Honey's Housacy Challenge Ch2 Part 14

Greetings! Here we are back again with another housacy entry, part fourteen. While being new parents can be fun, it can also be stressful and tiring in multiple ways, so Alisha and Marshall have scheduled some time out. They hired a babysitter and went to the winter festival, winterfest for short. 

 Alisha: "Ahh, this brings back memories. Remember when we used to go on dates at the park?"

Marshall: "Yeah, and we built a snow man together that time too. And then...someone died and the grim reaper came to collect"

 

Alisha: "I know! It was so interesting, wasn't it? I mean, how many people can say they saw the reaper on their date?" 

 

Marshall: "I don't think you're remembering things the same way I'm remembering them" 

Alisha: "Well that's no what matters. What matters is, we're building a snowman together" <3

  

Ta da! One hockey snowman! 

 

And here's something Alisha has still never tried. In fact, I've never had any of my sims try snowboarding, ever. Even though I had the seasons expansion pack for a while now, theres still some things I haven't explored with it and this is one of them. Marshall goes first, climbing the cold, slippery ladder to the top of the..ramp? Is that what you call these? Lol. 

 

And he's up, and ready to snowboard. It looks so precarious, I'd be worried about falling off. Then again, I guess there's lots of soft snow to break a fall. 

 Go Marshall! So that's how this works. I thought you could have multiple sims at a time, like the ice skating rink but now it makes sense to have to take turns. I imagine a collision on this thing would be pretty painful. Looks like a great deal of fun. 

 

Next, it's Alisha's turn.

Alisha: "Wow, woah...it's a little tricky to get my balance" 

 

Alisha: "Whee! This is great" 

Now I really want to try this. Ha ha. I bet sims make it look easy.

 

While Alisha plays on the snowboarding ramp, Marshall decides to build an igloo. First, he draws the outline, then he starts packing snow bricks into it.  

 Having fun there, Marshall? 

Marshall: "Yeah but I can't feel my hands any longer. Are all my fingers still there?"

 

While his parents are having a nice time at the snowy winterfest, Brent is left at home with this guy. Again, just like Alisha's babysitter from when she was little, this one is wearing a nice suit. A WHITE jacket and shirt is never a good idea around babies. Lol. I wonder why they are always wearing this outfit. Is it meant to be a joke? Or is this supposed to be the babysitter's clothing? It certainly is weird. A simple jersey and jeans would do fine. Anyway, this babysitter wasn't very good; he frowned a lot, looked incredibly bored and neglected Brent's needs until they were in the red and the baby was crying. Hopefully there's a way to choose another babysitter so we don't get this guy again. 

 Marshall:  "I've done it. The igloo is complete!"

It looks really good, Marshall. Now what to do with it? 

Marshall: "Nothing, I'm done with it now. Someone else can have it. I don't want to relax, nap or sleep inside and those are the three options it gives you". 

Fair enough then. I have to admit though, these do come in handy when you have a sim whose exploring Sunset Valley and they're a long way from home and it's winter. If they build an igloo, they can spend the night inside safe from the elements. And it's even better if they have some food with them, such as apples or cram. A sim can stay out adventuring for several days without having to go home to eat and sleep. I might use this knowledge to my sims advantage later on. 

 

Alisha is still trying to learn all the different kinds of snow man. This one looks to be another Grim Reaper. 

Alisha: "To remember the date Marshall and I had here that time. It was fun" 

Alisha: "*Sigh* It warms my heart" 

You know, you're beginning to remind me more and more of Agnes as you get older. 

 

Guess who else happened to be at the winterfest? Marshall's sister! I have forgotten her name at the moment but it's on the tip of my tongue. Anyhow, she looks like she'd be cold in that summery dress. Nothing on her arms or legs either. Alisha is dressed slightly warmer, because I changed her outfit for winter. The townies and NPCs don't seem to change their clothes at all. Must be freezing! 

 

Of course, in the tradition Alisha has started, they build a snow man together. 

Alisha: "Did you ever read that book about the snowman who came to life? I've always thought it would be neat but none of mine ever have" 

 My favourite kind; the Classic Snowman. Marshall's sister seemed to enjoy making him as much as I did watching my sims make him. If that makes any sense. Also...does nothing in this game recognise it is freezing cold winter right now? There's a cloud of red butterflies flitting about in the corner, and they should really have died, migrated, or be hibernating right now. Lol. I guess they're just special ones that are immune to the cold.

It wouldn't be the winterfest without an ice skating rink. Here, there are sims of all skill levels, from the amazingly good (guy spinning ballet style at the top right), to the newbies and average skill levels, (two ladies in centre). 

 

Marshall and Alisha both joined in the ice skating and to try and make friends with his sister, Alisha practiced skating with her. 

 They fell down a few times. Marshall on the other hand, didn't fall once. Possibly he has his athletic trait to thank for his dexterity and quick learning.

 

See what I mean about Sims not dressing for the weather or the season? XD I think this lady has been partaking in an eating contest as well. It looks like she has berry pie on her face. Or maybe it's a glitch? Frostbite? It does look like something.

Time for a greeting card photo. This is the picture that showed up on my sims wall on my page at Sims 3 official site. I would have uploaded my sims story there but the story maker wouldn't work for me, so that's why I ended up making it with Blogger. I also want to make a Sims 2 story on here except I couldn't get the game to work last time I tried. I might try again once I finish this legacy challenge. Sims 2 sims are the prettiest I've seen.

All that playing in the snow and ice works up an appetite, so Alisha and Marshall head to the food stalls. Two hot chocolates, please! And make them large.

 

So this is the first time I've actually seen a line up for these booths. Guess everysim has the same idea. 

 

Alisha had but a few sips of her chocolate and then...it's her birthday! o_o I got a notification but forgot all about it and it just happened on its own. Still, she spent her birthday in the nicest possible way so there are no regrets save for the fact that I didn't make this a group outing with friends.  

 

She spins, she sparkles...and...Alisha has now become an adult! From young adult to adult. Not too harsh of an age transition. 

Alisha: "I...I think I'm having a midlife crisis"

Oh, except for that. :( Oh dear. 

 

Marshall: "Surprise" 

Alisha: "Oh Marshall, thanks, you remembered my birthday. Is that why you asked me to the winter festival?"

Marshall: "Of course it is honey. It's all a surprise for your birthday"  

 

Babysitter: *mumble grumble* "Darn it, wonder when those guys are getting home" 

 

After a day of fun in the snow, the two come home and grab a quick dinner. Marshall's got a microwave meal while Alisha grabs something easy; microwave hot dogs. I don't really trust her making anything on the stove. 

 

 Looking after a baby can be tiring, though I'm sure Brent is happy to see them. 

Alisha: "The next time he cries, it's Marshall's turn to get up" 

 

With Alisha's age transition to adult, her hair had changed to a short style that I wasn't particularly fond of and her appearance changed somewhat too (she looked older and the makeup looked odd). She also had the wish to get a makeover, due to her midlife crisis. So I gave her a makeover and changed her wardrobe for all winter clothes. You think she'd be more happy but she seems to be channeling her late mother, lol. 

Alisha: "I need sleeeeeeeeeppp! I don't care about anything else right now. Sleeeeeepppp!" 

 

 After a good night's rest, Agnes...er, I mean, Alisha, is feeling much much better and has a nice time interacting with the pets. Poppy is getting some wall birdy time. I forgot to say that Poppy, like Alabaster, is also an Elderkitty. Since I found it utterly heartbreaking that very little people adopt elder kitties, we decided to adopt them and give them loving new homes. 

 

Alisha is cooking pancakes. Grab the fire extinguisher! 

Alisha: "Hey, it's not that bad. I KNOW how to cook pancakes thank you very much" 

 

Or maybe I spoke too soon. She seems grumpy today as well.

Alisha: "Well so you would be too if someone kept insulting your domestic skills, hmph!"

Oh, I see...they're not burned at all. Good work

Alisha: "Don't patronize me!" 

But it was a compliment :<

 

Leaving Grumpy Agnes...er, Alisha to her own devices for a while, I zoom over to see what Marshall is up to and find him running to his very first emergency. Go Marshall, go! 

 

What would a fireman be without the truck? Marshall quickly runs to it and jumps in the driver's seat. There's no time to waste! 

 

The truck's sirens flash and the horn blares a warning as it speeds...very slowly...what? 

Oh, okay, Marshall's handiness skill isn't high enough to increase the horsepower yet and so we can only travel like a passenger bus. *facepalm* I suppose as long as it gets you where you need to go....should be fine...

 

Marshall runs up to the office building in town, where terrified civilians dance and gibber outside the doors.  Upon entering the building, Marshall soon finds what they're so scared of; a giant man eating plant has come inside from the air conditioning vents and is attempting to devour people. He and the other firies hack and chop it, spray it with some weed spray and finally manage to tie it up and have it shipped to the science labs after they free the boss from its belly.

 Marshall got a promotion for a job well done, and with a new rank, a spanking new uniform as well. :D Nice work, Fireman Marshall, you've saved the day.

Marshall: "Oh, it was nothing. It was kind of exciting actually"

 

 Alisha, seeing as she was being Mrs Sourpuss, is out of the house at Karen Crouch's party. She's spun into her summer formal attire instead of her winter attire though, so she kind of stands out. Lol. But at least she's enjoying herself and making friends.

 

Baby is crying again. Seems like Brent cries a lot and his needs go down really fast. I don't remember Alisha being this fussy but I guess it's just because we have so many animals to look after and a million and one things to do. Trying to work around a baby in a busy household presents its own challenges. Still, I don't mind cause I like Sims babies and they are nowhere near as much work as babes in real life. :D My sims, on the other hand...

 

Well, they mind a little. 

Marshall: "Aww, it's 3 am" >.< 

 

Alisha: "We are like these ants aren't we. Busy busy bees" 

Ants and bees are two different insects 

Alisha: "Shush, I know that"

And here I'll leave you with Alisha's contemplation of their current lives, until next chapter. Bye!

Honey's Housacy Challenge Ch2, Part 13

Welcome to part thirteen of chapter two of my Sims blog. :) Here we have another lovely shot of Marshall in his Hello Kitty PJs. The thing he's holding by the way, is not a chameleon, as I thought. It's an iguana, named Izzy. Marshall shares the duties of domestic chores and pet care. Izzy and Preen the budgie both get attention, food and cleaning from time to time. As for how we got them, they were captured by the cats, (Dumpling and Alabaster). There wasn't anywhere else to put them where they'd look nice or be safe from the elements, so they live in the lounge room.

  

And here's Preen! Cute little thing but he does tend to bite from time to time. He can always be heard cheeping away day and night. 

 

Because of Alisha's love of animals and her life time want to adopt six strays, our house is quickly becoming a menagerie, of both the living and the...not so live. Alabaster's come out of his urn to play.

 

The first person he goes to say hello to turns out not to be the best choice. Because of Marshall's coward trait, he tends to faint at the sight of ghosts and other scary things, even the ghost of a dear friend and pet. Silly sims. Sorry Alabaster, maybe Alisha will want to play with you.

Of course, Ala has no other choice, because he isn't going to get much out of Marshall, who promptly swoons and hits the cold hard floor. Ow. 

 

Alisha is overjoyed to see her old pal. 

Alisha: "Alabaster! I missed you so much! How's it going? Is dad treating you well? Hey kitty..." *kissy noises*

Alabaster: *happy meows and chirps* 

 

One of their favourite activities, playing with the wall birdy toy, keeps both parties entertained and socializing. Alabaster is a happy ghost cat. <3

Alisha: "You know, since we keep their urns, does this mean all the later generations are going to be haunted by my adopted pets?" 

If that's true, then for their sakes, I hope none of them is a coward. They're going to be fainting multiple times day and night and that's not good for the brain cells. Ha ha. 

 

Alisha's powering on with her stylist career. Here she is, offering her wonderful services to yet another resident of this town. He asked her for a new hair style, so let's see what we can do. :D 

Alisha: "Hair is no problem for me. Just let me get my portfolio for you"

Alisha: "Now, this hair would probably require a little combing magic, but don't worry because I have here my very reliable magic comb. It does wonders for restoring lost hair"

Really, I wanted to show off Alisha's newest outfit that she got with her promotion. I really like it, although there's not a hint of orange. I'd like her to give this guy a new wardrobe too, but he just requested hair, so that's what we'll do. 

Alisha: "So do you like it?"

Customer: "It's...smokin'! Thanks"

Maybe I should have got a better picture showing how the hair looked with his face. This one turned out kinda weird. Lol.

 

Time waits for no sim and Alisha is in high demand today. Off we go to another Sim's house and this time, she wants the complete package deal - new wardrobe, new make up, new shoes, new hair and hair colour...phew! Let's get to work. 

Alisha: "Of course I can do all that for you. It would be my pleasure. Just let me get my magic mirror and we can start" 

 

Ta-da~! A brand new look for this Sim and now, a grateful customer. Why all the black you may ask? Well, because it is slimming and we wanted to make her feel and look like new.

Sim: "Thank you so much Alisha. I'll definitely be telling my friends about you"

 

It seems like only yesterday it was sunny and bright but winter has come, almost overnight. XD That's right, winter is now here for a whole ten days. Summer and Spring are set to last for 14 days and autumn and winter for 10 days each, though I might change things again. It just seems that when I left it on the default settings of 7 days per season (I think), they were too short and it was cold or raining for 3/4ths of the year. I'm used to the sun where I live, so I wanted to reflect that in my game too. Still, snow like this would be nice. It never snows in this part of Aussie and there'd be something wrong if it did. Lol.

 

Inside, the residents are warm and cosy. Alisha's giving Poppy cat and Dumpling cat some love and attention. It's always nice to play or curl up with cats on a chilly day. 

One nice thing about having leftover wedding cake; it makes for a yummy snack. Alisha is terrible at cooking, even with her five skill points now, she still burns almost everything. We live on salads, quick meals and eating out or having leftovers, such as wedding cake.

By the way, I don't think I shared yet that Marshall got a job. He joined one of the coolest professions on the planet; fire fighter. These guys are heroes in Australia, and probably elsewhere. I'm so happy I bought Sims Ambitions because it gives Sims such cool and fun jobs. Marshal's a bit of a slacker due to one of the rewards I got him so he doesn't maintain the fire alarm and truck unless I tell him to, but he does spend lots of time working out on the equipment, tending to personal matters or reading books. Er....let's just say he has some catching up to do...

 

Alisha on the other hand is always busy doing something. Looks like today finally wore her out. 

 

Or maybe there's some other reason behind her sudden lack of energy. Could it be food poisoning perhaps? ;)

 

Marshall at home wearing his work uniform. He matches quite nicely with all the white in our house. That spaghetti with vege sauce stands out like a sore thumb. Hope he doesn't spill any on his nice white lab coat. But we have a washing machine, just in case. ^_^ I think that comes from Outdoor Living stuff, not 100 per cent sure. 

 

Winter is really into the swing of things by this point. It snows hard and often, so there's quite a lot of snow all over the town. I think it looks pretty, and just right for Alisha to practice making all the different snowmen. She knows Classic, Hockey, Grim Reaper and I think one time she made Tragic Clown. There are two more to be discovered; Alien and Evil. I don't know about you but my favourite is the cheerful classic with his charcoal smile and broomstick. 

Alisha's been woken up in the wee hours of the morning and she doesn't look too thrilled about it. In fact, she is a bit sick.

Alisha: "It's cold, brrr!! If I didn't have to go vomit, I'd stay in bed"

Nice. Lol. And Marshall gets to sleep on, oblivious.

Yeah, we do have winter pjs but I stupidly told her to switch pjs so I could see what the other outfits looked like and forgot to change it back. Sorry Alisha. ._.  These really should be her spring/summer clothes.

Although he has slacker as one of the rewards from collected simpoints, Marshall isn't slack at home, he does the laundry often and looks after the pets. He even found a magical laundry gnome the last tine we did the washing. I find the old man gnomes creepy but the teddy bear is cute, so we'll keep him around.

Marshall: "I dunno...I still think it's creepy. Like that thing is watching me" 

 

What's this? Alisha's wearing a weirdly mixed outfit? Okay, okay, there's really no surprise by this point - she is definitely pregnant. She has the wish to read a parenting book so is shopping at the book store. I don't like her clothes but I couldn't figure out how to change them so it looks like we're stuck with this...combination...for some days.  

 

Alisha:  "Hello in there, future legacy heir. Hope you're prepared to join a housacy. There's a few people and animals out here just dying to meet you"

Lucky:  "Woof! Woof!" :D 

Alisha: "Oh, oh do that again, Lucky, I felt a kick!"

 

Alisha: "Good dog" 

I think Alisha's going to be a fine mother, seeing as she's so used to taking care of things. Lucky, Poppy and Dumpling, Preen and Izzy all get her attention and affection, but I'm sure she'll be able to make time for baby too. 

 

In preparation for our imminent heir or heiress, I have set up their nursery. This is SV Heart Kid's set, by Severinka at the The Sims Resource. She made all of it and it's just beautiful. I just used it to make a nursery with. Hehe. Mine looks a little different to the screenshots of this set that are on TSR, only because I didn't have the wallpaper and exact colour of carpet but I still think this looks nice, and fitting for a boy or a girl to use. 

 

The little crib. So pretty! Especially framed by windows of falling snowflakes. This heir is going to be a winter baby for sure. Maybe they'll have the trait of loves the cold and we can buy the immunity to cold thing as well once they get plenty of points. I found that raising sims from scratch usually means more points, faster. (Rather than sims made in Create a Sim or downloaded from elsewhere).

 

Alisha's tummy is starting to show and she's doing the pregnant waddle. It won't be long now. Ala, Poppy and Dumpling still get plenty of attention. Alabaster likes floating into the pet room and sleeping in one of the beds, which is where he was when we found him. Just because he's a ghost now doesn't mean he gets any less attention. XD 

 

Alisha: "Hey kitty, wow, you feel like you've lost some weight. Oh, wait...that's right, I forgot"  

Lucky's not to be forgotten either. He was getting a little smelly so we gave him a bath. Alisha did try to bath the cats, but they were having none of it, so they got brushed instead. Lol.
 

 

Oh, yay, I was waiting for this! In the middle of the night; they sure pick their timing. 

Marshall: "Okay, um, just...breathe. Do the breathing exercises and um, don't panic"

I love watching the male sims completely freak out every time their partner goes into labour. I do sometimes wish there was another couple of responses that they could have though. Not every husband is going to freak out when a baby is coming. Some of them are really calm and helpful. Then again, it wouldn't be as entertaining to watch. Or maybe it would.

 Alisha: "Hee hoo, hee hoo! Ohh, this hurts like the dickens!"

Marshall: "Where? Hurts where? How does it hurt? What can I do? Is there anything I can do?"

Marshall has a good point, lol. Since sim babies magically sparkle into existence, I'm not really sure all the theatrics are needed. XD While Alisha toughs it out, poor Marshall continues to panic.
 

 

Annnd right when they decided they'd be better off switching into their winter gear and heading to the hospital, baby Brent Decker arrives in a puff of rainbow sparkles! 

Alisha: "Welcome to the world little one! We're so happy to see you"

Yup, because this legacy would have stopped without you. And I'm happy it's a boy, since our first heir was female. It just makes things a little more interesting to mix up. Oh and I decided to stick with alabetical names, so the next generation after this will start with C names. 

 

Brent: "But now it's my turn" *wink* 

Lol. I think we're in for some fun with this one. 

Alisha: "What the heck is going on with my hand? And did my baby just wink?" 

Alisha: "Here you go sweetie. Your nice new bed"

Okay, sorry, I did it again. Getting too many pictures of the baby. I just think they're cute and I really wanted to show off Severinka's lovely nursery and show both parents taking care of him, so there. XD

 

First ever bottle, which almost matches the carpet in colour. Kind of reminds me of the grass and the sky, now that I look at it.

And Marshall taking care of his son, too. While wearing his fave PJs. Hehe. 

 

Marshall upgrading the toilet to a self cleaning model. It seems to get dirty after only 2 or 3 uses, so with Marshall's newly increased handiness skill, we decided to upgrade a few things. He has to have handiness and athletic skills for his firefighter career but they come in useful in multiple ways outside of work too. 

 

Daddy and son time together. Not that babies can do a whole lot, but the relationship status does go up when you interact with them, even though they have but a few needs and no actual wants. 

Marshall: "Think he looks more like me, or like mummy?"

I think he looks like a default sim baby if you ask me. In the Sims 2, sometimes babies would have features from parents, like the skin would be different, or the eyes. With Sims 3 babies I haven't really noticed much. Maybe there are small differences. I read somewhere that they all look the same though...

 

Marshall: "What? No resemblence. But he could be anybody's" 

Yup, he could but he's not. He's ours. And I'll be eagerly awaiting that transition to toddler, cause I want to see who he takes after. Hopefully he hasn't got Alisha's mouth, which she got from Agnes. It makes for some fantastic grumpy frowns but it's not the most attractive feature. 

Oh well, whatever will be, will be. Onwards and upwards, towards the next adventure of my sims! :)