I’m posting one last time on this blog just to say that I’m officially quitting this challenge.  Some of you may have suspected as much would happen–after all, it’s been quite a long time since I last posted.

Please don’t think that I undertook this decision lightly.  I considered quitting many times before, especially during my pregnancy.  As a new mother and someone who works full-time, it’s difficult to find time to play  my Sims.  I have only recently been able to start posting to my story blog, The Edith Prescott Mystery Series, again.  When I got the Pets expansion pack, I was so excited, but that excitement turned to disappointment when I realized that I wouldn’t have any opportunities to actually play the game.  My story blog is more of a posing endeavor (very little play) and in a WYD challenge, the best strategy is to fill up the house with children so that you can get through all 26 pregnancies as soon as possible.  Even if I switched off weekends (one weekend focused on the story blog and one on the challenge blog) it would take a while because Ophelia has the hardest time getting guys to sleep with her, and apparently I am no good at her time management.  When I opened up the WYD challenge file to play this weekend and found that I wasn’t having any fun playing it, I decided that it was time to throw in the towel–my free time is so limited that I simply can’t afford to spend it doing something that I don’t really enjoy.

I feel really, really bad about this.  I feel the same horrible sense of failure that I had when I decided not to continue my legacy challenge (though that file was glitched beyond repair).  I especially feel bad because I have had such wonderful, loyal, dedicated followers, and I hate the idea of letting any of you down.  I don’t think I’ll be posting any more of my challenge attempts because it just isn’t fair to the people who take the time to read and engage with my characters.

I’ll still be continuing my story blog, and to satisfy my desire to actually play the game I think I’ll be starting a vague sort of prosperity/town story blog.  It’s not really a challenge because I don’t have any real aim in mind other than creating interesting towns and families to get the most out of the game play.  If it’s more about the story and there’s no real aim in mind to get in the way, then I have a better chance of continuing it.  In any case, I want to thank all of you for your friendship and support, and to apologize for not having the will power to see this WYD challenge through.

I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get back to this challenge, but rest assured, I will eventually get back to it.  Things are very hectic with family and friends visiting and simply trying to find the time to sleep and eat, and shower is challenging!  Thanks to all of you for your continued patience, and for your support.

As embarrassing as her near-miss with Bimble Rushing had been, Ophelia was glowing with happiness when she discovered she was pregnant.  Apparently, the short time in the judge’s chambers was all she’d needed to conceive.

The new baby would be coming at a convenient time, too–the twins had their childhood birthdays the day that Ophelia confirmed her pregnancy.  Little Idella looked so much like her real father that Ophelia almost winced, but Einstein didn’t seem to notice.  She was almost certain that he’d never met Ty before, so it wasn’t likely he’d make the connection.

Ichabod, on the other hand, had Ophelia’s coloring.  Ophelia had carefully unearthed her stash of handwritten observational notes and converted them to a digital document that she kept password protected to record the new information.  She’d already concocted a story to explain what she was doing if Einstein ever caught her updating the notes–she was just recording things for a very scientific scrapbook that she’d give the children when they were adults.  Of course, by the time they were adults, it would simply slip her mind to actually present them to the children.

Garth also had his birthday, so Ophelia would have three children plus two teens in the house upon the new baby’s arrival. Garth was not impressed with his new look, so Ophelia gave him money to buy new clothes and get a new haircut.  She was beginning to think that he’d never outgrow his father’s body type.

After all the birthday fun ended, Ophelia took a quick nap so that she’d be alert enough for a midnight fishing trip in the cemetery.  It was getting very close to Einstein’s birthday, and Ophelia was out of deathfish for the ambrosia.  She wanted him to remain a young adult along with her, and he’d agreed that it was necessary so that he could help with all the children she seemed intent on having.

The next day, Garth came home with a very windblown-looking hairstyle, and he announced that he wanted to write a sci-fi novel.  In his class, they’d done some creative writing and it had inspired him.  He worked so hard at it that Ophelia had to remind him to stop and eat.

Ophelia also noticed that Idella was…well, a little strange.  She found her frolicking in the sprinklers, which in itself isn’t strange–it’s the fact that she was doing so in her school clothes.  When Ophelia asked her why she was still in her school clothes, Idella responded by saying, “What else would I wear?” Ophelia pointed out that she’d purchased a swimsuit for her, but Idella looked at her like she was insane.  “That’s not for playing in the sprinklers.” she announced confidently.  Ophelia shook her head and made a mental note to keep an eye on Idella’s laundry, because if she kept pulling stunts like this, she might run out of clothes to wear to school.

With all the antics of her children, Ophelia felt like her pregnancy flew by.  Soon she was carrying her newest baby, Jack Oftpreg, out of the hospital.  She was surprised to see a small crowd massed outside of the hospital, but she was especially shocked when she recognized some of the faces.

Both Arthur Jr. and Trish had come to see the new baby, and Ophelia was horrified to see that both of them had aged into elders.  For some reason, it had never occurred to her that her lack of aging would be especially strange given the fact that her children were still subject to the steady march of time.

Ophelia talked to Trish and Arthur, and they both assured her that they understood her worry.  Arthur had told Trish about Ophelia’s use of ambrosia, and they promised Ophelia that they would keep it secret.  “We’ll just tell everyone that it has something to do with the vegetables you grow, but that we’ve never been good about eating our veggies.”

Ophelia wasn’t sure that would completely quash the rumors, but she was willing to let them try.

Ophelia was glad that they left before the next uncomfortable event: Bimble Rushing came to pick her up from the hospital.  Ophelia reluctantly got into the cab, then immediately turned on him.  “Rushing, what on earth do you think you’re doing?” Ophelia demanded angrily.  She couldn’t bring herself to call him Bimble, because she thought it was such a silly name.

“I’m just escorting the mother of my child and my new son home!”  Bimble replied.  He had no idea why she was so angry.

Ophelia told him that she was happily married and that what they’d done could never be repeated.  She made it clear that no one could ever know that Jack was his child, and that if he told anyone, she’d “make him pay”. Of course, she had no idea exactly what she’d do to him, but she thought it sounded menacing enough.

“You are a real nasty piece of work, you know? I no longer want anything to do with you–but you should be careful yourself.  Sunset Valley is too small for you to do this crap without some repercussions.”  Bimble vented all of this in the cab, and as soon as it stopped in front of Ophelia’s house he got out and started stomping away.

The talk with Arthur and the unpleasantness with Bimble had really shaken Ophelia. The next day, while the kids were at school, Ophelia renovated the house to be a little less ostentatious and more efficient.  She was determined to continue her experiments, but she needed to make her home as streamlined as possible so that the business of raising the children was made easier and quicker. When Einstein asked about the renovations, Ophelia told him she’d been reading books on more efficient use of space and time, and he seemed to accept that explanation. It wasn’t exactly a lie–but he had no idea that the reason she was so concerned with efficient use of their living space and time was so she could finish her experiments in a timely manner.

Everyone was actually pretty happy with the new set-up.  They especially liked the new hobby/award display room that was upstairs.

“Mendel, I’m worried that I’m starting to attract too much attention around here.  I can’t just pick up and leave–sometimes I think of quitting, but I’ve come too far now to stop.  My experiments are too important.  Maybe it will be enough to try and keep a lower profile, and to really focus on finishing up my experiment set.  Sixteen more impregnations and I should have a perfect sample size.  Just sixteen more, and then….then I’ll be done.”  Ophelia wondered what it would be like–to just live with Einstein and be happy.  To go long stretches without being pregnant.  To let herself grow old.

That night, she watched TV with Idella (who was wearing her best dress, for some reason), and she felt her attention wandering over to watch her children doing homework in the kitchen.  She’d moved the dining table inside because poor Ichabod hated being outside and she didn’t think it was fair to subject him to the great outdoors for each and every meal time.  She was happy with the renovations because they seemed to bring the family together in the same areas more often.

The whole family was about to turn in for the night when they remembered that there were two birthdays to be had–Herman’s teen birthday, and Fern’s young adult birthday.  Herman’s birthday came first.  Like Garth, he was not happy with his teen looks.

Fern quickly changed out of the strange clothes he’d aged into and started preparing to move out.  Ophelia couldn’t believe that his birthday had slipped her mind, especially since he’d be leaving.

With one more child out of the house, Ophelia knew that it was time to get back to wooing the next potential father for her experiments, but for some reason, she just couldn’t work up any excitement over the task.

“Sixteen to go.  Then I’m free.” she thought.

Authorial interjection: Yet another shamefully long time in between updates!  I’m not making any promises about how frequently I’ll be able to update, but I will promise that unless my game file somehow becomes completely corrupted or it blows up, I’ll continue this challenge.  The renovations of the house are part of my effort to make my game more efficient–the house was just getting way too big, and it was too easy for all the kids to get distracted and to play with the multitude of things I had for them instead of doing the things I told them to do.  We’ll see if it helps!

As busy as Ophelia was at home with her twin infants and two toddlers, she still managed to find time to help Arthur and Trish with plumbing emergencies.  In truth, she loved getting out of the house every now and then, even if it was to face chaos in other homes.  She wasn’t sure why it was so much easier to deal with such things when they weren’t happening under her own roof.

One of the things she never thought she’d have to deal with was finding one of her children at home because they’d skipped school.  She came home from running errands one day to find Fern blithely playing on the computer.  She tried to impress upon him the great need to attend school and to make good grades, but she had a feeling he was just humoring her by nodding and agreeing.

It was especially frustrating for her because she could tell that he was far from dumb.  He was very interested in many things scientific, and especially in inventing.  He’d spent many an hour hunched over the workbench, working on projects.

With her worries about Fern to keep her distracted, Ophelia was surprised when it was time for birthdays–three of them, in fact.  Little Ichabod was entering toddlerhood, and Ophelia suspected that he was going to take mostly after her since he had her hair and eye color.

Garth, on the other hand, had inherited his father’s build and eye and hair color.  Ophelia was thrilled for the diversity, and she quickly noted the characteristics in her notebook.

Little Idella was the last one to age up, and while she had Ophelia’s hair color, she had her father’s eyes.  Ophelia was looking forward to seeing if she ended up looking more like her father as she aged, and she made more comparisons between Idella and Ichabod as a further twin study (though they were fraternal).

With the aging of the twins into toddlers, Ophelia and Einstein had to work out a routine to teach them the necessary skills.  They alternated shifts, with a few hours of overlap everyday so that the other could take care of personal errands or even have a little fun before collapsing into bed.  Ophelia knew that she’d been busy when she was bringing up her other children, but it felt much busier now.

As a result of all the stress floating around the Oftpreg home, Einstein found it rather easy to talk Ophelia into purchasing a hot tub.  It wasn’t unusual to find one of them in it during their overlap periods.

Garth was busy making friends at school, and he was actually in the same age group as little Deanne Oftpreg, Arthur’s second child.  She came home with him one day and the children had fun talking and playing with their niece.

Soon, it was time for yet another round of birthdays.  Herman aged up with Ophelia’s hair and eyes.  She wondered if it really was the case that he’d only inherited his skin color from his father.  He looked a lot like Ophelia’s other children had when they were his age.

Ember’s birthday was the same night, and Ophelia watched him grow into a young man with a mixture of sadness and pride.  He quickly chose clothes and a haircut that reflected his artsy, quirky nature.

She watched him as he looked for a place to move to, wondering if it ever got easier to see them leave the family home.  He assured her that he would visit and call and that she was welcome to visit as well.

Ember’s moving out made Ophelia yearn to see some of her other children as well, so she tried to visit Conrad at his house.  He had just left when she arrived, however, so she decided to use the time to visit another child.

She hoped that Delores would be home.  She didn’t want to bother Ember on his first night out–that would really be too clingy.  But Delores had been out of the house for a little while now, and she was fair game.

Delores had company, so Ophelia didn’t stay long–but she did stay long enough to get the impression that Delores had been having some trouble at work and in maintaining relationships around town.  Delores boasted of all the feuds she had going on with various people, and Ophelia tried to advise her to be careful and that it was important to have more friends than enemies.

With Ember out of the house, Ophelia decided she could safely work on her next experiment.  She had someone in mind already, but she needed a back-up just in case it didn’t work out.  She and Bimble Rushing were acquaintances, but she made sure that by the time she left the park for her other meeting that they were friends.

Her “meeting” was with Darin Oldham at the Theater.  She took him backstage and found him receptive to her advances, which were now so much more practiced and sure.

Afterward, Ophelia went straight home and had almost walked through the door when she noticed that Darin had followed her home! She immediately demanded to know what he was doing, and he said he thought they were spending the entire night together.  Ophelia quickly disabused him of that notion, worrying that he’d be angry.  He was in such a good mood that he simply said “No matter” and ambled off, with a definite spring in his step.  Ophelia wondered what on earth was making him walk in that weird manner.

After the desired symptoms didn’t come in the course of the night, Ophelia called upon Bimble Rushing to meet her at City Hall, and she pounced on him in the judge’s chambers.

Unfortunately, they were caught in the midst of their little venture, and Ophelia was forced to run from the building clutching her clothing in one hand!  She looked around furtively as she ran in a full-on sprint to her vehicle.

As she was driving away, she saw Bimble stumble out, still putting on clothing.  He then proceeded to smile and walk down the steps of City Hall in a decidedly jaunty manner.  She shook her head at this seeming epidemic of men walking around with a spring in their step once they’d had a little woohoo, but reminded herself that it couldn’t be a bad thing that they looked so happy after being with her.

While that provided some comfort, she couldn’t be comforted about being caught out in public like that.  It embarrassed her so much, but even worse, it made her worry–what if it got back to Einstein?

Authorial Interjection: Well, it’s been a LONG time, and for that I apologize.  It has been a very busy time for me ever since I discovered that I was pregnant.  For a while, the problem was my morning sickness–I couldn’t sit at the computer for very long without feeling pretty foul, and I spent most of my time on the sofa watching TV and feeling sorry for myself.  When I wasn’t doing that, I was interviewing for jobs.  Around the time the morning sickness started abating, I finally got a job!  Thus, my days were pretty packed.  I’m starting to get more of a handle on being that busy again, so I have high hopes that I can get back to posting for this challenge more regularly.  I just have to take it as it comes and see how I do, but I promise that I’m trying!

Einstein had been making such good progress as a firefighter and he was officially recognized as a local hero when the mayor gave him a key to the city in honor of his bravery and service.

That same day, Ophelia threw a Halloween-themed party because Fern, Ember, and Delores were all having birthdays.  She didn’t want that much cake, so she just made it into a general party, and the household dressed up in costume (except for Ophelia, because she was getting rounder by the day and costumes can be uncomfortable).  At the party she found out that Arthur and Trish were expecting another baby and that Beatrice was engaged to someone named Agustin (though she didn’t bring him to the party).

Fern was the first to age up, right after most of the guests had left.  Ophelia quickly took notes on his appearance and compared them to her other children and his father.

Ember was next, and Ophelia was glad that his hair was short because if it had been much longer, he would have been the spitting image of his father.  This actually made Ophelia very excited, because it was the first time that one of her children had inherited more of the father’s features than her own–his face shape was his father’s, as well as his lips.

Delores was the last to age up, and once again it was in her bedroom just as she was packing up the last of her things.  Like Ophelia’s other children, Delores was determined to get out and make it on her own.   Her father was there to cheer her on and to give her a hug before she moved out. (Authorial interjection: this pic was taken after I gave her a makeover)

The day after the party, Ophelia went into labor when she was about to sit down and eat a bowl of Stu Surprise.  She told the men not to worry about her and to carry on as usual–but she still wasn’t amused when Ember snatched her soup away to eat himself.

“What? It’s not like you’re going to be able to eat it before it goes cold!” he pointed out.  Ophelia said something extremely unladylike (and un-mom-like) in response. (He seriously took her soup instead of getting his own bowl as I directed.)

Einstein gazed down at little Garth and was happy that he’d been born healthy and without any of the strange issues that had plagued their last two children.  He hoped that Garth’s fussiness was just a temporary thing–he was a very grumpy baby.  Einstein had no idea that the child in the crib was actually fathered by Graham Ochoa, and that it had been conceived amongst weapons and ammunition at the armory.

Ophelia didn’t waste any time–the next evening she made some excuse to get out of the house and she met Bradley Blue at the Science Facility.  She was hoping a tour would loosen him up as it had Graham and Ty.

Her hopes were realized, and Bradley Blue finally succumbed to her charms in the laboratory.  She found out the next day that she had indeed fallen pregnant from the encounter.

While she waited for her new baby to arrive, her youngest aged into a toddler.  Little Garth looked a lot like his father, but since Einstein was assuming that he was a child of theirs he was reinterpreting his features to be a blend of his and Ophelia’s genes.  His hair color was neither that of Ophelia’s nor Einstein’s, but Ophelia let him believe that it was a blending of their hair colors.  Ophelia explained away his green eyes by claiming that her grandmother had eyes of a similar shade.

Between all the awards that Einstein was racking up and all of the toys and recreational items the children were piling around, the Oftpreg home was in desperate need of a remodeling.  Luckily, due to Ophelia’s money tree orchard, they had plenty of money to burn. They expanded the size of the living room and included open areas on the side for an awards room and a play area, and a shed was built in back to house the workbench and a shower (for those unlucky enough to catch themselves on fire).

A couple days later, Einstein was handling an emergency at the warehouse (which everyone knows houses the criminal activities of Sunset Valley), and he was shocked to find that Delores was there.  She claimed she was only dropping something off for a friend, but Einstein was worried that she was actually working there.

When he got home, he was introduced to “his” son, Herman.  Einstein was horrified to hear that Herman had been born with a circulation problem, which caused his skin to take on a permanent blue tone–but Ophelia assured him that it wasn’t life threatening and that it was nothing to worry about.

Ophelia had been anxious to visit Arthur ever since his new daughter, Deanne, had been born, but she’d been so busy she couldn’t make it until little Deanne was already a toddler.  Deanne looked to have Arthur Jr.’s eyes (which were also Ophelia’s), but her mother’s haircolor.  Ophelia couldn’t wait to see her grow older so she could see more of her features.  Ariel had more of Trish’s features, but a blending of Arthur and Trish’s coloring.

Since she was already out, Ophelia seized the opportunity to invite Ty Stanfield to a tour of the military base.  Now that Ophelia knew that Garth was Graham Ochoa’s child, she wanted to see if she could possibly get a genetic contribution from Ty.  It didn’t work before–but Ophelia wasn’t opposed to trying again.  She was very determined.

Ty wasn’t opposed to trying again, either–though he didn’t exactly realize that Ophelia was trying for a baby.  He just thought she had a thing for woohooing in public venues.  Only a day later she received confirmation that she was pregnant again!

While Ophelia was battling morning sickness for the umpteenth time, Ember was trying his hand at having a social life.  He’d been making eyes at Clarissa Rider for a while, and after a few visits they were getting along so well that he’d taken the plunge and kissed her.  Only a few days later, he’d asked her to be his girlfriend, and she accepted.

With so much activity in and out of the Oftpreg household, it was easy to lose track of time.  Before Ophelia had a chance to prepare herself, Herman grew into a toddler.  She now had two toddlers on her hands and a baby on the way.

Fern’s birthday was the same day, and Ophelia was worried when his hair came in very long, just like his father’s.  She told him she thought it would look better if it were shorter, and Fern agreed–he didn’t want to have to take care of all that hair.  Otherwise, in looks he reminded Ophelia of the way Conrad had looked when he was a teen.

The next morning, Ophelia went into labor before Einstein went in to work.  She told him she’d be fine and that he should go, so he did.  But he’d been thinking seriously about quitting his job.  With two toddlers in the house and a baby on the way, he thought Ophelia was taking on more than she could handle alone.  He knew they could hire babysitters to help out, but as a former babysitter himself, he knew very well that most of them weren’t very good.  He didn’t want to trust their children to their care.  Besides, he’d already reached the top of the firefighter’s career–he’d won so many awards, and he’d done a lot of good.  He’d put in a good term of service and he was ready for something different.  While he was figuring out what else he wanted to do, he thought he might help out at home.

His decision was all but made when Ophelia called to tell him the news.  To her astonishment, they’d had twins!  And even more astonishing was the fact that it was a mixed gender set!  Little Ichabod and Idella were the newest members of the Oftpreg family, and Einstein quit his job because there was no way that Ophelia could handle two toddlers and two infants by herself.  The boys offered to help out, but neither Ophelia nor Einstein wanted them to spend all their time babysitting for them.

“Looks like they take more after you this time, Honey.” Einstein said to Ophelia when he saw the twins.  Ophelia just smiled and nodded, and for the first time she wondered if she should set a limit to her experiments.

Authorial Interjection: Was. Not. Expecting. Twins.  I was just trying to be a good little go-getter and have Ophelia work on filling up her house with babies so that I will finish the challenge sometime in this century, and lo and behold, twins again!  Argh!  I could have used that slot for a baby with a different daddy! I think the problem was that I had kid’s music on because it’s Garth’s favorite music….and I did nothing to engineer the mixed gender set, either.  I don’t know how it happened, other than the fact that I have Twallan’s Story Progression mod and Master Controller.  I think one of those assigns a certain probability to mixed-gender twin sets…

And some extra photos, because the party was so much fun:

Arthur and the pregnant Trish dancing–aren’t they cute?

And Conrad playing in the sprinkler.  He is one fine Sim, in my opinion. I guess Ophelia’s features just make for a very handsome man, because I never thought Neal Quezada was all that great looking.

The day after the twins moved out, the dishwasher broke soon after Einstein had already left for work.  Ophelia decided to go ahead and call a repair technician, and she was rather pleased with her decision when he arrived.  His name was Ty Stanfield, and though, genetically speaking, he wasn’t the most impressive Sim, he was certainly handsome.

Once Einstein made it home from work, Ophelia decided to pay a visit to Arthur Jr., because little Ariel had recently had a birthday.  To her great surprise, Garrett walked out of the front door just as she’d arrived.  He was on his way to work.

“What are you doing here?” Ophelia asked, shocked.

“I live here.” he replied.  He hurried away, and Ophelia wasn’t sure what to think.

Inside the house, Ophelia spoke with her only grandchild.  Ariel bent Ophelia’s ear about her desire to travel, and Ophelia was happy to see that if nothing else, her natural curiosity and urge to explore something about the world around her had been passed on to her granddaughter.

When she talked to Arthur Jr., however, she had a few pointed questions.

“Why is Garrett Greene living with you?” she asked.  “Do you need money?  Are you struggling?”

“No, Mom.  We’re fine.  He and I are friends, and he fell on some hard times.  The culinary field doesn’t pay much to start off, and he was having trouble making rent.” Arthur explained.

Ophelia still didn’t like it.  The idea of her son taking in her most recent lover made her feel very uneasy.

On Saturday, Ophelia decided to check out where the girls had moved, and when she arrived at the address that Bianca had provided, she was stunned.  This house was much too big for two girls who were both just starting out…and on the police force no less.

“Huh….she must have given me the wrong address….” Ophelia thought, looking around for an apartment complex or something more in line with her expectations.  She was so intimidated by the obvious splendor of the property that she left without even ringing the doorbell.

Meanwhile, Delores was enjoying the guitar she’d received for her birthday.  She wanted to see if she could get any tips for her playing.  She managed to get $32 on her first try!

Conrad was at the park too to lend his support, and he was pleased to find that his niece, Ariel, had come to the park too.  They had a nice conversation in which she told him about the green-haired, green-skinned man living with them.

The money trees in Ophelia’s garden had been doing so well, and the rest of her crops had been so plentiful that Ophelia finally broke down and purchased some automobiles.  She bought an old truck, which would help when she took her vegetables to market, or when she wanted to toss a few fishing poles in the back for a fishing trip.  She also bought a cute old car for the kids to use.

Sunday proved to be a momentous day–Ember aged into a child, and Ophelia really hoped that Einstein never ran into Rory Redd.  His son looked just like him, except that he had Ophelia’s hair and eye color.

It was also Fern’s birthday, and Ophelia turned pretty pale when she realized that skin color wasn’t the only thing she should have been worried about when she tried combining genes with Garrett Greene.

“Is this another thing the uh…weather did?” Einstein asked.

“Uh…it is probably a direct result of my diet.  I ate a lot of salad, and the chlorophyll must have reacted with our genetic material!” Ophelia explained.

“Huh.” Einstein said.  “Crazy.  You are pretty sensitive to all kinds of things, huh?”  Ophelia agreed, and changed the subject.

She distracted Einstein by enlisting his help in making the twins’ old bedroom more gender neutral, so that Ember would feel more comfortable in it.  They justified the expense by noting that Fern could be placed in the room as well, once he aged into a child.

Though, to be honest, there wasn’t exactly a shortage of room.  On Monday, Conrad grew up and moved out.  Ophelia was surprised–she couldn’t tell if she and Neal Quezada had simply looked a lot alike, or what–but she thought Conrad favored both of them.  Conrad enlisted Ophelia’s help to reverse the balding process, so he left the Oftpreg home with a full head of hair (and clothing that was more suitable for the occasion).

With only three children in the house, the days passed by so quickly.  Ophelia worked on meeting more men while Einstein advanced as a firefighter by leaps and bounds.  He was already Assistant Fire Chief.  Ophelia was also spending her nights fishing, because she wanted Einstein to remain a young adult along with her.  She explained what ambrosia would do to his aging process, and that she’d been out so late because she had to catch deathfish in order to make it.  Einstein was stunned that she would go through so much trouble for him, and he was happy to remain a young adult with her.

One of the other projects Ophelia had going on the side was one of which Einstein would not approve, if he’d known about it.  Ophelia had been inviting Ty Stanfield over during the day, and he was quite smitten with her.

Ophelia managed to coax him into woohooing in the judge’s chambers–something she hadn’t been able to do at her house.  She wondered what it was about a public place that made him more accomodating.

On Friday, Einstein was called to an emergency at Arthur Jr.’s house, and he was terrified that someone might be hurt.  Arthur Jr. was waiting, and he hurriedly explained that he’d just been burning some incense.  Einstein was relieved that no one was trapped in the home, and he put out the fire quickly.

Ariel, who had recently had another birthday, was surprised to see her grandmother’s husband come striding out of her house.  Arthur Jr. explained that there had been a fire, and Einstein gave them tips on how to get the smoke smell out of their furniture.

Ophelia didn’t hear about the fire until much later, because she’d invited Ty Stanfield to the theater to woohoo backstage–she hadn’t fallen pregnant from the last try, and she wanted to try again.  She’d tried to get Ty to do the deed at her house, but he wouldn’t–and even worse, she was almost certain that Fern was angry with her.  She hadn’t realized that toddlers could discern marital infidelity, but he had–she was just grateful he couldn’t quite talk yet.  So, she had many reasons for meeting Ty at a community lot.  Once again, he was much more amenable to woohoo in a public place.  But as she left, she started worrying…what if Ty wasn’t fertile?  She decided to try again at another place, with another Sim, as soon as possible.

And that turned out to be less than an hour after her attempt with Ty.  Ophelia called up a man she’d met recently, but had already developed a decent relationship with–Graham Ochoa.  He’d always turned down her advances in her home, but something about the armory really got him going, and he was powerless against Ophelia’s charms.

Ophelia’s suspicions were confirmed late on Saturday night–she was indeed pregnant.  But now she had a bit of a problem, because she wasn’t sure who the father was….

Authorial Interjection: First, I want to apologize for some of the pictures–I didn’t notice until later that on some of them, the walls are down, etc..  Oops!  Secondly, I seriously do not know who the father is–there were no chimes on the community lots!  I was experimenting, because I wasn’t sure you could “Try for Baby” on a community lot, and furthermore, I wasn’t sure the guys would go for it since they’re so skittish in other places.  To my surprise, they both had no problem trying for baby–but since there were never chimes, I thought she wasn’t conceiving.  I’d given up after the second time and took her home, when…lo and behold, she starts getting nauseous!  Keep in mind that in TS3, even after the Sim has conceived, for a short time afterward you can still “Try for Baby”–so I really, really don’t know who the father is!  It’s rather exciting!

Ophelia smiled in a sly manner over her shoulder at Garrett, who had come over at her invitation and was giving her a very nice back massage.  It was a Monday, and all the teens were at school, and Ember was sleeping in his crib.  Most importantly, Einstein was busy at work.  Ophelia had spent the entire day before looking through Prudence Breedgood’s romance novels for tips, because she’d decided she was not going to strike out anymore.  She was determined to continue her research, and she needed genetic donations, not excuses and brush-offs.

A little while later, she smiled smugly over her success.  He’d been putty in her hands.  All of that reading had given her confidence in her actions, and she was sure it made her seem more attractive.  The key, it seemed, was finding exactly what the guy wanted in a woman–did he want someone who was helpless and made him seem big, smart, and strong?  Did he want to be bossed around a bit?  Did he want an equal?

It turned out that Garrett had wanted someone a bit helpless.  Before, Ophelia’s intelligence had intimidated him, so she’d simply acted a little less intelligent–just enough so that Garrett felt like the smarter one.  It had worked wonders.  He thought he’d led the way to the bed….when really Ophelia had been in control the entire time.  She made sure to get him out of the house before the kids got home from school.

As it turns out, however, she needn’t have worried about the kids walking in on her.  There was an emergency at school involving an escaped mutant monster, and Einstein’s fire station was the first on the scene.  The children were all very worried about him, and refused to leave until they were sure he was safe.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when he came out of the school unscathed.  Delores was right in front to wrap her daddy in a hug before he rushed back to the fire station.

The city was especially impressed with Einstein’s work at the fire station.  They awarded him some trophies and he was being called to City Hall for congratulations quite often.  He was feeling very fulfilled in his new career, and he didn’t mind the chores he had to do in order to maintain his equipment.

Late that night (or early the next morning), Ophelia received confirmation that her recent interaction with Garrett had the desired result.  She shuddered through the morning sickness, but was happy that she’d be furthering her research.

And what of little Ember in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the Oftpreg home?  When he wasn’t being potty trained or taught to walk by his family, he was busy with his toys.  Ophelia was concerned that she wasn’t spending enough time with him, but he actually seemed happiest when he was alone.  He was also happiest when the stereo played classical music, so she often left him to his own devices with the stereo playing his favorite music.

On a Wednesday, Ophelia found out that Arthur Sr. had died.  She called Arthur Jr. to make sure he was okay, and soon after she made a trip to the graveyard to pay her respects.  She hadn’t been in love with him, but she’d always treasured the son he gave her.  She was happy to see that they’d placed him beside his mother, and after sniffling over the both of them for a bit, she waddled back home.

The next day, Ophelia was just about to step into the shower when her water broke and her labor began.  She couldn’t leave Ember alone, so she had her newest baby boy, Fern, at home alone.  As she made observations in her journal about his looks, she couldn’t tell whether she was more disappointed or relieved that he hadn’t inherited any of Garrett’s skintone.  It was one less thing for Einstein to question.

And Einstein didn’t question this child’s appearance at all–a slightly darker skintone is exactly what he’d expect from a union of his and Ophelia’s genes.  Einstein felt himself relax upon seeing the baby, and he was astounded that he’d actually been a little worried–now he wondered why he’d ever suspected that she wasn’t faithful to him.

On the same day that little Fern came into the world, Beatrice and Bianca had their birthdays and aged into young adults.  Beatrice was the spitting image of her mother in almost every way.

Bianca was, as well–but with red hair and lighter eyes.  Both of the girls quickly decided to move in to a new place together, and both planned to join the police force.  Beatrice, surprisingly, wanted to become a secret agent, and Bianca dreamed of being a DNA profiler.  Ophelia was sad to see them go, but they assured her that they’d be in touch.

Ophelia was left with two teens and two babies in the house.

Authorial Interjection: I purchased the “Attractive” reward for Ophelia because I was sick of her working and working on relationships with the men of the town only to be turned down.  I have another project I want to start, but I want to finish this challenge before I begin it–so, Ophelia must buckle down and pop out the babies already.  And of course I forgot to note the number of lifetime happiness points for the girls before they moved out.  Blargh.  I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do about that without violating some major rules, so…*sigh*.

The Oftpregs were all in pursuit of their heart’s desires these days.  Einstein was working hard to climb up the firefighter’s ladder.  When he wasn’t responding to emergencies, he was maintaining the equipment and making upgrades.

Ophelia felt like she’d been neglecting her gardening–she still wasn’t all that close to achieving her perfect garden, so she started paying more attention to her fertilizers and produce.

Beatrice kept running into snags on the inventing front.  She was relieved that she had a seemingly endless supply of aprons and heavy-duty gloves, because otherwise she’d have to start shredding garbage bags to wear.

Ophelia went to visit Arthur Jr. and to see his new home.  It was a nice little house situated just beside the Breedgood home.  Ophelia congratulated him on his promotion to EMT as soon as she walked inside.  Arthur Jr. was happy to see his mother, and he gave her some surprising news.

“Dad married some woman he met only a few days ago!” he said.

“What? Arthur Sr. married someone?” Ophelia asked.

“Yes.  He moved out of the Breedgood home and moved in with this woman.  He lives across town now.” Arthur said.

Ophelia didn’t know what to think–she just hoped that Arthur Sr. was happy.  At least one of Arthur Jr.’s uncles still lived in the Breedgood home, so at least it wasn’t empty.

One thing she did know, however, was that her granddaughter, Ariel, was as cute as a button.  Ophelia spent much of her visit with the little girl in her arms, tickling and snuggling her.  She made sure to take note of her characteristics so that she could record them once she was home.

Meanwhile, Conrad was feeling bored, and he wanted to stay out past curfew.  The only problem with that was that he wasn’t out before curfew, but no matter–he just wanted to do something different.  He snuck out of the house and made his way to the cemetery.  He couldn’t exactly say what prompted him to go there, but he just felt like visiting…

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he realized that this moment of rebellion had been a mistake.  He’d crept into the depths of the mausoleum, and came out completely traumatized.  He’d had no idea that there would be bears down there.  Or that they’d mastered the use of electricity as a punishment.

(Catherine, we really, really miss you and your Decasims.)

Ophelia decided to pay a visit to Bradley Blue, but he seemed grumpy and out of sorts.  First off, he started griping at her when she tried to fix his sink, and then he absolutely wouldn’t respond to her flirting.  He told her to back off because he was dating someone named Sally.

Ophelia decided that she really didn’t have time to trifle with him today anyway, because she had a birthday party to throw.  Both Delores and Ember were due to age up, and for the first time, she wanted to throw a party.  She focused most of the birthday preparations on things she believed Delores would prefer, since she would actually remember this birthday and Ember would not.

Instead of a cake, Delores had requested cookies.  She really didn’t like cake all that much, but the chocolate chip cookies made her clap with delight.  Einstein shook his head at his daughter and wondered how anyone could pass up cake.

Since Delores really didn’t have all that many friends of her own, Ophelia had invited a lot of the family’s friends–and one Sam Rider.  Bianca made sure to dance with him a few times, and she tried to keep him engaged in conversation.  She was developing a bit of a crush on the boy, but it was nothing serious.

Ophelia felt that enough time had passed so that it was safe to invite Jamal Mack over as well.  He’d hardly had any contact with his daughters, and now that he was an elder Ophelia felt a bit bad about not encouraging the girls to contact him.  Unfortunately, he spent most of his time talking with Einstein.  Ophelia wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not….but Einstein was fascinated to find out that this was the man who’d fathered Bianca and Beatrice.

“You know, you are a very lucky man–I was really fond of Ophelia, and I would have married her if she’d shown any interest….but she didn’t.  You must be pretty special to her.” Jamal said.

Einstein really didn’t know how to reply.  He felt bad for the string of broken hearts that Ophelia seemed to have left behind before she met him.  He wondered what had made him so special that she married him, but not these other men.

Ophelia’s part was a bust, simply because no one aged up during it.  Of course, not two hours after everyone left and the party was over, Delores aged up.

“Happy Birthday!” Ophelia crowed, and blew on a party noisemaker.

“Mom.  Stop.” Delores said.  Delores knew what she’d be doing the next day–getting a makeover.  This hair has got to go! she thought.

Ember, too, aged up in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  Ophelia now had four teens and one toddler in the house.

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Einstein found himself at the tattoo parlor again.  He already wanted another tattoo, this time on his right forearm.  With Ophelia pregnant again, three teens in the house, and his little girl going to school, Einstein was feeling a little overwhelmed.  He’d known when he married Ophelia that she came with kids and a lot of responsibilities….but he was beginning to feel, well….old.  An old and stale house husband.  And he really wasn’t that old.  He was still in his early twenties, but with everything going on around him, he felt much older.  Getting a tattoo made him feel younger, and more rebellious.

He liked his new tattoo, but he found that it didn’t soothe the restless feeling that had driven him to get it in the first place.

“Mendel…I need something.  Something of my own.” he said.  He took the little spin Mendel did to mean that he agreed.  So he looked in the newspaper for ideas of something to do, and when he saw the call for firefighters, he impulsively contacted the fire chief and landed a job.

They didn’t need the money, what with Ophelia’s garden…but he needed something for himself.  Something he could feel good about.  Even though he spent most of his time maintaining and upgrading equipment around the fire department, Einstein felt like he was doing something really important.

While her daddy was seeking purpose, Delores was seeking friendship.  She jumped at the chance to go home with Susana Rider after school, and she was excited–she was around her family so much that a little escape every now and then was something she craved.

But a total escape just wasn’t in the cards.  To her surprise, Bianca was there visiting Susana’s older brother, Sam.  Bianca didn’t even notice they’d come in, she was so immersed in her conversation with Sam.  Delores rolled her eyes and said to Susana, “I bet they kiss and stuff.  She talks about him all the time.”  Susana agreed, and they both decided that was just icky.

In point of fact, Bianca hadn’t been kissed by anyone…..yet.

With so many people in the house, mostly doing their own thing, Ophelia found that it was rare to have family dinners.  The likelihood of all of them being hungry at the same time was pretty slim, but every now and then it happened and Ophelia would cook.  On this night, she made hamburgers, and everyone sat around and talked over the meal.  Now that Arthur Jr. was out of the house, she could make meat dishes for dinner without having to worry about him feeling left out.

After dinner, Bianca helped clear the table, and she cornered Ophelia for some mother-daughter time.  She wanted to get to know her mother better, especially since she had so many questions about well…boys, and stuff.  She and Ophelia had “the talk”, and Bianca felt better for having the information, even if her mother did go into a little too much detail.

While Ophelia was enlightening Bianca, the rest of the Oftpreg clan were gathered around the television.  Even hardcore inventors like Beatrice needed downtime, and Einstein liked to listen to their chatter as he worked out nearby.

The next day, Ophelia was home alone when Rory Redd’s baby decided to come into the world.  She briefly considered going to the hospital, but she wasn’t sure the baby would wait through a cab or bicycle ride.  She called Einstein to tell him that she was going into labor, but not to worry and certainly not to come home–she just wanted him to know.

Einstein would have come home against her protestations, but at the moment he’d received her phone call, he was called to his first fire!  He extinguished the flames in good time for a beginner, and managed to save the house.

While her husband was putting out fires, Ophelia gave birth to a fiery little baby.  She was so pleased with the baby’s skin–it was definitely a blend of her own skintone and that of Rory’s.  She excitedly documented the details in her notebook, and waited anxiously for Einstein to get home.

When Einstein got home, he stared at the baby in the crib.  He was taken aback at the baby’s skin color–nothing like his, nor much like Ophelia’s.

“What did you name him?” Einstein asked when Ophelia came into the nursery.

“I named him Ember.  It’s in celebration of the day you fought your first fire.” Ophelia said, hoping that would distract him from thinking about how unlike him the baby looked.

“Honey…does he have a skin condition or something?  His skin is so…reddish.” Einstein said.

“Well, I think he’s pretty healthy.  But I guess early in the pregnancy, I must have been exposed to something that caused the skin color to develop in this way–genetics aren’t the only things that determine how a baby looks, you know.  Environment can have an effect on the baby as well…” Ophelia said, launching into a long-winded, highly technical discussion of the multitude of things that influence a baby’s development.  It had the desired effect–Einstein’s eyes glazed over, and he looked thoroughly bored.

“So, like…the weather did it?” he asked.

“Yes, dear.  The weather did it.” Ophelia said finally.  She didn’t bother to correct him, because as long as he bought the story, she really didn’t care if his information was scientifically inaccurate.

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Ophelia was trying very hard to get into Garrett Greene’s pants…so far to no avail.  She had no idea what else she could do to get him to relent.  She’d even encouraged him to end things with what’s-her-face, his girlfriend.  Still, no matter how many times she suggested woohoo, she was turned down flat.  In a last-ditch effort, Ophelia asked if she could spend the night.  She told Einstein that she was staying the night at Arthur Jr.’s house to help out because Trish was having a tough pregnancy, and she asked Arthur Jr. to cover for her.

“I’m actually staying at a hotel, but I just had to get away from that noisy house for a night.” Ophelia had lied to Arthur Jr..  “Please don’t tell Einstein.” Arthur Jr. had agreed, but he didn’t feel good about it.

So while Ophelia was trying to make Mr. Greene give her a genetic donation, Beatrice was out sifting through piles of junk at the local junkyard.  Maybe most girls would have been scared to prowl through a junkyard at night, but not Beatrice–she didn’t have a cowardly bone in her body.  She was too wrapped up in the hunt for salvageable pieces of scrap to be scared.

While Ophelia was having her sleepover, her youngest grew into a child.  Maybe that was why she didn’t grow up quite….right.  She was adorable enough, with her father’s hair and eyes, but something in her mind was missing–the capacity to sympathize with others, perhaps, or maybe to care about what others felt.

That morning, when Ophelia tried to seduce Garrett, she was unceremoniously kicked away.  Very calmly, she got up and carefully picked up her clothes.

“When you are ready to engage in sexual relations like an adult, give me a call.” she’d said in a composed voice, then she dressed and left his house.  On her way home, she stopped in to see Rory Redd.  And he was so easy.  It took no time at all before she was in his bed and he was very willing.

Afterward, she wondered what it was that made some men eager to accept her advances while others were so difficult.  So she asked Rory, since he was right there and all.

“Well…the truth is that you’re my first, and I kinda wanted to get it out of the way.  You showed up on my doorstep and since we were both consenting and willing adults, I didn’t see the harm.” Rory explained.

“See, that’s a perfectly reasonable attitude.” Ophelia said in praise.  “Now, I’m really very tired and I must get home to my husband and children before they suspect something.  Oh that reminds me!  Please use discretion–I do not want my husband to find out about this.”

“Duh.” Rory said.  Ophelia hoped that if a child resulted from their union that it would be more articulate.  And then she realized that if a child resulted and it had Rory’s skin (which she really wanted) that she would need an explanation for Einstein.

The next day, those worrisome thoughts were pushed out of Ophelia’s head as she met her granddaughter, Ariel.  Ariel seemed to have inherited a blend of her parents’ skintones, and Ophelia was absolutely thrilled with all the new information her grandchild would be able to provide concerning genetic inheritance.

“I wonder if you’ll look like your great-grandmother?” Ophelia whispered to little Ariel.

While Ophelia was cooing over her grandbaby, she received confirmation that her romp with Rory was successful.  She would have her fifth child in a few days.

“I’d better get to work on that explanation….” Ophelia thought.

She talked to Trish for a little while before she left.  Ophelia felt that Trish and Arthur should move.  For one thing, there was no crib here for little Ariel.  For another, there were way too many people!

“You and Arthur should get your own place so that you have room to expand.  I want more of those.” Ophelia said, pointing at Ariel, who had been placed on a blanket on the floor.

“Do you really think so? It’s nice to have help caring for the baby, but it is pretty cramped here.” Trish acknowledged.  Trish promised that she and Arthur would look for a place of their own soon.

While Ophelia was exerting pressure as only a mother-in-law can, Bianca was meeting boys in the park.  She couldn’t do much with them, though, because her half-brother Arthur was there, watching to make sure the boys didn’t make any moves that were inappropriate.  Bianca was certain that if she so much as received a kiss on the cheek that Arthur would tell their mother about it.

Back at the Oftpreg home, Conrad was being laughed at by his baby sister when his block castle fell down.

“Why would you laugh about that? I worked on it for half an hour!” he said.

“Because, you worked so hard on it, and then it just crumbled!  Hilarious!” she said, chortling.

Einstein, who’d heard the exchange, wondered if there was something a bit off about his baby girl.  He resolved to keep a close eye on her.

But Conrad wasn’t that worried about being bullied by his baby sister, because it was his birthday.  He sprouted right up into a teen, and he figured that if she got out of hand he’d just sit on the little brat.  Ophelia was excited with the new features that emerged when her son aged up, and she hurried back to her room to document the emerging characteristics that she’d noted.  It hit her that she now had one adult son, three teens, a child, a baby on the way, and one grandchild.  She was neck deep in her own experiments, and yet she wanted even more information.  More points of data.  She rubbed her belly and thought about the life growing in there.

“I can’t wait to see how you turn out.” she murmured to herself.

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