World Adventures with the Grant Family

The Journal of Penny Grant - August 2 - Poor Ruby

2014-03-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

"Penny? I'm sorry I'm late," Nick called out as he walked through the door.

I left the toddler's room and looked at Nick. "Elmer rang to say he was keeping you for a bit of extra work. He didn't want me to worry." Elmer was right about that. I would have been very worried if I hadn't known. Nick hadn't been more than a few minutes late since his return.

"Elmer did tell me that he rang and," he paused for a moment, "I was deep in the bowels of the base. There's no cell reception down there." He paused for another moment. "May I ask you a question or two, Penny?"

I nodded.

"How many relatives do you have in town? Cousins, second cousins?"

"Oh dear, that's a tough question. As for cousins, my Uncle Eric had three children; Jerod, Elmer and Roccio. Aunt Kathy had two; Malcolm and Shanna. Uncle Sammy had two; Glen and Devon. So that makes 7 cousins. But once you go deeper into the family tree, I think about 1/3 of Sunset Valley is related to our family to some degree. What brought that up?" I was curious since we hadn't really talked about family before.

"Elmer made a joke about how your family was a small army. I was wondering how true it was," Nick replied.

"It's a small exaggeration but not too far from the truth. I have 3 siblings. My dad had 3 siblings. My grandfather had 4 siblings. Since almost all of them got married and had kids, that does add up. My mom, she was the only child and her parents had no siblings so that side of the family is non-existent."

"I only have Aunt Amelia, who has never married, and Uncle Travis who has three kids. My dad and my uncle never really got along so I don't even know my cousins. And I only have two siblings." He looked at me with an odd expression. "I never really thought about how few relatives I have compared to you."

"The only cousins I really know are Jerod and Elmer. I know a few of the rest of them vaguely but not enough to hang out. The oldest of my cousins, I don't know at all. Which means it's not that different."

Nick gave me a very odd look and there was a moment when I thought he was going to argue with me. Instead, he just replied, "Anything happen with the toddlers that I should know about?"

"It's been very quiet all day. The toddlers have all been quite happy playing with their toys. In fact, Jerod was by earlier and I had time to train him a bit in martial arts. Odd that you should happen to mention cousins today."

Nick shrugged and went off to the toddlers room. I watched, thoughtful. It was very odd that Nick decided to ask about my cousins and Jerod turned up on the same day. Life is so full of weird coincidences like that though. It had been about two weeks since Jerod had given me the Axe of Pangu and he wanted to know if I was going to be using it any time soon. I told him I didn't know.

---

Since his return, Nick had been doing far more with the children than I'd originally asked. He didn't just start watching over the toddlers at their bedtime. From the moment he got home, he played with and taught the toddlers.

He also made sure he spent time with Buddy every day before dinner. When Buddy got home, he rushed to his desk and did his homework. Buddy knew that if he finished his homework, he could get his dad to play. If the homework wasn't done, then that would be what Nick and Buddy did together for the night. I don't know exactly what else Nick had done, but Buddy was doing well in school. We never had phone calls about his bullying either.

Buddy, Nick and I would eat dinner at 7 each night. At about 8, Nick would put the toddlers and himself to bed in their room. He'd stay in the bedroom with them until he had to get up, get ready and leave for work in the morning.

I hadn't adjusted to Nick being with the toddlers every night though. After two years of effectively being a single parent, I still had the habit of waking up several times in the night. I would spend a few minutes listening in case there were any signs of trouble. I never heard more than a small whimper without hearing Nick's voice as well.

Of course, sometimes I did get up and double check. There were times when I'd find Nick asleep in the rocking chair, with one of the triplets on his lap. Other times, he'd in the sleeping bag with a toddler cuddled on his chest. It was rare to find Nick in the sleeping bag without a toddler in his arms.

If I happened to check while Nick was awake, he always told me the same thing. "You can go back to bed, Penny. I have this." I had to admit, he did have it. He was taking it all in stride, not once did I notice him complaining.

The household had all gone to bed and I had been asleep for a little while. There was a soft tapping on my bedroom door which woke me. "Penny? Penny?" Nick said quietly.

"Come on in," I replied around a massive yawn. Nick came into my room holding Ruby in his arms. "What is it, Nick?"

"I'm going to take Ruby to the hospital. She's been coughing a lot in the past two nights and she just started again." He was jiggling her, which was making Ruby smile.

"Surely it can wait until tomorrow?"

"Ruby can't sleep. I can't sleep because Ruby can't sleep. And it seems worse at night so it's probably a better time for a doctor to figure out what's wrong." He looked at me, the concern evident in his eyes. "I wanted to be sure you knew that Ruby and I were out so no one will be watching Daisy or Joey for a bit."

I yawned again. My brain just wasn't ready to function at whatever time this was. "Are you sure?" Just then, Ruby started to cough. It was a steady hacking cough that sounded far too intense for her little body. "I see. Oh you poor baby," I stroked Ruby's head gently. "All right, Nick. I'll be sure to check on Joey and Daisy while you're gone."

"Do you want to hear about the results when I get back or sometime tomorrow?"

"I won't be sleeping much, now that I am awake. I'll be worried about Ruby," Ruby's cough finally eased a bit and I stroked her head again. "And Nick?" I looked him in the eyes. "Thank you."

"Penny, I was a complete and utter arsewipe for suddenly disappearing. But I never ever stopped caring about my family." He sighed, "I freaked out because three little strangers at once was hard for me to cope with. After two years of getting switched between units all the time, three strangers is a piece of cake." With that, he left.

I looked at the clock, it was midnight. I had thought it later than that but I guess I had just been in a deep sleep. Bad timing but I can't blame Nick for that. Poor Ruby was the cause and it wasn't her fault either.

I went into the toddlers room to wait. The rocking chair was actually quite comfortable, something I hadn't realised. Both Joey and Daisy were quiet in their cribs. After an hour or so, I drifted off into a doze.

I woke to the sound of a car just outside the house. Sure enough, the front door soon opened. I quickly got up and moved to the main room, shutting the door so the toddlers would stay asleep. "So?"

His face was haggard, "I'd forgotten how awful waiting in the hospital was. If it's not critical, you have to just sit forever." He blinked as he realised that I'd asked a question. "The doctor thinks that Ruby might be asthmatic. There are a couple of tests they can do when she's older but he used some asthma medication on her and her breathing settled down in a few minutes."

I looked at Ruby, now sleeping in Nick's arms. "Is it dangerous?"

"The doctor thinks Ruby has a mild case and there's a chance she'll outgrow it eventually. Even if she doesn't, she'll live a pretty normal life. She'll just need to be aware of it and have an inhaler around just in case." He kissed the top of her head. "Given her reaction to the medication, I think it's the right diagnosis."

"Our poor baby."

Nick suddenly yawned. "Penny, I'm sorry but I have to put Ruby to bed and try to get a little more sleep. I'm going to be so useless tomorrow."

I nodded. It wasn't long before he was due to get up and get ready for work. "All right. Night night, Ruby," I kissed her on the forehead.

"Night, Nick," I kissed his cheek. His eyes grew wide, it was the first time I'd touched him since hitting him the day he got home. "Thank you for taking Ruby to the hospital."

He blushed, nodded shyly and then left for the toddler's room. I watched his retreat, thoughtful. Perhaps I could go back to China and resume the martial arts tournaments. Perhaps I could trust Nick.

---
Technical notes

Nick decided not to tell Penny that both her brothers and two of her cousins threatened him. He still feels guilty enough over abandoning his family that he won't complain about such things.

Penny's dad Phillip did have 3 siblings; Sammy, Kathy and Eric. Penny's grandfather Indiana had 4 siblings; Laura, Henry, Rick and Jack.

Family wise, Sam and Rachel had 5 children. Indiana and Judy had 4 children. Now I was going to let Phillip stop at 3 but number 3 turned out to be the twins Veronica and Penelope. So now the family heir is cursed to forever have 4 children - which means Penny and Nick are done having babies.

Spare pics

Let's ride, cowboys.

wrong angle for that...

Monster under bed!

Why did you get the only child who needs to be in a crib out?

A Family Chat with Nick

2014-02-15T23:31:00.001-08:00

"Gentlemen, are we agreed?" I asked as I looked over my co-conspirators. I'd just spent the last couple of minutes sketching out my plans.

I smiled as the other three nodded. It seemed likely that my cousin Penny would want to travel soon, now that she had possession of the axe of Pangu. But her husband, Nick, could be a problem. I decided to ask Penny's older brothers, Vincent and Stephen and my little brother Elmer to meet and have a serious chat about Nicholas Grant.

"You aren't planning to kill him?" asked Stephen. "I don't mind shutting it for an hour for some frank talk but it would be bad for business if word got out that someone died here."

I shook my head, "No, not this time. This time I just want to make sure he's very afraid."

"You'll be putting the fear of God in him?" asked Vincent.

"Oh no," I told Vincent with an evil smile. "I'm going to put the fear of me into him." I looked across the table at my brother, "You think you can handle your part?"

"Yeah, Jerod. It shouldn't be hard to get him in the car. Catch him 5 minutes before the end of the day and give him something to do that will take at least 10 minutes and they'll have left. He should be willing to get a lift from me," replied Elmer. "I guess I could even make it an order. Since we'll be off duty, he doesn't really have to accept orders though."

"Are you sure you don't want to involve more family?" asked Vincent. "I'm sure that they'd be interested."

"There are four of us. I think that should be enough to control Nick, if he should put up a fight. It also should be enough to get the point across that Penny's family will not let her get hurt again without serious consequences for him." I stood up. "Tomorrow at three then?"

"I kinda hope that Abbey doesn't find out about this." Stephen said with a serious look. "I'm not sure how my wife would like me taking part in threatening her brother."

"I would think that Abbey would be all right with it, Stephen. You and Abbey did help with the triplets when Penny couldn't cope, yes?" By the accounts I'd heard, Penny collapsed and might have died if not for the family. The sudden disappearance of Nick soon after the birth of triplets just completely undid her.

"Now that I think about it, Abbey hasn't spoken to Nick since he returned. It should be all right."

---

The next afternoon, I was waiting in the car for Elmer and Nick to emerge from work. I'd timed my arrival for a few minutes past 3, just after most of the soldiers has left the base. I heard Elmer speaking as they approached, "I'm sorry, I must have kept you too long. I think your ride left. We can give you a lift, if you like."

I saw Nick look around. "Yes, sir. Looks like I do need a lift. It won't take long, my place isn't far from here." I nearly laughed hearing Elmer being called 'Sir'. I never see the military side of Elmer's life.

I waited until I'd heard both doors shut then locked the car. I'd already taken the precaution of setting the child lock on every door but mine. Now that Nick was in, he wasn't getting out until someone let him out.

It was only a minute later when I turned toward town instead of the road leading to Nick's home. It wasn't long before he noticed. "Wait! It's quicker to drop me off first and you've missed the turn. This is the wrong way."

"That's because we aren't taking you home yet. We are going to the pub," said Elmer.

"But I don't want to go to a pub. I want to go home. I need to go home," protested Nick.

"No one said you had a choice. We are going to the pub," I told my reluctant passenger. I heard Nick pull at the door handle when we stopped at a stop sign. "Don't bother, it's locked."

"Who do you people think you are?" Nick demanded. He looked closely at me. "You're not in the service. But you do look familiar."

I shrugged and just let him stew over the question. We were already close to our destination and he'd have his answers soon enough.

"We're here," I declared as I pulled into one of the parking spots.

Nick's door was pulled open. "Out." He was roughly pulled from the car.

Nick struggled to free his arm when he noticed who had grabbed him. "Vincent? What's going on?"

"Inside. Now," was the terse reply. "You'll find out what's going on in the pub. Are you going to walk or do we drag you?"

Nick stalked into the pub then spun around to look at us. By this time, he was royally pissed. I heard Stephen locking the door of the pub behind us.

"What's going on? What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. "Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to bring me here?"

"I am Jerod Grant and that is my little brother Elmer. We are a very small sample of Penny's cousins around town. I believe that you know Penny's brothers?"

Nick nodded.

"I mentioned to them that I wanted to talk to you. Stephen volunteered using his pub as a meeting place. Elmer volunteered to arrange your normal car to leave without you."

"But why?"

I stepped closer and Nick took a step backward. "So I could warn you - this one time. If you should ever hurt Penny again or if she ever has cause to complain about you, you had fucking well better leave town and never come back."

"Because Penny may have forgiven you once but we haven't," said Elmer.

Vincent said, "And the family will never leave you in peace if you dare do it again."

"Penny has practically an army of cousins and second cousins in this town," I told him. "I can promise that most if not all of them will act if they are asked."

Nick hung his head. "I didn't really plan to do it in the first place. I got drunk. I wasn't thinking straight."

Vincent growled, "We don't care if you planned it or not. We care about our Penny. So will you be running off again? Will we have to pick up the pieces left of my little sister again?"

"No! I swear. Please believe me, I regretted leaving. But they wouldn't transfer me home." He looked at each of us in turn. "I know, you probably don't believe that. But why threaten me now?"

"I have reason to believe that Penny wants to travel. And if she does, I want to be fucking sure that her home and family are well cared for," I replied. "That's why now is a good time to have this little chat."

"Penny might travel? She hasn't said anything to me yet," Nick said. "Then again, she still doesn't talk to me except about the kids."

"She'd have a hard time making up her mind to go, if she thinks you might desert the family again while she's gone," said Elmer. "The fact that you deserted your family makes me sick. I'd love to find a reason to get you thrown out of the service for good."

"Easy, little bro. Four kids are a lot of mouths to feed," I said. "He needs a job to pay the bills. It's all right as long as he doesn't use the service as a way to escape again." I looked at Elmer, "We don't want to destroy the family by losing them their home." Elmer gave me a small nod.

"So none of the women in the family wanted to get involved?" asked Nick.

"Oh, you are so wrong. The couple I asked wanted to be here. But they also wanted knives and some time with your genitals," I said. "A very blood thirsty lot, the women in the Grant clan." I paused and stepped closer. "It was tempting to give you to them and see how it goes." I took a deep breath. "In fact, if you do totally fuck up again, I'll not only give you to the women, I'll make sure they have a huge array of sharp pointy things to choose from. And when they finish, I will kill you."

Nick gasped and looked at the others. "You wouldn't. Not really."

I spoke with deliberate emphasis. "Make no mistake. I would. I swear, you dare hurt my cousin again and when I catch you, you are a dead man."

"But ..." Nick paused as he looked at the others. Then he shut his mouth, there was no sympathy from any of them.

"For the moment, you are safe. Penny has chosen to take you back. I will respect her decision. I seriously don't understand it though."

"I do," replied Nick. "Our oldest, Buddy. He listens to me. He was being a bully at school and uncooperative at home. Now that I'm back, he's much better."

"So, you will be there for the family, Nicholas Grant? Penny can travel without worrying about the babies?" I asked.

"I swear to you I won't let Penny down. I won't let our kids down. If I fail, I'll bring the knives for you to use myself."

I nodded. "Then let's get you home, Nicholas Grant. Elmer rang your house to let Penny know you'd been delayed." We set off. Would Nick be true to his words? Only time would tell, but we could all encourage Penny to take her long overdue holiday.

The Journal of Penny Grant - July 17 - What is that thing?

2013-10-24T05:18:00.003-07:00

Not long after I left Buddy talking to his dad when my phone rang.

"Oh, hey Emerald."

"Yes, Nick did come over and he is still here."

"Send the boys?"

"No, I don't need James or Stephen to come over and remove Nick. I said he could stay."

"Don't worry, Em. He will earn his keep. I can promise you that. Starting with permanent night shift and potty duties."

"Thanks for the offer. Would you and Brad like to come for dinner? No? Okay, that's fine."

Nice of Emerald to be worried that I might needed help making Nick leave. That phone call brought home to me that there was no one in our family in Nick's corner. His parents, especially his mother, and sibs were taking my side just as much as mine own were.

That wasn't quite true. Buddy seemed to be firmly on Nick's side. He was chattering to Nick after so long of barely talking at home at all. Much as it pained me to see Buddy giving Nick getting so much attention when I’d had so little; I was happy to see Buddy opening up to someone.

And I have to give Nick some credit. Since getting home, he’s been very attentive to the toddlers. Potty training, trying to teach them to talk. He has two years of getting to know them to make up and he seems determined to make it up in a couple of months.

He never tries to initiate a conversation with me. Wise, waiting for me to decide to start a conversation. At the moment, there's not much more to say than I did when he first came home. Which I think he did hear quite a bit about that first night.

---

It was 2 in the morning when I woke up thinking about the toddlers. Since I was awake, I decided that I might as well get up and check that all was fine. Usually at 2, one of them wanted food or a cuddle or something.

After I flipped on the lights, there was a groan from near one of the cribs. When my eyes had adjusted, I saw Nick in the rocking chair with Ruby in his arms.

"Hi Penny," Nick blinked a few times sleepily at me. "You can go back to bed. I have this."

I glanced around the room and noticed a sleeping bag rolled up near the desk. "You sleeping here?"

He nodded. "Easiest way for me to know if any of the toddlers needs attention. You did tell me that I'm supposed to watch over the toddlers past 10. You really can go back to bed, I have this."

I watched Nick slowly rocking with Ruby. "All right. Good night." I flipped the light switch back off and left the room.

The next day, Nick quietly left for work with the triplets deeply asleep. Buddy ate his breakfast and then gathered his stuff for school. I heard a car pull up outside and wandered outside for a look.

To my surprise, it was my cousin, Jerod. I hadn't seen Jerod in ages. Then again, I don't go to Stephen's bar while I hear he does all the time. “Hi, Penny. I don’t know if you’ve met my little sister Rocio? She’s Elmer’s twin.”

I shook my head. “I don’t believe we have. Nice to meet you, Rocio.”

Rocio smiled at me. “Nice to meet you. I can’t stay long but after Jerod told me that you were the most appropriate person for the thing we found, I really wanted to come and talk to you.”

“Most appropriate person for what?”

“It's something special for an explorer. Jerod says you have the itchy feet of the family and we found this thing in storage box way in the back of a room that no one uses.” My curiosity was building. What was this mysterious thing that they found?

“I’ll go get it from the car,” said Jerod. He went off to fetch whatever this item was.

“Jerod also said you have triplets. Seriously?” Rocio asked.

“Oh yes, that’s true. They’ve recently turned two and they are all sorts of trouble.”

“I can’t imagine. I only have one baby and that’s plenty. How do you cope with three?”

“You do what you have to do, I suppose. My family pitched in to hire a butler and I don't know what we'd do without him.”

Jerod came back and Rocio left saying that she had to get to work. Jerod was carrying a huge axe. “Jerod? What the hell?”

“We were digging around, cleaning out some old stuff in the family home, and we found this axe. As far as I can tell, it’s the Axe of Pangu which was found by our great grandfather. Rocio doesn’t travel, and the damn thing creeps me out no end.” Jerod smiled at me. “That’s when I remembered that Uncle Phillip said you love to travel. So Rocio and I decided you should have the family heirloom.”

I took the axe from Jerod and I could swear that it spoke to me. It told me that it was ready to destroy any obstacles in our path. I can see why it gave Jerod the creeps.

Jerod leaned toward me. "I hear your husband has stolen my title of the black sheep of the family."

"Thoroughly, Jerod. I think you'd have to murder someone to get that title back."

He laughed. "I guess I'll have to live without it. I wasn't planning on murdering anyone in the near future. Unless you have a special request?" He gave me a sort of serious look with one eyebrow arched.

"If you are asking what I think you are, then thank you but no. Besides, I think you'd have to take a number. I do have two older brothers, you know."

"True, but they don't have a reputation in the family." He cocked his head for a moment. "Guess I don't have a reputation either, now." He gave me another grin. "But if you want me to do something, just send word."

"It sounds like you are in the family gossip loop. With the triplets, I'm really don't hear much. Anything new in your life?"

"My oldest married last week. It didn't take him long at all to settle well to domestic life and his new spouse. I guess that means grandchildren on the horizon. The idea of a grandchild though, that's utterly terrifying."

"Just think, a baby you can cuddle and spoil to your heart's content. Then hand back to parents when they get annoying."

He nodded. "That part sounds good, but I don't feel like I should be a granddad yet. And the youngest will probably be leaving the nest soon. Elsa and I aren't looking forward to that. You won't like it when that happens to you."

"Jerod, that's a long long time in my future. Like after an infinite amount of pottys and schooling and..."

"It seems like forever now but it won't be. Look, I have to go but do call me if you need anything."

"Bye Jerod."

Jerod and Rocio's visit had given me something to really consider. The plane tickets that Nick gave me were sitting on my side table in the bedroom. I hadn't given them much thought since Nick handed me the envelope.

But now, I had that axe. An axe meant for exploring. An axe that my great granddad Sam once handled. A huge, badass axe.

Could I trust Nick with the family? Could I go back to China and renew my quest to be a master of martial arts?

Well, no, I certainly can't trust Nick alone with my toddlers. Not yet. But I did have backup. If I asked, my family would check on things.

And it would be my first time away from home since before I was pregnant. It's been a long time. Who should I ask? Veronica was out, her job was too much. My parents would try but I hate to put them to too much bother at their age. Vincent? Stephen? Just trust Jake?

---
Bonus pics and a bit of ancient history.

It is true that their great granddad Sam earned that Axe of Pangu when he was alive. He only got to use it a few times before it disappeared from the inventory. I wanted Penny to have it but it might not have respawned in the temple. Since Rocio does live in the house where Sam and Rachel raised their tribe of 5, she and Jerod may well have found it and that's my story. :D

The Journal of Penny Grant - July 14 - Changes

2013-07-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

I was busy with Daisy when my phone rang. "Hello?"

“Mrs Grant, this is Kayla Hill. I’m your son’s teacher.”

“Ms Hill,” I paused while I tried to think of an appropriate pleasantry as my mind raced through a dozen possibilities of why Buddy’s teacher would call. Was he sick or injured? Had he forgotten a school project? “I’m pleased to finally talk to you.”

“You won’t be soon. Look, can you come by after school today? We need to talk. Sooner will be better, Mrs Grant. Can you and Buddy’s father make it?”

“I’ll try, Ms Hill, but I can’t make any promises. I have triplets and it’s not often that I can get away. And Buddy’s father is overseas. He’s not due back yet.”

“I need to talk to you, Mrs Grant. Please try to make it.”

I ended the call. Obviously Buddy wasn’t sick, but what else would his teacher want to talk about? And I realised that Nick was due back relatively soon now. When he’d left, the babies weren’t that old. It was only about a month or so before his tour of duty was over.

“Jake, I have to go see Buddy’s teacher at around 3. Will you be all right?”

“Of course, ma’am. That should be the toddlers nap time. If they don’t sleep, they do have plenty of toys to amuse themselves with.” Jake nodded reassuringly at me. “We will all be fine.”

So I left home just before 3 and headed for the school. It took me a little while to find someone who could tell me where Ms Hill might be. I found her and Buddy in the library.

“Thank you for coming, Mrs Grant.”

“Please, call me Penny. Mrs Grant is too formal for me.”

“In that case, you should call me Kayla.”

“So Kayla, why did you ring?”

She sighed. “This is never an easy discussion. Penny, Buddy is bullying the other children in his class.”

“A bully?” I looked at Buddy but he was staring at his hands and refused to look at me. “I know he doesn’t like school but...”

“We knew that someone was bullying some of our other students. Sometimes one of the girls would be crying after recess. We’ve been notified by parents that their children was giving away lunch money. Finally though, we caught it on a surveillance camera.” She motioned toward the small tv in the corner and started a tape playing.

It took a few minutes to get to the critical scene. But I couldn’t deny that it was Buddy, first shouting at one little girl until she burst into tears and then shaking a boy until he was handed something. A few minutes later, he went over to the sand box and the two children in it scrambled to get out before he arrived.

I turned to look at my son. “Buddy, why? Why are you picking on them?”

He just shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t like them.”

I turned to Kayla. “Do you have any suggestions of where to go from here?”

She nodded. “The school has a counselling service. I would suggest that Buddy regularly has a chat to a counsellor and see if that helps.”

“Is that all?”

“Until we can be sure he isn’t bullying the other children, he’ll have to be supervised by a teacher while he’s on the school grounds. No hanging around before or after school since he might be able to bully someone again.”

Buddy was frowning deeply. But I couldn’t deny that the other children weren’t safe around him. “All right, that makes sense to me.”

“I won’t,” declared Buddy.

Kayla and I looked at each other. “You won’t what?” I asked my son.

“I won’t talk to the counsellor, I won’t be nice to the cry babies at school. I won’t!”

What was I going to do with him? “Thank you, Kayla. I appreciate you letting me know. I’ll talk to Buddy, and see if I can get him to listen.” I stood up and reached for Buddy’s hand.

He resolutely moved his hands away from me. “I’m not a baby. Just leave me alone.”

“If you insist, Buddy. It’s time to go.” I was relieved to see that he also stood up and grabbed his books. We left the building and Buddy hurried ahead. I assume so he wouldn’t be seen with me.

After we’d been moving for a few minutes, Buddy suddenly spoke. “This isn’t the way home.”

“We are going to visit your grandparents,” I explained. I didn’t know if any of them would have any useful suggestions but it would be worth asking.

“Which grandparents?” he grumbled.

“Both of your grandfathers, I hope. Since they live next door to each other, it shouldn’t be hard.”

Buddy slumped in the seat of the cab still grumbling. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes before we had arrived. I rang the doorbell first and while waiting for someone to open the door, rang up Brad to ask if he could come over.

Dad was the one who answered the door. “Penny? What’s up?” He looked around to see if I’d managed to bring the triplets as well as Buddy.

“Buddy, why don’t you go find something to play with?” I knew that Mum and Dad had never changed our room much so there were plenty of toys in the house. Buddy let out a loud sigh then wandered into the house.

“Dad, it’s about Buddy." I noticed that my father-in-law was on his way so I waited for him to arrive. "I just found out that Buddy’s bullying some kids at school and he’s not talking to me about it. I was hoping that maybe he’d talk to one of you.”

Dad winced. “Penny, I can’t promise he’ll talk to us either.”

I gave my dad a brief hug. “I know Dad, but maybe he will talk to one of his granddads when he just won’t talk to his mother. His teacher suggested a counsellor but I don’t know if that's going to work.”

"You have a chat with your mother while we see if Buddy responds to us," Dad said. He and Brad walked back toward what was our bedroom when Veronica and I lived at home. Mum was at the computer but she was willing to have a chat instead of working on another novel.

Some time later, Dad and Brad came back. "Sorry Penny but your son is stubborn. We tried but I don't think we made the slightest impression on him."

"That child is a Kane," declared Brad. "We do stubborn like nobody's business."

"Thanks for trying. I hope he doesn't start picking on the triplets too."

"We asked. Buddy looked shocked. I don't think he ever considered bullying the babies."

I nodded and went to collect Buddy. We went home, my son still unwilling to talk to me.

---

Unfortunately, weeks of counselling provided by the school also did nothing to change Buddy's behaviour. If he thought he could get away with it, he still bullied the other kids. The school started sending me suggestions about sending Buddy to a boarding school. Probably more to get him out of their school than to change his ways.

I was concentrating on what needed to be done for the triplets when the doorbell rang. I finished changing Joey's diapers, everyone who visits this house knows that it can take a while before I can answer the door.

When I finally opened the door, I saw nothing but wrapped packages. “I’m sorry, I would have hurried if I’d know you were carrying this much.”

I lead the way to the table. "Let me help you with those. Are they heavy?" A neutral grunt was the only reply.

I put several packages on the table before I finally saw who was behind them. "Nick?" He nodded and carefully put down the last of the packages.

All the feelings of anger, frustration, loneliness, and depression I'd had in the past two years suddenly came gushing back. I started yelling at Nick for leaving us with no warning. There was definitely quite a lot of cussing and name calling involved. I vaguely remember shaking him at one point and slapping him at another.

Nick never once moved. He didn’t flinch, he didn’t retaliate, he just stood there while I released two years of pent anger and frustration. It wasn’t until I’d nearly worn myself out that I realised Nick had been quietly talking the whole time. He was repeating, “Penny, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” over and over again.

“Why, Nick? Why did you sign up for a tour of duty? Why did you abandon us?”

“Before I explain, I want you to know that I’ve been trying to come home. I’ve asked each of my commanding officers if I could have leave or get reassigned here. They pretty much stop seeing me after the first couple of weeks. But I did try.” He took a deep breath. “Remember what it was like just before I left? Neither of us had enough sleep, and we were both tired and stressed out?”

I glared at him. “It didn’t get any easier here without you.”

“I’m sorry. Truly. That first day back at work, a couple of guys and I shared a few brews. The booze went straight to my head and so when I saw a sign asking for a few people to transfer to a unit that was due to be posted overseas, I signed up. It seemed like a great idea, there was a pay increase and overseas bonus. Plus I wouldn’t have to cope with three little strangers.” I noticed that he started to reach for my hand but stopped himself. “It was about 3 days after we arrived when I finally got over the jet lag and it dawned on me what I’d done. How I'd just left my wife, my family with no warning at all. After that, I turned on my phone to find I had about a dozen very angry text messages from my mother.”

He looked at me but I just shook my head. I wasn’t sure what to say. “That’s when I wrote the first letter. I was told that you didn’t open any of my letters but I still wrote every week. They all start exactly the same way. ‘Penny, I love you. I hope that you’ll forgive me some day.’ I know I haven’t the right to ask that yet. But I hope very much that you’ll let me earn that right.”

He motioned toward the packages strewn over the table. “Those are the gifts for the kids. I bought you something as well.” He pulled a long white envelope out of a pocket. “I asked your dad what would be the best thing I could give you.”

“My father spoke to you?” I growled.

“It took me about 6 months of sending him grovelling messages before he finally responded. I thought he’d block my number or change his before he’d answer me. Eventually though, he gave in and told me that the best gift I could possibly give you was this.” He handed me the envelope.

I opened it and found plane tickets to China. “The dates are completely flexible.” Nick said softly as I stared. “You can fly over when you want and return when you are ready.”

I shook my head. “I can’t go to China. The triplets need so much attention.”

“I’ll look after everything here.” I started to shake my head again. “Look, Penny, I know that you don’t trust me. But we both know that everyone in our families would be watching. I wouldn’t dare fail.”

“Nick, even then, how can I believe anything you say?” I stared at those lovely tickets in my hand. The thought of going back to China and resuming my martial arts training was so attractive. But I would never risk the triplets.

“All I ask for is a chance, Penny," he pleaded. "Could I go see the babies at least? My mother frequently sent me messages about them but she refused to send even a small blurry picture.”

“Yes, Nick,” I said reluctantly. “You can see the babies. You are their father after all.” He headed toward their room before I’d even finished the sentence. "Wait, they are out the back in the swings." I followed along after he changed direction. “Emerald didn’t say she was writing you.”

“I think she didn’t want to upset you again. But I’m pretty sure that she used her rank to ensure I didn’t have much fun overseas.”

“What do you mean?”

Nick picked up Joey and started to cuddle him. “I left home because of these adorable little ones. God, they've grown so much. While overseas, I would just be getting used to the unit I was attached to when I’d get reassigned. It happened every couple of months, toward the end of the month, I’d get papers assigning me somewhere else. Which meant every couple of months, I had a new group of people to deal with and a new CO to boot. And it’s always the tradition that the newer soldiers in the unit get the worst jobs. I’ve peeled mountains of spuds and mopped hundreds of floors.” He put Joey back in the swing and moved on to Daisy. “I’m pretty sure it was my mother pulling in some favours. No one else was getting transferred every two or three months.”

I heard the school bus in the distance which reminded me about Buddy. I was at wits end about how to handle Buddy. He simply didn't listen to me at all. “Nick, I’ll let you stay here with a few conditions.”

His attention went from Joey to me. “Really? I thought I’d have to take Dad up on his offer of sleeping in a dog house. I thought he was joking until I heard Mum comment that it would contaminate the dog house if I slept there.”

Em was so outspoken that it could be harsh sometimes. “Buddy has taken to bullying kids at school. I’ve talked to him. Both our fathers have talked to him. He sees a counsellor at school twice a week. None of it is making any difference. He won’t really talk about it and he won’t stop doing it.” I pointed at Nick. “For you to stay, you have to agree to work with Buddy and take care of the triplets if they need any attention from 10 at night to 6 in the morning.”

“Yes, Penny, I accept. Anything else?” Nick replied quietly.

“I don’t know what we will do about you sleeping here. You are certainly not welcome in my bed. Buddy and the butler have the only other beds…”

The front door slammed loudly, announcing the return of our oldest son. “Buddy, could you come outside please?”

We could hear the stomping and the grumbles as Buddy approached. Nick put Daisy back in the swing and turned to wait for Buddy. The door was shoved open.

“Hey, Buddy. How’s my little man?” asked Nick.

“Daddy?” replied Buddy as his eyes grew wide. “Daddy!” Buddy flung himself at his father.

I decided that for the moment, I’d leave the two of them together. I quietly left the room. I didn't love Nick. I didn't trust Nick. But if he could do something about Buddy, I'd let him stay.

---

it may be that Penny does love Nick.

The Journal of Penny Grant - July 10 - The Neverending Birthdays

2013-05-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

“Mummy, do I have to go to school? I don’t like it.”

I suppressed a sigh, every day was the same battle to get Buddy out the door. “Yes, Buddy, you do have to go to school. Leisure day is coming, you’ll have a whole day off.”

He gave me a look of disgust. “It will never get here.”

“It will get here, I promise. And do you really want to stay home with all the babies?”

“Babies are yucky,” he agreed. “I wish daddy were here, he wouldn’t make me go to school.”

I wanted to tell Buddy a few things about his daddy but now wasn’t the time. “He would make you go. Education is very important, so go to school Buddy Grant.”

He slowly trudged out of the house and to the waiting bus. I watched him go, sad that my little man so disliked school.

After Buddy had finally gotten into the bus, I went and cuddled the babies. When they were all cuddled and ready for another nap, I prepared to go out. “Jake?” I called.

“Yes ma’am,” he appeared in that magical butler way. One moment, you’d swear he wasn’t even in the house and the next, he was right beside you.

“I’m going out for the morning. Gym, coffee shop and then pick up the things for the birthday party. You’ll manage?”

“Of course, ma’am. Now that the babies are on the same schedule, they aren’t too hard.”

“Thank you, Jake.” My parents were right. A butler was a blessing. Jake took everything in stride, and I could get away for a few hours from time to time.

First stop was the gym. I needed a more thorough workout than the board breaker at home could do for me. The local team was holding a place for me, once I was done with maternity leave. And I have every intention to shine. To do that, I have to be in top shape.

When I’d finished working myself into a good sweat, and taking a shower, I went over to the coffee shop for a quick caffeine fix. I double checked the list of party supplies that I was to get. Jake had a few requirements for food. I wanted to make sure we had enough decorations to suit each of the triplets. Three birthday cakes, a small expense but I’m sure that it will be easier if we don’t have to try to have three toddlers blow out the candles on the same cake.

—
It was nearly evening before everything was ready and the guests started to arrive. I'd invited the family. Dad, Brad and Em, Stephen and Abby, and Veronica made it. Mum, Vincent and James didn't.

The fact that Mum didn't come worried me. I think Vincent stayed home to keep an eye on her. Every time I see her, I'm worried that it will be the last time.

I looked at the pile of presents that Brad and Em had delivered earlier in the day. “Did you buy all of this?” I had a feeling about the answer. There were two new chests with presents piled on top. The upper most present being an especially fluffy stuffed toy, one for each of the babies.

A look passed between them. “Well, Penny,” Brad said. “We didn’t. We brought you these,” and he handed me a couple of gifts. “The rest are from Nick. They arrived a couple of weeks ago for the triplets birthday.”

I added Brad and Em’s gift to those of the other guests. My family had done well at getting presents for the babies, there were a lot of new toys and some new clothes as well.

The pile of gifts from Nick wasn’t entirely a surprise. He’d sent at least one gift for every birthday and holiday and he usually sent them to his parents or occasionally mine. I think he sent them to parents so there were witnesses to the fact that there were gifts. I'd never deny my children gifts but since I don't communicate with Nick, he wouldn't know that.

Buddy had been playing in the tree house from the time he got home. In a way, that was convenient, he'd been out of the way while we were setting everything up.

"Buddy, it's time. Come down for the birthday party."

"Do I have to?" was the plaintive reply.

"If you don't, you won't get any cake," I said. While it's still fresh, that is. I have a feeling we will have cake in the fridge for ages.

Even though the guests had started to arrive, the babies were still soundly asleep in their swings.

I hate to have to admit it but I prefer them asleep. While they sleep, they are the best babies anyone could want. Then again, there were three of them and when they are all awake, it's nearly impossible to keep up. Without Jake, I have no idea how I'd manage.

Because I had three cakes, I decided to start the birthdays even though the guests were still talking to each other inside the house. My little gem, Ruby, got to be the first to blow out her candle.

Jake was surprisingly enthused about the birthday. I'm not sure why, it's still going to be nappies and bottles for a while yet.

And Buddy was equally enthused to see his baby sister having a birthday. In fact, Buddy was happy about all of them.

Or maybe it was knowing that there was cake in his future. A little hard to tell with a growing and very hungry boy.

Finally the family made it to the back garden, in time for the first cake to be cut.

"Ronnie, I'm glad you managed to get away from the hospital."

"Penny, you have no idea how glad I am. I barely have time to breath any more. Poor Eddie only gets to see me for about 10 minutes a day, there's just no stopping."

"How are you and Eddie doing?"

"We're engaged," she started to say.

"That's fantastic," I replied.

"Yes, but I have no idea when we will get married. We'll probably have to do a 5 minute civil ceremony at city hall. It's all the time I can get." She sighed. "I love my job but the hours are going to kill me."

Poor Ronnie. The medical profession is very demanding.

The next random baby I grabbed was Daisy.

By now, at least the family had all assembled around the back, though some of them were more interested in the cake then the birthday.

Not that I could blame anyone. Jake and I got so involved in the decorating, we forgot to put any food out, not even snacks. I'm afraid that if anyone is hungry "Let them eat cake" applies.

Ruby decided that there were too many big feet around and she headed off for a quiet corner to play with one of the new toys.

Finally it was time for Joey to blow out the candles.

Everyone was getting exhausted by now. The third round of 'Happy Birthday'. The third round of singing. The third round of opening presents.

It wasn't long after Joey had finished that everyone started to leave. It's always good to see everyone but it is a relief when the house isn't quite so full.

I did notice that Ronnie decided to play with little Daisy for a bit before she headed for home. Ronnie would make a great mother, if she ever could stay away from the hospital long enough to get pregnant.

Jake was my hero after the party. He must be as tired as I am, or even worse but he had to tidy the plates before he went to bed.

How would I begin to cope without him?

And for me? One last snuggle with my little gem before I put her in her crib and go to my own bed.

Oh my plumbbob, tomorrow I have to start toddler taming. Three toddlers, and they all need help to walk and talk.

---
Bonus pics

Yes, poor Nick would be most surprised to find he's a villain. He's been quite a sweety really.

And the heat of the moment kiss is very cute.

Phillip wanted to look his best before the other guests arrived.

Now here's something I never get to see.

Em and Brad decided to flirt in front of the house.

Mind you, this means they aren't in place for the first of the birthdays. They'd rather smooch for a while instead of watching a grandchild age up.

Good thing it was one of three.

Em, I like the shirt but did you have to do the invisible plate thing?

I had sent Nick to a different lot but I just couldn't make him miss all the babies growing up. Just had to be careful that he wasn't in most of the shots.

Joey as a toddler. He's a definite little cutie.

I still love Stephen. If his younger siblings had been one instead of two, he might have been heir.

Some guests left in a timely manner but Phillip and Veronica stayed foreverrrrrr.

The Journal of Penny Grant - July 3 - Babies and the butler

2012-12-10T04:37:00.001-08:00

One thing that must be said for triplets. If you need some distraction from your troubles, well, they are good for that. There is always a baby that needs something. A bottle, a cuddle, a quick change, there is always something.

Especially poor little Ruby. She frequently has a bit of a cough, is more restless and more fussy than the other two babies. Daisy is the quiet one, she rarely makes even a tiny sound unless she's forgotten at feeding time. Joey is somewhere between. More vocal than Daisy but not nearly as fussy as Ruby.

Then there is Buddy. Poor tyke, I try to make sure that he gets as much attention as possible when the babies are sleeping. Going from a much loved only child to having 3 younger siblings was a huge leap for him. Add in having a parent leave for two years and he was definitely having a hard time adjusting.

"Hey Penny," Dad was over helping. "We've been talking about it. We've decided that instead of a babysitter, what you really need is a butler. When you girls were babies, your Mum and I found a butler to be a treasure."

"Is that 'we' as in you and Mum or 'we' as in the grandparent committee?" I asked.

He grinned. "Grandparent committee? I guess you could call it that. And yes, both families will be chipping in for the cost. We realised that since the babysitters have school most days and go home at night, you could really use some more and permanent help. If you get a good butler, he'll make sure everyone has food, cleans the place and takes care of the babies."

"What happens with a bad one?"

"We send him back to the agency and try again." Dad hugged me. "You are worn to a frazzle caring for 4 little ones at once. And the rest of us know the feeling, having spent time trying to care for all of them while you were out of action. Rather than wear the family out trying to help during their spare time, we can pay someone to do it."

Later that day, Jake arrived and I told him one of the beds in the far bedroom was his. He nodded and went straight to work. There was quite a lot of cleaning to get done, when the babies were all asleep.

Fortunately for me and the butler, it wasn't long before Buddy started school. The difference between 3 at home and 4 at home seemed small but I appreciated having one less child to rush around to tend to.

"Have fun at school today, Buddy. Do what the teacher says and be good for me, ok?" I told him.

He looked at the ground. "I don't like school. It's boring. And I don't like girls. They giggle all the time."

"I'm sorry Buddy but you still have to go." I pushed him firmly out the door and toward the bus. "It's important to get a good education." I kissed him on the head and watched him until he was safely on the bus. The first day, Buddy had been so excited about school. Since then, every day was more of a struggle to make sure he went.

"Take that, Nick Kane Grant." I broke another oak board just to show someone who was boss. It might have been me or it might have been the board. It certainly wasn't Nick, he was far too far away to appreciate the show.

So I was indulging in board breaking therapy when Jake came to ask me a question. "Ma'am, I was just tidying your room. I was wondering what I should do with the letters?"

That was an excellent question. There was a large and growing pile of unopened letters on the bureau in my room. Nick sends one letter a week without fail. I've never opened any of them, I just drop them on the pile. I've seen my Dad eye the pile. I've seen Em eye the pile. But neither of them have actually talked about it to me.

What I should tell Jake is to throw them in the trash, or burn them, or something. "Just leave them. I ..." started to try to explain why I kept them but couldn't find the words. I don't want to read them. I don't want to think about Nick. And I don't want to throw them out.

Jake didn't wait to find out why I wanted those letters left. He had the answer to his question, so he went back to his duties. I was left pondering why it was so difficult for me to do anything with those letters. That lasted until Ruby started fussing again.

I was trying to decide if I was finally going to take Ruby to the hospital for a serious checkup. Her cough just wasn't going away.

"What am I going to do about you, Ruby?" I asked my daughter. Then I finally had a brain wave. Veronica was in the medical profession, she could check Ruby. That's assuming that she can take a long enough break from the hospital routine to come and visit.

I rang my twin and found that she was on call but not at the hospital. "Can you come over and look at one of the babies? She fusses a lot, I'm afraid she might be ill."

Fortunately, Ronnie could come around and check. She arrived in ten minutes and I gave her Ruby to examine.

"No fever. Her eyes look good. Tummy seems fine. Anything odd about the contents of her diaper?"

I shook my head. "Looks pretty much the same as the other two."

"I think that she might have a minor infection. It's not a problem though, she seems fine." Veronica cuddled and cooed at Ruby then handed her back to me.

I sighed in relief. "Thanks Ronnie, I'm glad you could come take a look."

"Now that I'm finally here, maybe I should check on the other two?"

I nodded. "That would be great." My twin took a quick look at the other two babies.

"I'm pleased to say that all your little ones are perfectly healthy," she said as she put Daisy back in the crib.

"Thanks so much for checking. Do you think you'll have time next week for the big birthday party?" It was going to be massive, the triplets officially entering the terrible twos. I was inviting everyone that might vaguely be interested in coming. Jake was looking forward to it, a chance to cater for a crowd of adults instead of a mountain a baby food and baby bottles.

"I'll try. It's usually hectic at the hospital on the weekend. You just wouldn't believe how many stupid things people do on the weekend." We hugged and Veronica left.
---

Bonus pics

Nick is being very adorable around the house

When he isn't annoying Penny who wants to stare at the same baby as he does.

The Journal of Penny Grant - June (something) - And the world fell down

2012-07-06T06:02:00.001-07:00

I have no idea how long it took before I started to recover from the shock. Whether it was days or weeks. It actually felt like months but I'm pretty sure it just felt that way due to how absolutely miserable I was. I was spending nearly all my time huddled in a little ball on the bed. Crying until I could cry no more. Sleeping and then sobbing into the pillow again. The pillow was always damp because of it.

The rest of the family was all that kept me from having a visit from social welfare. I heard doors opening, things happening in the kitchen, babies being cared for. Occasionally someone would open the door to our - I mean my - bedroom. Sometimes they called my name but I never answered. There were times when someone would force me to eat some food but I stopped the moment they stopped.

Poor Buddy was the one who finally got me out of bed. I think he managed to slip away from whoever was supposed to be watching him.

"Mummy?" A little hand poked me. "Mummy, please get up."

"Go away. Leave me."

"But Mummy? Doncha wuv me any more? I wanna cuddle." Buddy was sounding lost, lonesome and very sad. I realised that poor Buddy had lost two parents that day. That wasn't fair to him or the triplets.

"Oh, I'm sorry Buddy. Of course I love you." It was hard getting out of bed. While I had plenty of rest, I really hadn't had much to eat. I was light headed and the room threatened to go grey. Still one of the two important guys left in my life needed me. "Come here, little man. Give Mummy a big hug."

Buddy squealed in delight as I lifted him up for his cuddle. "Mummy!" He was loud enough that I heard footsteps approaching. "I missed you so much Mummy." My dad had just poked his head in the door, he was starting to smile when he saw I was finally up. "I miss Daddy too. Where's Daddy?" asked Buddy.

Dad's smile faltered when he heard Buddy's words. My heart, well, it had already been broken so thoroughly that I only sobbed a few times when I heard that. "Gone, Buddy. He's gone far far away."

"When will he come home?" Oh, my poor little boy. Buddy so looks up to his father, now what?

"I don't know Buddy, but not for a long time. Can you be a brave big boy for me? Help Mummy while Daddy is gone?" Assuming I let him come home at all.

Buddy looked at me with his bright eyes. He reached toward one of the fresh tears tracking its way down my face. "Daddy make Mummy cry?" I nodded. "Daddy bad!"

"Your daddy is very bad. You'll be good for Mummy?"

"Buddy will be good for Mummy." Oh right now I wish my little man didn't look so much like his father.

I gave him another cuddle. "That's my little man."

My dad finally came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to collapse again. "Penny," he paused obviously thinking about what to say. "Food?"

My stomach rumbled at the mere suggestion. "Oh, yes, good idea." I carefully put Buddy down, fighting to keep my balance. Dad walked carefully behind me as I slowly made my way to the table.

"So you and Mum been here all the time?"

Mum answered, "No dear. The whole family has been here. Stephen and Abbey pop in almost every morning before he opens the pub. Vincent and your niece Miriam are spending a lot of the nights here. Miriam is now the most experienced baby sitter in town."

Dad interrupted the conversation. "Only a little soup for the moment, you haven't had a decent meal for awhile." Dad set a small bowl of soup in front of me. It smelled divine. "Brad and Em have been coming over most afternoons. Even James and Jaimee regularly visit though I think triplets have permanently put them off kids of their own. Veronica keeps trying to come but her hospital schedule is nearly impossible."

"I don't know what to say. Without you guys," I trailed off. Without them, I might have lost everything that's important to me.

"It's just what families do," my Mum said quietly. "You needed us, we were there."

I saw Dad off in the corner sending a few text messages. I could guess what the contents were "She lives" would be the gist of it. A few minutes later, he came over. "Em wants to know if it's alright if she and Brad visit."

I blinked a few times. "Why would I have a problem with that?"

"You might hold it against them that their son broke your heart." Dad sort of shrugged at me.

"They aren't to blame. There is only one person to blame for that." I wasn't sure if I was going to scream or what. "Him, I'd happily break in two." I finished my bowl of soup chasing up the last drops with the spoon.

"More?"

I thought for a moment. "Not yet. I think this needs to settle properly first." I started to push my chair back to find that Buddy was playing just behind me. "Hey, little man, how about you move just a little?"

"Mummy pway?" he asked hopefully.

"In a minute, Buddy. You want to help me with the babies?" I pointed to the triplets room. "They need cuddles too."

"Can Mummy pway after?" He tugged at the bottom of my shirt. "Pwease?"

Well, I have to give Buddy bonus points for persistance. "We will have to wait for your other granddad and grandmom to arrive so we can say hi. After that, we can play for a little."

So, Buddy and I visited the triplets. How could Nick leave these three lovely babies? Ruby was coughing a bit in her crib. I checked, her temperature was fine. I cuddled her, then Daisy and finally Joey. I showed each of them to Buddy, who said hi to his little siblings.

By the time the babies were back in their cribs, Brad and Em had arrived. “Penny!” gushed Em. “It’s so good to finally see you on your feet again.” My father-in-law didn’t say anything but did pull me into a big hug.

“Mum was telling me about how everyone pitched in to help. I’m sorry that I was in such a state I had no idea who was around.”

“You aren’t the one that should be sorry. Between the triplet and that our son suddenly went overseas, it’s not surprising that you’ve had a breakdown,” said Em. “Our son, on the other hand, could never be sorry enough for what he did.”

Brad nodded. “We’ve been hoping that you’d recover soon. Your dad told us that Grants are born tough, and there wasn’t a need for therapy. I’m glad he was right.”

I suddenly felt shaky and the room threatened to go grey on me. I was sitting on the floor with everyone except Buddy staring at me in concern. “Penny, are you ok?”

“Just a little dizzy Dad. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about really.” After spending so much time in bed, I was bound to be a bit shaky.

Buddy took my sitting on the floor as a sign. “Mummy. Here’s my favourite toy.” He showed me that odd doll that had turned up in the mail when he was born. “You can pway now?”

I looked at all of Buddy’s grandparents, watching us. It was good to see how much my family would pull together to help. “Yes Buddy, we can play now.”

The Journal of Penny Grant - June 3 - What just happened?

2012-03-03T20:24:00.001-08:00

Life with three babies continues to be difficult. We have to schedule a time during the night for each of us to do the baby rounds; cuddle and feed, or cuddle and change. It's tiring having to get up at least once a night every night.

"Honey, if you take care of the babies all night tonight, then I'll do it tomorrow. We could each have one good night sleep."

I shook my head. "Nick, the last time you told me that, you didn't follow through the second night. I'm not letting you sleep all night first." Poor Nick was seriously stressing out from too many babies. Not enough sleep and he's definitely not comfortable with that many new babies around. I wasn't much better. I love my babies but they are so much work.

"I swear honey, this time I mean it."

"No, Nick. We'll do the usual. I'll check them at 1. You get 4." I rolled over to get what sleep I could before 1 am rolled around.

Sure enough, 1 am and the babies needed attention. I went around to every crib, picking up little ones and giving them the attention that they need. At least Buddy is old enough to sleep through the night now. There's only the triplets to check.

At 4 am, Nick tried to ignore the sounds coming from the baby monitor. "No, back to sleep", I heard him mutter. In the end, it took a gentle shove to move him out of bed.

He's very good with the babies once he gets up. It's just the getting up that he finds difficult.

It's not surprising that he is good with the babies. How can you look at the sweet little face of one of the triplets like Joey and not be in love with them? Ruby is my gem, Daisy is my flower and Joey is ... hmm, that fails as a metaphor doesn't it?

Well, Joey is special too. They are all precious little babies. They are also sometimes loud, stinky and demanding little babies.

And our little Buddy is our handsome little man still. Though he's not so little any more. School is just around the corner for him.

Needless to say, I'm grateful for that. Because the triplets are going to be moving around a lot more soon and having one child old enough to do some things for himself will be good.

The little swing had worked so well for Buddy that we went ahead and bought two more. So all three babies can sleep in those swings.

It's one of the few times that we can really take a break from the babies.

Nick uses the quiet time to take a long relaxing bath.

I tend to use the time to work out or practice my board splitting skills.

All too soon for me, Nick ran out of parental leave and was due back on the base.

"Bye Nick. Hope work isn't too stressful today." I gave him a light kiss as he got ready to leave.

"Bye Honey. See you later."

Nick's day may or may not have been stressful. But mine was very busy.

The triplets need the same amount of attention during the day. They can't know that there is only me today.

I tried to give them the same amount of cuddles and attention as they had been getting from both of us. This was keeping me so very busy that I failed to notice for awhile that Nick was late getting home. It was nearly five when I realised.

I decided to give Emerald a call. Nick isn't under her command, of course, but his Mum might know a bit of what's going on at the base.

"Emerald? It's Penny."

"No, I'm fine. I was just wondering. Do you know when Nick will be getting off duty? He's usually home soon after three and he's not turned up yet."

"You'll ring his commanding officer and find out? That's great. Give me a ring when you know what's up."

It was about 15 minutes after I rang Emerald that I notice she and Brad were approaching the door.

That's odd, I just thought she was going to ring. And Brad too?

"Emerald. Bradley. It's a surprise to have you guys come and visit."

"Well, dear. It's about Nick. I didn't want to just ring."

Brad was standing there, rubbing his temples like he had a headache.

My anxiety level started scaling upwards. Did he get hurt? Was he in the hospital? Why didn't the base call me?

Emerald said, "We better sit down, dear. Brad and I want a serious chat."

We moved over to the sofa. "So, guys what's up? Is Nick hurt? Will he be ok?"

Emerald sighed and shook her head. "It's not that. I wish it were that."

"I don't understand."

"Nick transferred this morning to a unit that was being posted overseas today. He is taking a two year tour of duty in Simolia."

Nick's parents looked at each other and sighed.

I was still trying to absorb this news. Nick had done what?

Brad took over the story. "We've pretty much always known that Nick has an evil streak. His grandfather, my father was like that." He shook his head slowly. "What we didn't know was that he's also a bit of a coward. So when he found out that there was an opportunity to go overseas and leave his family behind, he went."

"I knew he was stressing about the babies but he left us? He's gone?"

Emerald nodded sadly. "Two years. Now that he's on tour of duty, there's nothing that can be done to get him back. This is why we had to come over. I didn't want to break this news over the phone."

I was still stunned. If they hadn't come over, I would have assumed it was some joke that I was failing to get the point of. But I know that Brad is like me, it wasn't a joke.

I wanted to run out of the room, screaming or crying. I wanted to break boards until I broke me. I wanted...

I wanted Nick. But he was out of my reach. And out of our lives.

"Em and I want you to know that we are here for you. We've already told your parents, and our other children Abbey and James. Your parents promised to ring your twin so the entire family knows."

"Are you sure?" my voice was trembling as badly as the rest of me. "Are you sure that Nick is gone for two years?"

Emerald sighed. "I'm sure. I double checked the duty rosters and the lists of the troops that shipped out today. Nick won't be here for two years."

"Penny, your dad and I talked about it. There will be a sitter coming over every day. Your parents are doing half the cost, we'll be doing the other half." Brad said softly. "I know it's not the same but ring someone in the family any time it gets too much."

Tears were starting to flow. How could Nick leave now? Those babies would be toddling around everywhere, Buddy was ... oh god, Buddy was so close to his dad. How can you tell someone his age that Daddy is gone?

I was a ball of misery. A plate of food appeared in front of me then eventually disappeared again. Babies cried and were quiet again. And the world finally went away until the next day.

----

For the fans of Jerod (Shrimp) Grant

His sons Dedric and Alfred.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 31 - Baby invasion

2012-02-06T04:27:00.000-08:00

I don't think there was ever a better or scarier moment then coming home with so many babies. Triplets, oh dear plumbob, how were we going to cope with triplets?

One boy, two girls. They are going to so change our lives.

My parents did twins and that worked out fine for Veronica and I. But I think Stephen was a bit more mature at the time than little Buddy is. It's going to be another year before Buddy starts school. In the meantime, the triplets are going to take a lot of our time. And I already shudder to think of when all three are tottering around the house.

We had to stow away the beds in this room to make space for the three cribs. I sent Nick out to get cribs so of course they are identical. Men don't like to try and find different items, I guess. He found one he liked and ordered three of them.

At least there are cribs for everyone and a bedroom with a big bed to spare for Buddy when he's old enough for it.

I am a terrible mother. I'm having the hardest time remember which blanket we wrapped Ruby in and which is Daisy.

"Are you my lovely little flower, Daisy? I think you are, little cutie."

That has to mean that this is Ruby, our little gem. I can't wait for them to grow a bit and make this easier on me.

The grandparents were arriving to come and say hello to the newest members of the clan. Why is it not a surprise that the grandmothers manage to arrive first?

Mind you, the grandfathers weren't that far behind. Just a few minutes later.

"Hey everyone. I'm glad you could come by for a visit."

"It's not just a visit," my mother declared. "I know our Penny. Lovely girl but I'm sure this place could use cleaning from top to bottom."

"I'll help," said Emerald.

Give him credit, Nick did try to dissuade the Mom brigade. "But you are guests. Guests don't do the house chores."

"Let them be," my dad advised Nick. "Never attempt to stop a woman on a mission."

"It's even worse when it's two woman on one mission," Brad declared. "Stay well out of the way is the safest option."

My dad and Brad disappeared out the back. I was busy tending babies.

Nick decided the safest option was to read to Buddy on a thoroughly cleaned floor. They had to duck the cleaning madness from time to time but it was much safer there then in either bedrooms, bath or kitchen.

"Emerald, thanks so much for the hand."

"It's the least we could do, Penny. Triplets, my goodness, you are going to barely have time to breath. Brad and I both finish work early afternoon so just call us if you need a hand any time after that."

"I'll keep it in mind, but I think the main thing that we have problems with is money. We have some saving but it's going to disappear fast with the new babies."

"I'll have a chat with Brad, I'm sure we could give you some money to help out."

"That's kind but I think we'll be fine."

"Dear, why don't you act your age?"

"Vanessa, why do you act your age? This is fun, even if it's meant for teens."

Our moms do not agree on proper activities for a grandmother. My mom wanted to watch her soaps. All my Simdom was about to start.

Emerald was all about kicking butt on level 4 of the latest video game. Mom decided to watch Em play. Since Emerald is in the military, she has very good reflexes. I think I won't challenge her to a game.

Buddy so adores his Daddy. When Nick is home, Buddy is never far away.

And Buddy seems to have stolen some of his father's heart. It's so sweet looking at the pair of them.

Nick is trying with the triplets, but he keeps taking them to Buddy's room so he only has one baby to deal with.

Apparently three little strangers at once is just a bit much for our Nick.

"Penny, do you think my brother might want to adopt one or two of the triplets. He and Jaimee have been married for years and they don't have any babies yet."

"Nicolas! Is that meant to be a joke? Because it's seriously not funny. We are not adopting babies out."

"I wish we could Penny. This is going to be difficult, and I just wasn't ready for three babies. I wanted one, just one."

Nick was right. Three babies and a toddler was going to be difficult.

After a few days, we were both running on empty. If you timed it badly, the nursery echoed to screaming babies. When there are three babies and two of them want to be moving around all the time, well, it does get a bit ugly.

I was saving up the calls to the grandparents until things got a little worse though. We were going to need help off and on with the triplets for quite some time. And I know that Brad and Em recently joined the ranks of official senior citizens.

It's enough to give poor Nick a perpetual headache.

The army gave him a few days parental leave but he's ready to go back to work as soon as he can sneak back on base.

I can't say I blame him. Family legend says my great grandparents fled the country under the onslaught of triplets. They came back after a good holiday and managed quite well after that. If we had the cash, I'd grab Nick and run for it too.

----
Bonus pics

Brad was being eco-friendly - but Em drove so it was a waste.

Ok, this was a surprising moment. Vanessa decided to flirt with her son-in-law. In front of hubby Phillip (he's the flirty one for heaven's sake) and Nick's parents.

Nick wasn't very impressed by it. To say the least. Fortunately, she left off at a compliment so no one was left angry at the scene.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 30 - Oh my plumbob

2012-01-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

"Hey there, little man. You're going to be a big brother soon. Our eldest child, not our only one."

Buddy just giggles in delight that his daddy is giving him attention.

"Now I want you to be the best big brother that ever was." Nick is just so happy about the new baby soon to arrive. It's rare to catch him in a bad mood since I really started showing the baby bump.

Nick takes care of Buddy a lot while he's at home. Taking care of bottles, nappies, and nap times whenever he can.

It's a good thing that he's willing to because this pregnancy has been a bit rough on me. I'm tired a lot and can barely move sometimes. Meditation seems to help so I'm doing quite a lot of that. Somewhere close to my men though.

One of their favorite activities is reading together. Nick and Buddy read a picture book every day. Buddy's favourite is the book about colours. He just can't get enough of it. He's been read to from it, looked through it on his own, drooled on it, chewed on it, just about everything a toddler can do to one book.

Buddy is particularly fascinated by colors. When Nick is away, he looks at the book again, pointing at things and making sure he has the names right.

"Gween, Mama?"

"Yes, sweetie, green."

"Bwue?"

"That's the aqua, Buddy." I turn the page. "That's blue." Buddy clapped his hands. "Can you tell me what colours are in the rainbow, Buddy?"

We turned to the rainbow at the very end of the book. "Wed, owange, yewoww, gween, bwue..." He paused at the last two.

"That's ok Buddy, the last two are tough. That's indigo and violet."

I've tried to get Buddy a decent colour set but there never seems to be one in town. I think he'll be amazing at art some day.

I took a rare moment of feeling better to try and permanently fix our perpetually leaky shower. It's amazing how incredibly irritating "drip, drip, drip" is when you are home too much. Nick would have scolded me if he'd been home, I was on my feet for a long time working on the shower.

Even feeling better, it took hours to get any where with the project. I won't know for at least a few days if it's finally working better. Stupid plumbing, next up is the toilet that always blocks.

There is nothing to raise the spirits then having family and friends over for a small gathering. I needed something to take my mind off my ever expanding stomach.

"I see you're nearly ready to give me a new niece or nephew, Penny. You look so amazing when you're pregnant." Veronica smiled a lot at my baby bump.

"I wish I felt that way. I'm just exhausted, Veronica. I don't remember it being anything like this for Buddy." I sighed.

Veronica gave me a small hug. "I think women are programmed to forget the bad parts of pregnancy or there might not be enough babies to go around. You've been getting checkups?"

"Yes, I haven't run into you at the hospital yet but I've been getting the checkups. How's the job?"

"I'm still at the lower end of the medical career, but I'll fly someday." I'm sure my twin will. She has the brains of the family, that's been obvious for a long time.

It was nice to see that Ronnie is still pretty keen on her Eddie. I know that they still live together in a small house.

I still hope that they'll go further but her career demands so much of her time. I just don't know if it will ever happen.

It is a relief that Eddie is willing to fit in with the rest of the family. He actually danced with Mom for some time before she had to rest.

I'm glad Mom was feeling well enough to come. From what Daddy has been saying, she's been feeling poorly quite often lately.

I tried dancing for a while with Vincent.

Fortunately, Buddy gave me a good excuse to leave after a few minutes. He's not usually a fussy little fellow but the excitement of having so many people around wears him out quickly. I could tell he was starting to whine a bit and would work up to a full tantrum soon.

So I picked him up to put Buddy in the crib. I waited around for him to drop off to sleep.

"I hope you are nearly ready to come out little one. Because Mommy is so very tired of carrying you around all the time."

After everyone had finally gone home, Nick and I went to bed.

"Nick, do you still love me? Even when I look like this?"

"Of course I do, honey. You are stunning, I've always thought so." Nick nestled closer to me. "You need some proof?"

A little while later and Nick had certainly made his point. Well, I'm still not sure that I actually look acceptable for other people but you have to believe the ones that you love, don't you?

"Morning gorgeous. How are you feeling today?"

I cupped Nick's face in my hand. "Still tired but feeling a bit better."

"I want you to take it easy while I'm at work. Don't over stress yourself. You promise?"

"I'll try Nick, but things have to get done around the house." We are not nearly at a stage in life where we can afford a daily maid service.

As I told Nick, there are things that have to get done around the house. Even the simplest chore is getting so difficult now. It takes a long time to waddle to the front of the house to take out the trash.

I hope to heavens that this baby comes soon. Because if I get any bigger, they are going to have to air lift me to the hospital. Assuming that the helicopter can carry a whale like me around. I'll never ever fit in a normal taxi.

"Oh, Buddy, my little man. You know, you aren't so little any more."

Between the pregnancy and the rate Buddy is growing, daily cuddles will all too soon be a thing of the past. Sometimes I can barely lift him up.

I decided that Buddy needed something new to read. Instead of buying another book, we went over to the library.

We picked out a lovely colorful book about birds. Buddy was fascinated by the pictures, all those birds and all those colors. Some of them are from other countries, I could promise Buddy that someday he would see them. How could I resist taking him along to China or Egypt once he's old enough?

We had nearly looked at the entire book when the labor pains first started. The contractions were still fairly far apart, so I called a sitter and a taxi. While waiting for the taxi, I rang Nick at work and Daddy at home to let them know it was time.

First I took little Buddy home in the taxi, fortunately the sitter was waiting at the door when we arrived. Then I left for the hospital.

It was good to see that not only Daddy but Mom, Vincent and Miriam were all waiting at the hospital. It's good to know that you can count on your family for support.

I entered the hospital and fortunately Nick arrived not long after.

It turned out to be a longer stay then we first thought. I'd been very serious that I wanted no details about the baby pre-birth, I had thought maybe we were having twins though. I was wrong. We didn't have two babies. We have three new babies; Joey, Daisy and Ruby.

Poor Nick is stunned. He hasn't said a word since Daisy was born, I think he nearly fainted when Ruby joined the family.

---

Twallan is responsible for the mixed triplets. The first time around, there were three girls but the game crashed when I went to save and quit. I kind of wanted one boy anyway so on the second try, I MC the first to boy.

This time, the game is saved with our new triplets so all is stable here.

Phillip and Vanessa spent the entire time the triplets were being born flirting with each other. They may be elders but that fire burns brightly still.

Bonus pics

Rocio Grant - one of Penny's many cousins, this is the little sister of Jerod (Shrimp). Yet another pretty gen 4 girl, gen 4 seems to be kind of special.

Phillip, don't you think you should stop dancing and go home?

Seriously, Phillip, it's dawn now and you still haven't gone home. Go home.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 26 - Pregnant Again

2011-12-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

Honestly, look at how intensely that boy of ours is eating that stick. You'd think we'd forgotten to feed him for a few hours or even days.

You can easily see the tooth marks on the stick now. That either means that Buddy has strong teeth or the stick is cheap flimsy plastic. I prefer to think that Buddy has good teeth.

Two of the best looking guys in Sunset Valley. My boys, I just love watching them together.

Nick and Buddy are true buddies now. That makes me so happy. Nick spends a lot of his free time with Buddy, just to be there for his son.

Brad and Em sent over this fancy baby swing for their grandson. Nick spent a frustrating hour trying to following the instructions to set it up. Goodness me, the language and shouting was very intense.

"Where's the *^%@! wrench?"

"Slot A? There's nothing on the ^&%$(*& diagram that says Slot A."

After a while, all was quiet. Then I heard Nick start up the swing after putting Buddy in it. It seemed safe so I came out to watch.

Buddy was really happy in the new swing. He watched the little toys move around and made lots of content little noises until he zonked out.

The two of us watched until Buddy was sound asleep. "Nick, be sure to thank your parents. This is the best present ever."

"Actually, I think your parents still win. They did buy this house for us, after all. But I'll be sure to tell Mum and Dad that it's the perfect gift for Buddy."

Nick went off to work and once Buddy was awake again, I decided that Buddy could use a little more practice at standing on his own two feet.

"That's the way, little man. Up we get."

It's a good thing that diapers make excellent crash cushions. Because Buddy ends up sitting back down a lot more than moving forward.

"What a clever little man you are. You took 3 steps to mama today. Who's my clever boy?"

Anytime he does manage to move forward, I make sure he knows how proud I am. Every day, he manages to totter along a little further before he loses his balance.

I was feeling nauseous again, for what seems like the hundredth time today.

After throwing up yet again, I decided it was time to visit the doctor. I grabbed Buddy and we took a quick trip over to the hospital. After waiting forever, we finally got in to see the doctor. It only took a few minutes before we headed for home again.

She confirmed my suspicions. We're going to be having another baby. I'm hoping for a little girl. I can't wait to tell Nick. He's been wanting another baby for ages now.

We have some time to get Buddy used to the idea that he'll have a little sibling soon. I hope he doesn't feel too jealous when the new baby gets here.

"Nick, honey, I hope you still want that second baby."

It took a moment but Nick's eyes suddenly lit up. "We're pregnant?"

"Yep, been to the doctor. It's confirmed. We'll be having a second child in another few months."

"That's great news, Penny. I can hardly wait. Boy or girl?"

"I didn't ask, I don't want to spoil the surprise."

Nick grinned. "I hope it's a girl. A perfect little family, one boy and one girl."

Nick spent some time on the phone to his family. He really is quite excited about having a second baby.

Another stray cat outside the house. I wonder if the poor thing had an accident or if it happens to be a naturally short tailed breed of cat.

Nick gave it a treat and a good brushing before it wandered away again.

"Night night Buddy. You sleep tight."

"Dada, nih nih."

"That's my little Buddy. You're going to have a little brother or sister to play with. I'm sure you'll find that's fun." There was a pause. "When you're both old enough to play together, guess that won't happen right away."

Nick met his parents at the local swimming pool. I'm not quite sure why he didn't just invite them over, I think he still has odd ideas about what stresses me. Still, I'm happy that he connects with his family from time to time. That's very important.

Since Nick's job starts really really early in the morning, he takes care of Buddy after he gets up. It's nice to catch just a couple more hours of sleep, this pregnancy is taking a lot out of me.

"Buddy better watch out. He better watch out. He better..."

"Oh no! It's too late. The tickle monster got him! Tickle, tickle Buddy."

Buddy definitely still loves that creepy looking doll. I don't like it much, I swear it stares at you sometimes.

I finally had a chance to invite Daddy over to tell him our big news.

"Daddy, you'll never guess."

He took one look at me, grinned and said, "What? That you're pregnant again?"

"You did guess!" Silly me, of course Daddy knows a baby bump when he sees it. With four children and four grandchildren, he should have no trouble.

"Would you like to feel your next grandchild?"

"Aww, the baby is moving. Your mom and I will both be happy to have another grandchild to spoil."

"How's Mom?"

"She's ok but not feeling quite her best today."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want to go home?"

"Vincent and Miriam have moved back home so I know he's there if your Mom needs anything."

"Vincent moved home?"

"He wanted to. It's not been the same for your brother since he split up with Kari. We do have plenty of space. It's kind of nice having someone to share it with again."

---

Poll results

Question: Would you call this a legacy?

Yes	8 (80%)
No	0 (0%)
Maybe?	2 (20%)

So the small group of readers who did respond were quite positive that this is a legacy. Guess I'll stop calling it nearly a legacy at long last.
---

Bonus pics

Nick, what evil plan could possibly involve your toddler and a potty?

Honestly, Nick doesn't do this evil idle that often and this is a very odd time to decide to do it.

This was a gift from a kind soul. Thank you so much, Chrysame.

Vincent is stalking Amelia Kane. This is the only conclusion I can come to when I find him hanging out at her house for no apparent reason.

For a Sim that lives alone, Amelia has a ridiculously huge house. Sheesh.

Spooning time

Kaleeko may wish to avert her eyes - Travis Kane - elder. I actually think he's kind of cute for an elder. The youngest in the house is either a baby or toddler but his wife is *way* younger then he is.

Happy birthday to the World Adventuring Grants

2011-12-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

The blog itself turns two years old today. The storyline turned two in late November, this story started over in the Hi Mum, it's Sammy blog with Sam Grant exploring World Adventures for me. I decided that this Sammy family was worthy of their own space around the time that Sam and Rachel came home with a basket of babies - the triplets; Henry, Rick and Jack. So I copied the posts from Hi Mum, pasted them here and off we went.

The early days of the family was more about screenshots then anything else. Eventually the blog evolved to more story along with the screenshots.

I'm definitely a slow player, two years on and I've only reached gen 5. At this rate, Sims 4 will be out before I get to the 10th generation. Part of the reason though is that I have several Sims stories to tell and so each one gets some time.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 23 - Nick's promotion

2011-12-07T00:38:00.001-08:00

Amazingly enough, Nick is still keen on the idea of another baby. I'm still not quite sure why, he's doing all right with Buddy but he's still a bit uncomfortable around our little man. Two is not going to improve that.

"Honey, let's make another baby." He reached out to stroke my cheek so softly.

"Nick, you are just so sweet. But another baby?"

"Well, yes. Why not?"

I can think of a million reasons why not. He's still at the bottom of his career, so am I. We might have to buy another crib if Buddy isn't ready for a big boy bed yet. But for the moment, there is an immediate reason for us not to try for another baby.

"Well, you have to go to work, like now."

Nick looked at his watch, muttered a few bad words and had to rush to change into uniform before his ride arrived.

I was still mostly asleep when I heard an odd noise outside. It took me a little to get up and out.

There was a stray cat destroying our newspaper. One of these days, I must cancel the subscription, we never get around to reading it.

I tried to make friends with the kitty but it left fairly quickly. It was a handsome cat.

This is a case where looks can be deceiving indeed. All looks quiet and well at the base. But around the back, there was a massive fire that had broken out and several people were trapped.

Buddy was getting into his morning routine.

"The great monster rose out of the fog. It extended the terrible claw."

"The claw sought out a round little tummy. It looked and it looked and then it struck."

"It got Buddy! Oh no Buddy, look out, it's the tickle monster."

I was in the middle of potty training when I heard the front door.

"Honey, I'm back." Nick called from the front.

"Nick? I'm in the baby's room."

He came in and gave me a big bear hug. "You'll never guess what happened today."

"You're right, I have no idea. Why on earth are you home already?"

Nick was grinning like a positive idiot. "There was a small explosion on the base and a big fire. I helped rescue a few people and put the fire out."

"Way to go, Nick. A hero!"

"Yep, they decided to give me a promotion and send me home for the rest of the day." I know why he was so pleased with himself. He'd only just had a promotion last week, to get another so soon was just an unexpected bonus.

"So now I get to be home most of the day with my gorgeous wife." He grinned. "Did I ever tell you that you're the prettiest girl of them all?"

"Nick, you old charmer."

"Baby, you bet. I want to charm you straight into bed." He waggled an eyebrow. "You're still dressed for it I see."

It didn't take long for him to convince me that trying for another baby would be lots of fun.

Well, playing in bed is fun. Whether or not we are trying for another baby. But if enthusiasm and desire can make a wish come true, Nick was going to try his best.

Since Nick was being insistent on babies, I put him to work teaching Buddy to talk. I peeked in later to watch my men at work.

"Buddy, can you say Daddy?"

"Mama."

"Daaaadddy."

"Mama."

"Say Daddy, Buddy."

"Dada?"

"Yes, daddy!"

"Dada, ba."

Nick kind of had this odd look at this point. I don't remember him doing anything evil to Buddy, not even steal his candy.

Finally he smiled. "Daddy, bad," he agreed. I had to smile and leave them to it.

The next time I checked on them, they had stopped for the day.

"Who's the handsome baby? It's my little Buddy, he's the handsome baby."

Thanks to talking to Buddy a lot over the past couple of hours, Nick's finally getting comfortable around his son. The two of them are so cute together. Nick is a good dad now that he's getting the hang of it all.

And that might be just as well, since I'm suddenly not feeling well. The queasiness is kind of familiar this time around.

I'm not sure if Buddy loves or hates that creepy doll. He was quite emphatically bouncing it on the floor. He certainly likes to play with it a lot.

-----

Ok, so the good news is that I recovered the save and they haven't had to leave the neighborhood. If the writing isn't quite up to usual - it's been a very frustrating few days sorting the problem. I have run this save one full Sim day plus a couple of hours and while they have had a couple of pauses, it doesn't lock.

Bonus pics

Our stray cat. Cute but destructive.

The following pics were from the aborted attempt at moving the family to Appaloosa Plains.

Vincent and Kari's daughter Miriam is growing fast. She could use a few style lessons though. Actually, her granny Vanessa had that hair style as a teen.

Marshall Grant - Stephen and Abbey's first born.

Marshall Grant - post some restyling cause I just can't take that hair. Reminds me of his granddaddy Brad with the new hair.

Shane Grant - Marshall's little brother. Interesting, a reasonable genetic mix this one.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 18 - Buddy's Birthday

2011-10-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

While we did have a great time on our little trip away, coming home was splendid as well. Our little Buddy is here and he is a very special baby. My first thought after putting down the bags was to go check on our little man.

The sitter had been taking proper care of Buddy. He was clean, dry, and cooing contentedly when I picked him up.

"Say there, Buddy. Were you holding down the fort while Mommy and Daddy went away?"

His little hand touched my lips. I gave it a kiss and tucked Buddy back into the crib.

Nick was doing some stretching warm ups after that long flight.

"Hey Nick, I have a better idea for getting the blood circulating again."

"What's that?"

"Let's spar. That should do a lot for overcoming the jet lag."

Given that Nick has only just started learning Sim Fu during our holiday, he has picked up a lot of skill.

He is very quick on his feet as well. The first round was all his.

After that first round, it was all mine.

"Honey, are you cross that I doubted you?" He ruefully rubbed where my final kick had landed.

"Well, a little, Nick. I do take martial arts seriously and it's not nice to doubt that."

As his way of making up, Nick took on baby care the rest of the afternoon while I had a lovely time doing a few things like catching up with my parents.

I also dropped by a party I had been invited to. No one but the host was there and when I left he blamed me for his lame party. Sheesh, a few guests and something to do would have improved it.

"Penny, my love, I have something to ask you."

"What is it, Nick?"

"Well, umm, how would you like another baby?"

"Really Nick? I wasn't even sure if you love Buddy."

"I do, I just worry that I'm going to get it wrong some time. So why not have another baby now? It will extend your maternity leave. You'll have more time to practice Sim Fu at home. And I think a little girl would be a wonderful thing."

Ok, so Nick and I didn't try for a baby that night, but we weren't exactly careful either. Which is how Buddy came into our lives.

The next day, things were pretty normal. Nick headed off to work. I went to practice board breaking after I had made arrangement for a party in the afternoon.

Of course, it was a very important party. Our boy was going to celebrate his birthday.

"Honey, I have great news. I've been promoted."

"Nick, that is great news. About time they recognised your talents at the base."

"Now I can kick back and relax."

"Not yet. Did you forget that it's Buddy's birthday today? The guests will be arriving any time."

"Guests? Penny!"

"Just a few of the family. Your parents, my parents, Stephen, Abbey and Ronnie."

"That should be ok, I guess."

It wasn't long until our guests arrived. Well, most of them. Daddy didn't arrive with Mom, and Em didn't arrive with Brad.

Nick is still working on his relationship with Mom.

And I spent some time getting to know my brother Stephen better.

"I'll make a wish for you, Buddy. I wish for you to be just as handsome as your daddy."

Buddy hiccuped an agreement with that wish. So we leaned over to blow out the candles.

So, did Buddy and I get our wish? Well, it's a little hard to tell though he has his daddy's hair and eye colour.

I'd forgotten he'd got that rather odd doll when he was born. It's nice he found something to play with while the adults had cake. It seems a bit mean to have a party and cake and the main participant is a bit too young for it all. But he's content with his toys.

Buddy's Aunt Abbey was the first to notice he was all tired out from his big day.

So she took him inside and put him in the crib.

Of course, Abbey and Stephen are used to handling boys. Their oldest, Marshall, is about to start school. Shane is only a little older then Buddy. Abbey and I should arrange for the two of them to have a few play dates.

------
Bonus pics

Penny was having a very off day when it came to sparring. Nick actually won two sparring bouts against her even though she is 2 belts above him. Then she visited her dad and Phillip also won.

Only in Sims is so much butt wiggling required to blow a horn. It's definitely a bit rude from certain angles.

It's sparkly birthday time.

Buddy Grant has a thing for bright clothes.

I'm going to lay the blame for that nose profile on Nick and the Kane family because I haven't seen that nose on a Grant before.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 14 - Our trip to China

2011-09-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've been encouraging Nick to do most of baby care at the moment. He'll be back to work all too soon, and I'm hoping to get him more comfortable around Buddy.

Who would believe an adult could be intimidated by the presence of a such an adorable baby? And yet, Buddy does make his dad uncomfortable.

"Nick, honey, let's go to China!"

He spluttered for a moment. "Are you mad? We can't possibly take Buddy on a trip like that."

"I didn't think we'd take him. It's just that you still have a little leave, and I'd like to improve my martial arts skills."

"What on earth would your parents say about you leaving overseas and Buddy is still so tiny?"

"My parents? Probably ask me something about why it took me so long to take a trip. Grant's are born with itchy feet. What do you think your parents would say?"

"Hmm, good question. A very good question. Guess I'll have to find out."

"I'd like to book a flight for two. To Shang Simla, China please."

"If we can get to the airport in an hour, we can leave today? Wonderful, save those seats."

It was a long flight but I was quite anxious to get my holiday started. I fear that Nick didn't share my enthusiasm.

"You are mad, Penny. Do you know what this has done to our meager savings account?"

"Don't worry Nick. Travel is the secret to my family's fortune. Dad swears that even a half decent trip, you'll have more cash when you get home then when you left. And that includes buying souvenirs, meals and the cost of base camp."

"I suppose it is too late now to worry. What are you planning on doing?"

"I'm off to the academy. I hope to train for awhile and then have a tournament bout with someone. I have yet to gain any tournament ranks. What about you?"

"I think I might just scout around for adventure. See what happens."

Nick examined the board for requests. Not much on it today, he'll have to take whatever.

No cars allowed this close to the Forbidden City. It's pedal power all the way.

At least that makes it very quiet around here. You don't notice traffic noise until there is none.

Nick bought a few supplies in case he ended up staying longer then intended in a cave or tomb somewhere. I've heard enough about going into caves and tombs from my family to know you have to prepare to stay for awhile. You may not need to be there for a day or more, but don't get caught unprepared.

He also ordered the board breaker trainer and the martial arts training dummy for me. Those were shipped home, no need to set them up here.

There's plenty of opportunities in town to train.

The Academy is the best known but the Scholar's Garden and at least one of the monk's retreats have the basic martial arts training equipment.

My first priority was to warm up a bit with some board breaking. It feels good to stretch after having Buddy.

Nick's first adventure was the set of rooms just under the Hall of Lost Army.

From his description later, someone had opened the tomb before. After putting the keystone in the hole, everything in the area was open. While I can't be sure, I think the last name of the earlier explorer would have been Grant. A bit hard to say who in my family, but daddy has always said most of the tombs were pretty easy when he arrived.

I'd had my warm up, now for a bit of sparring. My first opponent was just someone else training today.

She wasn't bad, but not nearly at my level. I handily defeated her in two bouts.

My second opponent was my first ranked match this trip.

She was good, very good. Her reflexes are fast and she's been regularly training. I hadn't touched any equipment since before the wedding.

In fact, she was so good she had someone writing up a story about her for a local magazine. The photographer did ask before the match if taking photographs would be ok.

It didn't disturb either of us in the least during our bout. But I think I might have put a new slant on the story - I won our match. It took three bouts to decide, neither of us had an easy time defeating the other.

I still don't have any ranking in the tournament though. Guess I'll have to take on a few more opponents first.

Nick got a bit bored after finding the relic he'd been looking for. So he started using the training dummy.

"Nick, sweety, you don't slap at them."

"Penny, now is not the time."

"Nick, I can help."

"Not now."

Idiot male pride. I could actually train him to use the dummy more effectively, but not if he takes that attitude.

"So, Nick, good day?"

"Not bad, Pen. Explored my first tomb, earned my first degree martial arts belt. How about you?"

"I spent the day at the academy. Most of the time was spent training and I won my matches today."

"Wait, what level are you?"

"I think it's six. I could be wrong, it's not that important."

"Not important? Pen, you were serious that you could teach me?"

"Nick, you know I don't do jokes."

Being overseas makes me feel like the day we got married. Once we started cuddling in bed, nothing mattered beyond being with the man I love.

There is a little extra thrill in making love in a room at base camp. The doors have no locks so you can't be positive that no one will walk in.

The next morning, I had a mysterious phone call asking me to explore the Dragon's cave.

My god, it's so big. A couple of those teeth are three times my height.

Daddy definitely mentioned these. He always told me that you have to poke your hand in, there might be a vital lever or treasure in. But many of them are homes to swarms of creepy crawlies.

Deep breath, Penny. You have to find out. I stuck my hand in and found some ancient coins. No bugs, thank heavens.

Right after this, there was a ghostly display of some sort of battle. Was that what I was meant to find?

Daddy didn't have to tell me about these. A treasure chest is always a welcome sight.

"Open, open. Damn this lid is so heavy." With a final heave, the lid finally swung upwards.

This one wasn't as full as I might have hoped, however a few raw gems are definitely appreciated.

It was time to check in with the person who rang me. I told him about everything I'd seen from the start.

He was very patient, given that it was the description of the battle that he wanted and that was the last place I'd visited. He promptly asked me to go find some platinum for a statue that he needed to make.

Nick was spending the day at the Scholar's Garden. He practiced his chess skills.

And spent some time working on a new belt.

While I was out gathering the metals that guy requested but anything else that looked interesting. Not bad exercise either, I was running all over the district grabbing metals and unpolished gems.

It helps that I have a gadget to detect stuff that daddy gave me on the last family trip. Otherwise it could be hard to spot precious metals disguised as just plain rocks.

Nick's skills are coming along very nicely. He's earned another belt and can work with the block breaker now.

Still, when we get home, I'm showing him my skills. A couple of sparring defeats ought to remind Nick that you shouldn't assume how good someone is at any skill.

"Thanks to you, young lady, I can build a miniature statue of the Buddha. The platinum and the gems you gathered will be perfect."

"Glad to help. You pay very well. Got any more jobs?"

"Not at the moment. Perhaps later?"

"We'll be going home soon, but you can be sure that I'll return."

That night, I happened to look up at the Dragon Cave. If I had a good look at that place at night, I never would have ventured in there during the day. Those glowing red eyes are the spookiest thing ever. You can see them from quite a long way off, I was way down at base camp when I saw it.

All too soon, we had to return home.

"Thanks for the job, Mr and Mrs Grant. Buddy was a complete angel." We paid her and she was on her way.

"Penny?"

"Yes, Nick?"

"You were right. We do have more money now then when we started that holiday. Nearly a thousand simoleons more."

"And we haven't even sold all the extra rocks and gems yet. Hey Nick, care to spar?"

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 11 - Buddy meets his grandparents

2011-09-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

A new day dawns, and I'm finally feeling a bit more like myself. It was time to properly greet our new son. Last night, with all the fuss and bother, well, getting some sleep was all that was on my mind.

So I did the morning baby tending.

While Nick invited the grandparents over to see their newest grandchild. Of course, my parents are old hands at the grandparent business, since Vincent's daughter is nearly a teen.

Stephen and Abbey have two boys, so Buddy isn't anyone's first grandson either.

Still, we're excited and happy and I'm sure our folks will be thrilled to see their tribe of grandchildren growing.

"Good morning, snookums. I hope it's going to be a big day today and you get to say hi to all your grandparents."

It was a Saturday and luckily, not one of the 'rents had made other plans. It's entirely possible that they already had plans to see the new grandchild, which could explain the speed at which they've all turned up on our doorstep.

Still I was very happy they could all make it. It seems like every time we try, at least one of our parents doesn't come at all or leaves immediately.

"I have a little something for you, Nick."

"What is it?"

"You'll find out when you open the box. I hope you and Penny enjoy."

"Hey, Mr Mayor."

"Penny, I thought I told you, it's just Brad."

"Sorry Brad. I was trying to make a joke." I sighed. "No one ever gets them."

Brad leaned close to me. "I know. I have the same problem. No one ever gets my sense of humour either." I almost gave him a hug for that confession.

"Mom, meet Buddy, your newest grandson. Buddy, this is your granny."

"He's lovely, Penny. How are you holding up?"

"Well, I could use some more sleep."

"At least you only had one. You really forget what sleep is if you have twins."

"Umm, should I be sorry about that?"

"Not really dear, it wasn't your fault that we had twins. But why on earth did you and Nick have a baby so soon?"

"We didn't really intend on starting a family. It's just that we weren't being terribly careful."

"And Buddy was the result. How does Nick like being a daddy?"

"He's working on it but the baby frightens him. I guess he's worried that he'll be too rough, or forget to feed him. We're still learning."

"It never ends dear, until they leave home."

"So Penny, this is?"

"Buddy, meet your other grandmom." Buddy cooed happily on queue.

"Such a handsome little baby. I hope he isn't nearly the handful his dad was."

"MOM!"

"Nick, you were the fussiest baby ever. And no better as a toddler, I might add."

God, if my parents and Nick's parents start exchanging stories, we are so out of here. I really don't want to listen to all the stories about what we did as babies/toddlers.

"Well, Nick, how are you finding married life?"

"It's been pretty amazing so far, Dad. How's having an empty nest?"

"The joys of peaceful living. It had been so long ago that I'd forgotten what it was like, just your Mom and me. Makes me wish you kids had long since gone."

"Dad!"

"Joking, Nicholas. We might think about taking a smaller place now though. Your mother gets a bit sad wandering through your rooms."

"Dad, this is Buddy. Your newest grandson."

"So how are you both?"

"Like I told Mom, I still pretty tired. But Buddy is holding out well, I think he likes having so many faces to see."

"Did we ever tell you about the time that you and your sister..."

"Dad!"

He grinned mischievously. "Gottcha. The worst the two of you did as babies was wake each other up. Your mother and I did have a few bad nights until you slept at the same time reliably." Dad tickled the baby for a few minutes and wandered off.

Thank heavens that's over. I was starting to think that my arm would fall at any moment. The baby has met his grandparents and everyone survived the encounter.

I noticed that Mom and Dad still get flirty when they think no one is paying attention.

It's so sweet that they love each other so much.

"Hey there, Buddy. Having a good time being the centre of the universe today?"

Nick gave Buddy his bottle. "You've had an awfully big day. It's time to put you in a crib."

Our parents actually spent the entire day at our place. Dad and Em danced up a storm together.

Then I convinced Dad to spar for a little. I won both matches but the margin was very small. Dad really hasn't lost his fighting skills with age.

It was finally time to send them all home and Nick decided to open the box from my Dad.

"Honey?"

"Yes Nick?"

"You won't believe what was in that box your father gave me."

"What was it?"

"Umm, a cave man outfit. What the hell?"

I had to laugh. "Dad found it exploring a tunnel one time. He would do cave man for mom from time to time. It was a long time ago now but I think she found it very sexy."

"Really?"

"Might be fun to try, Nick."

-----
Bonus pic

No Sim can resist the lure of the water slide. They all adore it. So Brad takes some time out to play on the slide while everyone else is socialising.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 9 - Prepare for incoming baby

2011-08-25T05:10:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I'd do without Nick here. He's been as attentive and helpful as any pregnant girl could want.

"How's that?"

"Just a little lower Nick."

"Are you sure everything's ok?"

"I promise, Nick. I'm not that fragile. Maybe fat and slow moving but not fragile."

"Now?"

"Perfect Nick. I feel much better." Well, for a little while. I don't know if my back is ever going to be the same.

Since it was my turn to cook, Nick decided to try out the water slide that came with the house.

It does look like fun but I'm not sure I should try it myself until after this baby arrives. Jumping around would probably not be the wisest thing that I ever did in my life.

"Nick, dear."

"Yes Penny?"

"I've invited a few people over."

"I thought it was my turn to do the inviting?"

"Well, I really wanted my Mom here. There are times when a girl needs their mom, and this baby isn't going to wait much longer."

"That close? Already?" Nick looked worried.

"I hope so. Hauling this baby around means it's getting to be quite the workout just walking through the house."

I didn't invite many at all. Ronnie and her boyfriend, Vincent, and my parents. Stephen told me on the phone that it was his night to watch the baby. And Dad said he couldn't make it, he had a few things he had to do.

Ronnie and her boyfriend Eddie were the first and third people to arrive. The second to arrive was Hayley. Again.

I found out that she's living next door. No wonder she knows when we invite anyone over. It's still annoying to have Nick's ex around for every party.

"Ronnie, do you think you could convince Eddie that you both should move in with Mom and Dad?" I whispered to my sister while her guy was distracted.

"Eddie really wants his own space."

"You guys could have the whole upper floor to yourselves. I'm sure that Mom and Dad would spring for renovations for you."

"If you care, why don't you move back?"

I thought for a couple of minutes. My parents and Nick's parents both have mostly empty homes these days. And it's good to think that if something bad happened, we have a place to turn to. Still, Ronnie has a point. She and Eddie may have a small place, however it is their own. "Well, I'm just worried about them."

"I do know what you mean there." We both looked at Mom, still upright and alert but she's looking frail.

"Hi Mom. Where's Daddy?"

"Your father had a couple of commissioned photographs he wanted to deliver today. One was a set for the business centre and they promised to pay well."

"I'm glad you could come. I think the baby is nearly ready to pop out and I was hoping you might stay."

"I can stay tonight, after I call your father. But really, your dad is lost without me. I would hate to leave him to his own devices for too long."

"That's ok Mom. You are right about Dad, he doesn't know what to do without you." Dad would deny it but he can get a bit mopey if Mom is out all day fishing. Gone for more than a day? I'm not sure he'll cope.

Vincent did come but he spent more time practicing on the keyboard then he did socialising. Not that I'll complain about his music, he is quite accomplished on keyboards and guitar.

Still, you would hope your big brother would talk to you a little at a party before setting up the keyboard.

Nick and Ronnie are finally getting to be true friends. It's a big relief for me, I don't want to shut Ronnie out of my life just because of Nick. And Nick is just so uncomfortable around people he doesn't know well.

Nick even surprised Ronnie with a little gift.

Mom on the other hand, wasn't keen on taking a present from Nick. You'd think he'd booby-trapped it from her expression. And now Nick's even more nervous about Mom since she doesn't trust his gifts.

Still, they are family now, and they are trying to get along for my sake. It's just taking a lot longer than I would have hoped.

I may be pregnant but I still have the moves. I want to go forth and kick tushie. Or maybe do some training.

Perhaps Dad will give me his block breaker equipment. Maybe - what -

that move was a seriously bad idea. Ouch, that hurts.

Oh God, that really hurts. Now? It's time now?

Deep breath, deep breath. Stay calm, panicking now is not going to help anyone.

"No, no, what do I do? What do I do?" Great, Nick's going to do the panicking for both of us.

"Nick, stop mucking about and call a taxi. We need to get to the hospital and fast. I want some painkillers and I want them now."

"What do I do?"

"Honestly, Nick, call the taxi."

Fortunately, Mom called the taxi company and one arrived within a few minutes.

It had to be the longest cab ride of my life. Or maybe the shortest. I was worried about the baby, about giving birth in the cab, whether Nick was going to stop freaking out.

My phone beeped. Mom texted me that she was going home and I was to ring them as soon as I could after the baby was born.

It wasn't a long labor at all. It barely felt like I had gotten to the hospital when they handed me a baby in a blue blanket.

I walked out the door to find Nick still dithering outside. "Where have you been mister?"

"I tried to follow you in, but there were several people I didn't know and I just couldn't force myself to go past them. I'm sorry sweetheart."

"Well," I was thinking about scolding Nick more when I looked at his face. He was obviously genuinely sorry that he hadn't made it inside the building. "I have someone for you to meet. Nick, here's our son."

Nick suddenly focused on the baby. "A son? Did you give him a name?"

"Well, Nick, I thought you had. You kept calling him bud every time you talked to my tummy. So meet your little bud, Buddy."

"My little Buddy."

"Our little Buddy."

The ride home was much quicker than the ride to the hospital. We were back in record time.

I could hardly wait to crash myself. First stop, the new baby had to be tucked into his crib for the very first time.

"Night, night Buddy. Welcome home."

I would like to say that Nick happily volunteered to take the first baby duty shift. It would be a bit of a lie though.

"Penny, the baby is crying."

"Could you go, Nick?"

"Penny?" A not very gentle shove was all the answer he got.

Once Nick was up, he was happy to play with Buddy for awhile.

I'm sure the pair of them really will be buddies quickly.

A package arrived containing a strange doll for Buddy.

Hmm, the card says it was sent by Great Aunt Eunice. I'm positive that there is no one in family called Eunice. Who really sent it?

----

Nick doesn't show off his evil trait often. But for whatever reason, he did while waiting to enter the hospital. I'm glad he happened to get evil though. Just like his granddaddy, Jeb.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 4 - Family Party and Pregnancy

2011-08-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Nick's been fascinated by my pregnancy.

"Honey, can I feel your tummy?"

"I'm surprised that you can't just watch. I think he wants to kick his way out."

He carefully placed one hand on the baby bulge. "Wow, that baby is a strong kicker."

"Tell me about it." I stroked my tummy. "I don't think there's much question about how healthy this baby is."

"You need a distraction. I think I have just the thing."

"Nick, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, just thinking about tickling you till you surrender." He put the words into action.

"You silly man. If you want me to head for bed, you could try asking."

"Well then?"

"Good thing we're already in the right room. It's taking me longer to get anywhere these days."

When I checked the mail, I found our first set of bills and another round of wedding gifts. Nick's parents sent one, my cousin Jerod, a few of the other guests.

So it was time for another round of thank you notes. I do appreciate that the guests sent presents, and they seem to appreciate that we send back little notes.

"Nick?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I've been thinking..."

"You dangerous woman! Thinking!"

"Don't be so silly." I giggled. "I think we should have a small party. You know, the family."

Nick looked a bit uncomfortable. "You know I don't know your family that well." Nick's not much of one for hanging out with people he doesn't know.

"I'll invite your parents. And if I ask Stephen, I have to ask your sister Abbey. It will be fine, Nick."

So, I invited Mom and Dad, Vincent, Stephen and Abbey, Ronnie, Bradley and Emerald. Nice little family gathering.

So who was the first to arrive? Nick's ex girlfriend, Hayley. Did Nick invite his old girlfriend because I surely didn't. Hayley and I haven't gotten along since I 'stole' Nick from her.

It wasn't stealing. He came back to me willing enough.

Worst mistake I ever made, deciding to date other guys as a teen. When I found that Hayley snapped Nick up, I realised exactly what he meant to me. Which was, well, everything.

I was glad that the other guests arrived soon after Hayley. It's awkward hosting a party where you are enemies with the only guest.

Poor Abbey still seems to have problems with losing weight after the baby is born. She and Stephen have two boys now. I think my second nephew is called Shane.

Nick's mom visited just long enough to say hi and zipped away again. What was the point of that? She could have just phoned and saved some fuel. At least Bradley stayed for the party.

Dad and Mom made it as well.

I'm glad, it will give me a chance to mention their new grandchild to be. Though I may not have to say much, I think that they'll notice on their own.

Our other gate crasher was my cousin Elmer.

I'm glad he came, his mom just passed away and it's been a bit rough on both Elmer and his twin sister Rocio. I don't think that Jerod was as affected by it, he was never quite as close to his parents as far as we know.

"Hey, Elmer."

"Hi Penny."

"You doing ok?"

"Not really. Not yet. I mean, we knew mom was getting frail but you still never expect it."

At this point, I was doing my best not to look at my mom. As much as I hate to think about it, I'll be in this position sometime. "I know. It doesn't help but at least she will be reunited with your dad."

"True, after my dad died, mom was so lost. They hadn't been apart for more than a day since they got married."

"I'm glad you came. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

"Jeffrey's been saying the same thing." Jeffrey? Oh, right, Elmer's husband.

Nick may not have been keen on the idea of talking to my family, but he is making the effort. Of course, Stephen is twice over his brother-in-law since he's married to Abbey.

I'm hoping that Nick will eventually like hanging around with my family. Because they are important to me. I was hoping to chat to Emerald but maybe next time.

As dusk fell, Nick decided to tell a ghost story.

Man, can Nick tell a scary story or what? I had no idea that he was that good. It was the spooky tale of a headless ghost and how he haunted the guy who cut off his head.

After the story, the guests left. It was a great party but it was also great to have the house to ourselves again.

"And did my little bud enjoy the party?"

"I was lucky. He didn't try to dance to the music all night. Now that everyone is gone, would you like to look at the stars?"

"Yes, Penny, let's look at the stars."

I love it when I have a chance to hold Nick's hand.

Nick decided to tell me some of his family gossip. Like his uncle Travis just told the family that he and his wife are expecting a baby. I thought his uncle Travis was the oldest? His wife went to school with Vincent though so maybe she was the one that wanted a baby.

I got up in the morning to find my husband quietly studying in the corner of the room.

"Nick, isn't the sofa in the main room more comfortable?"

"Just wanted to keep an eye on you, honey."

"Nick, I'm pregnant, not sick."

"And I wanted to say good morning to you and the baby."

Nick put down the book and came over.

"Good morning little bud. I hope to see you soon. Because there's been no candy for me to steal around here."

"Nick!"

"Just kidding...well, mostly kidding."

Ok, what will I do if Nick steals candy from our baby? I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

The Journal of Penny Grant - May 1 - Settling in

2011-08-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

I checked the mail to find that some of the wedding guests had sent presents. Including Mom and Dad sent us some gifts. Apparently a house isn't enough.

So I moved the old clunky computer from the top of this desk to write the thank you notes. I picked this desk since it's one of the rooms I haven't had a chance to look at yet.

Six letters later and I had a chance to explore our new place.

This one is obviously a room for boys. All blue and about space. The overall effects is a bit ... dark. I think it could use a little something before anyone stays in here.

Then there is the nursery with some of the most adorable wall paper ever.

I'm glad it doesn't seem to be for either a boy or a girl. Greens and yellows, not all blue or pink.

Our room with a nice view and personal fireplace.

The other bedroom.

I don't like this one. It's kind of dark and gloomy with that wallpaper. It needs some real work done.

Oh my, that sounds like I want to fill all of them. That's four children and a baby. I don't know if Nick would like that. I don't even know if I'd like that many kids.

Of course, Mom and Dad only planned for 3. They just happened to get a 2 for 1 deal unexpectedly with Ronnie and I.

Finally the kitchen/dining/living area.

I like that these rooms all flow into each other, it's just like home.

Damn, I mean it's just like my parent's house. This is our home. Me and Nick.

I guess moving out is just another thing to get used to. Being married should be another but I was just so ready for that.

The backyard has a treehouse and a waterslide. It may be awhile before they see much action. I mean, you can't have babies climbing into treehouses, can you?

Still, it's a wonderful house. I can see I'll want to make some changes but it's really got everything we need for a family.

All the excitement has been getting to me. I've been a bit queasy lately.

Once I was over the sudden queasiness, I decided to take Dad's advice and get a job in professional sports. The stadium isn't too far from our new place. We are also close to the military base where Nick works. Unfortunately, this means we aren't close at all to the parents.

My passion is martial arts, not sports. But working in professional sports is as close as I can get and earn a regular paycheck. I hope that the skills from this surely will help the other along.

Then I went over to the gym to meet Nick. He decided a workout session would be just the ticket to for him.

He's been given a few days off because of the wedding. I think that was sweet.

By the time I arrived, Nick was already there and working out.

All the machines were in use so I did my routines in the aerobics room. There wasn't a class on so that room was pretty much deserted.

"Hey Penny?"

"Yes Nick?"

"Can we pop by and see my folks after the workout? Just to say hi?"

"Ok Nick. Next time we can visit mine."

Emerald had a promotion since I last saw her. Her new uniform is quite spiffy.

I think I see Nick's motives here. Emerald could help his career quite a bit, if she wants to. She might, I don't know her well enough to say. She might prefer that he earn his own stripes.

When did Brad get to be mayor of this town?

Well, we've known he's been in politics forever. And as the only honest politician in town, well, that had to have some dividends for Brad sometime.

Vincent finally divorced Kari. Now he is moving on to a new romance.

Wait, is that Nick's aunt Amelia?

It is his aunt Amelia. I guess that Vincent really has a thing for older woman since she's significantly older than he is.

"Nick, do you think your aunt really loves Vincent?"

"Well, for the moment, she does. But she hasn't stayed with anyone more than a couple of months. Dad said that he was surprised that his older brother settled down in marriage so fast and younger sister never did. He always thought it would be the other way around."

"You have an uncle too?"

"Yeah, don't you?"

"Well, I did have some aunts and uncles but nearly all of them have died. Dad had two brothers and a sister. Mom had a half sister. I do have a lot of cousins."

When we finally got home, Nick volunteered for kitchen duty.

Because I was still feeling a bit off.

Funny, I feel really really hungry when I'm not throwing up. It's not stomach flu, that just leaves you ill.

Oh my plumbbob, is that why I've been feeling off?

I hope Nick takes the news well. We're just barely married, we haven't had a chance to talk about children yet.

"Nick, do you like babies?"

"I love to steal candy from babies, why?"

"Umm, would you steal candy if it's your own baby?"

"My baby?"

"Our baby, actually. Nick, I'm pregnant."

"I don't feel anything."

"Well, it's early days yet. But the doctor confirmed it. Definitely going to have a baby. She said everything was going fine."

"Honey. I'm speechless."

"Is that a good speechless or a bad one?"

Since words were failing Nick, he decided on a demonstration instead.

I'm pretty sure that translate to good speechless. He might not have had much to say about the baby but it seems to have made him happy.

I just adore my Nick. Look at those beautiful eyes of his. And when he grabs me, I feel so safe in his arms. It's such a good feeling.

---
bonus pics

On the far left is Marco Sekemoto - one of Laura Grant's grandchildren (Sam and Rache's great grand). On the right is Beatrice Warren - Ripley's only child and girlfriend of Marco. I have my doubts that this pair will manage to produce any children but Marco's little brother is married and has two.

Does anyone see a ring on the Sims finger when they do this, or is it just my graphics?

Don't they look so happy, cuddling in the bed?

The Journal of Penny Grant - April 29 - Our Wedding (2)

2011-07-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Take a good look at the groom, that handsome man. My Nick.

We had to wait for the guests to settle before we could finally begin the ceremony.

That was practically parent's corner over there. Nick's Dad, Mom, my Dad.

I think they are all happy that this time around there is a big wedding with the family. Abbey and Stephen just went to city hall one day and signed a few papers.

My brothers were feeling pretty choked up. I'm not sure what Jerod was think about, he's just back from a trip to Egypt. He didn't even stop to change clothes.

Then it was time to start the real ceremony. I feel like I've waited forever for this moment.

Penny, I wish to share my life with you.
I pledge my eternal love.
Like Fire, we will fuel the flames
of our relationship with love
Like Water, love may rise and fall
but the tides of love are eternal
Like Wind, love is like air,
without it, we shall surely die
Like earth, love needs a place to grow
it sinks deep roots in our hearts.
Fire, Water, Wind and Earth

With this ring, I seal my pledge.
I promise to use the elements to
feed our love forever.

Nick, I wish to share my life with you.
I pledge my eternal love.
Like Fire, we will fuel the flames
of our relationship with love
Like Water, love may rise and fall
but the tides of love are eternal
Like Wind, love is like air,
without it, we shall surely die
Like earth, love needs a place to grow
it sinks deep roots in our hearts.
Fire, Water, Wind and Earth

With this ring, I seal my pledge.
I promise to use the elements to
feed our love forever.

Emerald thought the ceremony was beautiful.

Ronnie wasn't quite as impressed as any of the parents. She is looking stunning in her new dress.

Mom and Dad spent a fortune on our dresses. Dad muttered something about no more new clothes but I don't think he meant it.

Because he was looking very pleased about our wedding. As was Brad.

Finally, we've done it. It's official. Mr and Mrs Grant.

Apparently Dad had a chat with Nick at some point. I have the family journal, am supposed to wear a hat and Nick had to become a Grant. He must have been cool with it.

Now how long till we can ditch the party and find a bed? We have some fun time waiting.

Well, it will be a little while before we can ditch the party. We have the guests to consider. Our guests applauded.

A few cheered and threw confetti.

Then I cut our wedding cake. It was a lovely 3 tier affair.

It's berry flavor. That's interesting, I had no idea we had berry wedding cakes.

Nick also had cake, some of the other guests hit the buffet instead of taking some cake. Salad does look a little bit healthier but not as tasty.

It wasn't long after the cake cutting that the party started to wind down. A few of the guests had to go to work, including Vincent and Ronnie's friend Eddie. Everyone else was getting tired, it had been a work day for most of the guests.

"Penny?"

"Yes Dad?"

"It's time to give you your wedding present from your Mom and I." Dad tossed me some keys.

"A car? Gosh, Dad..." He interrupted me.

"No, Penny, those are keys to your new house."

They bought us a house? "Dadddyyyy! You are the best."

"You might want to grab a few clothes for the night. The taxi is due any moment. We wanted to keep it a surprise, so you'll have to come back tomorrow for anything else you need."

Dad wasn't kidding. It was only a couple of minutes later that a taxi arrived. Nick hadn't really unpacked since moving to our place. I grabbed just enough for an overnight stay.

Oh my, Mom and Dad didn't just buy us a tiny little house. It's a large house with a couple of bedrooms and a nursery.

I think that the nursery may be a hint. Mom and Dad both want more grandchildren to spoil. I've heard Dad hint as much to Stephen on the phone.

"I'm going to tickle you till you surrender and come to bed."

"Stop Nick, I surrender already."

Our first time in our new home, in our new bed.

One thing is sure, this won't be the last.

It's sort of weird, it's the first time I've ever slept in a room that I didn't share with Ronnie. A girl could get very used to this though.

And can there be a better way to wake up in the morning?

I didn't think so.

Bonus pics

Nick, you are just barely married to Penny. Can't scaring her wait till tomorrow for heaven's sake?
This was wedding 2, which is why Nick and Penny have slightly different formals.

What's that face about?

I must admit, I'm slightly worried for Nick. He only has rolled a few wants since joining the household, and we've filled all of them. The big 2 were to marry Penny and move in with her, both filled. Can't keep you happy Nick, unless you want stuff.

Phillip and Vanessa could easily afford the new house for Penny and Nick. We bought the house, moved over, left Penny with 10,000 cash and gave back 48,000 to Phillip and co. I think Vanessa's royalties are currently about 20,000 a week.