nentari

What! A third Gieke update in a week?! Why, yes. I've been on holidays recently, hence why I'm being so productive with the sims. Once I get back to my course (which will be a week from tomorrow) I'll have to stick to only playing the Giekes on weekends, and posts will be sporadic once again.
I'm still working rather than relaxing, as I'm studying and doing extra work, but I'm using the sims as a well-deserved break here and there. Because of this, there's a chance another update or two might come later in the week - let's keep our fingers crossed, anyway.

Credits: Grace Duckling is by

sammyfrog. Other sims or places not created by me or my game will be properly credited whenever they appear (if I accidentaly forget, please let me know).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We begin at the point we left off last time, with Chester returning home from a night of wrongdoings and evil shenanigans.

And because he needed to gain a body point for his next promotion, the first thing he did was work out with a rope.

I lost track of time, possibly because of Chester's schedule, and only realized it was time for school when the bus arrived...

...and because of this, Cosmo was still fast asleep.

I had to cheat and maximize his skills, otherwise he'd miss the bus.

Grace was also up...

...and the first thing she did was browse the web. A+ parenting, Grace.

Thankfully, the girls were soon fed and clean, and ready for a day of playing.

Once the activity table was cluttered with artwork and playing blocks (which can happen rather quickly when there's a child and three toddlers in the house) Grace decided to teach Celeste how to walk.

Oh, right. I didn't take pictures of it, but the twins are now both potty-trained and self-sufficient in that regard.

This townie is simultaneously incredibly cool and incredibly silly. I have an urge to rename him Johnny Bravo.

Claire and Chester became best friends.

And Celeste has learned how to walk!

Cosmo: "FINALLY, AN A+!"

Thank goodness I woke you up, then.

Chester is delighted.

All the excitement was too much for him, though, and he was forced to take a nap.

Celeste is the first Gieke kid who, instead of cuddling the teddy bear, would rather wrestle it.

Guys. We've talked about this before. Do not hop into the hot tub together without my approval.

I was distracted by the sound of Celeste crying. I went to see what had just happened, and found her trying to catch butterflies and crying in frustration because they refused to cooperate.

Yeah, I can see why Grace would like to stay home.

OMG WAS THAT A BABY CHIME?

*shakes fist at ACR*

After finishing his homework, Cosmo once again decided to autonomously play with Celeste.

Well, it is time once again for a birthday party.

This time I made sure the two cakes were placed in the same direction, but this still happened. Oh well.

Anyway, on to the birthdays.

First Cindy...

Then Claire.

Claire didn't even get the chance to grab a slice of her cake before Cindy grabbed hold of it and threw it away.

Cindy: "Sorry, sis."

And she's meant to be the nice sister.

The four eldest Gieke children (thank you so much again, ACR, for a new unplanned pregnancy *grumbles*) bond over the activity table.

Meanwhile, I decided to furnish the empty upstains bedroom for the twins. Because the children all seem to have a pink theme going on with the outfits they've grown into so far (well, Cosmo didn't, but his PJs and outerwear are pink, so I feel it still counts) and because the bedroom has blue walls, I decided to go for this set.
The jellyfish lights didn't seem to work, though, so I replaced them the next sim-day.

I also added plumbing and counters to the until then empty bathroom that connects that bedroom with the nursery.

I decided to change Cindy's hairstyle, as the one she grew up with had a lock that kept stabbing her in the face. She didn't like my first choice, though - which is a shame, as I thought those ringlets suited her personality quite nicely.

She didn't mind this one, though.
Also, here's our first look to her face as a child. Her features are mostly Chester, but the jawline (probably Grace's) looks a bit odd.

And here's a good look at Claire. She looks like Chester with Grace's nose.

She's baaaack.
You know what that means...

Chester is leaving!

More remodelling. I replaced the pet beds where the twins slept (it's a good way to give them some autonomy rather than depending on grown-ups to be able to sleep comfortably) for three desks, each assigned to a particular child. I'll add a fourth one when Celeste ages to a child. (Child number 5 will probably get one of their older siblings' desks when they age.)

Grace decided to improve on her Logic skill - her Lifetime Want is to maximize all skills, so I just let her do that. I feel she might go permaplat before that happens, but you never know.

The three children headed to bed.
Also, I should point out that it amuses me that Claire's PJs are identical to Cosmo's.

Before Celeste could head to the nearest pet bed, however, the nanny grabbed her and put her in the nursery.

She then spent a few good sim-hours browsing the web for arts and crafts stuff.

Dang it.
My first immediate thought was not "Will she be okay?" Rather, it was, "What if the nanny leaves before Chester arrives again? We have no Grace in the lot then!"

As soon as Celeste was awake (the others kept on sleeping through the night) the nanny took her off her crib, fed her, and kept her entertained and happy.

She wanted to go to the activity table at some point, though, and was sad because she is too young to use the staircase.

Good news: Grace returned before Chester's arrival OR the nanny's departure.

Also, the nanny was much more positive and encouraging than Grace was to Chester.

Look at that happy face as she's applauding Grace for returning home safe and sound.

This time the nanny only left at the time Chester appeared. And what's more, he has a better shift now.

He tucked in the children...

...while Grace took a soothing bubble bath, as her comfort levels were very low.

The next day was Saturday. The children woke up early, though this time they didn't need to.

The twins became best friends as they played cops and robbers outside.

And the parents had the weekend off, so everybody tried to get busy via skilling and/or enjoying themselves.

Chester needed to earn himself several skill points, but a recurring want for both him and Grace took precedent, and he took advantage of everybody being home for doing something that was long overdue: inviting the private school's headmaster over.

I heard somewhere that the headmaster gives out extra points if he's served coffee, so I got them this cute machine.

I also replaced the dining table with a bigger, more expensive table and chairs where the whole family can sit together, and spruced the place up with pricey paintings. Their money reduced quite considerably, but this will also mean more points from the headmaster.

(And by the way, Cindy is talking on the phone with the nanny. Apparently her visits are not enough for her to bond with the kids. Cindy is not impressed, though.)

Uh-oh. I don't like the look on Claire's face.

Claire: "Eh eh eh. Pepare to meet your maker, alien boy!"

She wiped her feet violently on the rug, accumulating stactic electricity. You know, like Daleks did back in the day.

ZAP.

Claire: Exterminate!

Thankfully, Cosmo thought it was hilarious.

It's the first time I see a sim reading while walking down the stairs. Must be a Film & Literature thing, as I don't usually play that hobby.

The headmaster arrived!

A little summary:

Because school is a topic very high on Chester's interests list, he was able to win a lot of points on schmoozing.
The headmaster loved the house, thanks to the paintings I got them.
And the meal was superb, thanks to Grace's maximized Cooking points.

The only surprise of the evening was Grace popping halfway through dinner.

The dinner was a success - and I didn't even need to resort to the coffee!

(Oh yes, and I moved the activity table upstairs, so Celeste was entertained and content the whole time.)

Here's a screenshot of Claire looking very evil, just because.

As soon as dinner was over, Cosmo went upstairs and joined Celeste, because he's the best big brother ever.

I thought of selling the expensive table again, but because the family is still growing I decided to keep it, sold some of the paintings I got for the visit, and used the remaining money to add a peninsula to the kitchen. That way, there will always be seats available.