The Sims 2 V2 !!!

[MrsBennington-Delson]

ok thanks Imma download "you" right away x)

uuhh this challenge is pretty...
well I dont even get it hahah I mean I do but... geez x) w/e
lol

I might try it too =)

gosh I should play teh Sims again haha...
If I find some time today I'll do so =)

 

[Ravynlee]

No probs, hope "I" work

The challenge is... basically for poor simmies. That's the idea anyway
It's a lot to read but I think it's worth it - cause I get bored so damned easy... Unless you can think of or find a challenge you think I'd like to try with ya?

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

hmm... well cant think of a challenge lool...
I got a challenge everytime I play sims xD
bc I kinda just like to play myself but I never find the perfect way for sim-me to become a granny and die happy and peacefull loool
haha
well lets say maybe we can come up with something funny evil and intresting hehe

 

[Ravynlee]

hmm... well cant think of a challenge lool...
I got a challenge everytime I play sims xD
bc I kinda just like to play myself but I never find the perfect way for sim-me to become a granny and die happy and peacefull loool
haha
well lets say maybe we can come up with something funny evil and intresting hehe

Exactly - I get about half-three quarters of my sim-life through before I get bored and start another game... I think we need something that will make us get to old age, if not die (in my history of Sims I have never actually died of old age, not once!) and we need to fulfill lifetime wants of course, but give us enough of a challenge to keep it interesting...

Hmm.

Well... we like to procreate; we need to have kiddies. Of course. Maybe the more the merrier! Maybe to different fathers? OMG that'd be a change haha
We also seem to cheat a lot (Romance sims do that) so maybe that's an option?
We need to get to old age and die of natural causes (not diease, drowning etc)
I like the idea that the sims need to earn their place in the world so maybe start off poor. Move to a block of land that will support your whole family (you and kiddies, maybe grandkiddies if that's a choice) and build and furnish a place for the original $20,000 you get at start.

Having said that, the sims only pay bills then, I think they should get more of a challenge and pay rent on top of that! Maybe we could have an apartment scenario?
What do you think?

The Nickle and Dime challenge had this;

The idea is to mimic, as closely as possible, the life of an unskilled single mother trying to make ends meet for herself and her kids.
You're a single parent with almost no assets and no marketable skills. You have been a homemaker and out of the job market for years, but now your partner is gone and you need to put food on the table somehow...

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?&openItemID=item.128,root.1,item.43,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.23&threadID=e3c4af5e8c79145b4290c82f3eef3429&directoryID=128&startRow=1#372beb510f8e213c5c26e41ddfc0bc1a

What would be a challenge for you?

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

hmm... well uhm can I use my "sim jos family" I got right now? since I got 1 baby and stuff...
I'd then make Quinn leave me and move out of our house and like move in into a "poor" one with just 20,000$ start up...
can I do that?

if yes can I also make my single mother like date new guys and maybe marry some time again?

 

[Ravynlee]

hmm... well uhm can I use my "sim jos family" I got right now? since I got 1 baby and stuff...
I'd then make Quinn leave me and move out of our house and like move in into a "poor" one with just 20,000$ start up...
can I do that?

if yes can I also make my single mother like date new guys and maybe marry some time again?

Don't see why not.
Maybe we should do that. Marry again. Want to reach golden anniversary perhaps or separate and die old and alone?
Wait... I thought about it...

Here's a few ideas, see what you make of them;

Alright, what I want is a more realistic take on sim-life.

Let's start with a new sim family. Say you've been dumped, alone with a mouth to feed. Make it two? A toddler and a child.

You're starting again with the basics, life is meant to be hard to start off. You don't know anyone and you're practically broke. You should move into a house using the $20,000 (by building and furnishing it) until you have no money left (or as close to that as you can get, less than $500).
You get whatever job you can at the time to support your family. You may have to hire a nanny straight away to look after the little one so may save some money for that.
You start off with no skills as you are 'returning' to the work force after being a house wife and need to earn your skills through manual labour (you must not study any skills as in cooking, cleaning, body, mechanical etc - couples councelling etc is okay as it doesn't affect job status).

You can quit your job at any time to take up another better suited or one you really want but you must wait one whole day or until next paper is delivered before you can look for new job, you can't just jump from one job to another, in real life it's not always that easy to find work especially with lower skills.

When you fall pregnant you can take the 3 maternity days off but you must quit your job when baby is born and get another. No one else can raise your baby into toddlerhood but you. Once the baby is a toddler you can go back to work again if you choose.

If you miss the car pool for any reason you must immediately ring up and quit your job. In real life in harsh circumstances if you don't show up for work you'd get fired. Then you have to wait til the next day to find another job.

For every monumentus event in a sims life you must throw a party. We celebrate birthdays all the time with parties, sims should too, regardless the age. Same as if you get married, you should have another party. If you choose to throw sports parties etc that's up to you - remember you're not rich and you shouldn't be. You're struggling to get your kids into college or at least grow up as happily as you can manage - live wisely Try and get as successful parties as you can manage on your budget.

Do you have uni? Maybe we should try and get our kids into college at least considering I never use that either (Uni).
The idea being we are trying to give our sim-kiddies the best possible life while sacrificing what we have to to get there - like real life. The only way to get your kids into college is by scholarship - and you can only move them into college within thrree days of becoming an adult. No one goes from child to (pre-)teen to college, sims need time to be teenagers before they move to college.
Even your teens can get jobs but again they can't 'study' for promotions. They have to 'do' and learn through living it like the rest of us.

Also no selling anything you already own. Once you build your house it must stay that way for the most part, unless you can afford to extend later down the track. You can't sell windows and doors unless you want to upgrade. Anything you own you can't sell under any circumstances unless you're upgrading to something more expensive (except toddlers items if your toddlers are now kids), even if it's broken you have to fix it (remembering that fixing things with low skills could kill your sims!) or call in someone else to fix it. And if you change wallpaper or floors you can't "sell" back the old ones only apply new ones over the top.

You can plant your own vegetables in your garden and stock your fridge but can't sell anything you harvest unless your fridge is fully stocked. You can't sell fish or boots or anything you pull up from the ponds if you decide to have one in your yard. You can't sell any paintings you paint for extra cash. Oh and the computer you get at the start from Mr Humble you can't sell, nor can you keep. Place it in your inventory and never use - or give it away. Random strangers don't give away computers for no reason. Too unrealistic. Any gifts you get from friends, dates, or strangers must be kept or put in your inventory, never sold for profit. As we age in real life we usually accumulate clutter, same as it is our sims lives I think.

You can own as many or few pets as you wish but they must never have jobs and must not bring in added income to the house. You can't make money off your pets in anyway - that includes selling litters.

As you start off poor you must not have a security system. Smoke alarm is optional. Life isn't always safe in lower-income houses

I like the idea of sim-marriage (as I rarely have weddings anymore) but ideally we are simulating a hard life for a single sim-mother.
I say if you want to marry you can but only one income can come into the house hold at any one time. If your partner has a job you must quit yours and live off his income, same goes for him. I'd like to see the old sim mother try and cope with empty-nest alone for a while but if you marry before the kids grow up and move to college or out of home then so be it. If you marry try and make it to your golden anniversary, then celebrate it too with a party.

If you have free time, and if you manage your finances well enough, try and have at least one family holiday away.

Try and create at least one grand child before you die of old age. You can move your adult kids back home again affter college but again only one income at a time regardless how many people are living there. Game ends when your original sim-self dies, hopefully old and happy and of 'natural causes.'

To keep it interesting it's worthwhile getting as many pics as you can - or at least giving us a run-down on your family story if you do it. If you didn't succeed getting any kid to college it's okay, the idea being your sim self does its best trying to achieve the happiest most fulfilled life it could provide for her / his family.

Remember it's got to be as realistic as you can make it. Avoid the werewolves and vampires and alien and magic influences as much as you can... unless you're into that sort of thing

Oh and one last thing - you must not use the Elixir of Life. You only get one shot - and if your sim self dies for whatever reason the game ends and you have to start again. You can't not save your game at the end of disasterous events (like a housefire) in order to avoid it. Take the good and bad. It's meant to be a challenge.

Sound good?

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

haha ok I'm cool with that! :thumbsup:
and yeah I have Uni but dont really use it... but I'll prolly send my kids to Uni when they grow up haha

ok well Im just lookin through all my cds lookin for other lpf ppl x)
haha

and yeah then Imma go play!!

let it roll baby xD haha

 

[Ravynlee]

Awesome.

Well I've got Pete, Jojo, myself, Fribs and Fox to start if you want them?

And if there's anything you want to add to all of that I posted ("rules" - and I use the term loosely, it's not strict, you're meant to just have fun with it) feel free to add it.

I thought of one thing - You can't work in a sim-owned business. Ideally it should be jobs you get from paper / computer. If you can afford to start and opperate your own sim-business with what little money you have go nuts... but that will be your only income, no one else can get a job then outside of that. Only one income at a time. Maybe that way you'd start a family-owned business that your children would inherit... if you're really smart with money!

Can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

Shame I have work tomorrow - but will play when I get home and should have something up to share by tomorrow night! Just excited to finally try and live a full sim life as I don't think I have ever fully done in the years I've played... I get bored doing the same things all the time. See if this 'fixes' that

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

well you're workin in my game

oh oh I deffo need Pete! like right now if possible xD lol

and with that business thingy my sim should have a "normal" job and not like his/her own shop?

 

[Ravynlee]

well you're workin in my game

oh oh I deffo need Pete! like right now if possible xD lol

and with that business thingy my sim should have a "normal" job and not like his/her own shop?

Up to you, can only have one or the other (though I doubt you'd be able to afford to start a small business on your own to start with) but that's up to you. One job at a time, remember?

As for Pete - I'll upload in the morning for ya. Will take too long to do it now. Can you hold out?
If not ask sis (Crazy Robster) she was the one who made him for me

And me workin in your game - good to hear k:

One thing I just thought of... marrying another sim and bringing them in is gonna give you a wad of extra cash... Hmmm... so much for doing it tough then, huh?

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

well Im not really intrested in my own business Im happy as a teacher lool

geez 0_0 waaahh ok seems like Imma have to wait for Pete than ahaha xD
I couldnt find him on any of my cds meeh..

uhm ok... well I'd do it this way: if another Sim moves in/marries mine bla bla then I just reduce the money as much as the other sim brought in (since there's always this little cute pop up window saying "you're new sexy lover just moved in and brought $999999999 with him" hahaha so Imma just be like *open cheat window* *type: familyFunds Familyname -999999999" and its all good again

I just realized that I got my ex-husbands last name x) LOL oh well hehe

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

so here wee gooooooooooo!!! haha

So after Quinn started his career as a musician again, he barely found time for Jos (or the little Rioghan). Jos and Quinn's relationship didn't work. With every day they loved each other less and less.
Gettin pissed off at each other is just one little "problem".

Jos had enough...

so she decided to move out with her baby boy Rioghan...

At first Quinn felt bad about loosing her but those tears didn't last long...

He picked up his guitar... turned his back to Jos and played so loud that he couldn't hear her leave...

and well... little Rioghan was kinda lost xD lol

But Jos wouldn't be Jos if she would start hating her life because of a man!
So she stayed though and moved into a new life with Rioghan...

Meanwhile Rav moved in next door

Jos thought it'd be nice to introduce herself so she did so

Rav and Jos got along great from the start especially bc they both seem to love music ^^

Jos spend a lot of time with Rioghan... of course she just wants the best for him

The same day Jos called Andi and invited him over...

she felt like he should see his son and spend some time with him

Although he was thinking of some andimals while he hugged Jos, she still decided not to hate him anymore... and they actually became best friends again (what I didnt like much but well Sims ) lol

Andi spend the afternoon playing with Rioghan and both enjoyed it

Meanwhile Jos took the time to take a nice relaxing shower

The next day it was already Rioghan's birthday!! =D
He has grown to a kid and looks so sweet! (should be mum's genes xD)

In the evening, as Jos got home from work and went straight into bed, Rioghan decided to go out and play with Rav who was out randomly trying to get to know the other neighbors x)

Rioghan: "Sorry Rav for hitting you so hard... it was supposed to be harder"

But Rioghan you're too young to get the saying "revenge is sweet" haha

oh well after this tiring game with Rav, Rioghan walked upstairs and lied down next to his mum to get some sleep for school...

Next day Jos had to go to work at 7am but she couldn't because "she knows she has other responsabilities but she can't like her baby alone at hom" (although he left 1hr later for school -.- goosh those mothers sometimes LOL)
But well at least Rioghan was a good kid and went to school...

and as he arrived back home again Rav greeted him some "insider" thingy (idk) x)

so yeah that's it till now ^^

 

[DarknessLover]

Are you trying to do the challenge thing?

 

[Ravynlee]

I think she's already started, yes.

DL, are you going to try it?

LOL at the 'revenge is sweet' that was cute! Haha. And your son looks like a little heartbreaker now, growing up so fast, awww.

Funny to see my own version of sim-self in another's game - that's exactly the me I use! Woot! Maybe you should send me you so I have you as you are... that'd be sweet.

Have to go to work but will send Pete when I get back. Promise.

Lookin' good so far - and good solution too the familyfunds cheat. Didn't think of that. Well done k:

 

[DarknessLover]

I might do it. But I am a guy. Do you want to change up the rules a bit for male purposes?

 

[Ravynlee]

I might do it. But I am a guy. Do you want to change up the rules a bit for male purposes?

Change how? Adapt it to suit a man - though I dunno how likely you are to start with kids and be a single dad. I'd like to see that though as few men do that - they just... play WoW or something XD

Jos changed hers a bit by using a pre-existing sim (who already has skillpoints / friends, etc) whereas I am starting from scratch, just to make things a tad harder for myself - cause I like the challenge

This whole concept is a lot like the one I was talking about before, the Nickle and Dimed challenge at TS2 - which I fell in love with. That one is a tad harder in that the sim parent (sim self) can't earn any more than one charisma, body, logic, creativity skill in her lifetime (which is arguably harder) and you can't study for points, that is you can't read about it, your sim has to clean to get cleaning points and cook to get cooking points etc - but it's all about having fun I guess - and as much as I adore Sims I get bored way too easy with it in that I have been playing it forever and still have NEVER managed to get my sim self to die of old age - I always just restart while I'm an adult.
This 'challenge' is forcing me to live a full sim life as best I can with no cheats (aside from those that don't make a sim's life easier, so move_objects on is okay for example)

How you do that is up to you.

The main object of the game really is to start off with as little as you can (no money, no friends, no skills) just you and your kid or kids (that must not be old enough to draw in a second income yet) and try and make it through to a natural sim death of old age as happy as and as fulfilled as you can - If you want to play the challenge and not do all the 'rules' then go ahead - it's your choice. Me, I like things hard or I get bored. So I am sticking to the rules as best I can. Not gonna freak out if I 'miss' something - the idea is I just wanna get to old age and die happy - and see my sim kids have kids - then I'll consider it worthwhile.

Remember if your sim self dies anywhere at all in this game you have to start again - or just quit.
You MUST make it to old age and die as fulfilled as you can.

If you want to adapt try making yourself and at least a minimum of one kid. The more kids you make the harder it'll be. You could have a partner but have her leave as soon as you 'start' your challenge so you're left alone to raise your kids and have to struggle to make ends meet on your own.

############################################################​

To start:
Buy a lot for the $20,000 you start with, build a place and furnish it until you have practically nothing left (less than $400 I think, or thereabouts) and get any job you want - remembering you may have to pay a nanny to start with if you have toddlers.
(Using downloaded objects are fine providing they don't make your sims life easier, ie: no hacked computers or max motive beds etc)
If you have AL you could move into an apartment and furnish it as you would a house, remembering you have to pay rent here too, so you'll have it a tad harder than someone who owns their own house.

General rules
(if you wish to follow them, remember it's up to you how strict you want to be):

* If you miss the carpool you have to quit your job, wait til the next day when the paper is delivered again, and find another job. You can't skip from one job to another just to get promoted. Thats why you have to wait a day to get another job

* You can't sell anything you're given on dates or from friends / Networking (like roses or TVs etc).

* You can't sell old carpets or wallpapers if you want to redecorate your place. Just paint / place over top.

* You can't sell windows or doors unless you're upgrading to more expensive ones.

* You cant sell funiture unless you're upgrading (the exception being toddler toys which you can sell when your toddler becomes a child).

* You can plant your own fruit and vegetables but you must use them to stock your fridge - you can't sell them unless your fridge is full.

* You can't sell anything you pull out of ponds (like boots) or sell plants / trees in the yard for extra cash. If you start with them you're stuck with them - unless they die, then just delete.

* You can't sell paintings you or your kids paint. Hang them up or place in inventory or give them away as gifts.

* You can't dig for treasure. If you are on holidays and 'find' something it must be kept in your inventory or displayed but not sold.

* You can't gain skill points from the book case - you must 'earn' them by doing things to get them (the exception is couples councelling, lifelong happiness, fire safety and anger management because these don't effect your sims skill base for job promotions)

* You can't earn extra cash using pets. If you have pets you can't sell litters and your pets can't have jobs.

* You can't own a security alarm (and if you can afford a car, your car can't have a security alarm either). This is because in real life not everyone can afford one - and for the sake of challenge makes things a bit harder if what you work hard for is taken away... besides the burglar never comes around that much anyway. It's up to you if you want smoke alarms.

* You should have a party for every 'big' event in each sim's life - every birthday at least - and if you do decide to marry again then a party then too. You must try and make them as successful as you can with what resources you have. If you own the Holiday's pack try having at least one Christmas together as a family too and get a pic of Santa at the Christmas tree (remember you can't sell the items he leaves you)

* You can't use the Aspiration rewards. No money on trees, no motive rejuvinator. You have to earn what you get in this sim-life. There's no freebies.

* You can't 'buy' items for short periods of time and sell them back the same day. For example you can't buy a stereo for a party then sell it when the party's over. You must keep it forever then - and if it breaks fix it. Or pay someoene else to fix it - remembering items can kill sims with low skill points You can't sell the broken things and buy new ones. Life's not always like that.

* You should try at some point before your sim self dies to go away on a holiday as a family. How long and where you go is up to you but you should aim to do this at least once (if you have Bon Voyage - if you don't feel free to skip this... or come up with an alternative you see fit) Also keep in mind if you go on holiday you will have no vacation time allowed to you (as you can't ever miss the carpool) so when you go on holiday you must quit your job first - you don't get money for nothing

* Only one sim at any point can have a job. If you choose to marry at any point either you or your partner (if you both work) must quit for the sake of the other. If you want a harder challenge stay single as long as you can manage at least until your kids are grown and see if you can cope with empty nest syndrome.

* If you own the Uni EP you should try and get your kids into college. You can only get them into college if they win scholarships or you've saved up enough. Teens can only go to college within 3 days of becoming an adult. They have to be teens at home a while first to make life that much more interesting - and remember if your teen has a job either you or it must quit your job - only one income is allowed per house at a time.

* Kids can study skills from books but when they become teens they have to 'earn' skills by doing them as your original sim self does.

* You should at least have one grandkid before your sim self dies - which means when your kid graduates from college they are allowed to move home again - providing your original sim self hasn't died yet. Remember if your adult child returns home they can only have one income per household - again you or it (or your / their partners, whomever's living with you at the time) has to quit their job, one income at any time to make it that much harder.

* You should try and fulfill your sim self's lifetime want - but that's not always possible. Kudos to you if you can with the time you've got.

* If you're a male and you fall pregnant through alien abduction the same rules apply as it does with women - you get the 3 maxis-enforced maternity days off from work, but once you give birth you must quit your job to raise your kid into toddlerhood. Then get a new job. Not all careers in real life have such generous paid maternity leave

* And if you do marry anyone you bring into the household will bring cash. This has to be deleted using the 'familyfunds' cheat as Jos used below (smart thinking Jos, keeps it even for everyone that way) so the new family member comes in with virtually the clothes they're wearing and that's it.

I think that's generally all of it. Read the rest from yesterday if you have any queries. Or ask. It's pretty basic really, and up to you how hard or easy you want the challenge to be.

The idea is to get your original sim-self to old age as happy and healthy and as fulfilled as possible, making the best life you can for you and your family - and you should die of old age, not disease or fire etc.

The challenge ends if:

* Your original sim self dies for any reason before they get to die of old age.
* ANY of your kids are taken away by the social worker.
* You cheat yourself silly - as in use hacks to make it easier, don't save your game after bad events so you don't have to go through with them, or end up with like $1,000,000 for example - cause it's virtually impossible with one wage even with 'lucky' chance cards

Either post plenty of pics here or let us know how it goes. Curious to see if anyone else jumps at this like me (and Jos )
Beyond that just have fun! Show us how sim-life treats you throughout your game and how you get to the end - happy and surrounded by loved ones or miserable and alone... it's up to you
Good luck!
Now I'm off to start mine... see how I go.

Rav

 

[MrsBennington-Delson]

thats ok Rav
uhm yeah Imma package "myself" and send me to you x) or like upload it as soon as possible...

I kinda have the feeling I forgot something x)
oh well w/e haha


edit:
so here's me as sim =)
I actually dont know if its the newest version but it should be
bc I actually dont change my sims in game if I made them in bodyshop...
hope it all works
http://rapidshare.com/files/149481500/Jos_Sim.Sims2Pack.html

 

[Ravynlee]

Thanks Jos! The version I had of you was outdated anyway - this will come in handy for this new challenge. Oh and I haven't forgotten about Pete - the only problem is I have packaged him along with 7 others in a house and I have lost the original package sis sent me of him - I couldn't even find his skin in BS yet somehow he appears in game so I don't know - I will go in, extract, package him on a tiny vacant lot for you then upload soon, okay (since I just woke up) ^^

Well I started last night and I actually thought I might have made things a bit too easy - I was wrong!
I downloaded the base game lot from the Nickle and Dimed challenge over at TS2 (which is on a huge and expensive 4x4 lot and I have btw if anyone wants it, you don't need any EPs for it to work) and extended it a fraction, changed the walls and floors without deleting first (which was hard, by habit I always delete first to get cash back! Now I can't!)

If anyone's interested the house I used can be found here: http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=679360

And then I moved me and the kids, two, into the place (in Desiderata Valley I think it is) with my megre 20,000 simoleans. It doesn't stretch very far does it?
Here's how it started...

(apologies the graphics aren't the best, I forgot to change settings before I started - oops!)

###################################################################

Here we are - me and my two kids, Gabriel and Vivienne Lee.

Day 1.
Moving into our new house. Okay, it's not much to look at but it's on a huge block of land and it is literally within walking distance from the sea. It's a fresh start away from the city, somewhere where no one knows us, where we can start again together. I hope that here I can give the kids the best chance at life. More importantly it's ours, our new family home, just the three of us.

My son Gabe, my little girl Viv and myself - as Gabe poses for the camera - show off

Being that it's a small house it doesn't take long to set up. We settle in straight away, and though it's cosy, it's still new and exciting to me. After randomly wandering around inspecting my new albeit cheap furniture like a kid on Christmas morning, I settle down to a snack while the kids play at their little creativity table. They both seem happy at last!

Okay so being a single mum was never meant to be easy - sometimes it's downright boring. Potty training Viv I stare off into space daydreaming of where this new move to the edge of nowhere will take us. I hope I've done the right thing... time will only tell.

The locals here sure are friendly. The first person I meet is a woman who runs some garden club. Okay granted I don't have much of a garden (just one shrub beside the front door) I smile politely and promise that when funds allow I'll invite her back to view my newly landscaped yard... one day.

I pass the time with the kids initially, making sure they settle in properly. Gabe gets to studying - I want him to fit in with this new school he's transfered to, so while he hits the books, I sit down with Viv and 'read' to her. Though I don't have much of an education behind me and can't read a lot of the books I have in my bookshelf, I know enough to get me by, and like any parent I want my kids to get the life and oppertunities that I never had.

My little girl is growing up so fast - seems like she was born only hours ago! As Gabe and I finish lunch she crawls up to me and claws her little fingers in the air.
"Daddy," she smiles.
Guiltily I pick her up and snuggle her. I wish I could give her answers but she's too young to understand. I feel Gabe watch on but say nothing. I just force a smile. Maybe when they're both older I could try and explain everything - but not right now.

Gabe is an outgoing child - and is easily entertained by a game of 'swing me around' outside. The sound of his laughter echoes across the vacant front yard and makes me smile. It's good to see him so happy. When we finish and I'm too tired to go on, I hug my boy and tell him that I love him.
"I know, mummy," he says, echoing the sentiment.
In the back of my mind Viv's question still tugs at my heart. Though not even he's aware of it Gabe's the spitting image of another - a man that he knows nothing of and that he's never even met - my 'mystery sim', his father.

After putting Viv down for her afternoon nap I lay down myself, tired and drained as Gabe watches TV. The afternoon passes and night soon falls.

The neighbours here however are not all that nice. Twice that night someone comes along kicking the trashcan to the ground. As I cook dinner Gabe goes back out again to pick it up. Though we don't actually catch anyone doing it, I start wondering if maybe the people here aren't too keen on outsiders moving in to their little slice of paradise - especially unwed single mothers with limitted education and funds such as myself. I tell myself not to be so silly... but I guess only time will tell.

Before bed I read to Viv again, relieved in the fact I don't have to read to Gabe who's intelligence even at his young age is already far beyond mine. Enthralled by the pictures and after a long trying day, I usher both kids off to bed and tuck them in safe and sound into their new beds.

 

[Ravynlee]

Day 2.

After scouring the paper the first job I find I take - which happens to be in the Armed Forces. Though I am overweight and unskilled I jump at it, knowing that if I don't the kids and I won't last too long with only just over $100 in the bank to last us. After hiring a nanny to watch the kids I go to work and leave them in her 'capable' hands.

Gabe and Viv play well together. At least they are happy, arguably well-adjusted children. After breakfast Gabe goes off to school and the nanny stays and potters around the house, tidying things up before putting Viv to bed. Then without warning she promptly leaves the house - and leaves a sleeping Viv alone for hours while I am hard at work!

In my absence, and to my absolute horror, the Social Worker comes to take Viv away. Thanks to my ability to 'plead with the social worker' (over the phone) I'm given one last chance to make sure the kids are better taken care of. I return home with a job promotion, into the Elite Forces, with a hefty bonus and pay rise, but I know I can't go back there. I fire the nanny and quit my job. I can't risk leaving the kids at home alone with anyone again - or I'll lose them.

I spend an hour or so in bed crying for what could have happened - until Gabe comes home. Pulling myself up I put on a brave face and help him as much as I'm able with his home work.

It's been a long and tiring (and emotional) day so before long, and after dinner, we all retire to bed. Though I am now unemployed again at least I have a bit more money in the bank to kep us going a while longer. Gabe climbs into bed with me and I allow it tonight, relieved that even if I don't have a job at least I still have my kids with me. I know my life would be over if anything ever hapened to them...

 

[DarknessLover]

WOWWW You almost lost on DAY 2!!!!! That would have SUCCKKKEEEDDD.

By the way, how do you guys make such accurate versions of yourselves? I can't seem to do it!!!