that every now and then.

Jonas and I have really enjoyed our first foray into grandparenthood with Oscar and Stella. 

Dominic and Leslie can have all the date nights they want, because they always have two willing babysitters here. We usually take the twins once every few weeks or so and we love having them with us. 

Stella is a little angel but Oscar really keeps us on our toes. He likes to go “exploring”.

His exploring sometimes leads to him getting into things he shouldn’t, so we really have to watch him. 

I’m not sure where Oscar gets his adventurous streak from but he definitely got all his looks from Leslie. It’s hard to see anything at all of Dominic in him.

Stella is pure Lachance though. We’ve both had moments where we’ve looked at her and could almost swear we were looking at Audrey!

Brendan doesn’t start class again for another couple of weeks, so he’s been staying with us, sleeping in his old bedroom.

I love having my little boy at home again, even if it's just for a couple more weeks.

Not that he’s so little any more. He’s a great uncle to Oscar and Stella and I can see he’s going to be a wonderful dad one day too. 

He doesn’t even turn 19 until next month, so it’s probably a while off yet. But time flies, so his time could come along before I know it. 

We haven’t spent as much time with Brendan as we might have imagined, because he’s off doing something almost every day. 

He spends his days catching up with his friends, plus he goes to see his girlfriend who he met on campus this year. He split up with Georgina almost a year ago and he paired up with Amanda pretty soon afterwards.

Jonas and I have been curious to meet her ever since but it wasn’t until this summer that we finally did. 

On the night, we ended up having Audrey and Jack over as well, just so all attention wasn't focused on Amanda. 

In retrospect, I guess Amanda could have found meeting four new people pretty confronting as well but the dinner went quite well anyway. It was quite casual and low-key.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to like Amanda. I loved Georgina and was sad when Brendan broke up with her. Secretly, I was hoping they’d get back together.

But I ended up liking Amanda a lot more than I expected to. I think Brendan was wondering whether he’d ever get her to himself at any point in the future.

I guess he might have, had he not gone out to play with Jonas’ RC helicopter after dinner, with his dad and Jack. 

We girls decided to stay inside and chat for a bit instead. With Audrey being due in a couple of months, the main topic of conversation was the baby!

She and Jack recently threw out their list of names and started from scratch, because they just couldn’t agree. She won’t share names just yet but she did say they have definitely decided now, which is a big relief for them both.

We were already all invited to go around to Audrey and Jack’s place next weekend for lunch and to see the nursery, so Audrey invited Amanda along as well. It should be a nice opportunity to get to know her a bit better.

They have a great house for entertaining huge groups, like our family. Jack was very fortunate that his parents set him up with the trust fund that let them buy it.

I wish we’d been able to set Edward up like that. Dominic and Leslie didn’t struggle too much but Edward and Lucy are finding it very difficult to buy a house.

They were always planning to continue living with Chris in their flat for a while after they got married but it’s looking like that will be so much longer than they expected.

Lucy’s job isn’t very well-paid and although Edward is due for a promotion soon, it’s probably not going to help much with their savings, especially considering what they have to pay in rent every week.

Every time they talk about buying a house, I wish Jonas and I could do more to help them.

The next morning, I asked Jonas what he thought about Edward and Lucy moving in here, either temporarily or permanently - whatever they’d prefer.

He was a little dubious. Edward and Lucy want privacy and they’re not going to get that living with us.

It wouldn’t be total privacy but it would be more than they have now, with Edward, Lucy and Chris practically living on top of each other. We hardly use the second storey of the house at all and they could have it all to themselves if they wanted!

He couldn’t argue with that one but he’s wary about Edward and Lucy thinking we’re trying to smother them or something. He wants to wait a few months, see how they go with saving and then think about asking them then. 

Much as I would love to have Edward and Lucy move in here, I also couldn’t blame them if they’d rather find their own feet. So we’ll wait and see what the situation is like in a few months’ time. 

Notes:
  • Title is from Weird Divide by the Shins.
  • I was following Tatiana's lead on how she reacted to Amanda, because she actually still rolls the occasional Georgina-related want. But she ended up really liking Amanda! I didn't even pose Brendan in that kitchen pic - he was really waiting there to talk to Amanda. Then he gave up and went out to play helicopters with his dad and BIL!
  • Audrey's baby is almost here, guys! I just have to play through the uni updates (only two this round) and then I can do birthdays. :D So excited!
  • Lucy and Edward moving in is something I've been considering for the past week or so. I want to keep the house in the family and initially, I was going to have Dominic and Leslie move in but not for several years. But they're pretty settled where they are, while Edward and Lucy are really struggling financially. Then again, if Edward and Lucy end up with some kind of unexpected windfall, they might be able to buy after all. So I'm going to see what happens in their next play session, which is a few sim months away. Moving them in here is a definite possibility though. 

12 comments:

  1. It could be really awkward to move back in with the parents, but it would help Edward and Lucy out a lot and make sure the house stays within the family. (My husband and I lived with his parents for a year after our landlord sold the house we were renting and we waited to get our own house built, so I know just how awkward it can be, lol!)

    I laughed at the picture of the guys playing with the helicopter. They never stop being boys no matter how old they are! ;)

    Can't wait to see Audrey and Jack's baby!

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    1. Keeping the house in the family is definitely appealing to me! The two farms in my hood have always been owned by the same families. Living with Tatiana and Jonas would be better than what they have now but still not ideal. Then again, I genuinely don't know how they'll be able to afford a house unless they take out a massive loan! But I'll see how it's looking for them when I play them.

      Boys and their toys, huh? I couldn't even remember putting that thing out in the yard when I saw them playing with it but I think the guys would be upset with me if I took it away now, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. I saw the picture up top and thought, "Awwww, Jonas and Tatiana are empty nesters! How sad!" They've always seemed so very family-oriented for some reason.

    My BIL and his family moved in with my in-laws a few months ago for money-related reasons and my husband once suggested that hey, that's a really good way to save money! Maybe we should take over the basement after K and his family move back out! I told him I prefer to like his mother from afar.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Jonas and Tatiana are definitely both all about family - Tatiana is Family/Knowledge and Jonas is Knowledge/Family. This is their first round without any kids in the house. Possibly last, if Edward and Lucy do move in!

      I just realised I don't know any women who don't prefer their mother-in-laws "from afar"! LOL. All the women in my life have mothers-in-law on a scale from mildly annoying to flat out insane though. Lucy is fortunate in that way, at least!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. I think it's wise to wait for a while and consider the options for Edward and Lucy. I have many young (and some older) couples who are really struggling with their huge mortgages and sometimes I wish I would've gone on a different road for them just because all their spare money goes into loan payments.

    I'm glad to see that Amanda got along so well with Brendan's parents. It can be so intimidating meeting the in-laws for the first time but at least it all turned out really well in the end.

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    1. Yeah, those loans can be so crippling for young couples especially and I'm not positive I'm willing to go down that road for Edward and Lucy, especially because Lucy will probably never make much more money than she's making now.

      In-laws can be quite intimidating, though Tatiana and Jonas are probably pretty low-key that way. Amanda had some work to do to impress Tatiana though but apparently, she did that without much effort at all.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I can't believe they are empty nesters now, it was such a sad family picture this time. I'm glad Brendan was around to keep Tatiana company a bit before heading back. Amanda is really adorable, and it's nice that she fit in so well. I wonder if she will end up being the one.

    This is one of my favorite families, and I really enjoy seeing where their kids are ending up. I really like the idea of one of their kids living with them and taking over the house, if not Edward, perhaps Brendan after university. The latter might be less of an adjustment than it would be for Edward and Lucy. And yeah, who doesn't want to marry a Jack? sexy, shy guy with money... yes please! Audrey definitely got a great deal!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I know, right? It's crazy! Amanda is pretty cute. I have a pretty fair idea of where I'm going with Brendan and Amanda but I won't say anything yet.

      Of all the kids, I think Brendan's probably the least likely to want to live at the farmhouse again. As the youngest, I see him wanting to break out a little, as important as his family is to him.

      Heh, I love Jack and I guess Audrey does too. ;) He's not shy though - just introverted. Audrey is actually much more shy than he is but she's an extrovert. I concur on the sexy though, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Who is the chef in the household, Tatiana? Well whoever it is it looks like they are a master at cooking with the way almost every meal was sparking in this update. ;)

    Amanda seems nice, she doesn't have a profile, I always like to check out your profiles. lol No pressure to create one for her tho! ;) Her and Brendan seem like a sweet new couple too. Hopefully it works out for him this time around.

    I love that you want to keep the family together in the one house. It really is so nice to see so many family members in your updates.

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    Replies
    1. Ha, yes, it's Tatiana who cooks, though I don't know when she earned so many cooking skill points! She had only one point for an embarrassingly long time. The sparkling food is because they used fresh produce from their garden in the food though. :)

      No, Amanda doesn't have a profile because she's still just a dormie. They don't get profiles unless they move in for sure and I'm not sure if Amanda is permanent yet. We'll see what happens with her and Brendan.

      The big households can be hard to play sometimes but it's nice how close they all become when you have them live together. I can never be annoyed at that!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I'm glad Tatiana likes Amanda, even if she (and I) miss Georgina. Edward and Lucy moving in could be good or bad. Right now we're still living with my mom. It's fine mostly, but not my choice.

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    1. Meeting the parents went very well for Amanda and Brendan, which is nice for them. :)

      Living with your parents (or your partner's parents!) as an adult can be awkward. We'll see how it works for Edward and Lucy, if they take Tatiana and Jonas up on the offer.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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