Somebody To Love: Bachelor in Paradise – Solo Date Competition # 3 ~ Toddler Mania

Sul Sul! This is Roxanna Llama-Llama reporting to you LIVE from Sulani! After their recovery…er…rest from the Kava Party, the contestants are now refreshed and ready to embark on a new day. And what luck! Today, we have a wonderful challenge for them to compete in for a Solo Date with Rick. The Sulani Daycare Center is in need of some volunteers to help out while their daycare worker, Mary Poppins, attends a Daycare Conference. And the producers decided that this would be a fun opportunity for the contestants to participate in! A chance to show off some parenting skills and get in the good books with Rick, since we all know that Rick does want to start a family eventually.

Believe me, I, Roxanna Llama-Llama, have been to this daycare, and it is such a wonderful place to visit. Mary has every day organized, and the toddlers are so well behaved. Story time, play time, lunch time, nap time and outdoor time. Mary, of course, is “practically perfect in every way,”* so the Sulani Daycare Center is just a reflection of her perfect self.

Here is a photo of the Sulani Daycare Center. There is even a fenced outdoor area with a small kiddie pool.

In the afternoon, Mary always has time for a “spot of tea” as she calls it, while the toddlers are down for their nap. Mary, of course, will leave notes for the volunteers on the different “quirks” of each toddler. So, you can rest assured that volunteering at the Sulani Daycare Centre will be an absolute breeze!

Don’t they look adorable?

• Ophelia Dillon (Fussy: Ophelia is a wee bit of a mischief-maker, who needs lots of loving care. She loves to do everything & often asks for help.)
• Niklaus Chuu (Angelic: Niklaus is easy-going and never has tantrums. He’s just…well…an angel. He is very happy keeping himself busy, but does love story time.)
• Cleo Reeves (Silly: Cleo is goofy & playful & has quite an imagination. She loves to play dolls & have wonderful chats with the stuffed animals.)

• Nathan Mahina (Clingy: Nathan is shy around other adult sims & sometimes needs comforting. He loves story time and playing with toys.)
• Ryder Xang (Inquisitive: Ryder is a curious explorer & loves learning new things. He is very content with stacking blocks & playing games on the tablet.)
• Beatrice Hammond (Wild: Beatrice is spirited, full of energy & loves to play outside. Her favorite thing to do is bob to music).

Hmmm…those last names sound awfully familiar…must just be a coincidence, right?

Rick likes to volunteer at the Sulani Daycare Centre. Just look at how all the toddlers are enthralled by his storytelling. Rick is such a great caregiver, and now the question is, which of the contestants is a great caregiver, too? Good luck, ladies! (See rules at bottom in Author’s Notes)

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Play Time , Story Time & Learning Time:

Here are some highlights of the contestants enjoying their time with the toddlers.

Nami Chuu helps Ophelia Dillon use the potty after Ophelia has the whim “Use Potty.”

Brianna Hammond teaches flashcards to Ryder Xang after Ryder has a “Flashcards” whim. Brianna teaches him “Basic Needs.”

Octavia Dillon autonomously plays with Cleo Reeves.

Naomi Mahina reads Nathan Mahina a story after Nathan had the whim “Ask to Read a Book.”

Coral Reeves plays with Beatrice Hammond in the pool, after Beatrice had a whim to “Play in a Kiddie Pool”. I had Beatrice click on the pool to do this.

Raven Xang reads a story to Niklaus Chuu, after Niklaus had the whim “Ask To Read a Book”.

Happy Shots of the Toddlers:

Niklaus Chuu playing with nesting blocks.

Ophelia Dillon playing with Chompy the Monsta.

Beatrice Hammond bobbing to music. The stereo was on kids radio.

Nathan Mahina chatting with his stuffed animal friend, Uni.

Cleo Reeves playing with dolls. There were two dollhouses and this is the outdoor one.

Ryder Xang playing with the Wabbit Tablet.

The Not-So Happy Shots of the Toddlers:

Ophelia Dillon smashed both dollhouses! She was angry and then all the toddlers got sad because the dollhouses were broken (on Brianna’s shift).

Beatrice Hammond decided to take off her clothes…

…to splash in the toilet…

…and to smash the dollhouse! (all on Nami’s shift). This was the only time Beatrice did these things. She was a very naughty toddler on Nami’s shift.

The three little mess makers, Cleo Reeves, Ryder Xang and Beatrice Hammond (on Naomi’s shift).

The three little mess makers have become the three little tantrum makers. Cleo Reeves, Ryder Xang, and Beatrice Hammond all had tantrums at the same time! (on Octavia’s shift). Octavia was the only contestant who didn’t autonomously cook. So, the toddlers had angry moodlets from being “hangry” and “ravenous” and “tired”. Actually, all of the toddlers had tantrums on all the contestants’ shifts. Well, all toddlers except Niklaus.

Ah yes, Niklaus Chuu, the angelic toddler. Right! Here is the angelic toddler making a mess (on Raven’s shift).

Poor little Nathan Mahina cries and wants out of that high chair (on Coral’s shift).

Unique Autonomous Actions By Contestants:

Nami Chuu gave Ophelia Dillon an autonomous hug. Or maybe Ophelia gave Nami a hug, because Nami had a rather eventful shift.

Octavia Dillon autonomously gave Cleo Reeves a bath. The only toddler who had a bath in all the shifts. Cleo must have been a rather stinky toddler to get one!

Brianna Hammond autonomously repairs one of the dollhouses that Ophelia Dillon smashed. Thank goodness because all the toddlers were sad. You can see the other smashed dollhouse outside.

Naomi Mahina autonomously reads a parenting book.

Coral Reeves autonomously cleaned up the dishes.

Raven Xang autonomously put four toddlers to bed! That was pretty amazing! No wonder Raven is smiling. The only contestant to do this!

Fun With Food:

Cleo Reeves loves the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on Nami’s shift).

Niklaus Chuu doesn’t much care for this drink (on Naomi’s shift).

Naomi Mahina autonomously prepares mac and cheese later on.

Ophelia Dillon seems to enjoy her drink; however, Octavia Dillon has the stressed moodlet “From dealing with a fussy toddler”. (Psst, Octavia…this is YOUR cloned daughter!)

I think this may have been Octavia’s way of dealing with Ophelia and Ophelia’s constant demands. Yep, just left Ophelia in the highchair, where Ophelia fell asleep. (Although Ophelia was always demanding, she seemed to be the most demanding during Octavia’s shift.)

Brianna Hammond autonomously cooks grilled cheese.

Ophelia Dillon, Nathan Mahina, and Beatrice Hammond all agree that this is the best grilled cheese ever! The grilled cheese was excellent quality, which was the only prepared food that was. (on Brianna’s shift)

Nathan Mahina excited about his drink (on Raven’s shift).

Raven Xang autonomously makes salad later on.

Ryder Xang doesn’t think much of this peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on Coral’s shift).

Coral Reeves does redeem herself later on and autonomously fixes fruit salad. Although here, Coral is having a great conversation with the wall.

The Disaster:

Nami Chuu autonomously makes grilled cheese, only to set the kitchen on fire.

Father Winter shows up and puts the fire out, or so I thought. Look at poor Ophelia Dillon trapped in the high chair, and Niklaus Chuu crying in the kitchen.

Nami Chuu gets Cleo Reeves from the bedroom and runs with her to safety.

Katrina Caliente then shows up and sets herself on fire as another fire starts. Ophelia Dillon is still trapped in that high chair, and now Nathan Mahina and Ryder Xang have come into the kitchen crying.

Nami also rescues Beatrice Hammond on her way out the door.

Nami has now rescued four toddlers.

Father Winter extinguishes Katrina. Umm…Nami…Ophelia Dillon and Nathan Mahina are still in the house!

When the fire is over, Nami does come back to rescue Ophelia. Oh gosh! The kitchen is charred. All the toddlers have sad, very sad, angry or very angry moodlets. They do, however, all get the “Neighbors Saved Me” happy moodlet.

Father Winter walks into the daycare, mops up some paint on the floor, and heads over to the broken dollhouse and stares at it (Beatrice smashed the dollhouse). He then surveys the daycare and leaves. Wise choice there, Father Winter! The daycare is a bit of a disaster, and he’s probably thinking that he’ll be glad when Mary Poppins comes back from her conference.

Nami Chuu is done with cooking, so autonomously makes popcorn for dinner.

The smell of the popcorn even lured some swamp creatures inside. Here is little Cleo Reeves with a green fog following her, making her way back into the daycare.

Katrina Caliente, who was still at the daycare, grabs a bowl, and eats some popcorn after her near death experience. Katrina then heads home.

Thankfully, the fire happened near the end of Nami’s shift. Yes, I know, she waited until almost 10pm to make dinner. Nami is looking rather exhausted from her day volunteering at the daycare, and midnight couldn’t come fast enough. Nami’s shift is (thankfully) over just as Ophelia Dillon decides to throw a tantrum.

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Summary of each Contestants’ Day:

Well, that was some challenge! None of the toddlers were taken away by Social Services, and the contestants and toddlers all survived to tell the tale. Not one contestant autonomously changed a diaper; but some did autonomously Check Toddler.

• Of all the contestants, I think that Nami had the most eventful shift with the fire. Beatrice ran around nekid and also smashed a dollhouse. The toddlers had all those negative moodlets towards the end.
• The most stressful shift was Octavia’s, as Ophelia seemed to be the most demanding on that shift. I do think that the most toddler tantrums happened on Octavia’s shift, too. Octavia was the only contestant who did not autonomously cook.
• Naomi got a bit angry and got the “Fussy Frustration” moodlet when dealing with Ophelia. I think that the most “messes” happened on Naomi’s shift, and there were a lot of sad and angry toddlers at the end of the night.
• Coral never got stressed by the toddlers, and had her share of messes and tantrums. There was one incident when Ophelia was having a tantrum in the high chair, and Coral just nonchalantly walked away to play dolls. I thought that was funny. By the end of the night the toddlers had passed out on chairs or the floor.
• Brianna had her share of problems, especially with Ophelia smashing both dollhouses, but her great cooking skill seemed to lift the moods of the toddlers.
• Raven’s shift started with Ophelia having a tantrum within minutes of arrival. Raven had the normal messes and tantrums, but no smashed dollhouses. Raven was the only contestant who actually put toddlers to bed. Maybe that was Raven’s secret coping skill. Put them to bed and they can’t make a mess, destroy anything, cry, demand stuff, have a tantrum or be stinky.

And the winner is…

And so, with the score tallied, it was very, very close. The final scores were Nami Chuu-31; Octavia Dillon-35; Brianna Hammond-37; Naomi Mahina-34; Coral Reeves-34; Raven Xang-37. Yes, there was a tie! I actually had to go back and look at Raven and Brianna’s parenting skills for partial completion percentages. Therefore, Brianna’s new total is 37.46% and Raven’s is 37.42%. So very close! Congratulations to Brianna Hammond for winning the challenge!

Author’s Notes-Challenge Rules:

1. This challenge is loosely based on the Seven Toddler Challenge. A separate save file was created with the current contestants. The toddlers were genetically created in Create-A-Sim with each contestant and Rick. 😉 The toddlers’ traits are based on each contestants’ traits. To get the parenting skill, each contestant clicked on the toddler and under Toddler Care chose “adopt as care dependent” for all the toddlers. When a new contestant started, it was a clean slate all over again, using a separate save file.
2. Each contestant will spend  8am-midnight at the Sulani Daycare Center. The contestants aren’t controlled, but rather, the toddlers’ whims control what happens. So, if a toddler has a whim to go potty, they would click on the potty “Help With” and the contestant would help them with that.
3. The contestants have many opportunities to do some autonomous actions, like maybe change all those stinky diapers. Phew!
4. The bookshelf is stocked with toddler books and Parenting Books 1, 2 & 3, in case the contestant wants to read something autonomously. There are no tvs or computers in the house; however, there is a stereo.
5. If a toddler is taken away by Social Services or the contestant passes out before the day is done, the contestant has failed the challenge.
6. At the end of the day, the number of parenting skill points and toddler skill points will be added up. The contestant with the highest points wins the Solo Date with Rick.

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“Mary Poppins. Practically perfect in every way,” line from the movie, Mary Poppins, 1964.

Thanks to these simmers for their lovely builds. The Daycare was used for screenshots with Mary Poppins and the toddlers, but then I decided it was too big. I used the 7 Toddler Challenge room build, and combined it with a Maxis built “Lazy Lounger’s Deck” (Island Living pack), outdoor room. I also added a stereo and some toddler chairs. And, of course, a perfectly run daycare would not be complete without Mary Poppins.