Chapter 1.5 - Birthdays Abound

Things have been so busy lately! Lots of cleaning, and building going on on the lot. And to cut costs, Buddy and myself have been helping out. It's just taken up so much time.

So much so, that when I went into labor, we didn't even realize it had already been nine months! On the way to the Hospital, Buddy called a babysitter for Tyriel. I was so glad we'd finished the house in time for the newest addition to our family.

Tabaitha is her name. She's just as beautiful a baby as Tyriel was. Buddy and I took turns with the nightly watch with her. We learned that working in shifts was the best way to take care of Tyriel, and made sure to work it out with Tabaitha, too.

We had so much on our plate with Ty and Tabby that we spent little time outside of work on anything but the two of them.

And sooner than we knew, it was Tyriel's birthday. I couldn't believe it! A child already, and about to start school! We took him to the Photographer's for a birthday photograph. He wasn't too keen on it, but it came out quite adorable if you ask me.

Ty's first day of school was so exciting for Buddy and me! We waved to him as he hopped on the school bus, and spent time in the kitchen with the new stove! Buddy decided to cook some breakfast for the first time in a very long time. It was absolutely delicious. I never knew Organic foods could be so tasty!

We fell into a rhythm. Ty was sent off to school. Buddy would paint and sell his paintings at the Consignment Shop, and quickly worked his way up the Painting Ladder with City Hall. I spent time perfecting my chess skills and working my way up the food chain at the Spa. Ty even made it into the Amateur Olympics! Buddy and I were so proud of him, regardless of placing fourth. We even took him out for some ice cream afterwards.

Sooner than we realized, it was Tabaitha's birthday! Time had flown by so quickly! We brought Tabby to the same Photographer we took Ty to for a celebratory Birthday Photograph. She didn't seem to mind, but that might have been because of the Rubber Duckies the cameraman was squeaking.

Life slipped back into a routine. Though, with another person using the plumbing, I had to do a lot more repairs around the house than before.

Buddy spent his free time at night practicing guitar...

And Tabby, wanting to be like her Daddy would plunk away at her Xylophone.

Things got hectic, though, and one day a fire started in the kitchen. We all panicked. Buddy got the children out of the house, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of the flames. I'm not sure why, but they were so entrancing. Luckily for everybody, a Fireman arrived just in time. He scolded me, of course, and I couldn't agree with him more that I was being stupid.

The fire put things into perspective. Buddy and I discussed it over breakfast one morning and decided to work extra hard to give the children the best life we could. We only hoped it would be enough in the coming years.

Chapter 1.4 - The Toddler Years

Time flies by so fast with a baby around!

Before we knew it, Tyriel was a toddler and we were teaching him everything he needed to know about the world. I took an interest in teaching him to talk.

Buddy much preferred potty training Tyriel (Plumbob knows why)...

...and took specific pleasure in teaching Tyriel to walk.

In our spare time, I played chess and spent time hacking playing on the computer, as well as continuing with odd repair jobs around both the house and for townies.

Buddy  much preferred to paint and play guitar. He even painted a portrait of me! I was so flattered.

Buddy celebrated his birthday one night after I'd gone to bed while still painting, without even reminding me! We'd been so busy with Tyriel that I completely forgot. I felt so awkward about missing his birthday. But he told me it was alright, and he would be happy with just cuddling.

And, well, one thing led to another. Can you fault us? Rhetorical question, mind you.

This was the happiest time of my life. Just spending time with Tyriel and Buddy was all I needed. One morning, I woke up sick to my stomach and made a run to the bathroom. Déjà vu...

I went to the Hospital to be sure, and bought another set of clothes. I really should have kept the first batch instead of giving them away. In the meantime, there's much to be done, and little time to do it in.

Note: Somewhat of a short one compared to the others, but with the way the story is progressing, this seemed the best stopping point. The next one should be longer.

Chapter 1.3 - Wedding Bells and Babies

The next few weeks I went about a daily routine of breakfast, heading to the pool, and then off to work. I was so nervous to invite Buddy over. We still talked, of course, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He eventually asked about another date, and instead I decided it was time to invite him over and confess my attraction. I put on some Classical music to calm myself and waited.

I cringed as I confessed my attraction to Buddy. The music barely did anything to calm me down. I waited as he processed what I told him. It seemed like forever.

"I really like you too, Tammy, and I'd really like to spend more time with you."

I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe it. So I proposed going steady. Buddy readily agreed. We talked some more and had our first kiss as he was leaving! It was sweet. I couldn't believe it.

We were on the phone constantly after that. Talking, giggling, we were so into each other. A few weeks after we started dating, I invited Buddy over again.

We curled up on the bed and talked for hours.

And, well, one thing led to another and... the rest is history, as they say. It never got awkward between us. Even after that night. We still went on dates and chatted constantly. It was amazing having Buddy in my life.

One night, after some more fun, Buddy suggested that we move in together.

"If I'm not intruding, of course. I don't mean to intrude. I just think it's the most logical next step. I hope I didn't offend you!"

Of course he didn't offend me, and I told him that I would love to have him move in. That night we sat down and planned out a small two room house for us that we then had built the next morning.

I had been feeling queasy all night, and that morning I interrupted Buddy's tooth brushing with a lovely sight, I'm sure. He never mentioned it, and I was so embarrassed. We spent the day relaxing and just enjoying each other's company.

In our free time from work in the following weeks, we took turns playing on the computer. I would practice some chess, then go read one of my romance novellas, while Buddy played some sports games. He was really into those sports games. We also spent a lot of time just sitting on the bed and chatting.

During those weeks my clothes kept getting tighter. I knew I wasn't putting on any weight. If anything, I should be losing weight with the little food we ate due to lack of oven or microwave. After a visit to the Hospital, it dawned on me, and I went out promptly for some new clothes. Going home to talk to Buddy was nerve wracking,  but I did it.

"Buddy, I need to talk to you. I don't want you to say anything, but I have to tell you this. I'm pregnant. I don't want our child to not know their father, who is such an amazing man, and I love so much. Will you marry me?"

"Of course, Tammy! I love you so much! I'll marry you! You know what, let's just have a wedding right now! Just the three of us! We don't really have any friends, so it's not worth having a big wedding."

So we did.

We decided to spend our Honeymoon time with each other instead of taking an expensive trip. Buddy especially loved talking to the baby.

My favorite was spending time at the pool...

...eating ice cream, and spending time with my favorite "pastime".

One night, after spending some time at the computer, I felt funny. It was then I realized that my water had broken and I was going into labor.

It was not a fun feeling, let me tell you.

Buddy and I rushed to the Hospital, and after many hours we came back home with a new bundle of joy.

Welcome to the family, Tyriel. Someday, it will be your turn to write in this journal.

Chapter 1.2 - Welcome to Twinbrook

My first few months in Twinbrook have been interesting to say the least. Interesting and exciting. So much so, that I've forgotten to even write in my journal!!

On my first day here, I hired an architect to put together a quick wall and plumbing capabilities on the lot so that I could have at least some privacy from the road, and the ability to use a toilet. While he worked on putting that together for me, I headed over to the library to read up on some careers and apply for some jobs. Luckily, Twinbrook has free taxis. Brilliant!

I applied for a job in the military and was given a job as a Latrine Cleaner. Ew. But, we all start somewhere, right? I got bored since there were no skill books at the library (imagine that!), so I decided to overclock a computer instead. I broke it, and promptly fixed it. The library staff didn't seem to mind.

I spent some time catching up on my romance novellas and then caved in to go check out the Wellness Center. I had to pump it up for work.

It didn't look like much upon entering, but once I wormed my way downstairs, I found out that it actually had a decent gym. So I hopped on the treadmill.

I've never been very coordinated so I ended up falling down. A lot. At first I pretended I was doing lunges of some sort, but there were others there that were having about as much luck as I was. Looks like Twinbrook is not made of the most athletic folks.

I saw an advertisement while working out about a Neighborhood Grill-a-Thon at the park, and headed over. There wasn't much going on, so I played some chess.

Then I snuck some burgers that were left laying around. Talk about Horrifying quality!!!! But, when you're hungry and low on money, you take what you can get.

While at the park, I ran into Bobby Sargeant, a fellow co-worker. We chatted for a bit about work and computers, and then I called it a night.

The next few weeks was all about getting up, going to work and coming back home to sleep. With eating and other necessary functions in between. I hated work. I was so excited about it until after my first day. I eventually stopped even trying to work while I was there, I was so miserable.

I'd spend my time after work going to the Boxcar to eat.

And I spent what little free time I had relaxing any way I could, usually by spending some time at the pool. You can just see how stressed and unhappy I was.

I finally decided that I wasn't made out for a career in the Military and quit. It felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders to hand in my uniform. I went to the library to search for a new job, and spent some more time fiddling with the computers.

After a few days of research, I decided upon a career working in the Spa Industry. It definitely seemed more relaxing! Since I was still in need of money, I spent a lot of time at the pool, mainly just to use the showers. I also spent a lot of time at the park. I was aching for company. I made some friends, especially Bill Copperfield, but we never really hit it off, despite how cute he was. So a few months went by, I bought a fridge, and I went to work.

No matter how hard I tried to make more friends or find that special someone, I always ended up defeated. One day, however, I bumped into someone while at the Boxcar for my usual dinner. He was so handsome, and he had the newest laptop put out by the top company! I was enchanted by him. So I started up a conversation about his computer. And we hit it off. Buddy Bailey. Even his name is gorgeous! We talked and I found out he was in Politics... and single!

I was so excited after meeting him that I couldn't sleep. So I instead decided to tinker with the toilet. Hey, would you sleep after seeing a face like that?

I called him every morning when I got up and we would chat constantly. Weeks it went on like this. I was too nervous to ask him out for a date.

I finally did, though. Ask him out on a date, that is. We met up at the Boxcar for some drinks and dinner.

We then had a wonderful time just sitting on the swings and chatting. It was so perfect.

When the night was over, we hugged and went on our way. Of course we chatted for days afterwards about how amazing our date was and that we really should do it again.

In the meantime, I did some odd-and-end repair jobs for the locals which helped improve my handiness skills.

A few weeks later we decided to go on another date. This time a more formal one. We met up at the Chateu Restaurant and had an amazing time.

We held hands for the first time. I'm falling for him hard. Really hard. I think he's the one. I need to talk to him and confess my attraction. But I'm so nervous! I'll work up the courage in the next few days and keep a record, regardless of what happens.