Mia’s Chapter 7

Trace has been feeling invisible lately. Not in a dramatic way, just in that way where he asks for something and then immediately watches someone else get it. The other day he asked Oliver to play with him, and right as Oliver was about to pick him up, Ellie demanded a bath. And of course she got the bath.  Trace isn’t actually invisible, but Ellie definitely drives the activities around here.

The next morning, they were all listening to Oliver read them stories. Well — Ellie was listening. Trace was trying. Colton wandered in, sat down with his homework, and immediately got sad because the toddlers were getting picture books and he was stuck with social studies. I get it. If I had the choice between a book about a purple monster and a chapter on ancient trade routes, I’d pick the monster too.

He’s sick, by the way. And so is Oliver. I’m pretty sure Colton brought it home from school, because Oliver hasn’t left the lot since the wedding. So now I have two sick boys who may not survive their colds.

And it even makes Colton sad when Oliver talks to one of the toddlers. Just talks. Not plays, not cuddles — talks. He really wishes he were an only child. I don’t know what to tell him. That ship sailed the second Trace arrived, and then Ellie came along and set it on fire.

Later that day, Ellie got flashcards. Naturally. Meanwhile, Trace wandered by and dropped his dirty plate on a shelf behind a picture frame like he was hiding evidence. I caught him doing it, and he immediately asked me for flashcards too. And I said yes — of course I said yes — but then I remembered I had to leave for work in five minutes. Perfect timing, as always.

Then, he waited so patiently while Oliver played with Ellie, just sitting there like maybe if he didn’t move, someone would notice him. And no — he didn’t get a turn. Not that day. But they did get another round of Oliver reading them stories, which is basically the toddler equivalent of a spa retreat.

When Oliver finally had to go do something else, he let them look through the books on their own. Ellie tried to eat hers. Naturally.

I can’t remember if I already said this — the days are blending together into one long toddler‑shaped blur — but Trace is officially a Happy Toddler. Level 3 or higher in all his skills, mastered Communication and Potty, and he’s sitting at level 4 in Imagination and Movement with his birthday tomorrow.

Ellie’s a Happy Toddler too, but she’s pushing for Top Notch Toddler. Her birthday is the day after Trace’s, so she might actually make it. She’s been grinding skills like she’s training for toddler finals.

Meanwhile, Colton has taken it upon himself to clean up all the dishes Trace has been hiding around the house. Behind pictures, under tables, on random shelves — Trace is basically running a secret dish‑hoarding operation. Colton found them all and looked personally offended by every single one.

Speaking of Trace, Oliver left him in the high chair after lunch and he just… took a nap. Sitting upright. Like a tiny, exhausted office worker who fell asleep during a meeting. I didn’t even know toddlers could do that.

Ellie, on the other hand, is making real progress. She’s level 4 in Imagination, Movement, and Thinking, and she should master them before her birthday. She worked so hard today she crashed early — just face‑planted into bed like she’d been unplugged. After she had a cry because she was so tired, of course.

That left Oliver with the boys for the evening. Colton was doing homework, and Trace was thrilled to be included in whatever “homework” meant. He sat next to Colton like he was studying for finals too.

I got home to find out I’d earned another promotion — level 7 now, Laboratory Leader. Which sounds impressive, but really just means I need two more breakthroughs before they’ll let me touch anything dangerous again.

Just after midnight, Trace got Oliver to help him blow out his candles. He’s officially done being a toddler. He rolled Bookworm and took the Mental aspiration, which feels right for a kid who spent half his toddlerhood staring thoughtfully at books he couldn’t read.

He won’t go to school until tomorrow, so he spent the morning with Ellie. It’s her last day as a toddler, and she’s milking it. She had a nightmare during her morning nap and asked for snuggles. I didn’t pick her up — I didn’t have time — but I did give her hugs. She accepted them like a queen accepting tribute.

Trace finished his homework and then wandered the house following either Ellie or Oliver, like he wasn’t sure who he belonged to now that he had long legs and responsibilities.

Ellie mastered Thinking next. Then Imagination. She just needed a sliver of Movement to hit the Top Notch mark. And finally, when I came home from work, she mastered Movement too.

Top Notch Toddler achieved.

I finally put the MCCC Woohoo settings back the way I like them. Risky autonomous woohoo is officially back on the menu, which is either a great idea or a terrible one, depending on how much sleep I’m getting. I also updated the gameplay settings and turned on auto‑pay bills, because if there’s one thing I’m not doing anymore, it’s remembering to pay for electricity. I haven’t touched population or pregnancy settings yet. Pretty sure that’s where the alarms were hanging up, and I’m not ready to poke that bear.

Today is Ellie’s birthday, and she is thrilled. She overslept, didn’t make it to the potty, and is ending her toddler era with a messy diaper. So now, she’s sitting in the high chair waiting for her cake like a tiny queen on her throne, while Oliver watches her from across the room like he’s afraid to get too close.

Candles! There are candles on the cake, and Ellie is ready to blow them out. Or spit on them. Never eat a cake where a toddler has blown out the candles. That’s just a rule of life.

She ages up into a child, takes Perfectionist, and immediately sits down to do her homework. Of course she does. She’s been a child for thirty seconds and already has her life more together than I do.

Meanwhile, Oliver has been waiting for this moment since he moved in — he’s finally getting a job that lets him leave the house. Scientist. He practically sprinted to the computer. And now we’re coworkers. I don’t know how I feel about that yet, but here we are.

We updated the bedroom, stored the toddler beds, and Ellie moved into her big‑girl bed like she’s been waiting her whole life for it. She has the day off, so she dove straight into her creative aspiration. Violin practice, drawings, the whole thing.

Colton came home with an A, proud as anything. Trace… is still sitting on a C. He’s fine. He’ll get there. Eventually. Probably. They both got their homework done so they can enjoy the weekend without worrying about it.

And then — abduction #6. Because of course. I can’t even pretend to be surprised anymore.

Ready to see what is on the other side, I tested the environment in the wormhole generator and realized I can’t go through it yet. I need to upgrade it at career level 10 or finish upgrading the rocket. So that’s a problem for future me.

With no babies in the house for the first time in forever, everyone spent the weekend doing whatever they wanted. Mia and Oliver — yes, I’m talking about myself in the third person now, that’s where we’re at — were in the lab analyzing… something. I was on the microscope, Oliver was on the chemical analyzer, and for once no one was screaming.

The kids were all outside: Colton on the telescope, Trace on the jungle gym, Ellie practicing violin like she’s preparing for a recital no one told me about.

Simmers!

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