Double promotions!!

Today is my 30th birthday, which I was really dreading but David made it completely amazing. I've had a wonderful day and can't wait for dinner later - we're getting a baby-sitter and going out for the first time in a while!

I got a call this afternoon from Grace and she told me that they were so impressed with my performance yesterday, despite all the time I've had off, and she's promoting me to Spice Runner! I was so excited, I hung up with her and called David at work right away. He was so happy...he loves having kids and wants to have more, but he was so worried they would delay my own personal goals. So far, we're good!

David came home today wearing a new jacket...and announced he was promoted, too! A few weeks back, Gobias checked out the experiment David's been working on at work and asked him to run a seminar at a Symposium held yearly at the Doo Peas Corporate Towers. He attended that over the weekend and I guess he caught the eye of a few guests from the hospital and they offered him a position there. David's passion is science and he wasn't really planning on leaving, but he approached Gobias about it, who was absolutely against it. He went to his boss and told him, but turns out his boss had attended the Symposium as well and really took an interest in David. They called David in and offered him a promotion and a raise on the spot!

David is now a Genetic Resequencer and he got an amaaaazing bonus (1,956 Simoleons!!)! I'm so excited!



-Bebe Parker

Bebe's Birthday

My beautiful wife turned 30 today and I gave her the best birthday. That woman owes me!

She had a really bad day with the kids yesterday, so I when I got home I dealt with an evening of madness until Becca finally stopped crying and just laid in her crib, and Ben got preoccupied with his bunny and sat there for hours playing. I was able to make dinner and even lunch for tomorrow at work without him crying...he just sat on the floor and laughed and talked his crazy baby language to his bunny.



I surprised Bebe with a brand new bedset for her birthday, which I had dropped off last night while she was at work. At first she was a little concerned because we just bought a new bed, but I was able to trade it in barely used for a great discount off the new set.



And to top it off, the kids were both so exhausted from crying all day that they both passed out and slept through the entire night - a first!



This morning Bebe woke up totally refreshed and Ben was being an angel (we'll see how long that lasts), and I was confidently able to go off to work knowing she'd have a good day.



-David Parker

Back to work - what am I doing?

That was pretty much my thought when I woke up this morning. And it only got worse.

It was nice because David woke up with me and we had a nice breakfast, but then he was off to work. I'm still working the 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm shift, so we only have to call in a baby-sitter for about two hours for the transition time between him coming home and me leaving. I think that's a good thing, considering how Ben is acting lately.

Between the time David left and the baby-sitter showed up, the stove broke and I had to call a repairman (it's the only way to warm up Becca's formula, we don't have a microwave yet, so it's not like I could wait all day), Ben and Becca cried all morning long, Ben had a diaper full of poo that somehow got all over the carpet in the nursery, and then bathroom sink sprung a leak and was literally spraying all over the place, so I had to have the same delivery man come back again! I can't catch a break!



The only thing that could be better is if I got fired when I get to work tonight, or maybe I could just trip and fall face-first into the deep fat fryers.

-Bebe Parker

Two kids is a lot of work...especially when one is the devil

I love my little Ben, I really do...but "terrible twos" doesn't even begin to explain that kid's attitude! He was such a relaxed, calm little baby, but suddenly it feels like that changed over night. What a little temper he has! One minute he'll be fine, and the next he's freaking out, slamming his hands on his high chair table or shaking the side of his crib so hard. He really is a cutie, though, when that little guy gets laughing he just doesn't stop.



He can sit alone in his room and play for hours, he finds a bunch of stuff to get into. It's nice because I still get some "mommy time" while he's playing. He's got this bear his daddy got him when he was born, Cheeba, and he just loves him to death. He can sit and play with him for hours, talking to him, hugging him, chewing on his ear. I like to pick him up and talk to Ben through him, he gets a kick out of that.



-Bebe Parker

Lots of birthdays

Our birthday party for Ben went great, I grilled in the backyard, Bebe made an amazing cake, and everyone had a wonderful time. Halfway through our fun was interrupted, though, when Bebe went into labor a bit early! All of the guests were shocked, it was crazy...but I was amazingly calm considering the circumstances. I ended up getting Bebe a taxi and I got the house set, dropped Ben off with Bebe's dad, and headed over to the hospital in plenty of time. A few hours later, we were blessed with a little girl. We've named her Becca.



Bebe ended up staying in the hospital a bit longer this time around - she had been pretty stressed during the pregnancy and the doctors wanted to keep an eye on her and also just give her a bit to relax. I took advantage of this time away, though - I've been secretly putting away money from my paychecks to save up for a remodel, and I had the interior of the house completely gutted and redone while she was away. I told the contractors the situation and they brought in double the team they normally do and got it done so quickly, I couldn't believe it! Bebe was amazed when she came home and saw everything...she especially loved the nursery I set up for the kids. Little does she know I have more plans when it comes to the house, I just need a bit more time and money.



-David Parker

I have the best husband ever!

I thought being pregnant was a pain the first time around, it's even harder when you have a baby to take care of, too! I've been working part-time at the diner but between that, taking care of Ben, and running other errands I have to do, I'm pooped!

Of course, Superhusband comes to the rescue! He got a raise and promotion at work, and the first thing he buys is a Relaxing Swedish Massage for me at the Sharma Day Spa, and he took care of Ben all that day and all evening. Then I wake up the next morning to find that he had hired a maid to come help him clean the house (which certainly needed a good cleaning!) while I just lazed around all day. I couldn't be happier!

All my laying around isn't going to waste, though - I'm planning my little boy's birthday party - it's next week and we're going all out. I can't wait!



-Bebe Parker

Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker!

Tonight I came home from an errand I had to run after work to find Gobias Koffi, my boss, pulling up to my house. He informed me that at a meeting he had just left, they had decided to promote me to the position of Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker, and handed me a check from the company for a bonus of 1,680 Simoleons! I couldn't believe it!

I headed in the house to tell Bebe (Gobias declined my invitation to dinner but promised to take me up on it another day when he didn't have other plans) and she surprised me with some news of her own...we're having another baby! How ironic it was her first day back to work, but Grace was happy to hear it and told her she could have more time off when the baby is due.



-David Parker