Delay

Sorry I havent posted in a few days. Its tax crunch time and I have been exceedingly busy. Since I am trying to play fairly hands off I had been running Sims in a window while I worked but I have been far too busy to do even that. Anyway it may be a few days before I get back to it. Thanks for your patience.

Saturday

It had been another stressful night. Even though Bianca had her own room it did little to ease the level of stress that had developed throughout the week. Alice comforted Bianca and gave her a hug reassuring here things would be ok.




Perhaps she just needed a small break? When Alice suggested she take the kids to fish she jumped on it quite readily.



While Bianca and the kids were out, Daisy watched the babies and Alice got some much needed undisturbed rest in Bianca's room. Hunger drove her from the confines of the nice cozy room shortly before Daisy had to leave for work.

As Alice was fixing herself a snack Daisy came to Alice with some concerns about Elsie.

"Mama Alice, Have you noticed anything unusual about Elsie."
"No, sweetheart, why do you think she is coming down with something?" Alice responded worriedly.
"No, she was just acting kind of strange earlier and she really creeped me out there for a bit.
"Oh, Honey is was probably just your imagination."

Daisy tried to put the incident aside and went to work.



Elsie got bored after a whlie and came home. Charlie stayed to fish more after Bianca had to leave for work.

When Daisy got back from work she followed Alice's example and took a quick nap in Biancas bed. After which she worked on fixing the broken sink.




That evening Bianca taught Frank how to walk.




Alice, sleep in Bianca's bed, tend garden
Bianca , go here (to fishing hole) with Charlie & Elsie, teach Frank to walk.
Daisy, nap in Bianca's bed, fix sink
Charlie, stop fishing (he appears to be one of those that will ignore all other needs in order to have fun fishing)
Elsie Fish (I tried to get her to try fishing but she ignored the command hence it was wasted)
Cash 218
Lot value 6438

Another addition to the family.

Alice knew that today was Elsie birthday. For her birthday she ordered a bed and a doll. She also decided since the crib was soon to be vacant that she would take in another baby. She called the social worker and made the arrangements.





Charlie was doing so well in school that he was asked to do a paper on the local super market for extra credit. He headed there immediately after school.

Meanwhile Alice and Bianca were teaching the toddlers to walk.



Alice was rather disappointed in Elsie's reaction to the doll. She pretty much ignored it completely.



Gindy; Excitable and Athletic
Alice teach Frank to walk, cook hotdogs, tend garden
Bianca teach Elsie to Walk,
Charlie research supermarket for school paper
Daisy Read Demand Excellence..., shower
Elsie Potty Trained, learned to talk, peg box level 3, Elsie did not learn to walk and her trait given was.... Well we shall discover more tomorrow. Shower.
Cash 57
Lot value 6524

Frank's Birthday

Despite the extra assistance from my assigned activities everyone was in orange or red the next morning except the babies. To make it worse Alice had to go into the office that day.






Alice had a bad nights sleep which might be why she accidently let slip the surprise birthday party the office had been planning for the boss. Now the whole office is peeved at her. She was so exhausted that almost as soon as she got home she passed out on the lawn.



Both Bianca and Daisy slept in class that day.

Charlie however did good and was asked to earn extra credit by staying and helping tend to the bugs after class. After that he played on the playground until after dark.

Between Alice, Bianca and Daisy they had barely enough money to finish building the walls and putting the doors in a tiny room for Bianca. Her grades were dropping horribly and waking up every time a baby cried was doing her no good.

For Frank's birthday Alice bought him a cute stuffed tiger.



Alice, call babysitter, change Elsie, feed Frank
Bianca, Snuggle Frank, sleep
Charlie, sleep (he was still at the playground at curfew)
Daisy, Tickle Frank, Put Elsie down (so she could potty)
cash 14, lot 6400

Life continues

It was a hard night on everyone. The next day Alice called into work and switched back to the program of "working" from home.

Daisy was paid a whopping 300 for helping to fix the boiler and the teacher overlooked her sleeping in class that day.

Bianca broke the sink that morning while washing the dishes. Daisy repaired it that evening after she got home from school.

Alice tended the garden that day, and bought Bianca a new boom box for her birthday. As Alice was contemplating her growing charge she felt her biological clock ticking. She was well into middle age and for the first time in her life she actually WANTED a baby. While she knew even though it was not official that Frank was here to stay she still wanted another baby. She decided that she was meant to be a mother. As difficult as it had been Alice decided she loved all the kids and all the chaos. She just wished she had been able to provide a little more in the way of housing. From this point on all her extra money would go into building a house. As soon as Elsie was old enough to move to a big kid bed she would call the social worker for yet another charge to be added to her flock.

Bianca got a job at the Day Spa as a Beverage Specialist.




Alice, potty train Elsie, tend garden, potty train Elsie
Daisy, repair sink, teach Elsie to talk
Bianca, I was allowed to choose Bianca's trait I decided to make it Angler as she seemed to enjoy fishing so much and was always spinning wants up to do with fish. Get Job
Charlie; none
Cash 84
Lot 5619


Daisy's school performance was still kind of shoddy so her teacher asked her to read "Demand Excellence or You Will Get Mediocrity."

Bianca made hotdogs for supper that night. No one had the heart to tell her just how horrifying they really were.




As they were ending the day everyone was in a horrible mood so I used the leftover actions to help them do stuff they should have already been doing.

Alice, Potty Train Elsie, teach Elsie to talk, eat hotdogs
Bianca stop sleeping, cook hotdogs
Charlie; ask for homework help
Daisy snuggle frank, shower, goto bed
Cash 70 Lot value 6039

The Social Worker

It was just one of those days that Murphy seems to live in your pocket. It should have been accepted as a bad omen when the bathroom sink attacked her before work. Ignoring this sign she went to work anyway. Someone logged onto her unattended computer at work and posted some embarrassing comments on the office message board under her name. So people were snickering behind her back all day, or at least it felt like it. Then she got a phone call from Daisy's principal because she fell asleep in class and had to stay late assisting the janitor.

The topper for the day was the unscheduled surprise home inspection sprung on her by the social worker. So much for promises. The social worker arrived at nine o'clock, hours later than expected, looking exhausted. And she was not alone. In her arms she held a tiny brown skinned baby boy.



The social worker only said three things to Alice before leaving.

"His name is Frank."

"His parents have fled the country to avoid being arrested for selling counterfeit designer diapers."

"If you could keep him for the night I will just go ahead and write up a favorable home inspection report and mail a copy back to you."



After the social worker left Alice turned to take the baby to lay him down in the crib, he was already asleep. Once there she stood staring at the spot where the crib had been blearily trying to remember what had happened to it. Then she remembered Daisy was negotiating the sale of the no longer surplus item with a young couple at the street where she had placed it just this morning with a "For Sale" sign taped to it.




She just barely caught them in time. The crib was already being loaded into the back of their minivan. A brief tug of war ensued as Alice fought to retrieve the piece of furniture. They managed to convince the young couple to look elsewhere. But Alice's dream of using the money to buy a barbeque grill had been doused.





Frank; Artistic, athletic, likes classical music, lobster thermidor, and violet

Murphy visits the house

Monday dawned a little too early for the family. First Charlie woke up because he needed to go potty. He of course woke the whole house up with his screams. He unfortunately did not make it to the potty in time and had to be changed. No sooner had the house gotten back to sleep when Elsie had a dirty diaper and woke the family up again. While up Daisy went to the bathroom and the toilet became clogged. Everyone except the toddlers started the day with a bad night's sleep.

Alice called the baby sitting service so she could go to work and reminded Daisy to come strait home from school since she didn't have to work that night.

Alice was glad to see Tyler Ruiz show up. He had taken good care of the kids before and they seemed to like him. Just as Alice was leaving the mailman arrived with a stack of bills. At least this time he put them in the mail box rather than throwing them on the ground.



Some Co-workers of Alice's logged onto her computer while she was away and sent out a mass email with an embarrassing image on it. Now everyone laughs under their breath when they see her.

Daisy was not doing so well at school. She fell asleep in class. The principal called her in to talk about her slipping grades. He agreed that if she stayed after school and helped fix the school's boiler, that the school would not only pay her but he would see that she got credit on her grades for it. Daisy agreed to it and called Tyler to let him know she would be late getting home.

While Alice was at work the social worker showed up. She didnt stay or even look around when she found that Alice was not at home. She did however tell Tyler to inform Alice she would be back later that day.

Meanwhile Bianca found out that if she got on the honor roll and maintained her grades there she would receive a cash award. She was very excited about it until she found out that it does not apply to secondary school students which she will be starting before the award is handed out. She did come home with an A but was really too tired to brag about it.




Charlies birthday was that day. For his birthday they scraped together enough money for a bed and a football. Alice planned to sell his crib and buy a grill.




As they were winding they day down, the social worker showed up. "Great," Alice thought, "a great way to end an already Murphy-ed up day."



Simmer Notes
Alice; call babysitter, teach charlie to walk
Daisy; fix boiler, teach charlie to walk
Bianca: none
Charlie peg level 3, music level 3, potty trained, learned to talk, Charlie did not learn to walk so trait was random Charlie is Neat.
Cash on hand 11
Lot value 5412

Weekend

Bianca started her homework early so she could have the weekend free. Little did she know that Alice had planned for them to clean the lot up. Alice had been worrying about the social workers promised home inspection and decided they really needed to buckle down and make the place presentable. So they spent that weekend cleaning up the lot.

Daisy had to go to work that afternoon, she was a tad dirty but she was feeling pumped from all the progress they had made.

After work Daisy helped teach Elsie how to talk while Alice worked with Charlie.

That night Alice was feeling her father's presence very strongly. She quickly dismissed her feelings and chalked it up to having been working so near his grave with all the bramble pulling.




Alice: workout (pull brambles), teach Charlie to talk,
Bianca: workout (pull brambles)
Daisy: workout (pull brambles)teach Elsie to talk
Cash: 323 Lot value 4771

Sunday was more of the same. Alice allowed Bianca to go down to the graveyard to fish. Daisy finished up the bramble pulling while Alice tended the garden. The lot was really starting to shape up.


That afternoon more time was spent teaching the toddlers.

Alice went to bed early. While she was asleep Daisy snuck the money out of her coffee can and had a couple of guys do a quick install of a shower. They had to move the sink outside of the small bathroom but they managed to get it done without waking Alice.

Daisy then tried to work on her homework that she had neglected all weekend. It got too late and she was tired so she went to bed before it was finished.



Finally a shower at last. The lot was clean, Charlie was going to start school soon. Bianca was making B's and Daisy was still maintaining a C. Things are really starting to come together. Alice should have known that Murphy was lurking around the corner.



Alice; potty train Charlie, tend garden, teach Charlie to walk
Daisy; workout (pull brambles), potty train Elsie
Bianca; Fish at the graveyard.
Cash 115
lot value $5133

Elsie becomes a toddler

It was a calm day when Elsie grew to toddlerhood. Alice had to go back to work at the facility so she called a sitter in. Tyler Ruiz was his name. He did a wonderful job of entertaining Charlie and picking up the scattered toys, but he stressed out every time Elsie cried. He really was not meant to handle babies.



Before coming home Alice took a shower at the gym, then came home and spent most of the evening teaching Charlie to talk.



Bianca managed to get a shower in at the gym before school and went over to Malissa Goth's after school It was dark before she headed home. Bianca was quite impressed with the wealth that the Goth's had.

Daisy as soon as she got off work delivered the minnow she caught to the Science Facility. They were quite pleased. Daisy headed to the gym for a nice soak in the tub.

In celebration of Elsie's birthday Alice sprung for a block table that all the children could play with. They quickly gathered around it and played until well past bedtime.



Daisy and Bianca stayed up so late in fact that they passed out on the lawn.



Simmers Notes
Alice; call babysitter, take shower at gym, teach Charlie to talk
Bianca; take shower at gym
Daisy; deliver fish, take bath at gym
Cash 120 lot value 5013
I dont know what happened to the moods the day before but everyone was in orange or red as of 9 pm :(

Things Are Looking up

Elsie turned out to be an easy baby to care for. Along with Daisy around to help Alice was able to get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. The first time since Bianca came to live with her.

Alice took the opportunity while all the kids were sleeping to plant the apples she had harvested that day and in the previous weeks. The apples were all poor quality but she hoped that she would be able to get at least a few good apples from the trees.

The sink broke while Alice was brushing her teeth. They of course did not have the money to fix it. Alice worked on it for quite some time before she got it fixed.




At school that day Daisy was asked to bring a fish to the Science Facility for a project they were doing. Daisy was in desperate need of some relaxing fun so she agreed to it. Fishing sounded like loads more fun than school or work. After work Daisy took a long relaxing bath at the gym. She decided a little workout would do her some good before heading home to catch that fish the Science Facility wanted.



Bianca was asked to clean the bug cages after school. She did not know whether it was an honor or a punishment. Laurie Goth invited herself over after school, however she failed to check with Bianca who was staying after to clean the bug cages. After school Bianca stayed to play on the playground. Laurie seemed quite content just to play with Bianca's toys. She did leave however before Bianca got back home.




When Bianca arrived home she found her new bed had been delivered. The bed set was RED with pink, blue and purple hearts on it. She was horrified but tried not to let it show. She was afraid that Daisy would be given the bed instead. It was much better than sleeping in a tent.



That night for the first time since Bianca was dumped on the lot every member went to bed in the green.

Alice, tend garden, plant many, repair sink
Daisy, take bath at gym, fish at home
Bianca, Clean bug cages
End of day cash 67, lot value $4847

Bianca is a Picky Child

Alice was soon to find out that Bianca was alot easier to take care of as a toddler. She very quickly started complaining about the openess of the bathroom. Even to the point of peeing on herself because she refused to use the toilet while others were present. Alice promised to build walls as soon as she could but suggested that Bianca use the toilet anyway. Alice sighed as she thought about the shower that will now be put on hold once more. That day Alice was able to build the walls. She didnt have enough money to paint them but at least they were up.

That morning started with Alice going down to the gym to shower. The girls followed her example as soon as she was back to watch the babies.

Charlie spent hours upon hours playing with a toy horse. Alice was not sure exactly where it came from but it kept him happy. When he wasnt playing with the horse he was playing with the peg toys.



Daisy had a very stressful day at school. She spent most of the day working on the homework she didnt complete the night before. She went strait to work from school. She did manage to find a small light for the lawn that she purchased with the money from her first check, but it wasnt really bright enough to dispel the darkness, she needed to buy either a brighter light or more of them.

Alice found Bianca napping on one of the benches outside. She decided to put off the much wanted shower yet again to save up and buy Bianca a real bed. It turns out along with her pickiness over the bathroom walls Bianca refused to sleep in the tent if anyone else was in there.


Simmers Notes
Actions
Alice: take shower at gym, potty train Charlie, Tell Bianca to do homework
Bianca: take shower at gym,
Daisy: take shower at gym,
End of day cash 17, lot value 4619

Elsie Comes Home

Alice left in the wee early morning hours to run down to the gym for a shower before Daisy had to go to school. Daisy had a bit of a stressful time while Alice was gone as both kids woke up before 5 am hungry of course. It didnt help that Daisy is afraid of the dark. She vowed with her first paycheck she would get some kind of light for the place. Its amazing how much better a shower will make one feel though and Alice thought it was well worth the trouble.

The social worker dropped Elsie off about lunch time. Daisy was at school which the social worker seemed to approve of. The social worker told Alice that Elsie had lost weight while in the hospital but seemed to be gaining on her own now. "You will need to make sure she continues to gain weight, it would be a good idea to weigh her regularly." The social workers face soften as she looked down at the tiny girl. "Good luck, Ms Bindiver" the woman said, as she turned to head back to the car. "I am really over-burdened right now and do not have time for a home inspection. I will come back at some later point for it, but don't worry I will call first."



The thought almost panicked Alice. A home inspection? Alice vowed to get back to work on the brambles, but for now she had babies to take care of. She had to finish up Bianca's training to make sure she was ready for school and.... and... Alice pushed the thoughts aside as the new arrival started squalling.

Alice looked down at the tiny infant. Elsie was so much smaller than either of the other newborns had been. Her little arms and legs had hardly any meat on them. "well first things first, little one. We are going to have to fatten you up."




Meanwhile Daisy was given the opportunity to do a research project on the local science facility. She agreed to the assignment and did so immediately after school.



Since Daisy was late getting home, Bianca's birthday present was not presented to her until late in the day. Bianca now a child received a toy box for her birthday. In a generous mood to welcome the newest arrival Bianca in turn gave her teddy to Elsie.





Simmer Notes
Alice; take shower, teach Bianca to talk, tend tree
Daisy: Research facility, teach Bianca to walk
Bianca aging up notes: Peg box level 3, Music level 1, potty trained, learned to talk, She did not learn to walk so was not given a choice of traits. New trait; Can't Stand Art.
Elsie: Clumsy, genius, likes Chinese music, sushi and lime green.
End of day cash $202, lot value 4124.

Daisy Helps Out

The truth of Daisy's story became evident while she was holding Charlie. The family resemblance was very obvious.



Daisy immediately started helping with the kids. It turned out she was a natural with kids and they seemed to love her. She also washed the dirty dishes and helped clean the lot up, while Alice took a much needed nap. True to her word about helping out financially Daisy got a job folding towels at the local spa. Alice warned her that she would still need to maintain her grades or she would have to quit the job.

In all the excitement over Daisy's arrival Charlies birthday went almost unnoticed. It was late and he should have been in bed already but Alice made sure that Charlie got a present for his birthday. He received a new xylophone. Very similar to the one Bianca had that was taken by the REPOMAN.



As Alice contemplates the activities over the past few weeks she realizes that she cares more about these children that have come her way than she ever imagined she would even in her wildest dreams.



Simmers Notes:
Monday actions: I wanted to explain the actions here. On toddlers I I do not give them any actions, children get one, teens two and of course adults three. This limited action is harder than it sounds.

Alice; (had a mid-life crisis and discovered she is very family oriented) pay bills, sleep
Daisy; get job, sleep
End of day cash: $20, lot value $4092

Daisy Explains a Mystery

The two of them watched as the social worker pulled away in her government issued drab sedan. The social worker had left the girl, a business card and a warning to keep the girl in school. It was only after she was well out of sight that Alice turned to her new ward.

"Ok, do you want to tell me what's going on? When the girl hesitated she fished out her cell phone. "I can always call her back." She was not truly angry but wanted to establish from the beginning who was in charge here.

Daisy shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and refused to meet her eyes. She appeared to be deciding just how much she could and should tell. But Alice would find out everything eventually anyway so best to get it all out in the open. Still looking down at her feet she began to tell her story.

"My parents kicked me out I got no place to go. My sister Heidi said you would probably help me out. She was in the car when her best friend left her little girl here ..."



"Wait, your sister's friend is Bianca's mom?"

Alice had a feeling she was not going to like where this was heading. She could hear a bombshell coming, it was almost like in the old movies, the high pitched scream of it falling through the atmosphere.

"Yes, she had to give her up or her parents would kick her out as soon as they found out. And then when my sister Heidi had her baby she could not get out here on her own so she told me to bring him here. I hid in the bushes until you picked up ..."





"Charlie." Alice finished for her.

"Yes."

The bomb had landed but instead of an explosion there was only silence as Alice processed this revelation. It was so quiet one could here the sound of their own eyes blinking.

"But that does not explain why that social worker thinks I'm your mom!"

"I told her you were, well actually the hospital staff told her after I told them."

"So, I have the word "SUCKER" tattooed to my forehead." she muttered to herself.

"Are there any other surprises? No more pregnant relatives or friends?"

"I don't think so."

Despite her reassurances, Alice had a feeling that her sleepless nights were by no means behind her.

"Well if you're going to stay here you're gonna have to pitch in. I think I smell a couple of diapers that need changing, you get one, I'll get the other."

A visitor

Alice paid her bills early that morning, then oversaw the installation of a sink in what was going to be a bathroom as soon as she got enough money together. The installer had just left when a strange car pulled up and stopped. As she approached the car she got a sinking feeling. A nicely dressed woman had stepped out of the car. Alice knew before the woman said anything that she was a social worker.



"Ms. Bindiver?" the woman said slightly questioningly. Alice almost corrected the pronunciation of her name but stopped herself. Bindiver (prounounced Bin-da-vur)sounded so much nicer than "Bin dIv eR."

"Yes," Alice responded immediately regretting the admittance. "Can I help you?" she asked nervously.

"I am here about your daughter. Did you know she was pregnant?" the woman asked. "Well I can see by the look on your face that you did not," the woman said in response to the bewilderment that showed on Alice's face.

"My daughter?" Alice exclaimed questioningly. About that time Alice noticed a teenage girl in the back seat of the car. The girl was looking at her pleadingly and she saw the girl mouth the word "Please." Alice did not know what was going on but she had seen the girl around.

The social worker went on speaking, ignoring the interruption. She was obviously use to ignoring confused parents. "Yes, your daughter was pregnant. Last night she gave birth to a little girl. Since the baby was premature it was touch and go for a while but it appears she will be fine. Your daughter is far to young to handle raising a baby by herself. I understand she ran away when she found out she was pregnant. We will release her back into your custody, but she will be on probation. She must go back to school and maintain at least a C average. You will need to make sure that does so, and that she obeys curfew rules. The infant will be relinquished to you as soon as she is released from doctor's care. You will be considered the baby's mother. Please sign here." The social worker held out some papers.

Alice automatically took the papers, "What are these?" she asked.

"Adoption papers," the woman responded. "Your daughter is too young to raise the child so you will be legally responsible for her. Just sign here and here." The woman said shoving a paper in Alice's trembling hand.

Alice signed the papers without really reading them and before she knew it the social worker had left and there standing on her sidewalk was an obviously frightened teen. She was young, barely more than a girl.




Simmers Notes:
Daisy; Family Oriented, Hopeless Romantic, Athletic, Coward. She likes classical music, hamburgers and the color white.

Charlie

Rushing over to Bianca's crib Alice was surprised to find the toddler sleeping soundly. Looking around Alice heard the noise again. With trepidation Alice approached the basket laying nearby on the ground.



This could NOT be happening AGAIN. No way... Finding one abandoned baby was rare enough in and of itself but finding TWO?? Maybe it was just a kitten, Alice hoped. She had read about kittens in one of her books but she had never seen one. She was not sure what happened to pets but they seem to have vanished. She always dreamed one would find its way to her, but she usually envisioned a dog instead of a cat. Her hopes for a kitten were quickly dashed as the boy let out another squall. She bent over and looked in the basket. All thoughts of taking him to child services and turning him in quickly went by the wayside as she gazed into his gorgeous eyes. No she would find a way to manage. She would keep this beautiful little boy and raise him to be a fine young man. Somehow.



Alice called her work and after talking to her supervisor was told she could take a while to "work from home" all she had to do was continue taking the meds and someone would be out once day to draw blood. Of course she would not be paid for weekends but Alice agreed it was fabulous pay for basically doing nothing. She had to sell all of her books in order to purchase a second crib. This was a new one, she couldn't find any used ones. From the money left over she bought a cheap used refrigerator. Her time away from the lot was going to be severely limited having two youngsters to care for now.

While Charlie slept Alice spent a good majority of the day working with Briana, trying to both potty train her and teach her to talk.

Saturday she spent most of the day tending to both of the kids trying to keep them both happy. Charlie was a very demanding youngster wanting to be snuggled all the time. Alice did manage to get a bit of cleaning done but was not able to do any bramble pulling that day. With all she did that day she failed to notice that the apples on the apple tree were ready to harvest, until she was ready to pass out from exhaustion. Maybe tomorrow.



She managed to get some sleep that night, but as she got out of bed she realized that today was NOT going to be a lucky day. The first unlucky day she had in quite some time, although the children seemed to be better synchronized and Alice was able to take care of some of her own needs. Alice was constantly tripping and fumbling, her clumsiness showing to anyone who was observing. She worried about dropping the babies but she managed not to. It was hard to believe that Charlie would be a toddler soon and Bianca would be going off to school. Alice realized that Bianca was really behind on her pre-schooling, she had spent so much time with Charlie that she had been neglecting getting Bianca ready for school. She spent the afternoon teaching Bianca such things as how to use the potty and how to speak properly. By that evening Bianca could use the potty on her own. It was a joyous occasion. As the day was winding down Alice was so exhausted she put the kids to bed without feeding them first. Charlie of course let her know just about the time Alice was drifting off to sleep.

Charlie; Good, heavy sleeper. Likes Eqyptian music, grilled salmon, and lime green.
Friday Actions: potty train Briana, teach Briana to talk, potty train Briana Cash 26, Lot value 4023.
Saturday Actions: I did not give Alice any commands this day because she needed to sleep, every time she got to sleep one of the babies would start crying. Cash 26 $4037
Sunday: Potty train Bianca, Trend Tree, Teach Bianca to talk. End of day cash 26 lot value $3935.