The Clearys (A) - Round 10

Starring:

Colm Cleary, Elder Popularity Sim, LTW Have 20 Simultaneous Best Friends

Michelle Cleary, Elder Fortune Sim, LTW Become Business Tycoon

Neal Cleary, Adult Knowledge Sim, LTW Become Media Magnate

Tessa Ramirez, Adult Knowledge Sim, LTW Become Pretidigitator

[[No photograph]]
Tallulah Cleary, Infant Knowledge Sim, LTW Grow-Up Well

~*~*~*~*~

Last time we saw Colm and Michelle, they were enjoying having the house to themselves with Neal away at Sim State. Michelle worked on her hobbies, and Colm worked toward achieving his LTW. Last time we saw Neal and Tessa, they were in their final two years at Sim State, living with Silvio and Beth. They had sent Tallulah home to Colm and Michelle until they could graduate, and now they rejoin Neal's parents and their baby girl for their new life.



The absolute first thing on the agenda for the Clearys when Neal and Tessa moved in was to redecorate the house and make accommodations for the larger number of people now living there. Colm and Michelle had acquired a lot of stuff thanks to all their socializing, so Colm felt th best thing was to hire a contractor to build a little hobby room out back. The exercise machines, the office, the chess board, the piano, and the easel all went out into the hobby room.





This freed up what had formerly been Roisin and Aisling's bedroom to be the nursery and the upstairs room (formerly Caitlin and Fiona's) to become a suite for Tessa and Neal.




Of course, there was one more important thing to plan for, and Tessa and Neal enlisted the help of Michelle to help them plan it:




Their wedding. They already had a child together, and they wanted to be with one another, so the only thing left to do was make it official. They didn't do anything fancy...just had a dance floor put down in the back yard and a caterer bring in some food.



They had a perfect day for it. Though it was technically the beinning of winter, the weather was warm and the sun was shining. There was even a faint breeze coming from between the evergreens and bringing along with it the scent of pine.





Neither was nervous about the day, only happy, as they were finally "official" in the eyes of the law and of god. And now Tallulah wouldn't have to wonder why Mommy and Daddy had different last names!



The couple invited all their friends from university and around the neighborhood, and it ended up being a very joyous celebration!




Tessa and Neal did everything just as they were supposed to, and the wedding went off without a hitch; the first dance perfect even if their song was coming from a boom box instead of a DJ.




As the party went on into the evening hours, everyone toasted the happy couple and finally went home, every person there having contributed to the truly roof raising party.





Unfortunately, the good luck seemed to end after the party guests departed. Aisling was apparently angry that they had defiled her former bedroom by turning it into a nursery. Not only that, she wasn't even invited to the wedding! She showed her displeasure by choosing to scare the pee out of Neal's brand-new bride.



Fortunately, Tessa was a pretty brave and hearty girl, and even though she had been scared out of her wits, she still found it intellectually fascinating. Unfortunately, Aisling didn't stop with Tessa, traveling afterward to scare Michelle twice, almost to death. Colm knew it was time to make a decision.




The last thing he wanted was an angry ghost roaming the house when Tallulah was only an infant. He couldn't and wouldn't let the poor little baby be scared that way, so he finally moved Aisling to the graveyard to be with Roisin.





Things didn't stay calm for long. Michelle, after she'd taken a warm bath and settled her nerves, went out to look at the stars, which always soothed her. What she didn't know was that this time, soothing was not a word she could use to describe her impending experience.




Hours and hours later, the aliens who had abducted her dumped her unceremoniously onto the pavement in front of the Cleary house. Poor Michelle was really having a rough couple of days. She, like Tessa, found it amazing and enlightening to have had the experience, in this case of meeting aliens, but she was too old and sore and grumpy to really appreciate it that night.



Finally, within a few days, the abnormal activity in the house started to even out. Tessa found a job in her chosen career and got a pretty high-paying starting position. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about someone being home to watch Tallulah because her retired Grandpa was always around (and for free).





And speaking of Tallulah, she was no longer to be just an infant anymore. One winter evening as it snowed quietly outside, the household all gathered around a cake as Tallulah turned into a beautiful little toddler.


She definitely had her mother's eyes, for which Neal was grateful. Tessa's eyes were one of the things that had first made her seem to enchanting to him.




She seemed like she might be a bit grumpy, but it was okay, for she made up for it in other ways.




And perhaps, Neal thought, that streak of stubbornness might aid her with all the tasks she had to learn. If she got angry, it might fuel her to work harder to achieve goals for a girl of her age. It certainly seemed to work for walking.



The more Neal and Tessa settled in to their new home, the more happy they were they'd decided to move back in with Michelle and Colm. Tallulah was constantly surrounded by people who would pay attention to her and help cater to her needs.



Plus, everyone loved her to the ends of the earth and back. Especially her Grandpa Colm.





Michelle, still the career-driven woman she was at twenty even though she was now an elder, continued to work in her position as a Business Tycoon. Even now, she continued to bring in bonuses that majorly increased the family's wealth, and she enjoyed getting out of the house a few days a week. Her job kept her mind sharp.




Neal, who had been scouring the papers constantly, finally found a position in his chosen career path as well: journalism. He didn't start with nearly as high a salary as Tessa had, but it was okay. He was willing to put in the time and effort to make it to the position where he wanted to be.




Apparently, his good attitude was noticed and appreciated right away by his superiors. After his trial period at work, they immediately promoted him right to the top: Media Magnate. Neal could hardly believe he'd achieved his dream so quickly.





He immediately thought to himself that he had so much life left...he might as well try something else and see how he could do there! He decided his next goal would be something more noble, something that could help people: to become Chief of Staff.



He also chose a secondary aspiration that would give him quite a lot to talk about with his father.




That night, Neal decided that he would bone up on his science a bit and spend some time with the telescope.





Apparently, their backyard was now an alien hot spot! Neal was sucked up into the belly of the machine before anyone could run to try to save him.




Being younger and more spry than his mom, Neal took the alien abduction in stride.




In fact, he thought it was pretty darned awesome! He couldn't wait to come face-to-face with the aliens again. Maybe they could teach him some space medicine that would help him along in his career.



Later, his abduction seemed less cool. It would seem downright unfortunate in nine months. If only he could see the future.



[[Author's Notes: Ha, this house is so much fun. I love it now that Neal and Tessa are back. Aisling was seriously SUCH A PAIN this round. She scared Neal once, Michelle three times, Tessa twice, and continually turned the television and stereo on. And that was just in one night. I was so fed up that I decided to boot her ghostly butt to the cemetery. Good riddance. The alien abductions this round were completely unplanned and random. I really didn't want this family to have an alien baby because I have a feeling Neal and Tessa will make such gorgeous babies of their own, but what are you gonna do, you know? Randomness is what the prosperity challenge is all about. Colm is getting really close to his LTW, but I don't remember exactly how many best friends he has. I'm hoping he'll achieve his goal this round.

OHOH, AND TWO THINGS I WANT TO POINT OUT! (1) Tallulah is my first gen 3 baby! Yaaaay!
More importantly (2) This is the LAST BLOG ENTRY WITH OLD GRAPHICS! WOoT! From here on out, it's the new improved stuff. Awww yeahhh. Anyway, on to a few bloopers!

Bloopers:
No wonder Aisling was grouchy...she's starving. // And you all wonder WHY I locked the doors to the nursery during the wedding. ]]