The nice thing about a celebrity gate is that people can't get in to do things that they shouldn't be doing...like smashing pumpkins. And considering that ne'er-do-wellers were unable to get in, Molly's pumpkins that she had carved were still intact. Morning brought Yasunobu down to eat breakfast, which allowed him some peace and quiet. At least there was no Sandi (she was off at military school) to stand on chairs and yell about "royal orders". That was the good thing about sending kids to military school. That and the fact that they would come home as young adults with a good solid helping of discipline. (Author's note: I tried to set up Fiona and Yasunobu together, but even with Master Controller, it messed up River's marriage with Haruo - it became a no-woohoo relationship so I axed Fiona and Yasunobu's relationship all together). With Yasunobu now affianced to Susan, Fiona had her eyes set on Yasunobu's middle brother, Toshiyuki. It has to be said that no-one in the Chikamori family can resist a "redhead". (Author's note: I should know. I'm married to one who was born a red-head. ) And Yasunobu was head over heels with Susan. Instead of uninhibited osculation, River and Haruo were spending their time painting and trying to earn more money for their next vacation. Although the former would have been much more nice, there was a reason for having to paint...and that was paying the mortgage and the bills. At §3K twice a week, that proved to be quite the financial ouchy. But something that would make a big financial gain was Haruo's big collection of tiberium rocks that he had gathered. At an average value of §37K a rock once cut, it would give them a land-slide fortune financially, especially with cutting them with the gemcutter that they owned. That meant that any gem-dust was theirs and tiberium gem dust grew into large spires themselves...so it was twice the haul for the effort. You would never see tiberium dust consigned...ever, unless the sim was extremely ignorant of the latent value. So Haruo laboriously dragged each and every rock over to the gem-cutter and cut them ALL. as well as gathered the gem-dust, which promptly went outside to grow. (Author's note: Considering how radioactive and deadly the tiberium is in C&C (Command & Conquer) - let's just say you get slowly turned into tiberium if you come in contact with it or breathe it in, it's amazing how tame (other than visceroidal nausea) that the tiberium is in Sims 3 and that was a motherlode of tiberium that Haruo had there on the display shelf. Meanwhile River turned down yet another townie's request for a date. "Fer crying mother of God...I'm married, you flarking idjit..." ...and they went back to painting again. Which was the main income stream other than when tiberium rocks sprouted on the property. The Creator is magnanimous...He shall giveth...and the Sims shall receive. Fall was definitely upon Sunset Valley as most of the deciduous trees had turned colors. and the smell of fall was ripe in the air. It certainly made for a wonderful season. And occasionally there was a downturn in the temperature which froze the surface of the lake that was on their property, which allowed Satoshi to have a break from fishing. When Haruo was finished painting ninjas, he went back to writing a book that he had been working on. Molly came home from work and added to the leftovers in the fridge with a new batch of food.
And after a while Haruo got rather randy... And River and Haruo ended up in the shower again. Food and sleep would also be a good idea...y'know...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
In the morning Yasunobu went and broke more spacerocks but surprisingly didn't get a single gemstone out of all of them that he busted up. His two younger brothers, because of the warm spell, went out instead to fish in their pond, which was quite fun. At least they didn't have to go anywhere to go find the fish that they needed. Everything was stocked and ready for rod and reel. Haruo fielded a date call from Madison Van Watson which he turned down flat. "No thank you, I'm a happily married sim. No there is no likelihood of my ever being divorced. Good bye." River painted yet another masterpiece which brought in almost §1900 into the household upon selling it. After some less than stellar interactions with Clark Sauer when he was asked to come repair electrical items, Haruo opted to save himself the aggravation and just fix the darned thing himself. He was lucky and didn't zap himself. Yasunobu went to pay the bills while Haruo had to fend off yet another phone call. "No Morgana, I really thought that you were married to Thornton. No, I'm sorry, I'm not in the slightest bit interested. I'm happily married to River. No...not interested. Good bye." Oy, some sims! Frustrated at the obtuseness of the townies who didn't get the idea that other sims could be happily married and uninterested in destroying their own marriages, he went up and had dinner with his beloved wife. Meanwhile Satoshi had a lovely dance with his wife and River's mother got really close with Toshiyuki. Such was life at the Chikamori household. It was nice and quiet...along with a whole smattering of romance.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The next morning dawned bright and early, but Yasunobu was up before the sun. Hearing the little chirps from the little yellow fluffballs was just entirely too much and Yasunobu regained a little of his childhood while cuddling those little balls of fluff which cheeped so happily at being paid attention to. Once Yasunobu was finished playing with chicks, the plants in the greenhouse awaited his tending touch. River and Haruo were in the dojo in the morning practicing up their SIm Fu. Haruo had progressed in board breaking to balsa boards while River was still trying to break multiple foam boards at one time. She enjoyed the workout. And eventually she achieved her green belt. This sim fu practice area was small in comparison to the rest of the house, and it seemed as though they would quite possibly have to expand their house a lot more. But until they were able to financially afford it, they opted to stick with the current design of the house. Eventually, Satoshi came to join them in practicing Sim Fu. And River spent her time focusing on breaking the boards. Since quarters were so tight in the Sim Fu practice gym, Satoshi and Haruo decided to take their sparring match downstairs to the main lobby in front of the front doors. "Well, nephew, let us see what you can do..."
"Well, I'm a green belt compared to your orange, uncle" "Almost walked right into that one, uncle. Come now, you expect me to go easy on you?" "Ah, nephew, you hit like a pansy."
"Oh, really, uncle?" "Very good, grasshopper, you have achieved the art of Sim Fu..." Uncle Satoshi grinned at his nephew during the course of their sparring match. "Now can you take down your uncle quickly" "Well, Uncle...there is always this move..." "...or how about this one, Uncle..." as Satoshi stepped into a high side kick that sent him flying back. It was only his adept flexibility to execute a proper landing that prevented him from getting injured. "That was a good kick, nephew... But how about this one..." The fight ended in a 2-1 win for Haruo as the higher belt proved his experience. And Haruo went back upstairs to break some more boards, while Uncle Satoshi nursed his bruises out fishing. Evidently that sparring match helped Haruo achieve his blue belt, because he spun into a blue belt as soon as he'd broken eight more boards. And River and Haruo spent the rest of the day breaking boards.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
In the graveyard, there was an incredibly distraught ghost who had come out for the second time in a week. She hovered just outside of her little fenced in plot. Evidently being the esteemed Underworld Psychological Torture Administrator wasn't good enough for her; she missed being able to torture her own family and subjugate them to her will. But no amount of wailing or making generally spooky noises or haunting her tombstone would make up for not being able to leave the vicinity of the graveyard. Fiona realized that she was missing a Logic book that she needed to up her logic skill level so she went over to the bookstore to purchase a logic book before work and she went straight from the bookstore to work. Since it was Susan's day off from work, she ended up helping Yasunobu with the greenhouse plants. The Greenhouse is two stories tall because otherwise the trees poke out through the roof. Yasunobu and Susan were so in love that they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Toshiyuki painted and sculpted - he created a wonderful looking topiary dragon. Fiona worked on an article in order to boost her article/reviews status at work. It was important to do so if she wanted a promotion. Haruo and River kissed each other intimating that they should head for the bedroom and (nope...not going there)... while Molly decided to have a major argument with Charles the Evil Chicken - the little snot told her to take off her "schtupid Sim suit - I think Molly's considering chicken stew tomorrow night. And...the night before Haruo and River were to leave for their trip to Al Simhara and Shang Sim La on a six day vacation (thank you NRAAS Traveller), they had some marital fun. It was a wonder that they didn't miss their plane.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
28 Chapters already and Haruo and River still haven't had kids yet. Yes, this Selfacy is on majorly epic life-span.
The Chikamori Selfacy
Al Simhara
Arrival in Al Simhara was a relief after a long arduous journey. It was filled with changing planes and wondering if they would miss their connecting flight to Egypt. But they made it and it was a blast of hot air that greeted them as they stepped out of the airport. Then it was a long car ride from Cairo to Al Simhara base camp. First order of business after arriving at the base camp was to stop by the Al Simhara market to eat and to purchase items. Once that was gotten out of the way, then they would be able to enjoy the vacation. Haruo and River went out to see the Pyramids...and there Haruo gave River one of the cameras that he had bought as a spousal gift, just to tell her just how much he loved her. Knowing that one of her loves was photography, as well as his; he felt that she deserved the best and gave her a Hikon (The author loves that camera because he's always been a Nikon-shooter and will always remain one - sigh, if they had only had tripods and super-telephotos in the game). After spending some time marvelling at the Pyramids, they came back across the Nile River and spent some time relaxing in their tent to avoid the heat of the midday. Then afterwards, they took some time to take a look at the Sphinx. Dinner was at the Al Simhara Market with River having Shawarma and Haruo having Falafel. And returning to base-camp they went to sleep. The next morning, instead of exploring Al Simhara, they decided to take some time for themselves to visit an oasis. There was an open vacation home and River and Haruo decided to make use of it. They were still basking in the glow of newly married status. First things first; they had a lovely little pillow-fight. After all, when you're on vacation and find a nice place that you can temporarily make use of, why not have a pillow-fight; priorities. And what better way to cool down and wash off the sweat from the heat of pillowfighting than to enjoy some woohoo in the shower. Thank goodness for shower glass that has patterns - can't see a thing. Yeah, that definitely wasn't enough for River and Haruo. They also had to rock the tent yet again. Some of Haruo's vacation time was spent fishing and River spent it playing guitar to up her skill-level. Luckily no Al Simhara residents showed up to interrupt them since it was considered gauche to show romantic relations in a Muslim country in "public" and considering the attire that River and Haruo were in...at that oasis...the Al Simhara residents would be appalled; horrified. It was safe to say that Haruo and River were still in their blissful status of "honeymoon" lovers. The Creator had to watch that tent spin around in mid-air yet again. If they don't behave, they're going to come home with a squalling bundle of marital joy. Yeah...I think they needed yet another shower to clean up. That's what happens...when you think this is fun. Hey...there's so many sights to see in Egypt. y'know... Considering that it was getting dark, they headed back to basecamp and headed off to sleep. The next day they were scheduled to head off to Shang Sim La because there was day of travel involved. And while Haruo and River slept, the creator went out and decided to do a little sight-seeing of his own.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
River and Haruo were sad to leave Al Simhara, though they were relieved to get out of the blistering heat. Al Simhara was 40+ degrees centigrade on most days and it was too easy to get a sunburn if one was out in it for too long. Not too bad of a situation if one had a lot of melanin, because it took more time to get sunburned, but for someone of Irish descent such as River, who had absolutely fair skin in comparison to Haruo, a sunburn could end up being pretty bad. Their arrival in Shang Sim La was uneventful. They hopped into a car to head for the market. First item of business on their itinerary was to stop in at the Phoenix Academy for the Martial Arts. After getting all sweaty and gross during the course of their martial arts practice, they decided to save water and shower together. Yeah yeah, the Creator knows this is just an excuse so that they could woohoo. Gosh darn it...y'know...there's kids around the Academy too, y'know. What if they walked in on you? World Adventures building doors don't lock. I don't know how much therapy costs in yuan.
"Mama, what are they doing?"
"ai-yah!!! Don't look...Don't look!!! Too young...not learn biology yet..."
"Mommy, what's biology?" Oh dear, did I hear chimes? After the Academy interlude, they headed to the Shang Sim La market where River negotiated with the artifacts dealer on some precious metals that they would take home and get smelted. A tired couple fell asleep in their basecamp bed.
The next day was filled with checking out the sights... But after River started feeling a bit queasy, they decided that the best bet would be to fly home after the second day. Could it be...that she'd eaten something that had really disagreed with her internal constitution? Well, when they got home, Haruo drove her back home and River got right back to painting. But it wasn't long before... Haruo's poor beloved wife had to run for the washroom to empty out the contents of her stomach. River, seriously disgusted by the taste left in her mouth after throwing up, had to brush her teeth to get the taste out. Hopefully the minty taste of her toothpaste didn't send her running back to worship the porcelain god. Haruo, worried over his wife being sick like this, wondered what was going on...just hugged and kissed his wife, hoping that the illness wasn't too serious. And then he got down to fixing the broken computer.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
River was working on another Masterpiece painting, absolutely focused on every brush-stroke. It was wonderful watching her paint; the care and attention to detail honed over many months of practice. As a level 10 master of painting, she was sought after by collectors and her paintings sold for over §1K. She was in demand and that felt good because at least it kept the bills paid and the roof over their head. There was a certain amount of satisfaction in being able to bring in a lot of money into the household. Her husband was doing it with his writing now as well as doing his own painting and he also collected the tiberium rocks that spawned in the yard and that provided a hefty cha-ching in the financial wallet. Life was good, but Haruo and River were never satisfied with status quo. Their objective was to not have any money worries at all. But financial worries aside, the job of trying to make ends meet, was tossed by the wayside when a nasty nauseous feeling overcame River. ...which heralded yet another panicked egress from the artist's area to the washroom. She paused for a moment staring down at the toilet as her stomach roiled making her wonder if it was just a scare but no, poor River...the contents of her stomach made another reaquaintance enroute to the john. It was not pretty nor was it comfortable, because for a long time, it felt as though River wasn't able to stop throwing up. It took a long while before she was able to stand up straight as she looked weakly at the contents of the toilet with a look of distaste before flushing the toilet. When she could stand without having to lean against the wall, she made her way to the sink. She hastily popped the cap on the tooth paste, placed it on her toothbrush and shoved the toothbrush into her mouth brushing vigorously so that she could get every last bit of that vomit taste out of her mouth. She had never felt this sick before. It felt as if giant hands had taken her innards and squeezed them, twisting them into shapes they weren't meant to be twisted into. When she had gotten the taste of the vomit out of her mouth, she made her way slowly and painfully back to the easel, her stomach not feeling any better than it did when she made that 50 yard dash to the toilet. The pond had completely frozen over as Sunset Valley was in the clutches of a cold-snap. The rest of the family was having dinner. River valiantly struggled to keep her stomach from rebelling, but it was no use. Her stomach felt like a ship caught in a Category Five hurricane. It felt as though the contents of her stomach were being whipped up into a churning mass of nausea. "Oh god, here we go again..." moaned River as she stared at the toilet, then heaved...dropping towards the toilet on her knees. and upchucked what little remained in her stomach...until she was spent...dry-heaving. And the ritual of brushing her teeth started over yet again.
Poor River.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Annoying Pregnancy Side-Effects and Annoying Phonecalls
Sunset Valley's cold snap made the whole town sparkle in the moonlight. Frost covered practically every inch of the ground. And it was gorgeous...and cold. Cold enough to make one's teeth chatter like castanets. But the clear sky and the ever-present moon made the hoarfrost glitter like diamonds as the moonlight reflected off the blades of grass. River answered her insistently ringing cell-phone. She was not impressed; if Nokias weren't indestructable she would have gladly pitched the phone off the fifth floor balcony. However...it was and she didn't.
"Do you know what time of the night it is? Really? You want me to go on a date with YOU? Are you flippin' kidding me, Gus? I'm fifteen years younger than you. On top of that I'm married and have a kid on the way. Do you know what my husband would do to you? Oh...that's inappropriate and no...not even when hel freezes over. Goodnight! Don't call here again."
River was not the least bit impressed. River's husband, Haruo, had gone out to pick up some of the rocks that had spawned during the day, Tanzanite and Luminorious gems, so River stared out the window contemplating on how to make her husband desire her... ...which wasn't hard to accomplish. "Like what you see?" purred River as she heard their bedroom door open and Haruo walked in.
Oh yeah...
Next morning, Toshiyuki went over to see Emma Hatch about a painting that she had commissioned from him. He earned almost §5K from that painting alone. Then considering that he was famished he headed directly over to Hogan's Diner for their breakfast menu. Susan was nearly late for work as she had underestimated the amount of time she would need to get ready. After all, nothing said mornings like a mad dash for the car, timing oneself if they had enough time to commute to work before early morning clock-in. Molly ate breakfast which meant a major cleanup of the dining room table afterwards - Molly didn't - confounded slob. River painted until she got the urge to read a baby book. Molly headed to work at the Bistro in the early afternoon utilizing Susan's Big Lemon. Fiona after getting home from work that Friday afternoon headed to her room that she shared with Toshiyuki and wanted to write a novel, however the computer's internals were fried and she had to fix it first. River had the urge to nest and ordered herself a rocking chair which was put in the area of the living room with the concert grand piano that Haruo used to practice Bach on. Then after rocking her amniotic fluid so the little one wouldn't squirm, she went over to the kitchenette to grab a bite to eat - it was nice having a kitchenette as it certainly would make life easier when having kids because they would not have to deal with walking down several flights of stairs just to go to the main kitchen for food (interesting that fridges all seemed to be linked and teleport the food to whatever fridge they open - has anyone found a mod to separate fridges and have each have their own individual food? Probably coding doesn't allow that). Haruo having achieved Level 10 Mastery in Painting as well was starting to see his paintings gain value. So he started painting a lot more too. Satoshi started a book on fishing. Nesting urges prompted River to go down to the main kitchen and clean up Molly's mess - River wasn't impressed in the slightest, considering that she was now showing and started the pregnancy waddle - walking around with a maternal belly distended was uncomfortable as heck and River was irritable - she felt unattractive even though Haruo kept reassuring her that she was absolutely beautiful and radiant. She told him he was blind. Coming along with those hormonal urges was the desire to woohoo...her libido went up by 10. Yes, biology 101, kiddies. Haruo had no complaints whatsoever when River jumped him in the shower. Didn't think any red-blooded male would either. In an inopportune moment, River got yet another phone-call just as she got out of the shower with her husband.
"Good God, Parker, do you know just exactly what time of night it is? WHAT? YOU...want me to go on a date with YOU? You turned me down in high-school...secondly, you were at my WEDDING to my beloved. Are you kidding me? No, Parker, I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last person on earth. Good night, Parker."
~click~ dialtone. "You know I love...YOU...right?"
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
So Long to Hair, Molly and Satoshi (And Sandi French too)
Next morning found Haruo and River reading books. River ended up rolling a wish to have her husband read a pregnancy book, so Haruo had to sit down and curl up with the book for a couple of hours. What was nice was to have River right next to him reading a book that Haruo had written. While in the midst of that book, River got a call from a guy wanting to know if she would do a physical fitness increase. River had to turn that down because of the little guy or gal in the works. "Sorry, no can do...I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize my pregnancy." The second trimester certainly helped in that the stomach queasiness was over and she wasn't about to have to run to the washroom to empty her guts. Meanwhile, Fiona was writing yet another book while Toshiyuki was reading a skill book. Then they had a late dinner. They both opted for hot and sour soup which proved to be a major mistake. River was ready to say good-bye to her hair because of the fact that when the little one came, she didn't want to end up having her hair grabbed with little fingers covered in the glop that their kid ate, thus ending up having to wash it every day. Toshiyuki had to fix the dishwasher because it broke just as he put a new load of dishes in the dishwasher. Luckily for him it didn't zap him. Haruo and River got some sleep because they knew they would be short on it once the baby arrived. A baby was a fire-siren with a poo-factory attached to the other end and either side went off with unending regularity. Molly restocked the fridge with victuals so that people who needed to eat had stuff to choose from.
Satoshi talked with Yasunobu and let him know that although it was wonderful to have lived in such an absolutely gorgeous house together for so long, it was time for he and Molly to make their way in the world on their own. Yasunobu was disappointed, but he was happy for them and offered to find them a house that would suit their needs. In fact, the now deceased Boyd Wainright's house was vacant and up for sale and the realtor had given them a good deal. So they moved.
Which left the house with only six occupants currently with another occupant to come. And that occupant would run the household for the amount of time that it took for him or her to grow up from baby to child. River and Haruo would be at the baby's beck and call.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
After Satoshi, Molly and Sandi left for their new home, Toshiyuki and Fiona left for the Bistro to have themselves a bit of an afternoon date. Where they saw Gus O'Malley-Hart who had a love-lorn expression because River had told him to take a long walk off a short-pier when he had called to ask for a date. Really, he didn't understand why? Some sims are dense. "Why...won't River go out with me?"
Probably because she's happily married, you dolt! The happily married River Chikamori was painting...an alien. Considering she was hungry she went to the fridge to get some Key Lime Pie - thank goodness, she was past her first trimester as Key Lime Pie doesn't taste all that great coming back up the esophagus. Haruo joined her at the table because he was hungry too. They also were talking about how close the tiberium was to their food supply and the radiation probably wasn't that good for the food even though the fridge was quite insulated. Perhaps moving the Carter's Large Display shelf would be a wise choice. Toshiyuki, after a wonderful date with Fiona, decided on a monumental life-changing decision and popped the question to which Fiona eagerly and most enthusiastically said "YES!". Ah, the Chikamori men have quite the way with the women. And...Toshiyuki and Fiona couldn't get enough of each other. Meanwhile River's nesting urges prompted her to put away all stray books in the house. Haruo was working on his martial arts with the spare set of training dummy and breaking blocks that they had purchased while in Shang Sim La and River came up to watch him. Her eyes were wide when she noticed that he was breaking concrete panels. And then her hormones kicked in...the arousal of a virile male breaking boards with his bare hands...elicited some deep primordial want in her. Yes, pregnancy hormones can do that... ...and they ended up in the shower again. The things that shower has seen.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
They say that any sort of "play" stimulates the body and promotes contractions...well...that pretty much did it...just as they were getting ready to head for bed...it happened. River...went into labour... And Haruo lost his mind. Oh for pete's sake, your wife is in labour, it's not the end of the world. Shut up and get the car! Idjit! At least RL Haruo didn't go into hysterics when HIS RL wife's water broke, he calmly grabbed the suitcase, threw it in the car, and then calmly loaded his wife into the vehicle and drove to the hospital. You're embarrasing me, Sim-Haruo! ~facepalm~ and I'll have you know that it happened on three different occasions too...and none of them, did I go completely fruitloops mentally. Grow a pair! For River, never having experienced childbirth before, the labour pains were excruciating. At several points, she swore up and down that Haruo was never, ever touching her again and that she would rip it off so that he wouldn't ever do that to her again.
Frankly it made Haruo wonder about his personal safety. But all of that vanished when River held her newborn in her arms: their baby boy, Allan. Her first concern was to get Allan home and out of the cold. They took a cab home. Allan started to fuss because he was hungry so River fed him a bottle until they could get inside the house. Birthing is stressful on both the mother and the newborn so River cuddled her baby boy and then put him into the crib to sleep. Haruo thought it might be a good idea to get a second crib so that they could be close to the baby while still being able to paint and write. At least Allan would be within easy reach if he started fussing.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
In the morning, River and Haruo brought Allan out to the crib in the living room and put him in there so that they could get busy on the money-making tasks for the day. Allan Takeo Chikamori was a quiet baby who didn't fuss much and spent most of his time in the crib staring up at the ceiling. Haruo and River did what they had to do. Haruo wrote novels and RIver painted. When Allan did fuss, he only did so because he was either hungry, had a dirty diaper or was lonely. And River attended to him, holding him and feeding him or changing his diaper when necessary.
It just so happened that River had a "Painting the City" (Thank you MC) opportunity come in, so she went down to City Hall and divested herself of the 15 Large Paintings that she had already accumulated. Haruo adored his infant son. He held the little baby in his arms and snuggled with him, revelling in the fact that he was now a father. Of course Fiona got time with her grandson as well. And there was a whole lotta love to go around for little Allan.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Babies usually have a schedule that is all their own. They sleep when they're tired; they wake up if they have a soiled diaper or they're hungry or lonely. And it doesn't matter if they are waking you up at two in the morning from a dead-sleep. If they're awake...you darned well better be; if you aren't...you will be. Many an early morning during his early father-hood, has the Creator been subjected to a wide-awake fire-alarm who squirmed while smelling like an outhouse. And if you have never been having to function at 2:05AM trying to change a diaper, wipe a bottom and re-diaper it in the dark so that you don't end up waking up your significant other who has given birth to this little fire-siren with a poo-factory attached that you remind yourself that you love with all your being; the sole thought in your mind being "Oh...God...make it stop!" you don't know the meaning of "desperation". Welcome to Parenting 101. Allan on the other hand was like no baby that anyone has heard of before. Evidently in the Sims 3, they start out right from the start by sleeping practically through the night. Must be a bug. Note to new-to-be parents: This is NOT normal. Expect sleepless nights. You are a parent. The symptoms take nine months to appear, and last for eighteen years. Congratulations. There is a saying. "How fortunate for the survival of the human race is it that babies are as cute as can be?" That saying is truer than ever at two in the morning. There should only be three things awake at two in the morning. Parents of babies, first responders and emergency room personnel. Susan was awoken mid-dream as her emergency pager went off and she had to go in to work to help deal with a crisis.
> ...and that would keep her up for the rest of the morning. Meanwhile Allan kept sleeping...allowing his parents to fully rest. This is not a normal baby. Even when he woke up, he didn't cry... ...allowing his parents to get a full-night's sleep. This is not normal. By four thirty AM, the parents were up and ready to start the day. River and Haruo went into the kitchenette to have breakfast and get ready to start earning money. Allan stayed in his crib and stared at the ceiling until Mommy and Daddy were ready to come collect him from his crib. I tell you, this kid...is definitely a simulation, because most parents would be over the moon to have a kid like him...that slept through the night. And when Daddy came to hold him and play with him, he let out of a squeal of contentment. River noticed that Allan was hungry so she fed him a bottle, did the whole nuzzle, snuggle and burp thing and then laid him back down in his crib so that she could get on with her day of painting. This filled up all of Allan's meters and he went to sleep a contented baby. And Haruo and River got to keep their sanity for yet another day.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Haruo had his share of time with Allan. He adored his son and wanted to spend time with him. He'd hold him and cradle him; play with him and do the whole snuggle thing and coo at Allan who'd just gurgle happily. One of the key factors in a baby's development is socialization, just as you would a pet. No socialization, you get a mal-adjusted baby who is frightened of everything. Sims are social creatures and need a certain amount of social contact or they will get lonely. So one of the things that Haruo did was to tell River that he was going to go for a walk with Allan to the grocery store and that it was a good opportunity to test out the new baby stroller that they had purchased. First thing he did was end up jamming Allan's stroller wheels in the brick that bordered the sidewalk leading up to the door. Evidently his stroller pushing skills were not at genius level yet. ...and then he nearly walked Allan into the fountain. Luckily for Allan, Haruo didn't try to push the stroller through the concrete fence. That would have not gone well for Allan. Crossing the street, Haruo continued on his way down Summerhill Court admiring the fall colors in the background. It was a great day for a walk. Everything would have been fine if he had just hung on to the stroller. After buying groceries from the grocery store, Haruo decided that he was going to walk back home. So he strolled down the sidewalk with Allan in the stroller. It was not a rainy day so the weather was nice even if there was a bit of a cold bite to the air. Allan was a wonderful baby and just chose to take in the sights rather than kick up a fuss. But it was evident that he was hungry so Haruo stopped at the corner by the bookstore and took the opportunity to feed him a bottle. Once Allan was done with the bottle, Haruo burped him over his shoulder. Luckily he didn't get a whole pile of baby spitup all over his shoulder. After feeding and burping Allan, Haruo put Allan back in the stroller and then proceeded on his way across the street. They walked past Central Park, which was resplendant in fall colors and the small pond was not frozen. In fact, if one had paused, one could still see fish active in the lake under the surface. Strange things happened when they walked past the school. Allan: (thinking) Why is my face smacking in to your legs? Things did straighten themselves out though. And Haruo and Allan "strolled" past the Diner. ...where Haruo got the bright idea to see just how well the stroller would roll on its own. Not cool, Haruo...NOT COOL at all!!! You got a poor baby in there and on top of that, you know how well Sims drive. How could you?!!! ...and that proved to be the end of the walk as Haruo got the bright idea that he wasn't about to test the stroller going UP the hill and chose to take a cab home. The Creator says, "I have made this graven sim in my image and well...that sounds about right." I look at a hill and go "Oh God...Nope...not happening." Thank goodness I don't live up at the top of a hill... Well, surprisingly, with all the glitches and stuff, Haruo and Allan did manage to complete a successful walk without getting killed by the insane drivers of Sunset Valley and that was a relief.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Allan was a lovely little baby, who rarely ever fussed if at all. And River and Haruo did whatever they could to keep him that way. Feedings were done on time, making sure that he did what he needed to do, diaper changes...the whole nine yards. River adored Allan and cradled him every chance that she got. But all too soon, it was time for him to age up. This called for a family party where the seven members of the Chikamori family got together upstairs in River's and Haruo's suite and celebrated Allan's aging up to toddler. After blowing out the candles, Haruo set Allan down on the floor and he transformed into a toddler. Isn't this so much more cool than stretching bones and growing pains? Well, Allan aged up into a cute little toddler with a brush cut and like his mother ended up with red hair...which would later darken to a reddish-brown. He seemed pretty happy about the whole aging up process...and then started rooting for nasal-nuggets - EWWWWW!!!! Allan immediately gravitated towards the glockenspiel where he started pounding on it with the little hammers which made for an incredible noise. But best of all, Allan loved Grandpa and Yasunobu loved his grandson. Grandpa gave good snuggles... ...and best of all, Grandpa played "the Claw..." ooooh...the Claw...ohhhh...it's gonna get you. Allan... ...and Yasunobu fed Allan with some home-made food pureed so that Allan could eat it. If there is one thing that concerns new parents, is the task of taking care of children, but being able to keep their romantic relationship alive. The nice thing about having extended family in the same household was being able to call on their own parents for help and Fiona and Yasunobu were more than happy to help River and Haruo take care of their children, because that meant that Fiona and Yasunobu were able to spend time with their grandchild. It also meant that...Haruo and River...could work on their relationship
...and get busy on making Baby Number Two. Ah...c'est l'amour.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Yasunobu was no slouch in the "getting asked for dates" department either. Evidently the Tramp of Sunset Valley, since she couldn't set her sights on Haruo, decided that she would call Yasunobu to see if he would go on a date with her. Yasunobu turned her down flat. No, Jamie Jolina-Frio, Connor's wife, you aren't going to get an affirmative answer on your date-request trying to call him at one in the morning, or five or noon...or any times in between those times. Try NEVER. It took Yasunobu one point zero two seconds to go from zero to ticked off. "Do you even...know...what time...it is?"(insert generic Asian accent) "Are you freakin' crazy or something...You wake up my fiancee, she scream your ear off..." At least for River and Haruo, they knew that Alan, now being a toddler would sleep through the majority of the night. And it made for a nice quiet sleep. In the morning Haruo paid the bills and fielded a phone call from Mrs. Gus O'Malley-Hart, who had decided that Gus was such a disgusting slob that she wanted out of her marriage. "No, Mrs. Hart, please do me a favour and take my name off your rolodex, because I'm not available at all. Just where do you come up with your names of potential hookups? Are you working at the DMV?" "God in Heaven, I need to get myself an unlisted number..." In the interim, River was having problems of her own. In the midst of having to feed Alan or (Thing 1)... ...it was very clear that her bit of woohoo with Haruo had managed to create Thing 2. She definitely knew from the stomach upset that it wasn't the smell of Alan's pureed food that caused her to want to throw up. Nope, it wasn't ANY better than the last time.
Post edited by Nikkei_Simmer on
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Fiona offered to watch Allan while River got some painting done. And she went over to pick him up and sit with him in the rocking chair. It was good grandmother-grandson time that Fiona cherished. However it was Haruo that ended up continuing his painting rather than River who took this time to take a bath and freshen up. Taking care of a little one was tiring and frankly, time to oneself was at a premium. River did take the time to teach Allan how to talk. It was an exhaustive process but she was ultimately successful. Haruo went and cut the tiberium in the gem-cutter producing a lot of tiberium to plant out in the yard. The spires and gem-dust would prove to be a good financial investment in their future. Susan had an emergency at the hospital that she had to deal with and had to fly out the door, regardless of the fact that it was the weekend. Such was life in the medical field. River finally got a chance to paint mid-afternoon and painted a gorgeous painting. ...while Allan got his daily dose of fibre...yeah...chewing on a mallet probably isn't the best way of getting one's daily intake of fibre (wood grain). And Fiona shook her head wondering how Allan had gotten the eating habits of the Canadian castor canadensis. River then taught Allan how to walk. She was proud of her little man when he succeeded in learning how to toddle his way across the floor to her. Haruo was proud of him too and took the opportunity to pick him up and give him a snuggle, while it was abundantly clear that Allan was content. Allan loved it when his daddy picked him up and cuddled tightly against his father's chest. He felt protected. Haruo did the dirty work...mainly potty training Allan. It definitely was a stinky process and the aroma that emanated from Allan's rear-droppings were what Granddaddy Yasunobu referred to as country perfume. It made Haruo wince and his eyes water. Allan was so smart he mastered potty training in two sittings which spared Haruo's nasal passages. "It's all done, sweetheart."
"Oh...thank God...I thought somebody's cow died from the stink emanating from the bathroom." Ah...love = sparing the one that you care about from having to do the "dirty stuff" like changing diapers and dealing with potty training even if it makes you want to power-heave into the nearest garbage can.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Deflecting Nuisance Calls and Giving Birth to Braden
A pre-sleep ritual for Haruo and River was to spend time together in the shower...and that's probably one of the reasons why River got pregnant again. They really need to have some time between little ones. When they were sufficiently relaxed, River brought Allan into the bedroom and put him in his crib. ...and everybody went to sleep... Morning saw Allan still asleep which was a relief for Haruo and River as that meant that they could sleep in some too before having to get up to start a new day. There was nothing like waking up with the arms of the one you love around you. And being under the covers was comfortably warm when the weather started getting colder. Being warm, under the covers, made it really hard to get up, mainly because one didn't want to. But eventually one has to. River made the bed while Haruo got Allan up for the morning. It was getting harder for River to bend over because of her protruding baby-belly. Allan went ahead and crawled to the block box when he was put down on the ground. Yet another nuisance date-call. Haruo went back to painting. "Oh, hello, Connor, what can I do for you? Excuse me? My impression was that you were a happily married man. Am I wrong in assuming that? Because, Mr. Frio, I happen to be very happily married and not inclined to wander."
~mutterings from telephone receiver~
"I'm sorry, Mr. Frio, No I am not interested in dating you, nor anyone else, other than my husband, for that matter..." "Look Mr. Frio, I don't mean to be rude, but frankly, you are the sixth caller in the past three days and frankly, I don't know what is up with Sunset Valley, whether they're all going through the seven year itch, but frankly, I don't intend to break up at any point with my husband and I'm happily married. And frankly these calls are starting to brass my tacks, if you get my meaning?"
~more mutterings from the phone receiver~
"Oh...really, Mr. Frio, now you're really starting to get me annoyed. Oh, you think you're such a catch? Well, then tell me, how come if you're such a catch, your marriage to Jamie Jolina-Frio is disintegrating? And you feel as though that gives you the license to wander."
~loud mutterings from phone receiver~
"Well, that certainly isn't my problem, is it?" "Oh, really...you're going to comment about my husband's ~what?~ Well, that's none of your business. In any case shouldn't you be more worried about your disintegrating marriage to the Tramp of Sunset Valley instead of worrying about MY husband's you-know-what and what he does with it which by the way, is none of your ~bleeping~ business. You know what, Connor, how about you go take your proclivities out on the nearest meat grinder, that will solve your problems in one fell swoop. Now I'd suggest you get off the phone, stick your you know what in the nearest beehive and get stung. I highly suggest you don't call here again or I will let my husband know just exactly what you said and have him have a discussion with you about your propensity to put your mind in the gutter and I presume that you'll have a nice talk with my husband's father's fiancee about the injuries that you sustain. Then I will sue you for sexual harassment. That sink in, Connor. Do not call here again. Good day to you." Hearing his beloved wife's spirited defense of him, Haruo was incredibly aroused by his wife's fiery temper. "He really went there?" Haruo grinned at River.
River nodded, still rather angered at Connor, but the kiss from Haruo went a long way to getting rid of that. Aroused, herself, River nodded towards the shower. "Care to come in with me while the little sprout's asleep? Haruo: "So, Connor was commenting on size?"
River: "Yeah, he made an oblique reference to it and Asians...that really offended me...because you're not what he thinks...not by any stretch of the imagination...now, I don't want to talk about Connor any more...how about you show me...how much you love me..."
Haruo: "...oh...yeah..."
River: "oh...yes..." Thoroughly relaxed after the shower, she headed back to the easel to paint. The pregnancy waddle was quite pronounced, meaning that there wasn't a whole lot of time left before the baby was to arrive. It seemed as though Susan, Haruo's father's fiancee, somewhat knew in advance that there might be a chance that she could get called down to hospital... Haruo did some cooking...just to make sure that there was stuff to eat. He was the sole advanced cook in the household now that Molly and Satoshi had moved out. There is a reason why Asian households have their extended family within their immediate household. Because if your wife goes into labour...there's someone there to watch the kids while you make a mad rush to the hospital and it was no different for Haruo and River. When River went into labour again, both Fiona and Yasunobu were there to watch Allan. The incessant squeezing pain of the contractions just about made River cross her eyes. "Tell me why I think pain like this is worth it in the end?" she groaned. "There's a wonderful little baby at the end of all this...but...🐸🐸🐸🐸...right now, I don't know if I love you for giving me this baby...or I hate your guts for making me go through this pain again..." Haruo once again feared for his personal safety. Sims are a strange bunch...as River headed into the hospital; the sims congregating near the door went nuts. Haruo joined her later...for the birthing and when they made sure that the baby was ok to travel, River and Haruo headed home. Welcome, Braden to the family.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Coming home from the hospital, they quickly retired to their room, getting Allan from the painting room, where he was happily asleep in his crib and placing him in the crib in the bedroom, where he promptly fell asleep. Braden was exhausted from his birth and fell asleep just as quickly. ...and Haruo and River went to sleep too. River was absolutely exhausted from pushing out Braden and a labour that had gone on for at least six hours (which is short for Sims and even more so for real life; my wife's first birth started at 7AM and went on till 8:45 at night before our first son was delivered. And it just so happened that Braden's birth happened on the day before Allan was scheduled to age up to child. So...the next morning, Allan was able to have his birthday party. Haruo set him on the floor and he aged up to a child. He ended up with red hair and green eyes, like his mother, but his eyes were shaped like his dad. Since everyone else had things to do, it was just Allan and his parents partaking of the cake.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Allan was a bright kid and upon aging up, he got the hang of using the computer and started working on his first novel, a sci-fi epic. Evidently he got his artistic talents from his dad and mom. He also had an easel in his room in case he wanted to learn how to paint. Haruo and River focussed on creating more paintings to sell, so that they could get more § for paying the bills. And that was their main focus. Paying the bills was an important part of keeping the stuff that they had painstakingly bought. And Braden slept peacefully in his crib, while his parents were busy earning money for their artistic endeavours. Toshiyuki was what one called the "artist's artist..." He could sculpt, he could invent, he could paint...and he was planning on writing a book about sculpting when he got his hands on a computer. His lifetime wish was Descendant of Da Vinci. This made him formidable as an artist when he wasn't busy trying to skill up in inventing which was the one area in which he wasn't as skilled as sculpting and painting. Susan used the computer for two things: Either solving the unsolveable - existential questions that everyone asks themselves; or "working from home"...either one took up a lot of her time. Midday found Fiona outside, staring at the white brick fence...and it certainly was a tall fence, designed to keep out intruders, but the Creator certainly hasn't figured out exactly the reason behind why she was so keen on staring at it. Haruo paused briefly in his painting to go outside and get some fresh air...and some fresh tiberium...which would be later cut to give them a huge chunk of simoleons. River, being a world-class artist who had mastered her skill, was exceedingly self-critical of her work. Some paintings just didn't meet her criteria. ...and of course it just impelled her to create something better the next time. She did finish off the ones that she didn't feel, but they did seem to sell at a lower price than the ones that she put her whole heart into. River hadn't felt when she was growing up that she was financially capable of ascending the heights of the artistic world, as she had not come from an exceedingly wealthy parent; the Single Mom's Household had been a small one and correspondingly, their income, despite their well-paying jobs was not as much as they would have liked, but with River's and Haruo's net worth being well over §4M, they were considered the elite nouveau-riche of Sunset Valley. Other than the size of their house, River and Haruo did not like to flaunt their wealth. The only trappings of wealth that Haruo had allowed himself was 1) a Margarite Vaguester and 2) a $50,000 Concert Grand piano...and everything else either went into the bank or into providing for the rest of the family. ...and that was why they were so busy painting and writing. ...because that house to the right wouldn't pay for itself...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Toshiyuki; when he was not busy sculpting or painting, he cleared off the dishes off the kitchen table and put them away. With certain individuals in the household not being as cleanly as they should be, it was easy to see plates of leftovers with green stink-fumes coming off them, and frankly, that made Toshiyuki and River; both neat sims want to throw up. Things would certainly have to change around there. River loved her son, Braden, with a love that only a mother could provide. One of the things that she had known from the very start as a young girl was that she wanted to be a mother. And frankly, that was evident from the way that she took care of Braden, ensuring that he had everything that he needed. She cuddled and played with him...making sure that he was well socialized...but unlike Allan, Braden was definitely a demanding baby. And it certainly took a toll on River. Sunsets were usually colorful...going into the late fall... River, however, was focussed on making sure that her paintings sold for a premium. But all was not well in Sunset Valley...especially when the assassin who had been hired by the Vita came to collect his other half of the money that he was being paid for the Boyd Wainright hit. Vita was looking around to make sure that no-one was in the general vicinity. "You know that little kid is talking..." She said with a sneer at the assassin. "You're sloppy. You should have offed the kid too."
"I don't kill kids..." the assassin said with a glare, "I have some morals."
"I can see that you have very few of them..." Vita retorted. "After all, you kill for money." "I did the job...now pay me my money."
"I'm really starting to wonder if I really should..." Vita snorted contemptuously, "I don't need this being traced back to me, especially with the sloppy job that you did when you killed Boyd."
The assassin slipped his hand into his jacket and withdrew his 17. "I have 15 good reasons why you should pay me. Do I need to give you one?" he said threateningly. "You wouldn't dare-" Vita snapped, "If you even think of shooting me, I'll go to the-"
"You'll go where..." the assassin said, but his statement was muffled by the sharp crack of a gunshot. Vita gasped audibly...painfully...as she clutched her abdomen. "Wrong choice, Mrs. Alto..." the assassin said coldly... Vita Alto could only rue the fact that she made the choice as she felt a warmth flow out of her abdomen as she slumped to the ground, her vision narrowing. Reaching up her hand in the air beseechingly, she dropped to the ground in a heap, her upraised hand soon following to slap on the ground, only the assassin able to hear. There were no witnesses, he had no worry of the police arriving on site. The assassin rifled through her belongings, taking the envelope with the other half of the hit money out of her purse. Leaving the purse and the rest of the contents intact, he paused for a moment as Grim appeared out of thin air. "Oh...knock it off..." Grim grumbled to the assassin who was pretending to be distraught. "We all know that you don't regret it in the slightest. And frankly, now I'm going to have to deal with the two evil hags in my underworld. Thanks a lot, you really know how much you're brassing my tacks?" "If I can make a suggestion..." Grim turned to the assassin, "Perhaps you can also take care of Nick as well..."
The assassin turned to him and said, "So...what's my gain?" Grim intoned ominously, "I might consider your offer to stay alive...provided you can find a deathflower...plenty of them...practically outside of ambrosia, guarantees you immortality..."
The assassin steepled his hands and let out an evil laugh. "It's a deal, SmellyRobes. I'll do it, but you'd better hold up your end of the bargain." Grim leveled his scythe at the assassin, "You're not in a position to make bargains, especially with the Reaper. "I can reap you right now...before you can get your hands back on your weapon. I suggest that you go find your deathflower before you go after Nick Alto..." ...and the Chikamoris were none the wiser that the sole remaining malefactor Alto (asides from Holly who had the good trait and was not prone to doing things like that) was living on borrowed time.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
It seemed as if Haruo could never get enough of River. She was the light in his life and he never missed an opportunity to show to her just how much he loved her. That generally ended up with the both of them in the shower... Allan got the benefit of a room to himself down on the second floor along with the rest of the family. There were at least ten bedrooms on this floor. All too soon, Braden's time as a baby passed and he was ready to become a toddler and his parents and the entire family threw a birthday party for him. When he became a toddler, Braden had a full head of thick black hair like his father and River took him upstairs to eat. And she was completely displeased when the phone interrupted her feeding Braden. It appeared as though Connor was love-lorn yet and still wanted to date her. River was having none of it. "Connor, if you call me one more time, I'm going to set my husband on you." "What part of I'M NOT GOING OUT WITH YOU don't you get, Connor!" "And if you EVER want to have carnal relationships with women ever again, don't ever make a comment on my husband's size EVER again..." she snarled. "He'll be more than happy to rip yours off and feed it to you." click ~dialtone~ Oh...good, he hung up on me. she thought to herself with no small hint of self-satisfaction. River hoped that had gotten the message through to Connor for good. "You know...Braden, some people say some pretty mean things about your father...stuff that isn't true at all..." River said to Braden, who nodded his head as if he understood what his mother was talking about as she handed him his bowl of what appeared to look like mashed gruel, . ...after eating it, he was promptly put on the floor and crawled over to his toys to continue playing with them.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
More painting was the order of the day, as Haruo and River knew that there was probably going to be another whopper of a bill coming up. River had a whole lineup of large canvases that she had painted that she could fire out the door to bring in more simoleons which helped a ton financially. Of course that wasn't all that needed doing when they were not trying to make money. Haruo made a rather disgusted poo-face when he had to clean up the baby-digestion excrement that Braden produced. A semi-liquid diet for Braden made horrific messes.
Mommy brought Braden to the potty and Haruo put Braden on there. And...HOLY SCHTINKERS...this wasn't any better. Haruo would have sworn that this little bundle of poo could kill off humanity if the right bioweapons company got their hands on it. "Yep, Braden, you must be the best kept secret around. We'd better not let some third-world dictator get a hold of you, because you'd keep their bioweapons plant running really good with messes like these..." Haruo quipped.
"Secwet?" Braden parroted. Yasunobu, Susan and Fiona worked on their skill-set as they sat around the kitchen table. River had yet another call from city hall asking her for more paintings to decorate city hall with, which landed yet another §137K simoleons in the Chikamori family's coffers. River, with that windfall, decided to treat herself to some skill books at Divisadero Books as well as buying a few recipes to give as gifts to her husband. And Fiona, happy that River had found the love of her life, had found some of her own with Toshiyuki. It was however time soon enough for River to quit painting and head for bed. However Braden had other plans for his two parents. Nope...they sure as heck weren't going to get any sleep tonight. Not if Braden had anything to do with it... Short on sleep, harried, and exhausted, a good combination, does not make. and poor Haruo and River pretty much lost their composure. Parenting fact: Sometimes...you just have to let a kid cry himself to sleep...and wear himself out because you know...there are times when nothing under God's green earth will work.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Comments
Yep. Blair married Chris...and evidently they got kids too. I think. I'd have to check. And stay tuned. You might see something coming up.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Sunset Valley Interlude
The nice thing about a celebrity gate is that people can't get in to do things that they shouldn't be doing...like smashing pumpkins. And considering that ne'er-do-wellers were unable to get in, Molly's pumpkins that she had carved were still intact.
And after a while Haruo got rather randy...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Sunset Valley Interlude II
In the morning Yasunobu went and broke more spacerocks but surprisingly didn't get a single gemstone out of all of them that he busted up.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Sim Fu Fighting
The next morning dawned bright and early, but Yasunobu was up before the sun. Hearing the little chirps from the little yellow fluffballs was just entirely too much and Yasunobu regained a little of his childhood while cuddling those little balls of fluff which cheeped so happily at being paid attention to.
"Well, I'm a green belt compared to your orange, uncle"
"Oh, really, uncle?"
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Distraught Ghost & Happy Sims
In the graveyard, there was an incredibly distraught ghost who had come out for the second time in a week. She hovered just outside of her little fenced in plot. Evidently being the esteemed Underworld Psychological Torture Administrator wasn't good enough for her; she missed being able to torture her own family and subjugate them to her will. But no amount of wailing or making generally spooky noises or haunting her tombstone would make up for not being able to leave the vicinity of the graveyard.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The Chikamori Selfacy
Al Simhara
Arrival in Al Simhara was a relief after a long arduous journey. It was filled with changing planes and wondering if they would miss their connecting flight to Egypt. But they made it and it was a blast of hot air that greeted them as they stepped out of the airport. Then it was a long car ride from Cairo to Al Simhara base camp.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Shang Sim La and a Trip Cut Short
River and Haruo were sad to leave Al Simhara, though they were relieved to get out of the blistering heat. Al Simhara was 40+ degrees centigrade on most days and it was too easy to get a sunburn if one was out in it for too long. Not too bad of a situation if one had a lot of melanin, because it took more time to get sunburned, but for someone of Irish descent such as River, who had absolutely fair skin in comparison to Haruo, a sunburn could end up being pretty bad.
"Mama, what are they doing?"
"ai-yah!!! Don't look...Don't look!!! Too young...not learn biology yet..."
"Mommy, what's biology?" Oh dear, did I hear chimes?
The next day was filled with checking out the sights...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Poor River
River was working on another Masterpiece painting, absolutely focused on every brush-stroke. It was wonderful watching her paint; the care and attention to detail honed over many months of practice. As a level 10 master of painting, she was sought after by collectors and her paintings sold for over §1K. She was in demand and that felt good because at least it kept the bills paid and the roof over their head.
Poor River.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Annoying Pregnancy Side-Effects and Annoying Phonecalls
Sunset Valley's cold snap made the whole town sparkle in the moonlight. Frost covered practically every inch of the ground. And it was gorgeous...and cold. Cold enough to make one's teeth chatter like castanets. But the clear sky and the ever-present moon made the hoarfrost glitter like diamonds as the moonlight reflected off the blades of grass.
"Do you know what time of the night it is? Really? You want me to go on a date with YOU? Are you flippin' kidding me, Gus? I'm fifteen years younger than you. On top of that I'm married and have a kid on the way. Do you know what my husband would do to you? Oh...that's inappropriate and no...not even when hel freezes over. Goodnight! Don't call here again."
River was not the least bit impressed.
Oh yeah...
Next morning, Toshiyuki went over to see Emma Hatch about a painting that she had commissioned from him. He earned almost §5K from that painting alone.
"Good God, Parker, do you know just exactly what time of night it is? WHAT? YOU...want me to go on a date with YOU? You turned me down in high-school...secondly, you were at my WEDDING to my beloved. Are you kidding me? No, Parker, I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last person on earth. Good night, Parker."
~click~ dialtone.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
So Long to Hair, Molly and Satoshi (And Sandi French too)
Next morning found Haruo and River reading books. River ended up rolling a wish to have her husband read a pregnancy book, so Haruo had to sit down and curl up with the book for a couple of hours. What was nice was to have River right next to him reading a book that Haruo had written.
Satoshi talked with Yasunobu and let him know that although it was wonderful to have lived in such an absolutely gorgeous house together for so long, it was time for he and Molly to make their way in the world on their own. Yasunobu was disappointed, but he was happy for them and offered to find them a house that would suit their needs. In fact, the now deceased Boyd Wainright's house was vacant and up for sale and the realtor had given them a good deal. So they moved.
Which left the house with only six occupants currently with another occupant to come. And that occupant would run the household for the amount of time that it took for him or her to grow up from baby to child. River and Haruo would be at the baby's beck and call.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Toshiyuki & Fiona
After Satoshi, Molly and Sandi left for their new home, Toshiyuki and Fiona left for the Bistro to have themselves a bit of an afternoon date.
Probably because she's happily married, you dolt!
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Allan
They say that any sort of "play" stimulates the body and promotes contractions...well...that pretty much did it...just as they were getting ready to head for bed...it happened.
Frankly it made Haruo wonder about his personal safety. But all of that vanished when River held her newborn in her arms: their baby boy, Allan.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Allan II
In the morning, River and Haruo brought Allan out to the crib in the living room and put him in there so that they could get busy on the money-making tasks for the day.
It just so happened that River had a "Painting the City" (Thank you MC) opportunity come in, so she went down to City Hall and divested herself of the 15 Large Paintings that she had already accumulated.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Parenthood
Babies usually have a schedule that is all their own. They sleep when they're tired; they wake up if they have a soiled diaper or they're hungry or lonely. And it doesn't matter if they are waking you up at two in the morning from a dead-sleep. If they're awake...you darned well better be; if you aren't...you will be. Many an early morning during his early father-hood, has the Creator been subjected to a wide-awake fire-alarm who squirmed while smelling like an outhouse. And if you have never been having to function at 2:05AM trying to change a diaper, wipe a bottom and re-diaper it in the dark so that you don't end up waking up your significant other who has given birth to this little fire-siren with a poo-factory attached that you remind yourself that you love with all your being; the sole thought in your mind being "Oh...God...make it stop!" you don't know the meaning of "desperation". Welcome to Parenting 101.
>
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Haruo Takes a Walk With Allan
Haruo had his share of time with Allan. He adored his son and wanted to spend time with him. He'd hold him and cradle him; play with him and do the whole snuggle thing and coo at Allan who'd just gurgle happily.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Allan Ages Up
Allan was a lovely little baby, who rarely ever fussed if at all. And River and Haruo did whatever they could to keep him that way. Feedings were done on time, making sure that he did what he needed to do, diaper changes...the whole nine yards.
...and get busy on making Baby Number Two.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Here We Go Again
Yasunobu was no slouch in the "getting asked for dates" department either. Evidently the Tramp of Sunset Valley, since she couldn't set her sights on Haruo, decided that she would call Yasunobu to see if he would go on a date with her. Yasunobu turned her down flat. No, Jamie Jolina-Frio, Connor's wife, you aren't going to get an affirmative answer on your date-request trying to call him at one in the morning, or five or noon...or any times in between those times. Try NEVER.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Educating Allan
Fiona offered to watch Allan while River got some painting done. And she went over to pick him up and sit with him in the rocking chair.
"Oh...thank God...I thought somebody's cow died from the stink emanating from the bathroom."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Deflecting Nuisance Calls and Giving Birth to Braden
A pre-sleep ritual for Haruo and River was to spend time together in the shower...and that's probably one of the reasons why River got pregnant again. They really need to have some time between little ones.
~mutterings from telephone receiver~
"I'm sorry, Mr. Frio, No I am not interested in dating you, nor anyone else, other than my husband, for that matter..."
~more mutterings from the phone receiver~
"Oh...really, Mr. Frio, now you're really starting to get me annoyed. Oh, you think you're such a catch? Well, then tell me, how come if you're such a catch, your marriage to Jamie Jolina-Frio is disintegrating? And you feel as though that gives you the license to wander."
~loud mutterings from phone receiver~
"Well, that certainly isn't my problem, is it?"
River nodded, still rather angered at Connor, but the kiss from Haruo went a long way to getting rid of that. Aroused, herself, River nodded towards the shower. "Care to come in with me while the little sprout's asleep?
River: "Yeah, he made an oblique reference to it and Asians...that really offended me...because you're not what he thinks...not by any stretch of the imagination...now, I don't want to talk about Connor any more...how about you show me...how much you love me..."
Haruo: "...oh...yeah..."
River: "oh...yes..."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Allan's Birthday
Coming home from the hospital, they quickly retired to their room, getting Allan from the painting room, where he was happily asleep in his crib and placing him in the crib in the bedroom, where he promptly fell asleep. Braden was exhausted from his birth and fell asleep just as quickly.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Paying The Bills
Allan was a bright kid and upon aging up, he got the hang of using the computer and started working on his first novel, a sci-fi epic. Evidently he got his artistic talents from his dad and mom. He also had an easel in his room in case he wanted to learn how to paint.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Vita Alto Gets What's Coming
Toshiyuki; when he was not busy sculpting or painting, he cleared off the dishes off the kitchen table and put them away. With certain individuals in the household not being as cleanly as they should be, it was easy to see plates of leftovers with green stink-fumes coming off them, and frankly, that made Toshiyuki and River; both neat sims want to throw up. Things would certainly have to change around there.
"I don't kill kids..." the assassin said with a glare, "I have some morals."
"I can see that you have very few of them..." Vita retorted. "After all, you kill for money."
"I'm really starting to wonder if I really should..." Vita snorted contemptuously, "I don't need this being traced back to me, especially with the sloppy job that you did when you killed Boyd."
The assassin slipped his hand into his jacket and withdrew his 17. "I have 15 good reasons why you should pay me. Do I need to give you one?" he said threateningly.
"You'll go where..." the assassin said, but his statement was muffled by the sharp crack of a gunshot. Vita gasped audibly...painfully...as she clutched her abdomen.
The assassin turned to him and said, "So...what's my gain?"
The assassin steepled his hands and let out an evil laugh. "It's a deal, SmellyRobes. I'll do it, but you'd better hold up your end of the bargain."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Braden's Birthday and an Unwanted Phone Call
It seemed as if Haruo could never get enough of River. She was the light in his life and he never missed an opportunity to show to her just how much he loved her.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Sometimes Life Gives You Lemons...(And Poop)
More painting was the order of the day, as Haruo and River knew that there was probably going to be another whopper of a bill coming up. River had a whole lineup of large canvases that she had painted that she could fire out the door to bring in more simoleons which helped a ton financially.
Mommy brought Braden to the potty and Haruo put Braden on there.
"Secwet?" Braden parroted.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~