1.10 Creative Problem Solving

Whaaaat. 

No, c'mon!

Not the scarecrow!

In the end, there's nothing I can do and the scarecrow is taken by the repowoman. This is the biggest tragedy to befall the family since the flamingo incident. 

The Winterlys do their best to move on from this harrowing loss. Persis makes breakfast/lunch/dinner all at once. How practical. 

Mmm, grilled cheese. 

Marko clearly enjoys his wife's cooking more than she does. 

"Shut up," Xara hisses at her brother. Paolo is so annoying! All he does is cry! Why did her parents even need another baby? 

Marko apologizes for their bedroom situation, and promises the girls that Paolo will have his own room soon. Tulip thanks her father with a hug. 

It's Snowflake day, which means a party! This time around it's a gift-giving party, inspired by the school's "Secret Santa". Everyone buys a present for someone else and puts it in the gift pile. 

For some reason, Jazlyn innocently placing her contribution in the pile draws attention from nearly everyone in the room. Except for Gurpal Einstein, Marko's boss. He's wondering if Persis seriously colour coordinates her outfits with her hair. 

Once the gifts are in place, everyone gathers around to begin opening presents. 

Mitchell Blanco-Riffin goes up first. Xara rolls tons of wishes about this kid (talk to Mitchell, become friends with Mitchell, pillow fight with Mitchell, etc.) so I'm just going to say she has a crush on him. She watches intently as he pulls his gift out from the pile. 

He seems to like it. Yay! 

"Do you think anyone brought nachos?" Xara whispers fervently to Audrey Puggle. Talking to small children is obviously beneath her, because Audrey just ignores her. Rude. 

Whoever got Xara this gift is also rude! The note attached (I thought it would match your hair) does not help matters. 

A rainbow light! Why would anyone get her a stupid rainbow light? 

By contrast, Tulip is quite happy with her present. 

Wait, someone got her a functional spring rider? How did they fit that into such a small box? 

Audience reaction. 

Persis is also quite pleased with her gift. 

...even though it's another easel. Oh well. 

Marko got a cheap mermaid statue. He is not amused. 

Some people got multiple gifts, like Tulip, who receives a toy oven. 

And Xara, who receives... a teddy bear. Only marginally better than a rainbow light, in her opinion. 

After all the gifts are distributed, the guests slowly trickle out. Marko finally decides to pay some attention to his logic skill which is slightly lower than what is expected from an elementary school teacher. 

Persis and Tulip eat dinner together. 

"Mom, how come no one in our family does any sports?" 

"Your father and I aren't very athletic. I don't think Xara is either. Why?" Persis says between mouthfuls of cheesy bread. 

"I want to do sports. I want to join the soccer team," she says proudly. 

"Tulip, only high schoolers can be on the soccer team," Persis reminds her daughter, a wry smile on her face. 

Tulip pouts. "That's dumb," after a moment of thinking, she adds, "Then can we get a soccer net?" 

"Soccer nets are expensive. Why don't you look for something that elementary schoolers can join?" Persis offers a different, inexpensive, option. 

Tulip considers it. Soccer was her first choice because all the famous athletes in town play soccer. But if she's still too little to play it, maybe she can do something else... 

"Just tell me when you find something," Persis says gently. She clears their dishes and puts them in the dish washer, then kisses the top of Tulip's head. "Good night, Tulip." 

The house only has one bathroom, so while Tulip is taking her shower before bed, Xara chats with some classmates on the phone as she waits. 

"Oh, yeah, I wasn't scared," Xara does a bit of creative editing of the night she and Tulip encountered a zombie at the beach, "I just beat him up with my fishing pole and Tulip punched him in the face." 

Persis, I think that might be a heavy topic for a toddler... 

While Persis is showering, Paolo wakes up Xara and Tulip with his cries for food. Xara's annoyance morphs into horror upon seeing her younger brother fused with the potty. 

"What the..." 

With a bit of effort, the twins manage to free Paolo. Tulip and Xara find a bottle of milk in the fridge and warm it up (somehow, the family has no microwave) and feed him. Persis seems to be having a marathon shower while all this is happening. 

Tulip doesn't realize it quite yet, but these kinds of problem solving skills will be invaluable when she starts working. However, something tells me she will realize it quite soon.

Neither of them are strong enough to lift Paolo into his crib, so they crawl back into bed after he's fed. 

Unfortunately for Xara, it seems the problem of needing to use the bathroom as soon as you settle into bed exists in Sims 3 too. 

Her exasperation cannot be put into words. 

When they wake up the next morning for school, Paolo is crying his head off again. 

"I'll let mom deal with you this time," Tulip says tiredly. 

"Mom" doesn't seem to be in a mood to deal with anything at the moment.