Skilling, New Friends, Disasters and New Arrivals

Just when you thought it was safe....
... things started happening in the house.




Yep, that's right. I was attacked by bees again! What is it with Nature and me? Is there some conspiracy out there to get me or something?




Yet Tristan, bless his little heart, wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps.
I just hope he doesn't have the same problems as I've had.



He certainly loves Cleo. Especially when she was showing off her new trick... leaping kamikaze style off her cat tower.... or was it her cat version of a 'high five'? Mind you, she's looking a little tubby there. She could do with a little work-out.



Tristan also loves other pets too. He made friends with a stray the other day.



However, it took an instant dislike to the teddy bear and started tearing it to shreds.
Luckily Violet caught him in time and gave him a good ticking off.





But what's this? Whilst the poor doggie is cowering from Violet's harsh words, Cleo looks as though she's preparing for a full-on assault.
I sincerely hope not, that's a 'family' heirloom.



Not sure if that snarl is a 'playful' one or not. But I'm guessing that that stray will keep quite a distance from Cleo's sharp claws, should she take an instant dislike to him.

Tristan and Violet are meeting the strangest of people.



Tristan received a visit from a Gaming representative. Not that he looks that impressed though. Nature is still his forte.



Violet, however, is a little more brazen and isn't afraid to greet people as they're walking past.
This poor guy didn't know what hit him when she barrelled out of the front door to shake his hand and invite him in.



Nor was he expecting a full on discussion about Art either. Not that it was a bad choice of topic. Actually, he found it, and this young bundle of energy quite intriguing.



Much later on, however, he decided to play chess, and Tristan, the shyer of the two, decided to join him. This is HIS way of approaching people, quietly and gentlemanly, unlike the bulldozer that is his twin sister.


He soon got bored however, so I thought I'd join the poor guy. After all, I do need to boost up my 'friends' quota somewhat so that I can gain my next promotion.


Oh my, who is this poor fried and scorched person?

Not me this time, I can assure you, but poor Helen. I guess she too, is following in her dad's footsteps.

And how did this happen?




Ginny broke the computer whilst chatting online. So, she decided to poke around a little, but soon gave up.


So Helen had a go, just to see if she could boost her Mechanical skills.




Poor kid.



Talking of skills, Tristan tried to play the violin last week. Sadly, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard, as you can see from Ginny's expression in the background.

At least some good has come out of reading.....




Both Ginny and I have learned a lot more about Parenting. So we're bound to know now what our kids need and want.



I thought I'd share this picture with you all. When I told Helen I was expecting, she thought I was nuts, but the good sport that she is.... she took it in her stride. After all, she's got a VERY odd dad indeed.



For a bit of fun, I thought I'd give Violet a spin in the air this time. Her expression isn't quite as terrified as Tristan's, but I can sense that she's not quite into 'extreme' sports just yet. Even though she's a VERY active girl.



Well, it's come to that time.

I hopped out of bed feeling slightly uncomfortable and waved my hand in the air for attention. The proverbial 'Hey look at me, I'm about to give birth!'



But I never expected THIS.




Oh the pain, the PAIN!

I tell you what, I truly appreciate what Ginny's going through when she gives birth (which is pretty soon by my calendar). It's horrendous.

And at the end of it all?

Twins.

Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you.....
TWINS!!!!

Want to see them?

Say hello to Cosmo




and




Europa (who had the misfortune of being born outside in the middle of Winter)



Yes, I rushed outside to pass Cosmo to Helen, and promptly started puffing and panting.



I was so excited to show Cosmo off that I forgot that Helen was running late for the bus.
But don't they look adorable those two?



They've certainly bonded well, that's for sure.

I know I'm a terrible father, but I too, need to get to work and earn the pennies. So I lay Europa gently down on the cold frosty floor.



Eww what a terrible father I am.

It'll soon be Ginny's turn to give birth. And if she has twins, I swear, I'm leaving the country.
I know I wanted to help Ginny achieve her LTW, but not THIS fast.

Signing out..... a very exhausted 'daddy'

Ambrose

Birthdays, Baby Bumps and Apartment Life Interactions

It's been a while since I gave you an update, so here we are.

I was a little 'camera happy' and took lots of pictures to share with you.

Things have become a little quiet in our normally hectic household.
Thanks to Apartment Life, we can all now walk to school/work.


Which is really weird to me because I feel like the Pied Piper, with my procession of little kids, namely Helen, Tristan and Violet (if you didn't all know that)

So, off went our little troupe, to work and school. On return home, however, it was a totally different matter. You'd think that the twins would get good reports at the same time. Sadly, that's not the case.
Whilst Violet is passing her grades in spectacular form, Tristan is falling behind badly, and he's none too happy about it either.



So, to compensate, we allowed them all some 'play' time before they did their homework.


Yes, that's a sneaky peek at Helen as a teenager.....
More about her later on.


Just look at them all, aren't they adorable? Hmm, best start using another word here, 'adorable' is getting to be too popular in my dictionary.



Whilst Violet wanted to study all about Physiology, Helen decided to read Tristan a story, which pleased the little tyke a-plenty, that's for sure.



He's such a sweet boy, but a little bit of a day dreamer too. Always finding distractions.



Like playing with Cleo. So, we decided to give him the job of cleaning out her smelly bed. At least it gave him something to do anyway.



It's coming up to Helen's birthday, and as much as we wanted to throw a party, she put her foot down and adamantly refused.



So it was just the family there, to watch her transition.
Blow out those candles girl and make a wish, you're entering the next stage in your life.



And what a pretty teen she turned out to be.



Just like her old man, she chose Knowledge as her aspiration. And her LTW?
To be a Space Pirate no less!!!


Very apt if you think about it. She's always rolling wants to stargaze and max out her Logic skill (which is pretty close). And she's always got her nose in a book too.

Well, soon afterwards, both Ginny and I showed our first baby bumps, although mine is more 'pronounced' than Ginny's.


Even Tristan's intrigued by the fact that his daddy is 'pregnant'.


Helen, on the other hand, just chooses to accept that her dad is just getting 'fat'.



At the breakfast table however, I was starting to feel my age, sitting there with my teenage daughter, discussing college and scholarships.



*sigh* they grow up so fast.

I have the strangest feeling, however, that one of us.... I think it's me.... is carrying twins.
Oh Lord I hope not. It was hard work itself with Tristan and Violet. I can't imagine the stress and strain with another set of twins.

I guess I'll have to beg for that wonderful maxmotives cheat at some point.


However, by the looks of Ginny's and her voracious appetite, I'd say she's the one who could possibly carrying twins. She's always raiding the fridge for leftovers and wolfs down platefuls of food.

There's a marked difference between Violet and Tristan however. Violet is the more adventurous one out of the two, always sneaking peeks at the neighbours through our telescope.



Ginny decided to give Tristan a spin in the air. She looked as though she was loving it.



Tristan's face, however, told a different story. It looked as though he was ready to puke.
Seriously though, I don't think Ginny knows her own strength.



He's happier just dancing with Dad.



Although, as soon as he had a turn, Violet insisted on wanting a turn too. Good job I'm wearing strong leather shoes.



Mind you, they both like to play jump rope too, although, with Violet's higher body skills, she's much more advanced with the skipping techniques.



It's mid winter here and I must have a complaint. Those poor postmen/women still have to deliver the mail in those extremely thin uniforms.



This poor lass, I think she's suffering from the onslaught of hypothermia, judging by the way she's holding her arm.


Well, at least Ginny and Cleo are getting on a lot better. Ginny's finally accepted that Cleo is now part of the family.

Well, this is Ambrose signing out.
Catch up with you all later with the next update.

Cheerio.