Week Six Part Seven: Riedmayer-Todd Estate

Edith Riedmayer: 54 years old. Aspiration: Pleasure (formerly Fortune). LTW: Have 50 Dream Dates. Astrological sign: Capricorn.
Thomas Dai: 44 years old. Aspiration: Popularity. LTW: Become Media Magnate. Astrological sign: Leo.
Ingrid Riedmayer: 17 years old. Aspiration: Fortune. LTW: Become Chief of Staff. Astrological sign: Gemini.
Todd Riedmayer: 12 years old. Aspiration: Pleasure. LTW: Have 50 1st Dates. Astrological sign: Gemini.
Frederick "Fritz" Riedmayer: 8 years old. Astrological sign: Capricorn.
Charles Riedmayer: 5 years old. Astrological sign: Capricorn.

I am not going to post Edith's family tree because we just visited her twin sister, Joan. Note, though, that Edith's children were not fathered by her current husband.

"Ever after"
narrated by Edith Riedmayer

Hey there. I was just reading the last two updates submitted by my kids, and you know what I noticed? They spent the whole time talking about their father. Especially Ingrid. Complain, complain, complain. You'd think I didn't give them a good life, seeing as you hear nothing about what they actually do--did--here at home.

As much as I'd like to correct the historical record, I suppose I should start where Todd left off.

Ingrid went off to college when she was 17. She only had two scholarships--for good grades and cooking skill--but I think she was eager to be off on her own. She didn't even bother getting dressed, just ran right out the second the taxi showed up. Strange girl.

Thomas had just lost his job for some stupid reason (chance card), so things were tight for a little while. Still, we had money for little fun things like pizza. Come to think of it, nobody in this family really knows how to cook, so maybe pizza is more of a necessity

Thomas is absolutely great with the boys. He's nice to Ingrid, too, but she was already a bitter teenager by the time he came into our lives. Anyway, Thomas pays way more attention to the kids than Corbin ever did. He helped Charlie with his homework almost every night until Charlie got the hang of it.

He helped Todd earn some scholarships for college, too. I'm not sure how playing putt-putt on the front lawn helps, but Thomas said that it would.

Thomas paid plenty of attention to me, too, though sometimes our little escapades got us into trouble. *grin*

I must admit, said escapades did get a little embarassing when my mother showed up and started acting all disapproving.

(That really happened. It was the funniest thing ever.)

Also, I am not impressed by the flavor text for 50 Dream Dates. It's like they didn't think anyone would actually get there. Oh well. LTW #1 and IW for Edith! Her new LTW is to become a Professional Party Guest, and she managed to snag a Slacker position right before aging up, so we'll see how that goes.

I think all that attention from Thomas must have put me in a good mood, because I became "Head of SCIA" at work. I think my sister-in-law already explained to you that that's a figurehead sort of position, but it's still a pretty big honor.

The older kids seem to partially blame me for what 
happened with their father, which is just ridiculous, but the little boys don't know anything but this happy life with Thomas. Charlie is especially devoted to me and always runs up to give me a hug when I get back from work.

The boys all get along with each other, fortunately. Todd seems to think it's his job to give them an example of what a man should be like, which seems kind of unnecessary with Thomas around, but at least it's sweet how he plays with them and takes care of them without being asked.

Before I knew it, my little Fritz was not so little anymore. He's a good kid. He says he wants to have a big family and be a teacher, so he can positively influence as many children as possible. Personally, I think four kids are more than enough to be influencing in one lifetime, but my sister Joan seems to do pretty well with her seven. Some people are just the kid type, and maybe Fritz is one of them.

Frederick Riedmayer: Family, Become Education Minister

Around that time, we came by an unexpected financial windfall, which enabled us to finally get the house finished so we weren't all packed into one bedroom together. We ended up with four bedrooms altogether, but the boys said they wouldn't know what to do with their own rooms so we stuck them all together in the biggest one. Thomas and I got our own room, at least, which meant we didn't have to avail ourselves of the photo booths downtown quite so often...

Since we were so much better off, we decided to try to get the boys into private school. The headmaster was suitably impressed with our family and our renovated house, so all three boys got in.

Charles officially turned 12 earlier this year (even though really his birthday isn't until September), so now he's off at high school with the other boys. Todd will be at college in the fall, though, so I guess they're not really all together. Charles seems to take after his father a bit, wanting to go out and meet as many girls as possible. Maybe it'd be better if he remembered what it was like to have your parents break up because one of them is cheating...

Charles Riedmayer, Romance, Become Hall of Famer.

Thomas reminds me that I had a milestone birthday this year too. I legally turned 61, which means I'm old enough to retire, though I probably won't. I already took early retirement from the SCIA and now I'm taking it easy working as a clerk at a music store. I figure after everything I've been through the last 20 years or so, I deserve to take it easy from here on out.

Here's the house at the end of the week. The downstairs is very lavishly furnished, mostly so the headmaster would be impressed.

The upstairs is much plainer. I don't know how much I'll bother furnishing it, since the boys will be leaving for college very shortly. Fritz will probably come back to take care of the old ones after he graduates--it just seems logical since he's the most family-oriented.

And here's the outside. The house is meant to be the mirror image of the house my parents live in. (Putting the driveway on the right is hard in Sims because of how many tiles you need.) I couldn't get the proportions quite right on the inside, but the outside looks very true to life.