Chapter 2.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.5

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

A Family Grows

Since Kali was born, I’ve been so busy I’ve barely had time to socialize, so when Mom and Dad came over for a visit and brought an island feast, I was overjoyed. I’m so glad my parents are around to see their grandkids growing.

We spent an enjoyable evening together, and I think they really liked getting to meet Kali. For a change, she was well-behaved and barely cried all night.

The next day, however, it was back to the grind of being a parent. The laundry line broke, so I was outside fixing it when a storm blew in. It quickly went from just rain into a real Monsoon, and I hurried back indoor.

Luckily, Aleki didn’t have to go meet any clients while it was storming, and was able to do all his work from home. We’ve really both been working hard to make money for another expansion to the house. With Kali growing up soon, we’ll need the extra room.

I’ve been slacking on my aspiration – which is currently to do a lot of beach-combing and grilling, so after the storm passed, I spent some time digging in the sand. Didn’t find much in the dark, though, so I’ll have to do some more in the coming days while I’m out surveying the land for work. Needing to grill stuff is another reason we’re upgrading the house – we’ll finally be getting a real deck to relax on by the ocean!

Kali had her birthday, and grew up to be a real silly girl. She seems to be getting into everything at once, and I wonder how my parents made it through the toddler stages. I’ll be glad when I’m not chasing her around the house anymore. … Or do you always end up chasing your kids, I wonder?

Parenting is a never-ending task, it seems.. and keeping up with the household chores just makes each day exhausting. I count myself lucky that we finally are getting a bigger house, but taking care of it is seeming like a monumental task.

Kali is progressing quickly in her skills, though. She loves playing with blocks, and the dollhouse we got her seems to be one of her favorite toys. I read her to sleep each night, and Aleki comes in to give her a goodnight kiss, too.

Speaking of Aleki, we take what time we can together, and he’s really been an amazing partner. He seems to always be there when I need him, and he tries to help around the house as much as he can.

I’ve been feeling sick to my stomach lately, though, which means more cleaning.. but it could also mean something else. I steel myself for what the reaction might be… and I go to tell Aleki.

“Guess what?”

Aleki was concerned that it seems like we JUST had Kali, and he knows we’ll have to deal with two toddlers at once, but he was excited at the same time. The prospect of a new baby keeps me with a smile on my face – despite the fact that I seem to be far more sick this pregnancy than I was the last time.

With the big expansion to the house, We also ordered a fish pond built for Aleki. He’s really been working hard, getting commissions on almost a daily basis, sometimes more than one a day, and I decided that he deserved a treat just for him. When the pond was finally done, he was overjoyed to stock it full of Koi fish. He spent hours in the pet store picking out just the right one – while I tried wrangling Kali away from the hamsters and small pets.

Speaking of his work, he’s really been doing well. His commissions are often more than a couple thousand dollars, which means neither of us are really worrying about being able to pay the bills and take care of our growing family. That really takes a load off of our shoulders, and is MUCH appreciated.

Harvestfest arrived with very little fanfare, and Aleki let me sleep in. I’ve been so tired, I really needed the break. When I did wake, it was midafternoon, and I found Kali and Aleki quietly playing in her room, trying very hard not to wake me. It was so sweet.

Aleki says his “Zen” moment every day is when he goes out to feed his new fish – and I can definitely see that he is glad for the opportunity to get out of the house.

The expansion was finished today, and both of us are overjoyed.

We now have a full dining room, and a living room to gather in with friends and family.

The kitchen, also, got a couple upgrades, and I have some upper cabinets to store things in, now.

I adore the new deck area, and I plan to have a house party over the weekend to invite the family to see our new house and .. well, just get together. It’s been a while, and I want to spend some time with them.

The house expansion was finished none too soon, because late that night I went into labor. With Kali asleep in the next room, we decided to do a home birth, and Aleki tried very hard (and unsuccessfully) not to panic.

Before long, though, our son Jayce was born… and both of us were thrilled to put him to bed for the night and get some more sleep ourselves.

Kali seems to like the house expansion as much as we do, and spends a lot of time wandering around the new room, curiously touching everything. Luckily, none of the new knick-knacks are breakable, and she’s been surprisingly gentle with them.

To top off the week, Aleki got a record commission of almost 4 thousand dollars! It was an amazing thing, and I’m so glad his talent is finally being really rewarded. With commissions like that, he’ll be able to spend less time working, and more time with the kids, which is never a bad thing.

(A/N: This family is too cute. They’re very close to each other, and seem to really enjoy spending time together. Both parents are doing well in their careers, and the house is WAY past the monetary goal for the generation. I just need a couple more promotions for Kimber, and to finish her aspiration, and then it’ll be all about raising the kids. Oh, one other note – I did give little Kali a makeover and change her hair color with thoughts to the next generation’s theme – red – so if you’re wondering where the red hair came from, that’s where. I will let Jacye grow up into whatever clothes and colors EA gives him, but it just made sense to start Kali’s theme early so that it won’t be a huge abrupt change in hair color when she grows up.) Lastly, this story was not only nominated for a golden plumbbob, but we won Best Legacy!

Chapter 2.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.5