Week Six Part Ten: Dejackome-Seifert

Timothy Seifert: 39 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become Media Magnate. (Fulfilled: Become Prestidigitator.) Astrological sign: Virgo.
Jeannie Dejackome-Seifert: 31 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become Head of SCIA. Astrological sign: Aquarius.
Caitlin Seifert: 3 years old. Astrological sign: Virgo.
Patrick Seifert: Baby.
BJ Bigfoot: Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Own 5 Top-Level Businesses. Astrological sign: Aries.

Jeannie is a Dejackome by birth. Her siblings have all been played already this round. (In parts eight, two, and five respectively.)

Tim is a former Secret Society member, and BJ is, well, a Bigfoot. So neither of them have family trees to speak of.

"Busy-ness"
narrated by Jeannie Dejackome-Seifert

When Patrick was just a few months old, Tim managed to become the owner of his own newspaper. It pays well and he likes the work, but the hours are terrible. That's why he asked me to do this update; he wants to spend some time with the kids before bedtime.

I really don't remember much that happened while Patrick was a baby. There was just kind of a sleepless haze for a couple of years, and then one day they were five and two instead of three and zero and could play together quietly and I had time to take care of other things.

We got Caitlin into private school right away, of course. I showed the headmaster around the house while BJ made lobster. Tim was working and showed up just in time to sit down with us for dinner.

Not long after Patrick was born, BJ got it in his head that he would like to adopt a child. He didn't know if it would be possible, given the vast amounts of Sasquatch discrimination, but he worked on all the application materials anyway.

Well, a baby girl was born in Sim City on May 23 of 2050 (shortly after Patrick turned 4), and BJ got a call about a week later asking if he was interested. He was, and Anastasia arrived the next day.

Now, I was happy with the decision Tim and I made to have only two kids, for lots of reasons, but I also can't say I was unhappy to have a baby in the house again, especially since Patrick went to kindergarten the year after Anastasia arrived.

We got him into private school with his sister, of course.

Meanwhile, Caitlin was only about eight but she was already helping out constantly around the house and weeding the little garden we have out back and generally being ridiculously grown-up.

Of course, the kids did have plenty of fun too. My sister Gretchen's kids, Emmy and Shelley, are almost exactly the same ages as Caitlin and Patrick, so they came over for playdates frequently.

Caitlin also ended up good friends with this boy from across town, Brian Pons. They're in the same class at school, and he seems like a nice boy.

Soon, Anastasia grew up enough that she started to be a playmate for Caitlin and Patrick too.

The three of them can spend hours playing together nicely at the activity table we have in the upstairs landing. I'll be kind of sad when they all outgrow that--and I'm sure they will; Caitlin will be heading off to high school in two short years.

Now that the kids are older, Tim and I have had more time to spend together. We still don't have a lot of time, thanks to his job, but we don't need to do anything fancy. Even just sitting and having breakfast together before the kids wake up is a great time to reconnect and remember why we decided to spend the rest of our crazy-busy lives together.

The Dejackome-Seifert-Bigfoot family continues to do well financially--their giant house is now quite well-furnished.

Upstairs you have (clockwise from top left) Caitlin and Patrick's room, Anastasia's nursery, Tim and Jeannie's room, and BJ's room. When Anastasia ages to child I'll move her in with Caitlin and Patrick will get his own room. 

This is what the house looks like on the outside. I'm still really proud of how it turned out.

And the backyard.

Notes:

1. Tim reached TOC and LTW #2 when he became a Media Magnate. His new LTW? Become Prestidigitator. Again. I hope that isn't the kind of glitch that spells doom for my neighborhood.

2. I think I was having BJ call a repairman or something and noticed that calling the adoption service was an option for him. So I tried it to see what would happen, and Anastasia happened. I'm counting her as Generation 3 since her father was invited to move in by a member of Generation 2.

Week Six Part Nine: Lothlorien

Francine (Riedmayer) Whitfill: 44 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become World-Class Ballet Dancer. Astrological sign: Virgo.
Jihoon Whitfill: 37 years old. Aspiration: Pleasure. LTW: Have 50 Dream Dates. Astrological sign: Cancer.
Lauren Whitfill: 9 years old. Astrological sign: Virgo.
Rishell "River" Whitfill: 6 years old. Astrological sign: Scorpio.
Elijah Whitfill: 1 year old.
Tamara Whitfill: 1 year old.

Jihoon's family. He's the middle child.

Francine's family. She's the middle child too. (Well, 3 of 7, but in many ways she's much more middle-child-ish than Millie.)

"Cost of Living"
narrated by Jihoon Whitfill

So, um, hi. I guess Fran told you about, you know, our life. At least most of it. I think she left off after the twins were born, right?

Okay then. Um, well, we'd tried to get the girls--Lauren and River--into private school right after the twins were born, but I guess the headmaster wasn't impressed by our hectic household. So we tried again a year later, you know, when the twins were a bit older, and that time they got in. It made Fran really happy, plus now the girls are in school with all their cousins. I always liked having my big brothers look out for me. They've got plenty of older cousins on Fran's side, so they won't get picked on in school.

I was teaching at, you know, the college level. I taught art, 'cause that's pretty much the only thing I'm good at. Anyway, somehow I got, um, nominated to be Education Minister. I didn't really want the job, but we kind of needed the money, with four kids to feed, so I took it.

Soon, the twins were two years old, so, not babies anymore. Toddlers are really hard. We spent all the time we weren't at work taking care of them.

You know, teaching them to use the potty...

...coaxing them to walk...

...and making sure they could talk right.

With all that going on, we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend on the big girls. They're good girls, though. They would just play together in their room or practice ballet or whatever when we were busy with the twins. Fran's a dancer, you know, so she makes sure the girls do ballet. Says it's good to have a strong body to go with a strong mind.

She'd give them little lessons every chance she got when she wasn't busy with the twins.

So, well, time went by pretty quick, with how busy we were. Seemed like just a day or two before it was Lauren's twelfth birthday. That's, you know, kind of a big deal in our culture. We couldn't afford to get her anything real fancy, but Fran took her out for some new clothes and makeup and stuff. It made me feel funny, looking at my little girl all grown-up...practically, anyway.

Not too long after that, it was time for the twins to go to school. Lemme tell you that Fran and I both breathed a sigh of relief on that day. We love those kids, but man were they a lot of work the first few years.

We got them a couple of easels as birthday presents. Fran and I have always loved to paint, and we wanted to pass that on to our kids...my mom passed it on to me; Fran actually uses the easel that used to belong to her. Anyway, they took to it like fish to water.

I stopped working in education 'round about that time...Fran suggested it; she could see I was unhappy and thought that a change of career might do me good. So now I'm working at a club sort of place downtown, doing entertainment--juggling and stuff like that. I guess the guy they used to have quit to be an oceanographer. I told them there's no danger of that happening to me. I've never been the science type.

'Course, with me juggling and Fran dancing, we were both gone in the evenings, and Lauren was too young to look after all the other kids. Luckily, we have lots of brothers and sisters around to babysit.

Not too long after that, Fran became world-famous for her dancing. She was the happiest I've ever seen her when that happened...said it's been a dream of hers since she was a little girl. Now she's probably going to retire, since dancing is hard work when you are getting a bit older. Said she might see if her stepfather has something for her to do, more of a desk job.

Next thing we knew, it was time for River's birthday. She turned out just as pretty as her sister...though I might be a bit biased.

We didn't get her anything in particular for her birthday, 'cept clothes and stuff, but we did end up fixing up the house that year. We made over the living room first, so that when we have our families over they've actually got somewhere to sit and all that.

Then we fixed up the bedrooms. Elijah has his own, 'cause he's the only boy. Most of the toys are in there, but he knows he has to share. It's just that his room has the most space for toys and stuff.

The girls' room is plenty big enough for their beds, but there isn't a whole lot of extra space...or at least that's what Fran says when she tells them not to leave stuff out on the floor.

Sometimes I remember how me and my mom and my brothers and sisters all lived in a little house that was hardly bigger than our living room now, and didn't even have proper walls...but we were together, and we were family, and we were happy. Sometimes I wonder if maybe we all--Fran and the kids and me--wouldn't be happier if we didn't have so much stuff, didn't have to work so hard to buy it and keep it and all that. Not like I want my kids to be out in the cold, but they're growing up so fast and I'd like to actually be there for it, not just sort of watch it fly by me.

Anyway, I guess that's enough talking. I ought to go play with the kids now.

The downstairs is much improved over last week...it has walls and doors and all sorts of other fancy luxuries.

The upstairs hasn't changed much, though you saw that there's some better furniture and decor.

And the outside hasn't changed a bit.

Notes:

1. Jihoon hasn't made much progress at all towards his LTW. Now that the kids are more self-sufficient, he and Fran might have to do some marathon dating. 

He did manage to top his first career, though, as you saw in the update. Once he tops his second career he might be my first Prosperity Sim to retire--I just get the vibe that he doesn't like working and would rather stay home and paint.

2. Fran fulfilled TOC and LTW #1, so she's pretty happy. Her new LTW is to become a Criminal Mastermind. That really didn't seem to fit at first but it's been growing on me.

3. Lauren is a Popularity Sim with the LTW to become Captain Hero. She only has about 2 outgoing points, so I hope that Popularity thing works out for her...

4. River is a Knowledge Sim with the LTW to become a City Planner. 

5. Fran actually was doing simultaneous potty training in that picture. You learn these things when you fail Toddlermania. (Twice.) 

6. Donte "babysitting" was all smoke and mirrors...he just randomly came over to visit while the grown-ups were at work and stayed almost all night. But in real life, you'd never leave your 13-year-old in charge for 8 hours at a stretch, and in real life you'd be able to ask your friends and family to come over instead of having to hire a nanny. 

Week Six Part Eight: Paradisio

Donte Whitfill: 38 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become City Planner (fulfilled: Become Education Minister). Astrological sign: Aquarius.
Gretchen (Dejackome) Whitfill: 31 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Max All Skills. (fulfilled: Become Criminal Mastermind). Astrological sign: Aries.
Emerson "Emmy" Whitfill: 3 years old. Astrological sign: Sagittarius.

Family trees:

"Reflections"

narrated by Gretchen Whitfill

Donte and I welcomed our second daughter, Shelley Beatrice Whitfill, on April 14, 2045. She was the spitting image of her older sister, Emmy, who was 2 1/2 at the time.

I worked for Malcolm Landgraab's imports business back then, but I took a leave of absence in order to be a stay-at-home mother to the girls while they were small. I was also figuring on studying for the SKILL test, but it turns out that taking care of a toddler and an infant is pretty time consuming.

Fortunately, we had a great support system. In addition to our siblings, Elise Kules, one of Donte's college friends, came over a lot. Her daughter Priscilla is just a few months older than Emmy and she has a son as well who was pretty young at the time, but I guess she liked being around a baby or something. I wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Donte worked a lot, but he made sure to spend plenty of time with his daughters as well. He's an excellent father and just loves to teach them things.

A few months after Shelley was born, he felt like he had done everything he wanted in the architecture world, so he switched to working for a game design company.

The girls grew up so fast...before we knew it, it was time for Emmy to start kindergarten.

Meanwhile, Shelley took her sister's place as the resident rampaging toddler. I love my kids, but they sure can get into things.

It was important to us that Emerson get the best education possible, so we enrolled her in my alma mater, Bluewater Academy. Donte went to public school himself, but he was suitably impressed by the headmaster's educational philosophy.

Donte enjoyed working in gaming, but after only two years he quit that job and became a scientist. He's already talking about getting into journalism after he accomplishes some things in the scientific field. I think he might be trying to excel at every career that exists...

I was still staying at home with the girls and studying for my SKILL test, but my heart defnitely isn't in the whole homemaker thing. A lot of the time, Emmy would get up and get herself some cookies or something for breakfast--I never feel up to doing more than fixing some cereal in the mornings. It makes me think back to all the awesome pancake breakfasts Aunt Mel used to make for my siblings and me...I have no idea how she kept up a career AND paid so much attention to four kids.

Soon Shelley was old enough for kindergarten too. We got her into Bluewater Academy with Emmy easily.

The older she got, the more obvious it was that she, like Emmy, looks just like Donte (though with my eye color). I'm honestly surprised that I feel disappointed. I was adopted, and so was Donte, so you'd think I'd be pretty firmly aware of the fact that it isn't sharing blood or looking alike that makes you family. Still, feelings are what they are, and I do wish one of the girls looked more like me. Not enough to have a third child and start the diaper phase all over again, though.

Anyway...the girls had been raising a ruckus for a while about not being "allowed" to share a room. Almost all of their cousins share, and they seem to think it's some kind of awesome privilege. Personally, I shared a room with my two sisters all through our growing-up years and if I hadn't gotten married I'd have happily never shared a room again. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Anyway, we let Shelley move into Emmy's room and turned the old nursery into a playroom. So far the girls seem to sleep well and don't fight any more than usual, so I guess that's a success. We'll see if they want to switch back when they're teenagers...

I finally got a 100% on my SKILL test shortly after Shelley started kindergarten...it's amazing how hard it is to study with little kids underfoot. Shortly thereafter, I ended up resigning from my position with Landgraab Enterprises and took a job as a guest lecturer at Sim State. It's just a little more stable, and I've got two kids to think of now.

When he wasn't working, Donte was tinkering around on the robot bench we've had since we were first married. I've never made much more than toy robots on there, but Donte decided he was going to make a full-sized one, with far more complicated AI. The "servo", as he calls it, is programmed to do chores and childcare and other such household tasks. It's also capable of holding a realistic conversation. Naturally, he programmed it to frequently tell him how awesome of a scientist he is. The servo is called Asimov, after one of Donte's favorite authors. I'm kind of glad we didn't have a son; could you imagine a real boy named that?

I guess that's about it. It's summer now, so the girls are out of school and have been enjoying our pool. They're bright, well-behaved children; our jobs are going well; our marriage is just about perfect...life is pretty good.

The downstairs at the end of the week: All the walls are in place, and the kitchen and dining room are state-of-the-art. The Whitfills can't afford to furnish the living room yet, though. The big room on the right is a sort of hobby/study/craft room. You can also just see a bathroom behind the stairs.

Upstairs is about the same. Gretchen and Donte have a private study next to their bedroom, and then in back we have the girls' bedroom and the playroom. 

The outside looks pretty much the same as last round, just with a servo sunning himself on the lawn.

Notes:

Yes, Emmy and Shelley are clones. *sigh* I really need to remember to jiggle the randomizer before babies are born. At least they're cute...

When Donte became a City Planner, that was TOC #3 and LTW #2 for him. Then he became a Game Designer--TOC #4 and LTW #3. His new LTW is to become a Media Magnate, but I put him in Science because the career reward is better. I'm kind of curious to see how many careers he'll be able to top in his lifetime, even though I only got points for the first two (Business and Education).

Gretchen fulfilled her second LTW (Max all skills) and rolled the want to become Education Minister. I let her get a job in Education because I have grand plans of letting Emmy take a Bookshelf of Education to college with her. Donte already earned one, so Gretchen's will be the spare for Emmy to take.

The scene with Elise was total gameplay...she just walked in without being greeted and fetched Emmy out of her crib while Gretchen was busy with the baby. I checked relationship panels and realized she was BFFs with Donte (that's why she could walk in uninvited), which confused me until I remembered that they went to college together. I need to start holding class reunions or something so I can foster these relationships.