If I had a post's title ... Well, it'd be here ...

I have been EXHAUSTED the last couple days.

No, I'm not pregnant (DAWN.)
(For those of you wondering why I have that parenthetical remark, THIS parenthetical remark will explain that my friend, Dawn, will always jump to asking/hoping that her friends are with child. She once started a rumor that I was preggo-my-Eggo on my Facebook wall with her usual guess. I still love her. Even though it was a tricky situation diffusing that rumor. While people are CONGRATULATING me on having something in my uterus that I didn't have at all. :P ... Good times, good times.)

I don't know why I've been so ... well, no, I do have an idea...

• Tuesday night/morning, Bruise and Bucket woke up around FOUR AM(!!!) to go to the bathroom. They were VERY noisy and then Bucket thought the bathroom door was locked and freaked out (It wasn't. She didn't even end up USING the bathroom!). Michael took care of it. But I woke up and was awake for a while.
• Bubbles isn't consistently sleeping through the night ... but she's getting better. For the most part.
  Still, most nights I do wake up at least once to feed her. Sometimes twice.
• This morning, I woke up EXHAUSTED ... thinking that it was an hour later than it was. Stupid sunlight. Stupid Daylight Savings. It was nice not having to LEAP out of bed ... and I did manage to get a good deal done by the time the kids needed to get out to the bus stop. Phew!

Speaking of, this is what I did this morning:

• Woke up. Went back to doze for a little.
• Fed Bubbles.
• Made the kids' lunches
• Called their school so I could write a check for the balance of their hot lunch accounts (Since tomorrow's the last day to have a balance). Wrote that check. Bruise is entrusted to take it to the office.
• Got Bubbles out of my bed.
  Changed her diaper ... She had a blow out.
  Her hair was all gross at the back (sweat, drool, and milk), so she got a bath and a cute outfit.
  Brought her out to the living room to play.
• Got the kids' homework folders filled and had them put them in their backpacks.
  Got their reading logs put in there, too.
  And Bucket's reading homework.
• Jumped in the shower with less than twenty minutes to get ready to take the kids to the bus.
  Showered, shaved my underarms, brushed teeth, combed hair, got dressed, put on makeup (light foundation, concealer, blush, eyeliner, some eyeshadow, mascara, lip gloss, and powder).
• Put on flip-flops (Remember when we used to call THOSE thongs? Oh, the good, ol' days.) and my Moby wrap. Grabbed my phone. Logged Bubbles' morning activities (diaper, bath, vitamins) ... and headed out the door!

Oh, and I did a little Draw Something before calling the school.

Aaaaaaand now I've just put Bubbles down for a nap. Yeah, I'm not making the Volunteer Breakfast at the kids' school. I'm already late ... I fed Miss Bubbles once we got home. And ... yeah. Just not making it. Oh well.

Yesterday was overall good. Just tiring.
I woke up, ate the leftover Chicken Tikaa and coconut rice for breakfast (leftovers? Yum!!) and drank some water. Put on my Moby ... and got the kids to the bus. Then I drank some more water and loaded up Bubbles into her carseat.
Why would I do all that?
Because I was donating blood!

My iron is back to great. 13.6, I think. The normal, healthy range for women is 12.1-15 ... so I fall in the upper middle. Yay!
And I filled up my bag really fast.
I felt fine. Not at all dizzy or clammy.
Just like I really, really, REALLY wanted a nap.

I wore Bubbles in my Moby. Facing out while I answered questions ... and she got fussy. Then I turned her so she was all snug. And she fell asleep and drooled on my shoulder while I lay down to fill up a bag.

She did get quite a bit of attention.
"There's a baby! Did you see?" "Yes!"
"Oh!! A Baby!! We don't usually get to see babies here much!!"

Yup, she is a bit of a conversation starter. ^_^

So, our library's Summer Reading Program starts tomorrow.
And the kiddos have a dental check-up ... which might explain part of my dream last night.

In my dream, my lower teeth were a little more wonky than in real life (not to brag, but my teeth are pretty straight. Straight enough that dental hygienists have asked if I've had braces. Which I haven't. I do have two crooked-ish teeth right in front on the bottom, but they're not very bad.) ... The lateral incisor (yes, I had to look it up) was pushing the central incisor OUT of the gum.
THEN the canine AND that pesky lateral insicor got chipped. Badly enough that my canine was off down to the gum.
(And I'm losing my dental insurance tomorrow in real life. Fun.)
So ... yeah. There I am with THREE problem teeth. One that's rotating out of the gum, one sheared down to the gumline, and one that's all sharp and broken.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!?!?!???

I also dreamed that I missed one of my besties' birthdays. It was the day after.
Michael and I were at a toy shop, and they had these cute book-like cards. And books ... The Free Comic Book Day issues of the Serenity comic were in bags that started at a thousand dollars. Very depressing.

I was going to get T (my bestie) a card. But which one? And I should get her a present! Like a DVD! But I hadn't seen her for a while ... and I don't know which DVDs she already HAS or which ones she doesn't have and would really like! VERY SAD AND STRESSFUL!

So, yeah, I should totally call her. In a half hour or so, since she told me once, with her job, never to call before ten. But, that WAS before her son started school ... Still ... I'll stick to it until she tells me differently. ^_^

So, yeah.
To sum up, I'm a crazy-dream-having, Moby-wearing, blood-donating fool.
Who's really, really tired.

Draw Something Drawback

So, last night, as I was checking Draw Something (yes, I've gotten a bit addicted), one person left a comment after not getting my drawing of "checkers" (In which, I MIGHT ADD, even though it was NOT that well done, I DID write "King me!" ... which is a dead giveaway. Which s/he didn't even wait to see before passing.) ...

Their comment got me down a little ...

The comment?

"Learn to dram wtf or write it out."

So, yeah, there I am feeling rather miffed at a complete stranger being that ... well, b-word-y about a GAME.
It's not like you WIN ANYTHING AT ALL for getting more words right.

And, if you are playing random people, you're taking your chances.

How did I make myself feel better?

By visualizing how I COULD have responded.
(Instead of resigning/ending our match. If s/he doesn't like my attempts at drawing, s/he doesn't have to play, do does s/he?)

I did think about leaving what I had done before learning how to delete a partner (Yay for Google!) ... which was: 1) Pick the hardest word given. 2) Start drawing something. 3) Erase it. 4)Just turn empty pages and then select that I'm done and send it to the other person.
What I DIDN'T do was 5) Comment "Then try THIS, B****."
Or, really, what I ALMOST wrote was "[Be more constructive/don't be so negative] with your criticism."

I mean, really. Would it have KILLED you to use a smiley?

There's a difference (especially to a sensitive/hormonal person like me between
Learn to dram wtf or write it out :) AND Learn to dram wtf or write it out.

Then I realized that I was getting upset/offended by someone who can't even spell DRAW.

That's just pitiful.

Though, really ... since I don't like to use profanities that much (Don't get me wrong. I say "crap" and "damn" and "hell" much more than I probably NEED to. Oh well.), but instead of calling that person a b-word (Though the statement WAS rather b****y. There are MANY other ways to express oneself than just being like that. How about, "That was too tough. Maybe you could write out the answer next time." or something.)

(However, I still wouldn't really. Because 1) In Draw Something, you just have to fill in the letters. They GIVE you the answer. If I can't get it right? It's because I'm NOT THINKING HARD ENOUGH. The onus is on ME, guessing. Some of the drawings aren't as helpful as they should be. So what? I'm using the free version of the app. I'm not losing anything by getting it wrong. And 2) Since Michael's family plays a lot of Pictionary, I try not to write down words. Because that's cheating.)

SO, if you can't guess my (less-than-stellar, I'll admit) drawing, when the answer is practically GIVEN (you know how many letters ... and they give you the letters. Sometimes more than what you need, but still! The answer is there!! Just jumbled!), dude ... just suck it up that YOU are not that clever/creative at that moment in time. Let it go.

No need to insult your partner.

Especially because, if it EVER happens again, I'm probably going to answer "Sod off, tosser."

Since, I obvs don't mind being crass in British slang.
I'm not sure why ...


And, REALLY!! If you're going to insult me, at least spell it correctly. And make it make SENSE.

I mean, someone has to have standards, right?

-----------------------------------------------------
In all honesty, my checkerboard was NOT drawn well. But it WAS red and black. And I did write "King me!"
If that random person was at all patient, s/he'd most likely HAVE gotten it.

Also, if you write out something in Draw Something, I'm not going to lambaste you.
But I usually won't write it out.
I have to keep in practice for the C Family Pictionary rounds.
We're kind of brutal.

Like the one time that Sister-in-law-squared (our husbands are brothers), A and I were drawing against each other.
Michael got it. C didn't.
She looked at my paper and cried, "We drew the same thing!! How come your fiance got it and mine didn't??"
I, caught up in the heat of the game, crowed, "Because MY fiance is smarter than yours!"

Now, due the the nature of our competitions with Pictionary, that would normally be rude and shocking.
Not so with the cutthroat rounds of Pictionary that I've grown accustomed to.

Seriously, they all just laughed. Even C.
They're good sports.

... "learn to dram" ... Learn to dram, indeed.

--------------------------------------------------------

With that all said, if you do play Draw Something and you want to play ... let me know.
If you don't have me on Facebook, my username on Draw Something is, predictably, LlannaLee. ^_^

Funny things we say ...

The kiddos always like to think ahead to what they want to dress up as for Halloween.
Bucket's thinking (at present) of going as a goldfish.
She's also throwing around the ideas of:

• a platypus
• Ginny Weasley
• Merida (from "Brave" ... coming to a theater near you June 22.)
  (Can you tell we're looking forward to seeing it?)

Bruise wants to go as Harry Potter. Or Indiana Jones.

Every so often, they try to get us all on board for a theme Halloween (which would be fun).
Then we'd have to figure out who'd go as whom.

Here's what we've figured out ...
Bruise and Bucket could go as twins, Luke and Leia
Bubbles could be Chewbacca or Yoda or an Ewok.
Or R2 or a Stormtrooper (Though she's a little short for a Stormtrooper. Ha ha ha.)

If we go that route, Michael'd be Darth Vader.
And, since the kids are BORN ... and this is a part of Star Wars that I DO know, here's my contribution to the conversation:

"Ooooh! Does that mean I get to be ZOMBIE PADME????"


Yes'm. I'm special.
And, really. If I had to be Padme, that'd be the way to go.

Besides, it's not like (any time that I put effort and thought into a costume) anyone knows who I am.
(e.g., the times that I dressed as Jem! or cross-played Jayne Cobb. So depressing.)

I was listening to the kids tell me about riding in the car.

They were telling me that once Bruise rode in the front seat of the truck.
And, since he's still small, he knew that he'd have to duck if they saw a police car.

Bucket: BRUISE! You could sit on a REALLY BIG BOX! Then you wouldn't have to duck! Because they'd think you were TWENTY!

I'm sorry ... but NO ONE would think that my slim little man was even twelve, let alone TWENTY.

We still don't have our grill.
Seriously, the rain check was made out on the 19th ... NINE DAYS AGO.
They didn't call us by the 26th like they said they would.
Michael went into the store on the 25th to check.
They said the shipment hadn't come in ... yet, strangely enough, there was a SECOND floor model (too big to fit into even the truck, since the canopy is on it).
I called yesterday and they didn't have the rain check in the regular file. I was told the rain check must be with the seasonal files. And that THAT manager who has the keys had already gone home.

Yeah, we're a little annoyed.

Oh well.

But it WOULD have been nice to have been able to grill today.
And maybe last Friday ... but those have both already come and gone.

Still, it's really crazy.
Especially since this Fred Meyer? ... Well, the employee wrote the wrong phone number for the store on the raincheck.
And the number on Google? Disconnected.
Which happened to be the number on the official Fred Meyer website.
I was able to FINALLY find the correct number (wrong prefix from the employee. How odd is that?).
At least, when I did get the right number, the employees were professional and nice.

Still, wouldn't you think that if you, as a business, changed your number, you'd WANT it to be listed correctly on the INTERNET?

Whatever.
Not my business. But if it WERE, you know that I'd be over that like white on rice, y'all.

Okay, gotta feed Bubbles.
(Did I mention that she slept ALL NIGHT (and then some! 11 hours!) ... and that when I set her down to sleep, she did wake up ... and soothed herself back to sleep. Yeah ... I'm shocked, too. GRATEFUL, but shocked.)

Still Not Dead ... Yet.

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't blogged.
For a LONG TIME.

Whoops!

(Oh my flip. It's been over 20 days since I've blogged. What. The. FRACK.)

Let's see what I recall about the last three weeks ...

Um ... Not a whole heck of a lot. Oops!

Let me try to piece things together ...

• We are fully over the head lice.
  Thanks be.
  Oh. Em. Gee.
• I know that I read a couple books. At this point (without looking back at my GoodReads), I cannot recall what they were. I know that I enjoyed at least one of them.
  I also had to turn in a bunch of library books that I haven't even started.
  FAIL.
• I got caught up on the dishes. I'm not caught up right now. But I WAS for a couple hours.
  The sinks still work ... thus, brother-in-law C speaks the truth.
  AWESOME.
• I am so freaking behind on the laundry. Ugh. Let's not talk about that.
• We got to help our friend Robyn unclog her bathtub. Michael's a rockstar at that.
  I, while he was working on that, helped her figure out her new sling (It's a CUTE one, too).
• We made it to the last PTC (Parent Teacher ... Council? Committee?) meeting.
  I wore Bubbles in my Moby wrap.
  And I successfully nursed that girl to sleep. A 13-minute feeding.
  EPIC WIN.
• I walked to the mall on Friday, after I took the kids to the bus stop.
  None of the stores that I wanted to buy anything at were open.
  So I walked to Target and browsed there. Then I walked home.
• Mom and I went to the weekday Farmers' Market.
  I tried goat milk. It was WAY better than I worried. (Kinda like powdered milk. In how sweet it is. Pretty nice, really.)
  We both like goat cheese (We bought some chevre. I ate it ALL in one sitting.)
  We also got to try goat milk gelato. YUM!
• That was also the night that Bubbles slept for ten hours straight.
• There was another night that Bubbles woke up in the middle of the night ... and self-soothed herself back to sleep ... By NOISILY sucking on her fist.
  She woke up with the REDDEST cheeks, since she had wiped her slobber-hands on her cheeks repeatedly. They started looking better once I put some cream on them. They looked MUCH better the next day.
• I had a physical ... I'm in fine health. Got my cholesterol tested. Haven't heard the results.
  It's been about ten years since I had it tested ... as far as I know of. 
• I won some truffles at my sister-in-law (T2)'s baby shower.
  I recognized song lyrics (as I walked back into the room) as being from "Brahm's Lyllabye."
  Yes, I AM a Wikipedia addict.
  No, I haven't memorized the lyrics yet. Not even the German ones.
  (Freyja jumped into my lap as I'm typing. She licked my arms. I can handle cats licking me. I don't like it when dogs lick me. Cats have drier, though scratchier, tongues.)
  (RANDOM FACT: I had a VERY tough time learning how to spell "tongue." Also "exercise,"
  license," and "genuine." Why are these words so tricky???)
• I impressed people with my MAD MOBY-WRAP SKILLZ.
  I learned how to turn Bubbles (who's developed her neck muscles enough) from a "hug hold" into a forward-facing hold. And I don't have to redo the wrap AT ALL.
  BOO and YEAH.
• I bought a new pair of shoes. And a new pair of jeans.
• I got the kiddos registered for a little sports camp. They'll get to play T-ball, Biddyball (which is basketball), and soccer. We got them new (lace-up) shoes.
  We need to teach them to tie their shoes. *sigh*
  Bubbles will NOT play those sports. She's too small.
• Bucket told me today that she "LOVES [Bubbles] because she LOVES BABIES."
  I told her that will come in very handy when she's a mom.
• Bruise tells us that he loves Bubbles because "she's a new kid."
  (Does that mean she's got ... wait for it ... the right stuff??? *rimshot*)
  (Bad early 90s boyband joke for the ... win?)
  (No, actually I WASN'T a fan of NKOTB. I had friends that were.)
• Nana got results back from her MRI. She does have dementia.
  But it's not a tumor ... so that's ... something.
• We still have a lot of random, scouting ants in the house. Not as many as there were.
  And the number of pervert ants (crawling around in the shower) has VASTLY decreased.
• I've gotten a little addicted to my free-version "Draw Something" app on my phone.
• I got to try a crepe. It had chocolate-hazelnut filling. And fresh whipped cream.
  Yes, you should be jealous. It's okay to admit it. ^_^
• We bought an ice-cream maker at Costco. It was on sale (even better!) ... We made vanilla ice cream. It was even better after we froze it so it was more solid.
• I had a two-day streak (RECORD!!) of exercising ... but Bubbles wasn't really supportive of it. So my motivation petered out. Oh well.
  But it would be really nice to be rid of this muffin top.
• I got caught up with Neatorama and mental_floss ... so I feel like I'm more interesting.
  At least it gives me more to talk about than JUST my kiddos. ^_^

That's really most of what I can recall ... which, sadly, isn't all that much.
Things to look forward to this coming week:

• Michael will be home tomorrow.
  Yet another thing I need to thank our soldiers for.
• Mom's coming up tomorrow.
• I'll be donating blood ... Haven't done that for a while (like 9 months).
• Payday's coming up. That's always nice.
• We're going to get the grill that we had to have a rain check on/for/whatever preposition should be used. I don't know.
• I need to use lavender in cooking. I think I'll make a lavender-infused sugar syrup. And use it in making lemonade.
  I also need to use the hazelnuts/filberts (they're the same thing. It's like mountain lion/puma/cougar.) to make homemade Nutella.
• Housework. Lots and lots of housework. ...

And that's most of what all is going on around here.
That and we've been watching The IT Crowd on Netflix ... HILARIOUS.
I adore Moss the most. But I do get tempted to answer the phone like Roy ("I.T. ... Have you tried turning it off and on again?")

Well ... I think that's it.
If I've forgotten anything vital, I'm sure that Michael'll remind me in the comments. ^_^

Thumbsucker ... and other stuff

Looks like Bubbles is going to take after me ... she's sucking her thumb.
I was a thumbsucker ... My mom had to help me quit with a twelve-step reward-based program when I was going into preschool.

During Sacrament meeting this morning, I was putting Bucket's hair BACK into a ponytail.
AND I FOUND A LOUSE.
So, I took her to Primary so she could say the prayer, then she, Bubbles, and I left church to break the Sabbath (ox in the mire!) to buy lice shampoo. Which we then applied.
And I combed all through her hair, where I found .... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
Then we watched videos on YouTube with Bubbles until Michael and Bruise came home from church.
(Mostly Titli's Busy Kitchen and some Bollywood.)

So, I'm just guessing that I missed ONE EGG last time.
And this last louse standing met an ignominious death via my fingernails.
Mwha ha ha.

I've got almost all the dishes done and put away.
And Bucket helped to wash some.
Which we did in the bathtub.
Yup.

Bruise was on Bubbles-duty. Not the dish-soap bubbles ... the watching-his-little-sister-and-attempting-to-keep-her-happy-and-NO-just-telling-her-"Shhhh!-while-you-play-a-video-game-isn't-cutting-it type of Bubbles duty.

I need to take Bucket's stuffed animals out of the dryer. And wash her bedding. JUST IN CASE.

Still, one louse is MUCH better than two.

And, as Michael was bringing me dishes to wash, he had to take out a pile of pans because they were CRAWLING with ants.
So gross.
And he had to spray out some more dishes with the hose since I hadn't gotten to them before the sinks stopped up.
Good times, good times.

So I need to mop the kitchen floor and get rid of all the dead ants. Ugh.

I still need to read my library books. And clean the rest of the house ... But I mostly just want to take a nap.
And moisturize my hands. They're really dry after all the lice shampoo and dish soap.

Bubbles seems to like the Moby wrap more than the sling ... I think it's because I'm newer at using the sling. Once we get used to it, I think it'll be a great thing. It is easier to put on. And to carry around.

Okay ... I should go be productive.

The day of rest? Ha!
I wish.
Oh, I really wish.

Our Cinquo de Mayo ... and it involves the sinks

Michael's going to get his brother, C, to help us with the sinks.
Since C can fit under the house. We cannot. :S

But, at least the blockage is limited to just the kitchen and laundry room sinks. The washer works, the bathtubs and toilets are fine. It could be much, much worse.

And, thanks to the borrowed dehumidifier, the one couch cushion that I worked at cleaning is almost totally dry. Phew!

I also put a cover/plate on an outlet in the kids' room. And we took down the broken venetian blind on the laundry room door and installed/put on a window cover. It's like wallpaper, but for a window.
The one we got makes the window look like it's etched glass. It still lets the light in, but gives some privacy (in case someone comes to the door and I'm loading the washer/dryer in my skivvies.

I also sprayed the bathroom ceiling with bleach and Tilex. It's looking a lot better.

I'm going to have to do a load of dishes. In the bathtub. That'll be interesting.

Bubbles's 2-month check-up went well. She's growing, not as fast as she had been ... but her doctor isn't worried. She's a healthy, happy, vocal girl. Who got three shots and some drops for vaccinations. But she took it pretty well. I was happy about that. ^_^

I asked about issues with the older kids, who were at school.
I was able to describe the tiny bumps on Bruise's arm (complete with the fact that, when squeezed, there was a tiny ball inside) well enough that their doctor was impressed. And gave me a diagnosis. And how to treat them.
He has Molluscum. And to treat it, you just pop the warts and get the ball of virus out.
Then WASH YOUR HANDS, since it's contagious.
Which is what I had done.
It's nice to know that I have pretty good instincts on that.

So I've tackled about all the Molluscum. Which makes Bruise scream (since there's a little bit of blood at each site). But we should be done with those. Phew!

(Seriously, Spring. What gives? First head lice, then Molluscum?? ... Oh, that's right. ... Which bring me to number three:)

I notice that my eye/cheek was sore ... Turns out that I have a sty on my lower eyelid. Yeah. It just hurts and will go away on its own. But, when I blink hard or wince? I'm VERY AWARE of that area.

Freyja-cat still is doing well on her Kitty Prozac.

We went out to the local comic shop for Free Comic Book Day.
They were out of the Star Wars/Serenity one (I really wanted to read the Serenity story).
But I was able to get one that's The Guild and Buffy.
And, since I bought a couple Serenity graphic novels, I was able to nab some extra free comics. One's got a story about The Dark Crystal ... They should be good ones.

And Michael made us burritos for dinner for Cinquo de Mayo.

In other good news, my Target Beauty Bag arrived. There weren't as many samples as in past bags. But I still love samples. ^_^ This one has a travel pack of facial wipes, a Pantene shampoo, a Nivea lotion, a Neutrogena facial cleanser, and a facial primer from L'Oreal. And a little book of coupons. Which expire at the end of the month.

Also, yesterday, we took Bubbles to Mom and Dad's so she could get grandma-time. The kids, Michael, and I went to watch The Avengers. It was REALLY good. We're definitely buying it when it comes out.
Now, I'm going to let you know that I'm a Whedon fan-girl. He did a great job. The dialogue is pretty awesome. And the storyline flows well.
He always is a firm believer of "kill your darlings," so be aware that someone's going to die.
(I'm still bitter about Wash in Serenity. But, really, I'd have been bitter about ANY of the main characters' deaths in that 'Verse.)
And, if you haven't gone ... just be aware that you need to stay through the credits. TO THE VERY END.
Okay??

The kids were a little cranky afterwards ... but, overall, it was good.

When we went to pick up Bubbles, we got to visit with some more family. Grandpa C's brother and his wife (so Michael's great-uncle and -aunt) were there.
Uncle B's voice is VERY similar to Grandpa C's ... so it was good to hear a version of his voice again.
NO, I DID NOT CRY.
(but I might have been a little close for a tic.)

Okay, Bubbles is freaking out. I'd better change a diaper or rock her or something.

More stuff ...

So, the sinks still aren't draining.

BUT!!

• We planted Bruise and Bucket's tomato plants from school.
• And the carrot seeds.
• They got to play outside.
• We went to their classroom for Open House conferences ... we were the only ones there
  (Besides their teacher and student teacher ... So I got to chat. It was nice. We'll sign a permission form and the Speech teacher will see if Bruise would benefit from Speech class. ... His "r"s sometimes/often come out as more of a "w." We work at having him correctly pronounce things ... but ... He's gotten lots better. But it still leaves some room for improvement.)
• We got the kids' Spring Pictures from school. They look cute! And we also have a FULL Morning Kindergarten class picture (Fall's class picture was just the kids' classroom. AM Kinders are two combined classrooms.)
• I'm a few more pages into the library book that's due TOMORROW.
  I think that I'm just going to have to put it on hold again later. *sigh* I hate that.
• I made corn dogs.
• I'm going to have to wash the dishes in a bathroom sink or in a bathtub. *double sigh*
• I can't find Freyja-cat. I'm going to look harder.
  Update - She was asleep on Bruise's bed (top bunk), under the covers.
  I've been pwned by my cat. Totally.

And, while I'm typing all this?
All three kids are happily watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Yes, even the two-month (as of TODAY) old.

Yup, that's awesome parenting right there.
Lose the cat (Or, at least, lose TO her at Hide-And-Seek) and have all the kids watching cartoons.
Winning!!! (Ha. Whatever.)

So far ...

I had Michael pick up pizza last night.
Bubbles NEEDED to be held nearly constantly (didn't want to poop, it seems).

She's still a little snuffy. But nowhere near as bad as a couple nights ago.
In fact, she slept really well last night.

Yesterday, Mom and my stepdad came to take my old daybed to my aunt.
It clears up a LOT more room in Bruise and Bucket's room.

Freyja-cat is doing well on her "kitty-Prozac." She's sleeping a lot.
But that's a darn sight better than peeing on things.
Speaking of, I need to scoop the catbox.

I ordered a baby-sling from Mom4Life.com.
I was HOPING it'd get here by Mothers' Day (so, in about two weeks).
It arrived YESTERDAY. Yeah.
I was pretty impressed.
AND they gave me a free lip gloss. ^_^

Bubbles and I made it to the parent-volunteer thing this morning at the kids' school.
I cut out about, oh, twenty DOZEN paper hexagons.
(There are about fifty more pages, each with a dozen hexagons on them, to go. Good thing they're for NEXT year. ^_^)
People remarked about how gorgeous Bubbles is.
(She slept for most of the time. For the first 15 minutes, I rocked her carseat with my foot while I cut out hexagons.)

I also bought stuff so Bruise and Bucket can plant the tomato plants that they brought home.
And the carrot seeds that they got yesterday.
And I FINALLY bought myself a bird feeder and some birdseed.
(I bought a hummingbird feeder last summer or so. I haven't seen ANY hummingbirds. The feeder is still FULL!! *sigh*)

Our sinks (laundry room AND kitchen are backed up). Drano doesn't seem to have any effect in the laundry room sink.
I think we're going to have to call a plumber.

Also, I got a call from school.
Bruise got hit in the head with a lunch pail. He's got a bump.
The school nurse did check him out. He seems to be fine.
He'll be home soon, since they only have an hour after lunchtime before they go home.
Am I a bad mom for not taking him out of school?
He was feeling better by the time the office called.
(Besides, Math and Spanish are important things to NOT miss, right?)

So, yeah.

I should do the dishes.
Guess I'll cart them to the bathtub. Joy.
Since the kids' tub still has a HUGE, sopping cushion from the couch.
.... Hey .... I think I'll lug THAT into our bathroom, where the dehumidifier that I've borrowed from Mom and C is. THAT should help get it dry faster.

Why is everything so expensive?
Why can't the sinks just WORK?
Oh well. Things could be worse.

And I have a diaper to change. Gotta go!

In which I am tired ... and covered in cat hair

So, I spaced going to the informal Parent-Teacher Open House conference last night.

Good thing there's another one Thursday.

I did manage to make dinner (it wasn't all that great. I think the broccoli was freezer burnt. And it made the rest of the wanna-be stir fry taste a little off. Ugh). And I got the kids bathed and to bed. And read them a bedtime story (Michael was off, after dinner, to help someone move).

I woke up this morning, fed Bubbles, took a shower, got dressed, dressed Bubbles, made the kids stop playing in their room and get ready, loaded us all up in the van and took Freyja-cat to the vet's before the bus came.

Freyja had a urine draw, so that we could rule out the peeing-on-stuff behavior being caused by a urinary tract or bladder infection.

While THAT was going on, I got the kids on the bus ... then Vesper and I went to my OB/GYN.

TMI ALERT

Normally, after a couple weeks, the "strings" (they're more like wires. Thin wires) on an IUD soften and curl up a little. So that if you TRY, you can feel them (like when you check after your cycle). But you normally don't. So ... yeah.
Well, my wires were NOT soft and they were ... well ... PRESENT during certain activities.
So my doctor checked to make sure the IUD was in the right spot (CHECK!) and trimmed them shorter.

I asked if, before my next appointment (which I might be able to cancel if trimming the strings solves everything), I'd need to do anything to help soften the strings. (Since this wasn't an issue with the last IUD I had.)

Me: "Do I need to, like, squirt some Vaseline or something up there? Just in case?"
Her: *snickers* No, I don't think that would be necessary.

Yeah, I'm going to miss joking around with her.
Though, really, I was not being completely facetious with that inquiry.
Hey, I'm just trying to be proactive in this, okay?

TMI ALERT OVER

I called the vet's office to check on Freyja (as I was advised to do) ... just as the vet called ME. Ha.
Good timing, right?

So, Freyja cat does NOT have an infection causing "inappropriate elimination."
It's all emotionally-based.
So ... she gets to take "Kitty Prozac."
Yup.
My cat is now on drugs.
And, I figure that since this is due to her feeling jealous/abandoned ... since Bubbles does take a lot of attention and time ... I'm going to have to schedule some mandatory cuddle time with my kitty.
(I think that in the evening, before bedtime, will work the best. The kiddos are in bed, Bubbles has fallen asleep for a bit ... Michael and I sit on the couch and watch Netflix or something ...)

But I still think that we'll have her sleep in the laundry room for a while longer.

... I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight.
I would take a nap ... but since Freyja's NOT closed in the laundry room, I should stay out here to keep an eye on her.
(Right now, she's just chilling, bathing herself, under my desk, at my feet.)

I should get a start at dismantling the daybed in the kids' room.
We're going to give it to my aunt.
It'll free up room in the kids' room.
I'm DETERMINED to clean and organize that room within an inch of its life (if it had one ... but still ...).
THEN, when Bubbles is consistently sleeping through the night, we could put a crib in there for her. And have the kids' toys picked up, too.

I also NEED to get the old couch to SMELL DECENT.
It doesn't right now.
THANKS, FREY.
THAT IS SARCASM.

And I need to re-clean the house. AGAIN.
And make dinner.
And read library books.
And help the kids do the rest of their homework ... They did a good job on finishing today and tomorrow's assignments ... Thursday and Friday's assignments should go quickly, too.
Mom and my stepdad will be here tomorrow to get the daybed.
Thursday, I'm going to go to the kids' school and help out at the morning parents' meeting-thing (helping to cut out/collate/staple/etc). Then I NEED to remember to go to their class' Open House/Conferences.
Friday, Bubbles has a doctor's appointment..

At least NEXT WEEK is pretty light, as far as scheduled things go. PHEW.

OKAY. I'm going to start cleaning off and dismantling that daybed.
One less things for Michael to have to do when he gets home.
Then ... I'll figure out what to make for dinner. And clean out the fridge. And cook up my asparagus.
And finish my library book.
And have FHE (Family Home Evening), since we put it off last night ... since Michael wasn't home much.

With how busy and cat-pee-filled life has been, would it REALLY be asking too much to wake up tomorrow 50 pounds lighter? ... Of course, I wouldn't have anything to wear ... but I still have some birthday money. :P
Still, it'd be nice.
How about TWENTY pounds lighter? I could handle that.