Insert witty zombie-based joke here

It's true. I'm NOT dead.
Though, if you were basing my status off of when I last blogged, I don't blame you for thinking that I might be.

No. I've just been busy. And meaning-to-but-not-blogging.

Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.
(Which is about the extent of the Latin I know. ... If there an online course to study Latin? I'd try to learn in in my spare time ... if I could find any. :P)

Okay, what have I been up to? Let's see ...

• We visited family (Nana, Mom and Cecil) and the kids stayed down with my mom and Cecil for a few days.
• I donated blood ... I didn't pass out. But this was the first time that I've never filled a bag.
  Usually I fill a bag really quickly.
  My iron level, by the by, is excellent for a nursing mom.
  Vesper, however, wasn't going to take a nap ... and she was NOT thrilled to be laying on my chest (in the Moby) as I lay on my back in the Bloodmobile.
  But once the realtor in charge of the Blood Drive held her, she was happy as a lark.
  (I was asked if he and I are friends. We have chatted, but I barely know his name. :P But he's good folks. This is the first time he's held Vesper. And she's very amiable.)
• The kids had a playdate with a friend (visiting from Pennsylvania). It was nice for them ... and for me! I got to chat with their friend's parents. THAT was long overdue. :P
• We went to the Eric Herman concert (part of a Summer Reading Program).
  JUST FOR YOUR INFO, ERIC HERMAN remarked on what a pretty baby Bubbles is.
  Yes, I am bragging. ... But only because everyone, even FAMOUS MUSICIANS (what? He's doing a concert in New York later this month!) says so. ;D
• Michael and I took the kids camping.
  Bubbles did remarkably well. Bruise and Bucket got lost once (but we camp at campgrounds. WITH HOT SHOWERS. Because I'm a pansy.), but were quickly reunited with us. AND LEARNED A VERY VALUABLE LESSON ABOUT NOT RUNNING OFF. So it all ended well.
• Bubbles got to go to the Coast for the first time. She approved. ^_^
• She also got to try bacon for the first time.
  Yup, that made her happy, too.
• We celebrated Michael's sister (T1)'s birthday. It was good to see family again.
• Bubbles is sitting up very well. And loves to eat ... in fact, if you don't offer her food (even if she's JUST finished nursing), she will get upset. And she likes most things that we've given her to try.
  But not fresh raspberries. Could be the texture of the berry ...
• I sang in the Stake Choir ... the Presiding Bishop of the Church spoke at it. It was a nice experience.
• I also sang in our (really SMALL) Ward Choir. Again, another good experience.
  It's nice to have a creative outlet ... and one where I get to be a little social, too.
  Helps prevent me from being such a shut-in.
• Michael had a business trip in Puyallup last month. Just a short one.
  The meeting was on a Thursday. So he got the following Friday off ... and we took the kiddos up to Washington. This is the furthest north they've gone (Furthest south? Bruise and Bucket have been down to San Francisco for my Grampy's wedding reception a couple years ago. Bubbles ... has been to Canyonville, my hometown. Still in Oregon.).
  We (the kiddos and me) played at a park while Michael was in his meeting. And looked around the Puyallup Public Library. (Yes, I saw a library. It was open. I gave us a self-guided tour. I'm secure in my geekdom/nerdery.)
  Then we drove up to Seattle and took the kids to the Seattle Center. They got to look at the Space Needle and go to the Pacific Science Center. Then, after that, we drove to our hotel and unpacked and went swimming. Then out to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory (which we loved!).
  Friday morning, we packed up and went to Pike Place Market. The kids got to see the flying fish and pet the giant piggy bank. We walked down the waterfront and took them to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe (which was one of my favorite places when I lived in Seattle). They got to see the mummies and the two-headed calf ...
  Then we drove over to the Seattle Temple (my first temple ... I was sealed to my parents there back in '86) and headed home.
  Bubbles was in AWFUL form the way home. She had gas from gnawing on a broccoli floret the previous day and SCREAMEDSCREAMEDSCREAMED until she fell asleep ... for MAYBE a half-hour. Then she's wake up and start all over again. *sigh*
  Bruise had to pee ... CONSTANTLY (he wasn't emptying his bladder at the toilet), so I grabbed a Powerade bottle (20oz, I think) and had him pee in that. TWICE.
  He filled that thing about half way!! ... AND, he was wedged against the mouth of the bottle at one point, so I ended up getting sprayed/splattered with my son's urine.
  Yup. Not even phased. Not one bit.
  Especially because (healthy) urine is sterile.
  Needless to say, even though it was a fun trip, I was GLAD to be home after that hectic drive home (No, I didn't drive. At ALL. I much prefer to be a passenger. And read ... I'm a MUCH better/less-stressed passenger when I'm reading.)
• We helped clean the ward building (it's done by members of the wards ... it was our turn).
  Then we had an EQ (Elders Quorum) dinner ... which only two other families attended.
  Apparently, there were lots of conflicts. Oh well. We had fun with the other two families there.
• Bruise, Bucket, and I get to be in the wedding party of one of my absolute besties. Bruise gets to carry a banner. Bucket's the flower girl. I am a bridesmaid.
  (I do find it humorous that I've ONLY been a bridesmaid [and a Matron of Honor] AFTER I've been married. Obviously, marrying Michael increased my cool factor. ;D ... I was a flower girl once when I was little. And I've sang at a wedding when I was in high school. So ... yeah.)
• The last week before school started ... I don't know where the time really went. Mostly recuperating and trying to catch up on housework (which I promptly fell behind on. AGAIN). That and meeting their teachers at the school Open House.
• Michael and I took Bruise and Bucket to Enchanted Forest (Bubbles, who's too little, stayed with Grandpa and Grandma). They had a great time. They didn't like the Haunted House (Bucket cried. And we carried both of them through most of it). They loved the rides. Michael even rode on the roller coasters (once each) with us. The kiddos and I went on one of them twice more. It was a fun time.
• The kids started First Grade on Tuesday. They're enjoying it.
  They have different teachers, so they only really see each other at recess. But they each have their own best friend in their class ... And they're enjoying school.
  And I MADE SURE that we were there ON TIME to actually CATCH the BUS the first day of school. PHEW.
  Wasn't going to repeat THAT.
  Still, it's really odd to have Bruise and Bucket GONE for nearly a full third of the day.
• Bubbles had her sixth-month appointment this morning. Her doctor remarked on what a happy, personable baby she is.
  And she took her immunizations (three shots, since I opted to have her get a flu shot) very well. Once I picked her up, she stopped crying and started snuggling.
  (Also, the kids pediatrician was VERY IMPRESSED that I pronounce "Puyallup" correctly.
  And he complimented Michael and my production of such beautiful children.
  Yeah, I'm going to be coasting on THAT compliment for a while. ^_^ It's nice to have a talent.)

Besides that ... I'm working at cleaning the house while the kids are at school. I'm terribly behind on sleep.
Bruise and Bucket (ESPECIALLY BUCKET) were tired after school (and then playing outside with their neighbor-friend) on Tuesday. Bucket was so cranky and emotional ... and I was, too. I ended up crying in the car on the way home from our grocery-shopping trip ... The last straw was when I opened the bag of meat-sticks for Michael ... and they all fell down on the floor of the van. Oy.

Bubbles is to the point where I need to entertain her when she's awake ... and that makes cleaning the house a bit harder. Especially since Bruise and Bucket (my pinch sitters, when I need to -- oh -- make dinner, take a shower, take a nap, clean the house ... all those kinds of things) are in school.

I also want to get the house better organized and clean. Wish me luck, since it's taking all my motivation just to do BITS of cleaning. Still fighting off the ants. And flies. And fruit flies.
I have a few spiders living in the corners above the shower ... but they're earning their keep. So we have a mutual agreement of non-aggression.
(Unlike the spider that was skittering about in the bathtub last night. Michael killed it and then wanted to flush the arachnid corpse ... while I was on the toilet. ... Then he didn't see WHY I WOULDN'T POSSIBLY ENJOY emptying my bowels WHILE having my dainty bits HOVERING over a spider-filled clump of tissue. ... And, well, if you're not WILD about spiders, I'm sure you understand.)

Bruise has been allowing me to do his hair. He'll ask for Draco Malfoy hair (gel-slicked back with a part on the right), Captain America hair (same, but the part's on the left), or Hawkeye hair (gelled back with NO part). He tells me that I will be giving him Doctor Who hair (Tennant, not Smith) tomorrow.

Bucket's bangs kept falling into her eyes, instead of staying back by her ears, so I've taken to using the flat iron to set her hair all to the back and sides. After a few days of that, all I have to do is gel or spray it into place. Phew! ... I didn't realize how much I WASN'T seeing her eyes! And she does have very pretty eyes.

Michael and I finished watching Season Two of the BBC Sherlock. I think I NEED to buy both seasons.
And The Avengers and Brave and The Hunger Games.
(Also, Benedict Cumbersnatch has very striking looks ... but ... I don't find him very attractive. He's a terrific actor, though.)

Okay ... I THINK that should have you all caught up on my life.
I hope.
Especially because I can't think of anything else to add.
And I'm really tired.