Best laid plans ... ha.

Well, I'm still recuperating from my plague.
And hoping that I didn't pass it on to Michael (thankfully, his symptoms are more in line with allergies. Still sucks, but ... well, at least it's one thing that I can't feel guilty about, right?).

Bubbles had a few nights where her sleep schedule was TOTES borked up.
Turns out babycakes is getting another tooth in. I finally figured that out yesterday, as I was TRYING to get her to nap in the car (since I was DONE fighting that cranky nap-needer inside the church) ... I got called out a couple times for being on Facebook in the car. Good thing people still like me. ;P

(In my defense, I HAD just finished checking my email. AND I was about to read a book about LDS urban legends, too.)

But, what with giving Bubbles some Ibuprofen and acetaminophen, she's back to sleeping SO WELL again. Phew. Because I was REALLY not loving being her mom there for a little. Since, Saturday night, she was waking up about every hour to SCREAM. It took Michael taking her out for a drive in the car. Poor guy. He took one for the team, knowing that if I'm not getting sleep, I'll never get over the creeping crud.

He was exhausted, though. He and the kids had grand plans to make me breakfast in bed (Bruise was QUITE put-out that those plans didn't come to fruition), but I was up around 8, since Bruise and Bucket were playing (loudly). And Michael slept in until about 9 ... since he didn't get home until after 1:30, with Miss Bubbles.

I was tired and cranky, though. And felt like a crap mom, since I wasn't absolutely enamored of my youngest offspring (who wouldn't take a nap for love nor money, despite being a CRANKYPANTS). Bruise and Bucket were pretty darn well-behaved. They snuggled with me (as Michael had to take Bubbles out so she MIGHT get a nap). And they both sang in the Primary (children's) group song.

Michael went to class after Sacrament meeting ... I wasn't about to try and corral Bubbles in Sunday School, so I nursed her, she ate some Cheerios, and I followed her around the halls for a bit. Until she got crankier. Then I took her out to the car, opened some windows (it was REALLY WARM), and hoped that she'd take a nap since there were fewer distractions.

NOPE.

So, after about an hour (with me passing her a water bottle, some snacks, a book), I finally climbed into the middle row ... and tried to get her calmer. And, I did put my finger into her mouth, since I wondered a little if she could be getting a tooth. Yup. So I gave her a dose of Ibuprofen. And that helped. She also got a cool bath after we got home (shortly thereafter), and food, and another bit of nursing, and some play ... and then she took a GOOD NAP. Almost three hours.

And we let her stay up a bit later, and gave her another dose of Ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and she slept through the night perfectly well. Phew.

I dreamed last night, that we were back at the old apartments. And there were all these Disney characters (like the ones that walk around the park) there. And I was working to get their autographs for the kids before the actors got out of costume. And most of them all got together in the yard to play games.
What's up with that?
At first, the Fairy Godmother totally blew me off. But she (and everyone else) eventually consented so that Bruise, Bucket, and Bubbles all had a great autograph collection.

I'm still getting my sense of smell and taste back. My plague started to go into my lungs. But I've been breathing deeply. A LOT. Enough so it sounds like a death rattle is going on. Michael has to ask me if I'm okay, it sounds THAT bad. But, thankfully, it's not gathering too much in my bronchioles.

Remember how I mentioned the one neighbor kid who came into our house? Well, he worked on our yard Saturday. We thought he'd only work for a couple hours ... NOPE. He's got a GREAT work ethic. He was still working when we went to run errands more than four hours after he started (Michael worked out there with him for a bit. And I went to clean off the front porch for a little. Bruise and Bucket were out riding bikes ... He tied Bruise's shoe for him.) ... The more that I see him around, the more that I'm impressed that he is NOT a bad kid. He's a kid who made a bad choice. And he knows that he's working it off.
I had asked Michael if maybe we were hard on him, since the deal is that he'll be working on the yard weekly for the whole summer. Michael said that he'd talked to the boy's mom. And she was on board with the punishment. Of course, neither Michael or I thought he'd work THIS hard on the yard. It is looking REALLY nice already.
Now I need to actually PLAN what I'd like the yard to look like. It'd be nice to have a small garden. Maybe raspberries and some potatoes at first. Then I can branch out.
Shocking, I know. Since I barely leave the house ... and I'm thinking of a GARDEN, something that REQUIRES me to go outside into the AIR and SUNSHINE.

I managed to get bottles of water to the teacher appreciation lunch for our school. So, yeah.
I think it's kinda funny ... when people ask for food/drink donations, I ask what they can use. And I get to bring the water. I know that it's useful. It just makes me laugh a bit.

Of course, that TOTALLY worked even MORE in my favor, since I couldn't smell or taste ANYTHING (well, beyond if something was REALLY sour -- like a chaser of Apple Cider Vinegar. Yeah.) ... So, I was REALLY thankful that I was assigned to bring something that I didn't have to cook. Because, well, what if it tasted AWFUL?!?!? I'd have no idea!
So, waters and some drink mix packets was totally perfect for me.

We were assigned to clean the church this weekend.
There are different assignments ... and multiple families from each ward are assigned, so it's not like it's a huge hardship (unless no one else shows up). We went Friday evening. We cleaned the bathrooms (three women's rooms, two men's rooms, one single/unisex bathroom, and the Mother's Lounge) and the drinking fountains. Then we went out for ice cream.

Since Michael gets home early from work on Fridays, we get some time together. It's our unofficial date-time. So, we went to a store that was celebrating its anniversary and browsed around. Then he got a call from the elder missionaries, asking if he could come in a half-hour to help move some furniture.
Apparently, they'd called him Thursday, while he was at work, to ask if he could do it. He gave them the numbers of some brothers in the ward with trucks that might be available. He also told them that, if those brethren weren't available, that he could do it Friday afternoon.

He had REALLY hoped that they'd think ahead to set up appointments. But that wasn't the case. So he was a little irritated. I told him to let them know, so they could NOT do it in the future. All he had to say was, "Hey, please set up an appointment. Because I had to leave my date with my wife to help."
Yeah, I'm so nice.

Chalk it up to the plague, right?

But, yeah, Mother's Day was really quiet. The kids made me some cards before church. And they nabbed a marigold plant for me on the way out of church (since I was in the car with Bubbles). Michael made lunch while I gave Bubbles a (bubble) bath. Then, since his allergies were acting up, he took a Benadryl ... and was sacked out on the couch for a couple hours. I just puttered around and played some games on Facebook.

The kids and I called my Nana (and left a message for her) in the morning. We called and talked to my mom in the afternoon. I had sent out e-cards to some of my relatives (and some of Michael's) ... since I didn't make it to the store to BUY cards for people this year. Yeah ... sucks.

I made nachos for dinner. We got the older kids in bed ... then we watched "Scary Tales" (retellings and breakdowns of some of the darker fairie tales ... last night, we watched the episode covering "Cinderella" and "The Juniper Tree." The effects are crazy cheap ... but it's interesting to hear some of the interpretations of the tales. And Michael was completely unfamiliar with "The Juniper Tree." I was able to give him a 90% accurate recap of it the previous night. I mixed up who got the necklace and who got the second gift (I thought it was a purse of gold. It was shoes. Whoops!))

I still have NOT gotten caught up on scriptures or General Conference Talks. I'm behind enough that I think I'll just read the ones I didn't get to earlier on my own. And I'll just start fresh and current here.

So, what's coming up this week ... I need to take the car back to the shop, just so they can check the transmission fluid. But I can say that the car's running a whole lot better. Shifting between gears is much nicer. Phew.
There's a PTC meeting ... finally it's NOT on the same evening as a Relief Society activity. Phew!
Then we'll be meeting with a friend who's started selling life insurance. I don't have life insurance. I have auto insurance. ... That's about it. (And it's yet another reason why I cannot die anytime soon. Because I'm no good to anyone dead.)
The kids' school is having a Science Night. Which is always a fun thing.
The local mall has their kids' club activity. And we're going to (finally) get to the Farmers' Market this weekend.
Also, Michael's baby sister is having a birthday. And it'll be good to see her again.
I'll be back to volunteering ... it's been a few weeks since I was there last. (Being sick does that. As does being on vacation.)

Then it's gearing up for a 3-/4/day weekend. (The kids have 4 days off. Michael only has a three-day weekend. But he only works in the morning on the day that only the kids have off.) ... If he wanted to take those four hours off, I wouldn't complain. Maybe we could go to the aquarium or something? It's a nice thought.

I need to get my Visiting Teaching done. I've touched bases with each of my gals ... so, at least they know that I'm thinking about them. But ... well, I feel that I should do more. I'm really crap at that.

I've gotten the laundry and dishes started. I need to watch the Netflix DVD, so that we can get something else soon. (Michael has NO INTEREST in Upstairs, Downstairs. ... And, apparently, I'm rubbish at watching things on my own.) ... and I need to read about six library books. Because I WANT to read them ... I'm just bad at DOING anything lately.

Oh well. I'll get things done. I have a list of stuff to do. And I can get it done. Eventually. Hopefully today and tomorrow. Because, dang it, I just want my house to be (mostly) clean ... and stay that way. Because I'm too tired to clean it all the time.