House of Steel Dynasty - Failed Due to Bugs

[Ricalynn]

Birth of Generation 3

While in China, Shantel and I had spoken about kids.  By the time we got home, both of us wanted one.  It took very little persuading on her part to get me interested in trying.  


It wasn't long before Shantel started to feel bad.  Dad and Chris gave me knowing looks.  Shantel said she wasn't certain but she would go to the doctor soon.  After seeing the look on Dad's face I was already certain of it.  


Eventually, she told me that our plans had been fruitful.  I couldn't believe I was going to be a father.  Things at work had been going really good too.  I had been averaging a promotion every other day and had just chosen to go into the forensics side.  I figured with a child on the way it would keep me home more often than becoming special agent.


The time passes by so quickly when you're not really ready for something to happen.  It felt like one minute I was playing with the baby as it kicked it's mommy and the next, she was in labor.


Shantel said that Mike and I were no help whatsoever so she went into the nursery for a home birth.   We read every book we could find so she was confident that we could do it at home with no complications.  Plus Jamie had been a doctor if there were.  


That magical moment came and suddenly my son was born.   In the middle of the night, little Coriander Steel was brought into the world and directly into his mother's arms.  



As soon as they heard the cry of the baby, Chris and Dad went to go meet the new arrival while Shantel took a nap.  He's just arrived and already he's loved by a house full of people.

[Lilygirl]

Welcome little Coriander! Congrats on having a successful trip to China, Ricalynn.

In terms of marrying cousins, here in Canada it's legal to marry your 3rd cousin. For Sims, I don't think the game keeps track past 1st cousins (Chris and Sage). It should work for Mike and Pepper's kids to get married.

[Katluvr]

Ricanote!:  OK so the last two posts were just as hard to write as they had been to play.  I cried when Agnes died and I cried again when she showed up and Sage went to go hug her.   

RIP Agnes and welcome baby Coriander!  I know exactly how you feel - I had to stop playing when Agnes died in my dynasty and I cried the whole time I was posting my update about it.  It was a little easier with Sam (gen 2 spouse) but only because he died of old age whereas Agnes burned to death in a sculpting accident.  Isn't it funny how attached to these little pixels we become?

[Ricalynn]

Welcome little Coriander! Congrats on having a successful trip to China, Ricalynn.

In terms of marrying cousins, here in Canada it's legal to marry your 3rd cousin. For Sims, I don't think the game keeps track past 1st cousins (Chris and Sage). It should work for Mike and Pepper's kids to get married.

That's true.  Of course because Chris is a ready when game starts Sim he doesn't actually have family connection to Sage but still.   Also I seem to have the family tree thing where when a Sim dies it removes them being married.   When Sage went to hug and talk to Agnes it said she was his Fiancee'.  

Isn't it funny how attached to these little pixels we become?

It really is.  Agnes did die of old age but like I said previously I was kinda hoping that Jamie would go first.  

I did want to mention a Sunset Valley Update.  It seems that a lot of townie families have died off.  
-There was a Quinn Wolff running around but when I met him he was an old man just like Chris and Sage.   He is dating Kaylynn Langerak and they have a daughter but nowhere on his family tree does it show Thornton or Morganna (so sad).  
-The reason I know about Quinn is because Kaylynn's brother Parker is dating Ethan Bunch! No kids there
-The connection to my family tree?   Darlene Bunch and Mortimer Goth have just welcomed Damion Bunch to our family ranks.  I think Damion still counts as a cousin somehow so we'll see how that goes with Coriander here.  
-Bella Bachelor will be previewed in the updates to come so you'll get to see what happened to her.  
-Michael Bachelor is dating Mara Ursine - the very bad traited child of Jared and Claire.
-Hank Goddard didn't get married, didn't have kids and didn't become a vamp!  He is Pepper's partner.
-Lisa Bunch did get engaged to VJ but neither have had children and they're both elders in my game.  In fact, the only hope the Alvi family has rests in Iqbal who was vamped out.
-Arlo is sadly(?) still alone.  
-I had Agnes, Christopher and Jamie all in my house so we know they had kids.
-Victoria Andrews is engaged to Sam Sekemeto.  Leighton is a vampire but Sam is not.  Victoria is also a vampire (she always is in my games).  Sam and Victoria have two children that live with their mother.  Kurt and Antone.  (Antone will be briefly mentioned soon)
-The Altos are down to just Nick because he's vamped out.  
-Both Landgraabs became vampires but they didn't share the gift with Malcolm so he's going to die any day now after helping raise his little brother Errol Landgraab. (also to show up.  Coriander has to meet all the kids you know)
-Most of the vampires in my game that were original townies except for Victoria, Nancy, Geoffrey, Gunther and Nick have all died of old age.  Now it's just the new people that are vamped.
-Mortimer is aging but apparently Corney and Gunther had a son Louis (he's visited the house once or twice) before she aged.  
-Cornelia has actually been gone for a while now she died of old age as a vampire.  We had her grave on the lot but then she wouldn't disappear and broke all the appliances so I had to resetSim her (thanks esther for that help!) and shove her grave into someone's pocket so the haunting would stop.

I am down to very little townie blood outside of my house so Coriander may have to hope there is someone out there that has never seen a newspaper outside of the ones I read at my house.
Oh and the last newspaper I read said they burned one of the new toddler/children.  It was like a few days after the birth announcement i saw the death announcement.  I went to the cemetery to add that poor child to my family holdings but because I didn't know them I guess it didn't show up.  You think if I have Pepper tutor all the neighborhood children they wont get bad traits and I'll have better choices?

[Ricalynn]

Hormones, Birthdays and a New Gallery

With the arrival of a nooboo into our midst, it seems like my brother and little cousin have gone into weird hormone fogs.  I found Dill chatting up Morgana Wolffe in our front yard.  Apparently, she's no longer with Thornton and after the phone call we received for the house.  I think Dill had something to do with it.


The time of keeping my son swaddled is over.  It's time for him to learn all the important stuff that every man needs to.  No one ever told me I had to like it though.   Shantel threw a small party for the celebration as it was my birthday, too.   She picked up our little bundle and brought him to his first cake.   A few gurgles and splash of sparkles later, my itty bitty nooboo is now a toddler!



Then it was my turn to blow out the candles.  I remember wishing that I would keep my hair.  Fate did not hear me and I'm going to have to visit the dresser again.



I'm thinking the excitement was too much for Lilian Woods, Shantel's sister.  Either that or my hair scared her so much that she went into labor right there in the living room.  


With everyone freaking out over the baby coming,  Coriander decided to tell us that he was upset too.


Eventually, we were able to see Lillian to the hospital.  Coriander got some love from everybody and the cake was eaten or put away.   Lillian had a little boy which her and her boyfriend Mike decided to name Kasey.  I was able get Coriander some new duds before he was put to bed.  I think he looks rather snazzy in his new little suit.  It looks like mine!


Jamie styled his hair into the little mohawk and then got him a new suit for the bear I had when I was a baby. She made it yellow to match his clothes.  I think he loves Kaitlin more than I did.


His first day at being a toddler and his mother made him work for it.  She had him potty trained before bedtime.


While Shantel had Coriander busy, Mike was outside making a move on Bella Bachelor.   Both boys seem to like older women and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Bella was a child when Dad moved to town.  But if they're happy, then they're happy.



Ricanote:  I had Mike flirting with Bella and I found out that Bella was dating Gunther!!! Mortimer was kicked to the curb so he had picked up Darlene Bunch like I previously mentioned.   Mike had Bella dump Gunther and then he had to make her dump Leighton! She had been standing there the whole time so either she was dating both vampires or the game was determined to have her be with one.  
Also, I redid the gallery.  I decided that I liked it being in the back of the property versus being in the basement.  Here's a snapshot of Sage's section with Agnes.
Oh and sad for us Lilygirl - Shantel did not share her eyes with Coriander  Cori looks exactly like Pepper with Agnes' hair and eyes.  [sideplug: Artie of Artie's Dynasty has the pink eyes though.  Let's see if he can pass them on!]

[Katluvr]

Coriander is sooo adorable!  He's gonna be quite the handsome Sim when he grows up!

The pic with everyone freaking out about the crying baby made me giggle - all the party-goers were lost in a sea of thougth bubbles.

[Ricalynn]

Is Grim nice or mean?

It was a normal workday.  Most of us had left the house for work or other things.  Jamie and Chris early risers from his cemetery fishing days were moving about the house in their usual shuffling pace.   I was at work but Dill who was painting said you could feel the house get colder.   He remembered that it had felt that way for Mom and went looking for Jamie.   But it wasn't Jamie.


At least it wasn't when Dill went looking.


The Grim came to visit our home and got a two for one deal on souls that morning.  I'm not sure if it's because Grim is mean or if he waited to take Jamie for when Chris was ready.   He couldn't have waited for Dad to be ready since Dad was an immortal.  Both Chris and Jamie shook the Grim's hands.  They were both ready.   I guess if I wasn't destined for immortality, I would like to think Grim would do the same favor for me and Shantel. 




Mike and Bella had been hanging out so they both witnessed the death of his parents.   He handled the situation interestingly enough.  He grabbed Bella and asked if she would be his girlfriend.   Then he showed her how much he appreciated her acceptance of him.



When Shantel and Coriander got back home, she couldn't bring herself to do much of anything but play with our son.   So she taught him how to walk and pulled strength from the next generation's accomplishments.



That night she told me she wanted something.  I felt powerless to refuse her when she looked at me with those big, beautiful pink eyes.   So I gave in.


Life was hard for my Dad.  All of his best friends from my childhood had now passed.  He was having to meet new people at work all the time.   So to cheer him up, all three of us boys sat down to play some video games with him.


While Shantel pampered herself during the pregnancy with spa trips, I taught our son how to talk.   When I told him about being a celebrity and paparazzi, he didn't look too impressed.


I was painting something for the nursery when Shantel decided to take a nap.  We could tell the baby could come at anytime and she wanted to be rested this time.  Unlike when she had Coriander, she wanted to be the first to get in lots of snuggles for our newborn.  She hadn't been asleep long when she went into labor. 


With a muttering about girly squealing, my wife told me to go check on our son while she went to Dad's room.   She finished the home birth there surrounded by pictures of Dill and I as babies and children. 


Welcome to the world, my beautiful baby boy.  We let my father name him and he chose Mint.  Mint Steel.


Ricanote:  This post wasn't exactly easy to put together.  I finally lost Chris and Jamie went with him. He was 94 adn she was 109! At first I thought she was going to make a marathon run out of her life.   Then when the screen panned over to her.  I realized that it was sweet.  They were going together.    As for Mint's name, I'm sure it's been noticed I'm using culinary herbs for my inspiration.  I have all the names picked out for each generation from here on out.  I didn't want to use those names and then need one later.  Mint Steel has an interesting ring to it.  Maybe he'll be family bad boy with sticky fingers!  Never know.

[Gogowars329]

Welcome Mint! Happy Birthday Coriander and R.I.P Jamie and Chris!

[Ricalynn]

Children grow too fast

It seems like just yesterday we had found out we were pregnant.  Then suddenly there was this sweet little bundle with us.  Now that little bundle is becoming a toddler.   Today is a triple whammy in the birthday department.  Shantel becomes an adult, Cori will become a child and of course Mint will start crawling away from me when I go to change him.


Before the party we heard a scream,  Dad had fallen into a hole left behind by Chris.   Dad seemed more worried about the fact he was in clean clothes than the fact that he had fallen into a hole.  After a moment, he got this look in his eyes and decided to explore instead of getting help out.


Having three birthdays at the same party didn't seem like a bad idea when we discussed doing it.  However, the chaos was a bit more than we expected.   It took pretty  much all afternoon to get everything said and done.   But the guests all seemed to have a good time and the deeds were done.







Mint has my hair color and his mother's eyes.  It really is a striking combination.  Coriander's quirkiness has turned towards a sudden want to invent things.  I blame Chris for bringing home that miner.  In other news, Mike has made new friends all over the place.  Apparently he became best friends with some girl from the high school.  I told Dad to have a talk with him but I don't think he ever did.


And now for the fashion show!

[Gogowars329]

Does Mint have pink eyes or I am just imagining it??

[Lilygirl]

They look pink to me!! Welcome nooboo Mint. Happy birthday to everyone.

[Ricalynn]

Mint has his mother's pink eyes and his favorite color is violet so this is going to be a lot of fun now that he's working on being a child and I can really go wild with his clothes. 

I had wished Coriander would get his mother's eyes to pass down but maybe they'll be recessive or something.  The older Cori gets the closer to green than gray his eyes get.

[Ricalynn]

Sorry about double post:  Just wanted to say I may be a little slow on the next update because I did a complete reinstall and now I have to redownload all of the patterns from my houses. Luckily, most of them were BlueMurder's and from Carl's forum.   And let's not forget all the stuff from the store that doesn't have a download all button. (goes for Artie's dynasty too)

[Ricalynn]

Coriander's childhood

The day after my boys and ladylove had their birthdays, I figured it was time to complete my real estate responsibility to this family.  I already had the bookstore which I renamed for Mom.  It's new name is Aggie's Book Nook.   However, choosing the other property was not as easy for me.   I finally decided to get Stoney Falls.  It was Chris's favorite fishing spot other than the graveyard.   Shantel and I oversaw the upgrading of the property to include some bathrooms and kid's stuff.   Also a small eating area so no one starves while visiting.  We named it Steel Memorial Fishing Park for Chris.   I'm thinking of putting his ice sculpture out there on the little island he liked to stand and fish.


We also did a little renovation to the park across the street.  We designated one corner for the family plot.  Jamie has been moving through the house waking everyone up by floating thru their beds.   It's the weirdest, coldest feeling ever. 


Lately it has felt like every day I've been getting a phone call from Coriander as he was leaving school.  He either wants to visit someone else's house or he wants to know if they can come over.  I'm beginning to wonder if there are any girls at his school.

^Antone Andrews - son of Sam Sekemeto & Victoria Andrews

^Kasey Woods - son of Lilian Woods & Mike Goodman - Shantel's nephew

^Errol Landgraab - fairly certain it's the son of Nancy and Geoffrey Landgraab

Meanwhile, Mint needs to learn all of the basics while he's still adorable.  I decided I wanted to teach him how to walk.  It's so funny to look down into those little pink eyes and see the mischief I often see in his mother's.


In the middle of the week, it was time for my brother and cousin to catch up to me and Shantel.  We tried doing the cake thing in the courtyard this time.  Not sure it was a good idea to have all those people stomping through the house while Mint was trying to sleep.  Birthday magic gave Mike his spikes back.  Not sure he liked that idea.





I know parents aren't allowed to have favorites.  And honestly, my sons are in two different fun stages of their lives.  Or at least fun for me.  However, I'm fairly certain that Mint made the cuter baby.


Shantel got to teach Mint how to talk.   I'm thinking that may have been a bad idea.

[see this post -link- for reference - second to last picture]

Not only am I worried about my son's marriage prospects.  I worry about the safety of our house some days.  Coriander has become slightly eccentric in this life stage.   He asked for an inventing table and we got it for him but not every invention is a success. 



 I went ahead and got the fireproof homestead policy from the LTH insurance company.  That policy didn't cover his garments apparently.



Shantel got a party invitation from our old school friend Mara Ursine.   We had heard that her child was about the same age as Coriander so she took him to the party so they could play together.  It turns out Mara sent Yusun to the park while the party was going on.   Shantel called to tell me that our son had run off to the park without her and she was worried the cops would think bad of him.  I told her I would go get him.  What I found at the park made me laugh.  My son had tracked down the only girl in his grade level and let her know that it was rude to leave the house when a party was going on.


When we got home, Dad decided to show us something he had made.  I figured it was just another cooking dish but not this time.  Apparently, he had found some tiberium with the miner and decided to play around with it.   According to Arlo Bunch, the new guy at the restaurant if you put gems on an extra large display case you might get something cool out of it.  So Dad put some large spire cut tiberiums and other gems we had collected from tombs on the display case he bought.   He started the transfiguration process and what did my father get?  A large skull cut tiberium.  Well, Coriander had followed us to the display case to see what his grandfather had made.  He wanted it immediately and begged incessantly for a few moments to have the glowy skull.   I shrugged.  Dad shrugged.  We figured cut tiberium isn't as dangerous so we let him have it.  Now he sleeps with it next to his bed!


Ricanote:  The reinstall seems to have gone well.  I think most of my patterns have been found from the exchange (BlueMurder is awesome!).  Everything seems to be working fine.  I had to tweak my graphic settings again and the lessons keep popping up but so far so good! Yay.  Dynasties have survived.  However, the picture on the main menu where the house should be is blank.  That.. worries me but it doesn't seem to mean anything either.   

Also: now that you guys know about Mint - I will be doing a house tour.  Coriander's room has changed again from the bear pattern but other than that not much is different from what you've got glimpses of.   Any requests or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!

Mint really is an adorable baby

[Phyre]

Yes, he is! Indisputably a very cute toddler!

I'm very glad your reinstall went well and very happy to get a "Steel's-fix" again. I've enjoyed your dynasty from the beginning and I can't wait to see how the boys grow up! The parents must be really proud!!