House 011 Chapter 3 < | > House 011 Chapter 5

First, we check on our goals so we don’t forget:

House 011 Building Goals:
2 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom home worth at least $50k Simoleons
*Include a designated party space
House 011 Generational Goals:
Complete the Master Mixologist Aspiration (3/4 done)
Achieve Level 10 of the Mixologist branch of the Culinary Career (lvl 9)
Craft Each one of the following potions:
Confident, Energized, Flirty, Focused, Happy, and Inspired
Raise the heir to Young Adult age and give them the Mean trait (child)

Feels like forever since I played this save – and when I load it up, I remember why – I have most of a week with three toddlers coming up. Yikes. And to make it worse, they’re uncontrollable. Thanks, Drifters.

Oh, and this post marks my first post of Simnano 2020 at the boolprop forums. I’m planning to post on alternating days with my Ramblers and my mermaid story, Tails of Sulani. The goal is to post once a day through the whole of July with a word total of at least 25,000 50,000 total. I got 31,000 words last year, so 25k should be a piece of cake, right – 50k will definitely be harder, but I have to start somewhere. I will also be posting some “bonus” chapters of my vampire story, Foreshadowed Sunset and starting a new challenge, that I will debut tomorrow.

Anyway, that’s enough stalling. Here goes nothing….

Not a stellar start, Ariana. Thank goodness this isn’t an ISBI.

I make sure our heir, Lyric, does her homework. (Spoiler: I don’t remember to do it every day this week… oops.)

Ariana makes it to the bed for a change.. and Blaze uses all the tricks he knows while cooking. The maid is not impressed.

… And that’s not the skill we need to max, dearie…. but thanks anyway?

That’s better. But before he gets much of anywhere on the skill, his daddy skills are needed again.

I just adore these kids. Lyla is so CUTE!

Blaze apparently really likes omelets. Good thing, too, because breakfast seems to be all he ever cooks.

Lyla.. you’re getting food everywhere. Thank goodness it doesn’t have to be wiped up.

Lyla is still working on her potty skill – but she’s only got that and imagination that aren’t at level 3 yet. So, we should get Happy Toddler with her.

It’s flower day, but we don’t really have time to celebrate. Poor Blaze is constantly running back and forth between the twin babies and Lyla.

However, whenever he’s off my control for a moment – this is where I always find him. They really love the stereo!

.. Yup. That vampire is still around. Seeing him there reminds me that I can now just say “no” to vampires. I disallow them. We’ll see it if works.

Fussy?!!  Ohh no.

Meet Derek, the eldest twin. And as it turns out, the only kid who got Ariana’s hair color.

Charmer. That’s much better.

And those sunglasses. I just can’t even. What a silly toddler she is.

I get the twins working on their potty skills. Blaze looks like he’s waving the white flag already. I can’t blame him. In reality, he’s complaining he can’t get out the door with both potties there. Which takes me a while to figure out. In a few shots, you’ll see that I move the potties and fix the issue.

Blaze has to take a few of these – luckily we have the points to spare. Because there’s simply no time to sleep with three toddlers and skills to be learned.

The madness that is three toddlers. Ariana is, at least, a good sport about it.

Lyla doesn’t make it all the way to bed. Poor tyke.

Blaze calls in to work on an invisible phone. No way am I leaving Ariana all alone with this mess. (Spoiler: I forget to call “off” the next day and Ariana gets left alone after all.)

Derek gets his first bath, which he desperately needed.

Blaze takes a moment to himself. He’s also the only one I ever see in the dining room.

I really appreciate Ariana helping out, though. She’s been a good mom.

I JUST missed getting a pic of the twins hugging, so you’ll have to take my word for it. It was really cute.

One of the few times this week that Blaze actually gets to lay down. Poor guy.

Ariana, on break with all the kids asleep, finds the computer again. She is the only one ever using the computer. At least for now, Lyric may use it when she’s a teen.

Ariana supervising the horde of toddlers eating clam chowder. That has to be such a mess to clean up after.

Nope – I was wrong. Blaze does actually get some sleep this week. For a little while, at least.

.. Until I make him put out the fire and use his new level 4 in handiness to upgrade it to make sure we’ll have no fires – at least not from the fireplace.

Happy birthday, Ariana!

For some reason I thought she was turning elder. Nope, just adult. Shows how much she’s been pregnant in this save!

I have learned to love this popcorn machine this week. Someone suggested toddlers would grab snacks from this to prevent social services from coming to get them – and they do. What a lifesaver.

Bathtime! Derek is always dirty, it seems.

He looks so much like his mama, though. So cute.

… Just.. please don’t wake your sisters!

Lyric decides it’s appropriate to watch the zombie movie on TV. Twice. In a row. With the proper horrified expressions both time. It totally cracked me up.

She then braves the dark outside to take out the trash. What a trooper.

Ariana decides to take the neglected garden in hand. (Which actually reminded me we HAD one. I had completely forgotten. Which means that I didn’t get any of the income from it, either. LOL. Oops.)

Lyla finally leaves toddlerhood behind.

With decent rolls, no less. Somehow, though, the twins needing food badly caused me to not get a picture of her all grown up. You’ll just have to wait for the next post to see her.

Popcorn saves the day again!

.. I love the little feet you can see on the couch under the mirror. Blaze needs to somehow get another half a skill point in Mixology and two whole points in Charisma (to level 8) to get his level 10 promotion. Hopefully we’ll have more time for skilling as the kids grow up… because as it is, it’s just not happening.

I breathe a huge sigh of relief as I save my Ramblers and move on to another save … that was so stressful! And I have two toddlers to come back to. Hopefully that’ll be easier than the three was!

House 011 Chapter 3 < | > House 011 Chapter 5

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

So.. last time, we got the family off to a good start with two toddlers. This time – hopefully we get at least one of those toddlers grown up – The one that’s stinky in the above pic… Cyan. Also, I apologize for lack of pics .. they were being pretty boring this week.

His sister, Oceana, is not due to age up for a while, and definitely not during the week. She’s also decided to become a sand castle architect. Only she’s not very good at it yet.

She is so darn cute, though. She’s already my favorite of the two, so her sitting on this little poof so adorably isn’t hurting her case for heir at all.

It occurs to me that this particular placement of the slide is.. well.. dangerous is the word I think I’d use. I move it.

This was completely autonomous, and so cute. I love these kiddie pools.

Amaranthe is working on her charisma for a promotion in the painting career.. Hawea is desperately trying to stop the flood of water from the broken shower. It doesn’t seem to be working.

Proof that I remembered to put in a second toddler bed, since we clearly needed one.

Cyan and his sister having a chat. Both parents were busy, so they had time to occupy themselves.

Amaranthe picks up the “emotional bomb” quirk from fame and failing to get pregnant for the FOURTH time in a row.

I quickly get rid of that quirk. Yuck.

And the very next try – success. And yes, Hawea did forget to pick up his parts after repairing the shower.

However, he had to go to the library to research on their computers for his job.. so he had priorities. I’ve had him working from home all week, since the toddlers always need attention.

It’s apparently Love Day – so I have Amaranthe meet him at the bar on the way home for a date. Legendary, too.

He comes home and is clearly over the whole potty training thing. Can’t say as I blame him. But at least Cyan is done with potty training, now.

Just in time, too!!

Happy Birthday, Cyan! (I don’t know why Amaranthe doesn’t look pregnant yet – she is..)

He rolled Vegetarian. Oh, no. I almost immediately forget and have him eat meat. two meals in a row. I have a feeling these will not be the only meals I forget, unless I can remember to have Mom cook only vegetarian food from now on.

Aw, he’s a cutie. But that Vegetarian trait – almost disqualifies him from being an heir in my book. We’ll see what his sister gets.

Calling off for Family Leave in her third trimester. Which means I’m waiting to save and post this until after the baby arrives.

I’ve discovered this raises parenting skill quite nicely, so Oceana has been able to swim quite a bit. Also: note all the bottles on the floor behind the pool.

I don’t know why, but random villagers keep showing up and making the anti-stress serum from Outdoor Retreat Herbalism. They have not been invited over, nor are they giving the serums to us. They’re still marked as being owned. Very weird. Never had that happen before. I can use them, though.. so I guess we’ll start using them.

Oceana, leaving her mark on the end of the week. She’s now at Happy Toddler levels, and has three days still til her Birthday. And she did most of it on her own. Who knows, she might even get Top Notch Toddler!

And.. the reason I was waiting. Meet Teal, the new little boy in the family. I manage to get him born after an annoying hospital glitch that left Amaranthe stuck for hours. Sending her “home” triggered another hospital popup.. so I sent her alone that time, since joining her most definitely didn’t work. We’ll have to wait until next time to see what little Teal looks like, though, because I’m already past the end of their sim-week. See you next time!

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Kids Count:
4 Young Adult (moved out)
0 Teenager
2 Child
1 Toddlers
2 Babies

Toddlers making a mess is pretty much Malakai’s life …  but as the challenge goes – so far, so good. Time to get some more babies on the way, since we have room in the house. But – first, we have to get to night time for the abduction. 

Wait.. what? Helping toddlers skill appears to be broken since the latest patch. Adults and teens simply walk away instead of continuing to teach now. 🙁 I hope they fix it soon…

So poor Dana is left to her own devices to learn her skills.

It’s Monday, so bills are due. And apparently, I had a book to publish from last gaming session. Spoiler: It’s the only thing published this whole chapter. Not doing so hot on the writing career, there, buddy….

I finally remember to stock the fish tank I bought them.

Malakai, honey, that REALLY doesn’t look like a safe way to make chicken stir fry.

Socializing with the kiddos during dinner. Carson is so adorable.

Cora, getting some project help from Dad. After finishing it, Cora then goes to help Carson out.. while Dad is busy.

(Busy getting abducted…) I love how the neighbors are completely unconcerned.

Apparently in addition to getting abducted, the aliens also showed up en masse – and this one decides modern dollhouses are on his hit list.

Ooh! That tell-tale glow.. there’s baby(S?) on the way!

Oops.. baby birthday time. Carson is busy with the dollhouse, but Malakai is on his way.

First baby…

Hi there, cutie!

… And his brother.

They’re pretty much identical, so we’ll just be calling them “the twins” from now until they hit child stage…. lol.

Aww. Dana likes having another toddler in the house.

Too bad it’s not for long, because it’s her birthday. Not sure why I didn’t age her up sooner, because she had all skills at 3+ for a while now.

Evil, huh? … Interesting.

She doesn’t look all that evil to me!

Her disguise is really cute, though. I think she’s my favorite kid so far.

… Peace and quiet for a night. Everyone is in bed!!

Before school, I notice that both kids have “A”s, so I go to age them up.

Cora goes first. And.. um… sweetie.. you can’t be a Vampire. Nice thought, though.

I get her her teen job right away (which doesn’t seem to impress her).

Then, I age up her twin.

… Who is REALLY not in the mood, apparently. (Confessions: I also forget to get him his teen job. Which I don’t figure out until getting him his Young Adult job.)

I send the newly “minted” teens to do their homework. And this is where they decide to do it??

Yep.. babies are definitely on the way… and Malakai is struggling big-time to keep up with the household. (Or maybe that’s me…)

Clam chowder for dinner. Ignore the nasty plates. They get cleaned up. Eventually.

Carson and Dana having a chat. Such cute little aliens!

Carson helps alleviate the hectic nature of the house by helping out a little – even though he’s really sad from a mood he’s in. He’ll survive.

I get everyone in bed… only to have Malakai go into labor. Twin girls, this time.

Malakai, you don’t get to complain about being tired when you’re the one who kept getting out of bed on your own.

I convince Carson that his level 3 skill for school will be Fitness. He’s not happy about it. And Dana really seems to love interacting with the twins. Every time I’m not telling her to do something, I find her chatting to one or the other.

I get Cora helping out. Or, at least she was helping out. The phone distracted her. Typical teenager.

Carson.. please don’t burn the house down. (I pause and quickly add in the above fire alarm, just in case…)

I guess that counter can get cleaned later… LOL.

More stinky toddlers. It’s never-ending.

But at least they all seem to sleep through the night.

Malakai gets everyone into bed and asleep….

… Then he’s down for the count. Poor guy. I quickly get him into bed, too.

Wait. WHAT?!

Silly aliens… the house is full, we don’t need to be abducted! Plus, the babies are crying, so we had to wake up Cora to take care of them!!

While he’s gone, the girls’ birthday shows up, so I have Cora “do the honors”.

Another independent one? … Erm.. Okay.

Hi Freya! Skinny little thing. I swear I didn’t starve her!

So we now have three independent toddlers in the house at once. Weird.

Another skinny toddler. Don’t worry, we’ll fix that soon. LOL.

Malakai arrives home, dazed and dirty, but not really worse for the wear. He should be used to this stuff, now, right?

The kids get home from school on Monday…

… Only to leave me still waiting. Carson won’t be the heir, so he’s not staying (since he has little brothers).. and he didn’t get to his “A” – so we have to get through another day with the teens. It’s my own fault, though. I didn’t notice Carson hadn’t gotten to his level 3 skill, so he couldn’t get that grade up – and he would have if that last sliver of skill had been gotten.

The girls are impossible to tell apart, too. But they’re definitely troublemakers.

More toddler baths.

Cora doesn’t need to do her project for her grade, but it kept her out of trouble for the afternoon.

Carson, on the other hand, gets his Fitness skill point and goes to eat upstairs. Oh.. and toddler down!! Someone didn’t make it to bed.

The race for that last skill point to level 3 so they can age up. Somehow both are stuck on potty skill, because Malakai won’t help them learn due to that annoying glitch.

The kids get home from school…

.. And it’s time for the teens to move on.

Well, after Malakai celebrates his Adult birthday.

.. And the teens get their fun up. They were both pretty much in the red, and I felt bad about kicking them out like that.

Cora goes first…

… And manages to get one of the new traits. Nice. I remember to get her the correct job.

Carson’s turn….

Somehow that mess of traits seems appropriate. A snobby, self-assured, foodie Chef. Hm.

He gets his job, too.. and then I kick the two of them out.

Bye Carson!

Bye Cora! … And sorry it’s in the middle of a Blizzard. I’m sure you’ll be fine. 😉

The girls cheer on their brother and Dana.. it’s just so cute! Then, I send the boys upstairs to finish their potty skills.

Ernesto is the last one to get to Happy Toddler – while his brother gets a bath. Ernesto seems pretty happy about the whole thing, and is jumping up and down and cheering. Too cute!

Ernesto goes first – because he was the first born.

An alien from the islands, huh? Interesting.

Pre-disguise…

… and Post. Love the sunglasses. It fits his trait. (Otherwise, I’d probably take them off.. lol)

And lastly – Eduardo.

.. Is a geek. Nice. Seems appropriate for an alien.

“Hi Everyone! I’m all grown up now!”

… and so much for re-using that cake. Sigh. Alright, I guess you guys deserve cake. But then the rest goes in the trash! *grin*

And that’s where I leave you. I was going to quit when the babies were born, but I didn’t have enough pictures. Then I had trouble finding another stopping place.. so I ended up with too many pictures, instead. Next time we play this save – first order of business will be to get more babies on the way since we have room again. Meanwhile, we’ve successfully raised 6 kids so far. Not bad for only chapter 4!

Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Chapter 1.7 | Heir Poll Results

Well, here’s your choices.. have fun voting! As per usual, this poll will get counted up in a week. (So – the 28th.)

Pics of each:

Jaxson:

Coty:

Tyson:

Chapter 1.7 | Heir Poll Results

Chapter 1.6 | Generation #1 Heir Poll

I’m not going to list all the points these guys have until the end of the post (because who needs that whole list to start with…), but I will note our starting total – which is 160. Not too bad, really. Also: fair warning, this is a fairly long post. I didn’t feel like splitting up the play session.. and I swear I stopped earlier than planned, hoping for a decent amount of pictures. Not the case with this family. Too photogenic. *wink*

We start the post off with Jesse finally remembering to drink some of his celebrity serums.. and pulling a fan mail box out of the mailbox. Love the movie reference there, EA. And what was in the box? … A spoiled Salmon. Yum.

Fetia decides to use the couch for a nap instead of her bed.. but at least she’s not passing out on the floor!

Jesse, chatting with Coty. While Jax walks by in his shades. No idea where he’s going, though.

I interrupt his chat to put him back to work.. we have 5 masterpieces we need for the aspiration. Spoiler: this isn’t one of them.

The twins.. both are being productive.. sorta.

While Jax sits at the computer simply staring at the wall. Silly Sim.

I’m not sure what she’s cheering about – and Jesse looks confused, too. Can’t blame the guy. Random cheering is weird, EA.

Tyson decides to play the guitar. But at least he’s getting better. It doesn’t hurt my ears as much as it did before!

Why is everyone napping in the middle of the night instead of going to bed???

You know, Tyson, you can’t really complain about having to pee really bad when you’re the one who decided to get a glass of water instead of going to the bathroom. Now it’s too late, because the one bathroom in the house is taken! (Luckily, he gets there in time.. eventually.)

… See? Also: apparently Coty decided he needed some music time, too.

Random picture of nothing except for a leftover bowl of chili and Tyson’s abandoned homework. How is he supposed to turn it in when he leaves it on the table??

On the whole, Jesse seems to be truly loving his ISBI experience.

Fetia… not so much. I have to wonder if she’s regretting her choices.

But at least she’s a good sport about it. Here she is cleaning a shower that has auto-clean upgrade on it. Useful.

Coty comes home from school enraged. Poor guy. At least we’re able to calm him down, though.

Aha. Masterpiece #1. I love that gnome painting.

The real reason Fetia’s having a bad day.. she’s sick. While Jaxson thinks it’s appropriate to talk about the mile high club with his sick mother. I had to screen capture just to get the thought bubble because it was so funny.

Finally. The boys decide to sleep in their bed at night instead of napping.

Granted – they went to bed at like 8 o’clock and are now up early.. but at least they slept.

Coty!! Idiot cooking is not allowed in this house!

And then he leaves it on a broken stove… while Fetia starts cooking on her own, too. I swear there’s good food in the fridge…

At this point, I double check the fridge. Yes, there is food in there. STOP TRYING TO COOK!!!

Jesse fixes the broken stove.. and then makes everyone French Toast.. which nobody bothers to eat. Sigh.

They finally find the leftovers in the fridge. Why it took them that long, I’ll never know!

Jesse needs to use one of his “banked” Youth Potions.

So I buy him a replacement.

Just as a preventative measure – I have Jesse make some more food for the fridge. (While Fetia continues to be an awesome ISBI spouse and clean the house.)

Spoiler: making food did not help the cooking situation. Sigh.

Wait.. the entire family is in one place at the same time? *gasp* .. Amazing!

Tyson, mortified, taking a shower. Apparently I missed it, but that big puddle is because he peed himself. And then got his privacy invaded. Luckily he lives through the experience.

One of the teens keeps setting the table…. but I’m not sure who. I have yet to catch them at it.

Fetia, honey, I admire your tenacity, but that’s not going to help the situation ….

So I send Jesse on a repairing spree to save poor Fetia. Spoiler: fixing the game system didn’t un-stuck the TV.. I had to reset it.

(Because Jesse needed fun.) I didn’t tell the boys to do their homework, either. But they seem to do it one their own each day, now. Good job!

The one and only time this week the neighbors show up with free food.

Jesse promptly ignores them and heads back to the easel.

But at least it pays off. One part of the aspiration done!

.. And that’s Masterpiece #2. He’s been painting ALL the time, and he’s only on his second one. He’s really not very good at this.

In the morning, Jesse gets this announcement. Level 10 career, yay!

Paying Monday’s bills.. and getting some spoiled cupcakes from fans. Jesse, dear, you need better fans.

Finally.. it’s that time!! (Also.. what spice, exactly, are you adding to a chocolate cake?)

Fetia helps cheer Coty on as he ages to Young Adult.

Here’s his roll. Great. A Klepto. Going to have a lot of dirty plates after this generation!

I use his free action to get his entertainer career.

Tyson’s turn.

A Social Media loner? .. Interesting. Oh, and this means +20 points for positive traits earned by NTH’s. Woohoo! Also, I get Tyson his career as soon as he’s done aging up. While playing this week, it occurs to me that I kinda randomly “decided” (read: assumed) that Jax was our heir.. without ever running an heir poll, and without the first born being an heir being in the rules. I will rectify that after this post by running an heir poll so we can have an official heir.

The one time Jesse has to leave home this week to “work from home” – he needed to use a bubble blower, and I refused to buy one for their home.

… And THIS is why we don’t like idiots cooking. Sigh.

Both Jesse and Fetia run to put out the fire, while Tyson glares at them. While playing, I wondered who the random guy outside the window was.. and why he and a friend ended up wandering around the house (I sent them home.)

Turns out, I noticed in this picture I have a smoke alarm – they must have been out of uniform firefighters. This picture, however, was taken of the worst fire casualty – one of the Youth Potions got torched!! 🙁

Tyson, who is still complaining. This time, he’s complaining because he can’t use the bathroom for his shower.

.. Because Fetia beat him to it. This is what he gets for being a slowpoke.

By the way, Fetia and Jesse are still adorable together, and still in love. She really has been a great spouse!

… Even if she seems to cheer herself on for winning a multiplayer game she’s playing by herself. LOL.

Apparently the game wore her out.

Happy birthday, Fetia!

Welcome to elderhood!

The next day also happens to be Winterfest, so I have everyone work on the tree. If you look closely in this picture, you’ll notice that Jax is doing the “pee pee dance”. No worries, though, he makes it in time despite helping with the tree.

BAD TYSON! No. More. Cooking.

You, too, now Jax? At least Jax works in the culinary field.. so he has an excuse. Also: neither brother actually eats what they cook, so what, exactly, was the point?!

Jesse makes a festive ham dinner for everyone, and calls them to the table.

So everyone gets to actually eat a family meal together.

After dinner, I have them all open presents, with varying degrees of success. However, we have over 100k in the bank, so I’m not particularly worried about what they got, and I don’t even bother to go sell it.

Jesse gets a Motion Gaming Mat from Father Winter. Although I still haven’t decided whether I’ll actually put it out for them. It tends to be a sim-magnet, and I’m not sure I want that.

Fetia decides to take a nap on the neck mid-monsoon/thunderstorm. Luckily the roof is covering her.

That’s a first. I’ve never seen Father Winter randomly start painting before.. have you?

.. Here’s what he’s painting. Had to take a picture because I was curious.

And this is what he left us with. You can just see him escaping the house in the background of this picture. Thanks, Santa. A half-completed painting is JUST what I needed.

Yep, Tyson was cooking… again. At least he didn’t set a fire this time.

Fetia looks adorable as an elder, I think. Too bad she won’t live until the next torch holder takes over, probably.

… and here’s Masterpiece #3. Jesse is VERY slow at masterpieces, because we spend a good portion of the week painting, and he still hasn’t finished the aspiration.

I take the time to sell off the stuff in family inventory, which puts us at around 130k in the bank.. and then, I check for more points in the achievement panel. No luck. Time to count up points for the session…

Total Points: 165 
Self Wetting: -10 
Pass Out: -90
Failing School: 0
Negative Traits Earned by NTHs: -5
Accidental Deaths: 0
Fires: -10
Social Worker Visit: 0

Single Birth: +5
Twins: +10
Triplets: 0
Any sim in the household completing Any Aspiration Milestones (Child and Adult): +105
Any sim in the household completing Aspirations (Child and Adult): +10
Toddler Skills maxed by NTH toddlers: +40
Skills (Child and Adult) maxed by NTH family members: +10
NTH children (Child and Teen) earning an A in school: +30
Positive Traits Earned by NTHs: +30
Happy Toddler Trait Earned: +15
Top-Notch Toddler Trait Earned: 0
NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E): 0
Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation: 0
Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation: 0
Every 100,000 simoleons earned: +20
Immortalizing the Torch-Holder: +5

At least we ended up earning 5 points, right? Every little bit counts. *Glares at Tyson* Thanks again for the fire, buddy. And the wetting yourself. Now to put up the heir poll so we can make the heir official.

Chapter 1.6 | Generation #1 Heir Poll

Back to this family’s introduction | On to Week 2

I know I haven’t finished my to-do list to get this challenge all updated to the new stuff, but I’m so far behind where I’d like to be game-play-wise that I figured I should keep playing this in the rotation.. so here we go!

We start out as we usually do.. getting the couple together. Everything goes smoothly, which is nice for a change.

These two really are cute together.

I get to the successful proposal just in time for the Welcome Wagon to show up. A little awkward.. but ok.

After quite a few awkward conversations, the “Wagon” finally leave – and I quickly dispose of the fruitcake. No offense guys, but they’re really not edible. *wink*

Laney keeps rolling whims to watch Romance TV, so she does that quite a bit this week. When not doing promotion requirements and skills. Which is most the time.

Browsing intelligence database. She seems to be into it, though. Perhaps that was a good choice of career after all!

Looks like Vernon is watching an action movie. Perhaps he wanted to be an agent, too. Too late now, though. He’s a boring business guy all the way.

Working on promotion skills. He’ll need Logic eventually!

I have them (finally) seal the deal and get some “fun” before bed.

Easter holiday… Laney manages to meet the flower bunny, and find eggs.. but Vernon is too busy doing other things. Which also reminds me – Laney didn’t seem the type to clean the house, so I got them a maid early on in the week.

Vernon – aren’t you supposed to be filling out your reports, not spying on your wife? I assure you, she’s not romantically interested in the bunny…

Bunny must be near-sighted. LOL.

Working on that Charisma skill. I think it’s my least favorite skill in the game. Even Mischief is more fun to level, and they mostly just troll the forums for that ….

More reports to fill out. That’s business for you. The paperwork never ends.

First of all… Laney looks ridiculous cooking in that dress… second.. at least it’s red, so the blood from the knife cuts won’t show on those gloves…?

They finally get to eat dinner together. Before yet another full day of work.

Friday is Love Day, so I send them out to the local restaurant to celebrate. At least neither of them have to work the next day!

This date isn’t going well, is it. The waiter drops the food.. and Vernon can’t seem to stay awake.. LOL.

Vernon is actually awake in this shot.. and they finally got their food. Mind you, that’s after the official date counter finished… they only got Bronze.

At this point, I give up entirely on Vernon – and the dinner – so I send both of them home. The next day involves a lot of skilling, and apparently I get no pictures – which is okay, because we all know what that looks like!

Back to this family’s introduction | On to Week 2

Current Points: 140
-85 Passing out
-10 Fire!
-10 Wetting self
-5 Negative Traits Earned by NTHs
+30 Aspiration milestones completed
+30 Births 
+60 Grades
+40 NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E)
+50 Positive Traits Earned by NTHs
+20 Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation
+20 Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation

And… back into the madhouse!

We start out with everyone (well, the two of them..) sound asleep in bed.. which is boring, so I took no pictures. Bruce wakes up and immediately goes to the worst computer in the house to troll the forums. Next to a smelly laundry hamper.

He then goes to watch sports.

… And then decides to take care of the entire garden autonomously. I mean, I’m not going to complain.. but it’s kinda weird. He has no traits that would make me think he’d garden.. and he didn’t have the skill before he started!

When Becca finally wakes up, she has breakfast at the dining room table…

… then goes to have a chat with Bruce.

Since they both have the evening off, I decide we ought to work on the club… so I start a club meeting, and the random bar they pick..

… is the brand new Evergreen Harbor one. Becca immediately picks a fight, which everyone cheers her on for… and then her sister picks another. (The feature pic.)

Becca has such an evil look in this picture… and her sister still looks pleased with herself over her fight win. I have no idea which club member this was picking yet another fight.

Apparently I forgot to watch Bruce’s needs. -5 points. I quickly send the two home, and pray he finds his bed before another pass-out.

Spoiler: he did. Whew.

Oh, hi, Ashley! (And darn, she’s mad.. I sense a lot of broken plumbing for the morning.)

Well… that’s not quite what I was expecting. But thanks, Ashley! (Even if it’s not going to do anything with the tub still spouting water… lol)

In the morning, Becca works on her cooking making a nice, safe meal of fruit salad.

Which Bruce finds to his liking when he wakes up. However, he doesn’t seem to know where the dining room is.

Becca needs Mischief skill for work, so we spend a lot of time wasting time on the computer… while the gardener and the maid are hard at work.

By the time Bruce gets home, it’s a scorcher outside, and I soon get a notice that he’s literally burning to death because he doesn’t know how to come inside to the air conditioning.

I call him inside with Becca and convince him to do something more fun. *wink*

Um… Bruce.. I know the new pack allows you to dig in the trash.. but… why??

Someone was standing at the door, and I still needed Mischief skill… so Becca runs out to annoy this lady. We pick her pockets, tell her we’re criminals – when Becca actually is… and generally make ourselves into a nuisance.

… While Bruce, yet again, is eating in the kitchen. Pardon the mouseover outline, I’m not sure how I missed moving my mouse. Also: what the HECK are you wearing, Bruce? Hahaha @ EA’s outfit choices. And.. that “thing” in his hand.. is supposed to be a microwave pastry. But it sure doesn’t look like it. What’s with the garnish?? Looks like chocolate cake to me..

We quickly find out this townie is not offended by Mischief, and Becca has made a new friend (despite the shocked look on her face). I ear-mark her for another club member as soon as we get the 500 points to add the 8th sim.

Alan, checking out the Sim-Weather forecast. Why it made him sad, I’ll never know. But I assure you, there’s no snow in the actual forecast. I checked.

Bruce… eating in the kitchen YET AGAIN while chatting with his deceased father-in-law. As you do..

Becca, however, eats breakfast much later… and like a civilized sim at the table. We also got a notice that the rest of the neighborhood voted to have eco-friendly appliances.. despite the fact I didn’t help out with the voting.

So I send Becca to work on her handiness. She complains she’s too sick to wield a knife… but I ignore her.

Ack! Bruce! There’s plenty of food in the fridge. WHY are you making mac and cheese??

Whew. No fires. And.. eating in the kitchen again. GRR.

Becca heads off to work looking particularly dapper.. and Bruce struts around the house because he got confident somehow. I don’t remember what he was going to do… but he sure looks pleased with himself.

A stinky Bruce watching TV with Dominic – who is trying to eat us out of house and home. Seriously, I think the ghosts eat more meals in this house than the sims.

We finally get handiness high enough so that Becca can give the appliances eco-upgrades, so we spend the afternoon doing that.

While Bruce decides to take a nap instead of going to bed at 7 PM like he has been. I approve.

Ashley, keeping Bruce company… while he drains a glass of water he didn’t need in the kitchen.

After work, Becca gets her promotion (I have to look up which branch she rolled for… and I’m reminded that she also rolled for a guitar hobby… oops) Which also means it’s time….

… to try for a baby. Hopefully that’ll leave Becca enough time to master her career. (Not that she absolutely needs to.. but it’s kind of a nice thing, anyway.)

Success! We’re expecting the next generation! Bruce isn’t impressed.

Becca makes a real breakfast with her cute little baby bump.. and even manages not to burn down the house.

However, after breakfast.. she promptly breaks the computer. Sigh.

… Didn’t I JUST make breakfast?? Go take a shower, stinky!

Well, at least the grilled cheese was a success.

Why does Bruce insist that this is the only bathtub he’ll use. I swear, there are closer ones in the house… but he’ll go all the way over here just to use this one. Sims are silly.

Bruce gets himself a logic skill point….

… so I send Becca over to join him. And he immediately changes his mind and walks away.

Alan decides this was chess day when he shows up… what is it with playing monkey-see-monkey-do in this house??

I notice that the next neighborhood action plan that’s winning is “free love” and say “no way.” Becca and I pick the one that helps mischief instead, and I spend all her influence points voting for it.

Becca fixing ghost-broken plumbing. It’s a daily thing at this point. But it’s definitely helping her handiness skill!

“Hey dad, I know you broke the toilet.. but I still love you!”

… Breakfast is RIGHT. BEHIND. YOU.

… Must be hard to bounce the ball on the laundry pile, there, Bruce.

Time for another club gathering. This time the game chooses StrangerVille bar. Which only has one toilet. This will come into play later…

Secret handshakes with our sister, despite the fact that both of them are only part alien.

And the “sabotage items” club activity strikes. I try to fix the toilet so poor Bruce can use it in time… because we’re SO close to our 1000th point for the club, and 500 for the next member.

Man, I love picking pockets. Extra money = win!

… Proof that Bruce never did get to use the toilet before someone else sabotaged it and broke it. Sigh. -5 points.

Probably the last night of peace these two will have for a while.

I call her off of work for Family Leave so she can have the baby without getting sent home from work early. (spoiler: she doesn’t go into labor until after the shift in question would have been over. We could have gone to work and gotten some more points into her performance meter anyway. oops.)

And this is how breakfast always seems to go. Bruce, in the kitchen… Becca.. at the table.

I invite that townie over to invite her to the club… and nearly have a heart attack when Bruce finally finds the table.

The new club member, however, ticks the last requirement for Becca’s aspiration… which makes it the first time I’ve ever completed that particular aspiration. Shows you how much I play with the club feature of the game (read: never)

… And Bruce is now stuck at the table. He spends most the day there, until I am forced to reset him. He never does finish his toast.

Becca gets bored while waiting for the baby… or I do… and I send her to butcher the guitar. At least that’s what it sounded like. *cringe*

… Wait… what…? Becca stops playing, and Bruce decides he has to try it next. He doesn’t do it any better. My poor ears.

… And … we’re still waiting for the baby.

The morning arrives.. without baby… and I decide I can spend a few more hours in the house until it arrives, despite the fact it’s time to save the game and write the post up. I can’t bear the thought of not knowing the gender until August.

Dom doesn’t seem happy that someone was playing HIS guitar.

… See??

At least he finally decides he likes his wife’s cooking. Granted, he’s still eating in the kitchen… but he seems to enjoy it. To each his own!

Becca goes into labor while taking care of the garden…. finally!!

Obligatory father freak-out in the background. Also: I think the doctor is a ghost?

… So much for supporting the wife. Bruce spends his time on the computer. I sincerely hope he’s browsing the parenting forums.. but I doubt it.

… Here we… go!!

.. Yep. the Dr. is a ghost.

… ACK!!!! WHAT?? *cries a little* Becca looks as shell-shocked as I am.

Meet the new Irelands. Twin boys. Chase is the dark-skinned one, Colin is the lighter one. At least I’ll be able to tell them apart!

… Bruce, why did you come home from the hospital in a scouting uniform?? Although, I approve of the nap idea. I have Becca take care of the babies real fast, save.. and start counting up points. Somehow we came up even. We didn’t either lose or gain any.

Current Points: 140 
-90 Passing out
-10 Fire!
-15 Wetting self
-5 Negative Traits Earned by NTHs
+30 Aspiration milestones completed
+40 Births
+60 Grades
+40 NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E)
+50 Positive Traits Earned by NTHs
+20 Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation
+20 Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation

Back to 3.2 < | > On to 3.4

Welcome/Contents/Links | Prologue/Rules | Chapter 1.2

First of all, welcome to the challenge. Second, there’s a lot of rules to follow, so I split the first post up a little bit. The prologue has the rules to follow for every gen, while below I’ll list the ones that specifically apply to this generation.

Generation 1 (Garden of Eden) Rules:

• Must plant a garden on the lot. Founder should choose a lot with easy access to a fishing hole.
• House may only be wood or stone, with a dirt, stone, or wood floor. Wooden windows are allowed.
• Electricity has not yet been invented, so NO lights (except candles/torches) or electronics.
• Toilet must be placed outside, outhouse-style (except without the “house” part…so no walls enclosing it).
• No showers allowed, and the tub must be placed outside (I.E. filled with pond water).
• Since there is no running water, sprinklers may not be used.
• Only the cheapest washing machine is allowed, and no dryer (just the clothes line). If you have the wash tub, that would be most appropriate to start.
• Male founder or male spouse must enroll in the military, astronaut, or gardening career. A female founder or female spouse must enroll in the culinary or gardening career.
• Women must have babies at home – NO hospital.
• No vacation travel (planes haven’t been invented yet).
• Can only gain athletic skill from the weight bench, jogging or swimming. Also, you can use the punching bag.
• 2nd generation heir must get to level 5 skill of two of the following before he/she becomes a YA: gardening, fishing, cooking.
• No phone use (they haven’t been invented yet). Must go to others’ houses to visit/meet someone. May travel within the towns (through loading screens but not on vacation). Phones can only be used to travel or take days off from work or school – they can’t be used to socialize.
• Scouts are allowed for the children and teens.

Generation 1 Mini Challenge:

• NO fridge allowed until the founder or spouse reaches level 10 of his/her chosen career. Sims must eat from their own garden. Before their garden is providing food, they will have to find others’ gardens from which to eat. +3 points
  >>Wood-burning stove can be used once the fridge is unlocked

With the rules in place, it’s time to begin play…

The first moment at the new house. Being Spring in Brindleton Bay, it’s horribly rainy and cold. So the picture, and the sims’ moods.. are appropriately dark. But that’s the house as it begins! Also, meet Rylie Falcon, our human founder (Loves Outdoors, Good, and Dog Lover, wants to be an Angling Ace) – and Sophie Falcon, our doggy founder. Sophie is Adventurous, Loyal, and Vocal, and an Alaskan Malamute/Siberian Husky mix.

Rylie: “Don’t worry, Sophie, this won’t be as bad as it looks right now.”

Well, let’s hope it isn’t!

The welcome wagon shows up, consisting of Justin and Supriya Delgato, so we spend some time meeting the neighbors. Sophie is unimpressed, and shakes rainwater all over everyone and the floor.

Somehow, the fruitcake goes down easily with some nice company, and before we know it, the event is over, and Rylie’s new neighbors/friends head home.

There isn’t a huge amount of stuff to do in this house that satisfies the “fun” need, so Rylie does some reading by candlelight…

…While Sophie plays “ring around the rosie” trying to get comfortable in her new pet bed.

The bathroom leaves a lot to be desired, but at least there’s *some* privacy.

Rylie spends a lot of time out in the neighborhood, collecting everything she can for funds.

Am I the only one who absolutely *loves* this statue? It’s so adorable!

I saw a really handsome young adult male walking by while Rylie was at work (as a gardener) – but he was a mailman and disappeared long before she got home. Bummer. So.. later that evening, Rylie and I visit the local Library to look for spouse potential. This is Terry Fitzgerald (Neat, Cheerful, Bookworm) – and, while he’s a young adult, I can’t seem to forget the mailman I saw earlier.

Oh, and at the next chess table… this guy seems awfully confused. He made me laugh!

In the interest of getting both fun and the relationship up, I have Rylie and Terry do some stargazing in front of the library.

Terry walks us home, and gets to meet Sophie… who didn’t seem impressed. Maybe we should try to get that mailman, after all.

After seeing him two days in a row at the same time in the neighborhood, I have Rylie work from home one day, and we FINALLY manage to get his attention – and his name – while on a morning constitutional. Meet the utterly adorable Dion Hollingsworth. We soon find out he’s a Clumsy Vegetarian Geek… and he sounds perfect.

Rylie spends as much time as possible getting to know him…. until poor Sophie complains that it’s long past time to head home.

I cringe and worry every time Rylie cooks her grilled fruit (because it’s the only thing we have ingredients for!) … those grills are such a hazard to beginner chefs. Also, are you sure we’re still in Brindleton Bay? It’s actually sunny!?

Rylie and I have been keeping an eye out on the strays that walk by the neighborhood, trying to find a mate for Sophie, too… and I spot this gem. Meet Cosmo. The two of them should make very interesting puppies with their different coat patterns, and I always was a sucker for an Aussie.

Before you know it, Cosmo has joined the family, and proves to be a Hairy, Loyal, Glutton dog.

Later, we invite Dion over again, and spend some time getting to know him. Rylie grilled us some tofu dogs before I noticed and could stop her… but they were a welcome change from our usual diet of only fruit.

Cosmo makes a mess of himself in a puddle, so he has to have a bath. Turns out, he spends a lot of time dirty…. as you’ll see.

Sophie tries to help out in the garden, but she’s all paws. *wink* (I couldn’t resist) However, I’m getting a little tired of gardening day in/day out.. but it needs to be done, so we keep on.

Cosmo is dirty … again. So we clean him up with a bit of a brushing.

And then Rylie spends most the afternoon working out while washing her clothes. On yet another sunny day.

Sophie and Cosmo keep being stubborn about trying for puppies.. but I’m determined. So it will happen. Whether he’s still filthy or not! (And no matter what faces Sophie pulls at the prospect!)

Washing takes FOREVER without electricity, and it’s long past dark by the time Rylie finishes and gets the laundry on the line.

The next day is a vacation day, so we invite Dion out on a date to the local Museum. He accepts, luckily… and the romance finally gets started.

First kiss! Appropriately, in front of the lighthouse pictures. You’ll see why it’s appropriate in a while.

Despite poor Rylie being in the “red” needs-wise, I make her pose the ultimate question to Dion…

.. And he accepts. We exchange rings on the spot… and head off to the lighthouse behind the museum.

Somehow, someone left it open… so Dion and Rylie sneak in for a few stolen moments to seal the deal.

… And to my surprise, the whole lighthouse lights up red with hearts!! Oh, that’s not obvious, is it, guys?! Now the whole neighborhood knows!

However, it’s a gorgeous night and I can’t help taking another shot, despite it being terribly dark.

Dion, being a Vegetarian, is perfectly okay with our diet of grilled fruit… although I still cringe in fear every time someone cooks on that darn grill. Sophie seems confused about the menu, but at least she doesn’t have to eat it! Oh, and it turns out Dion wants to be a Jungle Explorer. Sorry, buddy, not going to happen. He joins the military career instead.

Have I said how much I love this pair? Their markings are so cute together!

Finally, the two are actually trying for puppies when they’re asked to, as well. But no luck so far. We’ll keep trying.

Dion takes to jogging whenever he can…. because that Athletic skill has to get raised! Sometimes one or the other dog follows him, but usually they stay home with Rylie.

And that’s the beginning of our story! Things are going well so far, and I’m really liking this little family. See you next time!

Welcome/Contents/Links | Prologue/Rules | Chapter 1.2

Back to Chapter 3.4 | On to Chapter 4.2

First, we check on our brand-new goals…

Set #41 - Dog Trainer (Cats & Dogs) - Claire Ireland - (Heir)
Complete the Friend of the Animals aspiration
Have a pet with 1500 Simstagram followers
Level 5 Pet Training skill
Train one of your dogs with all tricks possible
Have one of your dogs have puppies

Set #55 - Handisim - Cody Orlando - (spouse)
Complete the Renaissance Sim Aspiration
Master the Handiness Skill
Create All Woodworking Objects in Excellent Quality
Upgrade 20 Objects
Decorate with 10 Woodworking Objects

More about said spouse in a moment….

Second thing, we run Claire through CAS:

Third, we make her spouse (as per rules, if they’re going to work on a goal set, they have to be made by me!) I went with a lumberjack vibe for him because he’s going to be a Handisim.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly – we move them to a bigger, nicer, brighter house for pictures. It’s not AS big as the one I tried last generation, and this house has a lawn. Which we need for dog training. It’s also in Brindleton Bay, which will be nice for the pets wandering around. This house is also not built by me, but I do quite a bit of remodeling. Shown here:

The house pre-makeover

The addition (basically, the kitchen rotated and moved over to the other side of the house.)

Expanded area for a greenhouse

Overhead view of the upstairs.

Basement for collections. Eventually.

The backyard view of the house. (The featured pic for this post is the front yard version)

The addition with some furniture.

Proof #1 that I brought our collections with us.

Proof #2 – this is also a view, if you look closely, at the new “office” walls, and you can see the new basement stairs.

And, FINALLY.. it’s time to get playing. Been waiting for this since last play rotation, and it’s been tough waiting! I’ve never completed either of these aspirations, so this will be all new for me. Plus, puppies… what’s not to love there!?

Cody and Claire getting acquainted. Gotta start somewhere!

… And we don’t manage to get them to boyfriend/girlfriend by the time it’s bedtime, unfortunately. But fortunately, there’s a lot of beds in this house. They’re friends, at least, but the flirts kept failing.

Cody getting to know his future mother-in-law over breakfast.

Cody getting through his “read three books” goal for his aspiration.

Time to make nice, guys. No more flirt fails. (Spoiler: there’s quite a few more flirt fails.)

Finally. A flirt worked. I had to get both of them flirty first. Weird.

First kiss!

… (Please work please work…)

Hooray!

And we got them hitched finally. That took forever, it felt like.

The wedding night…

The next day is Winterfest… and Cody surprises his new wife with a puppy. Meet Shiloh! (Loyal, Active, Jumpy) Also, the game calls him a “Silky Terrier”.

Claire meets Shiloh… and immediately decides we need more dogs.

Tasha would be the other tiny puppy. (Loyal, Active, Adventurous) and a Parson Russel Terrier. The big floofball is Queen Cupcake… who got adopted because of her name… and someone on boolprop Discord said I should definitely adopt her. She’s a Chow-Lab mix, and is Active, Loyal, and Troublemaker. What are the odds that I got three Active and Loyal dogs on the first pass through the adoption page?? I learn – very quickly – that the troublemaker trait is a GODSEND for training out bad traits for Claire’s aspiration.

Claire meets “Queenie” while the adoption agent looks snobby.

Meeting Tasha. Queenie doesn’t look particularly pleased with having two puppies underfoot.

But she loves her new owner!!

… And did I mention that 1, Shiloh is ADORABLE.. and 2, he’s going to be our “Simstagram” pet-target. Goal is ultimately to get that crazy high number of 1500 subscribers… and not to get sick of taking Shiloh pictures.

Decorating the tree. Cody was too busy reading a book, and Claire was.. chasing pets around. Obviously.

… And this is why Active is such a troublesome trait. The pets are running wild … like.. ALL the time.

At about midnight, I finally get some time for everyone to sit down for presents. Got a karaoke machine and some other small stuff…. none of which they need, since they have more than 700k in the bank.

Brent looks particularly pleased with himself.

… And he should. He just got that last point pretty much autonomously!

Another adorable Simstagram picture. Shows how tiny these puppies really are.

Jeez, buddy, take some medicine! You look horrifying!

Autonomously – while Claire and I chase pets around… again… (still?) – Cody and Brent decide to play Juice Pong… and Brent wins. Also – why is Brent in his undies or outerwear almost all the time in these pictures??

Time for some training. On a filthy dog. Priorities. Also, I decided Cupcake here will be our well-trained dog with all the tricks. Should be interesting getting a Troublemaker dog to be fully trained.

One of the best pet pics I’ve ever taken. Shiloh is just such a cutie. I can’t resist.

With that troublemaker trait, Queenie is ALWAYS dirty.

Shiloh is a little jealous of all the attention/training that Queenie gets.

Shiloh – all grown up… and able to take stairs all by himself. (Finally!!) Taking him (and Tasha) up and down the stairs to potty has been such a headache.

And Tasha’s all grown up, too! Going to wait for puppies until after Brent and Brynn are gone and the heir is born, though, I think… just to make sure we don’t overfill the household and make it so we can’t have an heir.

Learning to lay down. Not sure what Brent is doing, but he’s in his underwear.. again.

Shake!

Cody …. that’s NOT how you cook grilled cheese. No standing on the stove, buddy. Which reminds me. I never bought them a fire alarm. Oops.

He then complains that he’s filthy. I send him to take a shower, and he comes back to make himself a breakfast pastry on his own. I approve. Of course, he then gets a moodlet complaining that it was cold in the middle – but at least there was no more fires.

Claire meeting a couple of strays for her “5 pet friends” requirement for her aspiration.

Why do Sims 4 pets get filthy so often? I seem to be giving baths all the time!!

*points* There’s another dirty dog. And it’s New Years. Claire officially misses the countdown because she’s too busy bathing pets.

… But at least Cody gets there in time. (Also: both boys are in their outerwear. .. why??)

And.. that’s the end of the week. I managed to get to 250+ Simstagram followers for Shiloh, and have most of the second tier of Cody’s aspiration, and well into the third tier of Claire’s. Cody is currently waiting for his first day of work to start getting promotions… while Claire is WAY too busy with pets to ever think of getting a job. It’s not like they actually need the money!

Back to Chapter 3.4 | On to Chapter 4.2