Something different

1. Makers and Finders
A Cursed Baby Boom Challenge
Chapter 19
“You and I make a great team, Fiona! Thank the Watcher we met again in kindergarten,
huh?”
“Yeah! I don't know how I would have managed without you!”
OK, folks, I'm changing things up a bit with the blog. I mean, it's been good to have
something to post every day, but things are starting to get a bit more intense, now that we have a
house, and the potential to start our family. So, I've decided to only post once a week, until
further notice. And I'm not ending at curfew and beginning at dawn. I'll just pick up where I left
off the last time, basically. I mean, if we're sleeping, there's nothing to post about, anyway, but
now we have a house, we might be up doing things during the night, so there's that. Anyway,
once a week, and longer posts. Don't hate me for not giving you a daily dose, OK? I still love
all my readers, and I read your comments every day, I promise.
Heh, as soon as Matt maxes charisma, and one of us maxes logic, I'll even be able to read
them, and post, from the comfort of my own home. Yay!

2. One thing that is changing, though, is that we're dumping the birth control. While I'd like to
spend one of the weekly purchases on a crib, it is true that neither babies nor toddlers actually
need them. Children do need beds, but we have one of those! Plus, there's igloos, until the curse
is completely lifted, and that could take another two weeks.
And the day the kid is born counts as a birthday, right? For the kid? So... Yeah, we can
start having our family, but we won't push for it. Just basic risky woohoo every time, and we'll
see what happens.
Oh, and here's a fun fact: That last flirt got Matt up to level 6 charisma. Yeah!
Oh, and here's a not-so-fun fact. The lights all suddenly went out, when the Watcher
remembered that we had not maxed out logic, and we could not have electricity. So, we'll play
chess in the dark. No problems. At least there's plenty of light during the day, thanks to my
stained glass windows.
Maybe I'll be lucky and dig up a few candles. Or, I could buy some mood light candles from
the grocery store. That works, too. I have plenty of money left, even after building this lovely
home, and I can start flipping at the shops again in the morning.

3. Matt chose the time machine for our risky woohoo, before the Watcher could decide if it is
electric, or not. I mean, I did build it on the invention desk, so... maybe not? Or maybe not this
time?
That looks like something beyond electronic, to me. And apparently to the Watcher, as well,
because it was not yoinked into family inventory, after we finished our fun.

4. “Aaaaah! Who knew woohoo could be so risky?!”
If you want to know what happened, suffice it to say, the primitive people of Moonlight
Falls did not care for such blatant public displays of affection. They got all prim and proper.
With extreme prejudice.
That night, I dreamed of having more decorations, to really snazz up the place, but Matt,
ever practical, dreamed of getting a bookcase.

5. Matt keeps getting gifts from his best friends. Maybe I should try this charisma thing, too.
We got two large paintings. One was so big, it needed three walls to hold it! We are gonna have
a constant well-decorated moodlet, which is better than a fleeting nectar moodlet.
Speaking of nectar, I could buy some at the consignment shop. I have the money now.
Matt was asked to give a speech at City Hall! It helped with his charisma, and made him
happy. Plus, he was given an award for saving two people. Now, all he needed was to get that
last promotion to Fire Chief, and he'd be able to do his job from home!

6. I spent awhile in front of the bathroom mirror at the consignment shop, trying to earn that
first charisma skill point. Unfortunately, I had to stop to vomit, because of my time in the
dumpster. Perhaps I'd be better off at the library.
Meanwhile, on his day off, Matt worked on his athletic skill, to see if he could get that great
want of becoming Fire Chief, while his wish enhancement serum was still at work. After all, age
freeze potions cost a whole lot of aspiration points.

7. He did it! And with the wish enhancing serum, it was almost as good as a low-level lifetime
want.
Exhausted, he headed straight home for a nap. That's what comes from staying up into the
wee hours, celebrating getting an actual house.
I only had a couple of hours until curfew, but decided to check out the new building in town:
Sir Solar's Science Tower. It was a branch of the library, but mostly devoted to Science, and
sciencey stuff. It looked straight out of the future!

8. They had two of these brain-enhancement thingies, and I used one to get that first charisma
point.
I had to add some windows to the house. Can you believe it? Ten stained glass windows,
and not one of them counts to let light through, so we constantly had an “afraid of the dark”
moodlet at night. Just a bit of natural light made a difference, though, and those bubbles look
cool.

9. It would appear that woohoo in the past does not always boost fun. Well, we still have the
igloo.
After an early night, since we were both tired, we had an early morning. While Matt
upgraded the bathroom, I got to work sculpting, and discovering new pieces of furniture and art
to use in our home.

10. Now that the urgency was gone, I could indulge in some wants I had been holding onto for a
while. I wanted to create an improved widget and a miner. The miner, at least, would be useful
around the house, as we could dig for more stuff to find, have adventures, and even create short-
cuts all around town! It took most of the day, but I did both, before dumpster diving.
As fire chief, Matt should have stepped in to stop the fight, but he was working hard on a big
want, to max athletic skill, and a small want, to work out for four hours straight. He'd give them
both a talking-to in about two and a half hours.

11. Matt had a small housefire to put out. Same house. Hmmm... Chester was bravely trying to
extinguish it, himself, but My Man's equipment was better. He made $2480 on that job!
That night, after our usual woohoo, we got a surprise! Meet Eliza Finder (we really need to
get married! Yikes!). She's a werewolf, like me, but she takes after her father, quite a bit, too.
Although, I have no idea where she got that skin. She is a teenager, who is a Daredevil, Athletic,
Loves the Cold, and Party Animal. She hasn't chosen a lifetime want, yet. She was born tired,
and hit the sack, immediately. So glad we had that bed, already.

12. For Eliza's birthday purchase, we bought a parking spot, so that Matt could work from
home. Also, he could use the fire engine to teach Eliza how to drive, so that would be pretty
awesome, too. We made sure to put the alarm on the outside of the house, so we could have
peace and quiet inside, at least.
Eliza woke up in need of some fun, and decided our home needed more decorating. Or
something. After she was done, I set her to work studying cooking. If she could get a lifetime
want of becoming a top-level chef, we could get a fridge, for free.

13. “Why people stare at Eliza? Never see cave-woman before?”
Eliza, wearing her pretty spiked heels, enjoyed learning things the easy way at the library.
First lesson was how to read. Second lesson was cooking skills. Third was charisma, just to get
things started on the right foot.
“Oh, no! An earthquake!” I was glad we had so few walls and stuff, so nothing fell down in
our house.
“Never fear. I am on the job,” said My Man. Off he went in his trusty fire engine.

14. This place had it all: Fire, gas leak, and four sims to save. Just what Matt wanted.
Clovis Badass was stuck under rubble, in the same room as the gas leak. It's almost as if he
was fated for a personal apocalypse or something.

15. Earthquakes come with aftershocks, and that made for two emergencies in one day. Even
though his shift was long over, Matt stayed on the job, and saved five more sims.
Meanwhile, I was catching on fire! Matt was now fire-proof, and all of our children would
be, too, but I was not, and probably never would be. I was never so grateful for that all-in-one
bathroom. Quickly extinguishing myself, I decided to stop sculpting for the day, and just wait for
Matt to come home. I needed some woohooual healing.

16. “Well, I guess we can dispense with risky woohoo. I'm pregnant! Hmmm, we may have to
use one of those birthday purchases on a second bed. I mean, sure, we can build moree igloos,
but this winter won't last forever. Just logic and charisma to be maxed out, and Matt is more than
halfway there on charisma. Then again, if we hold off on electricity, we can make the igloos last
long enough for me to find more beds. Maybe I will buy the kid a crib, after all. And invest in
some stairs and a second floor, with individual rooms in it. The kids can have some privacy,
even if they can't have a lot of things.”

17. Eliza has become quite the rebel. It was a snow day, so I sent her to the library, but she
registered her disapproval of this parental authority. She makes her mama proud. I was the
original rebel in this family, after all. Hmmm, maybe she'd like to take up the dumpster diving,
while I continue sculpting?
That's my girl! Way to live up to your name, Eliza Finder! And if you become a top rebel
and earn a bonus trait, try going for Natural Cook. That will help in your culinary career. Please
roll that wish. Please roll that wish. Please roll that wish. Mama wants a free fridge.

18. I was learning how to work a new medium: Ice. I knew that if I worked enough ice
sculptures, I could make them last forever. But I was more interested in furnishing the house, so
after I fulfilled the 1000 point want to make an ice sculpture, I went back to more permanent
mediums.
Matt was learning how to use his magic better and better. Magically upgrading is much
faster than doing things the old fashioned way. And it's good practice, as well. Still, his main
use of magic continued to be conjuring the daily rations for us all.

19. Eliza came home with a beautiful bookcase. I stashed all the family books in it, so we
wouldn't lose anything, and it would be easier to keep track of what we had, and what we needed
to acquire. I'm so proud of my girl!
Someday, Eliza might be a good enough street artist to get tips and even opportunities to tag
for the city, but for now, she just tags the floor of the house. Matt cleans it, so it's ready for the
next batch.

20. On Snowflake Day, this little guy just showed up next to our mailbox. We named him
Julius. He was a fun reminder of the day. Eliza wanted to throw a gift-giving party, so we put
that on the schedule for the afternoon. In the morning, she went to the library for more charisma,
and then to the winter festival for some tickets. Her father and I decided to join her there for a
game of tag to help her along with the skill.
On the way there, I stopped at the bookstore. They were having a huge sale, and I managed
to afford all the recipes, all the kids' books, and a lot of skill books, as well.

21. I was a bit disappointed with my family, neither of whom had bundled up against the cold.
But as Matt had taught me not to be so judgemental, I decided they could choose for themselves.
Eliza was a tough girl, after all, and my husband was wise. Surely, they'd get warm after the
game of tag. We'd need to head home for the gift-giving party, anyway.
Time got away from us and the party we meant to have in the afternoon started at 8, instead.
But on the plus side, we met a lot of teens to invite for Eliza. She thought that Zack Durwood
was really attractive, and wanted to invite him to the upcoming prom.

22. I had planned to make the party double as a wedding party, but for some reason, Matt could
not propose to me. Every time he got flirty, the mood just dropped right back to “okay,” and the
option would not appear. Looks like this little one is going to be another Finder. But then again,
if we have to wait to get married, maybe we can have bachelor/bachelorette parties, and get more
gifts! Speaking of...
Wilhelmina Wolff brought food! Food that was not apples! Food that the guests could eat,
so I didn't have to kick myself for not having servable food prepared. Hooray! Thanks so much!

23. Gator Wolff brought firecracker shrimp. That Wolff pack raised their pups right! We may
not have music and fun group activities to share, but the guests can eat, and skate, and socialize,
so hopefully it will go well enough.
Zack smooched Eliza, so she asked Zack to be her date for prom. He told her that he was in
a relationship with Wilhelmina, but still said he'd go with Eliza. I guess even if you're going
steady, you can't wait to make a date, or someone else will beat you to it. You snooze, you lose.
Then again, he also said that aliens might abduct him before the dance, so...

24. If I had known we could get free stuff just from hosting a party, I would have done this two
years ago. From now on, every Snowflake Day will have a gift-giving party! New family
tradition!
And my gift to Matt was... a newborn baby! Yes, I went into labor right in the middle of the
party. Everyone panicked, and stopped opening gifts. That was not what I had in mind, but
these things can't always be helped.

25. Half of the guests left, and the gift pile disappeared, so Eliza called everyone to enjoy some
cobbler. I have to hand it to Wilhelmina. She stayed calm and collected, even while her
boyfriend smooched Eliza, right in front of her. Matt and I were upset at the betrayal, and not
too happy about our little girl dating someone who is so fickle in his affections. But Wilhelmina
just didn't think anything of it. I guess she's a modern girl.
Glass partitions do not make a proper bedroom. I was planning on renovating the house after
the party, but Eliza couldn't stay awake any longer.

26. Little Barbra was soon born. She's a cutie, with purple skin. I remembered that Matt and I
have rainbow skin, but we both looked fairly “normal.” I liked the coloring on our children,
though.
The curse kicked in when Barbra was born, and forced us to choose a name beginning with
B. Eliza had chosen her own name, in the past, outside of the curse's influence, but something
told me I had better change it, before the curse erupted into some volcano of eviltude and
glitches. I told her to stop at the library tomorrow and change her name to Beliza, instead. The
science things at Sir Solar's Science Tower will allow such changes. In fact, they can change her
last name to Maker-Finder, too! Little Barbra will have to take advantage of that fact, when she's
old enough. Unless I can manage it somehow, at City Hall. We really should have gotten
married last week.
It turned out that I could make the changes, on behalf of my children, at City Hall. Just to
simplify things for the future, I changed myself and Matt to Maker-Finder. We'll still get
married, but the name is already taken care of. That way, we don't have to worry about who
proposes to whom, and who takes which name first.
Oh, and for the record, I bought a crib for Barbra's birthday purchase. She'll get a bed, if
one of us doesn't find one in the trash, when she grows into a child. Either that, or we'll continue
to live in igloos, and be grateful for the curse.

27. For this night, Barbra had the second floor to herself. In the morning, I would renovate and
build several bedrooms, even if they had no beds, for the children to enjoy their privacy.
This party was just full of surprises! I went outside to investigate the mysterious lights in
the sky. It was... interesting.

28. And of course, by interesting, I mean terrifying. A space alien abducted me! I swear! He
picked me up in his flying thingamajig and took me away to his home planet of Sixam, for some
strange experiments. I'm lucky I made it back alive.
Well, I suppose he planned to return me, all along. I didn't have to make a daring escape, or
anything. But still, what if he wanted to keep me as his pet, or something? I was helpless
against him! It was so, so wrong.
The teens didn't notice a thing. They just danced to the gnome music box. Okay.

29. I take it back. Gator Wolff had no business scratching up our property. I should have a talk
with his parents about this.
Zack Durwood kindly built us another igloo, so beds wouldn't be such an issue for a while.
With candles from the grocery store, we can have enough light at night, so why hurry lifting the
curse by learning logic? It will come, sooner or later, I'm sure. For now, though, I'm just glad of
the snow.

30. Matt took care of Barbra in the morning, while I slept in. It was an exhausting night for me.
It took almost all of our funds to renovate the second floor, but we wound up with five
bedrooms, including the nursery. The main floor may become significantly less decorated,
though, because I may have to start selling stuff to support us. However, I'm still discovering
new sculptures, and that's important. I've already figured out how to make a chair and end table,
and if I can figure out some other useful furniture styles, I'll be able to kit out the house for very
little money, and just some time and effort.

31. Beliza was so stressed on Friday, her first day of school, thanks to snow days and a holiday,
that she immediately took her werewolf form, as soon as school let out. She wanted to swim and
play around for a while before hitting the library, and I don't blame her at all.
My little pup. I really love her sense of style. I hope she doesn't stay in the water for too
long, and warms up afterward, but she wants to enjoy the water slide before she even thinks
about doing homework or skilling.

32. Matt had a small housefire to extinguish, and one sim to save. Not much, but every little bit
counts toward that lifetime want and that age-freeze potion. In the meantime, he needs to take
his fountain of youth elixir tomorrow. As a werewolf, I still have a few more days.
Since he's been working from home, Matt has fallen behind in his athletic training, and those
aspiration points aren't earning themselves. So he decided to start jogging around the yard to
earn the skill points he needs.

33. Apparently, storebought candles don't give off enough light, either. We'll just have to get
used to the “Afraid of the dark” moodlet, until we have sufficient beds, at the very least, because
neither Matt nor I will play chess, read a book, or use the library logic-training facilities until
then. The igloos are just too valuable.
However, I am happy to see that Beliza has taken so well to her baby sister. Everyone takes
a turn with her, and she is a well-loved and happy baby.
Full moon nights are always interesting. Good thing the zombie can't get us in the igloo.

34. On Saturday, Belize did us proud, by maxing charisma (gotta love those brain enhancers at
the science tower), then doing an opportunity for school, working at a local business. Since she
was doing so well, we let her choose the purchases for the week. There were four of us now, so
she got to choose four items.
She chose a kitchen sink, a kitchen counter, a second parking space and an exercise
machine. Why a second parking space? She wanted me to cash in my aspiration points on a
mood mobile, instead of saving for an age-freezing potion. After all, there are youth potions that
I can take as often as necessary, and a mood mobile would make fulfilling her wish to learn to
drive a cinch. I had to admit, she had a point. Although Matt would probably still go for his age-
freeze potion sooner, rather than later, I would go ahead and get the mood mobile. It would
make life a lot easier for all of us, after all.

35. I decided it was time to cull some of our inventory, and to make it as profitable as possible, I
threw a Midas Touch elixir at my feet, then touched the most valuable decorative objects I had
lined up and waiting for me.
Unfortunately, my glass Menus de Vilos went from an average of $2000 each, to a flat $500
each, while the simbot statue went from $1500 to less than $50. I was not pleased. I decided to
simply keep them as a reminder that our best-laid plans often go awry. I'd have to make more
glass statues, if I wanted money to buy top-quality items.

36. “Thanks for the mood boost, Mom, even though I hardly learned more than how to put the
van in gear. At least I'm in a good mood for prom. Say, wasn't my date supposed to come with a
limo, about a two hours ago?”
“Don't worry, dear. You just go on to prom. I'll deal with him.”
“Can you step on it, please? Prom started at six, and I want to get there before they vote for
Prom Queen.”
“I'll do my best, Miss, but it is all the way on the other side of town.”

37. “Oh, Zack. My wife is mad at you. You stood up our daughter!”
“I know. I'm so sorry. It's just... I grew up yesterday, and it seems so icky to be dating a
teenager, now. Please forgive me.”
“I'm not the one you need to beg for forgiveness.”
“Oh, look, Zack. I still have just a few minutes on my Midas Touch. I wonder how much
you're worth.”
“I did warn him.”

38. “Wait. I can't sell him? Hmph! This Midas Touch potion was't worth what I paid for it.
Well, at least I can place him prominantly by the mailbox, as a warning to other nefarious sims
who want to do wrong by my children!”
“Don't mess with the Alpha Bitch!”

39. Name: Untitled
Artist: Zack Durwood
Quality: Average
Value: $10
“Why can't I take the motive mobile?” Matt was very disappointed. True, the fire engine
was his baby, and much faster than anything else on the road, but that mood-boosting power of
the motive mobile was simply not available to him, it would seem.

40. “So, I missed all the dancing, but I got a note from Zack, saying he was sorry he couldn't
make it, and asking me to go steady with him. Strange, it smelled like Wilhelmina's perfume.
Huh. Anyway, there wasn't time for much else, but I did make it in time for the vote! I won!
I'm Prom Queen! Wahoo!”
My baby! I'm so happy for her. She had a wonderful night, despite Zack's perfidy. And she
won't even know that the note was a set-up, because who's going to tell her? With Zack out of
the way, Wilhelmina would never cop to it. I felt secure in her happy future, as well as her
happiness that night. Also, I was proud to see all that charisma training paying off. She spoke
quite a bit better than when she first arrived. When she came home that night, and gushed about
her evening, I told her so. I also asked if she would please focus on cooking from now on, and
she seemed happy to oblige. What a sweet girl.
I'm sure someday, she'll find someone who deserves her.
Well, readers, that brings us to the end of the week. Have you ever been done wrong by a
lover? Please tell me in the comments. Remember, I still need fodder for my future novel.
See you next week!