Ah, mornings; the crisp clean air, the hint of a bite of cold and the hint of snow in the air. The days were ticking down to the end of fall and the start of winter. And winter by no stretch of the imagination was the Creator's favorite season of the year (quite probably because in RL, it doesn't snow very much where the Creator lives...~sigh~) Toshiyuki was up early and went over to see Satoshi and his wife with a painting that Satoshi had commissioned. And they had a good conversation regarding the cold and how it was affecting Satoshi's ability to fish for a living. Perhaps it was a better choice to find another occupation as winter-time had a nasty effect on the earning capabilities of fishermen unless they were to fish in open water. Perhaps Satoshi just needed to fish on the beach, as salt water rarely ever froze - it never got cold enough for that (the freezing temperature of water was 28.4F (-21.1°C) - in other words, extremely bleepin' cold) water to freeze. (And that folks, is the main reason why one should put a Salt-water marker on your freshwater pond...so that you can cheat your way to fishing greatness - it should never freeze with a saltwater indicator - a Sims 3 tip from Cheaty McCheaterson) Yasunobu was in the home gym improving his fitness on the weight machine. One of the nice things about being financially well-off was the ability to have things in quantities that allowed for creating a veritable paradise for oneself. And Yasunobu enjoyed having the ability to be able to go to the "gym" in his own home anytime he wanted because he really was an insular Sim, his focus being on his garden and his martial arts. Which matched really nicely with Susan, who was an introvert Sim as well. Fiona was also an early-riser in that she needed to fix her laptop which was throwing off sparks and a lot of smoke. Yep, it definitely was busted. Anyhow she set about fixing it, and with her having mastered her handiness skill, it was definitely no problem; no fear of getting electrocuted. In comparison to the rest of the household, Haruo and River were late-risers, waking up at about 6:30AM. However River had a day of teaching young Braden how to talk, which would take even more time, now that she was interrupted by a call - evidently it was a telemarketer - Some guy was calling to see if River was interested in upping her fitness level. - "Sorry, but I have a 2 year old that needs to start talking...I'm busy right now..." Allan was a cinch to teach in terms of getting him to talk; Braden on the other hand was a bit of a pain. He'd generally stare at his mother with an upraised eyebrow as if he was more interested in seeing River make a fool out of herself, which didn't make River feel all that accomplished. But eventually the little snot got the hang of it, which made River feel a lot happier. It was about at this point that Yasunobu's sister-in-law and Satoshi's wife, Molly Chikamori, came over with Sandi French (who hadn't changed her name over) for a play date with Allan. Despite the independence of living in a home separate from the family, it seemed as though Satoshi's family was falling on hard times and Satoshi was too proud to ask for help from his family - the late Vita Alto would have used him as a pawn to get her slimy hands on the Chikamori finances. And they weren't sure if Nick was any better, even though as most people noticed he had escaped the usual run of the mill assassins. Although his days were numbered he was still running his own little racket of loan-sharking small loans and Satoshi was ripe to take out one of those to the entire family's detriment - because Nick would demand a co-signer and guess who would be on the hook if Satoshi defaulted because he couldn't pay his bills. Yasunobu told Molly that his door was open to them...and that they should move right back in. It would be much safer that way. Molly thanked him and dropped off Sandi who played with Allan until dark - mostly playing tag. Braden had learned how to walk by this time and was tottering around the upstairs suite. And River got yet another nuisance date call.
"Hello?"
unintelligible mumbling...
"Gus? Is that you?" "No...Gus, I'm not interested in taking hot showers with you until three in the morning...Ewwww, that's disgusting...however I can ask my husband, which you conveniently forgot about - he's a blackbelt by the way...to come over and make certain that you are sufficiently relaxed and at room temperature...if you get my meaning. Now please stop calling because the next time you call, I will notify Hank Goddard and have you arrested for sexual harassment." "Oh...thank god, he hung up"...River said audibly to a sudden click and a dialtone. Meanwhile Haruo was potty-training Braden, a really smelly job, but well...can't have Sims pooping in their pants for the rest of their lives, right? ...and Toshiyuki was telling Sandi that it was time for her to head home before the cops decided to give her a ride home. (What is it with Sim parents never giving their kids a ride home or even picking up their kids from a play date. (Here you are kid, have fun, you're on your own to get home...?) And that for the Chikamoris was the last day of fall because the seasons would change the very next day. (Creator: I have the seasons on a 28 day cycle each)
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
When Allan woke up the next morning, he came upstairs and looked under Haruo and River's bed for monsters. Evidently there is a under-bed dwelling monster that likes little kids in Sims 3 because Allan got the poop scared out of him. "Mommy...Mommy..."
"What is it, dear?"
"There's a big scary monster under your bed...I'm frightened, Mommy, it's going to end up getting you and Daddy?" "Oh...I see you met Felix" River said; a twinkle of merriment in her eyes.
"Felix?"Allan asked confused. "You named the monster, Felix?"
"He's not a bad monster, he just likes to hang out under the bed." she winked at her son.
Creator: Boy, that kid's going to need therapy.
"So you know he's there, Mommy?"
"Yup...he protects Mommy and Daddy from all the bad monsters. So you see, he's a good monster..." "Oh..." said Allan, struggling to comprehend how a monster could be good.
"You'd better get ready for school...Allan" River told Allan. "You don't want to be late..." Allan reluctantly complied, he was more interested in the monster under his parents' bed.
Haruo and Braden were having breakfast in the morning. Satoshi and Molly were back in the family fold because Yasunobu wanted it that way to protect them financially. Haruo and River had no objections, because after all, family is family. The first day of winter was cold...bitterly so...and it wasn't long before snow began falling and it certainly wasn't long before the streets were covered with snow. Allan and Sandi sat together on the bus heading to school. It was definitely a cold morning as the kids stood outside the school waiting for classes to start. All of Sunset Valley was a veritable winter-wonderland, Snow covered the trees, the streets, the buildings and more fell from the sky as the temperatures plummeted. It was a sight for the photographer's mind to behold...the entire vista covered in snow. Because of the safety factor of the snow providing a wet barrier against burning the house down, Haruo set the raked up leaf pile on fire so that it would be less of a problem in the spring. Then he went back inside and started cutting gems. After school, Allan had received a project from his teacher which involved him researching a business (They do that for Grade One nowadays? Holy cripes...I'm getting old) So he headed over to the market and talked to the owner there; then it was home to do homework. Meanwhile, Sims were standing outside in the cold without feeling the need to wear winter clothing. I guess some of them freeze on their own accord. Allan thought the house looked really nice, a snow-covered behemoth sanctuary looming in the dark. Haruo and River were tag-teaming potty training with Braden. ...and Haruo got a involuntary full whiff of the stink produced by Braden. "What has this kid been eating?" Satoshi had cut off his mustache and goatee and was going for the clean-shaven look as he strummed his guitar outside the theatre where he worked. (He ditched his fisherman gig for a job in the music industry) Braden complained about being hungry and got some food to eat so that he would be able to get to bed that night without waking Mommy and Daddy up in the middle of the night. As River was trying to get Braden off to sleep; of course, who should appear from the netherworld but your friendly neighbourhood ghost of the most evil woman who ever lived...Mayumi Chikamori. All she did was stand at the gate of the graveyard and stare...her empty eyes staring into the distance. If anyone alive had met her they would have been frozen to the ground with fear. The woman had no moral compass with her evil deeds alive and if anyone thought that death had mellowed out Mayumi, they would have been gravely (ooh look a pun) mistaken.
On that deathly note, the first day of winter ended.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Parenting: Maybe Not Fun, But Worth It All The Same
The portrait area in the living room got a new set of lights to illuminate the pictures so that they could be seen clearly. In fact Yasunobu did the electrical work himself to install the lights without once getting zapped. But we still won't trust him with the hot-tub...that thing's a killer. Fiona was gratified that her long-time friend was back and Sandi enjoyed using her new laptop to do stuff like play computer games. After eating breakfast, Molly went and made some key lime pie so that everyone could enjoy a nice dessert. After all, Haruo loved key lime pie too and so did Satoshi, her husband. One of the benefits of a frozen-over lake was the ability to skate on it. And since the Chikamoris had a lovely lake from where they were able to fish lots of different types of fish from their own backyard, Molly just laced up a pair of skates and went out to enjoy herself on the lake. Braden by this time knew exactly how to toddle over to the bathroom and do his business himself. Of course, that meant telling an older person that he had gone so that they would clean it up or man, that bathroom would stink. Of course Braden had a bit of a tyrannical streak as a toddler. When he was hungry he wanted to be fed NOW...and not in a few minutes...exactly...NOW. And it made for a headache-inducing morning. ...and the only thing that would shut him up would be to plunk a big bowl of semi-warm gruel in front of him that he would happily stick his hands into and grin while making a big mess out of himself which caused River to have to give him a bath. River went back to painting while calling over her shoulder for Haruo to "Can you please get Braden from the high-chair?"
Haruo had no problem doing that and headed over to remove the little imp from his chair. He got Braden out of the high-chair and proceeded to bring him over to the painting area to keep an eye on him as well as to change his diaper. Meanwhile Sandi was having dinner with her best friend, Allan as well as Molly and Susan. Haruo and River put Braden to bed and then took a long moment to appreciate each other. Which led to a "lot of appreciation"...for the two of them...(in the shower). Night settled in on Sunset Valley and by extension, the Chikamori household. The moonlit night was bright; and all was calm...as everyone in the household slept.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Life was good in the Chikamori family. Simoleons were coming in and the bills were getting paid. And it seemed that Haruo and River were getting the hang of being parents. Allan was doing well at school, promptly getting his homework done as necessary after school and staying on top of his grades. That was gratifying because to the McIrish/Chikamori family school and grades were an important part of success in later life. And that was what River and Haruo stressed to Allan.
But today was a day of celebration because Braden was aging up from toddler to child. Haruo brought Braden down for the party. Everybody was wanting to celebrate and cheer on Braden's next step which was to become a school-age child. Every family member cheered as the candles were blown out and it seemed as though Susan was the happiest of all...throwing her hands in the air and cheering loudly. Braden was put on the floor and aged up from toddler to child. He didn't look all too impressed with his hairstyle. So the Creator gave him a new one. In the midst of all that celebration, they nearly forgot that it was a school-day...and Sandi, well, had to high-tail it out the door to make her class, which Allan had already taken the bus. Since Braden was excused from school as he was in the transition stage (he would go to school tomorrow), he sat down and read a book. In the evening, things settled down with the kids who had gone to school doing homework and Molly went out to argue with Charles the Evil Chicken who didn't seem to like Molly's tone of voice. Tough luck, clucker. But the Creator does have to say that Charles the Evil Chicken has a evil set of peepers - that glow would make one's skin crawl. While Braden's parents went up and woohooed again...in the shower. That night was thoroughly peaceful, with temperatures dropping and the snowfall continuing. ...and hey, River and Haruo figured any excuse was a good excuse to fall asleep in each other's arms.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
While the Chikamori family was sleeping the Creator took the opportunity to take a look from upon high on his creation. It was beautiful amidst the falling snow. The lake had frozen over and everything was covered in white from the ground to the branches of the trees and the rooftops. This was winter come to Sunset Valley and everything was quiet. It appeared as though the snow-plows were keeping the streets clear but the amount of new-fallen snow made it seem as though they rarely passed by. Even the chickens were quiet in their little coop, preferring to ruffle up their feathers and tuck their heads in so that they were at least protected from the cold. The Living Room held a Snow Day tree...which was festooned with ornaments and lights as well as presents under the tree. As everyone was asleep, the tree was dark, but as soon as the family awoke, the tree would be turned on. In the yard there were three lighted Snow Day trees that were decorated with lights. One small, one medium and one large...and the small holiday lights lit up the yard with little pinpoints of colored light. That made for a wonderful holiday atmosphere. In the backyard there were two more Snow Day trees decorated with Snow Day lights on either side of each ninety degree bend in the fence where the hot-tub was placed. Fiona McIrish was an early riser and she proceeded to read a book downstairs at the dining room table. The front yard was fenced in but one could see the holiday lights through the private gate where only access allowable was by virtue of the com-box to the side of the gate, which usually meant that unless you were family or very close friends of the Chikamoris or were actually invited to an event at the residence, there was no way that you were getting in. Things were also extremely quiet at the graveyard amidst the falling snow that settled neatly into drifts along the fenceline. It added a rather spooky feel to that graveyard. The street looking towards the Bistro wasn't any better in terms of people utilizing it. After all it was only four in the morning and nobody was really active unless they were real night-owls. Looking across at Central Park, one could only see one solitary person utilizing the half-pipe there. And frankly, the Creator has absolutely no idea how someone can snowboard with a hockeystick. Must be a Canadian thing. Eventually, the rest of the family woke up and had breakfast. Haruo sat down in the living room and read a recipe book. Yasunobu ate egg-rolls and the others had their breakfast so that they could all get their day started. Even the falling snow hadn't obscured Satoshi's snow angel that he had made yesterday. And Satoshi was in the dining room strumming a guitar to increase his musical skill while in his tidy whities. ...and that was how the morning started for the Chikamori family.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
As the morning went on, the snowfall lessened and one was able to get a clear view of the mountains from the top floor porch by looking out past the Alto residence. Looking out over the city, one could see the range of mountains on the opposite end of the valley covered in a shimmering white blanket of snow. River went back upstairs to paint yet another Masterpiece (judging from the starting swirls of paint on the painting). Every painting that she did she put her heart into it as making certain that the monetary value of each painting kept going up and that helped a lot financially. Haruo on the other hand had decided that he was going to empty the fridge of all the disgusting food that had rotted. Well...Molly still hasn't managed to get to Level 10 of her career yet even though she has achieved Level 10 in cooking skill. She is still an Executive chef. Evidently, the recycling container is where all organics such as food go, so Haruo headed out in the cold and headed over to the greenhouse where the organics bin was located. And then he had rolled a wish to "kiss River" so he went up and happily did that. Braden forgot to hand in permission slips right after school but remembered as soon as he had gotten home so he rode his bike over to the City Hall to drop them off. It appears as though the poor food venders are having a rough time of it in the snow, especially one poor sod who didn't look like he was dressed for the winter weather. I'm surprised he didn't freeze. Guess its a hidden trait with service sims that they are impervious to cold or heat. Otherwise we'd have them dropping like flies. The lights on the trees in the yard, sparkled in the dimming light and gave off the holiday feel, as did the Snow Day tree in the living room. Molly and Haruo read cooking recipe books in order to be able to vary their ability to make recipes for the rest of the family to be able to eat. And River went off to the chicken coop to be ask the chicken what humanity wonders about endlessly: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" - The answer was according to Jungian philosophy according to Cluckles: "The confluence of events in the cultural gestalt necessitated that individual chickens cross roads at this historical juncture, and therefore synchronicitously brought such occurrences into being." Mind equals Blown. Who knew chickens pondered the meaning of existence? Molly continued late into the night while others slept reading recipe books judiciously. The house was quiet and dark...as all the members of the extended Chikamori family went to sleep. While the trees festooned with twinkling Snow Day lights, bordering the hot-tub, lit up the backyard of the Chikamori residence. The city itself was quiet and there was no activity on the streets. After all...it was late and anybody who wasn't a night-owl was home asleep. And the town of Sunset Valley settled in for a "long winter's nap".
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Morning brought the family down for breakfast; the first two being Allan and Fiona. Allan chose to have cobbler that morning. Fiona chatted with her grandson as they both ate and a lively conversation ensued. When River got up, exhausted from her latest pregnancy, she just headed to the kitchen upstairs in their suite on the top floor and ate a slice of Key Lime Pie. When she felt up to it, she headed downstairs and cleaned up the mess that everyone else had left. Later on, Allan and Braden and Sandi had a trip to the graveyard with Iqbal Alvi overseeing the field trip. It did not appear as though good ol' Iqbal was too happy to be entrusted with the care of a bunch of squealing children and trudging through the catacombs was probably not HIS idea of having a fun time. The afternoon was overcast and the graveyard took on a rather ominous, but still beautiful landscape. River painted another brilliant painting. ...while Haruo fended off yet another date call from Jamie Jolina-Frio. The boys did their homework in the snow...and once Allan was done he proceeded to go look at the lights on the Snow Day trees. Luckily they didn't turn into popsicles. Feeding a growing fetus was essential so River ate...a second meal that day, even though she wasn't all that hungry. Meanwhile...Braden started working on his next book. Yasunobu decided to work out with the training dummy. All was peaceful and calm...at least at the Chikamori residence...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Nick Alto had just gotten home to find a young man on his front doorstep. "What are you doing here?" he asked, suspicious of the man and his motives. The man said nothing...
"I'm talking to you...I demand an answer..." Nick blustered getting more and more agitated at the man's silence. No answer but a sudden pain in his cheek registered on Nick's brain as the man decked him with a right hook." Nick thought that perhaps his cheekbone was fractured. "What the hell was that for?" Nick snapped at the man who just stood there emotionless. "Why the heck did you deck me for?" still no answer and the only response was another right hook to the same cheek. A snap confirmed that the bone was truly broken. Oh this was great, he wasn't going to be able to eat for a while, especially having to get his jaw wired shut. A vicious fight ensued... Nick, in his youth, would have prevailed; however those years were at least 35-40 years long gone...and he was not in the shape that he used to be. The man grabbed Nick in a chokehold and one hand on the back of his head, viciously snapped Nick's neck. Nick couldn't even scream. One second he was choking and fighting for his life, the next second he was on the ground, paralyzed, unable to catch his breath or even breathe for that matter. And it was on the grounds of his home, that Nick Alto expired, becoming a ghost. He tried to retaliate in spirit form, but all his hands did was pass through the man. ...and for the first time, Nick heard through his spectral hearing, the man let out an evil laugh that made him shiver. So that was the evil gene? He had heard his wife laugh, a female version of that laugh...several times during the course of his marriage and he'd heard rumors of misfortune being meted out to residents of Sunset Valley; some of whom had long since moved away. Nick was no angel, however, he didn't have that evil gene. He didn't even feel the need to do something evil for the sake of being nasty to someone. Not that he wouldn't gloat in the misfortune of someone else especially if that someone had it coming to them. A clap of thunder and ominous music pervaded the night air as a dark cloaked figure appeared...Grim approached Nick Alto. "I have you now..." the spectre uttered in a hollow tone from the crypt and motioned to Nick to approach. Nick knew that there was no coming back from this and shook the grim specter's hand. "Are you ready for your fate?"
"I'm ready..." Nick replied...there was no protest, no embittered entreaties for extended life; just a handshake and in a flash of yellow light Nick was gone. Now only Grim and the assassin were left standing on the porch of Nick Alto's now vacant property. "You did a good job in hunting him down..." Grim intoned.
"It was satisfying..." the assasin responded, rubbing his hands; whether in glee or in cold...Grim wasn't sure. "So what reward are you looking for, everlasting life, health, the ability to kill everyone who has ever wronged you in one fell swoop?" asked Grim.
"Nawww, I already know how to kill, and living for the sake of living even with good health, isn't cut up to be what it's supposed to be..." the assassin said, "You already know what I work for..."
"OK...95,000 Simoleons it is..."
"Add §100K to that and you got a deal..." the assassin smirked, "I gotta have a shelter over my head...it's getting cold..." ...and the Chikamoris were none-the-wiser that their last enemy had been eliminated.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The night was calm and quiet...only a few flakes of snow fell from the sky, but it was bitterly cold...and as the temperature dropped lower, the snow stopped. Toshiyuki dropped off his commissioned topiaries for a decent sum of money. ...and spent some time talking with his brother after he got back from doing that. Satoshi and Molly spent some time building an igloo in the front yard between the trees. And eventually Fiona came out to talk to them. The Creator wonders why exactly Fiona and Molly are still in night-clothes. They're going to freeze their ovaries completely in this cold. Don't they know that it's minus 7? Yasunobu and Susan decided that they were not going to have a ceremony in the traditional sense...they exchanged rings in private in the kitchen. The reason being was that they wanted to save as much money as possible as they wanted the money to go their grandchildren and throwing a lavish wedding for themselves was just throwing their grandkid's money away...and Susan and Yasunobu both agreed on that. Just exchanging rings and vows was enough. A kiss and their union was sealed. River spent a ton of time painting. And Haruo fulfilled his wish to go ice-skating with Braden on their frozen-over fishing pond. It was just then that a piercing...scream of "MY WATER BROKE!!! HONEY!!!!" was heard and a head-long rush to the hospital ensued. Five hours later and a beautiful healthy baby girl was born... River, Haruo and Brianna returned home via taxi.
The only one still stirring in the house was Molly who had just returned from work. Everyone else was asleep. And soon, River, Haruo and Brianna joined the rest of the family in slumber.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Morning brought Allan down to the living room where he read a book on the couch. Evidently he had looked under the bed in his room...and supposedly found a monster sitting on the computer playing Doom. Because frankly, if there's a desk and a computer, how well concealed can a monster be anyways? Meanwhile in the dining room, the changing picture showed a night-storm scene which looked very eerie at night. Luckily it wasn't one of those changing portraits or that would have gotten sold at the local consignment shop. Brianna, Haruo and River's daughter, was awake in her crib but was calm and quiet so Haruo and River had a chance to go out into their kitchen and have a bite to eat. Frankly, Brianna was so calm that they had time to have a bit of a conversation too while eating. Afterwards, Haruo got Brianna up and cuddled her as she cooed in his ear. Evidently Haruo had rolled a wish to woohoo with his wife, so since Brianna was not kicking up a major league fuss, they sneaked out and had a bit of fun in the igloo. Dang, that musta been cold. That's definitely a sure-fire way to freeze some extremities off...ones that you don't want to lose. Since Yasunobu and Susan had their nuptials in the kitchen; Toshiyuki and Fiona decided to have theirs in private upstairs beside the digital fish-tank; for the same reason as Yasunobu and Susan. They didn't want to waste money on frivolous wedding expenditures when they could just pass on the savings to their grandchildren. Besides, it seemed more intimate this way...and now Mom was a Chikamori as well as River. (Creator breathes a big sigh of relief...and it didn't cark up the game - evidently it only carks up the game if both relatives are directly related to the son and daughter who got married and the two in-laws get married to each other evidently brothers don't apply even if they're related.) Well, at least River and Haruo didn't melt the igloo with their amorous exercise. Allan spent some time painting, while Braden went down to eat lunch with Grandpa and tune out Sandi French's royal yammerings. And Haruo took some time to pay attention to Brianna in her crib... Fiona was deep into research on an article that she was planning on submitting to work, while Toshiyuki was in his studio room carving an ice sculpture that he was going to sell for a decent amount of § on the open market. Looking out amongst the town, it was extremely cold outside down at the Bistro as Molly got off work and headed home. ...and Haruo gazed upon River and thought about just how lucky he was to have such a beautiful woman as River content to spend her life with him. ...while River was content in being a mother and a successful painter whose paintings sold northwards of §2500. But of course yawns interrupted that contemplation and they both headed to bed. Of course, activity didn't stop at the center of town despite the lateness of the night. In fact it was apparent that there were some night-owls in town. Especially with the Winter Festival in town. And the snowboard half-pipe seemed to be getting a lot of use. Ah...late night activities certainly were not dead in Sunset Valley.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Morning started out quite romantically in the shower as Haruo and River had each rolled a wish in the night to woohoo with each other. And who is this Creator but to grant wishes. Sort of like a cosmic genie. Afterwards, Haruo spent some time with Brianna, cuddling and snuggling her; increasing her socialization and improving their relationship. After all, what father doesn't care for his daughter. But all too soon it was back to the daily grind of making sure that their finances stayed solvent. But before that, Brianna had her aging up to toddler. She was brought down and Haruo blew out the cake. She ended up with a crewcut...Oh heck no...not on this Creator's watch. She was promptly placed in the high-chair so that she could enjoy a meal...and well, she took solids like a fish to water. When she was done, she reached for her favorite person in the whole wide world: Daddy, to come let her out of the high-chair. And she spent a few good minutes in her Daddy's arms; knowing that she was in the arms of the most secure person that she had in her short existence up to this moment. Yes, Brianna loved her Daddy with all her heart...and so it would be for the next twenty years...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Brianna decided to play with her toys (starting out her music skill and fine motor skills) while Haruo went out to feed the chickens. After all when one kept chickens, you needed to feed them especially in this cold. After which, Haruo realized that he did need to do something about finances...he needed to initiate passive income. That meant money coming into the household without he or River having to do a single thing. And since their savings were rapidly growing, he needed to do some real estate investment, meaning that he would have to turn around and invest into businesses earning a dividend. And that sort of passive income stream would help them immensely turning a break-even into a profit. Passive savings did nothing to help their income and as such diversification would be an important part of seeing their money grow. He had discussed that with River before and he ws given her blessing to go ahead and make their money grow in other ways other than by her directly painting... It would also help to make it so that River would be able to spend a little time with Brianna and help her to grow and learn. His first stop was Doo Peas Business Towers where he negotiated a business deal that made him a part-owner of the business... It appeared that as school let out, Braden was going to go to Kaylynn Langerak's house to play. After all they were best friends in school. River let him do that under one condition; his homework was to be done before he got home. Which meant that Braden needed to finish his homework while he was over at Kaylynn's. Of course, Kaylynn was a studious sort and thought that was perfect a perfect idea, so that was what they promised River. Allan on the other hand, headed home to do his homework. Haruo headed over to the hospital to negotiate a business partnership, to which they were very amenable to the terms. While heavy business negotiations were taking place between Haruo and the hospital management staff, Braden sat in the bus waiting for Kaylynn to get done so that they could get home and start working on their assignments. After a solid hour and a half of negotiations, it concluded with Haruo being a new partner in the hospital and he headed out, his next destination being the Llamas Stadium and then finally the Landgraab Science Center. Meanwhile Iliana Langerak had no problem hosting the son of the most financially influential man in Sunset Valley. She thought to herself that Kaylynn would be a good match for Braden and that would give her, Iliana, a name around town as "well-connected". Plus it would be a stick in the eye of that up-start River McIrish...who had snubbed her son Parker and Kaylynn would be a good little social climber if Iliana had anything to do with it. Business negotiations took a lot longer than Haruo thought at Llama Stadium and night was falling before he had gotten out, poorer by several tens of thousands of dollars, but richer in the passive income that his family was about to earn over the course of the next few years. It was definitely dark when Braden started on his way home from the Langerak's house. Haruo and River put Brianna to bed and then went to bed themselves. A productive day...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Unfortunately for Toshiyuki; all it takes is one moment of inattention and a topiary gets beheaded. One mis-timed cut; one inaccurate swipe of the chainsaw and a dragon was now headless. And an §1800 topiary was now reduced to clear at §450.00 What a sad turn of events. However other topiaries seemed to be better done for the course. An ice-sculpture and a topiary penguin were completed flawlessly. And a small painting managed to be in the works. He had also found a space-rock (an emerald) while cutting a block of stone. Unfortunately he had lost money on that situation. There was something rotting in the fridge which meant a noxious green cloud seeping through the seals in the door. If it wasn't for dear Molly taking her sweet time in getting up to 5-star chef, they wouldn't have this problem. They would have the Minus One Kelvin fridge that would keep things fresh for months on end. Of course what would also help would be the Sims who had less than stellar cooking skills not keep making Autumn Salad every chance that they got. Frankly if Haruo wanted to eat autumn salad every day, he'd have been born a rabbit. Satoshi ate breakfast that morning, content in the fact that he no longer had to make a panicked run to work every day. As a collector he could go and do as much collecting as he liked or as little as he liked. Molly looked down at her tummy and smiled knowing that there was a new life growing in there...and like River, she ended up getting a haircut that would be more practical. Last thing she needed as a mother was to have goop stuck in her hair from little tiny hands grabbing at it. Brianna ate in her high-chair consuming the stuff that her parents put in front of her. The goo didn't look very appetizing. At least it tasted better than it looked. River's hair had grown out over time into a lovely parted-pageboy, which accentuated her jaw and gave her a bit of a sophisticated look. In fact, Haruo thought with much favoritism that River wore it much better than Molly had. But then every man thinks that their wife wears a certain hairstyle better than someone else. River had to discuss a commissioned painting with Cyl0n3 Sw0rd and ended up earning over §9000 for that particular painting which certainly was a monetary plus. While River was out, Haruo managed to teach Brianna the ropes of going potty. And frankly she did well, because she mastered it pretty quickly. As Haruo finished up with Brianna's potty-training, River came home and started work on yet another painting. Haruo, as a father, was smitten with his daughter and played with her quite often, attacking her with the claw which made Brianna squeal and giggle and snuggling her which she enjoyed. After all Brianna loved her daddy a lot. Molly brushed up on her recipes while Susan read her research papers and notes. Susan was at the top level of her career as a World-Renowned Surgeon and it appeared that she was enjoying every minute of being at the pinnacle. While Brianna played on her glockenspiel, Haruo and River ate food. They both rolled wishes to woohoo and they did so in the shower. They both had standing wishes to have another child, but frankly, the Creator thinks they need to get Brianna to the point where she is a child, then Haruo and River can have their fourth. ...and intimacy was a key ingredient in keeping their love alive. River and Haruo were always intimate with one another and that played a great role in making sure that they would always remain faithful to one another. Such was the key to a secure marriage. No matter how busy they got, no matter how much was thrown at them during the course of a lifetime, if they were together, they could face it all. For better or for worse...in sickness and in health...such was the commitment they had to one another. Forever and ever...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Potty training was an assault on the nasal passages. And man did some of those leavings stink. Perhaps buying a gas-mask might help deal with the stink, but somehow, it probably would look more silly than practical. Luckily for the kids, the bus made it up to Summerhill Court with no problems whatsoever and that was rather surprising due to the buses not having any apparent chains and despite the the lack of regular snow removal from the streets. Haruo tried to finish off a few more paintings since he was trying to increase his painting's value and the more often that one paints, the more value it attains. He also had to fend off an unwanted phone call. River finished off a painting and received a call from the City Hall, asking her to for more paintings that she had created. Needless to say, she was more than agreeable. (Isn't MC fun). River said that she would be down as soon as she took care of Brianna's needs. The City Hall was fine with that. The streets were slippery and River knew that she was driving a high-performance vehicle in Haruo's Margarite Vaguester. But she still managed to control it with finesse. She arrived at the City Hall around 7PM finding out that Dustin Langerak was loitering around enjoying the snowfall. "You know, really, Dustin, that's not the way to make a snow angel. You might want to, I don't know...breathe, maybe..." Haruo also came down because he had to deal with the purchase of the former Alto residence. which would be promptly torn down. Meanwhile at home the rest of the family had dinner. River when she got home decided to deal with teaching Brianna how to talk. ...and how to walk... ...while hubby cut jewels... ...and the kids did their homework... Of course, Haruo doted on his daughter. But of course...that's the way things go with fathers and daughters. Little girls just know instinctively how to wrap their fathers around their little fingers.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
In the evening, Brianna had her aging up celebration from toddler to child and she would be going to school and doing all the things that a child should be learning. ...namely things like not grabbing for Mommy's hair. It was a wonderful celebration that a lot of the family attended. Aging up ceremonies were not a public event in the Chikamori family. They preferred to keep their celebrations to themselves. Of course weddings were another matter. Brianna's cake candles were blown out and she was set on the ground. And Brianna aged up to child...and ate her birthday cake. She also got herself a new hairstyle. The party was brief and all too soon, the kids had to head up to bed since it was a school night. River headed to the gym upstairs to work off some of the baby-weight that she'd gained. Needless to say, the treadmill and River weren't friends. Haruo, on the other hand, went up to the martial arts room and meditated. Of course, River did interrupt his meditation... And...they ended up in the shower...where else? Was there any doubt? And then after that they headed to bed. However sleep was not to be forthcoming for Molly and Satoshi...who were rudely woken up out of a deep sleep by contractions. Sorry, Molly, no food once contractions start. You gotta get yourself down to the hospital... Satoshi freaked out. What a wuss. In fact, it got so bad, that Molly just walked out and headed to the hospital by herself. Are you planning on going? Satoshi? Hellooo? The door's wide open now and she's gone... Satoshi finally did calm down and headed to the hospital to be with Molly as she gave birth. But somehow, something tells me that unlike Haruo and River, Satoshi and Molly were not really cut out to be parents. Meanwhile at home, Brianna and the rest of the family slept through it all... After several hours of labour, Molly emerged from the hospital with a baby boy named Aidan. Well...see the name cropped up again... They took a taxi-ride back home. And night settled upon the home as Molly and Satoshi were finally able to put Aidan in the crib and go to sleep themselves. Happy Aging Up day to Brianna and Welcome to Aidan. Hopefully things settle down a bit after this.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Irresponsible parenting ends up having the Sunset Valley Child Protective Services issuing a warning. And unfortunately Satoshi ended up yapping his head off to Sandi outside in the cold at minus 17 degrees celcius without realizing that Sandi was turning into a popsicle. That prompted a warning that if the child continues to be cold, the children would be taken. Well...Yasunobu was livid about the situation and gave Satoshi and Molly an ultimatim. If they could not manage their children properly; then the children needed to go to boarding school. Once Aidan was a child, he would also be sent off to boarding school. Molly didn't like it too much but realized that too much was at stake. One misstep and even Haruo and River's children would be gone; taken by the social worker and considering how hard Haruo and River had worked to support their children, that wasn't going to happen, not if Yasunobu had anything to say about it. If Molly and Satoshi couldn't mind their children, then off to a place where the children would learn responsibility. Satoshi and Molly weren't happy with the decision, and neither was Sandi...but well, it was the only way to protect Molly and Satoshi's kids. So off to Fort Starch Military Academy, Sandi went. Aidan grew up into a cute little toddler when it came time for him to age up. And Satoshi and Molly were told that they needed to make sure that they taught everything necessary to enable Aidan to grow up well. Because Yasunobu, being the oldest of the three brothers, was determined to make sure that Satoshi developed some responsibility. Haruo took over with the feeding of little Cousin Aidan and put him into the high-chair, but of course, Aidan was a determined little snot and pushed the bowl off the tray table. Evidently he was full. Uncle Yasunobu adored his little nephew...and played "the Claw" with him which caused Aidan to giggle his little head off...and Satoshi taught his son how to walk. Brianna did homework and she wanted on the honor roll like her two brothers. River and Haruo kept putting in the effort that it took to pay the bills. Allan was allowed to go over to his friend Elsa Langerak's house to have a play-date. Of course he and Elsa did their homework before playing too. Being a good kid, Allan got out of there at 7:30PM and cycled his way home. With Haruo and River's net worth being north of §6.5M simoleons, Haruo did splurge a little and created a bit of a military/aviation collection on the former Alto lot - which he pretty much demolished to the amusement of the townspeople and city hall. Satoshi, ever vigilant of Yasunobu's anger, made sure that he taught Aidan how to talk, properly taking care of his every need. River whispered to Haruo softly, "I want another one..." Haruo nodded. "After Aidan ages up to child...and..." he didn't finish the statement. It would probably be too hard for Molly and Satoshi but there were no second chances, not with Yasunobu and the threat that SV Family Services posed. Satoshi took every precaution as well...by making sure that Aidan was potty trained in no-time flat. Molly though was not happy at all from the looks of it. But nothing would persuade Yasunobu otherwise. He was not about to have River and Haruo's kids put at risk and Yasunobu would not budge. Aidan burned through the glockenspiel and the blocks. River decided that today was a good day to go get a massage. Haruo went over to the Landgraab Consignment Store to see if he could consign some stuff. While he was there he perused some of the items available for sale. One of them was a Time Machine. "Interesting item..." He said to Agnes Crumplebottom, who was manning the cash register there. "Do you have any idea as to where it came from?"
Agnes couldn't or wouldn't tell him because she shrugged her shoulders and said. "I have no idea, Mr. Chikamori. But it's been here for some time...though. Are you interested in it?"
"Well..." Haruo hedged a bit, "I dunno...even if it doesn't work...it'll be an interesting conversation piece...And it's only §1800. I'll take it."
Haruo drove carefully going home...because he didn't want to damage the Time Machine, if it actually worked. ...and who else, but Molly the Daredevil decided to take the first trip back in time. The kids came home from school and did homework. And again it was all too soon that Aidan aged up to child... Molly and Satoshi's hearts were heavy because they knew that they would be sending off their son to boarding school, but they knew that Yasunobu brooked no misstep, because his child's children were on the line too if Molly and Satoshi borked up. The night passed by all too quickly for Molly and Satoshi. ...and it was with a heavy heart that Satoshi said "good-bye" to his son... ...and Aidan went off to join his sister at Fort Starch Military Academy.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Things were a lot quieter after Aidan left for military school. Haruo and River ate breakfast and proceeded on to their daily tasks of keeping the roof over their heads. And Allan and Brianna went out for a skate on the pond. River stopped by city hall to discuss a few matters of necessity regarding the implementation of some zoning regulations for working out of home. The Mayor was quite happy to hear her point of view as a businesswoman who was working out of the home. She then received a call from Victoria Andrews who wanted to purchase a large painting from her. It just so happened that she was carrying one extra one with her right then and there...so she headed up to the salon and met with Victoria. Victoria only remembered her as the mousy young teen in a green t-shirt and grey sweatshirt that used to go to school; the frumpy mouse as she recalled River. She was surprised to see the glamorous young redheaded woman standing in front of her. Noticing the wedding ring on River's finger, she concluded that love must have really done a number to River in turning on her gorgeousness. She was only dimly aware of the fact that River had married and had kids. "River, my goodness, you've certainly grown up. I haven't seen you in so long..." Victoria commented looking River up and down as River smiled wryly gazing back at her. There was no small amount of self-satisfaction at showing up the women that had thought of her as nothing more than a little waif who didn't have any fashion sense. And it was true...that she was in love with her husband more than ever because frankly through hard-work and luck, the both of them had become worth more financially than anyone else in Sunset Valley, up to and including the Landgraabs who were now wondering if and when their property was going to be the subject of a hostile take-over. For now, Haruo was keen on letting by-gones be by-gones and if Dorothy Landgraab was always thinking of coming over to meet up with Allan, the Chikamoris just might end up getting the Landgraab's property anyways. Cutting to the chase, River said, "Yes, you wished to talk to me about a painting, well I have one in my possession right now. Would you like to see it?" "Well...definitely..." Victoria stated. When River produced the painting, Victoria was awestruck, speechless?
Sensing the buyer's weakness in terms of letting the shark smell the sight of blood, River struck, "So how much is this worth to you?" she smiled.
"Would §30K be a good starting point for negotiation?" Victoria inquired.
§35K. River said.
"32,995" Victoria countered.
"Done" River agreed. No need to get greedy and well... frankly...the price was definitely worth more than River had thought that she would get for this painting. River exited the salon a very happy young woman having netted a substantial amount of money for a painting that took maybe about half a day to complete. One the way out, she ran into Parker Langerak, who greeted her with a "Oh, hey, River...How are you."
Her response was a brief but friendly, "Hi, Parker. Good to see you." Treating River so shabbily was one of Parker's biggest regrets because she was now someone else's wife. And he thought regretfully that River was one beautiful woman and that Haruo was an incredibly lucky guy to have her as his wife. His eyes widened when he saw River get into that Margarite Vaguester. That car was over §105K. Just how much money did Haruo and River possess anyways? He sighed regretfully and continued on his way into the salon. One of the main reasons for Haruo and River's wealth were as a result of these radioactive rocks that seemed to pop out of the ground with quite a bit of regularity. And that was the main reason why Vita and Nick were wanting to get their hands on that property through any means possible. Unfortunately when the worm turned, it bit them to their detriment. And now, Haruo and River were set to keep their property and profit for generations to come. Molly and Satoshi were enamored of hopping back and forth into the future and back. ...and River came home to a nice home-cooked meal of spaghetti.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Morning had the Chikamoris doing a holiday Christmas shoot. Well, trying to...because the first thing that happened was a confounded date call, which River had to deflect. "I'm sorry, I'm spending the day with my family and frankly...the rest of my life too. No...I'm not in the slightest bit interested in going out with you. Good bye..." The nerve of some people. Frankly...it irritated Haruo too that people wouldn't respect the sanctity of marriage and keep trying for dates with himself and his wife. But what could you do? Just deflect and move on. Anyways...they didn't let it ruin the fun of the photoshoot. Sometimes poses didn't work... ...and other times...well, they just fit in perfectly. Of course it was all up to the photographer to find out which poses worked on camera and which would just look corny. And that was why they paid him over §2000 for the photoshoot. Well...that's probably close to what it would cost to get a real professional photographer in real life too. After the photoshoot and the photographer leaving, the kids made a bee-line for the fridge. Of course...kids are always hungry. Even the ones in real life. "What's there to eat? I'm hungry..."
"Well..." River grumbled. "There's food in the fridge...go look..." After eating, they were exceedingly thorough in cleaning up after themselves taking the dishes to the dishwasher and stacking them properly. After all...River and Haruo were meticulous parents in teaching them how to behave like decent little sims. In fact, the boys weren't immune to adult-like duties either. In fact, Braden had snagged a teaching opportunity to teach an "art class for parents and kids". The fact that he was instructing on painting at so young an age was a proud moment for River and Haruo. In fact, he developed a lesson plan for his class...and rode his bike down early enough to make certain that he was there before the first pupils arrived. It certainly was a proud moment for River as he headed out the door on his way to the school and probably an even prouder moment for Braden as he entered his school that he went to every-day as a student, but today, he was officially an "instructor", an individual that was treated at the same level of respect as his own teachers at elementary school, because no matter what his age, he was imparting knowledge that these pupils did not have but would have at the end of the course. It was even more interesting to see that some teachers who were doing some over-time in class preparation for Monday, were surprised to see Braden walk in and even more surprised to note that he was the "instructor" for the "painting class". In fact they got a big kick out of it. Haruo and River were painting...doing the things that kept a roof over their heads and food on the table. After all...the place was enormous and they now owned an investment lot with a nice little collection of vehicles including their own private Learjet. One of the perks of being stinkin' rich. Satoshi just played guitar in his and Molly's suite upstairs on the third floor. He was coming to terms with Sandi and Aidan being in military school. It was the afternoon when Braden pedalled home from teaching his class having earned a decent chunk of change for doing so. Haruo and River had their own private photoshoot with some intimate portraits of the two of them. ...and of course...what else... Romantic photoshoots tend to create opportunities... ...for even more intimate moments... Yes...some involved some very naughty bits...and let's just say...some chimes went off...oh dear... Sunday morning dawned bright and early...most times the Chikamori family tended to wake up at 4:30 in the morning, usually because they went to bed at 9:30-10:00PM the previous night. River made the bed. ...and the kids grabbed breakfast downstairs in the kitchen.
Haruo grabbed a meal from the kitchenette upstairs because he had to get started on dealing with bills and creating more artwork, as did River. But unfortunately...this time Thornton Wolff decided that he was going to call River for a date. In fact he was very intrusive and asked about River's intimate life.
"Oh, really? Well, unfortunately I don't think so...the only way I would scream with you is if I was yelling for the cops." "You have a disgusting mind, Mr. Wolff." "No...I would not be in the slightest bit interested in going out with you. Firstly, my husband is far richer than you, even if you think that money and riches would be my main motivation for staying in a marriage which is frankly insulting, and secondly...no, you wouldn't be able to make me scream in pleasure, like my husband can. So deal with it. The answer to your date request is NO...and forever will be NO. Good day and good-bye, Mr. Wolff." Wow...the nerve of Thornton. Evidently some people don't get the picture that "No means no..." no ifs, ands or buts. Meanwhile Haruo was having a coronary at the size of the latest bill. Well...the City Hall wanted their taxes. Well, nothing another painting or three's sales wouldn't fix. Or one tiberium spire sale would bring in the value of the taxes paid out and about §20,000+ more.
Meanwhile Toshiyuki rolled a wish to go detonate something. So he indulged in his demolition fantasies...(ah, it's so fun to destroy something again...brings warmth to the cockles of this Creator's heart - it's been so long...) so he went and detonated Grady's garbage dump. Yes...it most certainly was a blast... That place blew sky high. Yeah...maybe used a little too much C4. Oopsies...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Nikkei_Simmer Happy birthday Brianna! I like the hair you chose for her! I have been using it more often lately as it is very cute on little girls
Haruo looks totally chill while meditating!
Congrats to Molly and Satoshi on the birth of Aidan
I would freak out if I got a Social Worker warning! I couldn't send my kids to boarding school but you do what you have to keep the kids safe!
I hope Yasunobu can pull Satoshi into line!
Aidan is such a cutie!
It looks like the kids are well loved in your household
Military vehicles and planes! Holy Cow!
I must try the time machine some day!
Bye Aidan
Victoria must really have wanted that painting to pay so much!
That's a lot of tiberium!
Adorable Christmas pics
Congrats to Braden on his teaching opportunity
Congrats also on the pregnancy!
It's been a while since I have seen one of Haruo's explosions! I bet he had fun
Toshiyuki Blows Up a Toilet and River...(not going there)
Poor Toshiyuki had to get his singed hide into his car and drive back smelling of RDX. Poor guy probably lost the new car smell in seconds. Evidently Toshiyuki had read that rolled wish wrong because it actually read that he needed to blow up a toilet. Oh well...dyslexia is a tough nut to crack. Tick...tick...tick...tick...tick... "OK...why this thing no go boom already?" "Hmmm...maybe something wrong...? Maybe something wrong with wire....maybe take closer look...and see..." Creator: "Probably not a good-" KABOOM! Creator: "Ah h-ell...Figures..." In the meantime...it seemed as though the pregnancy was a false alarm since the want another baby rolled wish was still there. And River was still able to do Sim Fu practice. ...and Satoshi made a Grim Snowman. Methinks I'm starting to wonder about Satoshi's sanity. River did level up from green-belt to blue-belt in Sim Fu...and that was quite wonderful to see the pride that she took in wearing her new outfit. Haruo cooked a hearty meal for the rest of the family to eat...and well, it made for a certain amount of servings, so he had to cook several times to have enough food in the fridge to feed the family over the course of several days. Molly on the other hand was a recipient of a well-executed prank by Allan who left a whoopie cushion on the couch. Of course, Haruo and River couldn't end off the day without some more woohoo in the shower. Since there were multiple kitchens (three in total in the house) it was very rarely that everyone ate together. Haruo and River were too busy and the rest of the family were left to enjoy the downstairs kitchen to themselves. Yasunobu and Susan started out the morning breaking of fast while the others trickled in and ate. Brianna and Allan had a snowball fight outside before school started. Satoshi did the whole "nekkid singer" thing again in his gonch, so frankly...I don't think there's too many marbles upstairs. Maybe its the stress getting to him. Evidently Thornton actually realized what an b-hole crevice he was being with the last phone call to River and actually bought a painting from her and given the opportunity apologized. River accepted the apology and said, "Just please don't do it again..." Thornton promised to be on his best behavior. We'll see how that goes. Haruo was making dinner while Allan dropped off permission slips over at the City Hall for their Mausoleum field trip and then cycled home. River ate dinner then decided to jump her husband for some woohoo... and...well... Let's just say that the both of them were VERY VERY happy...to say the least...and they were definitely certain that some chimes went off for certain, that time... Definitely...River was happy, just judging from the satisfied look on her face.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Weekday mornings were usually frantic with people trying to get out of the house to get to work or school. And those who didn't work outside of the home were busy with tasks that they were supposed to be doing. Satoshi on the other hand, being a collector tended to collect when the inspiration hit versus setting up a schedule. In fact...he went over to see what was going on at the henhouse. ...and ended up getting into a major fight with Charles the Evil Chicken...that rooster is mean as heck. It didn't take a genius to deduce that Satoshi got his rear-end kicked all over the chicken coop. It also didn't improve Satoshi's mood any either.
River was getting faster at painting and it certainly wasn't a surprise when she could finish two large paintings in a single day. Haruo, as a painter, had the Business of Decor opportunity come up and he headed down to Doo Peas Business Tower to hand over the commissioned paintings. Doo Peas Business Tower was in good hands after Nick Alto had killed and frankly the atmosphere there was a lot less unfriendly. People actually had smiles on their faces while working in their cubicles. ...quite possibly because they no longer had Nick breathing down their necks if they made the slightest screw-up. Screw-ups were dealt with a lot more tact. Still Haruo knew that he did not have the cubicle mentality and frankly he'd explode if he had to do a 8-3 in a cubicle. Haruo was an independent person and did not like the constraints put on him that he would have in a regular job. When he came back from dropping off the ten paintings, he started work on a new novel. There were still a few achievements in the literary field that he hadn't managed to achieve yet, so he would slowly work towards them. (Creator: After all...on an epic lifespan, he has all the time in the world...at least until he ends up meeting Grim...) Molly, when she wasn't at work, was hopping in and out of the time continuum. Haruo was wondering if she would end up coming back with three heads instead of one. Allan and Briana did their homework after school, despite the fact that they didn't seem to enjoy doing homework. Oh, well...that's a part of life. Makes you smarter, kiddos. Deal with it. River put her effort into a medium painting. Satoshi played guitar in the bar section of the house which was right next to the gym. And Molly decided to put in some exercise and nearly missed work. And finally...when Satoshi got bored of playing guitar upstairs, he decided that he would go "visit the past" in the time machine. Probably visited Custer Ridge. Silly Sim. Great going, Satoshi...way to tick off the natives. Good going... :rolleyes:
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
River was hungry in the morning and had breakfast. Haruo had cooked dinner the night before and put it in the fridge and well, frankly, it kept the fridge well stocked in terms of victuals. Satoshi went out to see what he could find in terms of collecting rocks and when he came home he nearly freaked himself out with the Grim Reaper snowman he had created. That Grim Snowman probably wasn't the best choice for "holiday cheer", Satoshi. A few new collectibles sat on the tarmac in the 60x60 lot that Haruo had created for himself. After all, they were filthy stinkin' rich, why not have an A-10 Thunderbolt II, an AH-64E Apache and an MV-22A Osprey. Y'know...a rich guy's gotta have some toys, right? And uh...maybe a couple of Anti-Aircraft missile batteries. Just for poops and giggles.
Brianna tried to make some muffins. Her first attempt wasn't too successful and then she had to head off to school. Yasunobu and his son decided that they were going to break space-rocks together...and made a thorough mess out of the Sim Fu practice area inside the house. And River painted masterpieces in the painting room in their suite. Susan, Molly and Satoshi all worked out together upstairs in the gym and frankly that gym equipment is dangerous. Satoshi worked on his upper body strength on the universal weight machine, bench-pressing over 275 pounds. Toshiyuki on the other hand decided to work his major cranial muscle and started knocking out a sculpture in stone. Hopefully it would prove to be profitable. He, of course, did have a statue that someone did want, and he headed down to Doo Peas Business Tower to drop it off. Braden did his homework diligently. It seemed as though Molly had an addiction to travelling through time. Since she seemed to do it so often that Satoshi knew that he ended up eating alone most nights. ...and River and Haruo, exhausted, ended up sleeping.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Nikkei_Simmer Dang that looked dangerous! Enquiring minds want to know why Toshiyuki wanted to blow up a toilet?
Sims can do Sim Fu until they get their notice.
You either need to use Retuner or get the mod to make servings bigger!
LOL whoopee cushions are always fun
That was good of Thornton!
Ah chimes is good!
I've never had a sim fight with Charles!
I changed my Retuner settings to make painting times shorter
Methinks the time machine would be too much of a distraction!
The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys
At least Brianna didn't burn the muffins!
Molly might need an intervention
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The Last Day of Fall
Ah, mornings; the crisp clean air, the hint of a bite of cold and the hint of snow in the air. The days were ticking down to the end of fall and the start of winter. And winter by no stretch of the imagination was the Creator's favorite season of the year (quite probably because in RL, it doesn't snow very much where the Creator lives...~sigh~)
"Hello?"
unintelligible mumbling...
"Gus? Is that you?"
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The First Day of Winter
When Allan woke up the next morning, he came upstairs and looked under Haruo and River's bed for monsters. Evidently there is a under-bed dwelling monster that likes little kids in Sims 3 because Allan got the poop scared out of him. "Mommy...Mommy..."
"What is it, dear?"
"There's a big scary monster under your bed...I'm frightened, Mommy, it's going to end up getting you and Daddy?"
"Felix?"Allan asked confused. "You named the monster, Felix?"
"He's not a bad monster, he just likes to hang out under the bed." she winked at her son.
Creator: Boy, that kid's going to need therapy.
"So you know he's there, Mommy?"
"Yup...he protects Mommy and Daddy from all the bad monsters. So you see, he's a good monster..."
"You'd better get ready for school...Allan" River told Allan. "You don't want to be late..." Allan reluctantly complied, he was more interested in the monster under his parents' bed.
Haruo and Braden were having breakfast in the morning.
On that deathly note, the first day of winter ended.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Parenting: Maybe Not Fun, But Worth It All The Same
The portrait area in the living room got a new set of lights to illuminate the pictures so that they could be seen clearly. In fact Yasunobu did the electrical work himself to install the lights without once getting zapped. But we still won't trust him with the hot-tub...that thing's a killer.
Haruo had no problem doing that and headed over to remove the little imp from his chair. He got Braden out of the high-chair and proceeded to bring him over to the painting area to keep an eye on him as well as to change his diaper.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Braden's Birthday
Life was good in the Chikamori family. Simoleons were coming in and the bills were getting paid. And it seemed that Haruo and River were getting the hang of being parents. Allan was doing well at school, promptly getting his homework done as necessary after school and staying on top of his grades. That was gratifying because to the McIrish/Chikamori family school and grades were an important part of success in later life. And that was what River and Haruo stressed to Allan.
But today was a day of celebration because Braden was aging up from toddler to child. Haruo brought Braden down for the party.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Stille Nacht
While the Chikamori family was sleeping the Creator took the opportunity to take a look from upon high on his creation. It was beautiful amidst the falling snow. The lake had frozen over and everything was covered in white from the ground to the branches of the trees and the rooftops. This was winter come to Sunset Valley and everything was quiet.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Winter Vista
As the morning went on, the snowfall lessened and one was able to get a clear view of the mountains from the top floor porch by looking out past the Alto residence. Looking out over the city, one could see the range of mountains on the opposite end of the valley covered in a shimmering white blanket of snow.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Daily Matters
Morning brought the family down for breakfast; the first two being Allan and Fiona. Allan chose to have cobbler that morning. Fiona chatted with her grandson as they both ate and a lively conversation ensued.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Nick Alto's Demise
Nick Alto had just gotten home to find a young man on his front doorstep. "What are you doing here?" he asked, suspicious of the man and his motives.
"I'm talking to you...I demand an answer..." Nick blustered getting more and more agitated at the man's silence. No answer but a sudden pain in his cheek registered on Nick's brain as the man decked him with a right hook." Nick thought that perhaps his cheekbone was fractured.
"I'm ready..." Nick replied...there was no protest, no embittered entreaties for extended life; just a handshake and in a flash of yellow light Nick was gone.
"It was satisfying..." the assasin responded, rubbing his hands; whether in glee or in cold...Grim wasn't sure.
"Nawww, I already know how to kill, and living for the sake of living even with good health, isn't cut up to be what it's supposed to be..." the assassin said, "You already know what I work for..."
"OK...95,000 Simoleons it is..."
"Add §100K to that and you got a deal..." the assassin smirked, "I gotta have a shelter over my head...it's getting cold..."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
A Wedding and Brianna's Birth
The night was calm and quiet...only a few flakes of snow fell from the sky, but it was bitterly cold...and as the temperature dropped lower, the snow stopped.
The only one still stirring in the house was Molly who had just returned from work. Everyone else was asleep.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Keeping Up Romance and Fiona and Toshiyuki
Morning brought Allan down to the living room where he read a book on the couch. Evidently he had looked under the bed in his room...and supposedly found a monster sitting on the computer playing Doom. Because frankly, if there's a desk and a computer, how well concealed can a monster be anyways?
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Brianna Ages Up
Morning started out quite romantically in the shower as Haruo and River had each rolled a wish in the night to woohoo with each other. And who is this Creator but to grant wishes. Sort of like a cosmic genie.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Business Dealings
Brianna decided to play with her toys (starting out her music skill and fine motor skills) while Haruo went out to feed the chickens. After all when one kept chickens, you needed to feed them especially in this cold.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Life and Love
Unfortunately for Toshiyuki; all it takes is one moment of inattention and a topiary gets beheaded. One mis-timed cut; one inaccurate swipe of the chainsaw and a dragon was now headless. And an §1800 topiary was now reduced to clear at §450.00 What a sad turn of events.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Training Up Brianna
Potty training was an assault on the nasal passages. And man did some of those leavings stink. Perhaps buying a gas-mask might help deal with the stink, but somehow, it probably would look more silly than practical.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Brianna Ages Up and Welcome to Aidan
In the evening, Brianna had her aging up celebration from toddler to child and she would be going to school and doing all the things that a child should be learning.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
One Misstep Is All It Takes
Irresponsible parenting ends up having the Sunset Valley Child Protective Services issuing a warning. And unfortunately Satoshi ended up yapping his head off to Sandi outside in the cold at minus 17 degrees celcius without realizing that Sandi was turning into a popsicle. That prompted a warning that if the child continues to be cold, the children would be taken. Well...Yasunobu was livid about the situation and gave Satoshi and Molly an ultimatim. If they could not manage their children properly; then the children needed to go to boarding school. Once Aidan was a child, he would also be sent off to boarding school. Molly didn't like it too much but realized that too much was at stake. One misstep and even Haruo and River's children would be gone; taken by the social worker and considering how hard Haruo and River had worked to support their children, that wasn't going to happen, not if Yasunobu had anything to say about it. If Molly and Satoshi couldn't mind their children, then off to a place where the children would learn responsibility.
Agnes couldn't or wouldn't tell him because she shrugged her shoulders and said. "I have no idea, Mr. Chikamori. But it's been here for some time...though. Are you interested in it?"
"Well..." Haruo hedged a bit, "I dunno...even if it doesn't work...it'll be an interesting conversation piece...And it's only §1800. I'll take it."
Haruo drove carefully going home...because he didn't want to damage the Time Machine, if it actually worked.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
River Hits Pay Dirt and Parker Has Regrets
Things were a lot quieter after Aidan left for military school. Haruo and River ate breakfast and proceeded on to their daily tasks of keeping the roof over their heads. And Allan and Brianna went out for a skate on the pond.
Sensing the buyer's weakness in terms of letting the shark smell the sight of blood, River struck, "So how much is this worth to you?" she smiled.
"Would §30K be a good starting point for negotiation?" Victoria inquired.
§35K. River said.
"32,995" Victoria countered.
"Done" River agreed. No need to get greedy and well... frankly...the price was definitely worth more than River had thought that she would get for this painting.
Her response was a brief but friendly, "Hi, Parker. Good to see you."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Family Time is a Blast
Morning had the Chikamoris doing a holiday Christmas shoot. Well, trying to...because the first thing that happened was a confounded date call, which River had to deflect. "I'm sorry, I'm spending the day with my family and frankly...the rest of my life too. No...I'm not in the slightest bit interested in going out with you. Good bye..." The nerve of some people.
"Well..." River grumbled. "There's food in the fridge...go look..."
Haruo grabbed a meal from the kitchenette upstairs because he had to get started on dealing with bills and creating more artwork, as did River.
"Oh, really? Well, unfortunately I don't think so...the only way I would scream with you is if I was yelling for the cops."
Meanwhile Toshiyuki rolled a wish to go detonate something. So he indulged in his demolition fantasies...(ah, it's so fun to destroy something again...brings warmth to the cockles of this Creator's heart - it's been so long...) so he went and detonated Grady's garbage dump.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Haruo looks totally chill while meditating!
Congrats to Molly and Satoshi on the birth of Aidan
I would freak out if I got a Social Worker warning!
I hope Yasunobu can pull Satoshi into line!
Aidan is such a cutie!
It looks like the kids are well loved in your household
Military vehicles and planes! Holy Cow!
I must try the time machine some day!
Bye Aidan
Victoria must really have wanted that painting to pay so much!
That's a lot of tiberium!
Adorable Christmas pics
Congrats to Braden on his teaching opportunity
Congrats also on the pregnancy!
It's been a while since I have seen one of Haruo's explosions! I bet he had fun
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI
Toshiyuki Blows Up a Toilet and River...(not going there)
Poor Toshiyuki had to get his singed hide into his car and drive back smelling of RDX. Poor guy probably lost the new car smell in seconds.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
A Typical Day
Weekday mornings were usually frantic with people trying to get out of the house to get to work or school. And those who didn't work outside of the home were busy with tasks that they were supposed to be doing. Satoshi on the other hand, being a collector tended to collect when the inspiration hit versus setting up a schedule. In fact...he went over to see what was going on at the henhouse.
River was getting faster at painting and it certainly wasn't a surprise when she could finish two large paintings in a single day.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Life is Financially Rewarding
River was hungry in the morning and had breakfast. Haruo had cooked dinner the night before and put it in the fridge and well, frankly, it kept the fridge well stocked in terms of victuals.
Brianna tried to make some muffins. Her first attempt wasn't too successful and then she had to head off to school.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Sims can do Sim Fu until they get their notice.
You either need to use Retuner or get the mod to make servings bigger!
LOL whoopee cushions are always fun
That was good of Thornton!
Ah chimes is good!
I've never had a sim fight with Charles!
I changed my Retuner settings to make painting times shorter
Methinks the time machine would be too much of a distraction!
The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys
At least Brianna didn't burn the muffins!
Molly might need an intervention
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI