Wow, I suck at keeping this updated ...

Good thing you still love me, right?

I couldn't sleep last night.
I'm sure it had NOTHING AT ALL to do with the fact that I had two HUGE cups of Dr. Pepper when we went to McDonald's yesterday. (My mom came up, since it was a no-school day.)
Of course, after I finished the ebook I'd checked out on my library app, I checked our bank balance.
And FINALLY Michael's paycheck came through before any overdrafts (way to cut it close, right?) ...

Still, it was pretty frustrating, since he is supposed to get paid on the1st and the 16th ... and this is the NINETEENTH DAY of the month. I thought that direct deposits were, you know, scheduled in advance and all that  ... but, yeah, whatever.

I hate adulting sometimes.
Especially when you don't have tons of liquid assets (that you THOUGHT you'd have) the morning of your twins' birthday party.
(Good thing it was a small, family party ... They'll get together with friends ... sometime. Especially since one of their friends doesn't celebrate birthdays, so she couldn't come to a BIRTHDAY-thing ... but she COULD come to a playdate-thing, I'd hope.)

But, yes, tender mercies of the Lord: =No overdrafts. (phew.) We had cash that covered (and had some leftover) lunch for us, cake and ice cream and drinks (and plates, napkins, and cups). We had enough food in the house to cover meals without scrimping. Our bread wasn't moldy. The milk hadn't gone sour. (And, even if it HAD, Bubbles is still receiving WIC, so that's nice).

I came to a conclusion, which I wasn't thrilled about ...
Michael and I keep thinking about (someday) building our "dream home" and what we want in it.
We go about this VERY DIFFERENT WAYS.
His way = design a floorplan. Ask me if I like it and what I'd prefer to see. I waffle on the whole thing.
My way = Create a Pinterest board. On it exist NO floorplans. Rather, it's filled with ideas for decorating and organizing. Or cool ideas to integrate INTO rooms. Again, not what Michael had in mind when I told him about that board.

SO, as I was thinking (in the shower, since that's where I do my best thinking for the most part nowadays), I realized that a big reason that I haven't planned on designing actual SPACES (besides my crack spatial skillz /sarcasm) is because deep down, I'm scared that we'll never have the money to actually DO it. And that realization ticks me off, since it feels like, in a way, I'm doubting my husband and his ability to provide for us ... which is stupid. And I DON'T LIKE doing stupid things.

Last week, I was crap at studying (let alone READING) my scriptures. I need to do it. I KNOW I need it. I have a class to prepare for, let alone that it's a GOOD thing that we've been COMMANDED to do.
This week has been better so far.
After church, I holed up in our room for a couple hours -- changed the sheets, looked at the lessons to be covered, read through next week's Relief Society lesson, caught up in the BoM365 (read the Book of Mormon in a year) schedule ... It was nice. I felt productive.
Yesterday morning, since I wasn't in any rush to get dressed or whatever, I started looking through the lesson I'll be teaching in RS in a couple months (Originally, it was going to be lesson 5, about Joseph Smith. BUT, due to needing to reschedule things due to a Stake Broadcast added into the calendar, I'm now teaching the lesson about the Atonement and Resurrection. It's a great lesson (not that the JS one wasn't ... but I like this one a lot and am not at all upset that I get to teach it)) and I read a conference talk, since I do need to go through those a few times (I didn't highlight in my November Ensign yet. Later).

I do need to work on saying sincere prayers ... and having formal, little prayers ... as opposed to just little statements of gratitude or what I need. Prayer is more of a conversation with our Heavenly Father, so said our High Council speaker on Sunday. It's not like text messaging (that's what I'm telling myself).

I'm still having dreams, every so often, about that bestie who's dropped out of my life.
I mean, yeah, I still miss her. But ... well, in my dreams, she's always ignoring my presence or trying to actively avoid me. And, usually, I find her and tell her point blank that I still love her, that I miss her, that I hope for the best for her.

They're not the most happy-making of dreams. But, at the same time, I'm not sobbing or irate or whatever else when I wake up. So ... yeah.

I'm enjoying my new class of students (in church, you usually change classes based on your birth year. So, I have all the students who are starting 2016 as 12- or 13-year-olds. I had a lot of students (all but one, actually) during that last quarter of 2015 who had or would turn 14 before January 1st.
I miss my old class, yes ... but I'm having fun getting to know a new bunch (and making sure that I get everyone's names right).
The Sunday before (being the 10th), tradition continued ... in that I had another adult join my class (usually for observation. It's enough to make a girl nervous!). So far, I've had our Ward Sunday School President (who's a friend, so that's not so nerve-wracking), the STAKE PRESIDENT (a little more nerve-wracking, though I know him and I know that he's not scary ... You make a joke about going onstage in your nudie-pants, and realize that the Stake Prez is in the room and HAD to have heard you ... and you apologize ... and he tells you that it's okay ... Yeah, one has to admit to oneself that he's not going to be shocked by anything else you do. So that's out of the way. Yay?), a friend who was visiting your ward for the day (I practically dragged her to class, so I happily brought that upon myself), the bishop, one of the members of the bishopric, ... and now the STAKE SUNAY SCHOOL PRESIDENT (who I didn't know at all).
So that was kind of ... nerve-wracking.
But he said that I did fine.
In fact, my Ward Sunday School Prez reported to me on Sunday that (1) he didn't have anyone lined up to observe my class (That's fine. I told him. Next week. It's tradition!) and (2) that Brother ___ was impressed with my teaching.

So, that's nice. Because Brother ____ sure didn't have to say that. ^_^
I guess it's a good thing that I brought a handout for the class. And that I printed up strips with the scriptures to read on them. And that I tell my students about great resources to help their scripture study. Because if there's one thing I love (besides the gospel, since I do love it bunches. And my family, ditto), it's books. Or knowledge available on the interwebz.

I know there's more to report about. but my hands are tired of typing. I'll do more later.
But sooner than a month from now.

Never say I never gave you nuthin'

I'm not promising that I'm going to be an every-day-ish blogger or anything ... but I'm trying to do better than once-a-month blogging.

There's not a whole, whole lot to report, really.

Michael's dealing with a bit of a skeleton crew at the office. R was in the hospital at the beginning of the week (possible heart attack -- he's now at home, recuperating. I've been saying my prayers). T's wife is sick (with two tinies at home to take care of. And her mom works, so either T stays home with her or comes home early). P has something that is taking her out of the office. B will be gone for at least a day ... so things there will be interesting. And very, very quiet. At least, it sounds like everyone in the Surveying department will be there ... but that just leaves, what maybe three other people? It IS a rather small company.

I got caught up in dishes yesterday. The laundry is ALMOST done being put through the washer and dryer ... which means that I have, like, oh ... I've lost count of how many loads I need to fold. Oh well. But it NEEDS to be done. And, I do have lots of clean underoos now, so that's a nice thing. Especially if I want to take Bubbles to Storytime today (I'm sure that everyone at the library would APPRECIATE if I wore clean clothes, right?)

Yesterday was a good, but busy day.

• Got up, showered, dressed.
  Organized the papers for the big kids' Strings registration and scholarship applications. Got a BIG envelope to put them in.
  Put that with my purse.
• Did the usual morning stuff with the kids: Made sure that Bruise and Bucket were ready for school, had a morning devotional with them (we had the short devotional out of a great little book that I bought for that purpose AND went through their Sunday School lesson for next week [The Pentecost]. Got them off to school.
• Bubbles and I hung around. I did Khan Academy and browsed Facebook a little. Called and set up an appointment with Becca to have my hair colored on Friday. 
• Bubbles FINALLY got dressed and we left to do errands ...
  Dropped by the school to turn in the Strings packet for the kids.
  Went to Wal-Mart to buy cereal (We also picked up plastic containers for the cereals, apples, some pants for Bubbles, salads for lunch (Bubbles's insistence), and a Cherry Dr. Pepper.
  After Wal-Mart, we stopped by Old Navy and got more (clearance) leggings and a (clearance) pair of flip-flops for Bubbles. She also got an orange bouncy ball out of the giant gumball machine thing.
  Went to Ross, since I've been wanting a new purse for weeks. I found a suitable one. It's BIG (so I can also put a book/church stuff/multiple tablets/the kids' junk that they give me to carry/whatever in it). It has a shoulder strap! And it's in neutral enough colors to go with nearly anything.
  AND, while there, I also picked up a little zipper case for my sunglasses, so they won't be all linty/scratched up in my bag; another little zipper pouch for my random supplies in my purse, AND(!!!!) a new wallet. I LOVED how my old wallet was set up. But it's getting OLD. Like YEARS OLD. But I found one, same maker, SAME LAYOUT/DESIGN, different colors ... and I snatched that puppy up.
  Then I let Bubbles play at the little indoor playground place, per her request, which allowed me to trade out purses and clean my old purse out.
  Then, we went to Target for dresses for Bubbles. We got her one dress, some pants, two shirts, a little stuffed O the Owl (from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood), season eight of The Big Bang Theory, some of the Star Wars stuff on clearance (an R2D2 USB/miniUSB cable for me, since it's handy and so cheap as well as a Darth Vader power stick for Michael - half price!)
  I also picked up two bulbs for Bucket's lava lamp (which has been bulb-less for months).
• Bubbles was ready to go home by that point, so home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
  We ate our salads and read some books and she laid on the couch to take a nap (sorta) while I perused the Google for haircolor inspiration.
• Bruise and Bucket got home and we went to the park, since it was early-release.
  Then we went back home and worked on cleaning the house and getting dinner ready.
  Michael came home, we ate, and then he took Bucket to Activity Days (church fun activity for the 8-11 year old girls. The boys have Cub Scouts, so this is what the girls do) and stopped by Target to get more of the Series 14 minifigs (Now we have all but the werewolf (#1) and the skeleton (#11) ... who are now decorating Michael's haunted house.
• Then everyone went to bed. Michael and I watched movie trailers on his phone and read a few more chapters in our current book (The Kill - L.J. Smith) and went to bed.
  After he fell asleep ... and I couldn't sleep, I got caught up  in my scripture-reading schedule and perused facebook some more.

Today, will be a day of folding laundry, doing Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Khan Academy, working with Bubbles on literacy and counting, cooking, cleaning the fridge (maybe), taking out the catbox, preparing for my Sunday School lesson, and reading a couple conference talks (one from April's conference and whichever one from October 2014 that I want ... I should have done that last night. Whoops).

And now that the kids are all up, I should make sure that the big kids are ready for school (and brush their hair and teeth) and do morning devotional with them. And do more (and fold some) laundry. And get that dang catbox cleaned.

But I really do want to finish reading Scorch Trial  and The Night Circus and the Carol Burnett articles in the TV Guide that I picked up (so I can give it to Mom. She and I have a longstanding adoration of Carol Burnett. I remember watching "The Phantom of the Opery" and other shorts on TV when I was younger than Bruise and Bucket. Good times. Someday, I'll invest in the DVDs of the Carol Burnett Show. And I will watch the crap outta them).

But yeah ... that's about it for now. So ... yeah. *shrugs*

Good gravy ... it's been so long since I've blogged.
I don't even remember what I've blogged about last. ... Let's go take a look .... Oh, okay.

So, since Michael's become a REAL Engineer (as opposed to an Engineer-in-Training), life has picked up a bit.
Now, just to make it until Friday (payday ... and when we find out if the kids passed this bout of swim lessons ... but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Let's see ...

• We went to OMSI and saw the new Narnia exhibit (you've got until September to see it).
  It was cool to see a lot of the props and costumes from the movies. And there was a bit about climate control (since that's what the White Witch was doing, really. Pretty overtly).
  We also tried to do a tour of the submarine, but they said we were too late.
  When I got home, it SAID on the website that the tours actually went late enough that we were in time for the last one. Oh well. It was a long enough day.
  Only made longer by the WONDERFUL Portland rush-hour traffic. *gags*
• The kids started swimming lessons. They're having a lot of fun with them. And they're doing a WHOLE lot better than last year.
  I don't know HOW MUCH, EXACTLY, is due to the fact that they aren't rotating through teachers like last time (and we were warned that this would happen when we had signed up last year) and how much is due to their current teacher, Bob, and the fact that he's AMAZING.
  (The man is an EXCELLENT teacher. That was obvious from just a few minutes into the first class. He's got it all down pat -- he knows how to listen to them ... and how to get THEM to listen to HIM.)
  And I've enjoyed chatting with the other two moms of the other two kids in the class.
• We went down to visit family this last weekend. FINALLY saw Nana (it's been a couple months, iirc. Eeps). And we went to "Art in the Park" as we like to refer to it. I bought a pair of earrings (which broke this morning. Oops. They were only $6, so it's not TERRIBLE. And I'm pretty sure I can fix them easily). ... Then we stayed with Mom and my stepdad. Then we swung by for a visit with Dad and L. And made it home to play our Lego Harry Potter board game. (Bruise LOVES it. We've played it at least 4 times in two days.)
• Got the Savior of the World audition results. I'm one of Mary's (many) aunts. No real lines, if I recall. Just "SHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" a couple of times. And some songs. No solos. Nothing too crazy.
  My Bri-Bri is Mary, so that's really cool. ^_^ And there are tons of great people in the cast, so it'll be fun to do. The summer vocal rehersal schedule given, though ... may be a little problematic. Since it conflicts a LOT for Bri and my summers. (She works. We've got some family obligations ... all on my side. ... So .... yeah. Hopefully things will all work out. ... But I was upset enough about it that a load of dishes is in the dishwasher and all the crap's cleaned out of the car.)
• Got some new tires on the van. Not ALL of them. Just replaced the bald ones. Which is important, since, y'know, I've got those family obligations to be at.
  (And really, I'd be P.O.'ed to miss my cousin's wedding because a tire blew.)
• Michael and I celebrated his birthday by using our movie theater gift cards (and Mom C watched the kiddos) and watched X-Me: First Class. And we liked it. (And I liked that we got a Cherry Coke. Yum. ... I also snagged us free popcorn. And the balance on my gift card (from last year) was enough to get us a box of candy). Good times.
• Mom and I took the kiddos to a Summer Reading Program --- a Chamber Music quartet performance. About Aesop's fables.
• I ordered books yesterday ... and thanks to the gift card from Mom and Dad C for my birthday (yeah, I am bad at using gift cards right away. But I do use them! And love them!), I got three books shipped for only $0.23 out of pocket. I was pretty darn happy! Now Michael and I will be able to finish reading the Uglies series (Scott Westerfeld).

In other news, Bucket snuggled up to me as we were playing the board game yesterday, and sweetly told me, "Mom, I love you. ... Even when you're stinky."
"What?" I gasped. "Are you telling me that I smell bad??"
"But I still love you," she simpered.

GEE. THANKS.

But, today, we had a good time hanging out at Costco while they put new tires on the van (and rotated the back [old, but good] tires to the front).
For what it's worth, the cheese pasta with lobster is REALLY GOOD. ... But I still don't know what lobster tastes like, really. But THAT was yummy.
And Bruise has learned that he DOES like salsa (even though he wouldn't even try the orange chicken. But he DID have a tiny bite of the pasta. So that's progress).

Also, also, my allergies seem to be back again. Crap. I'll have to start taking my fake-Zyrtec again. Since my nose is itching like CRAZY.

I'm sure that I've left out stuff. Oh well. But I think that I've gotten MOSTLY caught up now.

I can haz naptime, plz???

(Answer: NO. U can haz making-fudz-time, slacker.)
*sigh*

No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth. Honest!

Yes, I have been lazy and haven't blogged for over two weeks. I know.
No, you can stop reminding me.

Not that anyone really HAS mentioned it. Therefore, maybe no one READS my blog very often. :P
Good thing that I don't just blog for the RAGING AND WILD DEMANDS of my readers.
(Though, really, if you WANT me to blog about something, lemme know. I can cater to some whims!)

I have totally and completely given up on my NaNoWriMo this year. Yeah, I'm not motivated.
And life is blowing up in little ways.

My kids have NO DESIRE to go to storytime. What's up with that??
(TMI ALERT: My period came and made me go all sorts of crazy. Enough so that as I was LECTURING the children about the sorry state of their shoes in their closet [i.e., that they weren't PUTTING their DANG shoes in their DANG closet ... so they can't FIND their DANG shoes. And I was TIRED of it] that Michael sent me for a time-out. In which I totally emptied the medicine shelf in our bathroom cupboard and reorganized it. So we didn't go to a science exhibit and Wal-Mart in a bigger city. But we went to a closer Wal-Mart. Didn't buy anything. And I did tell the kiddos that I was really tired of the "gimmies."
(Srsly, my daughter always asks what we're going to buy her when we go into a store. And I told her, point blank, that when she does that, I don't want to buy her ANYTHING. EVER. Yup. That's some GREAT MOTHERING TECHNIQUE. I know that Dr. Phil is going to have ME start doing his show for him. >.< NOT.)
Someone griped at Michael's work that Micheal's had the work truck for a long time. (It was supposed to be until he passed the Engineering License exam last Spring. Which didn't happen.
So... well, we'll be a one-car household for a while.
I think that I've gotten most of my grieving for my lost independence for the next six months out of the way.
It still sucks ... since it cuts into what I'd LIKE to be ABLE to do.
At least now I have an excuse for being such a homebody. Oh well.

My aunt had her toe removed. And now is back in the hospital after a weekend at home (because her doctor wouldn't okay her going into an assisted living facility STRAIGHT from the hospital. And this he put the kibosh on AFTER my mom jumped through all the hoops to get it worked out so that my aunt COULD go straight to Assisted Living to recuperate. Since my aunt doesn't heal quickly and gets infections easily).
After she's done in the hospital, she'll be in Assisted Living to recuperate now.
This has been quite the fiasco.
Especially since we were going to spend Thanksgiving with my folks. Now, our plans are a little changed.
But, hey, on the plus side, I'll get to go out and get a pedicure with the womenfolk on Black Friday. That'll be nice. (Reminder to self: Shave legs well. Just in case.)

A couple weeks ago, Michael and I had a little bit of a date night -- we helped with the Youth temple trip. We didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but it was good to get to the temple.
We did family portraits for Christmas presents last week. Shhh!!! It's a surprise. (Sorta. My mom knows that she's getting pictures. But I told her to act surprised anyways. ^_^)

The missionaries are coming over for dinner tonight. Costco lasagna, salad ... and something for dessert. Exciting. I need to do the dishes.
And, once the roads aren't so icy, we'll drive into the next town to return library books and pick up my hold. That's what I get for procrastinating. I should have done it yesterday. Oops.

Yes, we did get some snow. Crazy! I only noticed as I answered the phone this morning. The kids hadn't looked out the window at all.
It's only like ... maybe a half-inch? But the roads are icy, so all the schools in the area are closed.

I put flea medicine and a STINKY flea collar on Diana-cat. (We could only find dog flea collars ... what gives, Target?? Is there some anti-cat sentiment???)

I don't want to do the dishes. Or fold all the laundry.

I had a weird dream the other night. I had watched "Every Little Step" about the making of and the Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line," which had Tyce Dirorio (From SYTYCD, the choreographer? Ring a bell?) auditioning.
But, in my dream, he and I were just chatting. He was charming, in a non-threatening-type of way.
Which was better than the dream I had had the night before that ... Fuzzy, but full of dread. And a car. Hm.

A couple weeks ago, Bruise was being bossy ... telling Michael that he was driving the wrong way. Yup, the four-year-olds are total backseat drivers already.
So Michael and I told him that if he wanted to be bossy, we'd drop him off and let him walk home.
"No! Don't doo dat! I'm widdle and I don't know da waaaaay!" was Bruise's plaintive response.
Then he corrects Michael (who was already headed the right way) on which way to go home. :P

A couple days ago, I noticed that Bucket has a chip in her front tooth.
"Bucket, how'd you get a chip in your tooth?" I asked.
"Um ... maybe one got stuck there?"

I love my kids.
"Why are yoo laffin', Mommy?" "I'm just so happy ..."

With the snow, the kids went out in it. I went and took pictures after I got them bundled up and grabbed shoes and a jacket. And my camera.
All they wanted to do was to throw snowballs at each other.
The snow, sadly, was too fluffy for snowballs. But, hey, we looked at tracks that people had made. We saw that Michael walked out to the mailbox. And I pointed out the tire tracks from the truck. Bruise loved seeing his own "twacks!!"/footprints in the snow.

I taught the Beehives at church last week. I got a night's notice. And, since I sat in the Laurel's class last week (and they were a lesson ahead), it didn't take too long to prepare. We got through the lesson. Even with two of the girls being a TERRIBLE DISTRACTION. I was REALLY ready to just tell them, "SHUT UP or go sit in the hall. And I'll have Sister _ go get your parents, if you can't sit still and quietly."
Because THAT'S going to be all conducive to the Spirit, right??? *glowers*

I think that really sums up the last couple of weeks. Life threw up, I quit NaNoWriMo (on purpose this time), lost my running buddy (her life got busy), I need to finish cleaning and run an errand before this evening. (Wish me luck, driving in the snowy-ice.)

And I need to get ready for the holidays. *sigh* I love the holidays, don't get me wrong. But I'm still a little sad that I don't have all the presents bought and all, I have no idea what to get for Michael, and we'll be down to one car. Which does bum me out a little. Oh well.

I'll work at being thankful. After I get the dishes done. ^_^

In which I gripe ... and then am very humbled

Let's get the griping out of the way first, okay?

In regards to other drivers, I just want to use the quote, "Lack of planning on YOUR part does NOT necessitate an emergency on MINE."

If you are putting off merging until the last second, don't expect me to be as happy and patient as if you'd put on your blinker right away. OR been in the correct lane in the first place.

And I say this even though I'm not great at parking and made a few people wait while I executed a three- (maybe five-) point turn in the library's parking lot. ... But I TRIED to wait until there weren't TONS of cars around. I try not to impose my crazy on everyone around me. (Part of my crazy is being unable to aptly gage space and distance ... and, therefore, I live in mortal fear of backing up into other cars or structures.)

Also, when I was volunteering yesterday, there were TONS of books. I arrived to find about four carts (one was only half-full. And already in the lobby. The rest were in the adjoining staff room). So I pull out one of the full carts, thinking to myself that I can totally just grab books off of TWO carts to shelve as easily as one. I push the mostly-empty cart in front of me and pull the FULL cart behind ... and it tips over and spills its load of around 60 alphabetized books. Because I'm JUST that awesome and effective.

(Two patrons immediately asked if they could help me. I said yes. And one of the library staff came and helped me put the cart back in order, assuring me that these carts are really "tippy" and that this has happened to everyone.)

But, yeah. Since the library had been closed for Martin Luther King (Jr)'s birthday on Monday, we were still catching up. It happens after every holiday (the week after Thanksgiving, when the library has been closed for TWO days is KILLER. I wasn't there for the aftermath of Christmas or New Year's this year. But I recall when I volunteered before, shelving the new [2 week checkout] books, it was rather ... crazy).

The kids are lying less. Which is good.

Bucket started ballet class. And proclaims to love it. (Bruise agrees. And he's technically in the class, too.) But you wouldn't know that if you'd seen her at class yesterday.
Bucket is most likely the youngest in her class, since it's for 4-6 year-olds and she did just turn 4. She has a church-friend in the class, which is nice. Bucket is, though, definitely the smallest. And, as with most new things, she was really reticent about joining in at first. She did participate with the group in the warm-up and the cool-down sections. However, the bulk of the class was spent either sitting on my mom's or my lap -- or (and this was much more preferable) practicing along with the girls as she stood next to our chairs.
Bruise didn't participate at all. I finally kicked him out of my lap so I could take a few pictures of Bucket being in class (and I SHOULD have taken the picture of her, tear-streaked, cuddling in my mom's lap). So, he ended up sitting in a chair next to me for 80% of the class.

Still, when both kids left class to walk to the car, they both proclaimed to Mom and me how they LOVED dance class.

Now, here's where I am very humbled. Lately, I've been kinda pissy (really, that's the best word for it, I'm sure) about our situation financially. We have credit card debt. We wouldn't have this debt if people in charge of the economy hadn't gotten greedy and screwed over the rest of the nation. If we didn't have this debt and things weren't so stretched, life would be a lot easier. ... We still wouldn't be the kind of family that could afford a yearly vacation with air travel or anything ... at least, not without saving lots and lots. We don't have tons of food storage. We don't have flashy cars or big screen TVs. Heck, right now, we're back down to ONE working computer. We don't have a Wii, nor do we have plans to buy one in the immediate future. When I get new clothes, it's almost always because they are gifts. When I gain weight (which has happened since this time last year), I have fewer and fewer clothes that look good on me. ... And, even with trying to be grateful for the good things, I find myself getting caught up in the sucky stuff:

• bills, bills, bills. And they're never all paid off , really. Because as soon as we get them paid, the NEXT one comes in.
• My kids are slowly trying to drive me mad -- lying, ordering me about like some plus-sized Cinderella (and HELL if I'm going to put up with that!)
• I've been sleeping wrong (or something) which has resulted in REALLY sore shoulders and neck for me ... which only adds to my cheerful, sweet disposition ... of wait, it doesn't. It leaves me PISSIER THAN EVER.
• Did I mention that my computer, which had started WORKING AGAIN, died AGAIN?
• I still miss my Gingi-cat. And I tear up about how much I miss her just THINKING of it. And I wonder if I'd rather NOT feel these emotions ... and if I could give them up, would I? Or would it be disloyal to her somehow? And it doesn't help that Diana-cat isn't much like my Ginger. Or that, every so often, I'll catch a glimpse of something pale out of the corner of my eye and, immediately, think that it's her ... and then I have to remember that it's NOT. And that I'm not really putting forth enough effort to perfect myself so that I can be utterly assured of getting to the Celestial Kingdom (because I'm one of my harshest critics. If not THE harshest) ... and if I don't make it there, I might not get to hang with my Gingi much.
  
• I get frustrated with myself for thinking the above. But have I gotten fully motivated to read my scriptures more (let alone really STUDY them)? I am praying a little more ... I could EXERCISE and get some endorphins.
• We're reading "The Last Battle" and things are so ... bleak/bad/suckified/crap. I KNOW that it gets better. I really do. It's not just faith because I've read this book before. MULTIPLE TIMES, even. But reading it aloud to the kids (because I have read it aloud before when it was just Michael and me, driving along) .... it just makes it (and life) seem more bleak/bad/suckified. Yesterday, I read some of Mo Willems pigeon books instead. Because they're lighter and funny and I just couldn't handle reading about Shift and his wicked designs.

I know, overall, it's stupid stuff. Nothing really that having a few fistfuls of money won't solve. And, truly, if throwing money at a problem solves it, it's not that huge of a problem.

Which brings me to this:

HAITI.

You can throw money at it, but not everything's being solved.

But the kids' pediatrician is doing what he can. He took action. And that's another reason why I love and respect our doctor.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/950a075c-05a3-11df-871b-001cc4c002e0.html

http://gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_b7120bfc-0665-11df-8899-001cc4c002e0.html

Here he is, volunteering and DEALING and HELPING with all of this.

Some people amaze me.
Most people amaze me ... Most people rise up and make great choices and DO great things.

They're not all greedy and power-hungry.

I have to remember this. Even when the actions of a powerful FEW affect the honest MANY.

There are good people. LOTS of good people.
If only we (If only I) could be more like them.

Then the would wouldn't feel like it's just so crap.

Here are a couple more examples that make me tear up ... but in movie form:

Sound of Hope:

Lost Generation:

Today, I'm grateful for: good examples, proactive people, that I DON'T live in a place that's war-torn or suffering from massive natural disasters. My healthy family who loves me. Our church.

In which I am not very grateful ...

NaNoWriMo is kicking my trash. It could have something to do with the fact that I didn't START writing yesterday until nearly 10 PM. And I was TIRED.

And CRANKY.

And hating money. ... Really, the fact that I don't have lots of monies. Monies pouring out of my ears. A money tree in the back yard with armfuls of cold, hard cash ripe for my picking.

If I had money, I could do lots and lots of things. I could go to the gym. I could buy clothes that make me look good (and not like a slightly-fat version of myself squeezing into clothes that I've had for years). I could buy shoes. I just want two pairs of shoes right now. A new pair of sneakers and a pair of cute black flats that I can wear with just about anything.

I could take my family to Disneyland. I could get caught up with bills and food storage. I could buy a family in Ethiopia a COW or a GOAT so they have milk for themselves and milk to sell and fertilizer for their garden (or, heck, if they're feeling especially silly, they could have a cow-pat fight!). I could do about ten kiva.org loans and help ten people to start their own businesses. And once they've done that, they'd pay pack their loans and I could help MORE people.

I could have a savings account. I could be able to help out a friend or a family member. We could go traveling. We could buy land and a new manufactured home so that we can start work on our dream home sooner, rather than later ... if ever.

I think that I'm just approaching that time, iykwim...aityd. For some reason, it just hits me harder ... that we just aren't rich. We might never be well-off. And it just ... I don't know. I just don't like it. I WANT to be able to have the option to spoil Bruise and Bucket. I'd like to be able to not fret about what all we can AFFORD to give family for Christmas. I'd like to KNOW that our credit cards are paid off, that we don't owe anything on the car or student loans or anything like that. I'd like our debt to be just ONE thing -- the house.

Oh, hell. I have to finish getting ready and get the kids in the van and go to church.

I love church, don't get me wrong. But right now, I'd like nothing more than to do what I did a good deal of yesterday -- lie in bed (or a bath) and escape life for a little by reading, reading, reading. This way I'm not dwelling on how long it'll be until payday. How the economy sucks (because if those damn banks would have started lending money immediately, my husband's company would be working plenty and he'd be getting that yearly bonus that we use to pay off the credit cards and splurge on Christmas things and get us through the first bit of the year until our tax refund comes in ... )

I know that things could be a lot worse off. Michael could be unemployed. The house could be repossessed. I, or Michael or the kids, could be sick -- really sick.

I know that I have lots to be grateful for.

Just, right this instant, it's difficult to remember all of that.

Just bear with me. Pet my hair and tel me that it'll be okay. That Mother Nature is a little witch and that I'm not a terrible, terrible person for being a bit materialistic.

But, gosh, I really wish that I had some funds to get Michael a cool present. ... I suppose he'll just have to settle for carnal favors or something. Which, knowing him, he'll be fine with. But I LIKE to give gifts. I LIKE to search through stores and find something that is PERFECT and has MEANING for the person I'm giving the gift to. And I HATE when I don't get that option. *sigh*

Now to get the kids ready and loaded so we don't miss church. *sigh*

I hate my sinuses ...

With THAT out of the way,  you should be really proud of us.

This weekend, we (mostly meaning Michael):

• installed a water line for the new fridge's ice machine/water spout-thing
• did our taxes
• cleaned our bedroom
• cleaned the living room
• cleaned the stove/oven
• got it so that the oven's more level
  
• watched some DVDs from the libraries
  We watched Fun with Dick and Jane, Horton Hears a Who, ... and we're now on the last disc of season one of Pushing Dasies ... which is REALLY cute.

This morning, I got the kids in some clothes and we (meaning ME) worked on the yard a bit. I filled up the yard waste recepticle with some branches and leaves ... I trimmed some of the shrubbery (oh, how I LOVE that word! Makes me think of Monty Python ... and makes it a little more worthwhile to have itching eyes and a Niagra-like flow from my nose. Yech!) ... I still need to rake a buttload (YES, that IS a technical term) of leaves (the ones that fell since I raked last ... in, like, November) and weed the yard. *sigh*

I need to research some good weed killer-stuff. Any recommendations?

I also finished addressing, sealing, and stamping the invites for my friend's bridal shower. And they are in the mail! Woot!!

Before the Strengthening the Family seminar, I was able to print off some rolls and stuff for Young Women's. Phew!  Now I need to work at getting the May calendar totally ready to be handed out by the ... let's see ... 26th. So I have a little time. Phew.

The kids are sacked out, waiting for me to get lunch ready, watching The Sword in the Stone. 
I have tons of laundry on the bed, waiting for me to fold it. But I'm more than halfway through washing all the dirty clothes. I figure that, after I get the kids to lie down for a nap, I can fold laundry while I watch The Jane Austen Book Club (since it's due back at the library tomorrow) ... and rake another receptical-full of leaves the H out of our yard. And do the dishes (so the kitchen will be almost totally clean. And try and read through a book or two ... And get a shower.

And I need to take a couple things out to the shop ... and grab stuff for dinner while I'm out there. Go me, having ANY idea of what to cook for dinner before 5:30 PM!! Yay me!!

But I've worked on cleaning little bits of our bathroom. And I cleaned the kids' bathroom yesterday. I need to vacuum the kids' room sometime. And I should read to them today.  But our room looks SO GOOD! Like, really, really good. Once I get all the clothes off the bed, I can make the bed and it's gonna look EXCELLENT.

And, before family comes into town, I can get the desk and the kitchen counter all cleaned up ... and we'll be doing great. And maybe my allergies (which I never USED to have this badly ... if at ALL. Stupid dust. And grass pollen. *sigh*) will quit being such a total punk-butt.

Yes, you are in total AWE of my mad vocabulary skillz. (Drat my German classes, though. I keep wanting to spell "vocab" the German way, since it's a totall cognate -- "vokab" ... It's not the only word that I have to remind myself to spell the American/English way, though. Just one of the bigger ones.)

Oh, and, btw, I gave up waxing. I'm happily hair-free and thrilled to be reunited with my razor. I might try a professional waxing sometime. But, really ... I was totalling things up ... and if I got ALL the waxing done I'd want (armpits, whole leg, bikini-area) I'd be spending around a hundred bucks. Ouch. Just THINK of how many books I could buy with that! I could get PAIRS of SHOES! I could buy some hardware for my computer! It ALMOST covers the cost of Publisher 2007 (which I'd like) ... I just don't know. I mean, I can't even bring myself to pay for a PEDICURE, I'm that frugal (read: CHEAPO!!) ... Yeah.

Maybe if we suddenly start raking in the bucks ... and, gosh, if we did, I TOTALLY know how to spend those bucks. I'm so GOOD for the economy, given the chance. ^_^

Gosh, can you tell that I'm kinda tired? Yeah, I am. I'm being even more random than normal ... if such a thing is possible. *sigh*

Reporting for duty!

Okay, so here I am ... It's not quite noon, I'm showered and dressed (and wearing make-up! ... Even though when FIRST did my mascara, I ended up with a little hair dragging on my pupil ... which was VAIR, VAIR annoying). I did a load of dishes last night and made dinner ... I still have about three loads of laundry waiting to go through the washer and dryer. ...

BUT!! I dragged myself and the kidlets out of the house and got ALL my errands done! Woot!!!

We went and bought the red decorative sugar for Bruise's cake. We went to the Post Office (where Bruise and Bunny were yelling outside about "Dere! Wobot! Wook! Wook dere! It wobot!!" -- The truck next to us had the Autobot symbol sticker. And the driver overheard me go, "Ohhhhh! Yes! He does have the Autobot sign! You're right!" And he laughed a little. Which was fine.) where I returned a book that I didn't really want that I was TOLD would have free return shipping and which decidedly did NOT have free return shipping. (I'm out $2.93, which isn't a LOT ... but I knew that I was going to be returning the book. And if I hadn't been informed that I would have free shipping, I wouldn't have had it shipped to me in the first place. ... As Jayne says, "There's nothing as deceiving as a low-down, dirty deceiver." Gotta love the Firefly quotes. Applicable to every situation. As are Princess Bride quotes.) Then we went over the BWIDGE!!! (as the kidlets chime in unison) and hit the grocery store for the food coloring gel that the kidlets were too tired to allow me to get on Tuesday. And I returned books underneath the "big library" and we headed back so I could pick up books at the "little library" ... and I checked out a few more from my TBR-list (Yay!) and bought a few of the ones for sale  -- One I had read before and enjoyed (need to get the rest of the series now), one is on my TBR-list, one just sounded interesting (about Biblical-age culture) -- and since they're $2 each, I'm happy.

We then came home, got the mail, and the kidlets are eating (SECONDS!!) their peanut-butter sandwiches ... since we're out of lunchmeat, it was the only option. Good thing they were amenable to it. Phew!

 Now, to clean off the counter and my desk, have the kids pick up their toys (you should SEE their ROOM. Looks like a tornado hit the floor.), and do those dang dishes. And clean the kitchen counters off. And clean out the fridge. And finish that laundry. But, hey ... with the laundry, I just have to wash and dry it. No one's really going to see the ginormous pile of clean clothes, right?? And, in any case, a ginormous pile of CLEAN clothes is fantabulously better (and MUCH better-scented) than a ginormous pile of dirty clothes. ^_^ Right??

And I should clean the hall bathroom.
And vacuum.

And make the batter for the kids' cake and cupcakes.

And take a nap.

And paint my toenails.

But, hey! Once that's done, I have some EXCELLENT books to read!!!! Which should be cool, right??

Things that make me happy ...

SO, in back story, my drea friend Katie, called in a favor -- would I be willing to participate in the creche for her stake (Heck yeah!) ... and so I'd need some Biblical/Ancient Israelite-type garb. Which I didn't have. 

(Now, if they needed someone in 1940s or even 1920s wear, I could have done that. Geez, how inconsiderate of our Lord and Savior to not be born in a era that I have clothing styles from! :P Yes, I'm courting hellfire for that.)

SO, I call my friend, Dianne ... who not only has stuff, but also made letters for the YW bulletin board AND gave me scrapbooking paper and curtains from IKEA ... and is in all ways completely awesome.

In between that time, I've chatted with Roxy about out bridesmaid-ing duties and the clothes and all. She's glad that I was able to put in my two cents to get us shoes that cost $15 ... rather than the $43 shoes (which are LOVELY, don't get me wrong ... but after spending over $100 on the dresses, we're feeling the pinch of the economic situation, if you get my drift).

(Even better for me? These shoes are just about exactly the same as a pair that I have. Which I've gotten the $30+ use out of ... and look very well for thier age. So I'm SAVING another $15!!)

AAAAAANNNNNDDDD!!! I called up David's Bridal and they WILL alow me to trade in the (VERY SHEER) chiffon shrug/jacket for a different style that will cover my garments and look better!!!! YAAAAAAY!!!!!

(Also, my dress -- well, top and skirt -- fit quite well. Maybe I can just get Jo-Jo or Dianne to hem it for me ... and I'll be GOLDEN!!)

And I only have to buy a TIE for Bruise to wear ... Bunny's flower girl dress is all taken care of... I'll need to buy some nude-colored sheer hose ... I'll do Rox's and my hair and make-up ... thi is going to be good. 

(Well, it'll be GREAT once I get the bridal shower completely planned. And we'll have fun, regardless on the girls' night out that we'll have -- I don't have to go to a bar!! I can take the minor bridesmaid home!! And I have wonderful other friends who are compiling lists of the good bars that the bride and other bridesmaids can go to!! I am ON FIRE!!!! This is going great!!!)

I'm, like, maniacally-giggly-happy ... I don't have to swallow the cost of a shrug that won't work. I DON'T have to buy expensive shoes (not that I wouldn't like to buy shoes ... but I want my babies to have Christmas presents w/o their mom being a complete insomniac over how we'll pay off the credit cards and all. You know what I'm talking about, right?). I'm feeling GOOD. And it's so nice!!

AND!! And!! I found an online program that works GREAT for turning the .pub files that I have the YW calendars in into .pdf files! Yay!!!!! Now I can get those emailed out!!! Score!!!!!

The only way things could get better is if I simutaneously receive a gift of thousands of dollars AND a third bedroom spontaneously appears in our house.

(See, self ... good things happen when you actually read the scriptures, you doof. Do it more often, okay? It's MUCH cheaper and better for you than Prozac.)

But, yes ... in a nutshell, I have excellent friends. Excellent, I tell you!!
And I love it when I can save money. It makes me INSANELY happy.

Like new-book happy.

Also, also: If you haven't watched the TV show Psych, you seriously should. We watched two episodes yesterday. It's flippin' HILARIOUS and I like it very much.

As you were.

returned

We are back from our whirlwind trip from Cali. Michael missed us. The house was clean on our arrival ... He even fixed the toilet that started to leak (deluged) right before we took off Thursday.

Saw Grampy (the kidlets' great-grandfather. This was the first time they've met him. The last time that we saw him was when we told him and Grammy [who has since passed away. Explains why he was having a wedding reception, no?] that we were having twins. When we were getting together to spread my uncle's ashes. Very circle of life, huh?) and met his new wife. She seems really nice. She brought us all presents ... crackers and snacks for Michael and me (I get the coffee-flavored crackers all to myself. Yes, I'm a terrible Mormon. I like the flavor/smell of coffee. It comes from my coming from a long line of "Friends of Other Faiths." ... And the fact that at my Nana's house, a treat I commonly received was coffee candy. Oh, yum.) and pajamas and an outfit for each of the kidlets. Bucket is running about in her Abby Cadabby outfit ... complete with wings on the back and a little petal-skirt on the shorts. Very cute. Bruise was sad that his new truck PJs were dirty. He wanted to wear those today.

The kiddos got to try swimming in a swimming pool. At first, Bruise didn't really like it. But now he really finds being towed around a pool, in his little inner-tube, to be a huge highlight. Bucket wants to love swimming ... but she's so trepidatious about it. She says that she does want to take swimming lessons next summer, though. That'll be good.

The drive into San Francisco was crazy. We got caught in rush hour traffic before the toll bridge we took. Oh my words ... and it didn't help that one guy didn't have very bright brake lights (the light in his back window was OUT ... We almost smashed into him. Good thing Mom's car and Julie's car all have very good brakes ... and that we didn't take the van). And Mom and I REALLY needed a bathroom. :S

But, overall, the trip went well.

Bucket threw up once a day with all the excitement ... and she loves to eat. And doesn't always know when to stop. Friday, she tossed her cookies in Julie's bathroom. Saturday, she filled three linen napkins at Grampy's reception. Sunday, she puked all over herself and her carseat on the way back to Oregon. Ugh. That was crazy. I'm still trying to get the stains out of her new shirt.

But, yeah. It went pretty well. Mom brought her portable DVD player (she bought it especially for the trip. We know that we can get lots of use out of it. ^_^ The kidlets watched movies all the way down. They even napped a little on the way down. Bruise seems to be a bit of a better traveler than Bucket (she wants to be "up" and held during the drive), but Bucket did a really, really good job of going to the bathroom in the toilets. She only really had a bad day of it yesterday. Bruise was filling up his Pull-Ups left and right. *sigh*

We should be caught up with insurance. *sigh* Anyone want to give me a trust fund? Any wealthy, philanthropic readers out there wanting to pay for some of my kids' college? Just thought I'd ask. ^_^ (But, really, if you're out there, I'm not too proud to accept it. ^_^)

I really do feel that things WILL work themselves out. I've been praying a lot about it. Keep feeling that it'll be okay. ... But you know me. I'm impatient. And I like me some monies. ^_^

I also like me some swimming pools. ... If we ever get to the point where we build our dream home, we are having us one of those indoor pools. Swimming year-round. And a hot tub/whirlpool/spa/whatever you call it. (Bucket LOVED the hot tub.)

Today, I'm just going to concentrate on getting caught up on things ... do some dishes, fold some laundry, finish cleaning out Bucket's puke carseat, do some reading, maybe take a nap, snuggle with Michael ... that kinda stuff.

I'm pretty wiped still ... but, considering that I haven't been sleeping all that well lately, it's hardly surprising. *sigh* I'm working on that.

And, hey, I impressed my mom by using a curling iron to straighten my hair for the reception. Go me.

And everyone thought that Bruise and Bucket were so adorable at the reception (you can tell they didn't see Bucket upchuck, huh?).
As Bruise was chasing/being chased by Bucket and the other little girls on the dance floor, one of the girls came up to us (she might be three-five years old) and said fervently to Mom and me,

"He is SO handsome."

That's my boy. Breaking hearts at this tender age. Keep it up, little man. But be kind. ^_^

And, Bucket? Stop throwing up. You don't want to be sick.
Neither do I, sweetheart. Neither do I.

Blargh ... plus some cute stuff. And some poop.

So, I get a call ... Michael's going to be taking care of some financial stuff while I'm gone.
He's me big, strong man. Helping me to not worry so that my brain melts and seeps out my ears.

BESIDES THAT, we went to storytime (survived!), got the kidlets' summer reading program prizes (a book each, and coupons for blueberry-picking and free tacos), then we hit Target and Costco.

Sadly, Costco did not have TONS of free samples out. Whatever.

But the kids were generally well-behaved and cute.

When I asked Bucket if she wanted to do a little shopping, she's all "No. I do BIG SHOPPIN!!!"

That's my girl.

We picked up Pull-Ups. Bruise has Cars and Bucket has Princesses. She's been so thrilled to have her "princess panties" that she went pee in the potty at least three times. And even pooped, too! That's some serious motivation when you've got panties with "Swinderlella" on them.

Bruise ... well, he's taken to wearing his Cars UNDERWEAR ... and he pooped too ... just not in the toilet. At least I caught it before it got ground into the fabric or anything. *phew*

I'm tired. I couldn't sleep last night. Ended up staying up until midnight. And I have so much to do and I'm completely unmotivated ... and then I freaked out with the phone call from the Dr.'s office ... But I've prayed and Michael's going to take care of it and things are going to work out. Somehow. But they will.

Hey, anyone wanna join my "Don't Have Enough Money" Club? The only requirement is that you don't have enough money to buy everything you want. Bonus points if you totally second-guess purchases after a while. Extra bonus points if you wish that you didn't have to eat. Ever. ('Cause. DANG Y'ALL, I'd be saving a veritable CRAPLOAD of monies if I never had to buy food.)

But things will be okay. Someday. And my mental health number will go far down. And I won't text my husband about a bazillion times. And I'll spoil my kids and never worry about retirement (or social security) or the price of tea in China, etc., etc., so forth.

Well, I'd better unleash my children from naptime.

Take care, everyone! I probably won't blog until Monday. So ... yeah.
If you seriously miss me too much, go to hulu.com and watch Dr. Horrible. And sing along with the Laundry Day song. And start reciting the dialogue.
And if that doesn't help, go rent/buy Firefly. I'm just about Kaylee. With some Wash thrown in.

Ciao!

It's been a while ...

Wow, I can tell that I haven't blogged for a bit. Sorry if you missed me and my ... lack of sanity.

The truck's acting up again. I SO wish that I was more mechanic-y ... then maybe I could fix it for Michael. But when? The kiddos have (for now) won the Great Nap War of 2007. So, yes, there's really no naptime in this house anymore. ... Which makes me not want to travel. Ever. Oh well. Bucket will sometimes take a nap in the afternoon. Bruise will conk out (IF we're holding him) a few hours before bedtime.

Bruise has a cold. So, yesterday, after my talk in Sacrament meeting (the first chirch meeting -- in case you're not LDS), I took the kiddos home since Bruise and his dripping snotfest wouldn't be allowed in Nursery (the "class" for the 18 mos - 3 year olds).

BUT we did get out kicker check from our state taxes. Yay! So now I'm not getting much more wrinkled (Did I mention that I'm getting WRINKLES?!?!? YES! and I'm not even thirty!!!) ... and Michael doesn't have to be all despondent because I'm worrying about crap that I have no control over. (Yes, that's one of my talents. Shut up. It is SO a talent. One that I wish I didn't have.)

Bruise is doing better today. Bucket's got a bit of a cough ... but she's had that for about a week now.

The kiddos woke up at around FIVE IN THE MORNING today. Michael dealt with them after his shower ... as I lay in bed (and then the kiddos slept until around 7:45 or so. Nice!). I could have gotten up ... but I really, really, REALLY didn't want to. Not even when Miss Bucket was knocking on their door and saying "Hello Daddy! Hello Mommy! Mommy sleeping!!"

I have to say that thanks to PBS, the kiddos are doing pretty well ... Bruise works at singing the ABC song. Bucket will sing "La la. La la la. Elmo Word." And when we see letters, Bucket will pick out some of them ... Usually the Os and Ss.

I need to figure out what to get the munchkins for Christmas. And their birthday. They really have most everything they NEED. I'm thinking maybe just some small trinkets (think stockings) and maybe trips to do things -- the aquarium, the zoo ... if they were older, I'd really want to drag them to OMSI. (I'm such a geek. I really, really love OMSI and wish I got up there more often. Maybe we'll find some room in the budget for that. It'd be cool.)

We went to Storybook Land this last weekend. Bruise was okay with sitting on Santa's lap ... as long as he got the candy cane. Bucket? Was. Not. Happy. She wouldn't let go of Grandma ... and screamed most of the time, anyways. *sigh* AND my camera's flippin' batteries RAN OUT as we were there. Good thing we'll be going again this weekend. I'm bringing my backup batteries this time. Freakin' batteries.

Well, I think it's time to suction out Bruise's nose again. (You know you're doing a GOOD job when, amid the nasty snot, you're extracting cries of "Daaaaaaaady!!! Daddy!!!" Yeah, sign me up for mother of the year. Oh yes.)

Say "Cheese!" ... It's PICTURE TIME!

Hello, my darlings! Yes, I'm back ... I didn't slice off a finger or disembowel myself when I was chopping up an onion or the celery or carrots in the soup. And it was good soup. Michael ever said so!

For being so patient and lovely, I've decided that it's more than time to post pictures. So ... YAAAAY!!! *insert waving arms a la Kermit D. Frog*

Of course, I shall narrate the pictures. Because I'm all about gilding the lily when it comes to my children's pictures. :P


Bath time:

 

Do you think that Bucket's at all excited for bathtime?

Nah, me neither.

 

Hugging makes the world a better place. Even bathtime ... and, believe you me, from what the kidlets do and say? Bathtime is nigh impossible to improve.

But don't you agree that if everyone gave and got more hugs that the world would be a better place? And even more earth-shattering and wondrous would be if some of those hugs were with a panda! Seriously. Ask Neil Gaiman. He'll totally back me up on this one.

 

"Yo, yo, mah peeps. Whaddup?"
Seriously ... I think my little boy is about the cutest in the universe sometimes.
Okay, like 98% of the time. (When he's whining and screaming and trantruming ... well, then I might buy that there are sweeter, cuter little boys. Maybe.)

 

And we couldn't leave BUCKET out! No, no. No one puts Bucket in a corner!
Besides Mutti (my mom)'s glasses are the BEST for adorable baby pictures.

I mean, really, don't you agree?

Besides that, I'm still getting better. I'm coughing ... but my nose isn't all stuffy and I've gotten my voice (almost completely) back.
The van's still in the shop because the warranty company's trying to pull a bit of a fast one on us ("Sure, we agreed to pay for the repair! We got you a used transmission. But we don't want to pay for the diagnostic or the flush!" ... Um, yeah. But those are PART OF THE REPAIRS. Seriously people. Just suck it up and let me get my van back. And you better pray that that transmission, with its one-year warranty, works until this warranty runs out. Grrr.

That and I woke up to Bruise screaming ... he had climbed from his crib into Bucket's ... and then SOAKED himself and her sheet. Honestly ... and oh, it was 6:30 in the morning. When they sleep normally until at least 7 or 7:30 ... 8 or 8:30 if I'm lucky.

*sigh*

But, really ... besides those two blips (the van and the plague) ... and money being tight (but, really, who ISN'T it tight for? --- And if you can answer, "Me," in all honesty ... um ... pass some my way, okay? Then we'll pay off the van, which will allow us to pay off Michael's loan, and then we can work towards paying off the house. And life will be happy and carefree and I can buy books -- lots of books -- and have college accounts for the kidlets and a nice, solid savings account, and a retirement account. And I won't worry at all ever again ... Until I start freaking out about something else. :P)

So, yeah. Things are okay.

Back to normal(er)

Well, since I wrote and vented, things are starting to move along.

If you really care that much about my scout pack, we have a website
. It's not the best thing ever or anything ... but I'm hoping that it will get better. And, hey, if y'all have any suggestions of things that I should add, you can let me know.

And I created a forum for my cub scout leaders. So far I have three people signed up. Woot for me! ... Even though I have to wonder what a geek I am that I had to create a forum. But I rather enjoy being a little bit of a geek. And, hey, if this can help me NOT have to be in meetings as often, so much the better!

Now I've gotten most of the laundry (FOUR LOADS) folded. Most of Michael's and my stuff's been put away ... I need to put away the kids' stuff. But the living room's picked up. I need to do dishes. I want to read a couple books before we take off to visit Michael's folks.

I don't know what to cook for dinner.
I like how, right now, THAT is my biggest concern.

I also like that I haven't yelled at the kids much at all today. Have I yelled at them at all? ... I can't remember. I like that. I like that a whole hell of a lot.

I also liked this post I came across via PopURLs. And, yes, I realize that I am not only an felinophile but an extreme geek for digging this.

And I liked hearing that the tax kicker checks will be in the mail in December. I like me some monies. I very much likes me some monies.

I'm not sure how I feel about how much time I spend on Gaia... But i have a relatively cute avatar ... so I guess that's okay. Maybe.

So, yeah. Things are looking a lot better. I'm not worried that I might need antidepressants or anything (Quit looking at me like that. I never said I wasn't a bit of a hypochondriac!).

So, yeah. Things are okay.

Can't hurt to try ...

So, as I'm going through my daily dose of blogs (and it's a rather large dose. Yes, I am an addict.), I come across a contest.

See this:
Over at Ashwin’s blog, you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!

Well ... truly, 2500 dollars would not be unwelcome.
And if nothing else, Ashwin'll be getting some linky-love going on.

And if I don't win? Well, I suppose that I could erase this post. We'll figure that out August 20th, I suppose.

Also, if you're jonesing for a chance to win a 37" flat-panel LCD HDTV, go to 5 minutes for mom and enter that contest.

'Cause you know what? Free is definitely my favorite price. And I do like me some monies. Like that song by the Flying Lizards. ^_^