Gen 3 Chapter 37: Kids these days

I've turned over a new leaf where Ariel is concerned. I'm just going to accept that she's not the studying kind and have faith that she is old enough to choose her own course. She's a good kid, not a delinquent like my brother, and I'm sure it will all turn out ok.

Well, maybe not "sure" so much as hopeful. Gwyn agrees that Ariel will probably do better with a more hand-off approach.

Sebastian, on the other hand, has taken it upon himself to try and get through to Ariel about school. I suppose that makes sense, he loved school and takes everything very seriously.



When Ariel came home from school late a couple of days ago because she'd been given detention, Sebastian really let her have it! Ariel didn't try to defend herself and I eventually told him to back off. Sleeping in class could be explained by her post-Nemo exhaustion and who hasn't talked too much in class? It's not a big deal. See? New leaf.



Soon after all of the vacation excitement, it was Nemo's birthday! We invited the usual friends and family. I was more than a little worried that Ariel seemed to be bonding with my brother Jagger... being insane and evil are not traits I'd like my little girl to pick up. She's always been fascinated by him, though, and hasn't tried to be like him yet so I guess I shouldn't worry. New leaf and all. (A/N- that's Arvid there behind them, he crashed the party.)



As we brought Nemo to blow out his candles, Gwyn and I started to regret not being more proactive about teaching him the things that he needs to know. Ariel taught him to talk, but otherwise we'd pretty much just hadn't even thought about it! What if he never learned to walk?!? What if we'd doomed him to a life of diapers and helplessness?!?



I wonder what my boy wished for... would the magic of birthday wishes help him grow up in spite of his parents?



Ok, I'm being a little dramatic. Nemo grew into a very handsome boy with completely normal skills. He can walk and use the toilet and everything. He's still himself, nothing too bad happened. If nothing else, our failure to teach him anything useful during his toddler years has taught him to stand up for himself now that he's older. Some might think of it as being hot-headed, but I like to think that he's just assertive.



And so, life goes on. Nemo heads to school and Sebastian goes to his hospital job.



Meanwhile, Ariel continues to ignore the fact that she's supposed to be in school.



I talked to Mom about everything. She says I worry too much. She approves of my new leaf.



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Bonus Town Update!

(I meant to include this with the last chapter, but I got carried away with crazy Locke and totally forgot!)

Arvid been dating everyone in town, like: Shelly, Joss, Audina, Behenia... and even Bonni!

Bonnie's boyfriend recently died so I guess dating and fighting over Arvid gives her something to do.

Lorali and Denis (Gwyn's nephew) are still very happy together and I hardly hear anything about them.

Viola Sharpe and Manuel had a son they named Tommy. Manuel is much older than Viola, though, and he died shortly after Tommy became a child.

I posted a picture of Sean Flynn's baby mama drumming in the park not long ago. Apparently, he's decided to marry her and make good on his family.

Adjo and Paula got married! They had a son they named Randal, then they broke up and got back together.  Also, he seems to have given up his shady lifestyle and become a respectable cop. It's kind of nice to see him on the straight and narrow these days. Then again, he just became a vampire so that could go all kinds of wacky. It's an interesting life he's been living in my game!

Jagger alternately dates and fueds with Gwyn's sisters. He's usually stalking Strawberry, too.

Patience and Cale had a daughter they named Caryn. And then another daughter they named Kimberlee!

I got a notice telling me that Sunny's husband died, but then they were still seen around town doing the usual romance stuff so I have no idea what happened there. I suspect it's one of my lag-glitches.


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A/N: Oh the lag is killing me. I'm limping through, trying to get Zeke's LTW done before porting (updated: yay! I ported finally! The story won't catch up for several more chapters, though.). Poor Nemo is the biggest victim of it, though, since no one wished to teach him anything and everything was taking too long to get through so he just fell through the cracks. Hot-headed fits with his couch potato and excitable lifestyle, though, so I'm not going to complain!

Outtakes!

Glitchy guests took a couple of days to leave after Nemo's party. VJ did his best to scare them off, though.


While the guests stayed for days, they at least entertained themselves instead of just hanging out in one place. Here are Arvid and Lorali playing in the sprinklers.


I think Lorali might be one of the few women in town that Arvid hasn't dated!


Invisible school bus. Not that Ariel actually stays at school or anything.


Trixi: "I'm tired."
Neli: "I'm tired, too!"


Trixi: "Hey! You're a ghost!"
Neli: "Hey! You're a ghost, too!"

I should be able to screw this up..

I'm attempting to Port everyone today... wish me luck!

Gen 3 Chapter 36: Babysitting blues

When Zeke took the adults in the family on vacation, Ariel was still out at the pool. So they hired a babysitter.

Locke Barkley. Worst babysitter ever.

At first, he just stood around on the porch, while Nemo passed out in the yard with the garbage. When Ariel came home and put Nemo to bed, Locke didn't leave! He stayed for almost the entire vacation, whether Ariel was home or not. When Ariel got home from school the day everyone was due back, he finally said his job was done and he was leaving!

He spent some of his time standing around the house, randomly, wishing that Nemo would shut up.



After awhile, he climbed into Zeke's and Gwyn's bed to watch tv. Apparently, there was a comedy on.



After some strenuous tv watching, Locke did a few hours worth of day dreaming!



At one point, I thought he was actually going to help out around the house a little (seriously, no one cleaned anything during the entire vacation!). He picked up the trash, looked at it, and then threw it back down on the ground! While wearing his swimwear. Then he spent several hours playing in the sprinklers. It's nice that he brought a change of clothes, I suppose.



Later, while Ariel was teaching Nemo to talk, Locke busted a move. Still wearing his swimwear! It kind of gives a different perspective on that sweet picture of Ariel and Nemo in the last chapter, eh?



While Ariel was at school, Locke decided to do the job for which he was hired. But first, he had to stand around complaining about Nemo for several minutes.



I kind of love Locke and totally want to get him and Ariel together. She did wish to chat with him at one point, but that was when he decided to actually leave! Figures.

Gen 3 Chapter 35: Home Alone

So Gwyn, Sebastian, and I went on a vacation. I probably didn't think it through quite enough, though, because that meant that our little Nemo was left at home with Ariel. I love my daughter, but she's not necessarily the most the most responsible person. I know that one of my goals in taking the vacation was to teach her some responsibility, but I probably should have thought about what it would do to Nemo too.



The babysitter we hired to watch Nemo until Ariel got home turned out to be completely worthless. He actually left Nemo sleeping out on the lawn until Ariel finally showed up and put him to bed. (Nemo, not the babysitter.)



Ariel learned pretty quickly that staying out that late wasn't the best idea when there was a toddler depending on you for every little thing. This is the part where I gloat about my genius plan to teach my daughter a lesson. (And forget about what it might do to Nemo...)



Surprisingly, Ariel turned out to be amazing with her little brother! She obviously has no trouble skipping school, so she stayed home and took incredible care of him. She kept him clean and fed and safe. She even taught him to talk!



Ariel didn't even consider having a wild party or slacking off like some teens do in this situation. She was so exhausted and stressed by the time we were halfway through our vacation, that she did something completely out of character. She actually went to school just to get a break!



That left Nemo home with that idiot babysitter again, but at least he wasn't completely worthless this time.



After school, Ariel relaxed by pondering the meaning of life. Or the school bell. Something like that. Then she headed home to care for Nemo again. She may not have done her homework or cleaned the house, but it turns out that my girl is pretty good at taking care of the people that she loves. So I suppose I'll stop worrying so much about the book learning. Ariel is going to be ok.



Gwyn was more than a little skeptical when we left, but even she had to admit that Ariel will be a good mom someday.



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A/N: Nemo lives and the house is still standing! Ariel was really fantastic about taking care of Nemo and never wished for a party or anything. I was really surprised at how well it went, actually. Ariel was completely exhausted by the end of the vacation, though, and slept in... missing school again. I think Zeke and I just have to accept that she's never going to go to school and move on.

Outtakes!

Idiot babysitter Locke Barkley. He was so crazy that I decided to give him his own "outtakes" chapter, coming up soon.


Elder Lorali has developed a thing for sprinklers. Neli did the same thing in her old age...


Locke loves himself. I kind of want to get him together with Ariel.


Sorry it's so dark, but this is a fun traffic jam that happened when everyone got back from vacation. Sebastian and Gwyn are inside the horse and Zeke is, um, behind it.

Gen 3 Chapter 34: I need a vacation!

Being an elder is hard work. Actually I work less now than I used to, which isn't doing much for my quest for that last promotion. I also tire more easily so I don't even get to enjoy all of that extra free time! It's a good thing that Gwyn is always up for a little nap, too, or we might never spend much time together!



I've learned to relax more, though. I take time to enjoy the little things. I gave my dad a lot of grief in his elder years about always being out of the house, playing his guitar around town. But I totally get it now. Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do... because you never know how much time you have left.



It helps that I have a very responsible young man around the house (and I totally understand now why my parents put so much responsibility on me when I was younger!). Sebastian is such a stable influence in the house. He loves his sister and brother and worries over his mother and me. I worry that he might be too much like me in that regard. I don't want him to postpone his own happiness by being too responsible!



Neither Gwyn nor I been too motivated to teach little Nemo anything. We just enjoy cuddling and playing with him too much, I guess! Gwyn did decide to teach him to talk one day, but they soon got sidetracked by much more interesting things.



And then there's Ariel. She's been skipping school. Again. We've recently been informed that she's failing her classes and we can't seem to get her to care about school at all. She rides the bus in the morning, but apparently gets off somewhere along the line and just goes wandering around town!



You'd think that someone would report a random teenager visiting highly public places during the school time, but so far we only hear about it after the fact. Gwyn and I have given up yelling at her at this point. It doesn't do any good, anyway. She just doesn't care at all!



(I wonder where Ariel got her insistence in playing in the water all the time, Gwyn?)



I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to teach Ariel a sense of responsibility. I want her to understand that there are no free rides. That she needs to learn and work and take care of herself.



An opportunity came up for Gwyn, Sebastian, and me to go on a free vacation. Gwyn and I talked it over and decided that this might be just the thing to teach Ariel about life! It was kind of a "sink or swim" plan... Ariel would either figure out how to fend for herself for a few days or she'd discover that she was in no way prepared to take care of herself and maybe take her studies (and life in general) a bit more seriously. It's a great plan, if I do say so myself.



I just can't help thinking that we've forgotten something.



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A/N: They actually just drove off and left poor Nemo sitting in the front yard, exhausted and hungry! Between that and their refusal to wish to teach him any of his toddler skills, I'm a little worried about the poor kid! Ariel has gone to school maybe twice in her entire teen-hood so far and no one even bothers to punish her for it anymore. The household is so weird right now!

Outtakes!

Little Nemo is going to get a complex, what with most of his family standing around complaining about him!


Jagger was a bit of a creeper while Gwyn was playing in the sprinkler...


This is just sad. Poor Nemo passed out in the yard, with the garbage. They actually "called" a babysitter before they left, but he just stood around on the front porch doing absolutely nothing.

Gen 3 Chapter 33: Old timer

Gwyn says I'm too easy on the kids. I pointed out that I yelled at Sebastian for skipping school, so she was obviously wrong about me. She pointed out that I let Ariel off the hook the next day even though she was the one who actually did skip school. Seems like I'm always doing the right thing with the wrong kid. Or vice versa.



Then Gwyn got fed up with the whole thing and went to a party at her sisters' house. Can't say as I blame her. Still, she looks pretty hot all gussied up!



It was a formal party, so all of her sisters were in various states of undress. I don't get them at all. Gwyn entertained herself by sneaking around and scaring people while Ariel (who tagged along, I think to get back in her mother's good graces) made everyone some dinner.



That left us boys alone at home. I don't know what my sons did after I went to bed, but I could hear that cat of Sebastian's tearing around the house at all hours of the night!



The next day, I figured it might be a good idea to get back into Gwyn's good graces myself, so I worked on cleaning up her garden. It's been neglected lately, what with everything that was going on with the kids.



Ariel has cleaned up Gwyn's old work out equipment, left from her military days, and has been building her athletic skills. She still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up, though, so I didn't quite know what to make of her new hobby at first.



I soon discovered what had led to Gwyn's drive to tone up... it was prom time! Girls do that, don't they? Diet and exercise before prom? She never asked for a formal dress, though, and went to prom in her everyday clothes without a date. I don't understand girls at all.



There was so much going on in our family that I completely forgot that it was my birthday! Ahh, youth, I will miss you.



"Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?" Wise words, Beatles.



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A/N: Short chapter to use up the pictures I had ready to go, but I thought it ended in a nice place. They're all kind of going their separate ways right now, so I really don't know what Sebastian and Nemo were doing during these events, other than Sebastian visiting the park at one point. I hate it when my household gets up to 5 or 6 Sims and I can't keep track of everyone... but they're all so interesting!


Outtakes!

Random people have been playing in the sprinkler lately. Sims are so weird.


Sean Flynn is now a deadbeat dad. Judging by this picture of his baby mama in the park with their daughter, she's not the greatest parent either! She was still here until way after dark, too.


Arvid was at the party that Gwyn and Ariel went to and Ariel wanted to talk to him but never got around to it. It reminded me of her aunts' preference for older men, though!


Why yes, there are two puddles of pee in the kitchen while one of Gwyn's sisters hogs the bathroom in order to talk to herself in the mirror. No one could use the toilet for practically the entire party!


Sparkle Zeke.