@Caterina Thanks so much for your feedback on where to place this story. I was having so much fun writing through Bling that this was turning into a different story, so I've toned that down some, haha.
I can see how The Lighthouse would be an excellent space for the 7 Toddlers Challenge--the big living room and connected kitchen are really great.
I'm hoping that Moss and Serena will have one nooboo each, then they can try again and have a second nooboo of the opposite gender. We'll see!
As for Bling's elf ears, I'm using Khitsule's "Pointy Ears Unlocked - All Ages" cc for genetically-inheritable elf ears.
I would love to see both his toddlers with little pointy ears, but I don't know what the likelihood of transmission is. Crossing my fingers!
@PeregrineTook Haha, I have to laugh at what an effort you have to make in order to comment on any sims who don't happen to be your favorites! rofl
And yes, Serena was having an impossible time deciding on a worthy companion for this story so I hope Bling can keep up with her!
Thankfully, Caleb hasn't been around at all! I'm hoping that garlic wards, locked doors, and the Private Dwelling lot trait will suffice to keep Vlad out!
By the way, Massimo and Moss thank you for noticing their presence in the story!
I wonder if creating a household with 4 adults instead of 2 was a bad idea, but I definitely don't regret adding Serena and her (our?) WoW infatuation, Bling.
F1.2 Mossimo's Fatherhood: Are We There Yet?
Week 1/Sunday
Massimo: We might as well visit Granite Falls first. I think you're really gonna love it there, Bling!
It's all forest, trees, mountains, and rivers!
Serena: Hey, I love your taste in lodgings, son! This is luxurious to the max!
Moss: And it's undergone a family-friendly remodeling so we can come back with the children!
This Gallery download is "Granite Fall Luxury," originally created by gizky then recently renovated by Jyrosmith to incorporate the Parenthood game pack.
Massimo: Surely, you've gone fishing before, haven't you?
Bling: Yes, of course! I'm around Level 50 but max is Level 700.
Massimo: Well, you'll need to restart from scratch in this simverse, my friend.
Bling: Serena tells me you're an Angling Ace, so I look forward to your guidance!
Massimo: How does Bling manage to catch the first two fish while I haven't caught any?!
Bling: Relax, Massimo. It's just beginner's luck.
Massimo: Maybe it's your outfit! I find that top of yours oddly distracting…
Bling: You don't like this top? Your mother says she loves this top!
Massimo: Of course, she does.
Moss: Very clever of you to buy the Parenting Vol. 1 book before our departure.
Thanks for bringing a copy for me, too, Mama.
Serena: No problem! Massimo and Bling are both family-oriented, so you and I need a little head-start.
Moss: I'm feeling homesick…
Serena: That's ridiculous! We've only lived in that Windenburg house for six hours.
And it's been a whole 5 minutes since we arrived here in Granite Falls.
Bling: Fish here, fish there, harvest this, go to the kiosk to buy that…
Why am I the one doing all the work?
Serena: Because we're trying to help you earn satisfaction points, darling!
You'll live more comfortably after you've bought some reward traits.
Bling: Wow, this National Park area is even lovelier than the Campground!
Massimo's right--I do love it here in Granite Falls.
Serena: How can you be homesick again, Moss? Get a grip, boy!
Take a page out of Bling's book and learn to adapt!
Bling: So this is Willow Creek? What are we doing here, besides playing this game?
Serena: We're waiting to harvest a lily flower.
Moss: Our last stop today is the produce vendor in San Myshuno.
Massino: Before we head there, Moss, we have an important decision to make.
Moss: Yes, I know and I've been thinking it over. What about you? Do want a son or a daughter?
Serena: With the fabulous genes of Bling and I, I'd really like to have one each!
I mean, our son would be devastatingly handsome but our daughter would also be gorgeous.
Bling: I wish for a son who resembles me and a daughter who resembles you, but both with my pointy ears!
Don Lothario: Whoa, I can't believe Elf Boy successfully stole Serena away from the ever-popular CalebVatore!
I'm going to have to buy me a see-through shirt like that!
Moss: So you're buying carrots, Serena? I'm buying strawberries!
Serena: By the way, Don, if I catch you wearing the same shirt as my man, I'll string you up by your thumbs somewhere nobody will ever find you.
Don: Perish the thought! The idea had never ever crossed my mind! What shirt?!
Moss: Uh oh! Don't look now, but Bling has been "discovered"!
Bella: Hey there, handsome! You must be new in town! My name's Bella G…
Serena: There you are, darling Bling! It's time to go home…together...to our house!
Bella: Drats, he's already taken! I knew he looked too good for a random townie!
Monday
Moss: It's past midnight when we can finally harvest that lily plant in Willow Creek.
We're all done gathering our garden's plants for the time being!
Serena: I thought Bling and I would go on a romantic date today.
Massimo has the day off and Moss is working from home, so I even take a vacation day!
But what do we do? We come to Desert Bloom Park! Pfffft!
Massimo: Mama, show some patience, please! We're trying to gather materials for you to invent a cloning machine.
Once each digsite spawns, Bling and I will mine them. We should be outta here by noon.
Serena: While I'm reading my Parenting book, I get a phone call from some telemarketer.
Normally, I hang up immediately but I accept the earbuds.
They'll make a nice little gift for Bling. (No, they won't since I can't take them out of my inventory!)
I have a feeling he will enjoy visiting that new Fitness Club in Oasis Springs with Massimo.
Serena: It's been 11 hours since we started waiting on digsites and looking for a second common metal.
We've visited Desert Bloom Park and the Willow Creek Commercial District so that Massimo and Bling could mine all the nodes.
Still no success! For the sake of my romantic dinner, I take matters into my own hands.
When we arrive at Magnolia Blossom Park, I insist on being the one to mine the digsite nodes.
Of course, I acquire not just one, but two common metals right away!
I ask you: what would this household do without me?
Serena: Bling, please take note that this is my favorite restaurant lately.
Bling: You, sweet Serena, look ravishing in your evening outfit.
Serena: That's sweet of you to say so, but it's a little too vampiric for my current lifestyle.
Bling: Did you notice I'm wearing a dark brown version of my everyday outfit?
You can still just barely see my nip….
Massimo: Oh hush, dude! No one wants to hear about your anatomy at the dinner table!
Moss (changes subject): Bling and I are the only vegetarians, but do you mind my ordering vegetarian-safe dishes for everyone?
Massimo: Please put your phone away! I don't want you to think I'm picking on you, Bling, but I'm trying to help you fit in.
Bling: Browsing the web on my phone is a bad thing?
Massimo: Except in an emergency, you should not be taking your phone out at a restaurant.
Once you have children, though, checking for messages from the nanny is acceptable.
Bling: I appreciate your honesty and advice, Massimo. I'm often bewildered by this new life!
Obviously, I've never experienced restaurants or phones before.
Serena: You can ask us anything when you're feeling uncertain, Bling. We're all family now.
Tuesday
Serena: With Rally the Troops, I am able to work all night (which can't have been great for our baby).
By morning, I've invented two cloning machines.
After all this prep, I'm not lifting a finger until Wednesday morning.
Bling: We spend the day in quiet joy and anticipation.
Thanks to that skill book, we've all reached Level 3 Parenting.
We hire a vegetarian caterer from San Myshuno to stock up on toddler food.
Jessminder Bheeda also looks to be in her third trimester.
Perhaps her child will become a friend of our children someday.
Massimo: It doesn't take long for Count Vladislaus Straud to sniff out our new digs.
He actually has the nerve to text Mama while I'm mentoring her!
With my max fitness, I'm pretty sure I can give him the smackdown he deserves.
But I worry for the rest of the household. Maybe they should start working out, too! Maybe learn some self-defense?
And we should definitely stock ingredients for the vampire cure!
Moss: Thanks for moving the easels indoors, Bling.
Bling: Since that vampire's contacted Serena, our patio and garden are no longer safe at night!
Moss: Bling's been thinking hard about his role in the household.
Besides gardening, he'd like to learn to paint so he's asked me to mentor him.
Bling: I don't have the right traits to become a great painter like you, Moss.
But maxing painting would let me help you mentor our children.
Logic would be the best skill, but then who could mentor me?
Massimo: By the way, Mama, who's that elderly lady with the kissy thought bubble on our back porch?
Serena: Oh! That must be the new butler I hired this evening!
Massimo: But why do we need a butler? Moss quit his job today, you know.
So both Moss and Bling will be earning income from home.
Couldn't we just hire temporary domestic help when the house gets too messy?
Serena: Dear Massimo, how would you feel if Moss and I each gave birth to twins?
Massimo: Gah, nooo! That would be a nightmare!
Serena: Exactly! Moss and Bling would be home during the day with two kids each.
Even if we hired a nanny, that would leave one child without a dedicated adult.
Massimo: I see now. A live-in butler ensures a maximum of 3 nooboos, not four.
Serena: Yes, that's right. Ideally, Moss and I would give birth to one nooboo at a time.
Massimo: So, have you met our new butler, sweetheart?
Moss: No, not yet. What are her traits?
Massimo: She's Creative like you and Active like me, but she's also Squeamish.
Moss: Is she nice?
Massimo: She's an elderly butler who feels flirty--pretty awkward, if you ask me.
Serena (overhears): Don't worry about her, Massimo.
As soon as Moss and I give birth, we'll be dismissing that butler, remember?
Bling: I don't understand how hiring a live-in butler helps prevent multiple births.
The butler doesn't take up a slot in our household, so there's still room for four more sims.
Watchette: Gahhhh, noooooo! Obviously, this is the first time in my sim-life that I've ever hired a butler.
Oh well! Fortunately, I'm never above having a good laugh at myself.
Darn, foiled by the butler!
Wednesday
Serena: Well, it's 10 a.m. now.
Moss: Only another hour or so to go until we get to meet our nooboos!
Bling: Does that mean the next update begins right away with introducing the nooboos?
Serena: I don't know. It depends on whether we give birth at home or a hospital.
Would you like to go with me to the hospital, Bling?
Massimo (whispers): It's a trap, Bling! Hurry and say no!
Watchette: Everyone, please cross your fingers that Serena and Moss don't have twins!