Chapter 6: Ella & Eli Age Up
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On Love Day, Ella and Eli aged up to toddlers during a thunderstorm while Susumu was at work. It all just happened rather suddenly. The poor tots were quite scared during the storm, but I comforted them and they seemed to settle down.
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Eli is such an independent toddler and was the first to go potty by himself. I was so proud of him.
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And Ella is just such an angelic toddler, who rarely complained. She just loved to play with the blocks that Susumu had bought. I might be a bit biased, but I thought that Eli and Ella were just the most wonderful toddlers.
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The husband of one of Susumu's co-workers, Bjorn Bjergson, stopped by unexpectedly with a gift. He had brought over an apple pie, which his wife had made, to congratulate us on the birth of the twins. I thought that was so nice.
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When Susumu came home from work, he spent some time with the twins and then he told me that he had arranged for the twins to have a babysitter for a few hours, as he wanted to take me out on a date. Afterall, it was Love Day. Before I had a chance to protest, he took a rose from his pocket and handed it to me. How could I say no?
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We went to a bar in Oasis Springs called Rattlesnake Juice, and we ordered some water and grabbed some chips. Both were free, and perhaps the water was different in Oasis Springs, but it tasted so good and refreshing. We had a wonderful date and even watched a movie together on the tv they had there. There was quite a crowd at the bar since it was Friday night, and Susumu took out his violin and played some tunes. He even got some nice tips from the patrons. When the date ended, we were anxious to get back home to check on the toddlers, but not before Susumu gave me a lingering kiss outside. When we arrived home, we found Eli and Ella fast asleep in their beds. Ahhh...they were so adorable!
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The days continued and Susumu and I discovered that toddlers were quite a handful. They were always making messes or wanting something, and we found out that Eli could be rather defiant. It was a good thing that we were both still young and had the energy to keep up with Eli and Ella. But it was still rather exhausting.
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But Eli and Ella had their good sides, too. Eli had really taken to all the stray animals around the lot, and even made friends with some of the dogs. He was quite a brave little fellow and would just go right up to a doggo and start petting them. And the dogs didn't seem to mind at all.
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Ella was a sweet toddler and had such an imagination. We had bought them a dollhouse, and Ella would spend hours and hours just playing and talking to those dolls. Both Eli and Ella's skills were just moving along, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were proficient in everything by the time the new baby arrived.
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I had found a reliable daycare center in the neighborhood, where Ella and Eli could go for a few hours while I travelled to the market to sell items. It was a co-op run by Moms, and it was free. I just had to take a shift once in awhile. This was indeed a lifesaver. I was even able to pick up a few more errands for the Garden Center, and Agatha Crumplebottom was rather pleased when I brought her some blueberries from my garden.
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Susumu worked hard at his job, but couldn't seem to get a promotion. I often wondered why, and then discovered something about my husband that I didn't know. He was a kleptomaniac, and often brought home items from work that weren't his. At first I discovered a book, then some dirty dishes, and then a pear (I planted this unknowingly). We had a talk and he told me that he had a problem, and that having lived on the streets since he was a teen, he sometimes had to steal to survive. I told him that this was not the way we were going to live. He agreed and said he would try to curb these "urges", and promptly returned the book and the dirty dishes to his work. There was nothing I could do about the pear. But then, he seemed to become even more determined to get a promotion, and maxed the cooking skill at home. I was very proud of him.
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Susumu had invested some of our simoleons in eco-products to help with the bills, a wind turbine, solar panel and a dew collector. He even bought a recycler and was finally able to get rid of that old burned out stove we had sitting in the back yard. Unfortunately, the wind turbine broke a lot, and needed to be repaired. And even though Susumu didn't have a lot of handiness skill, he insisted on repairing things himself. We received our first bills, which were $99 simoleons, which we promptly paid.
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Sometimes things around the house would break when Susumu was at work, so I would take out the toolbox and fix things myself, too. I was becoming quite good at it, because...well...things were always breaking.
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I, myself, had also become quite frugal, and even found ways to save simoleons on fertilizer for the garden. Since there were so many strays around, they...um...well...let's just say they left some free fertilizer on the lot. I also discovered another stray on the lot. One day I was working in the garden and saw a fox looking at me. He was quite a fascinating animal and we have come to appreciate each other. The funny thing is he seems to like me singing to him, and he sings along, too.
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We also had some other animals visit, but they weren't too friendly. Somehow bats had flown into the house, and I was bitten. Thankfully, the children weren't harmed and I didn't become sick.
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Life went on, and before I knew it, it was the first day of summer...and it was time to go to the hospital. Again.
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Notes:
I was very lucky with this random roll of the toddler traits. For the next toddlers, if these are rolled again, I will re-roll to get different traits, just so they are all different. I have also decided that whatever outfits the game gives when they age up, I am going to keep them in. I did this for Susumu and didn't change anything about him. Whoever the heir will be, I may have to go into CAS to give them a make-over or add a few new outfits, if they really need it.
