Another catching up post ...

Okay, it's approaching the middle of October and I haven't blogged anything about the family and what we've been doing.

Oops!

Because I KNOW that you've been SITTING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS, W.A.I.T.I.N.G. for me to tell you what we've been doing.
Right?

Yeah. Right. :P

Okay, so I last blogged, for real, about my life-life (not just my thoughts or about the General Conference talks) September 30. That's CRAZY.

How are you LIVING without my reports of day-to-day minutiae?? Yes, I'm kidding. I'm sure that you're all living very well.

Still, here's a report, anyways.

October 1 - Friday - After Michael got home (and had a nap), we headed up to the Zoo and then across the parking lot to meet my Mandarin (one of my friends from my hometown. She and her family have since moved up for work) at the Children's Museum. The first Friday of the month is free admission from 5-8 PM.
(Also, the zoo is practically deserted 3:30 - close on Friday. That was rather nice. I don't always like crowds of strangers. If you couldn't tell from how I whine about it in previous posts. ... We didn't go through the whole zoo, but we did get to places that we hadn't made it to (or spent a whole lot of time at) the last weekend.)
The Children's Museum wasn't too terribly packed. I mean, yes, there were quite a few people ... but it was fun. Especially since Michael, wonderful man that he is, watched the kids so Mandarin and I could catch up and chat.

I did ask her why she had said that she felt that all churches were full of hate.
And, as much as I don't like confrontation, I did it pretty point-blank (at least for me).
And she told me that it really stemmed down to the ward that she was in at the time that her grandfather died.
She was dealing with that (and don't I understand dealing with the death of a grandparent. It's not easy.), people found out that she was living with her (now-husband) boyfriend. Then, shortly after, they found out she was pregnant.
And they told her that she wasn't making good choices. And, pretty much, they stopped talking to her.
(I did ask about our home ward ... she assured me that, no, nobody from the home ward ever shunned her or made her feel bad. *phew!*)

And ... well, I know that the Church is true. I just wish that every member could (and would) be as true as the Church is.
Mandarin did readily admit that, while right now, she is hurting from how she was treated ... but that she will probably come back. When she's ready. But that time isn't right now.
And I told her (and I mean it), that she needs to take the time and heal first. But that I was glad to know the reasons behind it. (I knew one reason from our home ward ... and I was glad that it wasn't JUST one person saying uncaring things. Though, honestly, I'm bummed that it happened at ALL, you know?)

But, it was a great visit. I've missed my Mandarin. She's really awesome ... and I miss being back in Seminary, in the morning before we all caught our rides to the high schools, sitting with her and my Terra ... Yes, we listened and learned a lot. But we also passed LOTS of notes. Good times.

Saturday and Sunday were General Conference. Michael also took Bruise with him to get the work truck fixed (serpentine belt replaced) and the oil changed while Bucket and I went to the mall.
At the mall, we got our free travel-sized "Secret Wonderland" lotions, browsed at Claire's Accessories, and popped into Old Navy. I went through the clearance racks and got a pair of pajama pants and a sleep-shirt. Then, in line, I saw a box of Wall-E board books. I didn't know if they were really on discount or not, but I nabbed them anyways. Turns out, instead of being $9.99, they were on clearance. And I paid $2.49 for them. Yay!! Cheap books are AWESOME.
Before conference started in the morning, I cleaned out some bathroom cupboards.
YES. MY LIFE IS THAT EXCITING. :P
Oh, and Michael helped a family move in the morning, too. The joys of service, right?

Monday, October 4 - My dad and (oh, heck. They've been together for almost 12 years. I'm calling her) my stepmother came up to visit for the day. She and I had Dad watch the kids by himself (for the first time) while she and I got materials to recover the dining room chairs. After two hours' work, my chairs look SO MUCH BETTER. (Instead of having STAINED cream-colored tapestry, they're now covered with brown vinyl. And it looks really swell.)

I don't really recall what I did Tuesday. No real idea. Besides watching Glee. It was okay. Not my favorite episode. Michael summed it up when he declared, "Hollywood shouldn't do religion." Another Gleek that I was talking to said that it was her least favorite episode (and I agree. It could have been much more awful ... but it wasn't up to Glee's usual standard) and that it was rather clumsy and lackluster (true, true).
Hopefully tonight's episode is much better.

Wednesday ... Mom came up, I had gotten mostly caught up on the dishes. We went to storytime, McDonald's (or "The Donald's" as my kiddos call it. And I snicker every time.), and I volunteered at the library. Another of the volunteers complimented my new haircolor ... and told me that it's inspired her to try going darker, too. She got new glasses (which she modeled for me. They're CUTE) with dark frames and she doesn't like how silvery they make her hair look. ... I'm excited to see the new color.

After I got back from the library, MY BRI-BRI CAME OVER!!!! It's been too long since I had seen her.
And so she and I got to say goodbye to my mom before SHE had to go back home ... and then we chatted and shared YouTube videos with each other. (What would we do without YouTube??? :P).

Thursday, I took the kiddos to storytime, then to WinCo for some groceries (cat litter, honey Greek yogurt [YUM!], and raspberry-cream cheese-filled croissants [because Bucket said that she had never tried them ... and she wanted to. Not gonna argue! I'll take ANY reason to buy some croissants! ^_^), then over to Staples to buy paper for the Young Women's supply closet [for the monthly calendar/newsletter and for invitations for next month's activity] and to the mall to exchange Bucket's Hello Kitty gloves for a pair without a HUGE hole in one finger. (They ripped just TWO DAYS after we bought the first pair. The second pair is holding up well. Phew!!).
Then I threw some food at the kids (not literally, y'all. Come on.) and we got ready for running with my Jenny. Jenny and I didn't get to run for long, her youngest obvs didn't like being in the stroller today. But, hey, we did SOMETHING.

Friday ... what did we do? Michael came home ... I know that much. And .... Hm.  Obviously, I don't recall much. I blogged. That's about it, I guess. Oh! That's right! Michael came home for a bit and then went to help one of the men from Elder's Quorum to try to fix his truck (that broke down on the way to work). They couldn't fix it, so Michael gave him a ride to work ... and then woke up EARLY Saturday to help him tow it home.
I picked up the kids' room before I read them Harry Potter ... Only had time for one chapter. Oh well. If they want more, they'll keep their room picked up. ... Mommy hates stepping on Legos.

Saturday: Michael, like I mentioned, was up early to help tow a truck. Then he went out to the EQ (Elder's Quorum) activity -- shooting. But it was cancelled due to rain, so he was home shortly. In time to get ready for a meeting (to listen to a General Authority from the church speak in Eugene). Then he came back, tired enough that he had a headache ... and slept it off for a few hours.
I just played around on the computer and was generally in a funk.
We put the kids to bed, no Harry Potter, since Michael went out to give someone a blessing. Instead, I read them a Czech fairytale from a treasury that I have. They seemed to like it.
Then he came home. And went back out to get us Jack-in-the-Box for dinner. Good man.

Sunday ... I was in more of a funk, if possible. The morning was okay.
Got up, got a shower, got the kids dressed and ready, got to church, got everything put in the YW storage closet. Had a good conversation with my fellow Gleek (see above) (and learned about an hour later that I'm her visiting teacher again. How funny!), went to Sunday School. Had a good time with the Young Women.
Got home, made macaroni and cheese. Michael came home and had to head out to do his Home Teaching ... and the kiddos WOULD. NOT. NAP. And they trashed their room and the living room playing. *sigh*
It ended with a cold shower for them, holding back tears for me.
I didn't go in with them when Michael got them ready for bed. I didn't pray with them or read to them. I was really quite upset.

Yesterday - We got up. The kids weren't supposed to get out of their room until they had cleaned up.
Well, after they'd been watching a show while I got up, I saw their room was still totally messy.
So we played "Beat the Clock." I gave them ten minutes to clean up or get a time out. They did a good job on their room. So they got another five minutes to make their beds. Then another ten minutes to clean the front rooms. And they succeeded.
Then I cleaned off the (filthy) table and vacuumed. And I cleaned off the kitchen table/counter/whatever. And that was about as productive as I got.
We got ready later and went to a playdate. It was a gorgeous day. And the kid had fun.
Until Bruise and their friend didn't want to play with Bucket. (It was really Bruise. Their friend was excited to play with them at all.) So Bucket pouted and cried.
Then Bruise and their friend bonked heads on the slide. (Bruise was sliding down. B was climbing up. Oops.) We'd been at the park for a while, so S (B's mom and a fun gal to chat with. I enjoyed myself, at least. YAY for adult interaction!!!!!) and I decided that we should probably take our kids home to nap.

And, JOY OF JOYS, the munchkin brigade DID take a nap. After an hour of fighting it ... but they took it!
And I blogged. And I was in a decent mood by the time Michael got home. Thank goodness!!!
(And people commented on my blog. Like FOUR in the space of two hours!!!! I was amazed. Especially as one was a commenter that I'd never met before. Made me feel kinda famous.  ... And I do feel flattered by my friends' compliments. *preens*)

So, yeah. I need to run today, since I haven't since Thursday. Or, at least I need to do a work-out video.
It seems that I feel best when I blog (it's an outlet) and exercise. Crazy, huh? And, hey, if I pray and read my scriptures, I'll be doing EXCELLENTLY.

And I still need to finish the dishes. And fold a metric crapload of laundry. And clean the kitchen.
But since the kids have opted to skip storytime this morning, I think I'll be doing fine on time. Since I don't have any obligations today (since Jenny's not available to run today).

And ZOMGosh!!! Saturday's my 5K!!!! I can't believe it's already here!!!

Also, I wish there were some closer blood drives at the end of next month. I want to get my second gallon earned. ^_^