226 replies to this topic

[suzdez999]

Aww what a lovely, heartwarming update!

Sue :)

[ladytimedramon]

Entry:

Tabitha had her baby… thankfully before Amanda and Benjamin’s wedding. The baby girl has been named for Grannie’s mother, Rose.

Beau and I are settling into daily routines in our home. We have not made any changes – just added some small, personal touches (such as finally hanging up some photos Beau and I took in the photo booths when we were in high school and college).

I love my job at the architecture firm. Mr. Kobe and his partners said that they are glad they hired me. On the other hand, Beau is not thrilled working as an entertainer. The hours are difficult. The fans are obnoxious. Tabitha may love what she is doing, but Beau is considering changing careers. In college, he thought he wanted to be an entertainer. Now he is looking at other opportunities.

Meanwhile I have still been having bouts of nausea. It is worst when I wake up. So far, I have not said anything to Beau. He knows I have had a touch of food poisoning, but does not know it is still bothering me two weeks later. I should probably speak to my father, but I worry that he will go into panic mode. I could talk to Jamison, but right now my father-in-law is occupied with preparations for the wedding. I am almost afraid to see another doctor, because word would get back to my father. I do not know what to do.

If this does not clear up by the wedding, I will have to give in and see Father or Jamison for a checkup.

[silverpole]

*cheers*
Little Antara! Little Antara!
Or maybe a little Beau, I don't know yet...

[suzdez999]

:rah: Joins in with silverpole in the cheering!

Sue :lol:

[Arabian1]

Hurry up and post like 5 updates in one day. :D
I can't wait.. :)

[AugustTwilight]

baby, baby! Yay, yay, yay!

I checked your spoilery family tree, so I already knew about the baby. So cute, though!

Okay, so Antara is totally pregnant...ro she just has very picky, morning-oriented stomach flu.:D

[ladytimedramon]

Entry:

Beau had to work late (one of the reasons he does not like his job – the hours are radically different than mine). I dropped by my father’s house on the way home. No, I did not mention how I have been feeling lately. I usually feel better later in the day.

Frankie and Warren have grown quite a bit since I last saw them. Father said they have had a growth spurt. The children were glad to see me.

Krondor served a new cake recipe he has been testing. I only intended to eat a couple of bites for my brother’s sake; mostly I have been eating plain, bland foods to soothe my stomach. Instead I ate two whole pieces – one while talking with Father about the wedding and one while talking with Krondor and Francis. There is an impending legal battle with the biological father of the elder twins and they are seeing a lawyer. I promised that I would give any aid I could.

I did not remain long; I promised to bring some things over to Amanda before her wedding this weekend. After hugging my family goodbye, I went home, changed clothes, picked up what I needed to give Amanda, and went over to my in-laws.

I arrived to find Amanda trying on her wedding dress. I can not wait to see Benjamin’s face when she walks down the aisle. The gown is quite definitely Amanda’s style.

Amanda started telling me about their honeymoon plans. “His dad has arranged everything… even down to a private beach house on Twikki Island,” she told me. “Our own private beach. When we were growing up, who’d have thought of it?”

“Maybe Benjamin,” I returned. We both laughed. Then the nausea decided to make a return appearance.

“Are you okay?” Amanda asked with a concerned look.

“When you are on your honeymoon, avoid seafood,” I told her as I fought my stomach for control.

“Do you want me to call Dad? He’s just over at Dustin’s,” offered Amanda.

“It comes and goes,” I told her. “Do not worry.”

“How about I make you a cup of tea while Amanda changes out of her gown?” Brandi offered as she walked into the room. Nodding, I followed my mother-in-law into the kitchen while Amanda went into her room. “You know, Antara, you and Beau have been back for nearly a month. She went over to the cabinet and pulled out a teapot. “It’s entirely possible that it could be something other than food poisoning.”

“But what else could it be?” Brandi looked at me and smiled. “No. Beau and I decided that we are going to wait for a year before even trying,” I returned firmly.

“Well, still, after being married to a doctor as long as I have, I know there could be other reasons. You should see a doctor.”

“I know. But I worry about sending Father into a panic. He is supposed to be semi-retired. And Jamison is busy with the wedding.”

Brandi nodded. “If you’re like Tabitha and Amanda, when you reach a certain age, you also feel uncomfortable seeing your father as your doctor too. You probably feel the same way about your father-in-law too. Am I right?” Reluctantly, I agreed. “Tabitha used to see Dr. Shaikh, but after Kyle was born she started seeing Tiffany, Dustin’s wife, as her doctor. Why don’t you try making an appointment with her?”

I promised that I’d talk to Tiffany after the wedding. At this point, Amanda joined us. We sat down for a cup of tea before I went home.

Beau came home, tired and frustrated from trying to entertain people. I did not say anything about my discussion with his mother. There was no need to worry him. We crawled under the covers together. Beau fell asleep instantly; I lay awake, thinking about what Brandi said.

[Meome]

Ladytimedramon you are a genius ! :lol:
One more set :devil:

[RuthieFaye777]

Is that the smell of twins in the air? I'm thinking maybe so.

Ruth

[ladytimedramon]

Entry:

Thankfully it was an unseasonably warm fall day for Benjamin and Amanda’s wedding. Since the wedding was outdoors, this was very welcome, especially to women like me who had chosen to wear sleeveless dresses.

The whole yard had been decorated; tables were set up by the pool. Between the Betteranus and the combined Eastwood/Brokes, it was quite a crowd. Tabitha and Zoltar were there with the twins. Trina was babysitting Rose and Kyle. Dustin and Tiffany brought Clinton; Camilla was probably with a sitter as well. There were several children that I did not know. Bianca told me that they were the children of their elder sisters Brandi and Bethany. The eldest (two sets of twins) were about Maya’s age. There was one as old as Megan and Jamie, and a few in between. According to Bianca, there were four more that were too young to come. Overall there were nearly as many guests here as there were at my own wedding.

I watched Benjamin and Amanda exchanging their vows underneath the wedding arch, I could not help remembering that at one point in college, we worried if this moment would ever come. Thankfully Benjamin eventually made up his mind and proposed to Amanda. I wiped away a tear as they kissed under a shower of rose petals.

The ceremony was followed by cake and toasting. While I did indulge in a slice of wedding cake, I declined champagne in favor of the sparkling apple cider provided for the younger guests. Still… the cake and juice seemed to induce another round of nausea. All of the guests were in the yard. I slipped inside to the kitchen and made a cup of tea to ease my stomach. Thankfully it worked.

I was returning to the party when I encountered Tiffany entering the house. “Brandi and Beau said you haven’t been feeling well. When you came inside and didn’t return right away, they started to get a little concerned.”

“I am sorry. The cake was a little rich for my stomach. It has been rather sensitive since I ate some chirashi on our honeymoon.”

“Tell me what’s up.”

“Perhaps we should wait until after the wedding.”

“The teenagers have got almost everyone doing the smustle. I’m not much for dancing.”

Briefly I explained how I had been feeling lately. Tiffany nodded.

“I understand your not wanting to get your dad involved just yet. Jamison gets really uptight if Jennifer gets so much as a sniffle, and Billy Bob seems to be the same way. And at your dad’s age, with all the extra stress about the custody suit for your nieces, he probably doesn’t need anything else to worry about.”

“I know, which is why I am hesitant to go to the hospital for an exam.”

“Your symptoms sound pretty typical for a few different things. Why don’t you come by the house tomorrow evening and I can check you out. I’ll have a kit with me, if I need to draw blood.”

“Thank you,” I told my sister-in-law, relief washing over me.

Outside, I apologized to Beau and Brandi for my absence. Beau and I spent a few minutes speaking with Brandi Cwik (Benjamin's sister). I did not know that she knew Francis and Krondor, or that she was aware of the custody issues regarding Di and Athena. Jamie and Clinton were nowhere to be seen. The boys had tired of the party, leaving Megan alone. I watched as my niece seemed to be gathering up her courage before approaching the younger of Benjamin’s nephews and nieces. “I’ve been working with her,” said Tabitha as she came up behind me. “I’ve been encouraging her to be more outgoing. You remember how Zoltar was growing up. I don’t want my children to have the same problems.” Nodding, I saw that Megan and the other children had moved to a place where they could talk over the noise without shouting.

“It appears to be working.”

“Yeah. She’s even making a couple of friends in school besides Di and Athena.” Tabitha and I talked for a while. Then someone shouted “the taxi’s here!”

After Amanda and Benjamin departed, the party ended. Belvedere began the cleanup. I would have stayed to help, but my nausea began to return, accompanied by fatigue. Beau insisted on taking me home.

We changed out of our formalwear and curled up together in bed. Beau kissed my forehead. “Antara, if this is the food poisoning acting up, I really think you need to see a doctor. It’s gone on too long. I know you don’t want to worry your dad or mine, but this may be serious if it hasn’t cleared up.”

“I know. I will make some calls tomorrow on Monday,” I promised him. “Meanwhile, Tiffany invited us over tomorrow evening. She reminded me that we have not seen their new house yet. I said we would come by after work, if you did not have any plans.”

“Sounds fine, if you feel up to it after work.”

“Mmm…” I snuggled up against my husband.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the day today?”

“Not particularly.”

“Well… if you feel up to it…”

Beau made sure that the rest of my day was very occupied.

[AugustTwilight]

Is she seriously going to wait until she find out if it's true to tell him that she might be pregnant?

I guess it's not so weird, I'm just no good at keeping secrets....anyone who knows me well enough can tell if I'm avoiding a subject.:D

[ladytimedramon]

AugustTwilight said:

Is she seriously going to wait until she find out if it's true to tell him that she might be pregnant?

I guess it's not so weird, I'm just no good at keeping secrets....anyone who knows me well enough can tell if I'm avoiding a subject.:D

Antara is in denial.

She still thinks it's food poisoning. :devil:

[kezsridg]

Antara better tell Beau her suspicions before she and I have to have talk :tug: . It's funny how some pregnant woman (myself included) always try to convince ourselves that we're not pregnant when all of the symptoms are there:wacko:

[ladytimedramon]

Entry:

Apparently the cause of my stomach problems has not been food poisoning (despite the fact that I was ill after eating the chirashi). Really, though, I should start at the beginning of the day.

I went to work, though it was difficult to concentrate. The hours dragged by until Beau arrived. We had a quick dinner at the diner, then drove to Dustin and Tiffany’s new home. It is a nice house, with plenty of space inside for the children. However there was no back yard. I love having a yard; I grew up playing with my brothers in our back yard.

Dustin greeted us. He was soon joined by Tiffany, who had Camilla in her arms. “Clinton is doing his homework,” she explained. “otherwise he’d be out here too.” Camilla began fussing. “And it’s a little close to someone else’s bedtime. Antara, why don’t I show you the kids’ rooms and I’ll put Camilla to bed.” Nodding, I followed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Dustin and Beau playing “punch me”. Tiffany laughed. “The older they get, the more childish they act.”

Tiffany briefly showed me Clinton’s room - a typical boy’s room, though not “childish”. Then we went across the hall to Camilla’s room. While it was currently decorated as a nursery for a toddler, it could easily be changed to a nice room for an older girl. Camilla yawned as Tiffany put her in her pajamas; she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

“Now,” began Tiffany as she turned to me, “the guys will probably be occupied for a while longer, so we have some time. Antara, your symptoms are fairly typical of several things. There’s one thing you didn’t tell me though. Have you been ‘late’ this month?”

“Late?” My heart stopped as I realized what Tiffany was asking. “I… I think so… I thought it was because of the stress of the weddings, new job, new house…”

“It’s easy to assume that. However, that last bit of information pretty much moves one thing up to the top of my list. It’s also the easiest to test for.” She handed me a small box. My hands trembled as I realized what it was. “The directions are pretty simple,” she told me.

“Is there not something else it could be?” I asked in a low voice as Tiffany showed me to a bathroom attached to the nursery.

“There are, but this is the easiest to test for. Let’s get this out of the way first. If it’s negative, we can look at other possibilities. Normally the best time for these types of tests is first thing in the morning, but I don’t think we should wait. If it’s negative, we can look in other directions. If it’s positive… well… you’ve made a batch of grandparents happy.” With a smile, Tiffany left the bathroom and closed the door, giving me privacy to take the test. I fought back tears as I unwrapped the box from its cellophane.

I followed the directions, left the test on the counter, and joined Tiffany in the nursery. She was tucking Camilla in. “Well?”

“It says to wait for five minutes. I am certain it will be negative.”

“Antara, it’s better if it’s positive. If we have to look at other possibilities… with the symptoms you’re having, if the test is negative, overall the possible results might not be so pleasant. Aside from a battery of scans, bloodwork, and other tests, then there would be treatments and sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease.” Tiffany’s words began to sink in. I started to tremble. “That’s just the worst case scenario. I’m fairly certain the test is positive. Let me get it.”

I almost felt numb as Tiffany walked into the bathroom. She returned in less than a minute. “Let’s take a look at this.” The results were quite clear, even to someone who had never used one of these tests before. It was spelled out in big letters. “So when should I tell Dustin that he’s going to be an uncle?” Tiffany asked.

Suddenly I broke down in tears. I had kept my fears about this hidden, and now that it was confirmed, I could not keep it in any longer. “We are not ready,” I sobbed. “We still had things we felt needed to be done before this.”

Tiffany put her arm around my shoulders. “Antara, Dustin and I waited four years. Sometimes we do regret that time – particularly since the General never got to see his first great-grandchild. I’m not going to say that it has been easy though. There are still things we would have liked to have done before Clinton came along. And then, there are things we’ve done since he and Camilla were born that… well… having them with us just made it better.” She gave me a little squeeze. “So how do you think Beau is going to react?”

I brushed away a tear. “I do not know. We had agreed to wait… but he has always had this fantasy of a little girl with green skin and eyes like mine, but with blonde hair.”

“Based on Tabitha and Zoltar’s children, that might not be a possibility. Not that some traits won’t pass on, since Megan’s eyes and boys’ jawlines definitely come from Zoltar, but the skin and hair color doesn’t seem to pass on. Of course, with Stella and Jimmy Joe’s children, it could be that Stella is full-blooded alien, or it could be that certain traits are passed maternally. We’ll have to see.”

I nodded and wiped away another tear. “Tiffany, please do not say anything to Beau or Dustin yet. I will tell Beau when we get home.”

“All right. But next week, I want to see you in my office for a full physical.”

After I agreed to set an appointment for next week, I went into the bathroom to freshen up. I did not want Beau to see that I was upset. Still, I do not think it helped. He and Dustin were exactly where we left them nearly an hour before. Despite the darkness outside, Beau took one look at me and became alarmed.

“Antara is okay,” Tiffany assured him. “I just checked her out to see if we can find a reason for the stomach upset.”

“I am fine,” I added, “but I am extremely tired.”

We said good bye to Tiffany and Dustin and got into the car. It was a silent drive home. In the dim street lights I could see how tightly he clenched the steering wheel. I knew he was worried. I rested my head against the cool glass of the window. I honestly had no idea how to tell him that our lives were going to be turned upside down.

(split for length)

[ladytimedramon]

Beau pulled into our driveway. We sat there for a few long moments. “Antara…” he began.

“Can we talk after I have had a chance to change out of my work clothes.”

I saw Beau grit his teeth and clench the steering wheel tighter. He nodded. I got out of the car and went upstairs. I jumped into a shower and let the warm water pour over my body. My hands instinctively ran over my currently flat stomach. Sighing, I realized that there was only one way to do this.

After I dried off and slipped into something more comfortable, I went to find my husband. Beau apparently had changed his clothes as well. He sat in the living room, staring at the TV even though it was not on. I joined him on the sofa. “Beau,” I began uncomfortably, “when Tiffany and I were inside, she gave me a test to try to discover the reason for my current stomach distress… and other things…” I swallowed hard and stared at my feet. I could feel Beau’s eyes on me. “I am pregnant.” Tears started to roll down my cheeks as I said the word that I had been avoiding.

Beau’s arms wrapped around me and he pulled me into his lap. Silently he held me tight as I cried on his shoulder. “I know that we wanted to wait,” I sobbed, “but I guess during the honeymoon…” I trailed off and buried my face in his shoulder.

“It’s okay, baby,” he whispered as he stroked my hair. “You don’t know how relieved I am. The way you were when we drove home, I thought Tiffany had told you something awful.” He kissed me gently. “I was terrified something bad was happening.”

“I guess I was worried as well,” I admitted. “There are so many things we wanted to do before children.”

“Yeah. But every time we’re around our nieces and nephews, I think we get a bit weak willed.”

“You are not angry?”

Beau laughed and hugged me tight. “No. Not really. But you did scare the heck out of me. If this stomach thing had kept up, I would have dragged you off to one of our dads. I’m glad you decided to talk to Tiffany about it.”

“It was your mother’s suggestion,” I said. “With everything going on, I did not want to worry Father or Jamison.” I kissed him gently. “I am sorry I worried you as well. I should have said something.”

Beau gently touched my belly. I put my hand over his. “If we say that we conceived sometime during the honeymoon, we can assume that the baby will be here in about seven and a half months. Then we’ll have our beautiful little girl.”

“It could just as easily be a boy,” I reminded him. “And according to Tiffany, there is only a slim chance that the baby would have green skin or alien eyes.”

“Doesn’t stop me from hoping,” he replied as he kissed me.

“What about our plans? Saving for a vacation home in Takemizu Village? Traveling to Twikki Island or Three Lakes? And you had been considering looking for another job.”

“The vacation home can wait. We might be able to swing a weekend vacation before the baby is born. And as to the job… when we were over at Jimmy Joe’s and Stella’s house, I asked him about opportunities in education. There’s a fast-track principal training program, where you start as an assistant principal and take classes in education while you work. The money is better than what I’m making now. It would mean working a couple more days a week, but it’s also working during the days, not at night. If I’m going to change jobs, now would be the best time.” His eyes met mine. “We’ll make it work. Besides, life would be boring if it all happened according to plan.”

For the first time in a while, I relaxed. I know we were facing a new set of difficulties, but I knew it would not be without my husband’s support. Kissing him, I said “There is one thing that everyone says does tend to not become as frequent once children are born.” I lay back on the sofa and pulled Beau down with me. He smiled and kissed me.

“You know… at least now we don’t have to worry about you getting pregnant,” he whispered with a wink. Before I could think of an appropriate reply, his lips were on mine again.

Beau is asleep now. I now accept what I tried to deny. We are going to become parents. It is an odd feeling, knowing that there is a new life growing within me. But then I think about how it is a part of Beau and a part of me, joined together in love. It may be difficult in the beginning, however, we know our families will support us.

I can not wait to see my father’s expression when we tell him the news.

---

All right... there you have it.

Now... how long before she has the baby? :devil:

[kezsridg]

Great Update lady, I'm glad Antara finally got that out! Hopefully we don't have to wait to long:)

[AugustTwilight]

That was really sweet. :wub: I'm glad Beau took it well...in a way, he reminds me of my boy. I'm the one who freaks out about everything, and makes a big deal out of it, and he's just like "What? Oh, you're a secret spy trying to kill me? That's cool. Could you get me a soda?"

Have you been busy? It seems like you've been updating less. It makes me all sad inside...:( College just started and I'm all stressed trying to get used to not having time, and not sleeping as much...and you relieve my stress, with your wonderful tales of sims, most of which are aliens, and therefore awesome. Maybe I'm being silly, though, and you're updating at the same pace, and I'm just checking more.

And maybe I should just go to bed and stop trying to think.

In any case, wonderful, wonderful update...babies make me happy, and Beau-Antara babies are the best kind..or will be the best kind...especially if they're Beau-Antara twins...or triplets. Do you have a triplet hack? You should get one. That would be a great twist.:D

[ladytimedramon]

Actually we just finished finals (I teach a 1 semester course), which meant my spending a lot of time grilling and drilling my students to get them ready for the exam (district created, so I had no idea what was going to be covered).

Now I'm in the middle of breaking in a new crowd of students, and my classes are almost all maxed out. Once the kids are settled down, I should be able to get some more writing time in.

So yeah, I haven't been updating that much since winter break ended. Like I said, once the students settle down, I should be able to get more writing and posting.

[ladytimedramon]

Hopefully I'll get things moving a bit more quickly...

But then, you know how I like to drag things out :devil:

---

Entry:

We invited our parents over last night. Beau and I felt it was best to break the news to them in person. We had everyone sit down in the living room before we told them of my pregnancy.

Jamison let out a gleeful shout. Father jumped up and hugged me, as did Brandi. The news was very well received (except that it added fuel to the “number of grandchildren” battle between our fathers). Just as Father and Jamison were going to try to work out who I would see as my doctor, I told them that I already chose to see Tiffany. This surprised them, though I think they were also pleased. Father is mostly retired (he insists on one day per week at the hospital though) and Jamison is busy as chief of staff (he will probably retire in a few more years as well).

Before they left, Father embraced me again. “’Tara, I’m so happy for you. I wish your grannie was here for this. You two are goin’ to be wonderful parents.” I gave my father a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before he left.

As soon as our family was gone, we began the calling of the rest of the relatives. When I spoke to Jimmy Joe, and he told the others, I could hear Maya shouting excitedly in the background. Krondor, well, when I gave him the news, it was hard to tell if he was happy or upset. I do not think he has totally accepted my marriage yet. Then I called Amanda and Benjamin on their honeymoon. “I knew it!” exclaimed Amanda. “And at the rate things are going here, your baby may have a cousin pretty soon too.” Grinning, I hung up the phone and began to call my uncle.

It was late by the time we finished calling all of our relatives. Beau sat on the edge of the bed. “Dustin said he was wondering what you and Tiffany were up to while we were talking,” he told me as he moved closer and pulled me into his arms. “Skip said that Mom already called him. She’s dropping hints about when there’s going to be a ring on Claire’s finger.”

“Simon told me that my uncle wants him to finally set a date.”

“Well, all the good places get booked up quickly. You’ve got to plan in advance.”

“Or elope. I think both of them are thinking that way, just to annoy their parents.”

Beau laughed sleepily. We curled up together under the covers, his hand on my belly. “I can’t wait until I can feel the baby move.”

I smiled and drifted off to sleep.

[suzdez999]

Looking forward to meeting their offspring! :D

Sue :)