A slice and some crazy dreams

So, yeah, it's been another week since I last regaled you with my WILDLY EXCITING life.

Sorry if the dripping sarcasm got onto your keyboard (Did I mention that I recently had to be a new keyboard? My "h" key stopped working. It was really weird. And frustrating. There's only so much that autocorrect can do, really ...)

Bruise and Bucket had their Fall Strings rehearsal and concert ... which meant that Bruise missed TWO Cub Scout meetings, poor guy (Bucket managed not to miss ANY, since her group of Activity girls meets towards that middle of the month, instead of the last and first weeks of any given month).

I've had the bigger kids helping a bit more around the house. They're washing clothes and getting them through the dryer. I need to get them to continue to clean their frakking room. And to LOAD the dishwasher, too. But, hey, anything is a bit of improvement, right?

I'm enjoying the electric kettle that my stepmom-but-not-by-law (my dad's long-term girlfriend ... but they've been together for over a decade ... so SHOULD I just call her my stepmom? I don't know) sent up to me after I mentioned that I'd been wanting one for a while (I'll admit that it makes tea-making much easier (tisanes, really, since they're not black/green/white tea. It's rooibos or herbal teas, aka tisanes ... but you already look bored, so I'll shut up about that).

Last night, after the concert, Michael and I sat down to watch an episode or two of The Vicar of Dibley (Dawn French is hilarious, by the by), and I did one of those little Pinterest-y crafts of wrapping my phone's charging cord with embroidery silks. It turned out pretty cute. And I'll be able to tell it from my tablet's micro-USB cord at a glance now. (Though I'll wrap THAT one later, with different colors and with a different stitch (the knotted method, where the knots end up spiraling around the cord), so I can tell the difference even in the dark! Check out my master plan! I know you're totally impressed and amazed. Go ahead and nominate me for a Nobel prize. Just rememd me that you've done it so that I can be sure to thank you in my acceptance speech. ;P

I also bought some of that pretty elastic cord from Wal-Mart ... used some to make a few hair ties (all you have to do it cut a piece big enough, then tie a knot in it. It's the perfect craft for anyone (1) with opposable thumbs (2) who knows anyone with long enough hair that might warrant tying up said hair).

I go back and forth in being absolutely gung-ho on being prepared for teaching my Sunday School class and reading in advance for Gospel Doctrine (even though I can't attend, since I'm teaching my own Sunday School class) and Relief Society (which, naturally, involved buying new highlighters and some awesome washi tape for the cute handouts ... when I'm not gluing them into my scriptures, that is) ... and NOT. I mean, I'm still working to actually prepare ... but it's a more almost-by-the-seat-of-my-pants way.

I've been reading the holds that have come in on my Overdrive (library) e-book app. I've been reading some library books. I'm trying to get our house NOT to smell like the catbox (There was an AWESOME deal on TidyCat litter on Amazon. I'm actually rather glad now that I only ordered the one 27-pound bin of it. It's not as great with the odor as either Arm and Hammer or the Walmart brand (what is it? Something twee ... "Special Kitty," I think? Whatever the name is, it's not too dearly-priced and WORKS).

My stepmom (or whatever) called yesterday, since she couldn't get into her email ... to see if I knew her password for that account.
(Yes. She had told me a mnemonic ... which is stuck in my head ... so I was the golden child who EARNED that electric kettle. ^_^  ... Especially since I woke up from a doze to answer the phone. Go me.)

Monday, (yes, I know, I'm totes jumping around this last week. Wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey ...) the kids and I ended up doing a little Valentine craft.
Word to the not-so-wise (like moi): If you have a hole-punch, USE IT. If you choose not to, you could end up giving a finger a bit of a slice if your scissors slip.

Also, it's nice when your older daughter is quite decent around blood. She helped me to get a band-aid on it. And, when I bled through THAT, to rewrap the cut ... and, once the bleeding stopped, to put new band-aids on it. She could be a nurse. She was quite calm and competent (even if she didn't know where everything was. Not her fault).

I have had a bunch of weird dreams.

Monday, I woke up shortly after Michael left for work (or else I'd have snuggled with him a bit) after having a zombie-infested dream. I was (much smaller/skinnier) and had to first wrestle a VERY overweight female zombie (with a HUGE goiter) and throw her out of a window of the abandoned-ish house I was taking shelter in.
Then, I was with a few other people. I was hoping that, since I was wearing some purple latex gloves, that the goiter-zombie's bite on my hand wouldn't do anything.
There was a little kid who got bitten by a virus-frog ... a little red frog (like a poison-dart frog) with yellow hindquarters, but with teeth and would spread the zombie-virus. So I had to chase that little son-of-a-bee-sting (the frog, not the possibly-infected child) about and stomp it before it could infect the rest of everyone. And the little kid ran over to the carpet that the frog got smashed on and started to play in the little blood puddle.
And the little kid, later was lying on her/his back ... and this kid is maybe two-ish?
And the kid start spouting out, "You know, the eggs that you cooked at 8 am were fine. But the ones that you cooked at 10:30 were ****."
And I was like, "One, you're too young to be talking so well. And, TWO, you're too young to know such language. That's wildly inappropriate."
And then I woke up.

Last night, I had a few dreams. The one that woke me up had me driving with Michael. And I couldn't stop the van soon enough -- because the brakes weren't responsive enough, and I ended up running through a red light into the left-turn lane and driving through THAT red light (to go straight) ... and a motorcycle cop pulled me over and informed me that he was taking me to JAIL. And I was freaking out. "I can't stay overnight in JAIL! If I'm in JAIL, I CAN'T DONATE BLOOD!"
And, yeah, there was the stuff about not being able to volunteer in the kids' schools and stuff ... but I REALLY was worried about not being able to donate blood.
Enough so that, as Michael was kissing me goodbye, I had to ask if it was normal procedure to be arrested for a traffic mishaps ("Not unless there are outstanding warrants, no." ... SO, since I paid that ridiculously-expensive ticket back in 2014, I should be fine.)

I also had a dream about the no-longer-friend. Someone had brought up her Instagram page (which had this bright background and was more like a picture-blog or MySpace than Instagram, but bear with me), and she had a picture posted that involved me, described as a sister-friend, and linked to an audio clip of me, Michael, and his brother, C, as we made pirate jokes and I launched off into a rather-clever (It's my dream. I can be clever if I want to!) monologue rife with pirate puns.

At first I was a little sad, since if she liked me and what I do/say so much, why aren't we friends anymore? ... Then I was a little creeped out because, in my dream, when that conversation took place, she wasn't anywhere near to record that. So, either someone recorded it and sent her a copy or stranger things are afoot.

Dreams are weird.
Especially my dreams.
Either I don't really have "normal" dreams ... or I just don't remember them well.
I mean, I do recall that I've had the naked-at-school dream (like ONCE) and the flying dream (again, like, ONCE) ... but then I have the fighting-an-invisible-ninja-lord-(and-having-my-butt-handed-to-me) dream. Or getting in trouble and being most upset because I won't be eligible to donate blood to the Red Cross anymore. Or I'm shopping and I find something AMAZING ... then I'm all disappointed when I wake up because that was an awesome thing and I DO NOT have it in real life kind of dreams.

But, yeah.

MOAR crazy Dream Chronicles! Lucky you!

Yeah, I'm only remembering bits and pieces of my dreams ... but they're sure ... special.

The other night, in my dream, I started out with Bubbles and I driving around a college campus (could have been my alma mater, but it was MUCH larger). And they'd moved the mailboxes OUTSIDE the building. And I had a key that fit ... so I was all, "Hey, I could always have stuff shipped here and pick it up for free!" (Must have been a holdover from reading Ready Player One with Michael.)

THEN, the other part of my dream had me as, like, idk, an adjunct professor ... but I had finished up my term, so I was going to be leaving.
And the building we were in was haunted. By this TALL, strapping, red-headed Viking of a ghost. And he got one of the other professors to jump off the building (her red tartan-print dressed, broken body was still on the pavement below). And I was leaving the building and he took this goodbye-present handleless mug of mine and BROKE it. (Not that it was a huge deal. Since we have a BAZILLION mugs [who doesn't?] AND it wasn't my style anyways.) But I was irked by the PRINCIPLE of the thing. Ill-mannered, murdering ghost.

LAST night's dream was ... odd ... because, OF COURSE it was.

So, here's the deal. IRL, I have written a skit for my son's Cub Scout group. And, since last meeting was passing out flyers for a food drive (they ended up collecting over 100lbs of food!), there was NOT time to even have the boys read the script.

SO, TOMORROW, his den is meeting early so I can (1) pass out scripts, (2) assign roles, (3) have the boys run through it a couple times, and (4) go soak my head.
Mostly kidding on that last one. But I haven't had much practice directing things. I usually just act or sing. Or help with props/makeup/costuming (but not so much on that LAST one in THAT list).

I'm just hoping that it'll go well and that we'll HAVE five boys to play all the parts ... if not, well, It could end up being a Bruise production with starring roles from his Scout leaders, parents, and twin sister. We'll see ... But, apparently, I'm a little worried about the whole thing ...

So, in my dream, one of our past sister missionaries was throwing a huge dramatic spectacle. And, last minute, I was given a script. I didn't have my lines down at all ... and I hadn't really even had time to read over my part(s). And there was some serious swear words ... so I'm taking liberties and editing them out ... because (1) swearing is something that I've worked VERY HARD to not do nearly so much (Srsly, y'all -- my sophomore year of high school, I was SUCH a potty-mouth. Sailors and truckers would have blanched. So my use of "craps," "damns," and "hells" is a TOTAL improvement. Just so you know.) and (2) IT WAS AT CHURCH. You can't say scatalogical terms of THAT kind at church. Because that's Jesus's house.

And then, the other scene I was in, I dropped my script and LOST MY PLACE and couldn't find it ... and so I was having to make up lyrics to some rock song that I'd only caught a wee glimpse of ... so I'm writhing on the floor, turning in horizontal circles on my back, mic in hand, as I try to channel Freddie Mercury at his glammest and maybe a soupçon of Stevie Nicks, as I'm MAKING UP LYRICS and hoping that the returned sister missionary won't be too put out that I'm ruining her script.

Okay, so I can get that maybe that rock-star element of my dream is because on Facebook folks were complimenting my Jem! costume from around six years ago. My wig and makeup were awesome, if I do say so myself ... the rest of the costume could have gone better.
If I make it again, I know a lot of things to improve.
But it's not going to be this year, since there's only a few days until Halloween. And I don't have a costume at all. *sigh* I don't even know what to attempt to dress as.

In other non-dream-related news, I've passed sixth-grade math on Khan Academy. I did a load of dishes. We had soup for dinner last night. We went to the library's Halloween shindig (and ran into Michael's cousin and his family there ^_^). And I sent a Facebook message to the (ex?) friend who had unfriended me.
I let her know that I noticed we weren't Facebook friends anymore. And that I understood that it could be a glitch (not terribly likely) or that it could have not. But that I wished the best for her, even if that meant that I wasn't friends with her anymore. And that if there had been anything that I had done or said that had hurt or offended her, that it wasn't done purposefully ... and that I was sorry if I had hurt or offended her.

As my mom said, either she'll respond to it or not. And, if she writes back, there's an answer. If she doesn't, there's another answer.

The ball is in her court. And that's ... a little ... nerve-wracking. But, well, it felt insincere to pretend that I didn't notice the change in our friendship. I get that people grow apart ... but, well, when you've been really tight friends, it seems more direct to let the other person know that you're choosing to unfriend them. It'd be kind to let them know why ... even a "we've grown apart" or something.
I've unfriended some folks on facebook ... but they were (pretty much) strangers who we had friended each other for facebook games that I wasn't playing anymore. That's a bit different, right?

I've almost got Bruise's shirt done for Halloween. It's the main part of his costume (the rest is a certain pair of jeans (I should make sure those are in the wash) and trainers). I should make a clasp for Bucket's cloak. Bubbles's costume is all storebought ... and, well, we did pick up about the perfect pair of Crocs for her to wear with it (SPARKLY TEAL, Y'ALL. TEAL. AND SPARKLES. Can you tell that I'm a little jealous?), so her's is all taken care of.

So, yeah. I should check on Bruise's shirt ... do the last bits of paint on it. Get a shower. Do more laundry. Drink a buttload of water (doing this week-long water challenge. Michael's doing it, too. We're only drinking water as our beverage this week. And we're SUPPOSED to be drinking (bodyweight/2) in ounces. ... This is the third day in ... and man I suck at drinking enough water. Sunday, got nearly 3/4 of the suggested amount. Yesterday, I didn't even get one-third. *sigh*).

And I'm working at getting through library books ... physical AND online (Overdrive is a great app. you can use it to read books [e-books or audiobooks] on your phone or tablet, borrowed through your library ... well, if your library is part of it. Or, you could do the free ones that are available to everyone and don't count against how many books you can check out. You're limited to six holds at a time ... and TWO hold came in within a day of each other. And you only get them for 14 days. *sigh* I mean, you can check them out again, if there's not a hold on them, of course .....)

But, yeah. Busy girl.
Who also needs to read her scriptures and plan her lesson (which HOPEFULLY won't be observed by the STAKE PRESIDENT next week. Don't get me wrong, I love our Stake President ... but, well, that's a little stressful to be observed. Especially when I COULD AND SHOULD have been a bit better prepared ... and, bless them, but my class was VERY excitable. So it was interesting making sure that we focused and refocused their attention on the topic of showing Christlike love to others. But I was able to tell them about how the Young Women Theme, this month's Relief Society lesson, and the overall goal of "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" all integrate that theme ... and they had some great insights. And we discussed sharing our beliefs with others and HOW to do it best and HOW to show others, through our actions and words, how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them ... and President C did say that I did a great job, so it was a good lesson ... but a little stressful. ^_^) ... among another billion things that I should get done.

Well, I'm almost done with mastery of Fifth Grade math on Khan Academy (humbling, yes ... but I'm working for this. I'm hoping to be done all the way through 8th grade math by the end of the calendar year). And I'm working still on Spanish (Duolingo and Rosetta Stone) and German (Duolingo). And, since my kids are working on Typing.com, I've started there, too.

Michael got home early from work last night and took over being the heavy -- the front rooms look a lot better now. They're going to be working on their room this afternoon. And I need to finish dishes, laundry, clean the hall bathroom, and vacuum. Not that I've done any of that YET.

But Bubbles and I are going to run a couple errands and ... okay, we're back.

Yeah, AWKWARD SEGUE ALERT!

You know you love it. Or something.

But, after while feeling sorry for myself, I took some action.

I messaged one of my friends who I haven't seen in AGES.
And, yes, the message I sent her did sound kind of pathetic.
She'll write back sometime, I'm sure.

Then I checked in with my Roxy-sis ... and we set up a meet-up-in-person book date in a couple weeks. I'm pretty stoked about it.

My mom had called while I was mopey and mucusly-challenged ... and she could tell that I was upset.
She stated that, since old-friend and I had met, she'd gone through a lot that had changed her a bit.
(It's nice when your mom has your back. And, if it were my fault, my mom's cool enough to tell me.)
(Most times, anyways. And in a way that doesn't feel like she's ripping the rug out from under you. Pretty awesome mom, right? [Yes. The answer is YES. There is no other answer.])

And, yeah, that did help me to feel a bit better.

I mean, I still will wonder off and on what happened ... I don't want to blame everything on PTSD or anything. It could very well be that I'm not as good of a person/friend as I would like to be. And I have to live with that.

So ... yeah.

Michael also brought home pizza for dinner. Which meant that I didn't have to cook. Which was nice. And, since he was being the heavy, I could play good-cop. And that was nice ... even though between crying, not drinking enough water, and everything, I did have a headache (nothing that water, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, PastTense, and time couldn't fix.

We watched "The Beautician and the Beast," since it's soon to be off Netflix again. And it'd been ages since I'd seen it (over 15 years ... wow, I'm old). And it was as cute as I recalled. Michael even tolerated it well enough (Hey, he likes "Wing Commander," so I get to enjoy costume dramas and fluffy romances like this. And, yes, I'm willing to be in the room while he's watching his shows ... so it's fine.)

I did tell Michael that I was sorry for being all Mrs. Bennet ... and he got the reference.
(My kids didn't. Time to get them started on Austen movies.)

If you don't get the reference, here's a quick peek:

 

Yeah, not exactly who I want to BE ... though, easy enough to channel at times.

I still need to get caught up on ... many, many things. So many things.

But we (Bubbles and I) went out and returned library books (so that I SHOULDN'T get another fifteen-dollar-and-change fine for late books. *sigh* Yeah, that was last month. It always occurs RIGHT at that point where I start thinking that I have everything together. ... Well, OBVIOUSLY not, huh?) and we picked up milk and a few other things.
She talked me into getting her a book (Hard sell there, right? /sarcasm) which I read to her after lunch (it's a Big Hero 6 book. And I got her to take a nap by telling her that, if she DOES take a good nap, I'm willing to let her watch the movie. #PickYourBattles #Compromise)

Even though I haven't done any of the things that I put on my mental to-do list as I was blearing awake, I DID check the mail. And I cleaned off a good section of the junk counter.And Bubbles and I read through quite a few library books. So that's something ...

Between trying to fill my bucket with drops of awesome, so that I DON'T feel like a total loser and all, I do find myself channeling this video:

(Barats and Bereta - PC Fratboys, if the link's not treating you well.)

Okay, I should go be a little more productive. Those languages aren't going to study themselves. That floor isn't going to vacuum itself. Those dishes? Nope, not going to wash themselves ... no matter how hard I utilize those puppy-dog eyes. The laundry sure isn't going to wash, fold, and put itself away ...

OR, you know, I could just curl up on the couch with a book and watch Pioneer Woman on Netflix or something ... either or.

But I DO need to make dinner tonight for sure.

Heinz Brand Catch-Up (j/k)

Okay, what have I been up to?

About 5'5" ... same since sixth grade. Har har har ...

But, really, let's see ...

Friday, was a little busy ... Michael got home from work after Bubbles and I were trying to get the house a wee bit cleaner (limited success, though). We finally watched "Home" so we could return it to his cousin. (Very cute. And not just because I think Jim Parsons is funny.)
Then we made sure that our temple clothing fit (and, no, my skirt didn't. I need to lose some inches for sure to get it to fit well).

We picked Bruise and Bucket up from school and took all the kids to Grandma's house (to spend the night. FREEEEEEDOM! Don't get me wrong, I love our kids. But it's nice to have a date-date without any children around) and headed up to Portland.

We stopped by Deseret Book. I got a new temple skirt (elastic waistband, so it's a little more forgiving) and I also picked up a copy of the Teaching, No Greater Call manual, since it's often referred to in the lesson outlines for my Sunday School class. We also saw on a crazy-good sale (nearly 75% off) a book that's by an author that we like (and his wife).
(Sure enough, I was able to find what I was searching for in the hardcopy manual ... so I can be better prepared for my lessons.)

We didn't end up needing to bring our temple clothes, since we opted to do Initiatories for the family names that I had in my bag (What? You don't print out family records, have the baptisms and confirmations done, then carry the uncompleted cards in your purse for a year? *bad great-granddaughter/great-niece*) ... I now have the Initiatories completed for two of my great-grandmothers (both of whom I actually met. One, Betty, died when I was four, but I remember her a little. The other one, Alma, I met the summer before my freshman year of high school ... It was due to that visit that I have a soft spot for reading the World Weekly News. :D). Michael had three names (great-grandfathers and my Nana's brother). I also did five names that aren't from my family ... they were all Hungarian and some of the ladies in the records were nearly 300 years old.

After the temple, Michael and I went to Outback Steakhouse (first time -- he had a gift card). It was good (especially the Coco-berry smoothie). We also tried the Bloomin' Onion. He had a sandwich and I had tacos. Everything was really tasty ... spendy, but good. I couldn't finish what I had ordered, so we had leftovers. LOTS of leftovers.

Saturday, we didn't sleep in ... we grabbed a voucher for Free Museum Day and headed up to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Michael had never been ... and it was a good time to go, since we could get in for free. It's a lot different going there without kids (you actually have time to read the signs, OH. MY. GOSH.) and I was able to lead him around a bit. We looked at nearly everything ... though it took us nearly four hours.

Then we stopped by The Pita Pit (our favorite) on the way to pick up the kids.
After we got home, I was tired and COMPLETELY FORGOT about the General Women's Conference broadcast. Whoops!

However, while Bruise and Michael ran to Target and the grocery store, Bucket and I cleaned out the kitchen fridge. Ew.

Sunday was mostly good. We had church. I taught my second lesson in my Sunday School class ... and was observed by the Ward Sunday School President (no pressure, right?) ... I emailed him later "So ... how'd I do?"

He responded, "How do you THINK you did?" (Can you tell that we're friends?)

I typed back, "Well, if you're judging success on how well we stuck to the lesson outline, abysmal.
"But, the students were participating and asking thoughtful questions ... It felt pretty good."

And he the told me that, yes, EVERYONE was participating (even one student who often doesn't) and that he agreed that it went well. Phew!

After we got home from church, I put on the YouTube feed of the Women's Conference session and took my notes on that. Bucket was ... a bit surly. I'm chalking it up to the fact that the kids and their cousins were up until 11 on Friday night. Because of that, and the fact that Bubbles was SHOUTING due to not wanting to fall asleep, we sent the kids to bed a little early ... where they all climbed into ONE bunk and Bruise ended up getting hit in the face by Bubbles, which caused him to bite his lip and there was BLOOD ... and Michael took care of that because I was on the phone with my mom.

(I'm so helpful. As Michael is steering Bruise to the bathroom, I call after them, "Put a drop of Helichrysum on it. It'll help with the bleeding," and assure my mom that, no, she doesn't need to hang up, Michael's got this, it's all cool.)

Michael and I are now four episodes into Gotham.

Jumping back, Michael took the kids to a baptism (Michael had been asked to give a talk at it) ... Bucket, though grumpy, opted to go Visiting Teaching with me. We met my VT companion there and we chatted while waiting (and waiting) for the sister we'd come to teach. She'd forgotten that we were coming (again ... After last month, where we waited for around 15-ish minutes, I thought that I'd cover my bases by texting her this morning. Apparently, I need to text right after church. Ha ha). she did come home ... 45 minutes later, but that was fine. K and I got to talk books in the meantime, so that was fine.

Bucket, though, had snitched my tablet out of my purse without asking, even though she had brought a book, so I wasn't thrilled about that. I instructed her that she SHOULD ask every time. And reminded her of the fact that she's grounded, so she KNOWS that the answer really is no. *sigh*

But, yeah, that's really most of Sunday.

Today ... I should clean the house.
I also need to run out and pick up milk.
And I need to pick up a card for a (retired) coworker of Michael's. A's wife passed on Friday.
Even though the company will be sending a card, Michael strongly feels that he should also send one from our family. And I agree. A was one of Michael's mentors when he started working at his company. It's good to let him know that there are bunches of people thinking of him.

I also wrote a couple of posts for my Sunday School blog ... I should email my students and let them know that those posts are up for them. And get the other email addresses for my other students. Wouldn't it be nice to let them be involved, too? :P

Then I should get caught up on reading my scriptures and get back in the habit of saying more prayers. And I should read the other manuals and prepare more for my class ... the usual.

And work more with Bubbles on reading and writing and numbers and colors ...

But I'm still loving my hair. ^_^

If I had a clever title, it'd go here

I woke up a little earlier than usual. So I'm actually showered already.

But I put on pajamas, so don't be THAT impressed.

Today, during morning devotional with the kids, we got to talking about the whole "don't just love those who love you." (paraphrased from Matthew 5:46-47) ... and I told Bruise and Bucket (and Bubbles, if she was listening) that you can't just be cliquish. And that sometimes, yes, people will act like jerks ... but we have to remember some things:

• S/he is still a child of God.
• Maybe there's something going on in his/her life that we don't know about.
• We can always pray for guidance in helping us understand why [whoever is acting like a poophead] is doing what s/he is doing, so that we can use that inspiration/knowledge to speak to his/her heart ... so that they'll know that we care and are trying/wanting to help.

And Bucket's eyes went wide as she told me, "Mom. That is what I needed to know how to solve a problem with someone at school."

Okay. Phew.

My main goal in doing morning devotional with the kids is that (1) they'll get some scripture-time/pondering-time (nearly) first thing in the morning, (2) they'll have some spiritual armor on to help them through the day, since I can't be there to help guide them constantly (it'd be exhausting and overbearing. I'd rather be reading, truly. :P), and (3) we'll have some time together so that I can have some idea of what's going on in their lives.
There are some other goals, too, of course, but those are the biggies.

And, well, learning that this IS helpful ... it's very validating.

I also had Bruise and Bucket do their Spanish reading in the morning today ... and I had them read scriptures, since we have those in Spanish. And, since today is NOT early release, so they have an hour less to work on homework-stuff and housework after school. (It's only going to get HARDER once Strings lessons and LEGO Robotics start ... *sigh*)

Other things in my life --

I FINALLY got the correct email address for one of the students in my Sunday School class. I misread two letters as numbers ... and his mom was having a devil of a time with it. But she and I persevered ... and I've FINALLY succeeded in emailing him. Phew!

Last night, Michael and I started a bath for Bubbles (Bucket wanted a bath by herself) ... and we both got distracted. When Michael checked on Bubbles, the tub was about an inch from overflowing. Bubbles was happy as a pig in the mud, with the water up to her neck.
(She had been asking to go swimming, so this was pretty much her own private pool. Ha.)

Of course, this was something that needed to be made into a Facebook post, so I grabbed my phone and ordered her to "Cover your parts!" And, well, my Facebook friends seemed to enjoy what we shared of our crazy life

I'm still TRYING to feel prepared for Sunday's lesson.
Right now I'm printing out talks, lessons (for October), and ... well, anything that I think might help me to be more prepared.

We'll see how it goes. I still need to make a questions box, though ... just in case.
Or, until then, my students can just slip me a piece of paper or stick it in my bag or something. I'll find it ... eventually. :P

Michael and I made it to Curriculum Night at the kids' school the other night ... and I left with more questions than answers.
Don't get me wrong. I REALLY like their teachers. But when I asked about what Bruise and Bucket are going to be learning in Social Studies and Science, I was only told that it's integrated into the Math and Language Arts, due to how little instructional time is available vs what all needs to be taught.
Yes, it's an answer, but not exactly what I asked.
(I was looking for something more like, "Well, we're not teaching Social Studies and Science on their own, due to time constraints, but we have integrated units on [countries, cultures, animals, earth science concepts, etc] within the Language Arts and Mathematics that we're teaching." Or something like that.

We also learned, just before we left, that Bruise HAD been falling asleep in class. ... Which was due to his and Bucket's sneaking the tablets into their room. Which lets us know that it was going on for a little while. And that they REALLY can't be trusted with their tablets (which is ANOTHER reason why their tablets have taken a vacation to stay [indefinitely] at my mom's house). *sigh*

So, yeah, I was THAT PARENT and sent a LONG email with the other questions that we didn't have time to address (or fully address) ... along with offers that Michael and I are more than willing to help out in whatever ways we can. If the teachers don't have time to grade homework, it's not like I'm incapable of that (well, maybe slightly incapable in Spanish, since I'm only 46% fluent, according to Duolingo ... and I think they might be giving me too much credit) ...

I just want to know what's going ON.

But we're glad that the kids DID bring home homework packets Tuesday. Math, cursive (since it's not required for Common Core, it's not taught in the classroom), and a Spanish reading assignment with a multiple-choice assessment for comprehension. This is along with a reading log with student-set reading goals for reading in English AND Spanish.

Bruise and Bucket ALSO brought home a sheet about Typing.com with their log-in information so they can practice at home (optional) ... Bruise's didn't work, so I had to make an educated guess at the Technology teacher's school email (I got it right) and she let me know that Bruce's username was already taken -- and gave me the new username, so we were able to log him in. Phew!

I also read over the sheets that the P.E. and Music teachers had prepared.
The one surprising thing was that the P.E. teacher stated that if students come to P.E. without appropriate footwear (athletic shoes), they wouldn't be able to participate AND receive a failing grade for that day. ... I ran that by my mom, a retired teacher, and she said that it didn't sound legal. So, in my email to their kids' teachers, I mentioned that I was concerned about the kids receiving failing grades since my daugher OFTEN wears sandals/boots/non-athletic shoes to school and I hadn't been made aware of which days she has P.E., so I can't help her with that.
(And the P.E. teacher is a first-year teacher, so I don't want to lambast him with anything ... but, instead of stating that parents could just ask their children's teachers about which days they have P.E., it'd be cool if he'd put a small schedule on there with which animal groups have P.E. on which days. ... Yes, kids are sorted by groups with animal names. It makes it easier to keep track of which class they're in, since around 2/3 of the students are in TWO classrooms with the Bilingual program.)

Yes, I know, I know. I'm a hard woman to please.
I'm aware.

I'm also a woman with a headache, so I should go pop some acetaminophen and rub some essential oils on my temples ... and get dressed so that I can take Bubbles to storytime. And clean the house. And fold and put away more laundry. And wash more laundry. And prepare my lesson(s). And read books. And feed my family healthy things. And ...

Yo-yo-yiggity-yo

Yeah, I know it's bad when my MOM says to me, out of the blue, "So, just how long has it been since you blogged?"

A long time.
A DANG long time.

So, let's see what's gone on, in a nutshell, since then.

CUE THE MONTAGE!

• My mom had another birthday. She's 29 again, which makes it awkward ... since I'm older than her. I know, I know ... She CLAIMS that she's 39 again now, but that only gives me four years and a few months until I catch up again.
  (Joking, joking ... she admits to her age. And not just because she gets a discount at the bread store. I just like to give her some ribbing about her being younger than me.)
  (And you have to realize that this is coming from ME ... the girl who still claims that her Nana is 57. Since Nana was 57 for YEARS. When she turned 80, I even sent her flowers that said "Happy 57th Birthday, Nana!" which REALLY confused her for a bit. And not just because she has dementia. Once I explained that I really DID know that she's NOT 57, she did think it was funny.)
• Bucket is worried about her Betta fish, Blue. His fins are getting really beat up. And he's not as active. But we've had him for a few years, so We're just going to make his end-of-life days as pleasant as possible. ... So I should probably clean out the fish tank.
• I was caught up in doing the dishes for a little while. Not anymore. And I have laundry up the wahzoo happening here (I have underthings in the wash so that I'll HAVE underthings tomorrow. Yeah, that's probably TMI ... but I WAS concentrating on getting the KIDS' stuff cleaned first. Oh well.)
• I was released from my calling as Nursery Leader in our ward (church congregation in Mormon-speak). I did FINALLY get that bulletin board (Apparently, they had installed a bulletin board MONTHS ago ... in some other room in the building. Ha! But ours was installed  on the 6th. And I busted my buns to get the bulletin board planned and put together before I was released ... which was officially done last week.)
• My new calling at church is Sunday School teacher for the 12- and 13-year-olds. There IS a manual, but it's online and there's just GUIDELINES as far as topics go. I feel quite ill-prepared ... but we'll see how it goes. (Hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife, hide yo' husbands, 'cause Allanna's in charge of teaching the youths!)
• I got together everything for Bruise and Bucket's registration for the local Strings classes. Bruise will be in the Beginners' level class again. Bucket has moved up to Intermediate. And I have their registration filled out, their scholarship applications done, the check written out ... so we're ready to turn this in before the due date!
• I started doing Khan Academy more. I've mastered K-4 math and am 74% through 5th grade math. (I had originally thought to start with Algebra. HA HA HA. No. My skills are waaaaay too rusty. But y'all should be proud of me for persevering. Math was not my forte ... because I feel quite intimidated by it. But I'm working my way through it.
• I'm also back into doing my DuoLingo ... but only German and Spanish. With my 15-day streak (so far), I got caught back up with all my skills and have even surpassed where I had been. It tells me that I'm 42% fluent in Spanish and 31% fluent in German. So that's nice.
• I FINALLY got our Rosetta Stone program installed on the computer. The main problem that I had was when I tried to install from online, the language packs were ALL incomplete. So I had to have their Customer Service help me (She deleted the incomplete packs and let me reinstall them anew from the discs I have). Phew!
• The kids FINALLY cleaned their room. FINALLY.
• Bubbles is starting "Mutti Preschool" -- My mom is now working with Bubbles to make sure that she's learning the skills she'll need for Kindergarten. Yesterday, they made a poster with a picture. They concentrated on words with the letter "o." Mom was actually impressed by how much Bubbles has already learned (huzzah!) ... though, little Homeskillet there really likes to make poop-jokes. So there you have it.
• I'm determined to change my hair again. People like the light blonde ... but, well, it really just doesn't FEEL like me. And the upkeep is a little crazy, since I don't like having visible roots that much. But it was a good experience.
• We went to the local Renaissance Faire last weekend. Bruise came home with a new wooden sword and shield. Bucket adopted a new "pet" dragon (I've taken to referring to her as "The Babysitter of Dragons."), and I got some perfume oils. Bubbles didn't make any requests, but she did wear her cloak from last year nearly the entire time.
• After the Faire, the kids went home with Mom C (who watched them) while Michael and I bought LEGO Minifigs (I totally have the banshee now. And she's awesome!) then went out to dinner with our friends Mark and Lacey (who are finally moving a lot closer than they've been!). It was lots of fun to get together with them.
• My van died on Thursday morning. Bubbles and I had driven (not far) to go shopping (Bruise needed a new watch -- and I got one on clearance for only a couple more dollars than just getting a watchband cost ... and I had bought and returned TWO watchbands by that point ... and I needed flour after having made 5 batches of playdough for the Nursery cupboard [If you really care, here's the rundown: Pink/Vanilla-scented, Orange/Wild Orange-scented, Blue/Peppermint-scented, Green/Lime-scented, and Purple/Lavender-Vanilla-scented]) ... so it was good that it was within walking distance and that I did have a stroller in the back. I locked up the van and left it in the parking lot and waited for Michael to get home from work to jump it so we could get it home. ...
  Friday, we took it to Les Schwab (after jumping it AGAIN) to see if it was the battery (which was under warranty) ... AND IT WAS. So, $3.55 later, I have a BRAND NEW battery in my van WHICH RUNS. I had such a crazy amount of relief running through me that it's a wonder I didn't faint. I know that it's totally a first world problem and all ... but I'm glad that it was fixed before I have to run the kids to Strings lessons (and, eventually maybe, LEGO Robotics in Bruise's case) AND that it was such a cheap fix. SERIOUSLY, it was awesome and I'm really thankful, since we'd been PRAYING a lot.
• Bad news - one of my aunts has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
  Good news - Her MRI showed that it's just that one bit and it should be taken out and treated and stuff soon. Another answer to prayers. Phew.
• Bubbles is a bit low in her iron-count, so I need to be working to get her to eat more iron-rich foods. But she's 28 pounds now (at 3 1/2 years), so that's good.
• Bruise had a few Cub Scout meetings. Last week was the bicycle rodeo. ... Bruise and Bucket have outgrown their bikes. Looks like Santa knows what to get them, huh?
• Michael got another promotion ... "But it doesn't come with a pay raise," he told me. And that was ... okay. I mean, it's great that they can charge more for his work and it's more responsibility ... then we learned that, no, it does have a raise. Which is nice. 
• We went to a friends' house for dinner Monday night. Another family in the ward who we like and have worked along with the parents in different callings. We had a BBQ and talked a lot and it was fun. The kids (theirs and ours) were jumping on the trampoline. Their 14-year-old son and I talked a bunch.
  (He's a joker, which is fun. I went to shake his hand and he finagled it so that I grabbed his forearm instead. Which made me laugh like when Robert Gere shuts the necklace box on Julia Roberts' hand in Pretty Woman. You can watch that on YouTube, that clip, if you don't know the reference.)
• Did I mention that Michael's spoiled me with LEGO?
  He bought me the Mystery Machine and the Big Bang Theory set. They're sitting on my printer right now. ^_^
• I was feeling so chipper friday, after the van's battery was replaced, that Bubbles and I baked Orange and Raspberry Sherbet cookies (it was out of a boxed mix). She had lots of fun. And I did, too, with my cute sous chef.
• Other, further back catch-ups: We met with my friend, Brooke, for lunch; we went to Pioneer Days in my hometown with my stepdad's nephew and his wife (both LOVELY people. Jeff, my step-cousin, REALLY wanted to buy "the princess" [Bubbles] cotton candy ... which he did. And, golly, that cotton candy was GINORMOUS. Jeff would have bought more than one, and I'm so glad that he didn't! It was big enough for our family to share ... I have a picture of Bubbles "helping" to hold it and ... well, it looks nearly as big as SHE is!); we went swimming at the local outdoor pool a bunch; Bruise and Bucket finished up their swimming lessons with Bob at the indoor pool ... We went to the Art and Air Festival (no henna tattoo this time). The kids and I went with Cousin Kathleen and her son to the Air and Space Museum in McMinnville. We got to visit Nana and that side of the family. We now have Nana's other couch. I had a PTC meeting (I have this month's coming up TOMORROW evening) where we met the new principal. We went to the kids' Open House at school and met their teachers. The kids have started school (Fourth graders. I have TWO fourth graders!). I got Visit Taught, which hadn't happened in a LONG time. We had a playdate over at Robyn's -- Bruise and Bucket played with her kids (Bubbles did for a bit then played on my phone) and Robyn and I got caught up and worked at setting up a shelf for homeschooling ... which is bittersweet, since Bruise and her son are besties and have always been in the same classes ... until now *sigh* ... It just means that I need to be more proactive about setting up playdates, right?
  Michael and Bubbles and Bucket also went to the Stake Daddy-Daughter camp-out last month. They had a great time.
  And Bruise had fun staying up late and getting to eat ice cream OUT OF THE CONTAINER, which was pretty awesome. ^_^
• We're working our way through The Chronicles of Narnia (saying that always makes me think of that SNL music video, "Lazy Sunday"). We're now into Prince Caspian, which means that (since we started with The Magician's Nephew) we're nearly halfway through the series.
• Michael and I are reading through the rest of L.J. Smith's Forbidden Game series. We just started the third and final book last night ... so, in a few more days, I can actually TALK to him about it. (TBH, he's still waiting for me to read through a few books [*cough**cough*The Scorch Trials, The Death Curse, The Kill Order, Hollow City, Jackaby, The Westing Game, etc *cough**cough*] so we can talk about THOSE.)
  He's also reading Code Name Verity and Ready Player One (we started that one together, so he's nearly halfway through it).
  I still need to also read The Night Circus before it's due back at the library. And I have, like, a metric ton of other books in my TBR pile. #BibliophleProbs
• I've been working to be better at reading my scriptures and praying and all ... so I have a prayer journal going. It seems to help me focus a little more as I'm writing my prayers down. I still say prayers, too. In case you were worried.
  I'm getting close to finishing Numbers in the Old Testament. Doctrine and Covenants were harder to get through, since it's not at all in chronological order. But, if I keep with this reading schedule, I'll be through the Standard Works by next fall.
  And I'm also more than halfway through the 40-day General Conference reading challenge. I try to stay a day ahead ... so when I got THREE DAYS behind, you know that I fell off the wagon there for a bit. BUT I'm caught up ... just need to get a day ahead again.
  

And so, you see that between taking care of kids, taking care of the house, trying to stay abreast of studying scriptures and foreign languages (well, just two for now), and getting sucked into Facebook and the internet, I didn't MEAN to neglect you. It just happened.

Now, I should do some math, German, Spanish, and then go shopping and drop off the kids' Strings registration and application for scholarships, then get Bubbles fed and down for a nap and read my scriptures and conference talks and pray and write in that journal and .... maybe take a nap, too.

Still alive! Promise!!

So, it's been over a month since I last posted. ... Um ... WHOOPS!

Life got super-busy there for a bit with Christmas plans and Bruise, Bucket, Bubbles, and me all getting sick. (Bruise actually stayed home for a day. That's pretty hardcore.) We all had what I like to call the plague/creeping crud.

Fevers were ran. Noses were blown (and blown and blown and blown). Coughs were coughed (incessantly). Naps were taken. Steamy showers were showered. Essential oils were used (In fact, I ran OUT of my doTERRA Breathe. Oy and vey on that.)

I ended up with a sinus infection, which caused me to spend most of the Christmas vacation without a sense of smell or taste. *sigh*

And I ended up spending a couple of days in bed during December as well.
Michael rounded up a friend from church and Bruise, Bubbles, and I all received a Priesthood blessing for healing (instead of just father's blessings for the kids and a couple of blessings of comfort for me) ... and I can definitely say that we really turned the corner after that.

I can also say that I have an even greater appreciation for essential oils now, too. Using a neti pot with (added to the saline solution) rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, Breathe (respiratory blend), and frankincense? AMAZING. Just twice a day for a couple days and my sinus infection ended. EOs + blessings = AWESOME.

And, since I used a few drops of basil around my ears every so often, I managed to escape coming down with an ear infection. Phew.

We're still coughing a bit. I think mine's a mix of allergies and heartburn. FUN! But at least my cough isn't rattling/crinkling in my chest any longer. Phew.

Christmas was good ... we did Christmas Eve here at our house. Mom and Aunt J came up (C, my stepdad, wasn't feeling well that day, so he stayed home). We ate a nice holiday dinner and opened presents.

Christmas morning was just our family. Lots of fun (with LEGO involved, fun is guaranteed, yes?). And then we had Christmas afternoon/evening with Michael's side of the family. (Minus T1 and her family, since she had JUST given birth to our newest nephew that morning.)

Since we didn't get Michael's bonus before Christmas (well, we have the check ... we just can't deposit it until another few things are paid to the company), we had to play as cheaply as we could. It made buying presents a little bit of an adventure ... but we made it.

We also ended up taking the kids to Astoria for the day. Bruise and I made it all the way up the Astoria Column (Bucket has a thing about heights -- gets it from her dad. She came with us up to the second landing inside ... and then we walked her back down to hang with Michael and Bubbles).
After all that, can you blame my left calf for being crazy sore? ... I ended up with a cramp in my calf that lasted for nearly a week. At least it went away before my sinus infection did, right?

But we had fun. We also took the kids to Fort Clatsop where they got to earn their Junior Rangers badges. (FUN program, by the by. Highly recommended!)

With vacation and everything, we've changed our morning devotionals for the time being. Instead of learning/singing a hymn (from either the hymnal or the children's songbook), then reading the scripture that goes with it, then reading about the history of that song ... well, we're doing more of a smorgasboard of simpler things.

We go through their next lesson for Sunday School (so they'll be a little more prepared ... they have a small class, so might as well help the teacher get some added participation, right?). Another day, we'll cover what will be talked about in Primary/Sharing Time. ... and we go on from there.
Since we haven't yet seen our Home Teacher this month (like I have any room to talk. I haven't done my Visiting Teaching yet, either), we read and discussed the Home Teaching message for the month. The next day, we talked about the Visiting Teaching lesson (and I thanked the kids for giving me an opportunity to prepare to discuss it with my VT sisters). Today, we read an article on 5 things that youth should know about fasting ... and we talked about why fasting is important and how it helps us and others. And we talked a little about testimonies.
(Really, what would I do without Pinterest??)

So, today Bubbles and I are doing housework (I've been reading a lot of library books before they're overdue, so I'm a little behind in things). Then, after school, I'm taking my kids and two of their friends that I'm watching (with parental permission) to the church so I can donate blood. THEN I'll be carting everyone over to the school (again) for PTC ... and Michael will pick up our brood. Their friends' mom or dad will swing by and pick up the friends.

Bruise and Bucket had their rehearsal for their Strings Concert last night ... they had to miss Cub Scouts and Activity Days (and, since their concert is next week, they'll miss those activities AGAIN. Oh well). But Bruise's new den leader is AMAZEBALLS, y'all. I let her know that he wouldn't be there for the next two weeks (yesterday and next week) ... and she emailed me a detailed report of what they're working on and what I can do to help him pass these things off, too ... It's awesome.
Compare this to his last den ... I'd email the couple in charge and ... I'd never hear from them at all.  Yeah, Sister M is pretty dang amazing. Not like I didn't already know that. It's just even more established now.

For the next term of Strings lessons, though, we'll move the kids into the afternoon class. This way they'll get some more sleep. Sure, I'll have to pick them up from school ... but it's late enough that it shouldn't interfere with Bubbles' nap or anything. We'll make it work.

Also, during vacation, we worked on Bruise's arrow points for Wolf. He'll be getting some silver arrows for me to sew onto his shirt next month. Good times.
Just in time for us to work on his Bear badge, right?

I know that I've left out about a bazillion things (that's what happens when one doesn't blog for over a month, right?) ... but I've got lots of stuff to do and not nearly enough time to get EVERYTHING I want to get done completed.

In related news, I painted the drawer fronts in the bathroom and reattached the (spray painted) handles. I have ONE (of four) of the sink cupboard doors painted and reattached. One door is being painted. I painted the door frame and the other end of the big cupboard (now to finish all the sink cupboard doors just to take off EIGHT cupboard doors for the big cupboard ... and paint the rest of the base of THAT, then all the doors ... and spray paint all the hardware for THAT) ... then, once we replace the fan and the light and clean up everything, we'll just have to install baseboards and crown molding ... and eventually replace the shower, toilet, and bathtub, right? Oh, and the over the mirror light fixtures. And touch up the blue paint again ... AND replace the door (we want to make it WAY better by having a door on the sliding barn-door hardware instead of one that really cuts into the room when you open it. If it weren't a load-bearing wall, Michael would have converted it to a pocket door YEARS ago.

Then to tape and texture and paint the hallway (and, if we're doing that, I would like to paint all the doors. Where's the bathroom? That's the green door in the hallway. Where's the garbage? Past the ___ door in the hallway-- just around the corner in there, by the litterbox ... You know, that sort of thing.) ... Then we can redo the kids' bathroom (tape/texture/paint, new light. Change the counter in there (so you can actually work on the toilet easily without a stupid counter in the way). Add some storage and make it a better guest bathroom.

We would like to build on ... turn the existing kids' room into a playroom and build two more bedrooms (one for Bruise, one for the girls). And it'd be nice to tape/texture/paint the kitchen ... maybe add a little backsplash. Reframe the lights ... Paint the cabinets. Redo the floor ... That sort of stuff. (DIY is kind of addictive. And a little spendy. I keep thinking, "Hmmm ... I could REALLY use a paint sprayer. Then I could paint ALL THE DOORS for the cabinets AT ONCE! ... Well, one SIDE of them, anyways.")

But, yeah. I have a house to clean, food to make, cabinet doors to paint, books to read, scriptures to read ... a blood drive to attend, kids to watch, a PTC meeting to take notes at (which involves skipping my Relief Society meeting ... I hope someone will take notes. I really am bummed at having to miss this one.) ... I'm swamped!

Well, I'm not dead ... Just busy and lazy ...

Wowzers ... it's been a while. Like a WHOLE MONTH (and some extra days).

Whoops.

Now to TRY and get caught up on what all has gone on around here ...

Let's see ...
We'll start with Halloween ...

Bruise was the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). Bucket was her own version of Madeline/Maddie Hatter (from Ever After High). Bubbles opted to go as Princess Sofia the First (it was either that or Princess Anna from Frozen). We went to the mall for their trick-or-treating, then stopped by a neighbor's house, then went to a local Halloween party for all the kids. Bruise and Bucket ran into their friends (that sometimes come over after school so I can keep an eye on them since their folks are both working for a while).

We helped my dad and L move some of their big things (like my dad's shop contents) to their new house. It was a (busy) day trip. They had ME order the pizza for dinner ... and I got two of their addresses mixed up, so pizza took just a little longer to arrive. Whoops!
(That'll teach them, right?) ... But, on the bright side, Michael and I got the wifi password for their new place. So we're ready for spending the night in the future. (And Bruise and Bucket LOVE the cupboard under the [garage] stairs. They feel JUST like proper Muggles, I tell you!)

Freyja-cat got her shots. And Bubbles got to pet the office cat at the vet's.
Bruise, Bucket, and I have all joined Bubbles in getting OUR flu shots (Michael never gets one).

We had a gamut of disease going on in our house: Bruise came down with a case of pink-eye. He shared it with Bubbles (giving eye drops to a toddler? AWFUL). Bubbles got a double ear infection ... right as she was done battling a case of impetigo (on her leg and back). Bucket also came down with an ear infection (just the one, though).
And I STARTED to come down with a cold. But, thanks to my array of DoTERRA samples, I kept that puppy at bay. Phew. Since I didn't have time to be sick anyways.

Bruise got to be in his first Veterans Day parade ... in related news, I got my first traffic ticket for making a right turn without coming to a complete stop as I RUSHED to drop him off (and, of course, I shouldn't have stressed/rushed, since NO ONE WAS THERE FOR ME TO DROP HIM OFF WITH so that the girls and I could go downtown and get a spot for the parade. *SIGH*).
This is my life.

It appears that Freyja-cat has more special needs ... in this case, besides her standing prescription for "kitty-Prozac," she also is showing signs of a food allergy ... so the fact that she'd licked off most of the fur on her hindquarters was related to the fact that she's my SPESHUL BAYBEE and I need to get her some non-poultry/non-corn based food at the local feed store.

The kids have had a lot of time off school ... two days for Veterans Day ... and a whole week for Thanksgiving. It's been nice, getting to sleep in and all that. But they were missing school ... what will they do later this month when they have TWO WEEKS away from class?
(Answer: They'll finish their second-grade workbooks, drink lots of hot cocoa, clean their room, and visit family! That's what!)

Bruise's picture retakes came back. They're ... better.
But this is why I don't pay full price for them (online coupons!!) and why we get FAMILY portraits done ... so that I can MAKE SURE he looks decent and actually SMILES with his eyes and all.
(I love my son. But if he brings back home ONE more picture where he looks like a stoned juvenile, OY TO THE VEY, Y'ALL.)

We had parent-teacher conferences before Thanksgiving week.
The kids are doing well in everything ... they are being progress monitored for Spanish. But their teachers are sure that they'll reach the standards goal by the end of the year.
Also, Bruise has been falling asleep in class.
I think that for the next session of Strings lessons, we'll be moving to the afternoon class.

We got our house decorated for Christmas. The kids helped decorate the tree for FHE (Family Home Evening) last night. I got my nativities set up ... and my Charlie Brown Christmas tree. And my Linus-as-a-shepherd figurine. Michael got lights up on the house.
We have a star on our tree this year ... it's time to try something new, right?

The other thing to write about is that Michael and I have been working on our bathroom. Two weekends ago, we textured the walls (finally) and I started painting. I put white primer on the ceiling (it was NEEDED) and spray painted the fan cover with white spray paint (it looks TONS better). Then Michael and I painted the walls. They're now the slightest whisper of blue.

Today, I put primer on one side of our (huge) cupboard in there and primed the window sill and frame. In a bit, if it's dry, I'll start to paint that the other color we picked out -- the cabinets and cupboard and trim around the mirrors will be a dove grey. And I'll need to spray paint the trim around the shower and tub white ... and OF COURSE it's started freezing, so I'll need to figure out how/where to do that.

Michael also put up some shelves for me. Now I can get all my stuff off the counters, right?
He's also putting up some shelves above the toilet. And he got me a shelf-thing for the bathtub, which is awesome. Once I get that window painted and the trim back around the tub, I can load that up and the bathtub will look tons better.

We really didn't do much Black Friday shopping this year. Just went out in the afternoon to pick up some stuff for the bathroom ... and we hit Target for the DVDs. (Great Gatsby, the Baz Luhrman version, for $4? Don't mind if I do!)

I also need to take the hardware off the cupboard doors so that I can spray paint it ... it'll either be white (to pop against the grey cabinets), brushed nickel (to coordinate with the tub shelving, our new toilet paper holder, and the towel rack we're going to buy ... and the new faucets we haven't bought yet), or oil-rubbed bronze (for added contrast). We'll see.
But, again, since the weather's turned, it's going to be a challenge to figure out how/where to spray them all.

Michael also put in a dimmer switch for the bathroom lights. And we'll be replacing the light fixtures (and the old fan) sometime.

It's really coming along, though. We've been in here for about seven years now. You'd hardly recognize the bathroom. And it's just getting better and better. (and it'll be amazing once I get stuff organized/get rid of a lot of junk ... HOARDER!!)

And I've been reading some library books lately.

One of our Christmas traditions is reading "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."
We finished it last night.
I cried. Like I ALWAYS do.
Every year, I think, "MAYBE I can get through it THIS year without crying."
Nope.
And Michael says that he's glad for that. Apparently, my crying at the end of it is another of our Christmas traditions.
I'm also going to read the kids (again) "A Christmas Carol." ... And, if we can make it, "The Forgotten Carols," since I LOVE that story.

Since it'd been AGES since I last watched "While You Were Sleeping," (and technically, it's a holiday movie!) we watched it (again) last night. ... I'm still so very impressed with how awesome the writing is and how VERY well the casting is. Everyone plays their parts so darn well! And it's wonderfully quotable. Yeah, I adore it something fierce.

My Christmas present from my mom arrived -- She got me a DoTERRA kit. And I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Thanksgiving night, Bubbles was starting to HACK-cough. I got her home, slathered a few drops of Breathe and OnGuard on her ... she slept through the night without coughing at all. Pretty awesome. And I'm enjoying my diffuser. My DoTERRA gal came over to teach me about how to use my stuff and using the LRP (loyalty rewards points) for ordering and all that. AND to bring me some freebies and my bottle of Holiday Joy (Bucket's favorite. Bruise really likes Wild Orange. And Lemongrass).

I've only had them for about a week now, and they've come in VERY handy. So that's nice. And I'm saving a lot of the stuff for Christmas. Unless Michael needs me to get out the Deep Blue (muscle) Rub. But I'm looking forward to trying the OnGuard toothpaste and all.

Okay. Time to paint some more.

Paddleboats, Pinterest, Parenting, and Disappointment

It's been a busy last few (six) days.

I skipped the playdate last week ... Mom came up and we went out to McDonald's (the kids love it!) ... Bucket ate a salad instead of getting a kids' meal. Her choice. And they all loved playing at the PlayPlace.
We also went to Wal-Mart and got ice cream.

Thursday was a special bank day -- the kids get certain "dollars" for deposits into their savings account to buy some toys/things. And, once a year, there's a day that the toys are on a sale and all the kids who go to the bank get a goodie bag. ... And this was the first year we made it. Bruise got a light-wand (which Bubbles tripped while holding, so that didn't last too long) and a flashlight. Bucket got one of those little purses with a fake dog in it. Bubbles got a little white stuffed doggie and a light-up tambourine.

I also tried to be a good granddaughter and called my Nana. She really can't hear well over the phone, which is unfortunate ... but she did enjoy the fact that I called.

Friday, after we worked at cleaning up a bit, after Michael got home from work, we went to the local play-pool ... and played for a couple hours. Bruise and Bucket went down the huge waterslide a few times. Bubbles got to work on her swimming, since she wasn't wild about climbing on the kids' structure or the little waterslide.
Then she napped HARD at home ... about 4PM until about 10PM ... So we made sure she ate dinner. Then she and I watched cat videos on YouTube for about an hour and I put her back to bed for the night.

Saturday, we were pretty busy. Went to a few stores. Michael helped a family move in. Took the kids to the mall's kids' club (petting zoo, bubbles, painting, sidewalk chalk, and prizes this time. Bruise chose a Hot Wheels car. Bucket opted for little bracelets (which broke within an hour, really), and Bubbles got a little Winnie-the-Pooh puzzle). We took the kids to the paddleboats. Michael went with all three kids while I took pictures from the shore.
I was chatting with another gal. Who mentioned her father's name ... turns out she's the daughter of one of my stepdad's good friends from when my stepdad lived up here. So, we chatted about family (I went to the same ward as her younger brother) ... we're friends on Facebook now. She's a lovely person (I knew ABOUT her for years before we ran into each other. Everyone loves her. As they should).

Then we all went to Costco and to our ward (congregation) BBQ social.
We got home late ... the kids were in bed nearly two hours after their bedtime.
Michael and I watched an episode of Portlandia and soaked our feet.

Sunday started out pretty well. I didn't yell TERRIBLY much. *sigh*
But I also did totally lose track of time while checking my email then starting to read the lessons for Sunday School and Relief Society. Oops.
We were ALMOST late. We left twenty minutes later than I usually do ... but we were still there before the opening prayer. Which tells you how terminally early I am for church on a regular basis. Heh heh heh.

Monday, the missionaries (we have sisters in our ward right now) came over to do laundry. The kids and I had worked to keep the house clean. It worked. (Especially after all the work we did to clean the front rooms before my Visiting Teachers came over Sunday afternoon.)
Good times. We have three great sisters serving in our ward. And it's really nice for Bruise, Bucket, and Bubbles to develop friendships with them and to help serve them.

Mom called, telling me that it didn't look like she could come up this week ... which is doubly sad, since it'd be her birthday, too. So I called my Aunt J so she knew that the trip probably wasn't happening.

It's even sadder when your mom is trying not to cry over the phone. Poor mom. :(

Last night (being EARLY Tuesday morning, I wake up to the home phone ringing.
It's my stepdad. He's not speaking very clearly ... something about "hospital."

I'm awake and it's not even 2AM. I debate on what to do.
I call his cell phone, since he's obviously awake.
He tells me, slurring a little (he takes some strong meds), that he's fallen out of bed and has "broken his hip." Could I call Mom (in the bedroom next to his) and have her take him to the ER?
I tell him that I will. And that, if the paramedics DO end up coming, they'll have to break down a door, since he locks the doors.

So, I call Mom's cell ... she's asleep and doesn't answer (or her cell isn't in her bedroom ... they used to have working home phones, but my stepdad keeps saying that he'll fix the phone line ... and he hasn't. It's been a few months now).

So, I leave a voicemail on her phone, letting her know what's going on. And that I hope C hasn't really broken his hip. And that I hope it's really nothing, he gets back in bed, and she has a happy (relaxing) birthday.

I call HIS phone back ... which he doesn't answer ... which tells me that his hip is probably NOT broken, since you can't sleep through pain like that that quickly.

Well, about ten minutes later (I find out LATER), she checks on him ... and takes him to Emergency where he's adamant that he's broken his back. (He hasn't. Not even a fracture.) But the workers there couldn't understand him (slurring/garbled), but when Mom mentioned that he has been diagnosed with dementia, they're all, "Oh!! Yeah, that explains that. Since a fall off the bed wouldn't affect his speech like that."

So, Mom called at 6AM (probably when they got home from the ER) to explain and apologize. Apparently, he's done this to his kids. And he told Mom that she left him lying on the floor (screaming and calling) for hours. (Really, MAYBE 30 minutes. And he THINKS he's being loud, but is mumbling). So, yeah.

So, I had inspiration while in the shower. I called the local florist down there and had some flowers sent over for Mom's birthday. And then I helped do a kiva.org loan (An Ecuadorian gal now has that last bit of funding to start growing soybeans and corn).

Took that kids to their last swim lesson. Bubbles and I swam for a little over an hour, too.

And now I'm tired.
And still a bit bummed for my mom.
But ... oh well.

It's June already? Whaaaaa?

Okay, I can't believe that it's nearly June (probably not helped by the fact that our Whiteboard calendar still says March ... since there's a HUGE lamp (from my Nana and Pop-pop's house) that makes it harder to change that up.

(I need to move the lamp to the top of a bookshelf to replace a different lamp there. BUT in order to do THAT, I have to empty that bookshelf enough to move it out, unplug the FIRST lamp, plug in the second lamp and reshelf all the books on that. AND in order to do THAT, I have to move Bruise's little table so that I can access the bookshelf! #smallhouseproblems)

But, yeah, what have I been doing with myself lately?
Gosh, let's think ...

• Last weekend, Michael took the big kids to a Youth Outdoor Day at a nearby wildlife park.
  They got to try fishing, Bucket painted a duck decoy and built a birdhouse, they posed for a picture in a gianormous Chinook model, they won prizes -- Bruise has a little folding camp stool and Bucket won herself a pink fishing pole. They also came home with lots of swag: little backpacks, "training knives" that they got to build and can use to practice the rules of having a real pocket knife, two shirts ... it was really impressive.
• Our kids' school also had their Family Fun Day. We went and ... had fun!
  Bruise was able to hit the target for the dunking tank. Bucket and Bubbles got their faces painted (a kitty "mask" and a little bunny on her cheek, respectively). The kids all got balloon animals (a sword for Bruise. Bucket opted for a kitty to match her mask -- they had a special heart-shaped balloon just for the cat's head, and a bunny for Bubbles). Bruise got a book at the book walk (like a cakewalk, but with books). Bubbles won a book on her first try at the bookwalk. Bubbles decided she wasn't interested this time. Her loss.
  We also picked up some sodas with the leftover tickets. Then we got pizza for dinner.
• Sunday, I was doing Bucket's hair and found a louse. Ugh.
  Then, while sitting on the pew at church, I had a louse crawling on my shirt ... from Bruise.
  YES, I have two kids with lice. UGH.
  So, after Sacrament Meeting (like Mass/Communion), I broke the Sabbath since I had to run to Wal-Mart and load up my arsenal.
  Once Michael brought the kids home, I used that special, stinky shampoo on Bruce and Bucket (and checked Bubbles' hair ... and Michael's hair. And he checked my hair. Repeatedly.
  I treated their beds with the lice-killer-spray. We combed through until there wasn't anything else to find.
  I can tell that we caught it pretty early. Only a few adults. Only a few nymphs.
  Still, I'm itchy just writing it down.
  And that made for a metric buttload of laundry to do.
  I let their teacher(s) at school know ... just to be responsible.
  WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN ON A SUNDAY? I just want to know.
  I blame Satan for this.
• Monday, I got the kids signed up for the local library's Summer Reading Program.
  Lately, we've taken a break from the Lemony Snickett book we're in the middle of (we've been getting started with story-story/the bedtime story a little late, so we don't have time to read a chapter each night) ... Randomly, Bucket brought me "The Green Kingdom" volume of my Childcraft books. We'll finish it tonight. I'm glad that the kids are enjoying it so much.
  During Summer, we'll be able to get through some more books a bit faster, I think. We can finish "Who Can It Be at This Hour?" ... maybe get through "The Princess Academy" and some other books. ... Debating on reading them "Sabriel." So many books, so little time!
• Tuesday, I woke myself up by having a bad dream where I found multiple louse nymphs doing Bucket's hair. Glad THAT was a nightmare.
  Michael had basketball that night. He ended up pulling a muscle in his upper thigh a bit.
  He jokes that, since his season he's (1) jammed his thumb, (2) borked his bad knee, (3) pulled a muscle in his upper arm/shoulder, (4) pulled a muscle in his upper thigh, all that's left for him to do (tonight, since it's the last game) is either stub his toe or take a head shot.
  I told him, PLEASE let it be the toe. Because, with the kids in bed by the time he's playing, I can't drive over to the church to drive him home with a concussion.
  
  Also, while he was at basketball on Tuesday night, and I was watching "My Cat From Hell" on Netflix, curled up with Freyja-cat, I hear *cough cough cough GAG CRY!!* from Bubbles.
  I run into the kids' room. She's sitting in her bed with two handfuls of dinner-vomit in her hands.
  Amazingly, she only got the slightest bits on her dress and a blanket.
  I clean her up, brush her teeth, and put her back to bed in clean jim-jams and a coating of VapoRub.
  
  About ten minutes later, ... *cough cough* "MOOOOOOM!!! [BUBBLES] THREW UP AGAIN!!"
  It's still a really small amount -- on her pillowcase and her pajamas ... and her bunnies' ears smell kinda funky (they get washed the next morning).
  Get her cleaned up, add a dose of Children's Pepto, a smidgen of cough syrup, clean pajamas. And wish for the best.
  
  Michael gets home shortly after that. I tell him of the excitement he's missed as he limps with that pulled muscle in his thigh.
  
  We go to bed, think about maybe getting a little intimate ... THEN *cough cough GAG*
  
  Well, I can report that Bubbles DID NOT throw up ... but she was in our bed (not coughing or gagging) for the rest of the night. ... Best laid plans, right?
  
• So, after that eventful and un- night, I aired out the kids' room. Just in case it was the lice-killer spray off-gassing that was aggravating Bubbles' lungs (seems like that was the trick. She slept like a log last night).
  My mom came up for a visit. We eventually went to the store to pick up snacks and dinner with the kids. (Bruise was hankering for fish sticks. Yeah. I know.)
  It was a nice visit. We chatted and I shared random videos and websites with her. The usual. We also talked about how things are going with my stepdad (the dementia is ... there. And he's had some issues with medication. ... And his hearing isn't the best. Also, he recently had to have the rest of his teeth pulled and get some new dentures). The motor for the fan in their heat pump broke. He says that he'll fix it, but hasn't yet. (I told Mom to give him a date. If it's not done by then, she's going to get someone else to do it. And that's it. ... I'm mean, I know. But, well, she's willing to pay for it to be fixed. And she shouldn't have to wait around for the stars to align JUST so in order to get it fixed. She has a point ... it took him nearly a YEAR to get the water pump replaced. It was nuts. And crazy-frustrating.)
• I woke up from a dream this morning. Strange dream.
  I was at my Nana and Pop-pop's house, they don't own it/live there anymore.
  And I was with other people. One was a mix of my cousin (S) and my sister-in-law, A.
  There were two mice in the house. I caught them and was releasing them outside.
  As I closed the door so they'd be outside (and a white cat inside wouldn't kill them), I couldn't close the door, because another (wild) mouse was getting squished in the doorframe, toward the middle of the bottom of the door.
  A/S handed me some Kleenex so I could pick it up and move it (as it's squealing and bleeding).
  The tissues are soaked and dripping blood. And I don't want it to suffer ... but I don't want to kill it. Though killing it would be much more merciful than seeing/hearing/knowing it is in pain.
  
  I don't remember what I ended up doing. Might have woken up.
  
  Another part of my dream featured a book fair. But it was more like a pre-order book fair. And I didn't have my kids with me. Or, at least, Bruise wasn't there. And I picked out a book for each child, guessing on his. His teacher said that was fine. And that, yes, I could choose something else if he opted to get a different book.
  When I went to get the order, I did choose a different book for him. And then she was freaking out because it was a lot more popular than she had thought and more people wanted it than she had books in stock. And I wasn't going to give it up, since I had permission in advance to get him what he wanted.
  
  Yeah, my dreams are weird. At least, what I remember about them.

Today, I need to finish up laundry (on the home stretch!!!), do dishes, make dinner, take Bubbles to a WIC-thing, ... things like that. Nothing wildly amazing ... but things that do need to be done.
Oh, and practice my Spanish and German. (Yay for the kids' school offering use of Rosetta Stone Classroom for Spanish. I also am supplementing it with Duolingo. And added Memrise. And I'm trying Pronunciator [through the local library's site] and LiveMocha ... Overachiever much?)
(Also, French is HAAAAAAAAAARD, with the silent 't's and 's's. My Duolingo scores there are pretty awful. But my German and Spanish have improved!)

Bruise reports that Cub Scouts wasn't very fun ... he had to SAND HIS RAINWATER REGATTA BOAT.
(When he learned that they were doing the Rainwater Regatta, he told me, "I worked REALLY HARD on my car. NOW I have to make a BOAT. *facepalm*"
I did my best not to pee myself laughing. I can understand his frustration ... but, hey, it's something he can mark off for an arrow point requirement.)

Bruise was a little disappointed yesterday ... for his pack, usually the first Wednesday of the month is a Pack meeting, then the next two Wednesdays are den meetings. This month, it's switched so we have the Den meetings first (to work on the Rainwater Regatta boats) and the third Wednesday is the Pack meeting.
He'll be getting his Wolf badge and his gold arrow point at the Pack meeting ... so I was a little sad, too. But, hey, this will give me an extra week to get all his badges sewn on, right? ... And, who knows, maybe he can get enough requirements done to get a silver arrow point by the Pack meeting. So I can get THAT sewn on.)

Tomorrow is Michael's birthday. I should do something special, huh?
He knows that I love him. And I know that he's not a person who's all out for birthday extravagance.
But I should make him a cake.
Or some bacon.
Or biscuits and gravy.
Or STEAK.
And maybe a pie.

I do have a present for him.
So that's something, right?

Ha! Bubbles obviously had pressed a button on the remote while watching Frozen.
So Anna and Elsa's song was sped up just a little. Not QUITE like The Chipmunks, but it was definitely not normal.
Wow.

Okay ... This weekend is a little busy. Still combing through hair twice a day, looking for eggs and nymphs; we have a niece and nephew who've had birthdays; the next town over is having a celebration, complete with parade; Home Depot has their free kids' activity. And we should continue celebrating Michael's birthday. ^_^

And Bucket is giving a scripture in Primary at church.

No rest for the wicked, right? 

In the clear ...

So, checking Bucket's head every day (sometimes twice!) and it's all clean. Phew.
No eggs, no creepy-crawlies, nothing.
Thank goodness!

(She's still going to get another treatment Tuesday. Just to be safe. ... And I realized that every time there's lice, it costs us around $40, since you end up using two kits-worth of shampoo. Can't they just sell the things separately? She's got a lot of hair. And we don't use all the gel ... and we've only ever gone through ONE can (of THREE+) of the bedding/whatever spray.)

But, hey, it's good.

So, there was a shooting (homicide) not too far away earlier this week.
I was able to put some things together to figure that out, since we don't get the newspaper or watch much TV.

• One of the gals I Visit Teach posted on Facebook that the police came to her family's apartment early in the morning to tell them that a crime had been committed in their apartment complex. He couldn't tell them WHAT, exactly, but they needed to be aware.
• The newspaper's Facebook account had a couple of stories ... one was a shooting.
• On driving Bucket to an activity, I saw a news crew van -- along with a search team (it made me think back to searching through Avery Park when Brooke Wilberger had disappeared [she had been kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered ... her body wasn't at the park, but the park was close to where she'd been taken from. Sad, sad situation. It was a repeat offense by the perpetrator, too.]).
• People on Facebook were posting things about an 8-year-old boy who called the cops after finding his mother on the kitchen floor, bleeding ... she didn't make it.

I haven't talked to the kids about it ... but, that boy could be a classmate. Poor kid.
Since, last I knew, the police haven't found any suspects, they don't know a motive.
And I'm locking the doors a little more.

On to good news, my mom came up yesterday.
It'd been a couple weeks since we'd seen her, since she had hurt her back.

And her Mother's Day gifts all came in the mail (two shipments. Why do they do that?) ... but I got her a nice Tuberose perfume, body wash, and hand creme. Since Bath and Body Works stopped selling their Velvet Tuberose fragrance (so sad) and that was her absolute favorite. I really hope that Target keeps making the Sonia Kushik Pink Innocencia for a while. ^_^

We went out to lunch at a tea shop downtown. Bubbles was very well-behaved. (I should have taken video of her sipping cocoa out of a wee little tea cup!) Then we went to Fred Meyer and picked up berries (and I helped mom get some make-up. Apparently, all my time spent on the internet does pay off! SCORE!).
We made it home before the kids got home (and they ate all the lunch leftovers :( Oh well.).

Our lunch, by the by, was REALLY GOOD. Bubbles had the Mad Hatter Tea -- Little grilled cheese and PB&J sandwiches with three little treats and either tea or cocoa (we opted for hot cocoa, since if I'm getting a mug out of the cupboard and she spies me, she'll exclaim "COCOA!!! COCOA!!!!").
Mom and I opted for the Queen's Tea -- soup or salad for starters and a tray of sandwiches (egg salad, chicken salad, and cucumber with cream cheese), scones (this time: raspberry, orange, and white chocolate chip) with spreads (lemon curd, cream, and raspberry preserves), and desserts -- like Bubbles, we had a tiny key lime cake, a small bunt cake with chocolate creme filling, and a small raspberry crumble bar cookie.
We opted for the Lavender Sunset tea, which was really good. (I bought a couple ounces ... along with the Blue Eyes herbal blend that Bucket and I had together a couple months ago ... and she liked it so much that she REALLY wanted Bruise to try it, too [He likes my teas a little more than his twin. He still prefers cocoa or hot apple cider.)

I have tried almost ALL the herbal and Rooibos teas at the shop now. Just a few more to go!

I've also tried all the Dry Soda flavors available at our local Safeway store. They have four (Vanilla Bean, Blood Orange, Lavender, and Cucumber) of the ELEVEN (Juniper Berry, Ginger, Rhubarb, Apple, Pear, Cherry, and Wild Lime).
Michael prefers the Vanilla and Orange ones (the Blood Orange might be the best) ... Bucket and I also really like the Lavender.
The Cucumber flavor ... it's ... strongly cucumber-y.
Don't get me wrong, I like cucumbers ... but I found a way to drink up the four bottles I got.
Pineapple-mango flavor enhancer (like Mio) ... enough to turn the soda golden.
The cucumber flavor is still very present. But it's sweeter and lots better. Bucket and Mom agree.

I wish I knew a place that sold ALL the other flavors. Even though I'm not WILD about rhubarb ... and I'm a little nervous about the juniper. But I like ginger ales/ginger beers (like root beer, in case you're worried that I've gone apostate. Nope. Still a tee-totaller). And the fruity ones all sound good.

Bruise has been working hard ... and his efforts are being rewarded.
He's done all the work to earn his Wolf badge. The cubmaster is aware.
He should get it at the next pack meeting.
(She was really impressed at how quickly he's gotten it. ... Just under six months from joining Scouts to receiving it. ... I figured that it'd be best to keep him motivated, right? So, now I need to research the requirements for his Arrow of Light and his Eagle Scout projects. We're a team.)

But that's one less thing for me to fret about. Since he's supposed to earn his Wolf before working on the arrow points. And I didn't want to take the chance that we couldn't work on arrow points during summer vacation (since we don't have meetings besides Day Camp during the summer break).
So, GOAL ACHIEVED!! Phew!!

I also am about to get Bucket a Girl Scout's book so she can do requirements for fun and get those signed off. Maybe I can get her badges? I don't know.
Because she REALLY likes how her twin gets to do STUFF and get it signed off and get badges.
(I'd get her into Girl Scouts properly ... but we already have stuff going on most weeknights. I really like those nights when we don't. So we have time for reading scriptures together, having a family prayer with all of us home, AND having time for a chapter or so of a bedtime story.)
I think in summer, we'll try a sport, since they won't have Activity Days or Scouts. ... I'll have to plan around Day Camp, though. And there's swimming lessons. Those are important. 

And now summer already feels extremely busy.

I should go start cleaning the house. If I can get it to look a little better, then I can rationalize reading for a couple hours (aka Bubbles's nap).

And I need to practice Spanish and water the plants and do a million other things.
But I should just START.
So that I can get things done and get a shower before the kids get home.
Then there's PTC (Parent-Teacher Committee), immediately followed by our ward's Relief Society activity for the month ... our RS President (newly-called!) is teaching about gardening and utilizing herbs.
If you know me (which, I think, most of you do), you know that I'm pants at keeping plants alive.
(Case in point: I have THREE houseplants. The peace lily -- Nana sent it as part of a floral arrangement when I was in the hospital with Bruise and Bucket -- is doing okay. I got a hanging basket of pansies for my birthday. It's pretty much dead. So is the azalea that another friend brought me. It's not totally dead ... but it has seen much better days. Poor thing.)

But, yeah. That's most of what's happening on the homefront here.
I'm going to work on dishes and cleaning up the kitchen and getting some more laundry done. And maybe the junk-counter and the dining table. That will spruce up the place a lot.

Then I can rationalize taking the time to read and play on my tablet, right? ;P

Since I last blogged (a real post)

Let's see, what all else has gone on the last couple weeks?

• Michael's started playing basketball at the church a couple times a week
• In related news, he got himself a case of gamekeeper's thumb (a guy fouled him. Or something. I don't know sports. Sorry). And he was pretty sore ... just about everywhere.
• Other related news, apparently I have some semi-mad tape-wrapping skillz. I wrap Michael's ankles before his games. ... Apparently, I should wrap his knee and wrists, too.
• I bought red lipstick. I figured that if anyone gives my guff about wearing it, I can just ascribe it to being part of my mid-life crisis, right?
• We got rid of our water cooler ... and there were TONS OF ANTS swarming underneath. Fun.
  I do miss the ease of instantaneous tea brewing ... but it's nice that Bubbles isn't getting herself a million cups of water (and spilling them/throwing them/leaving them all over) daily.
• Bruise caught some virus ... and was down for about 4 days with a fever. I took him (Bubbles tagged along) to the doctor. Got better dosage instructions for Tylenol/Ibuprofen. He went back to school on Wednesday.
• The missionaries (sister missionaries) spent most of Monday (the 28th) at our house to do laundry.
  We fed them dinner on Saturday.
• I got my Visiting Teaching done. I feel bad when I don't. Because I want all the sisters in my care to know that I like them very much.
• Thursday, the kids' school had a get together. Mexican culture, crafts, some food, and each child went home with a new book.
• Bruise was awarded Student of the Month at school on Friday. 
• After school, we went to Michael's folks house. They watched the kids and we went out to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It's good.
• Saturday was supposed to be a busy day. Free Comic Book Day, a local college had a Pet Day Fair ... Michael was at a shooting activity. But the kids weren't cleaning their room ... and so I just read books until they got it done (which wasn't until AFTER Michael got back. And wasn't long before the missionaries came over for dinner.

And, in the previous post, I already talked about Sunday. And a bit of Monday.

So, yeah. That's really about everything worth writing about. And probably even some things NOT worth writing about.

I should work on dinner or something. At least Michael's basketball gear is all the way through the laundry. So that's something. And I painted my nails and toes Sunday ... but I don't know that I'm wild about my nails ... I painted Bucket's, too, since she asked.

I don't want to do anything. I just want to curl up and not have had this calling extended to me.
But it's not like I can hide until they find someone else. Oh, I sure wish, though.

Condiment Post (It's a Catch-Up/Ketchup post ... Yeah, it's a sucky joke)

So, I last posted a real post at the beginning of the month.

I don't really have a huge excuse for not posting something real since.

So, let's figure out what all I've been up to since the beginning of the month ...

• I've finally gotten over that sinus/allergy/creeping crud. It's really nice to be able to breathe out my nose and not have to use a bazillion tissues all the time.
• Bubbles is talking a bit more. She said "hot dog" (echoing Bucket) with very good pronunciation yesterday. She's still pretty awesome with helping with housework. Loves to sing along with Frozen. Can point to most of her body parts. Will fetch me diapers and wipes for her.
• Bruise is very much into video games.We've completed MOST of his Wolf badge requirements. My goal (and his) is to get his Wolf by summer, so we have summer to work on his arrow points and Conservation badge.
• Bucket is enjoying the sunnier weather. She and a neighbor girl will play most every day. She's really enjoying Activity days at church.
• Michael's been busy, busy working on projects. And general EQ duties. Tomorrow, he'll be out for the evening, visiting some families/members of the ward with a member of the Stake Presidency. They do this to check on these families/individuals and to see if there are any needs that the ward can help meet. I can handle being on my own, with the kids, for an evening. 
• I should be cleaning the house more ... but I'm ... not as motivated this second as I should be. Today, my goals are to finish washing/drying laundry, fold some of it, read the magazines my mom let me borrow before she comes up tomorrow, clean up the kitchen, do dishes, sweep, maybe grab a bunch of plastic grocery bags and fold them neatly ... make dinner, get a shower sometime, clean up my desk and the counters ... the list goes on. It always does. And I also should vacuum. I really, really should vacuum.
• I should also clean the car.

Okay, and what what's-already-happened stuff:

• Freyja-cat's been having ... issues. Peeing-on-laundry-type issues. Time to break out the kitty-Prozac again.
• We had a Ward Social at the beginning of the month. The building was also scheduled for a funeral (HUGE turnout) and a Pinewood Derby. None of which showed on the general calendar. So, if you weren't in the ward hosting the event, you couldn't see that the building was being used for anything else. Yeah ... they're working on fixing that. It was ... interesting.
  Our Ward Social was not very well-attended. We had a handful of people. And it was pretty sad. We had also signed up to feed two sets of (sister) missionaries. Well, they got food, but I felt pretty bad about the whole thing.
• General Conference was at the beginning of the month, that first weekend. We used our Chromecast to stream Conference from the computer to our TV. It was great. I had my tablet open to the Twitterfeed for #ldsconf while I took notes (on a paper tablet). Good talks. I need to read them again.
• We also ordered tamales from one of the kids' school's fundraisers. The pamphlet said that we could pick them up between Noon-4PM. When we went about 12:30 to get ours, they were out of one kind already ... I was upset (but I saved it for the car. No crying in front of the school personnel if I can help it). Michael ended up heading back, in the middle of a conference talk, to get our order. And they were really good. I just had wished that things were more organized. Since we had from 11-1 free ... and our order wasn't ready until about 1:30. I know. It's stupid. But, well, I can be nuts about trying to get things organized ... and, then, when my plans don't work ... ugh.
• We also had Bruise and Bucket's school conferences. They're both doing well. They need to speak more Spanish. Bruise can work on his handwriting ... but, overall, they're doing well. They're on track for meeting all benchmarks by the end of the year. So that's good.
• We also had the school book fair. Bruise REALLY wanted one book ... that, naturally, was sold out the first day. So he ended up with a Lemony Snickett mystery instead (I helped with that). He also went back and got himself an invisible ink/UV light pen. Bucket got a book about sharks and some scented highlighters. We got Bubbles the newest Pigeon (Mo Willems) book. And I got a great reference (with TONS of pictures) about the elements.
• My birthday has come and gone. I'm 33 now ... when I remember it. Michael and the kids got me a new iPod, like I requested (my old one was having issues). Now I can have my own singalongs in the car again. ^_^ My mom gave me money towards a new bed (Michael's back's been hurting a lot). Aunt J got me socks and relaxing stuff (bath gel, sleep mask) and a book. Dad and L got me a new popcorn machine ... it even melts the butter as the kernels pop! Mom and Dad C got me a movie theater gift card (Michael and I need to see the new Captain America movie) ... and Cousin Tiff was hilarious. She did say, "Now, when you open your present, remember that you have a sense of humor, okay?", which worried me a little. She got me a little plaque for me to hang at my desk that says "Please don't clean up my mess. You'll confuse me and screw up my world." AND a bath gel dispenser shaped like a nose -- when you squeeze it, bath gel will "drip" out of the nose. So she and I cracked up and started making snot jokes. ... Yeah, we're so related.
• The kids had the next day off from school, so we went to Mom and C's hotel and went swimming. Bruise accidentally took one of the hotel towels home. We returned it after we washed it.
• Last week, I spent a day at the school volunteering. It was picture day. There were supposed to be two of us volunteering ... I was the only one who showed up. Another gal (past Student Teacher at the school) came to help for a few hours. But we got through it. And, since I had a couple hours left before the kids were done (and I was going to pick them up) and one of their teachers was having a shoulder spur act up, I helped out in Bucket's class for a couple hours.
  Nothing huge. I just filed papers and folded little booklets for a project. Yeah, maybe I would do well enough as a classified-type school employee (Though we all know my heart belongs to the library).
  I hadn't eaten lunch. Or breakfast. So I did get woozy around 2:30. But, after I sat down for a bit, I was okay again. Stupid body of mine. I was too busy for eating before that.
• We got to visit with T2, her husband, and daughter. They're having a baby boy in the fall.
  We're all so glad that they've moved back to the Pacific Northwest.
• The mall had their kids' club. We also went to the opening weekend of the farmers' market. 
• For Easter, we went to church and then to Mom and Dad's house. Egg hunt, dinner, watching movies. food fun.
  At one point, we were talking around the table (the kids had gone off to watch "The Pirate Fairy"), talking about Ch's sweet potato pie (YUM). Dad was talking about how he doesn't like ginger or nutmeg. And Michael made a joke about it being for nuts or Megs.
  "I don't know any Megs, really ... Well, Meg Ryan," Dad mused, "but she doesn't know me."
  At this, I couldn't help bursting out laughing and stating, "I love my family." Because I do. I married into a great family. I only wish that everyone would be so lucky.
  At another point, Grandma had a friend come over. She wandered into the dining room, where we were still at the table, and started rubbing Ch's neck -- he's not a touchy-type person, so you could SEE him tense up.
  Grandma followed her friend in. "Oh, you know her", she asked Ch.
  "Yeah!" he declared."Don't you?"
  As soon as Grandma's friend left the room, I started to ask Ch who the lady was, since I'd never met her ... and Grandma had pointed out to her who WE all were, but never told us her name or anything.
  "I have NO IDEA who she was." Ch proclaimed, before I could ask.
  Which sent me into giggles again.
  Like I said, I have a great family.
• The kids' school has an online Spanish program ... I ordered a headset so that, when I get signed up for it, I can start learning Spanish better. Since I really am quite pants at it. I took German in high school and college ... it's not very similar at all. :S
• Yesterday and Monday were quiet-ish days. Some cleaning ... cooking dinner ... reading a bit. Nothing huge.

So, yeah ... that's most of what's going on in my life. Watching Veronica Mars with Michael in the evenings. Playing some games on my tablet. Reading some books. Loading music on my iPod. Trying to make some good playlists ... small things like that.

So, my goals are to finish washing and drying laundry, vacuum the front rooms, go through the magazines from Mom, clean the kitchen, do the dishes, fold some laundry, get a shower. Yeah, wildly exciting plans, for sure. But they're my plans ... so it'll work.