Lind family rules?

March 2079 - Joel Harris is 37, Aurora is 33, and welcome baby Zachary!

Joel has been taking these last few months before the baby comes to learn physiology, and to be quite honest, he is baffled by it. Meanwhile, Aurora reads book reviews for her brother's debut legal thriller, which honestly aren't that great. Though, the critics are still praising her debut short story collection that came out a couple years ago. She thinks maybe she'll consider starting work on her next book once the baby is born.

And having finished the physiology, Aurora is trying to nap through the early stages of labor, so Joel tries to study up a bit on his mechanical skill. You know, just to pass the time. Mechanical skill, he finds, is also very baffling.

Yup, Joel, it's about that time.

And it's a boy! Zachary Harris is born just after midnight, and has black hair and green eyes. And it's daddy-time around here, because Mama's gotta sleep! Joel is afraid of changing that first poopy diaper, but he's just going to have to get over it.

Upon his return to work, Joel is quickly promoted to Astronaut! It's a surprise to everyone, considering his mechanical skills are still below par. Aurora hasn't had to worry about his work since he was a flight officer, but now his work will be dangerous again.

Having a newborn is a bit more time-consuming than she'd imagined, and Aurora doesn't have any ideas or the focus right now to start another book. So during Zachary's naptime, she writes restaurant reviews for some extra money.

Ummm, those are restaurant reviews she's writing, right?

And when Zachary wakes up, still in pajamas, they have a little dance party in the living room. Aurora adores being a mommy, but those dance parties don't always end well.

Joel is on handyman duty around the house, while Aurora makes a turkey. They're having their family over for dinner to finally meet little Zachary.

And you know, Aurora loves her husband, really she does! But do you see why she's worried about this new job of his? She just doesn't get it. They're going to let him fly space shuttles???

Aurora's whole family is on edge lately, you know, since apart from Aurora, they're ALL running for office of some kind. They pass little Zachary around to take their minds off of things.

Nathan is lagging behind slightly in the polls at the moment. Aurora isn't going to tell her brother this, but she plans to vote for Claire for District Attorney. She knows her brother is smart, but quite honestly, he still acts like a frat boy sometimes. Joel is voting for Nathan though, but then, Joel acts like a frat boy still at 37.

But Aurora's mom, Meadow is doing great in preliminary polls! Joel's mom, Tosha was a teacher too for most of her life, and is a big supporter of Meadow for School Board President.

And then Aurora is talking with her dad about his candidacy for CFO of the County Treasury. "Oh my God, Dad," she says, "You don't even like money?"

"Well, you don't have to like something to be good at it," he says. "Or spend 40 years of your life on it to send your kids to college." Man, how about that for a guilt trip? Fair enough, Aurora thinks.

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Funny ACR moment: nobody wants to see their parents all lovey-dovey, but man, two sets of parents simultaneously! That's torture! :)

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gameplay notes on the risk card:

The risk card is the ace of spades (1/54 chance). Sims are exempt from drawing a card on a day they receive a promotion, and this career risk is separate and in addition to regular chance cards.

dangerous jobs (law enforcement, military...) chance of death
physical jobs (adventure, athletics...) chance of injury, off 2 days physical therapy, lose 5 body skill
public jobs (politics, entertainment...) chance of scandal, off 2 days "rehab", lose 5 charisma skill
smart jobs (science, natural science...) chance of mental breakdown, off 2 days "institutionalized", lose 5 logic skill

The risk card is also drawn for a couple things besides career risk. Teen and YA drivers also have to draw the risk card each time they drive a car, for a chance of car crash and (possible) death. And any teen who sneaks out must also draw the risk card, for a chance of shenanigans gone wrong and (possible) death.