[I didn't actually get all the way through this round. But since I'm not sure when I'll get my computer issues resolved and since I took a bunch of pictures anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and post it as is.]

Up to this point, Tabitha Sweet has been very much a supporting player in the story of Ste-Margo. She originally came to town to help her sister start up the bakery; but then Gemma got married faster than you could spit and had the twins nearly as quickly, and Tabby soon found herself playing babysitter while Gemma and Charlie ran the business without her. Over the years, she's had a few romantic encounters; she's seen her things burgled (repeatedly); and she's been able to earn a little income on the side as an arts & crafts blogger. Mostly, though, she's been in the background, helping out around the Sweet house and being an aunt to her nieces and nephew. Then when the twins became teenagers last fall, Tabby finally decided it was time to set out on her own.



With all of her experience babysitting her sister's children and a few of the other youngsters in town, Tabitha purchased a house that she could turn into a daycare center (pictures in this post). Let's take a look at the downstairs, where her living quarters are set up:


In her entryway is the third copy of the print that Amy Tang kept stealing. It's her favorite, so she'd buy it again if she had to. (Amy Tang: "It's my favorite, too!")


The living room with her new toy-making bench.


She can keep up her blog at her little workstation in the corner.


The master bedroom.


A tiny spare room for guests or in case she decides to get a roommate.



And a far, far bigger bathroom than I normally put in houses. 

To go with her new home, Tabitha also gives herself a bit of a makeover and ends up with a kicky new 'do (and some new eyes!). It's quite a change, so it takes some getting used to...


But she warms up to it in (almost) no time.


As with Frida, the new haircut gives her a whole new lease on life, and Tabby feels ready to take on the world.






She spends most of the first day settling in and enjoying having a place all to herself. As a messy Pleasure sim, it's especially nice for her to be able to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants.


This has its downsides, too. Her attempts at finishing up some business-related documents the night before the daycare opens...


... don't last long.



But a call from her dad helps get her back on track, or at least away from the games for the night.



Her family (minus Charlie and Marzipan) stop by to wish her well. Even if they no longer live in the same house, they'll always stay close.


(Some sims are easier to please than others.)



The next morning, Tabitha welcomes her first clients. Though she's not 100% settled on a schedule yet, her rough plan is to take babies and toddlers on weekdays from 8-6 and children after school from 3-6. She'll charge §100 per child per week, payable on Fridays. Attending the first session are:



Orla and Ernie McKim


Marzipan Sweet



And Bruno and Basil Mead. She's holding off on adding her afterschool program until she gets the hang of things with the little ones, which isn't a bad idea.











It's a long day looking after so many kiddies all by herself. She may need to hire some help if she wants keep it up.



Tabby's LTW is to become a media magnate, and there is a slot available in the journalism career; but for now she contents herself with evenings spent working on her blog.




And when her wrists start to cramp, she works out some larger muscle groups on the toy bench. It's a perfect system.




Beatrice joins her for breakfast early the next morning.


Tabitha: "So, as I was saying—oh. Oh. Consider ourselves something of a messy eater there, do we?"


T: "As you know, I've long held a reputation as the messiest eater in our family. It's kind of a point of pride, though I don't mean to brag."


T: "Ahem."





T: "Oh, I see. Is that how it's going to go down? Well."






T: "So, I trust we have an understanding here, yes? Good."


Tabby is taking it slow with getting her daycare business off the ground, and since the weather looks fine, she heads out to spend the day walking around. Her first stop is the Una Castaway Memorial Cemetery, which the town has just recently opened to the public. 


There's a small stone building in the corner of this old churchyard, though the church itself is long gone, and a few remaining headstones belonging to the village's earliest residents.


Inside, it looks to have been a small mausoleum, or a tiny chapel. Either way, it's empty now.



Tabitha tries out the fishing before stopping for a chat with Ramona, who's also out for some fresh air.


She's just starting to think what a nice place it is to spend an afternoon when the snow starts to fall and she notices Marco over in the corner.


Tabitha didn't really know Una, and she does her best to try to cheer Marco up.


But he's understandably torn up and not overly excited to accept comfort from this woman he barely knows.


So instead, she takes a moment to stand there with him without saying anything. The cemetery is still a nice place, and the snow is rather peaceful.


After a while, Tabby heads down the block to Main Street Yoga so she can come in out of the cold.




She browses the tea selection, does a little yoga, and gets a massage before turning back home for the day.




Her dad, Maximillian, is there and soon joined by her nephew, Arlo. They stay for supper while the snow continues to fall.






The next morning, there's pajama blogging and breakfast and a whole new day ahead. Tabby's finally on her own, and things are looking pretty good.

Notes:
- With this update and the kind of crossover that the daycare involves, I've finally settled on my philosophy of how time works in a BACC like this. I've decided that Day 1 of winter for one round is not the exact same day as Day 1 of winter in every other family's round, but rather that each round is representative of five average/random days from each household's season. So where I used to say that Beatrice wouldn't be able to show up on Day 1 of Tabby's round as a teen because she didn't age up until later in her round, now I feel like it's kosher; this is just another part of winter. Long story short, Day 1 =/= Day 1 literally for each household. Does that make sense? How do think of this in your game? I always think it's interesting to hear how other people handle these sorts of things when they play.

- For the daycare, I'm using Inge's Meeting Controller to summon the kids each session and Monique's Payee Notebook to set up billing for each family. I had to cheat and set Tabitha as the aunt of every toddler and baby to allow her to be able to interact with them, and for some reason, she still can't use the cribs or the changing tables at all. But otherwise, this seems to work for a daycare setup.