Tuesday 22 December 2015

Little acorns

Round 36: July 2043 (Winter)
last update/next update

Malcolm Novak is 33, Hope is 32 and Mason is 1.
(Emil is 71, Anna is 65, Rebecca is 34, Nathan is 33, Julia is 32)

Narrated by Hope Novak

For me and Malcolm, the last year has been almost entirely about Mason. 

Losing our first baby so late into my pregnancy only made us want to be parents even more. So now that we finally are, we’ve really thrown ourselves into it.

We take Mason with us everywhere we can and until recently, if Mason couldn’t come, we didn’t go, except to work. 

I have to admit that we were both craving some grown-up time and I thought Malcolm’s birthday might be a good opportunity for our first date night since Mason arrived.

So we left Mason with my parents and went out to dinner.

We ended up talking about him for a good amount of time. I missed him and worried about him, even knowing he was safe with his grandparents.

That’s not enough to stop us from planning even more date nights in the future though. It was really refreshing to have some time to ourselves for a change. 

We had so much fun together, almost like our pre-kid days.

It had been a while since we had some time together, just the two of us. 

And Mason got to have some fun with Mum and Dad while we were gone. Apparently, he was no trouble at all. 

That’s not generally how I’d describe Mason at home, so I’m guessing Dad just wants us to let them babysit more often. 

Mason is the first grandchild for my parents and Dad is so into being a grandpa. 

Mum is still a bit weird about anything that makes her look or feel old but a year later, I think she might finally be used to being a grandmother.

Probably just in time too, seeing Nathan and Rebecca are expecting a baby now. 

They’re both very excited, though Rebecca isn’t looking forward to being super-pregnant in the middle of summer.

It stings a little bit when I hear people complaining about their pregnancies, when my first one ended so horrifically.

I just inwardly roll my eyes and move past it though. In another world, I’d probably be complaining myself.

I have to admit to being secretly grateful that Mason was a winter baby.

Julia is due around the same time as Rebecca and I’m thrilled for her. She’s wanted to have a baby since even before she got together with Sam and she can’t wait. 

She and Sam just moved into this huge house after spending the first year of their marriage in a tiny apartment.

The huge house happens to be right next door to ours, so we see each other at least a couple of times a day now, even if it’s just when we’re leaving or coming home from work. 

I’m kind of jealous of the house. You could fit the entire bottom level of our house just in Julia and Sam’s living room. 

Needless to say, our house is pretty small and probably not suitable if we have a second kid.

We have what is technically a third bedroom, but it’s really not big enough. Malcolm and I keep our fitness equipment in there.

This house is fine for the three of us but we’ll need to expand if we want a second child. Mason’s room is too small to share comfortable. 

When a third will happen is still up for debate, though we do both want another kid one day.

Malcolm is happy to wait until Mason is a bit older. 

He’s not the easiest kid in the world and dealing with Mason plus an infant would be a challenge. 

Part of me agrees. Mason can be a real little firecracker and we have to watch him like hawks right now.

Plus, I was so anxious throughout my pregnancy with him and I’m not sure I’m ready to go through that again just yet. 

But on the other hand, I worry about leaving it too late as well. 

I know I’m not old yet but I’m also not getting any younger. With my history, I wonder if sooner rather than later would be the best idea.

For now, the more practical side of me is winning out and I agree with Malcolm that we should wait a while.

I do really want at least one more child though, preferably close in age to Mason, so I’m not sure how long I can keep being practical!

Notes:
  • Title is from Little Acorns by White Stripes.
  • Happy holidays to all of you lovely readers! Please stay safe if you're travelling and enjoy your time with your friends and family. :)
  • Yay, got an update in before Christmas! I won't get much of a chance to play again before Christmas but I have some lot tour pics ready and I've just finished taking the pics for August birthdays. That should mean at least two more updates before the end of the year. I'm hoping to squeeze another story update in too but we'll see how I go. 
  • No baby wants from either Hope or Malcolm yet but I know they want another based on their IFS (3 for Malcolm, 6 for Hope) and the fact that they tried for a baby each and every time they woohooed. It's unlikely they'll get pregnant, as I have them both on Inteen BC. But I just love being able to see that they want to try, while still keeping them on BC. Baby wants for my non-Family sims like Malcolm seem to be really, really rare, so I can't always rely on those to plan my sims' families. 
  • I'm either going to wait until next round to let them try or pop in at some point next game year and let them try then. I hope Hope's pregnancy is a successful one next time. I always worry about my sim pregnancies, especially for sims who've miscarried before. 
  • I often don't pay attention to where my sims live in relation to other sims but I was really glad I noticed Julia and Sam are right next door! She and Hope would love that. :) And Hope's parents are also across the road, so they're surrounded by people who can lend a hand if necessary.

8 comments:

  1. I can see why Hope is sensitive to others complaints, and anxious over baby-planning too! I like that they are enjoying Mason for now, especially since she's so nervous about another pregnancy. And with good reason, the miscarriage hack does make it more risky after a miscarriage.

    I can imagine Anna being the type of Grandma that would have a different name for herself aside from the age-old Grandma. And yeah that third bedroom is no space for a baby! It will be sad that they have to move away from their support system. I don't usually write in neighbors because most aren't friendly with theirs, but I love that these guys are surrounded!

    Love Mason in the scrubs!! <3 Makes me squee with excitement! :D So many new babies too! I can't wait to see who Rebecca and Nathan's baby takes after!

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    1. Hope is already not the type to be inclined to listen to other people's complaints very graciously, so it's even worse now. Is there really an increased chance of miscarriage after a sim has already had one? I've always thought of it as that way, story-wise, but didn't know it was programmed in!

      Ha, yeah, I had the same thought about Anna. She's no Grandma. The name that popped into my head for Anna is Gigi, so that's probably how she'll be known to Mason and to any future grandkids.

      I thought you might get a kick out of seeing Mason in his PJs! They're so cute. :) I've just moved Rebecca into her second trimester, so we're getting closer and closer to the birth. :D

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. I've not managed to get in much playtime over the past two weeks or so, either, but it was all due to doing nice things with friends and family. Tomorrow is my last working day for this year, then I'll have TWO WEEKS off, so I guess I should be able to play some more then - especially if we'll finally get some rain or snow, which will make me want to stay indoors instead of the wonderful sunny spring-like weather we've had all month.

    In my game, I have some Sims who live close to other family members, such as the Newsons. Some of the siblings live just across the road, and they really do see a lot of each other. But all in all, my 'hood is still waiting to be re-organized... maybe during the holidays!

    Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

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    1. At least it was good things keeping you away! Can't complain too much about that...or about getting a couple of weeks off. :)

      Neighbours are honestly not something I pay too much attention to most of the time but having noticed Hope and Malcolm's neighbours, I'm going to have to look closer in the future. Could be some good storylines there!

      Merry Christmas to you and yours as well! :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Hope's yellow dress is so pretty! I'm glad they had a good time on their date!

    I am anxious for her to try again, too. Especially since it's in the programming for her to have another one. Yikes! I have never had the heart to add any miscarriage mods to my game in any version of sims so far, but I am curious. Mostly it's been out of incompatibility with other mods that I used, but half out of fear as well, lol! If MCCC ever added something for it for TS4, I would look into it. I'm far too in love with MCCC to switch to Inteen though.

    I love taking note of who lives nearby in my neighborhoods. In TS4 it has to be forced though, even though sims do have actual "neighbor" tags in their relationships, because walkbys will spawn from anywhere and any of the "worlds". Another kind of dumb thing that TS2 did better ten years ago. :\

    Hope you had a very merry Christmas! :D

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    1. I just downloaded that dress a little while ago! I have it in a whole spectrum of colours and one of them might be a bridesmaid's dress one day. :)

      For some reason, I would have thought you'd for sure have a miscarriage mod, at least in TS2! Miscarriages in general seem relatively rare in my game and they're basically never random - it's always when the mother gets really hungry and/or tired - so you do have a degree of control over it. But if you're trying to play without cheats (which I often do), it can still get a little dicey. And I worry about my mums like Hope most of all. I still haven't decided when I'll let her try but I would like them to have another. :)

      Oh, you must have had a mod in TS2, because walkbys are random in TS2 as well. You can get walkbys from downtown when you're in the main hood and vice versa. Uni sims and vacation sims won't walk by in other subhoods but everyone else is fair game. It doesn't actually bother me too much, because I think of my hoods as just suburbs of the same general area but if you picture your subhoods as being a little further apart than that (which I know you do in TS4), I can see why it might irritate you!

      Thanks, Laura - hope your Christmas was lovely as well!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. So happy for Malcolm, Hope & little Mason! Gosh he is such a cutie!

    It's understandable after what they went through with the first pregnancy that they would throw themselves into this one. They both seem like they've dealt with the miscarriage though and are not going to make a rash decision to have a second child soon. Being in their early thirties I think they've still got some time left. ;)

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    1. Yeah, I was glad to see these guys as a little family, finally!

      In Hope's position, I would definitely have some trepidation about the next pregnancy, so I'm happy to let these guys wait a little. I think they've both enjoyed Mason, despite his faults, and are keen to expand...eventually. I think I'll probably wait until next round, rather than popping in early. I kind of have enough babies due right now, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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