What do we need a sister for?
Because taking sides in a heated snowball fight is no fun when there’s only two.
JoJo is used to this by now, but it’s still kind of a new idea for the boys. They’re trying to be discreet.
And trying to enjoy a fluffy moment of respite where there is nothing wrong in the world, their children are healthy and happy, the sandpipers bounce across the snow-dusted sand, and they begin to believe that maybe, please, everything might turn out just fine.
———
Cozy new socks. Highly recommended.
———
previously: when Jordan quit // and then Maria quit
What do you call your work bestie when you no longer work at the same place anymore? Whatever that might be, Maria was excited to sneak off into the kitchen and catch up with Stephanie while Jordan had some apologies to make with their former boss.
Stephanie was delighted to see Maria, too. “Are you coming back to work?”
“No. I think probably no,” Maria said. “We pulled JoJo out of preschool, so now I’m doing the full-time mom thing. And maybe the wine thing on the side? Like, I could sell some at the farmer’s markets or something? So I guess I want to talk to you about grapes.”
Stephanie grinned. “I always want to talk about grapes!”
So the two of them discussed the plentiful harvest Stephanie had this fall with her little hobby farm, grapes and blackberries and cherries, all of which would make excellent wine. And maybe the hotel might source a few bottles for supper club. The wine wasn’t even made yet, wasn’t aged or tasted yet, but Maria had her first distribution deal on the books. It was good to have friends in high places.
Then Ian came through the kitchen with a stack of dirty plates from brunch. “Did you say wine? I like wine. Do you need a taste-tester?”
Meanwhile, in the front room, Jordan wanted to formally apologize for the hasty exit he made last summer and the mess that promptly followed. He hoped Sharon wasn’t holding a grudge. He wondered if he could repay her years of generosity by fixing anything around the hotel.
To start with, it was freezing in here. The wood-burning fireplace could hardly battle so much chill.
Sharon sighed in defeat. “Actually, I never did find anyone to fill your shoes. I have to say, things are running a little ragged around here. If you want your job back, I’ve got plenty for you to do. And maybe you could build me a spring festival to make up for the fall festival we missed?”
“Absolutely!” Jordan said. “Let’s do it! It’ll be the best spring festival this town has ever seen.”
And, meanwhile, in the kitchen, Stephanie said, “Actually, you know Justin is super swamped with his business now that he’s doing grad school on top. He could really use someone to help out with the furniture assembly and a little heavy lifting. Do you think Jordan might be interested?”
“That sounds so fun,” Maria said. “He’d love to. I’m sure of it!”
And that was how Jordan Graham went from having no job to two jobs in about five minutes flat.
What do you call your work bestie when you no longer work at the same place anymore? Whatever that might be, Maria was excited to sneak off into the kitchen and catch up with Stephanie while Jordan had some apologies to make with their former boss.
Stephanie was delighted to see Maria, too. “Are you coming back to work?”
“No. I think probably no,” Maria said. “We pulled JoJo out of preschool, so now I’m doing the full-time mom thing. And maybe the wine thing on the side? Like, I could sell some at the farmer’s markets or something? So I guess I want to talk to you about grapes.”
Stephanie grinned. “I always want to talk about grapes!”
So the two of them discussed the plentiful harvest Stephanie had this fall with her little hobby farm, grapes and blackberries and cherries, all of which would make excellent wine. And maybe the hotel might source a few bottles for supper club. The wine wasn’t even made yet, wasn’t aged or tasted yet, but Maria had her first distribution deal on the books. It was good to have friends in high places.
Then Ian came through the kitchen with a stack of dirty plates from brunch. “Did you say wine? I like wine. Do you need a taste-tester?”
Meanwhile, in the front room, Jordan wanted to formally apologize for the hasty exit he made last summer and the mess that promptly followed. He hoped Sharon wasn’t holding a grudge. He wondered if he could repay her years of generosity by fixing anything around the hotel.
To start with, it was freezing in here. The wood-burning fireplace could hardly battle so much chill.
Sharon sighed in defeat. “Actually, I never did find anyone to fill your shoes. I have to say, things are running a little ragged around here. If you want your job back, I’ve got plenty for you to do. And maybe you could build me a spring festival to make up for the fall festival we missed?”
“Absolutely!” Jordan said. “Let’s do it! It’ll be the best spring festival this town has ever seen.”
And, meanwhile, in the kitchen, Stephanie said, “Actually, you know Justin is super swamped with his business now that he’s doing grad school on top. He could really use someone to help out with the furniture assembly and a little heavy lifting. Do you think Jordan might be interested?”
“That sounds so fun,” Maria said. “He’d love to. I’m sure of it!”
And that was how Jordan Graham went from having no job to two jobs in about five minutes flat.
gameplay notes
Maria joined everyone in the front room and let Stephanie get back to her cooking. Get all those ovens fired up, because that kitchen was running cold! As was every room in this hotel.
Maria had been so nervous about coming in here today, certain that Sharon would be appalled for them to show their faces in this hotel after all the trouble they caused. But, instead, Sharon looked fine.
“How are you?” Maria asked cautiously. “How are things? And, wow, it’s really so cold in here.”
Maria joined everyone in the front room and let Stephanie get back to her cooking. Get all those ovens fired up, because that kitchen was running cold! As was every room in this hotel.
Maria had been so nervous about coming in here today, certain that Sharon would be appalled for them to show their faces in this hotel after all the trouble they caused. But, instead, Sharon looked fine.
“How are you?” Maria asked cautiously. “How are things? And, wow, it’s really so cold in here.”
“The furnace is broken,” Sharon said. “You guys came back just in time. I have so much work for Jordan to do here. I’m actually glad to have him back on staff full time.”
Maria winced. “Yeah, for sure. Jordan can fix anything.”
———
Jordan felt responsible for once, doing what needed to be done, stepping up, setting things right in the world. It felt good. It felt worth celebrating.
“Hold, up, mister,” Maria said. “That little monkey won’t go to bed for six more hours.”
Oh, how they missed the good old days of midday toddler naps.
“But, I have an idea,” she added. “Maybe we can drop her with my mom. You know, because we’re going to paint the boys’ room. She did offer to babysit while we work on the house. But first, I need to confess something.”
“I kind of told Steph that you might like to help out at Justin’s shop. I guess he’s really swamped. I didn’t know Sharon was going to ask you back, too. Are you mad?”
Jordan didn’t look mad. He looked surprised and proud. “My dad used to say, a skilled tradesman will never lack work.”
“It might be too much,” Maria said. “I don’t want you to burn out.”
“Actually, the extra money will look great for my custody hearing. I think we can probably make it work. I’ll do mornings at the hotel, but no evening events. Then I’ll help out Justin later in the afternoons. All good?”
“See, I knew you could fix anything.”
He ran his fingers from her cheek to her chin and held her there. “Anything else you need fixed?”
Maria burst into stardust, melted from head to toe. He was gonna have to carry her to the truck. “Come on, JoJo, let’s go see Nonna. Wanna have a sleepover?”
They had a lot of painting to do. They’d be painting all night.
———
Painting the house. Maria wanted to slip into something a little sexier, taking advantage of the childless house, but it’s December in Wisconsin and you still gotta keep those footsies warm.
Special guest star: their new bedroom refresh.
Maria kept her old furniture, but they bought new linens in pastel greens and yellows. Jordan adds his decorative flair to the room in a reclaimed wood accent wall, a collection of nature magazines, and well-worn hiking boots in their off season. They had to leave the mountains behind, but the memory will live on in a painting above their bed.
Also while the kids are out of the house, they’re finally gonna play this card game. In their underwear.
We suppose it’s meant to be foreplay, but they didn’t need any help setting the mood tonight. They’ve both been flirting up a storm since about 11am.
———
Upstairs remodel is complete. Before and after picspam here. The rooms are small, but once I got over my aversion to using a one-tile hallway (I was raised up building in TS2, you guys! One-tile hallways are a cardinal sin in that game!), it wasn’t hard to fit three bedrooms and two bathrooms up here. The old floorplan had a lot of wasted space.
JoJo’s room is hardly changed. I just squashed it down a couple of tiles and rearranged some of her toys.
And the boys get (more) yellow and green, in a bright bugs and frogs theme. Which, Maria soon finds out, meant they brought over some real live bugs and frogs.
Maria is like: 😱😱😱
“So, now that it’s just you and me, let’s set some things straight. This is a house for humans, and you are bugs. You stay in your cozy little terrarium, and we can peacefully coexist, because I’m not trying to be the evil stepmother on day one. Just know that I have a can of family-friendly lemongrass insect repellent and I’m not afraid to use it. Are we good?”
She looks at the frog. “That goes for you, too.”
———
———
December is here, and this household is full of cheer. Getting into the spirit of the season. And the boys say, “Bah humbug!”
They’ll take some presents though.
On December 10th, Maria is baking a cake for someone very dear to her heart who went above and beyond for her last year, making sure her 26th birthday was one of the most memorable days of her life. And the kids thought a hamburger cake sounded funny, so that was what she chose.
But JoJo, silly girl, is the reason we don’t usually bother with whole birthday cakes for these updates. We were about to light the candles and snag our pictures before exiting without saving, but nobody told JoJo the rules.
She grabbed a piece.
“JoJo, you dummy!” Felix grumbles.
“No name-calling, Felix,” they all scold.
Nobody is mad at JoJo. They can still have a perfectly happy birthday without candles, because 29 is a non-aging-up year and nobody will get bad moodlets.
“Happy birthday to you…” Maria begins to lead them all in song.
And Jordan doesn’t even need candles. He couldn’t be happier than he is right now. In fact, Jordan is ready to phone it in and scrap book 6 and skip to his happily ever after, please and thank you. He is not a praying man, but if he could plead to his watcher right now, in this peaceful moment of bliss, it might sound like:
“Can we just not? Because I know book 6 is probably gonna suck. It’s gonna start off all everything’s going fine, but then one thing or another starts to surface, complications and misunderstandings, and there’s gonna be drama and angst and tears. Again. So can we just, like, skip it? Sweep our unresolved plot points under the rug? They do that in TV shows all the time!”
Honestly, we may be a little tempted by our dear main character’s plea, but he’s gonna get his (85% guaranteed*) happy ending eventually anyway, and his watcher did draft some juicy stuff for book 6, so we should probably do it. Right?
Happy 29th birthday, Jordan. May your fate be sealed with a Tumblr poll.
(spoiler alert: they voted for drama! Sorry, Jordan!) 😈
———
For Stephanie’s 29th birthday, we will not attempt a birthday cake. All she wants is a magical family photo in this swirling blizzard with happy snow bunnies bouncing around their feet and somebody pick up that baby before he runs off again!
Happy December birthday also to her father, Jeremy Nova, retired music professor, portrait photography hobbyist, and one of four remaining 2nd generation founding legacy sims in my game. He turned 73 this year.
———
Also happy birthday, Drake Cannon (fellow kitchen staff to Stephanie and Maria, from Coolidge House), who turns 21 years old this year. His girlfriend wanted to offer a sweet gesture for his birthday, which this grump-a-lump rejected because he hates sweet gestures. At least he’s not a hypocrite?
We’re gonna check back on this rocky romance when we visit our uni kids in for their upcoming spring semester.
———
November and December 2088 birthdays:
November:
1: Emily Miller is 7
4: Cameron Gibson is 36
8: Drake Cannon (Coolidge house co-worker) is 21
12: Delilah Gibson is 7
16: Eric Powell is 17
19: Austin Turner is 19
23: Anthony Booth is 15
24: Bradley Sizemore is 48
26: Robbie McCullough is 19
27: Chantal Powell is 41
28: Nathan Lind is 39
29: Patrick Nova (Steph’s brother) is 38
29: Riley Hathe (Steph’s sister) is 38
29: Aaron Phoenix (Jack’s oldest boy) is 8
30: Calvin Banks (Andre’s best friend) is 22
November anniversaries:
11/4/2055: Adam & Heather Thompson, 33 years
11/6/2083: George & Blossom McCarthy, 5 years
December:
1: Aurora Harris is 43
2: Kelsey Huffington is 14
3: Toby Harris (Sarah’s dad) is 49
5: Beth Tyler-Trudgen is 8
6: Jeremy Nova (Stephanie’s dad) is 73
8: Clementine Halston is 2
9: Alana Fortney is 57
10: Jordan Graham is 29
12: Tessa Morton is 41
14: Christian Sanders is 42
16: Stephanie Nova is 29
18: Beau Jackson is 25
18: Tyler Jackson is 25
21: Ashley Deppiesse is 49
27: Devon Shaw is 17
28: Aura Jackson (Beau & Tyler’s mom) is 56
We also welcome baby Silva, born on December 19th, 2088.
Silva joins her mother, Inara Avila, doctor and guest lecturer of medicine at Sierra Nova University, and her father Marcelo Levesque, adventurer and archaeologist from Espinoza Antiquities. Both parents will take leave from their demanding careers to spend time with their new addition this winter and spring.
Aww, creepy TS4 nooboo. I can’t wait to see what she looks like as a real baby, lol!
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