Chapter 47 -- The First 10 Points and Free Day
Hi! I'm Olive and this is my husband Aarush. He's much better looking now that I've married him. He says it's because he's happy, but I say it's because I made him get a haircut and grow a little goatee. I'm going to be telling you all about my life in this blog -- can you believe I get a salary for doing that?
This is our house. As you can see, there's not much furniture. There wasn't anything when I moved in with Aarush, and I had to sell off all the paintings I'd done to buy what you see here. We added a bathroom but otherwise the structure is the way we found it. The lot has the Bracing Breezes trait, which is great for Aarush because he's active and plans to become a pro-athlete. Unfortunately it also has the Grody trait, which means that there's always this peculiar smell that makes us feel nauseous sometimes. Aarush thinks there's a problem with the sewers, but so far he hasn't been able to get anyone to come and take care of it.
Right after we got the furniture delivered (most necessarily, the bed), I was able to give Aarush the good news that I was pregnant. He was really happy about it, even though he doesn't have a job yet. If it's a boy, we're going to name him Johnny, after the founder of the dynasty I'm in. We haven't decided on a girl's name.
This is my mother Vivian, just as she became an elder. She used to go by Vivi, but she says that now she's an elder and a famous painter, she prefers to be called by her full name.
And this is me and my friend Erika, eating at Villa Bovine. One problem with being pregnant and living on a grody lot is that you feel nauseous all the time, not just occasionally. So Aarush suggested that I get out of the house to eat. Erika tends to be gloomy so I tried to cheer her up with a joke -- "Why did the vampire like the newspaper? Because it had good circulation." She didn't get it, so I had to explain it to her.
Here am I, painting my svelte husband and feeling very pregnant. At this point I was sure that I was carrying triplets, if not quadruplets. Incidentally, I just want to assure all my followers who remained with me that I will not be advertising on this site again. I lost about a hundred of you (and I do hope you all forgive me and come back), and the company stiffed me on the fee they promised.
And here she is -- little Joanie Zest! I was at GeekCon with Vivian and Aarush when all of a sudden I felt this intense pain. Luckily, I didn't go into labor until after I finished my attempt at the Ultimate Gaming Test. I didn't win any prizes, but next time, for sure!
There was only one baby, so I have a lot to get rid of. I honestly don't know where all the fat comes from -- I stick to fish tacos, even though the smell makes me want to vomit. (Rest of rant deleted because apparently it made some of you readers uncomfortable. Please come back. I won't complain anymore, I promise.)
Aarush has been a big help. The first time he got to Joanie before I did, he didn't know what to do. He tried shushing her, cuddling her, cooing at her, and talking to her before he finally figured out that she wanted a bottle. But the second time, he caught on to the fact that her diaper needed changing right away.
He also helps with cleaning. I really appreciate that because, as you can tell by the potty chair in the foreground, we're going to have our hands full with a toddler pretty soon.
Finally, one day, when the suspense was killing us, little Joanie's bassinet began to sparkle...
...and the next thing we knew, there she was!
She's an independent little thing, and she made it quite clear that she didn't want my help with using the potty chair. She's not talking yet, but her body language is very expressive. I'll have to get a picture of her with her arms crossed and her chin jutting out. It's annoying at the time, but it's adorable, too.
One good thing about an independent toddler is that she can feed herself when both Aarush and I are still asleep, provided there's some food available.
Joanie is already showing an interest in the garden, and I think she's going to be a lover of the outdoors when she gets a little older.
Even though she's independent, she still wants a hug sometimes. Aarush is her go-to person for that (and mine, too!)
I suppose every toddler has a tantrum now and then. I think she was mad because she'd been looking at a book too long, or maybe she was tired of her blocks. Anyway, it was soon over, and then she was crying because her dollies' house had been destroyed. Luckily, it's pretty easy to put back together, and I build handiness skill while repairing it.
We ended the day with a story about dinosaurs -- "Rex Trex."
And now my stats, if anyone's interested -- I got a point for a gold wedding, a point for gaining a level in logic, 2 points for maxing painting, 2 points for becoming good friends with Joanie and Erika, 2 points for gaining satisfaction, and 2 points for my two promotions, for a total of 10.
