What HAVE I been doing?

At this point, I barely know, myself!

Let's see ... The first weekend of the month was General Conference. And T2 and her husband were in town, so we went up to Michael's folks for dinner (and, therefore, I didn't take notes for the Sunday afternoon session of conference.)
It was also Michael's grandma's (the one that lives with his folks) anniversary. And Grandpa just passed away this January, so he bought her flowers after I had mentioned that I was worried that she was feeling blue without him. So ... well, I now have a reputation as a good granddaughter. (Really, it's ALL my Google/Cozi calendars, keeping me aware of things.)
Grandma was very touched ... and Dad C had told us that no one else had remembered at all.
(I was worried because of how she was all teary-eyed Labor Day weekend, when we were at the Game Park at the coast ... which is where she and Grandpa had gone for their last anniversary. Gosh, I'm getting all misty-eyed just thinking about it.)

Most the rest of the week was ... normal. Mom came up for Wednesday. My stepdad's health isn't the greatest, so if you want to say some extra prayers (or, if you're not the praying type, just send him some positive energy/mojo/whatever), I'd appreciate it.

Thursday, the kiddos went to spend the night with Mom and Dad C (and so did their cousins, except the youngest ones, of course) and Friday they went to the movies.
Michael and I went to the temple with the teenagers from the ward. It was good to see my Young Women again.
This was all possible, since it was a statewide teacher in-service day. No school for any of the students. So it was a nice Friday.

Saturday, I had been looking forward to. The kids were going to the practice for the Primary (kids' group at church) Program. But Bucket psyched herself out. And Michael took her home for a nap after I berated her for her attitude ... I know, I know. Not my best moment.
But, in all honesty, I hadn't eaten, I was TIRED, and I was really disappointed. ESPECIALLY since I KNEW that she COULD do it.
So, there was a LOT of crying going on.
Then Michael sent me out, while Bucket napped, to pick up Bruise and run errands ... including taking him out for ice cream.
After a LONG nap and time-out, my darling daughter had a MUCH BETTER ATTITUDE. She apologized. I apologized. We went to Bath and Body Works to pick up free lotion and then to Del Taco for an early dinner.

Sunday, the kids did GREAT in their Primary Program. They sang the songs, they read their lines ... VERY good jobs. Michael's folks and my mom came to watch them, which was nice.

Sunday night, Bruise had a bad toothache. He woke up a little after an hour after bedtime. We gave him ibuprofen and some Oragel. And he was still in pain.
So I call the doctor's office to see if there's anything else we can do for him: Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Oragel ... but, without being a dentist, there's not a lot else.
And I call the 24-hour line for our dental group -- Well, with it being after 10PM, there's nothing we can do. You could take him to the ER, I guess. I don't know what to suggest for pain relief.

Yeah, thanks a million, 24-hour dental hotline. Whatever.
I was really frustrated with that. At least the on-call doctor treated us like he really cared (and he could hear Bruise crying, too. You could tell that Dr. P really, really wished there was more he could do for us).

But, after a dose of Tylenol and more Oragel, along with a blessing from Michael (yay for Father's blessings!), Bruise fell asleep in our bed and slept through the night.

And he woke up feeling FINE. And he's been fine since.
Still, we'll be heading to the dentist in a couple days for a quick exam and, if needed, antibiotics.

Yesterday, after school and homework, Bucket complained of a bad headache. So I gave her some Ibuprofen and an ice pack. Then, when it wasn't helping, I had her go take a nap. And she slept for about two hours (I had a hard time waking her up). And she STILL had her headache. So I gave her some Tylenol and called the Dr's office. And waited for a return call. And called again. And waited for a return call.
And Bucket threw up (in the toilet). A LOT.

"*gags* My headache is getting better! *gags* *SPLAT!*"

And then we went grocery shopping ... and I grabbed some things from Target ... and the kids ate their Costco hot dogs (Michael went out later for stuff for us. I had thrown up earlier ... and Costco didn't have any Chicken Bakes ready. Didn't want to wait for 10 minutes for one. He was thinking Arby's.)

And Bucket's headache was all gone ... and we came home to hear a message that the on-call doctor left on our machine. Hey, if there still had been a problem, I'd have called back. Again. (Pager problems are weird. Good thing that it all ended well ... and, yes, Bucket had gotten a blessing, too.)

Today, I got the kids ready for school and on the bus. Then I chatted with my Bri. She had a little scare with her baby. (And I JUST got the update that all is well. Happy, moving fetus with a heartbeat. PHEW!)
Then I headed out to my Dr appointment. I've gained almost three pounds this month. Which still has me below my pre-pregnancy weight (and even my 6-weeks-pregnant weight). I must be measuring fine, since Dr M never remarks on it. And I forget to ask. Oh well. :P
Got my flu shot.
And I (BARELY) made it back in time to get the kids from the bus ... since an earlier morning appointment ended up taking over an hour, which means that poor Dr. M is bustling to even TRY and get to the rest of her appointments on time (Mine? Supposed to be at 11:20, which would have given TONS of time to get home. I got taken back to be weighed, blood pressure taken, flu shot administered ... and then a few minutes' wait for Dr. M and a QUICK conversation with her ... at 11:50ish. I barely got my appointment made and was DASHING for the car at 12:13 so I could drive back home and meet the kids' bus. (12:56-ish) CRAZY.)
But, thanks to the grace of God (no, really, LOTS OF PRAYER HAPPENING HERE), I made it. PHEW.

The kids got their homework done. I did send them to their room for bickering ... but ... yeah. That's really about it.

I get to take my 1-hour glucose test next month. Yum ... flat fake orange soda.
(I hope it's the orange stuff. I hear that the lemon-lime flavor is much worse. And, really, flat 7-Up is NASTYSAUCE. Flat orange soda is totally preferable. ... Let's just hope that I pass. Since this kiddo doesn't let me have a whole lot of an appetite between the nausea and the heartburn. It'd be good to have as few complications as possible.)

I've still had strange dreams. The last one I really recall is that Michael and I were getting the ultrasound (which will happen on Thursday) and it was a boy. And we saw him peeing into the amniotic fluid. And he was drinking milk from some offshoot cord off the placenta (but not the umbilical cord). Yeah. My dreams are WEIRD.

So, if you have any guesses, you might as well guess now.
The kids are hoping for a little brother.

Oh, also, Bucket got to feel the baby move. She got a good kick/high-five.
Bruise thinks he's felt the baby move  ... but I'm not so sure.
Michael and Freyja-cat have both been on the receiving ends of some kicks. (Michael was SEEKING them. Freyja? Not so much.)

In other news, which isn't nearly as exciting ... I'm about halfway through "The Help."
(Jenny, that means that you're getting close to me returning your copy! Thanks for the extended loan!!)

Okay ... off to take more Tums. And let's hope they stay down. Ugh.
All I can say is that, based on the heartburn (which I think is a total misnomer ... it's more like a lump of ice stuck in my esophagus. That never melts. And just sits there, ice-cold.), this baby might just come out looking like The Wolfman.

Okay. Tums are calling. And so is Bucket, who wants help with putting together a puzzle of the United States.