Ch. 7: Twins & the Perpetual Pizza Uniform

Derrick baby-talks to little Maribel, who doesn't really like to be held & seems to be screaming at her dad to be quiet. I'm sorry, but you'll have to look at Lauren's pizza uniform for a while longer. The family can't afford new clothes.

The married couple is amazingly staying composed, even chipper, in the midst of having twice the baby expenses that they had planned for. It helps that both parents are working, although they both can't help regretting not being able to spend more time with the little ones. The babies are taken care of by nannies when both Lauren & Derrick are at work.


The twins as babies turned out to be pretty low-maintenance. They were both quiet & didn't wake up too many times in the middle of the night. Maribel was a fidgety one and disliked attention except when she needed a bottle or a new diaper. She was almost always trying to squirm her way out of being carried. Luxe was more sociable and enjoyed being bathed & burped.


Time to enter terrible toddlerhood! Oh boy... The twins' personalities' didn't change much when they entered this stage, except now they are able to wreak more havoc! By the way, here are their personality stats:

Maribel (Sagittarius) - Sloppy (3), Shy (1), Active (10), Playful (10), Nice (10)
Luxe (Gemini) - Sloppy (4), Outgoing (7), Active (9), Playful (7), Nice (6)


Actually, it was only Maribel who tended to be a handful, and it was only because she confused everyone. Luxe was entranced with the Charisma-raising bunny & she was content playing with that all day. Maribel mainly sat & observed her surroundings with her piercing eyes. No one could tell what she was thinking, especially since she was dead quiet most of the time (even after she learned how to talk!). She seemed emotionally detached from everything and avoided interaction with everyone...


...Except when she was hungry. Hmm..is that dad or mom giving her the milk? I'll guess dad.

Maribel was so quiet most of the time that the old nannies with deteriorating vision often forgot she was even there at all.


"Why did they hire both of us for one baby? I have nothing to do!"

Lauren & Derrick didn't know this about the nannies until Lauren came home from work one night to find this:



Aside from her whimpering (and the state of the bathroom), Maribel was okay (to Lauren's relief). Luxe was in her crib, tucked in & asleep. Lauren was horrified with the negligence that had occurred and promptly fired the nannies. She talked to Derrick about hiring different nannies but how she'd really rather stay home if they can figure out a way to get by financially. Derrick was so upset with what had happened to Maribel. He knew that it was worth it to try living on a single income if it meant Lauren raising their children the way only an excellent mother can. He & Lauren have been really good at pinching pennies so far, and he could see that it might be possible for him to be the sole simoleon provider.

After thorough deliberation of worst-case scenarios, Lauren quit her job and was happy to become a stay-at-home mom.


Her bad luck with local services continued, however.


Derrick's starting to feel more pressure from the responsibilities of job + medical school + twins. He's increasingly depending on the energizer to help him stay awake so that he can work overtime for extra money and then go to class. He's already had to drop a couple of courses during the current semester, so his graduation is definitely going to be delayed somehow. Will he be able to hang in there, especially while trying to fulfill his wife's lifetime want of marrying off SIX children? Or will he give up and just hope he wins the SimLotto?