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."