The Villaloboses (D) - Round 8

Starring:

Dorotea Villalobos, Adult Family Sim, LTW Become Education Minister

Connor Villalobos, Adult Knowledge Sim, 2nd LTW Become City Planner

Taye Villalobos, Child Fortune Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

Zadie Villalobos, Toddler Fortune Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

~*~*~*~*~

Last round at the Villalobos household, Connor ran a tight ship: making sure the children put their studies first and then spent their leisure time in fun educational activities. Dorotea approved, being in the education field herself. Connor managed to achieve his lifetime want of becoming a criminal mastermind and was pleased and relieved to be able to switch careers to something more befitting a responsible dad. Dot continued to work toward her goal of becoming Education Minister. Taye aged from a toddler to a child, and Zadie aged from an infant to a toddler. Let's see how the family gets along this round.



Connor and Dot were happy. They were very happy. They'd started a family together and were raising it well and successfully. They were achieving success in their respective careers and living a pretty decent life. It felt good to be adults, and to be responsible, successful adults at that. Plus, they were just as in love as they'd ever been and so close that they made time to talk every day, no matter how busy the house was.




Little Zadie had learned all of her toddler skills and was ready to grow up to her childhood -- sad for Dot because all of her babies were getting older -- but also a happy time, because they knew she would be a bright, responsible little girl.




Raised right, little Zadie was a chatterbox with lots of energy, a great sense of humor, and a very kind disposition.



She was a bit awkward looking in her childhood, but Dot assured Connor that she would grow out of it. After all, Zadie looked almost exactly like her mother had at this age, and Dorotea had turned out all right.



Zadie may have been one sweet sim, but she was also rather no-nonsense in the way children can get away with. Lord help anyone who spoke a mistruth around her, for she would correct them without any thought of potential shame on their part. Some might have called it bad manners, but she was simply headstrong.




She quickly discovered that there was little she loved better than smearing paint on a canvas. True, she wasn't very talented...yet...but Zadie dreamed of being a famous artist one day. The most famous. She'd be the Van Gogh of Rosebud. Connor and Dot knew her well enough to know that she'd accomplish absolutely ANYTHING she put her mind to.




The family settled into a new, easy routine. Zadie spent the majority of her free time painting away while Dot and Taye played chess on the porch, keeping Connor company as he tinkered with his robotics bench.




After a conversation one evening about how they were beginning to outgrow their house, Connor and Dot decided that if they couldn't add on just now, they could at least use some of the bonuses Connor received at work to renovate and redecorate a bit. The kitchen got brand new appliances, counters, floors, paint, and table. It made a world of difference compared to the sad formica-covered things they'd had in there before. Now it was worthy of an actual family.




Connor and Dot decided that with this improvement on the home, and given the A+ grades of both their children, it was time to make a call to the headmaster of the local private school. Dot had gone there, and though Connor hadn't, he definitely understood the importance of knowledge. Outgoing Zadie was on the front pavement to meet him when he arrived.




It was Connor's belief that his splurging on making lobster tails for dinner that ultimately won the headmaster over, but regardless of what worked, he was proud to call his two children the newest members of Rosebud Academy.




Zadie, of course, was delighted with the change of location. It just meant the opportunity for even more friends for her! Taye sometimes despised the sound of girlish giggles ringing through the house from all of Zadie's guests, retreating to his bedroom to play with the computer his parents had bought for him.



Connor and Dot continued to work away at their goals, in addition to trying to be parents. Connor, big brain that he was, managed to reach the top of the Architecture career in what felt like a few short weeks. The family could definitely use the bonus, and Connor was much happier to be in a more respectable and safe job.

Dot, too, was continuing to work at her career. It took her a little longer thanks to the fact that she'd had to take time for maternity leave, but her hard work was recognized by her superiors, and no one could doubt her skills with the students. They all loved her.




At home, the kids weren't off the hook for play time until their homework was finished. Connor was very meticulous about making sure that they both had appropriate study areas, well-lighted, without any distractions, and he always helped whenever they wanted it. The kids didn't mind. Actually, the house was pretty democratic. As long as they didn't want to do dumb stuff that they knew wasn't smart, they were free to do what they wanted. I mean, sure, every kid WANTS to stay up until 2 a.m. gorging themselves on ice cream, but Zadie and Taye were wise enough to understand that being exhausted and having belly aches at school the next morning wasn't exactly a fun payoff. They understood their parents' rationale, and so they rarely questioned it.



It especially helped when all their hard work paid off. They had the highest grades in their respective classes. Being from a humble home and being a minority in Rosebud, the kids didn't even get the typical "egghead" taunts from their peers. They were easy-going and friendly and different. It worked.



After a few more weeks' hard work, Dorotea managed to get another promotion, bringing another much-needed bonus to the family so they could afford the college educations that would be demanding family funds soon. She was so close to the Education Minister position, she could taste it. She just had to hang in there and keep doing what she was doing.





Speaking of college educations, it was soon time for little Taye to hit adolescence. His parents didn't really fear it -- he'd always been a good boy -- but again Dot felt a pang for her babies growing up, soon to be leaving her, or so it felt to her intensely emotional mommy side.



Taye became a gangly, yet adorable, teen, hints of the notorious familial cheekbones (like his uncle Diego) showing themselves. Fortunately, he had some of his dad's DNA to balance them out.



Though he knew that family and education was important, he decided that he really wanted to be successful in the traditional sense of the word. He wanted to have a great job with an even greater paycheck, along with all the nice things that his parents could never afford. He knew they did the best they could, but someday, he wanted a MANSION, with a bowling alley and a pool and all sorts of cool stuff in it. That would just be awesome.



Dot was so proud of her son, but the cake must have disagreed with her. She hoped the nausea would pass soon. She had to get back to work!


[[Author's Notes: I looooove this house, still. The characters in it really seem to speak to me, I'm not sure why. They maybe remind me of my family in that they never have a lot of money but are really tight, relationship-wise. They work hard and slowly make progress, and I respect that, so I think I love them for that. Regardless, they're super fun to play. As for Dot... food poisoning or flu or baby? I'll let you hang on tenterhooks until next round to find out. :)

Bloopers:
Favorite game glitch evar. // Shhhh....the ground is sleeping. ]]