The Stacks-Hart Family: Week 6

Week 5 is here. 

We're in for a busy and pleasant week at the Stacks-Hart family - busy, because of the sheer number of Sims living here, and pleasant, because this is a very nice family, and there weren't any fires or other deadly accidents here all week :-)
But first, let me remind you of who is who in this house:

        Matthew Hart and his wife Jane, nee Stacks. They met each other at university and were 3-bolters until they turned into Elders (and Jane's hair colour could not be changed again to match Matthew's turn-ons). They share the same lifetime want of having six grandchildren.
Herbert Goodie, Matthew's fatherly friend, left his spell book and cauldron to him when he died. Matthew took up white magic and has been glowing the way you see him now nearly ever since.

They adopted Fenya, who lost her entire family in a tragic accident (a house fire caused by the lights on their Christmas tree): her human father Phineaus Furley, stepmother Allegra Furley (nee Gorey) and twin sister Frida, shortly after the little girls had reached school age. Luckily, Fenya has no recollection of this first part of her life, but to honour her late biological father, she has chosen to wear her hair blonde, which was Phineaus' hair colour.
Family means everything to her, and she dreams of celebrating her Golden Anniversary with that special someone in her life whom she has yet to meet.

There is also Helena Stacks, Matthew and Jane's daughter born before they were married (and therefore carrying Jane's maiden name). Helena moved back in with her parents after graduating Magna Cum Laude in Political Sciences and is currently working her way up in the music career with the aim of becoming Rock Goddess.
Not living here at the moment is Hailey, Matthew's half-Alien daughter; she is currently at university, studying Arts and trying to find 20 simultaneous lovers.

To help her parents towards their LTW, Helena has given birth to twins, fathered by Cedric Cooke (half-Alien son of Julien Cooke). The baby girls are Stacy (pictured; human skin tone but very large eyes) and Stephanie (Alien skin tone but human nose and eyes), and when Helena is at work, her younger sister Fenya and her parents compete in taking the best imaginable care of them.

Matthew still finds time to study his spell book every now and then. By the way, he and Jane have never worked, but with their savings from college and now Helena earning some money, the family have managed to get by. However, at the start of the week, the household account is down to a very modest 74 Simoleons.

Jane does the maths and wonders whether they'll be able to pay Tuesday's bills.

But she need not worry, because Helena has been promoted to Concert Pianist. Her salary and promotion bonus are most welcome! She rings some friends to tell them the good news.

Shortly after 6.00 pm on that Monday, first Stacy...

...and then Stephanie grow up into toddlers. Helena is happy that she is home and can be the one to help her little girls growing up.

On Tuesday, though, Helena has to go back to work, and it is therefore their grandparents who teach the toddlers to walk.

Matthew may have magic abilities, but to repair a broken sink takes him as long as anybody else.

He summons magical help for the rest of the housework, since he and Jane are so busy with their first two grandchildren.

Jane teaches Stephanie to talk, with Matthew looking on.

On Wednesday, he summons a spectral cat. Somehow, I expected the cat to disappear after the spell wore off, but it seems this one is here to stay - I was even able to name it. Meet Magic Miau!

Helena invites Cedric over this afternoon. She wants him to know his daughters, and vice versa. Strangely enough, although the two of them are in love, she never rolls any wants about him.

Today, Meike Riley comes home from school with Fenya.

Cedric and Stephanie doing some father-daughter bonding.

Fenya and Meike become friends over a game of kicky bag.

Magic Miau's needs are the same as those of non-spectral cats, but he/she (sorry - I don't know whether it's a she or a he) ignores the scratching post and heads for the settee.

Helena does not have to go to work on Thursday and spends time with her daughters.

There is no spell to repair the broken dish washer, or if there is one, Matthew doesn't know it. Thankfully, he does not come to any permanent harm after this electrocution.

Fenya is unwell and rests on her bed after school.

Little Stephanie still has not mastered the art of talking, but grandma Jane is happy to help again.

Fenya is still sick and only gets better when her adoptive Dad cures her with a spell.

I like this picture - a glowing white cat on a lilac coloured bed, and the little witch statue on the shelf.

A nice shot of Stephanie in her mother's bedroom (where she and her sister have their baby beds, too).

On Friday morning, Helena is so busy with other things that she misses her car pool and walks to work instead.

Stacy discovers Magic Miau's food bowl. Yumm...!

Magic Miau loves watching her humans juggle espresso cups :-)

The toddler "years" are always hard - especially with twins - and so the relief is almost palpable when on Friday evening, first Stephanie...

...and then Stacy grow up. Poor Stace - the shape and size of her eyes do not fit her face very well.

Helena comes home with a promotion to Symphony Conductor and a townie colleague (who is immediately sent on his way).

On Saturday, I have Stephanie change her hairstyle and colour, and it looks like she is very happy with what I chose for her (it's her mother's hair colour, and I did not want her to have the same hairstyle as her aunt Hailey).

While Jane is working on her creativity skill in order to be eligible for the next promotion, Stephanie jumps on her mother's big bed.

In the girls' room across the landing, Stacy does the same.

Helena has asked Cedric over again, and with him arrive Deirdre (front) and Dora (back) Dreamer, Dirk Dreamer's half-Alien daughters. Maybe you remember that the Cookes and the Dreamers share a house, and for Cedric, the girls are like younger sisters or nieces. They are the same age as Fenya, and so it was a nice idea of him to have them come along.

Helena is as much in love with Cedric as ever, but again, she does not roll any wants for him.

Father, mother and two daughters - they do make a nice family, don't they?

Stacy is now wearing specs to make her weird, huge eyes look a little less scary.

Matthew uses his magic ability to produce a meal for everyone. What is it going to be?

Berry cake!

The cake is a big hit with everyone.

And so is the stereo :-)

Matthew takes the opportunity to retreat to the "magic corner" of the bedroom and makes some reagents for his spells.

On Sunday, Hailey comes visiting from university. Fenya is happy to see her big sis.

Matthew and Jane are happy, too, to have all their daughters and granddaughters at the house together.

Helena is of the opinion that Cedric and the girls should see each other as often as possible, and asks him over yet again.

Later, Fenya and her young nieces do the groceries shopping together.

Stephanie likes to be at the centre of attention and seeks to impress fellow New Maximilianian Paola Picaso. (She did that on her own accord.)

Fenya is pleased to meet Lance Landgraab - and I discover, to my surprise, that the two of them do not show up as related in Fenya's relationship panel. According to the Pollination Technician's family tree, they are half-sister and -brother. But because Fenya was adopted by the Harts, they count as her parents now.

Sunday night sees Helena come home with her last promotion - she now is a Rock Goddess (still in her Symphony Conductor's outfit) and has reached Permanent Platinum 8 days before elderhood.

What is going to happen here during the next round? Fenya will most likely not go to college; she did roll the want last time I played this family but it has not reappeared this week, and she does not need a diploma for her LTW. Are Helena and Cedric going to marry, or at least live together as a family with their twin daughters? Will Matthew and Jane live long enough to see four more grandchildren being born?