The Graystone Family Diaries

Marina Meets The Neighbours

2012-02-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Being a house dog, isn't much fun. Especially when that's all you tend to do but lounge around the house. You can only get a certain amount of enjoyment from giving all the furniture a nice new layer of fur.

And falling over the ball loses it's novelty a lot faster than you think. Plus, the TV isn't all that entertaining either. Besides, the twins aren't much fun. All she can do is simply sniff them. What's the fun in that?

So, one day, whilst trying to make friends with the woman from the postal service, Rina decided to pay the trailer park - where the Broke family lives - across the road, a visit.

After all, what better way than to get to know your neighbours, than to simply pop across and say hello.

The music was pretty loud as she approached and she wondered if they'd hear her if she scratched at the door. So, tentatively, she pawed the door and waited. The radio shut off, and the door swung open.

"Hey," said a jovial voice, "looky here Skip! It's a doggie!"

The air smelled strange. Yes, obviously, it was a strange house and all, and there was a strong scent of stale boiled cabbages and other unmentionable whiffs.

But this was different. It was ..... inhuman.

Rina felt very nervous now, as she approached the guy who spoke first. There was something funny about him. And that was funny strange, not funny hilarious.

His skin was pale, really pale, and he had a V shaped tattoo on his neck. As a matter of fact, so did the other guy too.

"Hey there cutie," he said, "there's no need to be afraid of lil ole me. Skip and me, well, we're just fine buddies dontcha know? Ain't that right Skip!"

"Yeah dad," came the reply, "we won't hurtcha!"

Rina waited. The minute he, or the other guy, did anything weird, she was out of there!! But instead, he reached down and patted her head.

"There, see," he said quietly, "there's a good doggie!"

Ambrose Plays Mr Mom For The Day

2012-02-06T04:16:00.000-08:00

Still obsessed with his Mid Life Crisis, Ambrose was wandering around the place with a permanent miserable expression on his face. So, to try and cheer him up, Ginny decided to plant a suggestion in his head.

A rather naughty suggestion.

The kids were asleep, it was their day off. The treehouse was unoccupied.
So how about having a naughty roll in it???

Ambrose looked mortified and flatly refused, telling Ginny he didn't want to get splinters in anywhere tender. Instead, he stalked off to gaze at the galaxies with his telescope.

That frustrated Virginia somewhat.

Plus, tomorrow was going to be her first day back at work since having Helen and the twins, and because Ambrose was working too, that meant they had nobody to look after the twins whilst the two of them were out of the house.

It was then that she came up with a brilliant idea. Brosie was overdue a day off, so she suggested that he take over, just for the day - a friday actually, so the weekends would be free - and look after the twins.

"It shouldn't be that difficult," she said sweetly, "besides, it'll take your mind off things, and keep you occupied for a while. Once they're fed and changed, they're pretty easy to keep happy. Especially now that the both of them have been potty trained!!"

So, the next day, after Ambrose remembered to call in work and arrange the day off, Ginny went off to the school for her shift, leaving Ambrose alone.

... in the house....

.... with the twins.....

BAD
IDEA

They sensed his inexperience and decided that today, they'd both throw mega tantrums.
He overfed them, so both of their bladders were bursting at the seams, causing them to scream even louder.

No amount of play time was good enough for Violet and Susan as they simultaneously tested Ambrose's patience.

And he was so stressed out that he forgot to put them back to bed in the afternoon for their nap time. So they screamed even LOUDER.

The only one NOT getting stressed out, was Rina. Who'd taken the golden opportunity of sleeping on the settee now, since it was the only thing she hadn't left her hairs on yet!!

Surprise Transition!!!

2012-02-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Distracted by Ambrose wanting to fulfil one of his 'opportunities' (making friends with a work colleague),

I didn't notice the date until it was too late. For ages, I'd been getting reminders that Ginny and Brosie were due to transition from Young Adult to Adult. But, with all that's been going on..... I'd forgotten.

Until I saw Ginny disappearing into the bathroom....
... and staying there.

At first I thought that she was being sick or something really odd. It wasn't until she started to sparkle, (witnessed there by Helen) and that's when I realised what was going on!!!

No choice of traits, since she'd already had her full quota. Now we have a reminder that 'family' comes first, and the chance to fulfil all her wishes (or as many as is possible).

Wow, she's looking a lot older there now!!!!

And then....
... shortly after her transition, Brosie followed suit. But not before having a delayed reaction to Ginny's transition, the minute she walked out of the bathroom!!!

Way to go Brosie!!!

Rina doesn't look too impressed with Ambrose there, does she?

Well, he immediately began his Mid Life Crisis.

Great. That's all I need.

He rolled a wish to Move House.
O-kay, that's feasible and doable. Since that house IS looking a little small for this rapidly growing family.

Then he rolled a wish....

... to DIVORCE GINNY !!!!!

O.M.G.!!!!

What WAS he thinking?????
Seriously?????

Needless to say, I ignored those wishes.
So now, he keeps wandering around the house, grumbling and putting his hands to his face and bemoaning the fact that he's getting old and has lost his youth along the way!!!

Um, you didn't have any trouble before my dear.
Hopefully, this will pass.
... I hope.

Next update: Ambrose Plays Mom For The Day

Cuteness Overload

2012-02-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I promised pics of the twins, and their personal data, so here we go.

Firstly, we have Susan.

She's a sweet little Pisces who likes the colour White, adores Cheesesteaks - although she's never technically had those yet, since her mother is still on the cold food preparation scale of cooking. And she favours Indie music.

Her traits are Genius (like her dad) and Artistic.

And she's earned a strange looking doll from her great great Auntie Francine (poor dotty old lady, thinks she's EVERYONE'S Auntie)

The doll is called Rags and Susan loves it with all her heart.
Sometimes she can be seen singing to it when she thinks nobody's looking!!!

Violet, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of her twin.

She's a raucous Aries, likes Spiceberry, and would LOVE to try some exotic foods like Dim Sums.
Her favourite music is Kids.

This is going to be an interesting household, with the radio changing channels every five minutes!!!

She would have had her own personal doll. However, in a rather vicious temper tantrum, she ripped it to shreds and threw the pieces out of her crib.

Yep, she's a bad tempered little bugger. It's reflected in her traits. Brave and Excitable. That teddy bear really ought to be scared!!!

Both toddlers love their mummy and daddy though, and are always vying for their attention.....
constantly. (and I thought the Schlick twins were trouble!!!!)

Next update:

Transition!!!

Here's what Ambrose managed to video. All I can say is..... awww cuuute!!!
Apologies for the lack of sound. Didn't activate the volume control.

Helen

2012-02-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

Free of the burden of getting into trouble, Helen decided she wanted to do something with her young life.

She wanted to fill it with loads and loads of great stuff.

Beginning with.....

..... the treehouse.

She spent hours playing in there, alone - of course - free from the yelling and screaming of her little sisters. In fact, she actually spent the whole night, fast asleep in there, after having several sleepless nights listening to mum and dad trying to get Violet off to sleep, and then Susan.

She asked her mum and dad to help her with different parts of her homework, since some subjects were a little trickier than her active little mind could comprehend.

They were pleased to do this, especially around nap time for the twins, when Ginny would happily get the two of them off to sleep!!!

Helen was determined to do everything possible. Even try and bake muffins.
Unfortunately, she must have inherited her mother's distinct lack of cooking skills, since every plate of muffins that came out of her little toy oven .... was of a Horrific Quality!!!

Nonplussed, she even tried her hand at 'Addressing her Royal Subjects', namely her dad. Much to Ambrose's delight. He applauded and bowed graciously to her as she waved her plastic sceptre around.

Naturally, Violet just HAD to try and ruin things with that voice of hers!!!

Helen also loved dressing up!!!

However, all these things can be very tiring for one little girl.

Oh and not forgetting that one time, when she asked if she could walk Rina. However, the walk was cut short since it was getting very close to curfew and there was no way she would risk getting into hot water again.

Instead, she compensated by giving Rina a nice brush over, much to the delight of said doggie, who stood there obediently and wagged her tail. And stole a sneaky lick too!!!

Bath time was a favourite too, as she played submarines!!!!

Yep, Helen was a generally 'all around little girl' who loved adventures.
So much so that her school has challenged her to a bug scavenger hunt.
I wonder how that'll end up????

Intervention

2012-02-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Helen was really REALLY sorry for causing so much trouble and getting her dad all upset, that as soon as he got home, she waited for him and apologised profusely. She didn't even give him time to go through the front door. Instead, she pounced on him from behind a couple of bushes!!!

Yes, this pic looks as though he's giving her a clout around the ear, but he's not. He's simply saying ... 'Yeah ok, you've been fairly good, you've learned your lesson, and I know you'll never do that again.'

He walked inside to see the twins sitting quietly on the floor, playing with their toys and Ginny busy tidying around.

What he DIDN'T see was the fact that not that long back, this family was deep in crisis. There was a definite threat of a visit from Animal Welfare, since nobody could socilaize with Rina at all, and she was beginning to become Desolate.

Not good, not good at all.

The twins' needs were all dropping in the red, and Ginny was frazzled, exhausted beyond belief and was ready to give ANYTHING - even give away her kids... for want of a rest.

So, I HAD to intervene, just to bring up their needs a little. Not too much, since it'll be a little unfair to keep them all hyperactive for days on end!!!!

This gave Ginny the chance to play games with Rina, and boost up their social needs.

It's really naughty having to cheat. But sometimes, you really really REALLY need it.

Marina, is Just a Little Bit Intimidating

2012-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

There was a scratching at the door, plus the mail had arrived, so Ambrose went out to investigate. And lo, here's a cute little stray, begging at the front door!!!!

With everyone being so busy looking after the twins' needs, Marina was desperate for some social interaction. So she bounded up the stairs - after chasing the ball in the garden - to say hello.

The poor little thing was terrified of her and almost bowled Ambrose over, in it's attempt to squeeze as closely to Brosie's legs as it could muster!!! The close Rina got, the more desperate this tiny little doggie became, looking up to Brosie for protection!!!

Rina barked, and yipped, but to no avail. This tiny little mutt wouldn't have anything to do with her. Instead, it parked it's butt, sentry-style, on the front porch, and pretended it was a statue!!!

In the meantime, Rina, oblivious to her 'apparent intimidating size', snuffled around the front porch decking, looking for scraps of treats.

Since arriving at the Graystone's house, she's already learned the traits of Adventurous (which explains her excitement at finding something new) and Non-Destructive. So she won't be chewing furniture as much. It won't mean that she wouldn't stop completely. It just means that the temptation isn't going to be that strong any more.

Unfortunately, in her excitement at learning these new traits, Marina had an 'accident' indoors and was immediately told off by Ginny.

*sigh*

I guess she can't have everything!!!! It's a dogs life after all!!!

Here's a beautiful pic of Marina, looking all noble and relaxed. And, well, herself really.

Next update: the twins and a rather cute video!!!

How to Upstage Your Sisters' Birthday

2012-01-31T09:52:00.000-08:00

Due to that CC glitch, I had to hurriedly age the twins up. So they didn't get parties after all, which was a shame really. They did get cake, so the fridge is well stocked with this overly sweet confection!!! But anyways....

Violet was first, aging into a really pretty lemon yellow outfit. Now doesn't she look cute?

Just as Virginia was taking Susan to her cake..... Violet hollered her lungs out because she was hungry, and so delaying her younger sister's transition.

Way to go Violet.

So, after giving Violet what she wants, it's time for Susan to grow up. Quietly, and with dignity. And a mop of dark curly hair no less!!!

Just as Ginny leaned down to give Susan some attention, once again Violet threw an almighty tantrum.

"Mom!" said Helen, "Violet's crying again!"

I can see this family having more than it's fair share of drama. Plus, I can also foresee Ambrose and Virginia having serious doubts about having more kids. And for once, I'll be inclined to agree with them, but for one snag.

I really REALLY want to follow this family all the way through. Which means another set of twins are on the 'to do list'.

The original alien twins have been substituted for the Imaginary Friends dolls. Just thought I'd add that in.

I'll try and get some closer/cuter pics of the twins, plus a full run down of their traits and bios/favourites etc.

Marina

2012-01-31T00:18:00.001-08:00

Marina is quite a character.
So does what normal doggies do.
Eat, sleep, go for walkies, dig holes.

.... and get FLEAS!!!

Yep, we have no idea where she got them from, but she was covered in them.
And completely oblivious, as she rolled around the floor, playing with her favourite chew toy.

So, there was nothing else to do, but to give her a bath.
Expecting her to misbehave, Ginny was pleasantly surprised when Rina wagged her tail and relished all those bubbles.

She objected afterwards, when she hopped out and was still soaking wet. But that's what you get if you manage to harbour fleas!!!

Not only that, for sheer devilment, even though Ginny was thoroughly exhausted and needed sleep. Marina hopped up onto the bed and lay glaring at a snozzing Ambrose.

Bless her, she was lonely and she wanted him to take her for walkies. However, he was out like a light and nothing would wake him. And no amount of cajoling and bribery, could get Rina off that bed!!!!

So, instead, Ginny had to make do with the top bunk of Helen's bunk beds.

Next update: How to Upstage Your Sisters' Birthday Party!!!

Helen's in Trouble

2012-01-30T23:46:00.000-08:00

Getting back on track here, Ginny was at the hospital, having the twins. Ambrose dragged his weary bones out of bed to be there with her.

That left Helen home alone - sorta, and Rina, who decided it would be fun to lounge around on the new bed, dreaming of ..... food!!!! What else???

Distracted by the chaos of the twins' birth, both Ginny and Brosie had totally forgotten about it being Helen's first day at school. Nor had they organised a decent breakfast for her.
It's not that they're bad parents, they were just too busy with other stuff ... that's all.

So, starving hungry, Helen grabbed a slice of stale birthday cake from the fridge, and started to tuck in. Completely oblivious to the school bus parked outside. When she finally polished off the last few crumbs, the bus had already gone, so she had to hop on her bike and cycle there.

In order to get into the good books of her teachers, she agreed to deliver some permission slips to the town hall. So she was fairly late getting home. And she was feeling a little tired and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. She'd just walked into her bedroom when she heard the door close softly behind her.

"Young lady?" Ambrose said sternly.

"I'm tired dad," she replied wearily, "can I go back to bed?"

"Not until you explain yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"Why were you late for school? On your first day too?"

"I .... I was hungry. So I stopped back to have some leftover cake."

Thoroughly exhausted, stresssed and hungry himself, Ambrose let his temper get the better of him and he exploded.

"What were you thinking young lady???? Cake???? For breakfast????"

"It was the only thing I could see... and I was hungry." she pleaded.

"You know, we did leave you some pocket money to get yourself breakfast at school!"

"I ... forgot."

By then, Ambrose had calmed down somewhat, since his eldest daughter's terrified face melted his anger away. He patted her on the arm.

"I'm sorry," he said, sighing heavily, "I'm just stressed out here. And I do so want to be a good dad, you know? Give a good impression. Your being late for your first day of school didn't show that."

Helen smiled weakly, and they hugged.

"This doesn't mean you'll get off lightly here," Ambrose said with a grin, "I expect you to do your fair share of the chores around the house!!"

"Oh, I will!"

"Attagirl!"

"Now, can I go to bed? I'm so tired."

"What about homework?"

"Um, can't I leave it until later?"

"Not if you planning on poor grades."

"But I'm so tired!"

"Tell you what, sleep on it, and when you're fully refreshed, we'll organise some 'homework time' together. How does that sound?"

"Thanks dad."

The Secret Dream World of Helen

2012-01-30T23:24:00.000-08:00

Sims have the weirdest dreams, have you noticed? But in Helen's case, this isn't so.

First of all, methinks she's got aspirations to be just like her daddy, and become a World Reknowned Surgeon.

And you're wondering this because??????

She had a dream about owning a chemistry set! Yeah, I know. Big deal. That doesn't mean she wants to join the Medical career. She could easily be a scientist instead.

BUT .... she rolled a wish, to be a World Reknowned Surgeon.
So, who am I to deny her this aspiration???

Secondly, she loves Marina to bits. I saw it in her dreams whilst she was sound asleep!!!

Altogether now....

Awwwww.

She's not the only one to have vivid dreams either. Ambrose was having one about pills!!

Apparently, the hospital budget has gone way overboard, and he was worried that they were going to make drastic cuts with the medication bills. He knows it's not his place, since he's fairly low on the corporate ladder. But still, it DOES affect everyone!!

See, SOME Sims dreams do make sense.
Not that often.
But they do.

Virginia Gathers an Alliance From a Rather Unlikely Source

2012-01-30T23:05:00.000-08:00

I'd completely forgotten all about these pics, thanks to the glitches I'd been having. So I thought I'd share them here.

As I stated quite clearly in the last update, there was a tiny window of opportunity before Ginny actually gave birth. In that time, she was getting rather irritated and grouchy.

Her back was killing her too, so she complained to Brosie about it.

Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears there, since Ambrose was having problems of his own. He was going to work, completely exhausted (for reasons unknown) and his job performance was failing - badly. He'd had a warning already. And now, with the imminent arrival of the twins, sleep was once again going to take a back seat!

Ginny stretched and grumbled.

"Oh, darn," she said, glaring pointedly at her husband, "these twins are weighing heavily on my back!"

He didn't hear her as he made his way to bed.

"Hello? Didn't you hear what I said? A little sympathy here dontcha know???"

But someone did.

Rina.

And she joined Ginny in throwing hard glares at poor exhausted Ambrose.

For that kind of loyalty, Rina was awarded an early morning walk.

"Come on old girl," Ginny said, tugging at the leash, "let's get some fresh air before I find something to bash that insensitive man's head in!"

Rina replied with a simple wag of the tail, and her tongue lolling out.

Unfortunately, the walk was cut short, since Ginny suddenly went into labour en route. So, as she made her way to the hospital, she sent Rina straight home, just to make sure that their pet didn't get lost on the way.

Another Mini Makeover

2012-01-30T22:56:00.000-08:00

Prior to the disastrous twins birth that gave us the infamously glitchy Violet, I'd recently purchased the newest Stuff Pack, Master Suite. So who better to give a mini makeover to, than our favourite family?

I had a small window of opportunity in which to grab this chance and decided to opt for the bathroom (which is often overlooked) and Brosie and Ginny's bedroom (which has already had a makeover - of sorts).

And ta-daa!!!

Whatcha think?

Obviously there are some pieces of furniture that don't actually belong to the stuff pack, but I thought I'd mix 'n' match a little, rather than overwhelm the rooms with everything from the list.

Violet Steals the Whole Show, in More Ways Than One

2012-01-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

I was in serious, serious doubt about the fate of this family. I firmly believed that they were cursed in some way, dating back to when they were originally from Sims 2. If you recall, I had more problems than enough, starting with Ambrose's wedding, followed by the disaster that was Riverblossom Hills, imploding upon itself.

And now, here in Sims 3, the trend continued with glitches galore. Their disappearance in Champs le Sims. And now, this wonderful, beautiful, glorious ..... hideous problem

Following, or at least 'trying' to follow, the original Sims 2 family, Brosie and Ginny managed to have Helen. Followed by their first set of twins. Violet and Susan. When THIS suddenly arose out of nowhere.

Susan was born normally. A baby shaped/sized Sim.

Violet, was a different matter.

Yeah, that's her, in the crib. See anything? Nope, me either.

She was a long, pink string - thingy that almost obliterated the entire household and surrounding area. I could only watch, aghast, as time and time again, Violet's presence completely took over the entire gameplay.

And the trend continued so much so that I had to intervene and force the twins to both have birthdays before their time. So, Ginny and Brosie managed to skip the initial feed/fuss/burp/ play/change diaper scenario that Sim parents usually go through at this point.

I asked for help, shared some pics and was instantly relieved to discover that it wasn't all bad. Just some CC that had managed to find it's way into the toddlers clothing section. So, a big thank you to my good friends JulieJ and Daphne for spotting this problem and showing me how to get rid of it.

Thank you, you're absolutely wonderful.

So, poor stringy Violet, was taken to CAH (Create a Household) for a mini makeover - which you will all see pretty soon anyways. And also to get rid of that horrid, horrid rogue outfit that had mysteriously managed to slip in there and wrap around my precious little toddler!!!

As you've already figured out, I leave no stone unturned when sharing this (and my own personal) family's experiences during gameplay. Proof that I will NOT give up on them, even through all the problems/glitches I will be faced up with, possibly in the future.

They've been through so much together, it'll be a shame to lose them now. Not when they've got so much more to give.

In the next update: Bathroom and Bedroom Mini Makeovers

The Weird, and the Plain Strange

2012-01-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

As you're well aware, I've had to seriously improvise with these latest updates. Since I've somehow misplaced the original saved game. Methinks it had a glitch on it, or the game never actually saved it at all.

And that's what happened a few days ago. I seriously, 100% believed that I clicked 'Save and Quit'. The game took 1 hour and a half to close down. The next time I loaded it in, I discovered that it did NOT save after all. So the house makeover, and Rina's path of destruction... were lost completely.

Great, that was all I needed.

So now, when I close down my game, I click Save first. THEN I click quit. That way, for some weird reason, it actually DOES work. However, I haven't completely managed to get the room makeovers perfect. There are a few colour variations. And in Helen's room, I'd completely forgotten what wallpaper was on the walls. So, I had to seriously improvise.

And so she settled on this wallpaper instead.

Much nicer in my honest opinion.....

However, this was just small fry compared to what I discovered in game play prior to the 'non save' event. And this probably explains the reason behind the game being such a total pain in the posterior.

Ginny rushed off to hospital, with Ambrose close on her heels. The birth took forever, and finally the twins were born.

Ginny came out first with Violet,

awww, ain't she a cutie??? A BAD TEMPERED cutie, but nonetheless a cutie!!!!

then Ambrose followed with Susan.....

.... or at least I ASSUME it's Susan.

All I can see is....

... well, let the picture tell the story.

...... weird........

Hopefully, the game's righted itself, and Susan (when she's finally born) will look like a baby Sim, and not a long pink string of.... whatever.....

Destruct-a-Dog

2012-01-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Ginny awoke feeling restless. Everyone else was still in bed fast asleep, but there was something niggling in her mind.

Her garden was in dire need of tending. Weeds were sprouting everywhere, but being constantly tired throughout her pregnancy, and handling Helen when she was a toddler, was taking it's toll on Ginny. She was constantly sleeping.

Nevertheless, she knew that if she didn't do something about that garden, all her hard work would have gone to waste.

Unfortunately, true to Sims fashion, it was right about this time, when the twins decided they wanted to make their appearance too. So, Ginny quickly checked in on everyone before heading to the hospital. Ambrose awoke to find his wife missing. He'd had a very late night, for no apparent reason, he just couldn't get to sleep, so he was groggy and exhausted. It was also his shift at work too.

But he followed Ginny to the hospital, whilst Helen got herself up and grabbed some leftovers from the fridge. It was her first day at school, and apart from Rina, there was nobody at home to see her off. But she managed all the same anyways.

Rina in the meantime, was all alone in the house. They'd already given her a box of toys, with which she'd managed to destroy one of them.

There was also a ball, that she chased around the garden. However, it took a little getting used to, since she was tripping over her own feet whilst trying to catch it!!!

But, the piece de la resistance for Rina, was the fact that there was nobody around to keep close tabs on her.

... and that old newspaper, laid abandoned in the grass....

.... was too much of a temptation.

She grabbed it, then stopped and looked around to see if anybody was watching.

Then flopped on the floor and proceeded to shred it to bits!!!!!

A Couple of Room Makeovers

2012-01-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Before you all 'ooh and aah', I need to warn you that after I did these makeovers, I honestly 100% believed that I clicked Save and Quit in my game. Unfortunately, it didn't work, so all progress has been lost.

I fully intend on recreating everything again, but there will be a few variations in colour etc.

Anyways, nuff said about that, let's crack on and see what I got up to.

Firstly, the family room. With the family expanding now, two comfy chairs just isn't enough to accommodate everyone. So I had a shuffle around and managed to fit in a settee, and have enough room for a couple of fancy standard lamps.

The study was incomplete, with the wallcoverings exactly the same as Ginny and Brosie's bedroom. So, taking inspiration from Rina's dog bed, I decided to repaint it a vivid shade of green.

Much better.

It's Helen's bedroom, however, that's had the biggest (and best in my mind's eye) makeover. Instead of that bright tropical wallpaper that's in her old nursery, she's now got a rather gorgeous dark (ish) pink. The curtains and bedcovers match with a fabulous Scottie Dog pattern (downloaded from the Sims 3 Exchange).

With a tweak here and there, it's a room perfect for a little girl.

Random Stuff ... Inside the Hospital

2012-01-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well, whilst I was messing around, waiting for Ginny to give birth, I decided to poke around the 'rabbit hole' hospital and this is what I find.....

Behind the 'reception desk'

The 'ward' behind the front desk. (if you pan the camera around, you'll see that this pic is plastered everywhere to get a sense of proportion I suppose - and a little 'reality')

The view from the 'ward' out into the street.

The front entrance from the 'reception desk'

It can't be accessed in normal play as the whole building vanishes, leaving the foundations as the only clue that there's a building there. However, if you press the Tab button (which makes all controls vanish - click again to get them back), then you can move your camera through the hospital - and any other 'rabbit hole' community lot, to see what's inside.

Oh and yes, the little green plumbob, is actually a Sim.

Play Time

2012-01-05T14:17:00.001-08:00

Time passed quickly, and before you knew it, Helen was a child, with that little bit more independence under her belt. Sadly, because I hadn't been paying any attention, I didn't get to choose her next trait, but it was a favourable one chosen by the game itself.

Brave.

She was a playful child to begin with, playing in the sandpit, making castles.

Here's one she made earlier....
... cute huh???

Also playing tug of war with Rina, a game also a firm favourite with Brosie too!!

Although sometimes Rina would be really content to gnaw at her favourite chew toy.

Sometimes Brosie would try to teach her to hunt.

But she'd look up at him with a baffled expression and he'd give up soon afterwards!!!

The one thing that Helen really looks forward to, is her 'daddy' time, with Ambrose, when he reads her a bedtime story.

At least gardening is a step up from boring old logic!!!! When she's much older, Helen can give her mummy a hand in the garden!!

And hopefully, when finances are a little better, Helen's room will be finished off!! The store claimed that they'd run out of that particular wallpaper. So I can see Helen having a total bedroom makeover before too long!!!!

Crime ... and Punishment

2012-01-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

It happened a couple of days after Marina joined the Graystone family. It was Ambrose's day off, and he'd been sent out on an errand to get some watermelons for Virginia. Firstly because she had a craving for them (along with spaghetti and ice cream!!!!) And secondly because she wanted to improve her gardening skills and needed new seeds for her now seriously neglected garden.

Helen had just woken up, as had Ginny. So, to stop Helen from screaming the place down, Virginia decided to bring her out of her crib, and let her play for a little while. She'd been fed, diaper changed. She'd even managed to use the potty chair all by herself, which helped Virginia greatly.

Marina had gone missing, and Ginny assumed that she was in Helen's new room, to sleep on the bunk beds again. This just happened to be Marina's favourite spot lately. So she went to check on her.....

..... and heard this terrible ripping noise.

Opening the door gingerly, she spotted Marina in full gleeful flow, tearing shreds out of a chair that they'd managed to purchase from the consignment store. It HAD been almost new, hardly used, since the previous owners had to sell it since their son had now gone to college and didn't need it any more.

"RINA!!" Ginny bellowed sharply.

Marina froze. She knew she'd done wrong.

"OUT! NOW!" Virginia commanded, and Rina followed, knowing full well what was about to go down.

Virginia needed to set up some serious boundaries with Marina, now that she'd overstepped them a LOT today and taken advantage of her new owners' good nature.

Trotting behind her, Marina wagged her tail as she passed Helen, happily playing with her toys. She paused to give the toddler a lick, but was stopped by Ginny.

"No Marina," she said sharply, "here!"

As soon as she got close enough, that's when Virginia let loose with her anger.

"Bad dog!" she said, pointing.

Marina's head went down, her ears fell back and her tail drooped between her legs.

"You do NOT do that again! You hear? That's what toys are for. BAD DOG!"

Just then, Ambrose walked in.

"What's going on?" he asked, clutching the shopping bag of fruit.

"I caught Marina ripping apart that chair in Helen's new room."

He glared at Marina, who still cowered a little, then shrugged.

"Think she might need a nice long walk," he said quietly, "that could stop her from doing it again. Besides, you did a good job telling her she can't do that again. We'll just have to watch her a little more from now on, just in case she tries it again. The more you tell her no, the better she'll understand."

He rattled the leash and Marina's ears perked up.

"C'mon girl," he said, patting her head, "let's go for a walk, get rid of that excess energy of yours."

Marina replied with a bark, before dashing outdoors, nearly pulling Ambrose with her.

Since it was mid evening, when the roads were a little quieter, they walked quite a distance, Marina stopping occasionally to sniff the ground and familiarize herself with her surroundings.

It was nice to see the two of them bonding even more. When they finally returned, Marina was far too tired to worry about destroying anything. She went straight into Helen's room and flopped on the bed, fast asleep!!!

In the next update ...

It's Play Time!!!!

A Doggy Has to do .....

2012-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

It took less time for Rina to settle into her new home than anybody had expected. And she was exceptionally attentive towards Helen. Whenever Helen was sitting on the floor, playing with her toys, Rina would be there.

Sometimes she'd growl and whine about not being able to go past, but Brosie and Ginny knew she was only demanding Helen's attention.

And when Helen was taking her nap, then Rina would occupy herself with all the normal doggy duties that a dog would do.

Like ... guard the house, whilst looking cute as a button....

... and dutifully ignoring the stray cat that keeps sleeping on the front porch occasionally ....

Gnaw at her chew toy.

Dig up the garden.

Oh, and when everyone else is fast asleep in bed, she's to be found asleep in her favourite spot.

On the bottom bunk of the bunk beds in Helen's future bedroom.

Oh yes, this was the life.

She especially loved to parade around, showing off her brand new yellow collar.

After all, it was chosen by none other than Helen. Because she said so!!!

Helen and Marina

2012-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Whilst Ambrose was away at the party, and Ginny was busy making dinner, Helen had time to get to know Marina ..... and vice versa.

At first, she didn't know what to make of this large furry four legged creature.

Nor did Marina either. This was a Sim, but in miniature, with a completely new language she had to learn. Baby babble wasn't in Marina's vocabulary.

When Helen got a little too close to Marina whilst she was eating, Marina growled low, as a warning.

"Marina!" Ginny called out from the kitchen, "stop that!"

Marina's ears flicked backwards and she stopped immediately, but still continued to guard her food, whilst watching Helen shuffling along on her unsteady feet.

Helen opened her mouth. Then shut it, as she tried to pronounce Marina's name. She frowned, whilst Marina sniffed at her hair.

Then her eyes lit up, she clapped her hands and then reached forward to plant both hands either side of the dog's head.

"Rina!!!" she exclaimed.

Marina panted in her face and wagged her tail vigorously.

"Rina!!!"

And so it came to pass that Marina DID actually change her name. Only because Helen said so.

Settling In

2012-01-03T08:46:00.001-08:00

Brosie hurried out of the hospital. He'd had to work a little longer, due to there being an emergency in the ER. His stomach was growling, he felt stinky, but exhilirated also at the fact that Marina would be there at their home.

"See you all tomorrow!!!" he yelled to his colleagues, "got a new arrival coming today!"

"Not another kid on the way!" someone yelled back.

"Nah, but it's for my little 'un Helen," he replied, "I got a dog from the shelter. It's her first day today and I want to see her to make sure she's settling in fine."

"Don't forget my bachelor party tonight!"

"What?"

Oh crap. Brosie had forgotten he'd agreed to go. And he couldn't back down now, it was a bit too late. The only thing he had to wear, was his wedding tux that he'd picked up from the dry cleaners the other day and forgot to put back in the wardrobe back home.

"Well, I'll pop in briefly," he said, slipping on the waistcoat, "can't let everyone down now, can I?"

Dashing home, he only had time to fill the dog bowl, before changing into his tuxedo.

"I'm off to a party hunny!" he hollered, "I won't be too long!"

"I'm just about to get Helen up!" Ginny replied, "then I'lll make a start on dinner. What would you like?"

"How about Autumn Salad?" Ambrose said, grinning.

"Gah, you know me too well!" Ginny said, winking at him, "sooner or later I'll get the hang of this oven. Then you'll be getting hot meals. You'll see."

True to his word, he stayed only an hour before grabbing a taxi back home. There, as he walked through the door, he beamed at the sight of Marina standing there wagging her tail.

"Aren't you a gorgeous girl?" he said, patting her head, "have you met everyone yet?"

Marina wagged her tail and yawned widely.

"Think it's been a long day for you my girl! Want to check out your new digs? Just wait until I've had my dinner first."

Ambrose grabbed a plate of salad and started to tuck in. Marina's tail and head drooped as she told him in her own way, how she disapproved of this cold, calorie free meal.

"Yeah," Brosie sniggered, "fraid there's no leftovers tonight. That's all she can manage at the moment. Guess I didn't marry her for her cooking skills huh????!"

"I heard that!" Ginny said, from reading Helen a story.

"C'mon lass, let's show you your new bed."

Marina barked, wagged her tail even harder then she followed Ambrose to the still unfinished, makeshift study room, where there was a gigantic lime green doggy bed. Marina sniffed it, crept gingerly into the middle, turned three times then flopped down. Within minutes she was fast asleep.

"Tomorrow, we'll get you a new collar." Ambrose said as he closed the door ever so gently, with just enough room for her to let herself out if needed be.

Meet .... Marina, the Newest Member of the Graystone Family

2011-12-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

**Please note, that there is a HUGE continuity error with this update, as I'm afraid I may have deleted one of my saved games - not by error, but by (as I assume) the fact that it could have been corrupted at some point. So, the twins haven't been born yet (Ginny's baby belly hasn't popped) and Helen is still a toddler. But apart from that, I could NOT resist introducing their newest member of the family. (since I got Pets installed)**

And to begin our update.....

Firstly, the ice cream truck....

Ambrose had come home from work, tired and a little hungry. Parked outside their door was an ice cream truck. It's not his cup of tea, but what the heck, he decided to treat himself to a rainbow lollipop.

As he licked and relished this iced wonder, he too, wondered why he hadn't discovered this rather frosty, sugary treat before now.

But then, as he finished the last bit, he soon realised why, as he developed a rather nasty brain freeze which made his nose tingle nastily.

Oh well, at least he knew what to avoid in the future.

Inside the house, Ginny was exhausted for some unexplained reason and spent most of her day fast asleep. Ambrose suspected as to why, but he didn't want to say, after all, he saw the telltale bloom (underneath the sickly green cast) on her skin.

It was then that he had a thought. A rather splendid one for that matter!! With him working, and Ginny so tired all the time, Helen wasn't getting much in attention. The only one that doted upon her, was Sammie, and he only had limited time to spend with Helen. After all, he was still at school and studying for his mid terms.

Anyways, during lunch hour, some of Ambrose's work colleagues happened to mention about somebody they knew who was putting kittens up for adoption - at a cost mind you, these WERE pure pedigrees dontcha know??? And it gave Ambrose this rather great idea.

Dialling the Animal Shelter, he decided it was time to introduce a pet into the household. He asked what was available. There were some horses, but there wasn't enough room in the garden to build a stable or barn. A couple of cats. But Brosie was more taken with the two dogs that were there. One was a pure breed pedigree King Charles Spaniel. The other was a mutt, a creamy coloured Alsatian cross mongrel called Marina.

They tried to push for Brosie to adopt the spaniel, but Brosie was quite taken by Marina. He called into the Shelter to check her out and thought she was perfect. Playful and Loves to swim!!!

After careful screening, she was allowed to come home to the Graystone's household, along with one of the volunteers ... Tia Radford.

Ambrose was at work at the time, but Ginny was there to 'meet and greet' the two of them, although she WAS a little grouchy at the fact that they happened to arrive right on mealtimes, and Ginny just happened to have a voracious appetite that particular day!!!

Also, the statue gnome that Brosie had brought home a few months back, had decided to park it's stone butt, right in front of the stereo, just as Ginny was walking past, and she nearly tripped over it!!!

Marina trotted into the living room and looked around her nervously. There was so much to see, so many new smells.

She was a little overwhelmed, but, a song came on the radio, one that was constantly being played at the Shelter, and she began to sing to it. (or to Sims' ears, it would sound as though she was making one heck of a racket!!!).

"Here are the papers," Tia said brightly, "she's up to date with her shots and stuff. If there are any problems, don't hesitate to call us. Marina's not a problem really. She's partly trained, it's just that her last owner couldn't look after her because he got a little too old. It's a shame really, she's such a lovely dog!"

There was a short pause, then Tia grabbed up her paperwork and smiled.

"I'll let the two of you get better acquainted now," she said brightly, "it's easier this way. I'll let myself out. Take care... and thank you for giving her another chance. Oh by the way, are you keeping her name, or changing it? Your husband didn't specify."

"I think we'll keep it," Ginny replied, "it suits her."

"Ok, thanks again, cheerio."

And with that, Ginny was alone with Marina.

"Hello there," she said nervously, "want to say hello?"

Marina trotted up to her and sniffed her hand. Ginny smiled.

"I think we're all going to get along with each other very well!! I can't wait to introduce you to Helen, she's going to love you."

Marina wagged her tail.

Oh yes, she was definitely going to love this family!!!

Curse that Pets Demo

2011-09-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Yep, I was sucked into the excitement at the prospects of creating horses and such that I downloaded the Pets demo.

Biggest mistake of my life, that almost cost me my entire Sim family, plus a couple of downloaded towns too.

Yes, they look adorable, but lesson well learned here, I shall wait until the Expansion Pack itself comes out in October.

So, heed these warnings.
If you've got Store content and downloaded towns like Hidden Springs, Barnacle Bay, etc. Please PLEASE, before you even attempt to download ANYTHING from Sims 3, including the Pets demo.

BACK YOUR GAME UP!!!

Rant over, I shall get off my soapbox.
Game play will resume momentarily

Father and Daughter 'Bonding Time'

2011-09-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

It was late into the night before the party finally stopped and the last guest had left.

"Dad?"

"Dad?"

It took a little while to realise that Helen was addressing Ambrose. He was so deep in thought about the fact that his little 'baby' was now growing up fast.

"Dad?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Can I sleep in yours and mum's bed tonight?"

"Why's that?"

"Mine stinks of paint and damp and stuff, and there's a breeze blowing through the cracks in the window."

Yeah, Ambrose realised, they'd rushed the expansion on the house, and moved Helen in before everything was all finished off properly.

"Of course you can, sweetie. Anything else?"

Helen paused, shifting from one foot to another. She looked shyly up at her dad towering above her. Twisting her hands, she said quietly...

"Can you read me a bedtime story? Please?"

Ambrose beamed at the whole idea.

"Well of course I will. You just go get settled in and I'll go find a book. Now what do you fancy?"

"Um, dunno. You choose, you know what's best dad."

Whilst Helen snuggled into her parents' bed, Ambrose pondered over the bookcase.

"Hmm, what to read, what to read?"

With a big grin, he snatched out a Logic book.

"There!" he declared emphatically, "can't beat a good old lesson in Logic now, can we?"

He strolled into the bedroom and perched on the side of the bed. Helen was nicely snuggled in, waiting patiently.

"So, how about this one to start off with?"

Helen tried not to roll her eyes. She'd been expecting something in the Jimmy Sprockett series. However, as this was their first time at a bedtime story, she just nodded a little and pretended to be interested.

".... so....." droned Ambrose, "and that's how Albert Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity!"

He looked across and saw that Helen had drifted off to sleep. Shrugging his shoulders, he closed the book.

"Guess it's a bit too much for you right now," he said quietly, tucking her in, "but later on, you'll understand and learn from it. I promise."

He tucked her in and gave her a goodnight kiss.

"Night sweetie."

"Night dad."

"Sleep well."

"I will."

With that, Ambrose left the room, whilst Helen watched him. She hoped that she'd be able to earn some pocket money to get some of the latest books to read. But for now, she'd have to put up with his long boring Logic theories instead.

Helen's Birthday

2011-09-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, the clocks of time have come around to another birthday.
It's Helen's transition from being a cutesy toddler, to a virtually independent (and hopefully cutesy) child

Where those potty, walking, talking skills are put aside for other, more complicated (in her eyes) skills.

However, once again, things aren't quite that straighforward in the Graystone household, as we're about to discover.

Ginny threw the party, albeit a small one, as she didn't want to tire out Helen in all her excitement. Plus, the twins were stirring slightly and she needed to get them settled before Helen blew out the candles.

Sadly, the guests arrived before she had the chance to feed, change and play with them.
Not only that, they all seemed to congregate, not at the birthday cake standing proudly in the middle of the room. But inside the nursery where the twins decided to holler.... in stereo!!!

That made navigating the room a little complicated for both parents as they tried to dodge around the milling crowd.

Helen was desperate to go potty. However, because of the anticipation of her upcoming party, her potty hadn't been emptied.

That didn't stop the little tyke. Nor was she bothered about the audience she was about to entertain. She needed potty and she needed it NOW!!! Which resulted in a stinky, overflowing mess on the nursery floor.

Lovely.

Ambrose grabbed her, changed her diaper and proceeded to take her to the cake, in the hopes that everyone else would follow, leaving Ginny to settle both the twins.

Didn't work.

Just one person took the hint. Ambrose's work colleague Shirley Lin

The rest, soon got bored with waiting around, so one by one, they all left.

"Wanna make a wish for daddy?" Ambrose asked his daughter.

She giggled.

Carefully, he leaned her over the cake, making sure she didn't touch the flames, and helped her to blow out the candles.

Ginny arrived soon afterwards looking exhausted but happy.

"Got them off to sleep.... finally! And now for the birthday girl!!"

Gently placing her on the floor, they waited for the transition to begin. And to hope that their daughter had been that well looked after, that she'd get a wonderful trait.

And LO!!! What a gorgeous little girl she's become!!!

Even Ambrose was delighted with his little girl.

"Oh Helen!" he exclaimed happily, "you've grown up so fast!!!!"

Also, because she'd been looked after so well, she earned a choice of traits.

So the one chosen was.....

Family Oriented

We seem to think that she's been heavily influenced by Sammie her babysitter. Since she transitioned into an 'adventurer's' outfit.

Shirley Lin was the last guest at the party. She hung around a little longer, but then announced that she had to go.

"Great party," she said cheerfully, "gorgeous girl you got there Ambrose. Sorry I gotta dash, early start in the morning. Thanks for inviting me. See you at work!!!

In the next update:

Father/Daughter Bonding Time

Interlude: Building Update

2011-09-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Because of the early arrival of the twins, that meant that the builders (and Ginny & Brosie) were caught short with the expansion of their current home. So, they had to rush like hell to get the rest of the expansion finished, and decorated.

So far, they'd only managed to build the foundations and the outer wall.

Following the schedule to the letter, they managed to get the rest all done.....
.... or so they thought....

However, this wasn't without it's difficulties.

They tried to keep dust to a minimum because of the twins, however, they hadn't reckoned on the roof needing replacing. The existing roof just wasn't big enough, nor strong enough to support the much larger square structure. So they had to take it all down and rebuild a new one.

Although Ginny and Brosie weren't happy with the 'plainness' of the roof, they both agreed that they couldn't stretch the budget any more. And that hopefully, they'll manage to put some money aside to add some 'finishing touches'

Inside, they'd hoped for separate nurseries for Violet, Susan and Helen. But that also didn't work out quite so well. Besides, Helen was growing up fast, so she'd need her own space eventually.

Instead, the twins shared the nursery, whilst Helen got one room - unfortunately the budget had been blown on the new roof, so she had to make do with the furnishings and decor from the consignment store. Mind you, she couldn't complain. They'd tried their hardest to decorate it in her favourite colour of Spiceberry.

The bathroom had been moved back, but still between the two new rooms.

And the other room - for now - was a computer/study room.

And in the next update:

Helen's birthday - for definite!!!

The Sim World Welcomes.....

2011-09-24T14:50:00.001-07:00

After several hours of intensive labour, Virginia finally had her twins.
Girls.

Violet, and Susan.

And now it was time for them all to go home, get the babies settled in and check in on Helen and Sammie - who'd practically become part of the whole family.

"Honey," said Ambrose, cradling Violet, "I'm starving."

Virginia rolled her eyes as she walked away with Susan in her arms.

"Brosie," she said through gritted teeth, "I've been through a few hours of crippling labour, I'm exhausted and stinky. Suck it up."

Ambrose still hadn't forgiven her for pulling that stunt with the bicycle, but he was prepared to put it aside and made a vow to keep an even closer eye on her. This time, when they got into the taxi, Virginia did not complain about the carbon footprint. Maybe that's because she was still pretty exhausted from having the twins.

They got home only to find Helen getting a phone call. It was a long lost 'Auntie Francine' (from Helen's side of the family) who thought it would be fun to give the twins a pair of creepy looking dolls. Aunt Francine was a notorious oddball anyways.

Just to humour her, Ambrose and Virginia decided to put the dolls in the cribs, just to keep each girl happy. However, this had a mixed reaction from the twin babies.

For Violet, she was fast asleep and didn't mind her toy's company.

For Susan however, she was just a little bit afraid of it, so much so that she could not sleep for the longest time. just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Almost looking as though she was waiting for it to come alive or something......

Anyways, they were happy to see that Sammie had done his job properly and had kept Helen happy, hunger free, stink free and overall amused and content.

In the next update:

Progress on construction

Family Life

2011-09-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

So, whilst Virginia is taking good care of herself and looking after the two babies inside of her, Ambrose, in his spare time, is doing his fair share of duties around the place.

Teaching Helen how to talk is one of them. Methinks he's trying to encourage her to follow him in the Medical career!!!

Trying to cook whatever Virginia is craving at the time (with little success) is another.
Yeah, he tried to cook mac and cheese for her, and burned the pan!!!!

The only thing he doesn't do, is work in the garden.
That's Virginia's domain and he has to admit, he seriously lacks a green thumb.
His comfort zone is basically a nose in a book.

In the meantime, construction has begun on the expansion of the existing building, with the foundations and exterior walls already put in place.

Because of their tight budget, construction itself was done in stages, as and when they could afford it. The next thing on their list would be dividing the rooms up, the electrics, windows and doors and most importantly, the roof.

Virginia was worried that it wouldn't be completed in time for the new arrivals. Pregnancy in the Simming world is extremely short.

Speaking of Ginny. It was very early morning, she was restless and couldn't sleep. Firstly because of the twins bearing so heavily on her back. Secondly because it was coming up to Helen's birthday and she didn't really want to spoil her daughter's day by being rushed into hospital. So she decided to keep herself busy outside, tending her plants and trees when the first labour pains began. Ambrose had just gotten up and was having breakfast, Helen was fast asleep.

Not wanting to disturb them, and sticking solidly to her guns, she hopped onto her bicycle and pedalled like hell to the hospital.

Seeing her cycling away through the window, Ambrose cursed. He realised, she'd planned this carefully, knowing full well that he couldn't leave Helen all alone. Forgetting about his breakfast, even though he was starving, he dialled Sammie's number and hoped that the kid was free to keep an eye on Helen until they came back.

Thankfully he was and came over straight away. Whilst Helen was none the wiser for all the drama that was going on around her.

Taxis were fully booked, so the quickest way to the hospital was by bicycle anyways, so he pedalled like hell to get there.

And that's where I shall leave this update!!!

Whoops!!!!

2011-09-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sammie knew he was in for it.
The stereo worked fine, there was lovely music coming from that one.

The TV however, was a completely different matter.
He didn't know what had happened there but.....
.... the minute he went to switch it off, BAM!!!

It broke.

"Oh crap, oh crap," he muttered, panicking, "this is coming out of my paycheck, I know it!"

"Sammie? You okay in there?"

"Um, I'm fine Mrs G."

"I can hear a hissing sound, are you SURE you're okay?"

Ah pants!!! he thought, oh well, better 'fess up.

Ginny had been busy tucking Helen in when she heard the bang, then the crackling noise. The door swung open and a rather sheepish looking Sammie walked in.

"You look a bit pale," she asked, "anything the matter?"

"Um, Mr G's not going to like me."

"Whatever for?"

"Er..... I broke your TV."

Ginny shook her head. With quite a lot of things breaking down around the house, it was just a matter of time before it was the TV's turn. Although she hadn't expected that to go so soon. Heck, even the shower had broken not half an hour previously, causing water to leak everywhere!!!

"I can pay for half the repair bill!" Sammie suggested, "after all, it was me who broke it!"

Although she knew Ambrose was quite an intelligent man and was knowledgeable on many things, she also knew that this was completely beyond him. She winked at Sammie, who was looking a little uncomfortable, before whipping out her phone and calling for the repairman.

"Don't worry about it," she said smiling, "we'll sort it out."

"But."

"No buts Sammie.... hello? Yes? I've a TV that's broken. I can't seem to get a picture on it at all. Yeah. No, no reception either. Someone will be around in a hour to fix it? That's excellent news! Thanks, bye."

"Won't Mr G be annoyed at me?"

"Shh, what he doesn't know won't hurt him right? Now why don't you go grab something from the fridge and make yourself comfy? I'm afraid we don't have a TV.... or at least a 'working' one!!!"

Sure enough, within the hour, a pick up pulled up outside the house and someone came in to fix the TV.

However, shortly after they left, there was another vehicle parked outside.

And lurking by the front door was a very shady character. Yes, she was part of the paparazzi, but even she showed her distaste for the unmarked car across the road.

Who could it possibly be?

Ambrose and Virginia Have a Discussion

2011-09-22T01:13:00.000-07:00

Sitting at the breakfast table, which, lately, has been a rare thing, Ginny and Brosie were quietly contemplating life in general.

"Sammie's a good boy," Virginia said quietly eating her meal, "he's a great help around the house. Cleaning up messes, and bless him, tackling that old nemesis of our...."

Ambrose chuckled.

"The potty!"

They smiled at each other.

"Yeah, since Helen's learned to go herself, that thing's filling up faster than you can imagine. And it's stinky as heck. What on earth are they putting in that food???"

They glance over at Helen, who was making full use of the doll house they'd just bought for her.

"She looks so happy there, doesn't she?"

Ambrose smiled.

"Yeah. We're blessed with having such a good kid...."

"... and a great babysitter too. He loves her to bits, always talks about what a good kid she is and he is so helpful around the house."

"Yeah, he's been a great help. I can't fault him there."

"But I was just wondering. I wonder what she'd think of if say, she had a kid brother or sister?"

Ambrose looked up from his meal.

"Remember that um, 'moment' we had in the bathroom, not so long back?"

"Yeah? Which one??"

"Oh Brosie, you know very well which one... you're such a tease."

"Ah, but you love me for it."

"Ha ha, that's so true. Well ..... I think I'm pregnant as a result of that .... um .... 'moment'. "

"Ginny?"

"Yeah?"

"There's no 'think' about it hunny. I KNOW, you're pregnant."

"Oh really? And how's that?"

"You've been throwing up recently and blaming the spoiled leftovers in the fridge."

"No I haven't."

"Ah, don't you remember? I caught you in the bathroom, hurling in the loo. I asked you if you were okay, and that's what you told me."

"Oh yeah!! NOW I remember. You were right, I WAS blaming the bad food back then."

"You and I know better my dear. I'll never allow food to go off if I can help it."

"So .... you're not surprised?"

"Hell no! Can't be happier!"

"That poses a problem though."

"And what's that?"

"Room in the house. Either we're going to have to move.... or we'll need to do some major construction work around the place to make it bigger."

"Hmm. I like this place. It's in a nice area of town. I don't really fancy 'upping sticks' and moving elsewhere. However, we do have a little problem with extending the property."

"Finances."

"Yeah, with mine and your money combined, the budget is going to be a little tight. And we won't be able to afford to get it all completed in one go. Will you be happy with that?"

"As long as we get it all complete before these two..."

".... two ..????"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm having twins!!!"

Ambrose almost choked on his meal.

Twins.

Now this should be interesting!!!

***Editors Notes***

God, I love this family. Looks as though they're continuing the same path as their original Sims 2 counterparts!!! I cannot wait when this house is full to the rafters with kids!!!!

Babysitter!!!!

2011-09-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Although it was a great tug, Ginny realised that her maternity leave was due to mature. She could have asked for an extension to her leave, but decided not to. If she kept doing that, she'd never leave the house. Besides, Helen needed to mingle with other Sims.

So, reluctantly, she called the babysitting services to see if they had anybody spare. Cheerfully, they told her that they had a really sweet kid .... KID???? That put shivers down Virginia's spine. They were sending out a KID???? To look after their daughter????

"Oh I can assure you," the woman at the agency replied happily, "that Sammie is a great asset to your family. His credentials are exceptional, and everyone has recommended him highly. I'm pretty sure your daughter will bond with him in next to no time."

"But, he's a teenager," Helen protested, "won't that mean he'll be skipping school?"

"I can understand your fears there Mrs Graystone, but you don't have to worry. All our teenage babysitters still have to continue their education. We've had an agreement with the schools to give them a study pack whilst they're looking after babies, toddlers and children. It's a stipulation we adhere to very strictly."

Virginia still wasn't convinced, but she reluctantly agreed, as she realised she had no choice in the matter. They couldn't very well leave Helen all alone in the house. That would be bad parenting and would alert the Social Worker. However, this didn't stop Virginia from worrying. She was up most of the night, laid awake, wondering if she'd done the right thing. So the very next day, she was beyond exhausted and HAD to call in a favour at work after all.

So, bright and early, the next day, whilst Ambrose was making his way to his new job this time - all thanks to that incident outside the Bistro. Word had gotten out that he'd dealt with the situation calmly and professionally, and he'd been offered the position of Paramedic.

Who should arrive at the front door than Sammie O'Leary, bright and cheerful and ready to start work.

He zoomed off in the direction of Helen's nursery, where he stood a little while and watched whilst she slept.

"Hey there cutie!" he said quietly.

Helen awoke, rubbed her eyes and looked up at this new smiling face. Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms.

"And what are we going to be up to today?" he asked. Helen just beamed, loving the attention.

"Wanna play CLAW?"

Virginia needn't have worried, Helen was in safe hands as she and Sammie bonded almost immediately.

Oh yeah, he's a keeper alright. Hmm, I know he's too old for her now, but maybe... just maybe, in the future???? Perhaps?????

Training Helen, the Graystone Way

2011-09-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Coming home from work, Ambrose was pleased with himself. Especially how he handled that dire situation with the sick girl. He rushed home to find Ginny was a little preoccupied with Helen. Wide awake and full of beans, Ginny decided it was time for Helen to start walking and talking.

Ambrose felt a little put out, however, he didn't have much time to fret about it, as his phone rang. It was Shirley Lin, and she was seriously annoyed with him. Apparently, he'd been throwing all his dirty scrubs in a corner, leaving them for her to pick up. He protested that it wasn't him, he wouldn't do such a thing. That put a serious dent in their relationship. So his next mission now, was to seriously suck up to her. After all, they were working together, and it didn't look professional if they were seen bickering and at each other's throats.

"Listen, Shirley, I'm sorry, okay, I'll make up for it tomorrow right? I promise."

So, whilst he was dealing with that sticky problem, Ginny had decided to go ahead with the training program of little Helen. With wobbly little legs, she stumbled along, the best way she could, gaining more momentum, every single time. Naturally, it was a slow process, but she got there eventually.

However, it was also exhausting for both mother and daughter. Especially now that Helen was up and about, and getting into everything. So, after putting Helen to bed Ginny decided to take a nap. That's when Ambrose took over.

Firstly, whilst answering an email, he popped Helen into the high chair and gave her some food. This way, he could keep a close eye on her just in case she choked or tried to climb out of the chair.

Then it was potty training time.

Because Ambrose assumed (incorrectly) that this was going to be a traumatic experience for his daughter, soon afterwards he played the old scary 'Claw' game. Yeah, now that is SOOO not scary... right???? :-P

Still not tired, (this kid is literally inexhaustible) whilst Ambrose took a quick nap (by now, Ginny was actually fast asleep, her nap had turned into a full day's sleep, she was that exhausted) Helen decided to amuse herself by firstly, admiring herself in the mirror.

Then sitting quietly playing with her teddy bear.

This went on for a little while until Ginny had woken up and decided that the only way to really tire out their overly active daughter....

.... was to take her for a stroll around the block.

And so began this daily routine.

The only thing needed to do now was to teach her how to talk.

However, Helen isn't all sweetness and adorable. She does have her rather 'ugly' side, as Ginny soon found out one day. She awoke feeling really hungry and her social meter was almost red.
It was a choice of food or talk to the kid.

So Ginny decided to feed her. And that's when the first of possibly many, tantrums came into action!!!

In the next update:

Babysitter....!!!!

Brosie is Put On The Spot

2011-09-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

First day at his new job and Ambrose is consistently busy, what with cleaning those bedpans, plus his 'at work' training schedule. He heads off to work in his pink scrubs, not knowing how the day will proceed, or what kind of outcome/adventure he'll have.

One thing for certain, there's never a dull moment at all.

He was that busy however, that he'd managed to work through his lunch hour, so, by the time he'd finished his shift, he was feeling mighty hungry. Word had it, there was an eating contest at the bistro, so, as it was just up the road, rather than bother Ginny with cooking anything (and not fancying another day of leftover birthday cake) he decided to pop in and try out the challenge.

Sadly, he failed miserably.
However, what happened next, literally put him on the spot and forced him to use everything he'd learned through his rigorous medical training.

As he walked out of the bistro, a young punk girl in an eyecatching striped outfit, suddenly complained about feeling ill. There were plenty of other medical staff there, but Brosie was the first one to act upon this girl's distress.

He scrutinized her face for signs of a rash or anything else.
Nada, nothing.

"Have you eaten anything you shouldn't?"

"Um, no, not as far as I..."

He ignored her as he whipped out a funny whirly thing and pointed it at her. She was taken by surprise.

"Just give me a minute to check you over with this thing."

"Er...."

"Nothing there, are you sure you're not allergic to anything?"

"Not as far as..... hey!!!"

He then brought forward a portable x-ray machine and hovered it near her body, peering at the screen as she held her breath.

"Just hold still there, and I'll get your vitals up on the screen."

He swept it slowly up and down, and repeated again, just to make sure.

"Nothing there either, no blockages. The only thing I can offer you is that you've been to the eating contest and eaten far too much. As well as something that's disagreed with you."

"Ah okay. So I can go then?"

"Not yet."

"Huh?"

"Just to make sure, I'm going to give you an anti-vomiting injection, that'll take down some of the discomfort a little."

"Hey!!"

He whipped out a humungous hypodermic needle and jabbed her in the arm before she had the chance to make a run for it. Her face was priceless!!!!

In the end, she thanked him for being there at that precise moment and gave her an on the spot diagnosis.

"Any time," he said quietly, "just be careful what you eat next time, and try not to stuff yourself silly at these places."

And all through this, with a crowd watching his every move, Ambrose dealt with the problem with a cool, calm head.

I can see this guy going places any time soon!!!

That Cursed Transition Period and Cuteness Overload

2011-09-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Some folks are lucky. Others give in to dread and horror when their Sims - no matter what age - transition into something that, seriously, you wouldn't be seen dead in.

And the same applies to Helen bless her.
After the sparkles vanish, and the transition is complete, we're left with....

.... THIS!!!!!

That poor child.

Helen quickly picks her up and puts her to bed, but then the problem still arises about how to cure this 'problem'. Obviously Helen is in dire need of a drastic makeover.

So now it's a case of what kind of hairstyle she'd suit?

After sitting for ages, trying on each and every one of them (there aren't that many), I managed to settle for this.

And this too, just to complete the ensemble.

Oh and Ginny just loved dressing her up in various different outfits!!!

And isn't she just adorable there?
Makes you wanna pinch those cheeks and snuggle her all day long.

And here's even MOAR cute pics of Brosie and Ginny's first born.

In the next update, Brosie earns his promotion, but he's about to be put on the spot!!!! How will he manage to deal with this problem?

Helen's Birthday and an Uninvited Guest

2011-09-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

They don't stay young for too long, and that also applies here with baby Helen.
Her birthday was fast approaching, so Ginny and Brosie decided to throw her a party.
However, as you already know, things don't always go as planned.

Firstly the sink broke. So, to save on a repairman, Brosie decided to grab a wrench and tackle the job himself. It appeared that, according to the manual, it was just a corroded washer that needed replacing. That saved Brosie some money on repair bills, plus, it boosted up his own Handy skills in the meantime.

Helen suspected that there was something amiss, as she decided, in the early hours of the morning - on her birthday - that she'd wake up and stay awake. No matter what.

So, Brosie decided to take her on an early morning walk, even though it was a work day for him, he dutifully took up the role of dad and fussed over Helen.

She soon fell asleep after that, however, this meant that Brosie couldn't go back to bed, and it was a long long shift at work that day. So he settled for a quick nap. Besides, he was hoping to be promoted today. He'd worked his pants off and there'd been a rumour flying around work that there was an opening further up the corporate ladder. So, instead of being an organ donor, he would now be responsible for cleaning patient's bedpans!! What a step up!!! Mind you, it didn't stop there with him. Whilst at work, he was undergoing very strict training. After all, he was aiming for the top slot, and he couldn't possibly reach that goal if he didn't put in his training.

And it came in very useful much later on in his life!!! (more about that in another update)

Well, the big day arrived. Helen's birthday. Ambrose had to be at work fairly early, so it was up to Ginny to organise everything. The party was at 4pm, which gave Ginny plenty of time to tidy around, gave Helen her afternoon nap without getting all cranky, and gave Brosie plenty of time to be there after work.

Ginny called around a few friends, but was disappointed that Jolene couldn't make it over. There'd been a break in at the museum in Champs Le Sims and as the curator, she was in charge of all the artifacts, and she had to deal with the investigation.

Ginny was glad, however, for the gift of the table. I proved very useful for putting the birthday cake on and folded down easily for storage afterwards. Ginny made a mental note to thank Jolene for such a lovely and thoughtful gift.

Anyways, the cake was delivered and set up on the table. Music was put on the stereo, Helen was awake.

All that was needed now, were the guests who arrived an hour early, and then some. News was spread that 'minor celeb' Brosie and his wife were throwing an awesome party for their daughter, so a few extra folks turned up to enjoy the celebration.

Brosie brought home his boss, and they danced together.

Some of them just milled around, waiting for the slice of yummy cake.

And then came the birthday girl. After blowing out the candles she was placed on the floor (as is Sims tradition) to await her transition into toddler. Silly thing to do in my honest opinion, but meh, whatever. This is the Sims we're talking about, and they NEVER follow the 'rules'!!!

Ambrose was so excited at the fact that his little girl was going to become a toddler, that he unwittingly blocked the front door, preventing some of the guest from coming in!!!!

It didn't matter though, as some of them just decided to hang around the front lawn and exchange pleasantries with one another. It was a great way of getting the community to actually 'meet and greet' one another.

After Helen's transition, however, and after the guests all left, all feeling good about being invited, Ginny couldn't help noticing someone lurking around the hydrangeas, so she went to investigate.

It was the paparazzi, poking around, waiting for some juicy bit of gossip for her glossy magazine. Her face was a picture when she was caught red-handed!!

"But... but... but..." she stammered, "I was ... just admiring your house!"

"Get off my lawn," thundered Ginny, obviously rattled, "and don't let me catch you noseying around here again. Got that?"

Ginny didn't catch the muttered expletives coming from that woman, but I'm pretty sure she'd have kicked her ass had she done so.

Next update.....

Helen's Transformation

Just a Quick Update

2011-09-16T01:18:00.000-07:00

Sadly, because of a glitch in the mailbox, I cannot show you Helen's IF (imaginary friend & strange new toy).

I can however give you a quick up date on this strange little fella.

He was purchased at the consignment store by Brosie as a gift to Ginny. Just because he thought it was a cute little statue. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a little more than that.

It's a sculpture gnome that loves nothing more than moving around the house and gardens, posing as it goes. When he first arrived, he was placed on the counter top (as you do). Two days later, he parked his butt on the front lawn, just behind the bicycles.

Then, as I was taking pictures of Ginny's now well established garden, here he is again, striking a thoughtful pose right near the sprinklers!!!

Speaking of which, Ginny is doing exceptionally well with her garden, as you can see. She grabs the opportunity to go out there and tend to her fruit trees and vegetables as soon as Helen is fast asleep.

Yep yep, she's definitely getting the hang of parenthood here.
Just wondering how she'll manage once all the rest start following !!!!!

Next update:

Helen's Birthday and an Uninvited Guest!!!!

A Week With the New Parents

2011-09-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to her attention being taken elsewhere, Ginny soon forgot and forgave Brosie. After all, it's a short life, besides, they have a baby daughter now to attend to, her needs are more important now. Until she becomes a toddler, she's completely dependant on them for hugs, feeds, diaper changing etc.

Soon, they both managed to fall into a routine of sorts, taking turns with fussing over Helen. Whilst Ginny was on maternity leave, she managed to juggle Helen in between her normal day to day life.

She was so 'in tune' with her daughter that as soon as Helen was awake, Ginny would go to her, check to see if she needed feeding, if she was dry etc.

Then she'd put her back in the crib whilst she took a quick shower, grabbed leftovers from the fridge, before going back to see if Helen was fine.

If she didn't have much sleep through the night, she'd grab a few minutes nap time, before going to check on her daughter again.

Brosie in the meantime, would take over as soon as he came back from work. Although he did have a little naughty streak in him. He'd pick Helen out of the crib.

Casting a sly look over his shoulder, he listened to see if Ginny was about, then he'd started jiggling Helen up and down, much to her delighted squeals.

Then, if he heard approaching footsteps, he'd pop a bottle in his daughters mouth and pretend that she'd been fussing about and was hungry.

However, looking after a baby 24/7 DOES have it's 'moments', especially when Helen is having one of her 'fussy days' and Ginny decides to take her for an early morning stroll.....
.... in her underwear.

Distracted by her daughter's wailings, and the fact that Brosie was droning on in her ear about how he was expecting a promotion soon, she'd forgotten to change into her day clothes, and went out for a nice long stroll.

Thank goodness the weather stayed bright, sunny and warm (as it is perpetually sunny in Sims 3 - so far)

Gratuitous close up of baby Helen *big smiles*

In the next update, we have a miniature wanderer on the lot, and Helen receives a strange toy.

The World Welcomes .....

2011-09-09T15:09:00.001-07:00

It was a hard gruelling labour. Brosie, already in the doghouse for going against Ginny's wishes and getting an environmentally UNfriendly taxi to take her to the hospital, chose to stay quietly in the background, out of the way.

Finally, Ginny had the baby. And although they told her she may need to stay overnight, she was determined to get home as soon as possible. So, carrying her little bundle, she marched straight out of the hospital doors, followed meekly by Brosie ...

..... to the waiting taxi.

And the same taxi driver sitting there.

Virginia bit back some sarcastic retort as the taxi pulled away.

And what did Ginny have?

A little girl. That 'Old Wive's Tale' about eating watermelons, WAS true after all.

So, the world welcomes.... Helen.

Her traits are:
Friendly
Clumsy

Favourites are:
Food: Lobster Thermidor
Music: Indie
Colour: Spiceberry.

It's too early to see who she resembles the most, but as soon as she turns toddler, we'll soon find out. Although it does seem as though she's inherited her mother's blonde hair.

Ambrose Wins The First Argument

2011-09-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

When we left this young couple last, Ginny was halfway through some really nasty labour pains and Brosie was doing what most men of his age would do.

He panicked.

Which didn't help the situation much. But, after a few minutes, Ginny mananged to compose herself and began to pack her stuff into a back pack.

"What are you doing?"

"Call Shirley Lin, tell her I'm on my way right now. I'll meet her at the hospital."

Shirley Lin was the doctor in charge of overseeing the delivery of Ginny's baby. She promised to be there at a moment's notice.

Ginny stepped out on the porch and headed towards the bicycles chained up at the front of the house.

"You haven't booked the taxi."

"Don't need to, I'm going on my bicycle."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm going on my bike. Is there a problem here?"

"Well, yeah. For one, you're in no state to go riding around on your bike. And secondly, you're putting yourself and the baby at risk."

"I'm NOT getting into one of those horrid taxis. No way! Do you know the size of the carbon footprint those things leave behind?"

"Look, we're not here to put your Eco Friendly trait to the test. Our priority here is to get you to the hospital as quickly and safely as is possible. Understand?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Really."

"You're getting a taxi, and that is final."

"But what if..."

"no buts.... taxi... NOW!"

Ginny knew she'd lost this argument, but it still didn't stop her grumbling and grousing, from the minute they walked out of the house, got into the taxi and headed en route to the County Care General Hospital.

Ginny was still angry at Ambrose's stubbornness that she marched straight past him, straight into the front lobby of the hospital.

"Honey?"

He was greeted with silence as the doors closed between them.

"I was just looking out for you and the baby, that's all!"

"Ah, she's ready then huh?"

Shirley Lin appeared through the bushes, fully kitted out in her hospital scrubs.

"Yep, guess so."

"Well, let's go then, we've a baby to deliver!"

Pregnancy Update

2011-09-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

Time moved on and Ginny bloomed miraculously. Pregnancy really suited her as she glowed constantly. The garden proved to be a great distraction for her as she waddled here and there, following doctor's orders and resting up well.

However, pregnancy wasn't without it's problems. Like wanting to pee constantly, which often resulted in the toilet being blocked, her appetite expanding as fast as her waistline, and a matter of clumsiness, especially around the shower.

She had no idea what had happened, she only popped into the shower after she'd been harvesting her garden, when it suddenly sprung a leak. Ambrose was at work and she didn't have enough handy skills to repair it herself, so she had to call for a repairman to come check it out.

Remember Jolene promising to send Ginny some seeds? Sure enough, the very next day, Jolene was as good as her word and sent Ginny some watermelon seeds via priority mail. Ginny couldn't wait to plant them.

Gardening was back breaking work, and carrying the extra weight of the baby, was also proving to be an ordeal for Ginny. But, she never complained once, even though she ached all over the place. - what a trooper -

So, one of the things she loved to do was to play with the sprinklers, getting soaking wet.

Ambrose, not usually the most observant of men, (aren't they always???) tried his hardest to be involved right from the very beginning. Occasionally he's give her tummy a gentle rub.

"Oh," he exclaimed, "I felt a kick!"

"Yeah, that's been happening for a while now hunny."

"Can I listen?"

"Of course you can, but you'll probably only hear my stomach rumbling!"

He leaned down and pushed his ear to her tummy.

"Oh wow, that's .. quite fascinating!!!"

"Only you could make something like a gurgling stomach sound really cool Brosie."

"Hey listen, whilst we're here, together, in this spare room, I've had a few ideas."

"Go on."

"Well, there's a special gift plan going on at the Sunflower Spa. I checked the papers and found it. So..."

"Do you think we could afford it? They're notoriously expensive you know."

"I think we can, we've been really careful with our money lately."

"Only if you're sure."

"Of course."

Obviously, Ambrose had an ulterior motive. He wanted Ginny out of the house so that he could make a start on the spare room, converting it into a nursery. He'd managed to sneakily order a few things online, it was just a matter of redecoration and moving things around, putting other stuff in storage.

As soon as Ginny set off, he made a HUGE effort, almost covering himself with paint and wallpaper paste. It was a lot trickier than he'd read in the books, and boy, did he do a lot of research. He pored through several books, just looking for the 'right look' and the perfect items for Ginny and the baby.

Finally, he managed to get things all organised, and completed the nursery in record time. Just as Ginny was walking through the door. She was fully relaxed and rested.

"I have a surprise for you," he said proudly, "just take a walk into the spare room. Tell me what you think. I'll be in the kitchen grabbing a bite to eat, decorating is hungry work I can tell you."

So she did and was impressed by the simple, but functional layout. Her stomach grumbled, so she decided she needed something to eat.

It grumbled again.

"Oh can't you wait," she moaned, rubbing her tummy, "I'm almost there! Honestly."

She'd just put her hand on the fridge door when a pain shot through her.

"Um, Brosie?"

"Yeah hunny, in a minute, just clearing things up here."

"That'll have to wait. I need you... right NOW!"

After he finished washing up his plate, he turned around and froze. Ginny was bent double, clutching her stomach and panting heavily. Suddenly she let out a yell.

"They never told you about this part in the manual!" Brosie gasped with shock.

"Just get me to the hospital.... NOW!!!!"

Sharing the Good News

2011-09-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while now since Virginia announced that she was pregnant to husband Ambrose. Up until now, they've generally kept it to themselves. But, as time moves on and her baby bump gets bigger, they feel it's necessary to tell folks.

First one on the phone was Brosie, hesitating, he dialled his boss's number and waited.

"Um, hi, er, just to let you know, Ginny's pregnant."

"Oh that's wonderful news, you'll be all nervous and excited and stuff."

"Uh, yeah, sorta. It's still not sunk in yet."

"I'm sure it hasn't. How along is she?"

"She's starting to show, gets tired a lot now and the doctor told her she really must get more bed rest. She's sleeping now as we speak."

"Is she eating well?"

"Yes, she's trying for a girl, so she's living on a watermelon diet, although I don't really approve of that one. I don't think there are enough nutrients to keep her and the baby sustained. But, you know Ginny, she's strong willed."

"Watermelons huh? So, she's trying for a girl then?"

"How....?"

"Oh it's common knowledge around the Simming world. It's just a matter of whether it's actually fact or fiction. The proof of the pudding, is well.... when she finally gives birth and you'll know for sure."

"Listen, anything we can do, just holler. I'll get the staff to rally around and perhaps get her a load of gifts."

"You don't have to do that."

"Oh I insist, really."

"Well, just a teddy bear then. Or a toy of some sort."

"I'm pretty sure she'll have much more than that. Have you organised the nursery yet?"

"Uh, no, just been overwhelmed by this all."

"You'd better hurry, as time will slip away very quickly, and you don't want to be caught short!"

"Uh, thanks."

"No problem, see you at work."

After Ambrose had hung up, Ginny was found sitting reading her book.

"You should read this," she said, not looking up, "it's very fascinating. Lots of hints and tips etc."

"I'll read it after you're finished with it honey. In the meantime, I'm just going to be outside, looking at the stars. Holler if you need me."

So, whilst Ambrose was soaking up the night sky, Virginia decided to call long distance to her old friend Jolene Montaque.

"Bonjour!"

"Ah, bonjour mon ami, comme ca va?"

"Oh, I'm doing really well thank you."

"And what brings you to call me at this hour?"

"I want to tell you, I'm having a baby!!"

"Ah bon, c'est tres bon!!! I must say congratulations!!!"

"Aww thank you."

"Any idea what you are planning to have? Boy or girl?"

"I'm hoping for a girl, so I've been eating watermelons."

"Aha! You know what though?"

"What's that?"

"You know what the secret is to having a girl?"

"No, do tell."

"FRENCH watermelons!!!! They are the sweetest of any variety and much more delicious. Would you like me to send you some seeds so you can grow your own?"

"Oh that would be wonderful, thank you."

"Anything for mon amie Ginny. I am so happy for you."

After that, Ginny had to go back to bed, being pregnant was really taking it out of her. So she fell asleep, thinking about the four hourly feeding routine they were preparing for.

Ambrose Learns About an 'Old Wives' Tale' and Ginny Decides What She Wants

2011-09-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

"So," said Ambrose, "what's the game plan then? What sort of advice have they given you?"

"Well," Ginny replied, "they told me that I've got to eat healthily, do a little exercise but not too much, not to overtire myself, and to rest up when I need it."

"Ah, right, so, anything you need? Books? Fresh fruit and veggies? Maybe some soothing bath foam etc????"

"Oh silly, no, I can't think of anything offhand but I'll let you know, okay?"

There was a long pause.

"Um, there is one thing though."

"What's that?"

"Well, according to some sources, if I eat plenty of watermelons, it'll guarantee that we'll have a girl."

"Oh wow."

"But only if you want a girl that is... I won't be upset if you'd much prefer a boy."

"I don't care, as long as you're healthy and so is the baby. Now you go get some rest and I'll be right back. You got my cell phone, just in case you need me."

"I have yes, but I'll be fine."

With that, Ambrose hopped onto his bicycle and pedalled like hell down to the town centre where the first thing he did was to go to the bookstore to get some books on pregnancy. He wanted to be well prepared and was leaving nothing to chance.

Just look at that face. Now isn't that the face of a proud 'dad to be'?

Then he headed to the grocery store where he bought loads of fresh veggies, including a large consignment of watermelons. If Ginny wanted a girl, then he'll make damned sure she'll get what she wants.

Meanwhile, back home, Ginny picked up the watermelon and frowned. Maybe it was an old wives' tale, watermelons for girls, apples for boys. But she was going to give it a go and see what happens.

After polishing off her watermelon, she immediately started stroking her rather flat belly.

"Soon you'll be a lot bigger," she whispered quietly, "and we can teach you all kinds of things. Maybe you can beat your old dad at chess, I'd love to see his face when that happens!"

She then stretched out on the bed, still smiling and thinking about Brosie running around the town, doing all these errands for her.

Ambrose Says the Sweetest Things

2011-09-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Virginia was worried about her health. Lately, she couldn't keep anything down, and she had the most weirdest cravings. She was also feeling very very tired all the time. So, she decided to pop into the walk-in health centre and see the doctor there. By the time she got back, it was getting late, there'd been a long waiting list due to flu jab drive that was going on.When she got home, she was feeling peckish. So, she decided to make herself some pancakes.

She started with the raw ingredients, got halfway through the recipe, but then, she suddenly lost her appetite as fatigue got the better of her.

She decided to go to bed instead, but was confronted by Ambrose who was looking decidedly worried.

"You okay?"
"I'm fine, really."

"You sure about that? You've been sleeping a lot lately, and I've heard you throwing up through the night. I'm worried you know."

Ginny looked sideways at him, unsure as to how she was going to break this news. He looked devastated at the thoughts of losing her, and she wondered how he'd take this news.

"I'm fine," she said carefully, "it's just that...."
"Just that ... what???"
"I'm..... pregnant."

There was a stunned silence, followed by Ambrose folding Ginny carefully into his arms.

"I'm going to be so FAT!"

"Oh silly," he said, hugging her close, "I'll love you no matter how curvy you get."

A Short Visit, and Married Life

2011-09-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

True to her word, Jolene made arrangements to pay a visit to Riverview. Ginny, all excited, met her at the bistro, which was exceptionally busy that particular day, with locals, tourists and newcomers alike.

Sadly, it was the briefest of visits, as Jolene started getting some undue attention from local lothario ..... Don Lothario. His eyes were bugging out at the prospects of some 'new blood'. It seems that move of his STILL hasn't curtailed his womanizing ways after all.

Jolene, feeling uncomfortable in his presence, made her excuses before heading off. It was a great pity that they couldn't spend any more time together, but, both women realised that the longer Jolene stayed there, the more chance Don had of hitting on her. And she felt exceptionally loyal to her BFF Gustave.

Undeterred, Ginny made her way home, to her special little garden.

Where she spent a bit of time talking to her plants, tending to them, watering, feeding and weeding. In her underwear!!! Guess that cuts down on the laundry side of things!!!

And it seems that this actually worked as the little apple sapling, sprouted up overnight!!!!

With the little extra money, Ambrose indulged himself (again) of an antique telescope that he couldn't wait to try out. So, whilst he waited for the sun to go down, he decided to rest and relax and ponder at how well life was treating the two of them.

In the meantime, Ginny was getting some rather peculiar cravings....

.... for watermelon pancakes!!!!

and a few times, she found herself making very best friends with Mr Porcelain himself.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking here?????

Foreign Connections

2011-09-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

"Hello?"

"We have a connect call coming directly from Champs Le Sims, would you like to accept it Mademoiselle?"

"Uh, okay, yeah."

Virginia was torn between excitement and trepidation as she waited for the call to be connected. Who'd have thought they'd made quite an impression whilst on their honeymoon? There was a slight delay before the call finally connected.

"Allo? Is this.... um... Vir-gin-ee-ah?"

"It is."

The French accent was unmistakeable.

"Ah! Bon!! C'est moi, Jolene Montaque."

"Oh yes, the horrid woman from the Nectary."

"Ah, yes, about that, I am really sorry. I hope your 'usband he is okay, yes?"

"Uh yes, no thanks to you."

"I am so sorry. I be'aved in a bad way? It was really bad of me yes?"

"Uh, yes, yes it was."

"I would like to apologize, I was ... not a good person that day. I was still angry at somebody else I'd met a little earlier. She was a foreigner like you and same colour hair. She was ... making eyes at my Gustave and I told her to keep her eyes to herself, greedy woman. We go back a long long way, Gustave Delven and myself and he is a good person but not good with falling in love. Yes? But I want to put that back behind us ... yes?"

Ginny wasn't sure, but, being the really nice friendly person she was, she couldn't possibly say no.

"O-kay."

"Ah bon!! Perhaps you would like to help me?"

"It, depends. It's nothing bad is it?"

"Oh non mademoiselle, it's just that......"

There was a little bit of a pause, and Ginny thought first of all that the connection had been disconnected.

"I have a friend who wants to travel, and she asked me to join her. I wondered if you would not mind showing us some of your countries' landmarks/sights? Oui? Perhaps we could have un tasse du cafe togezzer?"

Ginny had to laugh.

"I doubt it'd be a patch on your coffee," she chuckled, "but I'd be glad to meet up with you. Just let me know when you're coming across and I'll be there."

"Ah, merci, merci beaucoup, c'est tres bon! Thank you!"

Ginny hung up with a strange smile on her face. Funny how things work out isn't it?

Memories of Champs Le Sims

2011-08-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ambrose fought his corner, and in doing so, not only did he win his home back, he managed to negotiate a really cool deal. A nice little nest egg that would definitely help the two of them in the future. They took some of it and converted the spare room into a bedroom/study, purchasing the cheapest items they could get their hands on.

They still had a couple of days left before returning to work, so they decided to use them well.

Whilst Ginny was outside planting some seeds -

- unfortunately the grape seeds they'd harvested from the Nectary, perished during the return home and no matter how she searched the internet and the newspapers, she could NOT find any for sale.

Which was a shame really, she was looking forward to growing them. The only thing she could do, was to return to Champs Le Sims. Go back to the Nectary, something they couldn't do, not even with this little nest egg of theirs. They intended to invest it wisely for their future.

Ambrose got online to solve an unsolveable puzzle.

He pondered and grumbled over it for hours until he finally had to admit defeat. Which was a major blow to his intellect. Annoyed, he blamed the stress of the bailiffs 'stealing' their home. He couldn't concentrate on the puzzle properly because he was still thinking about their faux pas and it's consequences.

Ginny felt sorry for Ambrose and decided to crack open a bottle of nectar that they'd been saving for a special occasion.

"It's just a small reminder of our honeymoon in Champs Le Sims," she said wistfully, "I was hoping to save it, but I think we should drink it now."

They sat in relative peace, sipping at this wonderful vintage nectar and reminiscing about their adventures and all the people they'd met. When suddenly, out of the blue, Ginny got a phone call.

"Excuse me," she said frowning, "I'd better take this."

Ambrose nodded and yawned. It had been a long day and he was utterly exhausted.

"I'll see you in bed," he said yawning again.

"Okay," she replied, blowing him a kiss, "hello?"

"'Allo?"

A Shocking Discovery

2011-08-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

Ambrose and Ginny had to cut their honeymoon short, especially after they got a frantic phone call from one of their friends ... Tom Shallow.

"You'd better get your butts on the next plane home," he cried, "there's something going down that you REALLY need to see. Oh and get a lawyer too. In fact, here's the one I've been using.... he's good."

Tom Shallow refused to elaborate on the 'whys' of needing a lawyer, but, considering his unhappy lifestyle, any small drama was a great adventure for this poor downtrodden man. Forced into an unhappy marriage with children he is deeply disappointed in, and forced to take over his father's business acumen, his was not a happy lot at all.

Anyways, both Ginny and Brosie headed off home to come face to face with their biggest nightmare. They'd been locked out of their home, and to make matters worse, there was an eviction notice on the door. They were requested to vacate the premises within a week.

They'd paid all their bills up to date, never missed a single one at all. Even when they went on their honeymoon, Ambrose made sure that his direct debits were all up to date. So they were mortified when they saw this notice on their front door.

Incensed, Ambrose immediately called the number on the bottom of the notice and gave them an earful. They told him they'd be looking into it and would call him back asap.

"Could I have your surname ... Mr... uh...."

"Graystone," Ambrose replied testily.

There was a long silence.

"Um, er.... then it's not..... Broke?"

"Hell no, the name's Graystone, always has been always will be. I hope you can get this all sorted out. We're not staying a minute longer outside in the garden, nor are we prepared to encroach upon our friends either.!

Another long pause.

"Um, it appears there's been a HUGE error here."

"You don't say."

"Er, it seems there'd been a mix up with the addresses and we sent the bailiffs to the wrong house. I can see where the problem is. You live in the same street as the Brokes. We do apologise for any inconvenience here. If there's anything we can do to help, just ask."

"Just get your goons over here and give us the keys so we can get back into our home. I'll think about compensation etc. after we've had the time to cool down."

"They're on their way right now, once again, many apologies for the slip up. We'll make sure it won't happen again."

And so, after a half hour wait, Ambrose and Ginny finally crossed the threshold of their home as husband and wife. Glad that everything was still fairly intact in there.

Starving, Ginny went straight to the oven and attempted to make some waffles.... with the usual mishaps - of course.

She really REALLY needed to brush up on her cooking skills!!!

*** on another note***
I tried several times to bring them home, but once I got past the loading screens and into Riverview, they'd all but vanished :O

Luckily for me, there was a copy of them in the Sim Library, but.... and this is a BIG but, it meant taking them right back to where they'd first started out in the town. Boyfriend and Girlfriend, no jobs, no wedding, no celeb status.

Thank goodness I didn't have too much progress here.

Also, there was a problem locating the house. I hadn't realised that they couldn't move back into their home, simply because of the minor upgrades they'd had done. So I was forced to use the freeRealEstate cheat just so that they could move back in.

At least I've got them back. And I'm leaving a little post-it note to myself to NEVER send them on vacation again :O

Hounded By The Paparazzi

2011-08-23T06:39:00.001-07:00

Statement from Virginia Graystone: Re: Hunter Cottoneye's latest blog entry
I really must send this apology on behalf of Ambrose and myself, concerning the last update. That Hunter Cottoneye is a loon, I swear. We were warned about him, I told Ambrose to be careful. But would he listen? No. He insisted on trying to be on friendly terms. And now, this creepy guy is watching our every move. Conspiracy theory my ass. The only thing we have to worry about are the paparazzi. They're hounding us everywhere. I'll be so glad when we get home. The last couple of days have been a nightmare.
Virginia Graystone

Yep, this is so true. They couldn't go anywhere without the paps being on their trail. It all began halfway through their honeymoon. They decided to return to the Nectary, where they tried their hand at making nectar from the grapes they'd picked. It seemed a shame to see them go to waste.

So, between them, they managed to set up one of the nectar machines. Ginny filled the barrel with all the grapes, whilst Ambrose stripped down to his swimming trunks and started to squelch away.

After a few slips and slides, and a very uncomely tumble, Brosie managed to get the hang of grape pressing and was squishing his way through all the grapes!!! He then had the process of setting up the vat and compression chamber. That was the longest part.

When he was done, there was enough to make a couple of bottles of 'not bad' nectar. By now, it was mid afternoon and they both decided to pay a visit to the local cafe to try out the 'local fayre'.

Ambrose got along famously with one charming woman, who didn't hesitate to teach him one of their traditional songs. Which he managed with enthusiasm and a lot of gusto. She even complimented him on his amazing baritone voice.

Ginny, however, was having a little more difficulty in grasping the language as she struggled to order off the menu.

As she stumbled over the phrases and dialect, the patisserie - Andre Lefebvre stood looking puzzled and a little bemused.

In the end, she simply pointed to each dish and he smiled, nodding knowingly, whilst packaging each dish she'd selected.

By now, Ambrose was a little tired from the grape pressing, so he went back to Base Camp first to take a nap. Ginny followed a little while afterwards with a couple of 'special' dishes she'd purchased. She wasn't sure which one Ambrose would like, so she chose the seafood platter for herself and left the olive platter for him.

Brosie hadn't had the chance to get some sleep but he'd already changed into his PJ's when he heard Ginny returning from the cafe. Feeling a bit peckish, he ambled down the stairs to get his meal.

Big mistake.

No sooner had he sat down, when .... not one but TWO paparazzi descended upon the two of them.

From then on, they were relentless, vying each other to grab snaps and take notes.

Ambrose regarded them with utter disdain as he helped Ginny to clear the dirty dishes.

"Just ignore them," she whispered, "they'll go away."

"I can't believe it's come to this," he muttered as he walked past them, "haven't you got anything better to do than to follow us?"

"Ah," came the reply, "but you are big news here in this sleepy little town. You being here is the boost that this place needs."

"I'll see you upstairs sweetie," he said to Ginny, who was STILL determined to ignore them, no matter what.

As soon as he vanished, then they descended upon poor Ginny.

Bombarding her with questions galore. She simply rolled her eyes and walked past them all, sighing and shaking her head.

It didn't end there either. Because of the last time the paparazzi had infiltrated their bedroom suite, they decided to change rooms to throw them off the scent.

Didn't help.

Plus, there was a poor starstruck explorer so overexcited about the findings of an ancient park bench, trying his hardest to get the attention of one of the paparazzi. He'd been following her all over, trying to impress her.

She completely ignored him, concentrating on taking more pics and making notes so she could get back to her computer and start blogging about the 'adventures of Ambrose in Champs Le Sims'.

She was so determined to get as much information as she could, that she even parked her butt in one of the chairs and started reading a book. For the moment they would wake up.

Her philosophy? Catch em unawares!!!

Even when Ambrose was making an important phone call to one of his friends ... bragging about the Nectary .. whilst standing in the bathroom....

.... they were there!!!

I'll bet I know what those two will be doing when they get home.
Installing security gates to keep out those pesky paparazzi!!!!

The Ramblings of an Insane Man

2011-08-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from the Journal of Hunter Cottoneye

I KNOW I'm not insane, even though folks around me think otherwise. I like to be prepared for the unknown. That's why I'm safely entrenched underground, armed with my rifle and plenty of supplies to keep me going until Domesday.

I KNOW there's something fishy going on around here. And here's the god-darned evidence too.

I keep a log on the folks around here, you know, check on their whereabouts, what they're doing where they're going. How many carrier bags of shopping they bring home, who is having an affair with whom. It's what keeps me going through those long hours alone. Not that I'm complaining ya know. I like my own company. I just like to watch people too.

It's then that I noticed a shift in the pattern of Riverview life.

In the shape of a young couple. A rather attractive blonde female and a striking, nerdy guy. They moved into the house across from the Brokes. Bad lot that family is ..... breed like rabbits and are no good layabouts, the lot of them.

Anyways, I was observing this young couple closely, when the guy .... Ambrose ... stupid name really, his mother must have REALLY loved him, invited me indoors.

Well, you know how uncomfortable I am around folks, I was surprised how 'at ease' I felt around these two. Yeah, you could see the sappy romance between them. The idealistic shine they still had. Yeah, that'll tarnish soon enough once they've spent enough time with one another.

They told me they had plans to get married, get jobs etc. So, with great reluctance, I found myself having long conversations over the phone with them. Having, well, I wouldn't say 'lovely' meals - she can't cook to save her life - some palatable and not so palatable dinners with them. The guy even invited me to his bachelor party.

So, we come to my proof that something's amiss.

They went on their honeymoon in Champs Le Sims. Sent postcards, called home daily. Announced that they were coming home the next day.

Then....

... nothing.

It's as if they've vanished without a trace!!! I called the hotel they were staying at, only to be told that they DID sign out and they DID get into the airport minibus. At the airport, when I called, they couldn't trace them at all. In fact, the staff there irritated the spit out of me, when they started giving me the runaround.

I'm not stupid. These kids went on honeymoon. They then vanished without a trace.

I'm telling you, there's something fishy going on.

And I'm going to get to the bottom of this, even if it kills me.

Signing out

Hunter Cottoneye

This Family Is CURSED

2011-08-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

It never rains but it pours for this poor unfortunate family.

Mind you, I did install Town Life, and apparently that's full of bugs and stuff, so I shouldn't really be surprised. Yes, I was one of those unfortunate (and pathetically blinkered) people who believed that they were immune to the glitches of a new expansion/stuff pack.

I decided, after a long spell of not playing, to bring Ambrose and Ginny home from their honeymoon, so I clicked onto them to return.

Firstly, it took ages for the airport transfer bus to turn up (not that I actually SAW it, all I saw were buildings that had been stripped of their outer mesh, leaving blank squares etc behind.

Then, usually the loading screen has some music whilst the town - Riverview in this case - loads in. It stopped barely 2 minutes into loading, when the green bar was literally at about 1 cm.

When the game finally loaded in, a good 20-30 mins later, I got the town view and not the view of the active household. When I clicked onto 'select household' they'd GONE.

Great.

So I quit without saving, hoping that the next time I decide to play, they'll still be in Champs Le Sims.

So, for now, let's just say they're having fun on and extended honeymoon.

Honeymoon at Champs Le Sims - Part Eight, A Wild Goose Chase

2011-07-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

It appeared that she'd been singled out to complete a 'task' for some mysterious Sim, who wanted to remain anonymous. She protested that she and her husband were on their honeymoon, but he insisted that this wouldn't take that long to complete and they could continue their trip as normal.

He explained that a priceless object had been lost way up in the mountains and asked if she wouldn't mind looking for it. Alone. That left a dilemma for Ginny. She had to make up some elaborate lie about one of the tourists having dropped a valuable ring, and she had to look for it.
It wasn't exactly a lie, but she had to really stretch her imagination a lot.

"I shouldn't be long," she said, browsing the leaflets, "I've got to pick up a few things, and look, there's a lovely old bookstore nearby. Perhaps you'll be able to find something interesting there. But just in case, I've got my cell phone handy so we can chat."

Ambrose wasn't happy about this, but he didn't want to cause a scene and demand that she 'obey' him. After all, she'd gone through the trouble of giving him the vacation of his dreams. So he begrudgingly let her go.

They headed for the picturesque plaza, where the local shops were. Both of them went into a supply store, where Ginny purchased a tent and some dried food, just two of the things listed by this mysterious Sim.

The woman behind the checkout was too busy dreaming about falling in love, to notice the strained atmosphere between our newlyweds.

Ambrose could only watch helplessly, as Ginny hopped onto her scooter and sped off.

To occupy himself, he decided to meet and greet a couple of locals. Jules Fournier was a 'specialist' who was happy enough to chat to Ambrose, but told him he didn't have enough visa experience points to purchase anything he had to offer.

That left Gustave Delven, who was delighted that a fellow bookworm would be even remotely interested in anything he was selling.

In the meantime, Ginny arrived at the designated site. A pile of ruins no less, and began to make her way down into the tombs.

After tackling the rubble, and handling a few hidden door switches, time had flown past very quickly, as day became evening, then night.

Not wanting to drive back to Base Camp alone and in the dark, Ginny decided to pitch her tent.
And resolved to go straight home in the morning and screw the missing artifact. Her gut instinct told her that it was a wild goose chase. Besides, she missed Ambrose badly, and felt totally and utterly.... alone.

Back at Base Camp, Ambrose too, felt alone and bereft as he missed Ginny greatly. He was tempted to call her, but decided not to, he didn't want to upset her in any way by constantly checking up on her.

***please note***
I had a great little adventure all set up with Ginny. All was going great until the game just stopped .... completely. Losing all progress apart from these pics. I didn't want to waste them, so I decided to make this update instead.

Honeymoon at Champs Le Sims - Part Seven, La Gallerie d'Art

2011-07-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ginny reached the Gallerie/Musee, first, alongside that annoying Jolene character, with Ambrose bringing up the rear.

"Seriously, " thought Ginny, "Isn't there anywhere else this woman should be right now? Considering just how much she hates us tourists, she's making no effort in avoiding us like the plague!"

When they walked inside, the first exhibits they came across were those of the French Provinces, one of them being a single, beautifully carved (and obviously aged) urn . Pride of place in the entrance to the French Room.

Ambrose gaped at a gorgeously carved and ornate Rococo chair.

"Fascinating," he said, obviously in awe.

"Oh it is," Jolene replied, obviously forgetting herself, "a work of art, n'est ce pas?"

"It certainly is."

"It is from the same century as the bed opposite."

It was plainly obvious where Jolene's heart lay as she continued a long lecture on French history, to a rather enthralled audience.

"See this bed?" she paused for effect, "it is reputed to be the one that Marie Antoinette lay upon, before the Revolution that changed this country's history."

There were 'ooohs' and 'aahs' as the other tourists hung upon her very words.

Ginny however, wanted to see a lot more of the exhibits, so she snuck away to join a rather bewildered looking Egyptian tourist, gazing at a large dragon sculpture that took up almost the entire room.

"Makes you wonder huh?" Ginny asked, "how they got it in here in the first place."

The woman turned around, a smile beamed across her face.

"Oh thank goodness," she exclaimed as they greeted one another, "someone who speaks my language!"

Ginny looked confused, but the woman just laughed.

"Sorry," she said smiling, "what I meant was .... oh bum, I'm not very good at making myself clear. I don't mind looking, but that's as far as it goes. I'd much rather see something else... you know???"

Still confused, Ginny just went along with it anyways.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Honeymoon. Plus there's a great Egyptian exhibit around here somewhere."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"Pah!" she scoffed, "I see those on a daily basis, they're nothing to me. But I guess you'll be wanting to see them anyways."

There was a pause before she grinned mischievously.

"I'll tell you what IS worth a look see though," she said pointing upwards to the next level, "the 'Magic Gnome' collection."

"Um, what?"

"Oh go see for yourself, they're just too cute for words. Legend has it that they move around the place, that's why they've been put upstairs, as apparently, they've been messing with the exhibits!"

Magic.... Gnomes. Whatever next?

"They don't move if you look at them, only when there's nobody around. But go check it out, it's worth a smile at least."

"Um, thanks, I'll do that if I've got time."

By the time Ginny had gotten upstairs, Ambrose had moved onto the Egyptian exhibition and was checking out one of the sarcophagi.

The Egyptian woman had been wrong, there were a lot of interesting artifacts to look at here.

But there again, she did live in a country that was steeped in ancient history, probably right outside her back door. So she'd probably look upon it with scorn.

They toured around the other exhibits, from the 'Greek Muse' room, (which was sparsely arranged - there was a sign up saying that due to natural corrosion, a lot of artifacts had to be stored in a controlled atmosphere to preserve them even longer)

Ginny wished she could have visited the vaults to have a look at them, but it was cordoned off to the public and was strictly by appointment only.

To, what had to be the 'piece de la resistance', the mother of all exhibits. This one completely and totally overshadowed the Egyptian exhibit once and for all.

The Terracotta Army, pride of place, here in the museum. Each figure strategically placed to stand guard over the imposing life-sized chariot. It was truly stunning.

After the long trek around the museum/art gallery, Ginny was desperate for the loo.
But, because of the labyrinthine corridors and halls, (and the fact that the bathrooms were centrally placed in the building) The only way to reach them, was to venture outside first.
That's when Ginny's phone rang, she stopped and checked the number.....

*number withheld*

Frowning, she decided to answer it anyways.

"I have been watching you, " the strange woman's voice said, "and from what I've seen, you're exactly what I need. I have a task for you, do you think you'll be up to it?"

Honeymoon at Champs Le Sims - Part Six, Is Ginny holding a secret?

2011-07-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

The next morning, Ginny and Brosie awoke, feeling refreshed and hungry. Whilst Ginny took a shower, Ambrose 'cleaned house'. Basically he made the bed and cleared away all the smelly plates that had been leftover from the night before.

In the shower, Ginny once again, had a strange craving. This time for pancakes!!!! So, without hesitation, she headed for the kitchen to make some. As this was France, she could have been tempted to make crepes suzettes, but decided not to, because that meant cooking the meal 'flambe', something even she wasn't ready to try out. So she opted for good old fashioned pancakes.

By then, a whole troupe of adventurers and tourists arrived, drawn in by the delectable smell of Ginny's cooking. She was thankful that she'd made a big batch of pancakes to go around everyone, and sat down to eat hers first before they'd all gone.

Considering it was 'off season', Base Camp proved to be very popular and was fully occupied, every room had been filled. So Ginny and Brosie had been very lucky to grab a room when they had the chance.

After serving breakfast, Ginny and Ambrose settled down to eat, and were joined by a few folks, who chatted amiably to them. And amongst each other.

Ginny, not wanting to be rude, pulled out the book she'd stashed in her hand luggage, prior to the two of them travelling, and stuck her nose into it.

She was just getting to a really juicy part, when one of the tourists, a certain Ri Hui On, leaned in and whispered quietly....

"So, when's the baby due?"

Ginny blushed. Ambrose didn't hear him - or at least he pretended not to hear, instead, he strode over to the windows.

"Oh wow," he enthused, ", hey Ginny, I love those shutters. Wonder what they'd look like in our place!"

Meanwhile, Ginny was feeling VERY umcomfortable indeed.

"Um," she stuttered, trying to think of something to say.

"Oh I know," he replied, "you've got that tell-tale pink glow about you."

"Um," she flushed even harder, "I've, er, just, er showered .... and, er, the water was lovely and hot."

"I am sorry," he said after a long pause, "I was wrong in making that assumption, forgive me?"

Ginny sat there wondering if that was actually true. If she really WAS pregnant. After all, they only did 'it', twice. Once was during the wedding party, when they couldn't keep their hands off one another.

The other time was, the next morning. In the shower.

No, she thought to herself, surely not. Not THIS quickly.

Ambrose, wanting to try out the traditional greeting, decided to introduce himself. Which went down really well.

"We're here on our honeymoon," he enthused, "we were at the Nectary yesterday, and hopefully we'll be visiting La Gallerie d'Art. I hope the weather stays nice, so we can walk there and have a picnic in the grounds."

"What a great story this would make!"

Ri smiled and handed him a map.

"Is this where you're intending to go?" he asked pointing to the large museum-like structure.

"Yes."

"I think you'd be better off hiring some scooters then, it's a fair walk from here."

"Ah, ok, thanks."

Ginny approached, distracted about the prospects of being pregnant, and thoughts of achieving her LTW 'Surrounded by Family', just as Ri was telling Ambrose the opening times and the latest exhibitions.

"Guess where we're going today sweetie?"

"I haven't a clue."

"La Gallerie d'Art, and if we're lucky, we'll be able to see the Egyptian relics that are on load this month."

With that, he pulled her into a hug, Ri looked on approvingly, before excusing himself, muttering quietly.....

"... ah, young love....."

Honeymoon at Champs Le Sims - Part Five, Paparazzi, They Get Everywhere

2011-07-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

It was dusk by the time Ambrose and Ginny arrived back at Base Camp. They were both feeling hungry and Ambrose needed to grab a quick shower.

Due to Ambrose inviting a minor celebrity to his bachelor party, somehow, along the way, he'd gained a little notoriety and fame .. and one celebrity star point. Which meant that he was a prime target for the paparazzi. Even more so now, whilst he and Ginny were on vacation. They were camped out at Base Camp when the newlyweds arrived back from the Nectary.

One, a young woman by the name of Zoe Lefevre, was lurking around the enclosed garden at the rear.

The other one, namely a Florence Desrosiers, was pretending to play chess, just waiting for Ambrose and Ginny to arrive back.

Ignoring them, Ginny headed straight for the communal kitchen to start dinner. The fridge was sparsely stocked, due to the fact that most guests ate out whilst they holidayed at Champs Le Sims. But she managed to rustle up a few veggies and stuff to make an Autumn Salad.

She thought she'd play it safe and go for something that wouldn't burn the kitchen down. but all the time she was cooking, she had the sudden cravings for Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. If only there'd been some cheese, then maybe she could have made some for herself????

After Ambrose's shower, he got a call from one of his bachelor party buddies, asking him how he was enjoying his honeymoon.

"Bloody brilliant," Brosie enthused, "Champs Le Sims is everything I'd dreamed of. The locals are friendly, and we've already visited the Nectary today."

He failed to mention the fact that he'd taken ill there, as that was none of anybody's business, except for those folks who'd actually been there.

"Dinner's ready!" Ginny shouted from the kitchen.

"Be right there honey! Gotta go, catch up with you soon."

Too hungry to wait, Ginny had already made a start on her meal and was clearing away her plate when Brosie sat down to have his.

"When you're ready," she said, wiping her hands on the tea towel, "fancy a game of chess with me?"

"You don't have to ask me twice," came the reply.

So, they sat down together, pondering over the pieces on the board, trying to figure out what move to make next.

They found themselves getting really tired at about 9:30pm, which was quite early for these two. But, because of the activities and the long haul flight getting there, exhaustion had finally caught up with them.

They made their way to bed, too tired to get up to any mischief and promptly fell into a deep sleep. Whilst they dreamed of building blocks and planting some seeds.....

........ they didn't hear the soft creak of their room door opening, nor the gentle padding of sneakers across the floor.

They were to exhausted to notice a long shadow cast across the bed as a member of the paparazzi stood there, Zoe no less, her camera in hand, taking pictures of the slumbering couple.

Neither were they aware that the same Zoe, determined to grab the latest scoop on this 'celebrity couple', was taking down notes on her clipboard,

before silently vanishing out into the night.......