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.

Bianca becomes a toddler.

The next few days were pretty routine.

Early Monday morning a rather strange woman stopped by and bought the newly painted dresser. She paid $257.00, that with her maternity leave pay allowed Alice to build a tiny bit of wall and attach a toilet to it. No more peeing in the brambles. She ended up getting too much on herself doing that and she stunk until she had a chance to shower. While fishing, that evening, she pulled up a box in which she found a sleeping Gnome McNutly figure. She wondered why it was called sleeping when the figure was obviously standing up and waving. She set the figure out by the apple tree.

Between pulling brambles, tending to the baby and fishing she had little time for other pursuits but each night before she fell asleep she did manage to get in a little reading.

Tuesday was Bianca's birthday. Alice had also run out of food. She decided to throw a party for Bianca and invite a couple people. Alice ordered pizza and cleaned the trash out of the yard. Gage Briody showed up which was a surprise since she barely knew him from the gym. Molly French had stopped by the lot a few times recently and while not good friends they were developing a friendship. Zedadias did not show up. Alice was disappointed but not surprised. Gage and Alice chatted for a while. Gage was quite flattering to Alice, but he couldn't stick around long since he had to get to work. Molly seemed to be in a mood and left early. The party really turned out to be a flop, but at least Bianca did have a party. Alice had spent a little money on a new toy, a potty chair and some new clothes for Bianca.



Wednesday when that mornings mail came, the mailman threw the mail down on the ground and stomped on it. Alice could not figure what she had done to anger him and figures it was probably left over hostility towards her father. Alice was delighted to find a deed to the lot in the mail. Evidently the judge had granted her squatters rights. Alice was due to return to work that day. She couldnt see paying a babysitter 75 a day when she only made 90. Since she now had a legal address she decided to look in the paper to see if she could find a REAL job.



There wasnt much available, a test subject however was well paid and did not require any skills. And since it was for the good of the community, Alice signed up and got the job immediately. She then called the grocery store and quite her old job.

Later than evening she ate more of the pizza not realizing it had gone bad in the hot sun. She spent the evening throwing up and in general not feeling well. Bianca spent the evening throwing one tantrum after another. Alice was just too tired and too sick to care. She did feel a little guilty about it though.

Thursday dawned a little too early. She had barely enough time to ring a sitter up before heading off to work. Being a test subject was alot more stressful than she imagined it would be so she stopped at the gym on her way home from work for a shower and a cup of Chai tea. When she got home she learned that a man who called himself the REPOMAN came by and stole Bianca's toy. After the baby sitter left she tended the tree, ordered a new toy (this one a block toy) and then tended to Bianca and went to bed.



In the wee early hours of the morning Alice heard Bianca crying, but it sounded off. Bianca hadn't cried like that since she was a newborn. Alice got up in a hurry to find out what the problem was.

Simmers Notes:
Monday: actions; workout, tend garden, fish; cash $111, lot value 3406
Tuesday: actions; call for pizza delivery, recycle newspapers, invite people to party. Cash 57 lot value $3441
Wednesday: potty train Bianca, find job, potty train Bianca (I forgot to record values here I think cash was 86)
Thursday: Call babysitter, shower, tend tree. Cash $222, lot value 3410.

Sunday, a day of rest.

Sunday



After tending to Bianca, Alice spent the morning painting the crib. She had enough paint left over she painted the benches, table and dresser also. While waiting for the paint to dry she passed the time hand-sewing a new canopy and sheets for the crib.




That afternoon she went to the gym for a much needed toilet break and bath. She asked one of the men working out to keep an eye on Bianca while she took a bath. He was fine until the baby started crying. He freaked out, but refused to pick her up. All she wanted was a little comforting.



After the gym they went to the park. There was a neighborhood grill-a-thon in progress. Alice ate her fill of hot dogs. She declined to participate in the cooking event itself but enjoyed the food and the people watching. She watched a young boy give his father a hug then chatted with his father like they were best friends.





She thought back to her youth and the horrible time she had, with her father yelling at her all the time.



What a contrast to the scene before her. She quitely ate her hotdog while listening to the conversation between the boy and his dad. She felt a determination rise up in her that she would be the best mother ever to Bianca. Maybe life isn's so bad after all. Maybe just maybe she could do this.



Simmers Notes:
Actions: workout (painting furniture & sewing), Goto with... gym, goto with... park I will admit I almost chose not to give her that last action to go to the park because it would use up all my actions for the day and I was afraid the baby would get lost in the shuffle. Alice did wonderfully and did not loose the baby :D.
Cash on Hand $53
Lot value $3421

On a side note, Alice is a mature adult now. Seeing as she only has four traits it seems that a mid-life crisis might allow her to discover that hidden fifth trait so that she might realize her true potential. Suggestions are appreciated.

Alice's Birthday

Saturday dawned a little too early for Alice. Alice woke up twice to quiet the crying baby. The second time she just stayed up. She fed Bianca, changed her diaper, and snuggled with her. Bright and early they went shopping for all the baby things Bianca was going to need. After the cost of formula, diapers and incidentals Alice has only enough money left to buy a used crib. She does scrape together enough to buy some new fabric and paint but that will have to wait until Sunday. At least now the baby has a bed. Alice did spring for a bed with a canopy on it since the crib would not fit in the tent.




Alice gave Bianca her treasured childhood friend, her teddy. Bianca slept peacefully as Alice continued working on the brambles.



After Alice was too tired to work any more she very carefully lined up the camera so the crib would not show in the picture and took a picture for the courts. She just hoped it would show enough progress that the courts would allow her leniency to finish cleaning the place up.



Alice called her boss to explain that she needed some additional days off. To hire a baby sitter would cost 75 and since she was only making 90 a day it did not make sense to continue working while caring for a newborn. Her boss totally misunderstanding the situation replied all in one breath; "Uh, well Alicia, I uhm didn't even realize you were pregnant, you hardly gained any weight at all, but then I thought you looked too thin to begin with. Well congratulations, of course you can take the time off, but I am afraid we cannot pay you for today and tomorrow because you would have been off those days anyway. I am sorry I cannot budge on that matter. You will of course be paid for your normal workdays. Well good day and have fun with the new baby. See you back on Wednesday." Alice just stared at the phone for a bit as the dial tone rang through the lot. Listening to the tone she realized today was her birthday. Yet another birthday had passed without a cake or a party. About that time Bianca started crying again. Alice was feeling a tad bit overwhelmed emotionally and burst into tears. She trudged across the lot while wiping her tears.



By the time she had reached Bianca she had composed herself. She tended to the baby then gently tucked her back into her crib. She whispered, "It will be ok, sweetheart. We will make it. I will take good care of you."



Simmers notes: Actions; pay bills, workout (bramble pulling)
End of day
Cash on hand 65
Lot Value 3463

A Baby in the Brambles

Shortly after midnight Alice woke to the screech of tires as someone sped away. In the silence that followed Alice heard a weird noise. Exiting her tent to identify the noise, Alice discovered both to her delight and horror a baby had been abandoned on her lot.



Alice couldn't just turn her back on the little tyke. Alice knew very little about babies but figures this little girl must be a newborn. Alice named her Bianca after a heroine in one of her favorite books.



Don't worry Bianca, I will take care of you.

Simmers Notes: Bianca; Brave & Excitable, She likes Chinese Music, Goopy Carbonara and Irish Green.

Clean-up time.

WARNING sorry this post is kind of on the boring side, I considered just skipping posting about these days but I wanted to keep track of the lot value and document my no more than three actions a day. Feel free to skim or skip this posting.

Assuming of course anyone is actually following my story.

Wednesday

Since she had gone to bed so late the night before Alice slept in until 10 in the morning. She spent two hours working on the bramble bushes before stopping for lunch and then she headed down to the gym for a shower. She had decided to try and clear the area around the benches first. She was quite pleased with the progress she made.



As an added bonus to the cleaning up she found some various items that amounted to 20 simoleons when she took them to the pawnshop to trade in.

After the shower she spent a bit of time on the treadmill before heading to work. After work she harvested some fruit from the apple and lime trees in the park. When she finally arrived back home she went fishing even though she was almost asleep on her feet.



Simmers notes:
Action 1 was to work out, this simulates the bramble removal. For every half hour she works out I am removing one bramble bush. If you have ever had to remove a bramble bush you know that it is hard work and will leave you dirty and sweaty. Bramble bushes sell for 5 simoleons. This will give her more money in her pocket but it will lower the property value (lol glad that is not the case IRL) Her second action was to take a shower. Third was harvesting fruit.

End of day
Funds 180
Lot value 3210

Thursday

Alice got caught up in her bramble pulling and there wasn't enough time for a shower before work so she planned to take one after work. However after work she went to the park to cook some hot dogs and while at the park she found an apple seed and picked it up. She never even thought to go to the gym.



Simmers Notes: Actions for day workout, sell fish, pickup seed
End of day
Funds 339
Lot value 3180

Friday

Alice started the day by planting the apple seed she had found. After a long morning of tearing out bramble bushes she headed to the gym for a desperately needed shower before work. She was both looking forward to and dreading the weekend. With work she had little time to do anything other than working on the bramble bushes. But work also provided toilet facilities and a meal every day.



Simmers Notes: Actions; plant seed, workout, shower.
End of day
Funds 458
Lot Value 3153



That night Alice thinks about what she is going to buy for her modest little lot. A grill maybe? The cheapest she has seen is $150. She would love to have a little refrigerator. In clearing the bramble she found she had hookups for both water and electricity. The cheapest fridge she could find was $375. Alice toyed with the idea of a shower but at a whopping $425 Alice decides the gym will have to be ok for a while longer. It would also be nice to have a toilet on the property. She can get a bargain john for 250.

Stayed tune to see what Alice spends her hard earned money on.

Arrested!

The day started out pleasantly enough with a little fishing. Little did Alice know this would be the worst and best day of her life, a true turning point was to come her way.

After her morning of fishing she went to the market to sell her days catch. When she arrived back home she decided to catch a little nap on the bench, she had so long called her bed. That was when she was noticed by a policewoman who happened to be driving by.

While the officer was kind enough to her she was still arrested for vagrancy. Why this had never happened before was a mystery.



She was embarrassed and humiliated by the experience, but while in jail a young court appointed attorney was assigned to her case. After talking at length the attorney advised her to plead not guilty. He told her that she had established a residence at the lot. Her stay there had been long enough that "Squatter's Rights" were in effect. He advised her to have the place cleaned up before her court date. This meant removing all the brambles and debris from the lot. If she was willing to put in the time and energy to clean the place up and present the pictures of before and after to the judge, then the charges should be dismissed. Even if she couldn't get it completely clean if she made significant progress then an extension might be granted. He also mentioned that the gym had shower facilities available for use. While technically they were for member use only, no one would say anything if she were to use them occasionally.



A nice hot shower without people thinking she was being inappropriate was a very nice feeling. Buoyed by the thoughts of actually being a landowner, of having something of her very own cheered her immensely and made all she had been through that day worth it. While she was thoroughly exhausted by her long trying day she couldn't sleep as plans and dreams filled her mind. She decided to fish for a while until she could hardly stay awake any longer. Tomorrow was looking bright indeed.



Simmers Note: This scenario involved quite a bit of behind the screens finagling to get the appropriate pictures but in general I will not give Alice more than three directives a day. I have will power set on high and we will see what happens from here on out.

Goodbye Zedadias

Just a few days after her father's death Zedadias announces his plans to marry Shirley Lin and move to the big city.



He knows how bad off Alice is and brought her a tent to sleep in. He told her that he found it while he was packing things up to move and thought she might make better use of it than he would. He also brought along his fathers old fishing pole and tackle set. Maybe she could make use of those too.



Her only friend will be leaving. She is bound and determined to make new friends. With her father no longer around to keep tearing her down she is starting to feel a bit optimistic. Fishing really helps to keep her spirits up, especially as she found out she can sell them at the local market. Her sales of fish that day and her paycheck allowed her enough money to send a donation to the Toilets for Tots fund.



Simmers Notes:
End of the day funds $77. Lot Value $3241.
I wanted to write the friend out of the picture. I also see no reason a tent cannot be purchased without having to go on vacation so I had her friend provide her one.

Meet Alice Bin Diver

To see the story of Alice's childhood through young adult check out this link. http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/ Note I did not control or run Alice through her childhood to that point. My tale begins after the death of her father. So what happened to Alice after her father died? Will she be able to make a home for herself and fulfill her lifetime wish to be surrounded by a loving family? The kind of family she use to dream about at night?


Meet Alice Bin Diver



Alice currently lives in a bramble filled lot. This was at one time a park but the caretakers have long since forgotten about it. This lot has been her home for most of her life. As long as she can remember actually. She remembers nothing of her toddler years and does not remember her mother at all and knows nothing about her mother. Her father, Kev, was an insane, mean spirited man, who recently passed away. She knows nothing of his past, where he was from, or how they ended up here in the first place. These questions and more poured through her mind in the days following her father's death.



Alice will mature into a full adult in four days. Her traits are unlucky, loser, good, and clumsy. (Yes she only has four traits.) She likes Latin music, cheese steak sandwiches and the color violet. She has $84 in her pocket. Unbeknownst to her the lot she lives on is valued at $3098. In her possession she has her childhood teddy, Where's Bella a book also from her childhood and two other books she has managed to latch onto.

On the lot where she lives is a pond. There are fish in the pond but she has never learned to fish. There are two benches there. Her father and her often slept on those benches. There is a small wooden table but no chairs for it. There is also a mailbox and a trashcan. She did not have enough money to bury her father in the cemetery so she buried him on the lot where she lived. There does not seem to be any laws against private burial plots in this town. She did scrape together enough money for a simple tombstone. But her prize possession is an old wooden dresser someone dumped on the lot.