Gen 5 Chapter 13: Patience Becomes a 5-Star Chef!

The house was a flurry of activity in the mornings, but it fast became my favorite time of day, because it was about the only time the family was together. Now that I only worked on the weekends, I was home more during the week, but that didn't exactly mean more face time with my kids, as they were branching off into their own activities.  

I still had that promotion in my sights, and I finally was able to catch the perfect fish to fertilize an onion plant...

and after spoiling that darn onion plant with love and care...

I finally grew the greatest onion anyone had ever tasted! My signature dish would be just perfect now!

However, occasionally, someone would try to take advantage of the weekends, when I did have to work well into the night. I came home one Friday night, only to discover Ginger hadn't returned home at her curfew. Phillip said she was out rock collecting, but the poor guy was so exhausted I sent him on to bed, and I waited up for Princess Rock Collector to come home.

"Oh, hi Mom, I didn't see you there."

"Ginger Song, it's 2 hours after your curfew!! Where have you been???"
"I was out hunting for rocks and lost track of time, that's all, honest!"

"I understand your love for rock collecting, but dear, you still have to obey the rules and keep your curfew."

"Ok, ok, geez, I'm sorry, ok? I said I didn't mean to!!!"

"Don't you take that tone with me! You are grounded for the rest of the weekend, young lady! Now go to bed!"

"Fine!" and off she stormed. I really hope she is out rock collecting, and not getting into some kind of trouble I don't know about. Every day she seems more and more distant  from us.

Juniper, although head over heels for Jazz, still found time to hang out with her family. She and Phillip had an ongoing challenge on one of their favorite video games, and most weekends, they were parked in front of the TV, laughing and arguing over who really was the champ.

Phillip and I promised each other that dispite the craziness in our lives, we'd make time for each other whenever we could. Sometimes, the perfect date was lunch at my work while the kids were at school. 

To this day, even with all the wrinkles and gray, he could look at me in a way that made my breath catch and when he called me 'Beautiful', my heart still skipped a beat.

All too soon, my girls' birthdays came. My Ginger and Juniper were going to be all grown up now!

Happy Birthday Juniper!

Happy Birthday Ginger!

Two beautiful young ladies, ready to go out and make their mark on the world! Not that I was in any hurry. 

and in the wee hours of the morning when noone else was around....

"I finally did it! I found the Rainbow Gem, I took it to the science complex, and they were able to do it, Blinkie! You are finally going to be real!"

*glug glug*

The next day, a strange foreign young man showed up on our door asking for Ginger. Apparently, Ginger had an international friend who was moving here to Barnacle Bay upon his graduation. Ginger was absolutely thrilled to see him, and asked if he could stay with us for a few days until his living arrangements were settled. 

Reluctantly we agreed. We set up a bed for him in the garage, and he seemed very grateful for it. Even mentioned something about never sleeping in a bed before. 

Phillip asked "Bill" where he was from, and he named some strange town that we had never heard of in Egypt.  It was strange, but he was definitely a kind, well-behaved young man so we figured a few days here couldn't hurt. Besides, after watching Ginger and Billy interact with each other I was pretty sure there was nothing romantic going on.

Graduation time! I couldn't believe that my girls were ready to receive their diplomas! After an 'exciting' morning of trying to get everyone into their dress clothes and ready to leave on time, we made our way to City Hall.

All of Juniper and Ginger's classmate's families were in attendance, and there was a lot of people to visit with before and after, including the families of all of their childhood friends.

Phillip and I both looked on with our eyes brimming with tears as our girls crossed the stage to get their diploma, To our surprise, Juniper was the Valedictorian! I guess she had known for some time, but wanted to be a surprise. She gave a simple and beautiful speech, and that's when those tears we had been trying to hold back fell anyways. When they gave out class awards, Ginger got "Most Likely to Have a Big Family " and Juniper's was "Most Likely to Get Married"! As she accepted that award, she winked at Jazz, who in return, turned an interesting shade of purplish blue, if that was even possible. 

 Once the ceremony was over, they both burst from the city hall doors cheering and ecstatic!

Jazz and Juniper found each other, and asked if it was ok if they skipped out on the rest of the visiting to go on a date, and of course, we said that was ok.

The rest of the evening was nice and relaxing. We got to know Ginger's friend a little better, and the more we talked to him, the more we realized how harmless he really was. Just about everything in our culture was new to him, his innocence was even kind of cute. I even overheard Ginger call Bill "Blinkie" in one of their conversations, and it made me wonder if this boy was who she had been talking about all those years, and maybe all my worrying over her 'imaginary' friend was actually a real person she was making friends with on the internet.

Late that night, Bill got the call that his rent house was ready for him to move into, and he informed us that he would be leaving the next day, and he thanked us for our hospitality in letting him stay with us on such short notice. 

What caught us off guard was the next morning, when Ginger informed us that she would be moving out with him. I had all kinds of reservations and objections,  but in the end, what could I really do? 

She was a grown woman now, and had to make her own decisions. Besides, they were only moving down the street. It was quite a ways down, but still, close enough that we could still be there for her if she ever needed us.

I could tell that Juniper missed her sister. She seemed to absorb herself in her guitar playing those 1st few days without Ginger around.  She also didn't seem like she was in too big of a hurry to get a job, or really decide anything about her adult life. But I didn't want to rush her, so I left her alone. 

Although, part of me wondered if her hesitation had anything to do with Jazz. He had been quite busy himself, and they hadn't been spending as much time together. I was starting to wonder if Juniper was waiting for him to ask her to marry him. Not that it's my business!

And as if life weren't moving fast enough already, my two babies celebrated their teen birthday!

Happy Birthday Basil!

Happy Birthday Curry!

My weekend to work had finally come, and I brought my beautiful onions in with me, knowing they would wow everyone there once they got a taste of it.

And oh, was I right! I was given a raise! Then my boss pulled me aside, and laid a big bombshell on me. He was retiring! I would be sad to see him go, he and I were pretty close friends by now. But, he was telling me this, because he wanted to leave running the restaurant to me. I was deeply honored that he chose me to hand off the cafe to, but he wasn't sure how the other employees were going to take it. I told him that I would do my best to go around during this next week and get to know them all better, and also to be up front with them about me taking over, so hopefully the transition would go smoothly. He agreed this would be a good idea.

So, I spent every day that week, finding my co-workers, and talking with them about the future of the Cafe, and listening to their ideas of how to make the Scruptious Nibbles Cafe even better. 

The nice thing was, I was pretty respected amongst my co-workers, so my takeover was no surprise, and they all seemed genuinely pleased that I would be their new boss.

"RAAAAAH!"

"AIIEEEEE! Curry!!!! You big jerk! Why did you do that?"
"Eh, just wanted to see if you were aware of your surroundings. Obviously you are not. Have a good day."

"oooooh, you little..."

Ok, so I'm sorry, I know with them being my youngest, I should be reluctant and emotional about them heading off to high school. Well, I wasn't. Those two needed something constructive to do with their day. If Curry wasn't scaring or pranking someone, Basil was complaining and moody. Truthfully, I was glad to see them hop on the school bus come Monday morning!

But alas, when one was ready to leave the nest, my heart did ache a little. Sage came to us a few days before his graduation, and said that Ginger had invited him to come live with them after high school, and he decided to move in a little early. Knowing he was moving in with his sister helped me get over the shock of him leaving before graduating. At least I knew he'd be in a safe place with his sister looking out for him.

Finally, Juniper settled on a job! She started her own little private investigator business. I thought it fit her perfect, as she has always been a perceptive one. She really loved it, but was rarely home now.

Phillip and I had finally gotten to the point where we could enjoy our golden years together, with our children nearly grown and always busy. He and I had lived quite the adventure together, that's for sure.

My next day at work was the day I had been dreaming of ever since I started working at the Scruptious Nibbles. With a very quaint gathering of all of the staff, my boss handed over ownership of the Cafe to me.

All my friends, now new employees, were so happy for me, and for the cafe. We were a close knit group, excited about the future of the Cafe, and thankful for it's success. I guess now that I'm the 5 Star-Chef, I've made all my dreams come true! And I was truly at home here with my other family, my 'cooking' family, the people I had been slaving over a hot stove with for ages now. It was a beautiful feeling to know that my life is complete, and I have time left to enjoy it. Bon Appétit!

*buckey's notes*- Wow, finally, Patience's last chapter! As a little update, the problem I had with my game last chapter was that my aging was messed up, I'm guessing something about the new patch did it, because I haven't gotten the Pets EP yet. Sometimes, the aging would freeze, or in one of my files, aging didn't work at all. With Patience, it ended up giving her more time off of work than she was supposed to have, and since she only works weekends, this was bad, as her age bar was full. The first time through, she died 2 days before her next work day. So, I worked out what to do about it to get back that 'stolen' day of work she should have had. And, well, voila! She's good to go now. 

And I even kept my promise about getting this chapter out before Thanksgiving! Woo! (which is this Thursday, by the way). I am so excited to start on Juniper's generation, she will be a lot of fun with this Private Eye career I think. Anyways, thanks so much for sticking around, and look in the coming weeks for an Intro to Juniper! :)

Gen 5 Chapter 12: Goodbye Cribs and Diapers!

So where was I? Ah, yes, the girls had just left for Prom! 

Well, back at  home, Sage was celebrating his birthday! Happy birthday Sage!

My word, 3 teenagers in this house now. I had a feeling Sage might be a little more of a handful as a teen, but I guess we'd just have to wait and see.

The girls came home just a minute before curfew, and trust me, we couldn't have missed it even if we wanted to. Juniper came running in, showing off the crown she got when she was voted Prom Queen! We were so proud of her. And to top it all off, Jazz finally asked her to officially be his girlfriend. I'm sure you can imagine that it was no small feat to get her to quiet down enough not to wake the toddlers.

And Ginger, when asked about how prom went just shrugged and said, "Pretty good, I guess,"  then went to her room. Confused, we asked Juniper what the deal was, and she said, "Well, when we first got there she got in a fight with someone because they were being mean to the class weirdo, and this one guy named Kidd Goldbeard saw it all, and was apparently impressed with Ginger, standing up to someone like that, and they were inseparable the rest of the night."

I don't know why Ginger kept to herself so much, I knew she was a good kid, and I made a mental note to tell her that I was proud of her for standing up for someone else.

Sage fell right into step with his sisters in helping out with his little brothers. I loved seeing the older ones loving on the younger ones, but there was no doubt about it, Basil and Curry were spoiled rotten. I'd almost bet they were now the most snuggled, tickled, cared for toddlers in all of Barnacle Bay!

"Patience, have you noticed anything strange going on with Ginger lately?"

"Um, no, I haven't. What do you mean?"

"Well, she's been turning down her sister for time to hang out, and yesterday, I saw her talking to herself again, like she used to when she was little."

"Wow, I didn't know that. I remember her having an Imaginary Friend when she was a child, but I thought it was only a phase and she outgrew it."

"Hm. I don't know. She seems more withdrawn. Should we be worried about her social skills?"

"I don't know. I have an idea. What if we take her with us to my boss' party this weekend.? We'll see how she does with new people and such. Maybe that will tell us something?"

"Good idea, if she'll go for it."

So, I asked her the next day, and at first she was reluctant, but when I mentioned that I was concerned about her making friends and getting out more, she quickly agreed.

My little boys were growing like weeds! They were now able to talk pretty well.

"No, mommy, not the claw!!!"

"EEEwwww... I'll be glad when they can use the big toilets like the rest of us."

My onion plant was growing well, and the onions were definitely great, but they were not as good as I was hoping. I really needed a better fertilizer to bring them to the quality I wanted. Looked like some more fishing trips were in my future!

On Friday, we let the kids invite over whoever they wanted, and of course, Juniper invited Jazz over, and Sage invited a boy from school named Topher.

Ginger, as usual, didn't have anyone in particular to invite over. I started to bring up the whole "I'm concerned about your social life" topic again. I suggested that maybe she should find a group or something to get involved in in school, and she at least agreed to try something. I told her she could pick whatever one she wanted, and she decided on a study group that met twice a week. At least she'd be out with kids her age a couple of afternoons a week!

I had to hand it to Ginger, though, she was the best with the twins. She just seemed to be a natural with children. I had a feeling she'd grow up to do something with children someday.

That weekend was the party at my boss' house, and Juniper and Sage agreed to babysit the youngest while we went out with Ginger to the party.

It was definitely a fun mix of people at the party, we all saw friends and acquaintances we hadn't visited with in a while, including some of Phillip's old friends from the School.

And, much to my surprise, Ginger was quite the little social bug! I saw her talking to several people during the party, and they seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation. I pointed that out to Phillip, and he whispered to me, "Maybe we're worrying for nothing." I nodded in agreement.

Jazz and Juniper were pretty serious now. I could tell that she really loved him. And, I'm guessing Jazz must have been feeling the same way, because we had an unexpected visit from him mother, Royal Velvetcake.

It's so nice to finally meet you Royal, come on in!

"Well, I decided it's finally time to meet the family of the girl who seems to have stolen my boy's heart."

Royal was probably one of the nicest people Phillip and I had ever met. 

She and her children had moved here from Sugar Valley after a bitter divorce. We could tell in the short time we spent with her that she was a loving, caring, devoted mother, and I felt so much better about Jazz and Juniper being together after our visit.  It was nice to know that my daughter was dating a very nice boy, with a wonderful parent. The way their relationship was going, I could see them together long term.

Ginger surprised us that next school day when she called us after school to ask to go over to her friends' house. I know, I was surprised too. She had been invited over by that boy who apparently had a crush on her, Kidd Goldbeard. 

What is funny is, they live across the road from us! So of course, I had no problem letting her go.

About this time, Juniper decided she really wanted to learn guitar. I'm not exactly sure what inspired her, but when she asked if she could get a guitar, I told her she could have my old guitar, one that had been passed down for generations in the Song Family. She loved it!

And, my co-worker did end up taking that job in Bridgeport, and naturally, his vacant spot fell to, ME! I was now the Executive Chef at the Scrumptious Nibbles!

The promotion I received also meant I got off work a little bit earlier, which apparently was needed now that there were 3 teens and 2 toddlers running around, keeping Phillip busy. One evening I had come home from work, and I happened to walk in the door right as Juniper and Jazz were making out on the couch! Of course, as soon as they heard me shut the door, they flew apart, and awkwardly sat in silence until I went to my bedroom to change.

Ginger was still going strong with her rock collecting.  She still hadn't found that particular rock she had been looking for ever since I could remember, but that didn't stop her from searching and taking copious notes of her ventures.

Time had finally caught up to my darling Phillip. His elder birthday came just as mine did, quietly and without too much fanfare. My Phillip looked took to old age well. He still had that twinkle in his eye that captivated me the moment I met him.
Happy Birthday!

But Phillip wasn't the only one with a birthday around here, Curry and Basil would be leaving their toddler days behind, and heading into childhood.

Happy Birthday Basil!

Happy Birthday Curry!

That was it! This house was officially done with cribs, baby toys, and potty chairs. A bittersweet feeling, for sure! But I was nothing but proud of my brood. 5 Song kids, all on their way to becoming the great people I knew each of them would be.



*Buckey's Notes*- So, this chapter was short, but there is only one more chapter left in this generation!
I've had a small hiccup with Patience, however, and I'm actually quite nervous, I don't know if I'm going to be able to pull off her finishing her LTW.  If you visit the Wishacy forum on the Sims 3 site, you know what I'm talking about. I have no idea when I'll get the last chapter out now, as it will all depend on if I can come up with a non-cheating solution to my problem. Soooo.... hopefully this won't be the last generation of the Song Wishacy! We shall see.....

Oh, and for those of you with the Pets EP, I'm sure you are realizing that Sim pets are wreaking havoc in your Wishacy households. Never fear, all of us over at the forum are talking through how to add rules for the Pets EP that are Wishacy friendly. So, look for changes to the rule page coming soon. :)