The Newsons: Week 1

The Newsons are next on my alphabetical list, and I have placed them in Desiderata Valley, where at No. 196 Main Street they have found a house big enough to hold them all and cheap enough to be affordable. As you all know, the Newsons are a parent-less family, consisting of three boys and three girls. Two of them are teenagers, two are school kids and two are toddlers - three sets of twins. 

Maxis says about them: "After their parents' untimely death, the adopted Newson clan is faced with the reality of separation and a return to foster care or weathering the unknown future together. With no parents to guide or protect them, can the Newson's continue to provide each other the safety and security their adopted parents provided?"

With just a little over 30,000 Simoleons left in the bank after they acquired the house, there is enough money to furnish it, but with no income, the siblings will still have to be careful about spending. 

According to Maxis, "at his age, Gavin never thought he would be adopted. He is grateful for the chance at a real family and has come to fiercely love his brothers and sisters. In fact, Gavin couldn't imagine life without them. He decided long ago that he would do whatever it took to protect and care for them!" A Fortune Sim, he sees his best chance to make money out of crime - he dreams of becoming a Criminal Mastermind, something that doesn't really suit him. But like every Sim in my game, he shall have a fair chance at reaching his lifetime want. Here, he is holding his youngest brother. 

Little Garrett and his twin sister Georgia have the same Maxis-written bio which you will find under the next picture. 

Ginger is a typical Family Sim who dreams to be Captain Hero - maybe to counter-balance her brother's criminal Mastermind. According to Maxis, she "was a troubled child with a troubled past before flowering under the loving kindness of her adopted mother, Gloria. With Gloria gone, Ginger faces the unknown challenges of being an adult and acting as a mother to her siblings." 

Georgia is her little sister and Garrett's twin. She and her brother "were adopted most recently and loved as if they had always been around. They play well with each other and merrily get along with the rest of the family. These two managed to bring more laughter and happiness into the Newson household." 

The middle twins are Gabriella and Gallagher. While Gabriella is "a precocious child, that has been dubbed the princess of the Newson family. This little wonder enjoys the lavish love and attention of her siblings and has a knack for wrapping people around her little finger", her brother seems to have a very different personality: He "is one of a kind. He is a happy child who tends to be shy around strangers. He stays to himself more than any of the other children but he is coming out of his shell day by day. Will his siblings continue to bring out the best in him?" 

All low-budget households in our game are glad about the IKEA stuff pack, I think. The Newsons are no exception, and the ground floor of their house now looks like this, clockwise from the top left corner: A room for Ginger and Gabriella, a bathroom, the toddlers' room, the kitchen with dining table and (for now) five chairs, and the open plan living room which at the moment holds a desk for homework, a cheap settee and a bookcase. (After I took the picture, I added an activity table for the toddlers and school kids.) 

Upstairs, we find a second bathroom and the boys' bedroom with Gavin's bed in the small compartment facing the street and Gallagher's near the desk where he will be doing his homework.

When I played the Newsons before, I made the teenagers go to school on alternate days until the toddlers grew up to children, and I am going to do the same now. On this Monday, Ginger goes to school along with Gabriella and Gallagher, while Gavin stays home to look after the little ones. First things first - "You are one smelly little brother," he smiles at Garrett and then starts the potty training with both toddlers. 

When the Welcome Committee appears in the shape of Luis Aspir, John Mole and Hannah Bell, Gavin is in two minds about opening the door for them - he has plenty to do and knows visitors will occupy the toilet and want to eat, but he also knows that it is important to be on good terms with his neighbours. 

The Newsons can do with adult friends, too. A very busy afternoon follows, during which Ginger is the only one who manages to do her homework. The two younger children are too tired by the time their fun level is up, and go to bed early; the toddlers switch between needing the potty, a bottle, sleep and fun. Gavin is pretty much rushed off his feet, and if it weren't for Ginger (who is able to make Grandma's Comfort Soup), nobody would have had anything to eat. 

On Tuesday, it is Ginger's turn to stay home and look after the toddlers. Things are made only a little bit easier by the fact that Garrett and Georgia wake and sleep at different times, so that Ginger gets a chance to give one of them a bath and a bottle while the other one is safely tucked up in their crib. She doesn't manage to have a shower herself until much later, when Gavin is home from school and can take over for a while. 

Gabriella and Gallagher got up very early that morning so that they could do yesterday's homework before school - and they had to do it all on their own, since Ginger was busy with the little ones and Gavin needed his sleep so that he'd be able to go to school with them later. 

Wednesday is pretty much a repeat of Tuesday, with Gabriella and Gallagher doing what they can do get their homework done AND their fun level up before school, and little Georgia and Garrett being cared for lovingly (by Gavin this time) but with no chance at being taught their toddler skills apart from potty training.

It was Ginger's turn to go to school today, and while she is glad to be out of the house for a while and really tries hard to concentrate on her lessons, her grades leave a lot to be desired. 

That's hardly surprising, considering how little time (and nearly always when she is very tired, and with one or more of her younger siblings being around) she gets to do her homework. 

Between her and Gavin, there is just always so much to do, and the two teenagers snatch a few hours of sleep whenever possible. 

On Thursday, first Gabriella skips off the school bus, brandishing her first A+ report... 

 ...and then Gallagher. These two have been working just as hard as their older siblings, without any homework help. But there isn't a prouder big brother in all of Desiderata Valley that day than Gavin!

That same evening, Garrett... 

...and Georgia grow up. Phew! They were loved and well cared for throughout their toddler years, but neither of them was taught to walk or talk; it just wasn't possible (good job they are able to walk and talk now nonetheless!).

With the little ones not so little anymore, finally Gavin gets round to helping Gallagher with his homework. Not that he really needs it, now that he's had an A+, but it was a big wish of his. 

In the back, you can see Garrett in his "big bed". The baby cribs, changing table and potty were sold, and the former toddlers' room given to Ginger, while the other two girls now share the room where Ginger slept before and Gabriella still has the same bed. The boys' bedroom upstairs is big enough to hold three beds. 

Friday is a true milestone for the Newsons: For the first time, they ALL sit down for a meal together, and for the first time, they ALL go to school together! 

For Gavin and Ginger, life suddenly seems a lot easier, and they almost feel as if they might have something like a normal life ahead, with all (or at least some) of the things teenagers usually do. 

Saturday means of course no school, and the kids can just be kids. When left to their own decives, they are up to all sorts of stuff, creating their own fun :-) 

The two youngest ones still have to do yesterday's homework, though, but with Gavin's and Ginger's help, they are soon free to enjoy the weekend, too.

On Sunday, the two oldest siblings have a very well deserved lie-in while the younger ones are up early and play together quietly... at least for a while. 

Later, everyone does their share of household duties.

But there is still plenty of time for some less quiet fun! 

A skunk comes visiting, but the boys do not seem to notice, while Georgia watches the animal carefully without approaching it. 

That evening, after everyone else has gone to bed, Gavin writes in his diary, pouring his young heart out over how much he and Ginger have been struggling this week to make their parent-less family work for the kiddies, but also how much he loves his siblings. "I'd love to get us a chess board..." he writes... 

"...or a TV set... but although we have enough money for now, I don't want us to spend any of it as long as there is no real need." 

By the way, when he started to write in his diary, Gabriella was still in the room, and he kept thinking of her, crossed out, and didn't move the pen or flip the pages of the diary - he obviously really wanted to be alone for that. I don't think I have ever noticed this before!

The Newsons are a lovable bunch of kids - sensible yet not averse to fun, and they have all worked hard at school and at home. 

Gavin dreams of college, but he and Ginger are still another week away from adulthood, and of course they can not leave their younger siblings before the middle twins are teenagers. 

Ginger isn't so keen on school and college anyway - she'd rather find herself someone to go steady with. 

While I didn't enjoy the first half of the week with this lively household, once the youngest two were not toddlers anymore, it was really fun to play them. True, it was a pity that Gavin and Ginger never got round to teaching them their toddler skills, but once they were old enough to go to school, the teens helped all of their younger siblings with their homework.