Monday 9 April 2012

Gamble everything for love

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

Kimberly Carmody is 66, Nick Moretti is 34, Sarah is 32, Thomas is 6, Ryan is 5 and Catherine is 3.
(Susannah is 27, Iris, Francesca and Zac are 3)
Narrated by Sarah Moretti

Nick and Ryan both have their birthdays in November, so we’ve been doing lots of celebrating around here lately.

The weekend of his birthday, Ryan invited his whole class to our house for a little party. There are only three other kids in his kindergarten class, thank goodness!

Still, seeing their parents came as well, it made for quite a full house.

Thomas didn’t even mind that he didn’t have any of his friends there, like I thought he might.

I think he kind of likes being the “big” one when Ryan has his friends over anyway.

The boys are so close in age that there’s not a huge difference between what they each like to do with their friends, so it makes play dates and parties easy.

I don’t think we’ve ever had so many little boys in the house at the same time. It made for some interesting displays of table manners.

I’m glad they could all come though. All of Ryan’s friends are really sweet kids.

They all had such a great time too, especially the birthday boy.

I'm so proud of Ryan, though I still can't quite believe he's 5 whole years old!


It doesn't seem like so long ago that I was pregnant with him.

Nick doesn’t like a huge fuss on his birthday, especially seeing it’s so soon after Ryan’s. But I don't usually pay attention to that and I like to make it a good day for him anyway.

This year, it was a weekend so Mama was able to stay home with the kids while Nick and I went out for breakfast with some friends.

It was our usual group, though I think this is the first time in a while we've all been out together. It was a fun morning.

To be honest, I still struggle with Josie at times but our outings usually go pretty smoothly these days.

I just keep my head down and ignore her if I think she's in one of her moods.

As long as Nick’s happy, I can deal with Josie for a couple of hours.

We all have at least a couple of kids now and we can’t seem to stop ourselves from talking about them, even when we finally get a break.

We’re all in the same boat now, at least, though Nick and I are probably the worst offenders.

Back at home, Mama had got the kids started making some birthday cards for Nick. The boys were keen to help Catherine out with making her card this year.

Nick loved the cards, of course. Catherine’s old enough to understand what a birthday actually is now, so she got such a kick out of making something for her dad.

She’ll be four in February, which coincidentally is the same month she starts pre-school. I don’t know what we’ll do with ourselves without a little one in the house.

But it’s happening, whether we like it or not! I took Catherine to her pre-school orientation, where she got to check out the classroom she’ll be in next year.

She also got to meet her future teacher, Mrs Gray, who is currently Ryan’s teacher and also taught Thomas before him.

Pamela is very sweet. The kids seem to really take to her quickly and she really helps them get settled in their new environments.

That’s going to be great for Catherine. She’s not shy but she gets nervous sometimes in new situations, so starting school will be huge for her.

I’m glad she’ll have some familiar faces around. Not only will she have her brothers looking out for her on the playground but her cousin Zac will be in her class too.

Catherine is already quite enamoured with Zac, so she was excited to see him there.

Francesca will also be in her class. Francesca is Nick’s little cousin but she and Catherine haven’t spent much time together before. She’s very shy but she and Catherine seemed to enjoy playing together for a little while.

We also met another little girl called Iris.

Catherine had never met her before but she almost suffocated her with her hug when we were leaving, so I suppose she likes her!

After we finished at the pre-school, Susannah and I headed to the park to catch up. I was dying to hear about how things were going with her and Daniel.

Very well, it would seem! Susannah started smiling the second I mentioned his name. They’ve been together 9 months now and it’s becoming a little more serious between them.

Not that they’re rushing into anything. Of course, Susannah doesn’t regret Zac but she does feel like she and Sam moved in together too soon.

She wants to keep things with Daniel at the dating level for a while longer, so she doesn’t make that mistake again.

Probably a smart move but secretly, I would love it if Susannah and I could be pregnant together. We sort of were with Zac and Catherine but by the time Susannah got pregnant, I was almost due.

Nick and I have such a great time with our kids and we’ve been so lucky with our family. It just makes sense to us to want to expand it.

In a perfect world, I’d have as many as 8 children but seeing we live in this world, four seems more sensible and within the realm of possibility.

Nick and I both want a fourth child. We’re absolutely positive on that. It’s just taken us until now to agree on a time frame for when to start trying.

If Nick had got his way, I’d be pregnant right now or we’d already have had a baby. We need a new house and Nick wanted to find a house, get a loan if we needed to and then buy. But I hated that idea. I don’t want to live with a huge mortgage hanging over my head and I could only imagine how big a mortgage we’d have with the six bedroom house we’d need.

Since I was promoted to partner though, money is less of an issue. Not that we’re rolling in cash or anything now but we’re a lot more comfortable.

Nick did want to start trying right away but I’d rather be settled in a new place before I get pregnant. I don’t want to be moving house while I’m big as said house or dealing with a newborn.

Mama is ready to move. She’s actually quite excited about it.

This house is so old. It was originally a two bedroom, which was turned into a four bedroom when Susannah and I came along and the extensions weren’t very well done. Mama’s looking forward to living somewhere a little better planned and I have to say, so am I!

We thought Thomas and Ryan might be a bit sad to leave this house behind but the possibility of having their very own rooms is definitely easing that pain.

I love how excited and positive they are about our move. They want to help pick out the house and we’ve promised to take them along when we go house hunting.

We’ve tentatively started to look at house listings and finding the kind of house we want will certainly be no easy feat.

Nick and I are trying not to get too discouraged and just focus on the fact that we *will* find our new home and hopefully Baby #4 will follow soon afterwards.

Extras:


I think Nick and Sarah might have some of the cutest kids ever!

Troy was a little late to the celebration! Almost half the cake is gone and he's still twirling his noisemaker around and shouting. I love Josie just completely ignoring him as well.

I promised more Francesca and here she is. It was kind of hard to drag her away from the activity table, even though she has one at home! I don't know what's going on with that dollhouse there. The male doll looks like he's about to take a tumble out of the house!

I love how Zac made a beeline for the most traditionally masculine toy in the room!

Notes:
  • Title is from Gamble Everything For Love by Ben Lee.
  • Nick and Sarah were like rabbits this round! I have not seen such crazy woohooing since Ben and Caterina. I played them for about four days and I think they woohooed like 9 or 10 times in those four days! It's like they kept going back to the bed, hoping I'd taken them off BC. No luck, Nick and Sarah...not yet, anyway!
  • I am going to let them have a fourth but they'll need a new place first. Sarah is a Hoarder (via Apple Valley's money management styles) and I don't see her being willing to get pregnant before they're all settled. So I'm on the lookout for nice six bedroom houses. N99 is doing House Hunters this month and I might post up Nick and Sarah, even though I've already posted a family. I figure people can contribute or not. All together, they'll have almost $100,000 to play around with, once the house is sold and with Nick's bonus to account for. Not as bad as I thought it would be!
  • Speaking of Nick's bonus, that would be this:
  • Couldn't have come at a better time, could it? And what I like about it is that the option that won is totally what Nick would do. Nick would never order a pre-emptive strike. I sometimes feel like he's too gentle for the military but this kind of chance card shows there's room for peacekeeper types too!

30 comments:

  1. So many kids in this update it feels like midget land :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A tad more children than usual running around in this update, huh? If Nick and Sarah get their way, they should have at least one more sometime soon.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. I would love for these 2 to have another baby, and seeing their wants I'm not the only one :)
    It's wise of them though to wait before they have another one, and first find a suiteable house.
    Speaking of that: I might have 2 that might suit them. Though one only has 5 bedrooms and a study that can be converted into a bedroom, this one is the house where Tikan husband Xiang live, with her parents, and their 3 sons. The other one does have 6 bedrooms, this family still is one bedroom short! It has a pretty small garden but the house is rather spacious, it's where Tosca and Xun live with his parents, and their 5 children. Let me know if you're interested!

    I really love how you do those birthdays! It's so much fun to watch, and I'm sure it's fun to play as well!
    I have to say in the last couple of years you've inspired me to do a lot more with my game! I've always loved playing sims, but seeing your updates always make me want to try new things, and it's been even more fun to play!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Two Family Sims (well, Nick's Family secondary) are always going to want an endless stream of babies but Nick and Sarah seem to genuinely want this fourth baby. Any wants for a fifth after this one will probably be ignored though. ;)

      I've actually plopped Nick and Sarah into a house I got from MTS yesterday (an old favourite I never got to use before my PC went kaput) but I'd love to see the house you're thinking of anyway. :) Maybe you could share it when I put Nick and Sarah's thread up at N99. I'm still planning to, just because I'm curious what others would do for them.

      Yes, I'm loving doing actual birthdays! I've been adding the dates to the profiles as I go and I think over half my Sims have real birthdays now. I'm looking forward to celebrating more of them. It makes it feel more real.

      That's so nice of you to say, Tanja! I'm glad I can give other people ideas for their game, because I certainly get enough ideas from you, and all the other Simmers out there. :)

      Thanks for reading!

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  3. Yay! A baby will be en route soon! I definitely think you should put them up at n99. I've never ever played or built a 6 bedroom house so I wouldn't be much use! Can't wait til their settled and to see what they have. They really do have adorable children and I love sweet Catherine with her blond hair. Super excited (and sad) that she will be in preschool soon!

    The birthday party was really cute with all the little classmates playing, lucky for all that there isn't 20 kids in a class!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I figured you might be happy with this update, lol! As I said to Tanja, they've moved into an (empty) house in my game but I think I'll post them up anyway, to see what people do. I'll specify there's no pressure to share but who knows, if someone shares something better than the place they're in, they may be moving again. ;) Lucky it's so easy for Sims!

      Nick and Sarah's kids are super adorable. Catherine was quite a surprise with her blonde hair! I think I might have been convinced earlier to let them have a fourth if I thought there was any possibility of a redhead. I'd love to have all four hair colours in the same family.

      Inviting the whole class in Sullivan is not nearly as daunting a prospect as it usually is in real life!

      Thanks for reading!

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  4. http://nene.modthesims.info/download.php?t=367787 I would suggest the Fairfield lot by sarah*rose at MTS. This has 5 bedrooms with a study that can be converted, 3 full baths, plus a HUGE bonus room, that I supposed could be converted to an in-law suite. This is the same lot that the Faithbucks used to live in and the Tracy's are currently occupying. If you remember I did a brief lot tour. I highly suggest it for any big family. It really plays well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That looks like a great house, so thanks for the link! It's way too expensive for Nick and Sarah though - $167,000 and they only have about $95000.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
    2. The total price is high because sarah*rose has it fully decorated and furnished. I think the unfurnished price was around $60K for me.

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    3. Ah, of course! Thanks for clarifying. :)

      Delete
  5. Wow, that is quite a number of kids in this update. :) I'm excited for the fourth kid as well - four children sounds so *much* when I read other people's updates, then I remember that I have families with five kids myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, yes, River's Bend is certainly no stranger to huge families! But I have the same feeling when I read other people's blogs. "Wow, four kids is a lot! Oh, wait, Ione and Evan have five!" Funny about that. ;)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  6. Oh my goodness, so many little ones! So cute, though. I never did kid parties, but I always loved seeing them. :D I couldn't imagine trying to corral that many boys, though. Sarah is a champ!

    I am glad Susannah is doing well and taking her time with Daniel. Hopefully things end up a little better this time around!

    I can't wait to see where these guys move into. House hunting is so fun when it doesn't involve real life money (or real life banks!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never done many kids' parties either but since someone at N99 linked me to the no aging up birthday cake, I kind of couldn't resist! They're a lot of fun. Actually, I don't think this was even a "real" party. I just teleported everyone in!

      I have high hopes for Susannah and Daniel, so I hope they don't disappoint. She wants another baby and to get married (in general, not necessarily to Daniel yet), so I want to make that happen for her.

      I know, right? I love the decorating part the most but I'm stretching myself to the limit with decorating lately! I have so many families I need to decorate for!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  7. A fun birthday party, but I can imagine it was kind of crazy with so many people running around! I hope Nick and Sarah can find a new house soon. I can't wait for them to have another baby! :D

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    1. Just a tiny bit crazy. ;) There were as many extra adults as extra kids and the adults were actually more poorly behaved (thanks to ACR!)

      I've found Nick and Sarah a maybe house but I'll see if the good people at N99 can come up with something better before I start decorating. :) Then, it's baby time!

      Thanks for reading!

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  8. They do have the cutest kids by far in your hood! And that party was super cute as well. And I like how they are so close in age that having friends over they can still be entertained!

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    1. The Moretti kids are very cute, aren't they? I never though Sarah would give me cute kids! She was a weird looking one. ;)

      Assuming they get pregnant pretty quickly, this next baby and Catherine will have the largest age gap. Which will still not really be that large. It's fun having the kids close in age.

      Thanks for reading!

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  9. I'm glad they get to have their fourth child soon! It's so funny how often they tried LOL. Silly sims. I look forward to seeing the new house!

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    1. I'm glad too. I wasn't sure about it at first but a fourth seems right for Nick and Sarah. I'm being a bit lenient on population control with them, because I like them so much.

      I have them in a possibly temporary house now but it's remaining undecorated until I see what the people at N99 come up with. They made me some awesome options for Oliver and Sebastian and I moved them in to one of them last night. :)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  10. That was a fun update. I really liked the birthday party with all the little boys from school. I keep forgetting to grab that birthday cake… I think lol. I never actually looked for it in the game.

    I'm so happy that Susannah and Daniel are still going strong. Yea, after having Zac and moving in with Sam too quickly, it's understandable that she wants to take things slower.

    I'm so glad we'll be seeing another kid from Nick and Sarah in the near future. I started making over one house I got from MTS but of course my game crashed :\. I had pretty close to a bajillion windows open on my computer so I think it just had enough. I wasn't decorating the house, though (I was actually unfurnishing it) so it shouldn't take too long to do it over. Now that I know their budget, though, I'll be able to do the makeover with that in mind. I thought that LaurelCrossing linked to one of the houses I was considering but it wasn't. I should have some pics up within the next couple of days. :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm telling you, I love that cake! Every time I play a family, I check their profiles to see if there's a birthday due that I need to throw a party for, lol! It's lots of fun.

      Susannah is a little bit cautious after her experience with Sam. The last thing she wants is to bring another guy into Zac's life only to have him move out too. So she and Daniel are very keen on each other but they're not rushing into anything.

      I'm already dying to see Nick and Sarah's #4 and it's not even conceived yet, lol. I can see them with a big family, definitely. Sorry about your crash but I do hope you manage to get the makeover done for their house - I'd love to see what you come up with. :) It's going to be really hard for me to decide based on the houses posted so far though!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  11. Ryan's party looked fun and I can't imagine how hectic it was with all those little boys and their parents running around.

    I think Susannah is playing it smart and should pay off for both her and Zac.

    A fourth baby! Whoa, good thing they both got promoted, huh?

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    Replies
    1. It's hectic enough in a kindergarten classroom with all those kids running around but it would be worse at a party, where there's no clear behaviour expectations! But the boys at the party really were all nice kids, luckily.

      Susannah's definitely on the right track with Daniel. I'm looking forward to playing her again and seeing how her thoughts are going by then,

      Nick's actually already at the top of his career (and has been for a couple of rounds now) but he did get really lucky with that chance card! I don't think I've seen that one before. But $15,000 when you want to move and have another baby is certainly helpful!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  12. Seeing everyone at breakfast made me sentimental. I can remember them all in high school, when Nick was with Maia and Sarah was with Ethan and Josie wouldn't give Troy the time of day.

    You're right, those kids are seriously cute. And that's why I can say as long as you can handle it, fill that house with babies! I'm usually stopping at three, and most of my Sims agree with me.

    I'm glad Susannah's new relationship is going well, and it's good that she's taking it slow.

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  13. Fini, old school-style reply, seeing Blogger is not letting me do a threaded one for some reason!

    Nick's birthday breakfast was quite nostalgic for me too (Nick and Maia didn't date until college, though Nick had a crush on her for a good while). It's fun getting them all together and seeing how things have changed in the last 15-20 years! I was aware of Josie and Troy's chemistry from the start but the other two couples are not ones I would have seen coming until much later!

    I usually try to stop at three kids too but there are some couples I just can't say no to if they want a fourth. Cute kids definitely help a couple's case! I have them this family all moved in to a new house but they don't have any furniture yet, so Nick and Sarah quite literally can't try for a baby. ;) Yet.

    Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  14. I love the birthday party. I hope I get to throw one for my Sims this round since I've switched to months and the birthdays make more sense now. Could you link me to that no aging cake please?!

    I'm so happy Nick and Sarah will have a fourth child. Their kids are so adorable that it would be a shame to let their good genes go to waste, lol. I can't believe Catherine, Zac and the others are soon starting pre-school!

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    1. Yes, the cakes are here. There's another one I lost in my move to a new PC but I think it might be a recolour NoCommente made. I'll have to see if I can find it on N99 later. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun with these cakes. :)

      LOL, yep, we definitely need one more chance at some Nick and Sarah cuteness. And seeing they're more than happy to oblige, we'll get one. They have no babies or toddlers in the house at the moment, for the first time since Thomas was born. It's quite strange for them, I'm sure!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  15. Awww, what a cute party! A non-aging birthday cake is exactly what I'd need for my Sims 3!
    The whole house screams "a fourth child, a fourth child!!!" Sarah and Nick make the most adorable kids!!!

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    1. The non-aging birthday cake is pretty awesome! Hopefully someone will be able to rig one up for TS3 soon enough. ;)

      And yes, Nick and Sarah definitely need a fourth child! And they agree - they've been blessed with three really sweet kids, so you can't blame them for wanting another. :D

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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