Week One Part Five: Riedmayer-Landgraab Estate

Immediately after their marriage, Beata and Malcolm moved to their own place. They bought a pre-built, partially furnished house rather than going to the trouble of building one themselves.

Just to the right of the entryway was a living room. Beata thought the cheap-looking futon and loveseat didn't fit very well with the ornate fireplace, but there would be plenty of time to upgrade later.










Behind the living room was the kitchen, which had basic appliances and a folding table with two chairs. Knowing how expensive kitchen remodels were, Beata figured she should get used to those cabinets.









The back door led from the kitchen to a porch, which was unfurnished...for the time being.












On the left side of the hallway was a good-sized bedroom, unfurnished, and two small, empty rooms which seemed like they were supposed to be bathrooms.











Beata and Malcolm immediately purchased a queen-sized bed and a crib for the soon-to-arrive baby. They also added fixtures to the master bathroom.











The upstairs was conveniently already furnished. At the end of the hall was a full bath; to the right was a room decorated princess-style that would be perfect for Francine; to the left was a Goth-looking room that would suit the twins. The room held a double bed; Beata offered to buy two single beds instead but the twins said they thought the bed was awesome and they could totally share it.





The first night in their new house, they did just that.












The family's daily routine remained largely unchanged; the twins went to school together and played Red Hands together when they got home.












One day Beata found herself having an afternoon snack with an unfamiliar teenage boy. He introduced himself as Greg Pons and said he'd come home on the bus with Joan and Edith.










Of course, the girls couldn't spend too much time socializing. The twins only had a few years left before they would be too old to attend college, so they worked very hard to get their grades up. Francine wasn't struggling too badly with school, but she liked studying alongside her older sisters.








Soon, it was time for the baby to be born! She was a girl and Malcolm chose the name Mildred, after his great-grandmother. (Malcolm's family tree actually doesn't go that far back; I made that part up. Also, does anyone find the Hobby people trooping into one's house at all hours unbearably weird?)









In what seemed like no time at all (though it was actually three years), Beata and Malcolm were welcoming a second child. This time the baby was a boy, and naturally he was named Malcolm Landgraab V. They usually called him Little Malcolm or Mal.










Edith had been asking to go to private school for years, but Beata told her there was no point since she'd be going to college soon. Joan didn't care one way or the other, but not long after Francine turned 13 she began adding her voice to the protest against public school. Finally Beata relented and invited over the headmaster. Francine took charge of the visit, giving the headmaster a tour and otherwise being as nice to him as possible.




The next semester, all three donned their private school uniforms and boarded the bus. Edith was the first one out the door, so eager was she to soak up a little exclusive private school ambiance before heading off to college.









Francine was next; she had heard that the academics at the private school were much more challenging than at the public school.











Joan was last. She was happy to go to private school too; the advantages would help her provide for her future family. She just wasn't quite as eager as her siblings. (I feel compelled to note that Joan was *not* working on her own homework as the bus pulled up; she was working on Francine's. Francine was too tired after schmoozing the headmaster half the night.)







Soon Millie outgrew her crib in Malcolm and Beata's room and they bought a new bed for the princess room. Francine didn't mind sharing her room, though she was glad she didn't have to share a bed like Joan and Edith.









Francine decided early in her teenage years that she wanted to be a world-class ballerina when she was older. So that she could look the part, Francine started wearing her pretty blond hair in a low bun.

Francine Riedmayer, CAS toddler,
daughter of Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab
Blond hair, brown eyes, S2 skin
Aspiration: Knowledge
Lifetime want: Become World-Class Ballet Dancer
Astrological sign: Virgo

This is what the downstairs of the Riedmayer-Landgraab house looked like at the end of the week. I kept the second crib because I was planning on them having a third child in fairly short order.









At some point the folding table and chairs were replaced by this cute little set. It's not big enough to fit a large family, but this family rarely sits down to eat all together anyway.










They also got new living room furniture that matched the fireplace better--a sofa, a loveseat, and a bookcase.











This is what the upstairs looked like. Not much changed; I think the addition of Millie's bed was the only thing. You can see Joan talking on the phone to, I think, Greg Pons. But more on that later.









There are two things I would have done differently with this family had I known then what I know now. First, I would have waited to move them out until the very beginning of Week Two at Riedmayer Cove, rather than the very end of Week One. As is, they're out of sync with the other families. Oh well. The other thing is that I would have moved them to an empty lot and built them a house. Not because I don't like this house, but because unbeknownst to me I broke the prosperity challenge rules. See, the updated Apartment Life rules state that Sims can only move to a new lot ONCE in their adult lives, and Beata and Malcolm moved twice. (Also, Joan and Edith moved twice as teens. It doesn't say anything about children, so I guess Francine is safe.) See, when Malcolm first moved in with the Riedmayers he brought a lot of money, so I bought some statues and stuck them in his inventory so he could keep that money. Then I moved them all out to a small empty lot and sold the statues so they'd have enough cash to buy the pre-built house. I'm figuring this is okay (you haven't noticed me forfeiting the challenge, have you?) because this family didn't actually gain any net worth by the move, but I feel terribly guilty about it. (After the moves their net worth was about 50,000 Simoleons; if they had sold the statues and stayed on the empty lot, their net worth still would have been 50,000 Simoloeons.) The only reason I did it the way I did was because I was sick of building houses from scratch. Master architect I am not.

Anyway.

On a lighter note: Millie Landgraab is arguably the first member of Generation Two. See, she was conceived before Blake Whitfill was adopted, but born after. So it kind of depends on whether conception qualifies a Sim as a member of the neighborhood.

This installment wraps up Week One in Prosperity Plains. Stay tuned next week for lots of babies, a few platinum tombstones, and the first batch of Sim State University students.