---

So ... just tell me

... am I a ... um ... what's a gentler word for f*ck-up?

I mean, I know I'm a bit of a hot mess right now.
Kind of hard to deny that when you're sobbing as you paint your toenails, and berate yourself with an inner monolog of, "Just paint your toenails. Just do it. You've kvetched about it enough on your blog. Might as well do SOMETHING with your life. And try not to screw THIS up, m'kay?"

Yeah ... how much of this is menstrual-related and how much of it is just my own crazy ... I don't know.

But ... yeah. There it is.
Tons of fun ... NOT.

At least Michael was a rock star (when he's telling me to stop trying to fix everyone's problems and to stop feeling guilty when I CAN'T fix everyone's [or, apparently, anyone's] problems) and set up a bath for me, complete with a bottle of bubbly (in our case, that's sparkling cider, not champers ... Yeah, I've been reading a little too much over at Forever Young Adult, huh?) ... which I was able to prise open using manicure tools, since I don't keep a bottle opener in the bathroom. Yup. Didn't even mess up my nails. woot.

Still ... I feel like a jerk.
When I finally let a friend know how I feel ... and I tried to do it all in a tough-love-but-emphasis-on-love-because-I-wouldn't-care-if-I-didn't-love-you-so way ... and, well, there are some underlying problems on that friend's side. ... And I'm trying not to be hurt that this friend was keeping that from me. I'd have been more understanding and ABLE to do some stuff IF I'd known about this underlying issue.

So ... yeah. We'll see if things are able to blow over or if I've screwed this over too much.

So, yeah ... so I FEEL like a complete and total screw-up/mess/jerk.

Is that any better than feeling like your friend is constantly blowing you off? Or that the friend is flaky or irresponsible?

I ... I just don't know.

Can I just go back to Disneyland now?
Or to sleep?
Just maybe?

Brace yourselves ...

No, it's not that winter is coming.
(Not with the crazy humidity that's been going on)

No, it's because Shark Week, iykwim (aityd), is upon us.

And, well, I kind of had my mental well-being, well, crash on me.
About as much as I ever do ... I'm a pretty chipper person, overall.
So, when I feel down or frustrated, I turn into Chicken Little -- running about (no, not in real life) and freaking out that maybe I'm depressed and nothing's right and I'm a mess and I suck at friendships and people are going to hate me, etc., etc., etc.

I should paint my toenails. That usually helps me.
Except that I don't have the color that I'd like to use ... I want a multichromal rainbow-type polish on my toes. So that it's all silvery, but when the light hits it -- POW!! -- RAINBOW, y'all!

Yeah, my life is hard.

The new dishwasher is still amazing. I heart it. And it's easier for the kids to remember to help load/unload.
If I can just get Bubbles to stop trying to climb on the door, when it's open. Grr.

Bubbles had her 15-month appointment. She's still tiny, but staying on her own curve, growth-wise. So the doctor isn't worried.
She also has a viral ear infection, which explains the PLETHORA of snot ... But she wasn't ill enough to forego the immunizations. She didn't care for them. Oh well.
Heck, she wasn't wild about the whole check-up. Hates being put on her back and being touched/held in place if it's not HER idea (don't get me wrong, Girl LOVES herself a snuggle or a ticklefest ... but, apparently having her temperature taken --under the arm, mind you -- WORST THING EVER. ... Well, besides her shots).

Though, since that was last week, she might be over it. I hope she's over it. She's a lot less grumpy and snotty. I prefer it when she's not my snotter-daughter. And it's easier on all of us when she's not grumpy.

Michael, his dad, his brother (C), and the neighbor kid cut down the one tree in the backyard. We (and we "we," I mean Michael)'ll be taking the wood to a gal in the ward. And they ran a wood chipper so that there's a shload LESS of old branches in our yard. ... Now, do I try and make our yard look nice NOW? Or do we figure on getting a different manufactured home (with MORE than two bedrooms) to put on our lot? (I wish that this was a NEAR future thing ... except for the having to pack up everything bit.)

Bruise and Bucket had basketball this week (Three hours, total, that is). They enjoyed it.
Yesterday, playing Sharks and Minnows, Bucket really surprised their coaches by how fast she is.
Coach Riley: Wow!! (And this gal is a leggy gal in good shape ... and Bucket was able to catch up to her and tag her out.)
Coach Amy: Yeah! I was running and I noticed that there was someone running next to me. (To Riley) I thought it was you! Ha!

Bruise wishes that I'd gotten a video or picture of one of his first throws on Tuesday ... He had shot a basket. Then he looked about for his ball. BONK! It bounced off his head. BONK! ... I almost yelled (from the stand where I was sitting with Bubbles) to him that it's BASKETBALL, not soccer!!

I'm glad that today is Friday. I got to sleep in and I don't HAVE to get anywhere at a certain time (well, until this evening) ... which means that I don't have to sit in the stands and try not to cry (Thanks, Mother Nature. I hate you.) today.
It also means that Michael will come home so much earlier. I like that.
I especially like it during the school year, since then he and I (and Bubbles) go out for a date.

But, yeah, you're probably wondering what I'm upset about.

The gist is this: I've tried to help a friend. And I feel blown off. Repeatedly.
And, worse yet, this last time, there's more than just me burned.
And I hate that I put OTHERS into that position.
I can handle being out my own money and possessions ... but setting up something where others can get burned ... when I'm a hostess for this?

A real hostess protects her guests. I'm not freaking Lady Macbeth.
Which, really, is how I'm feeling ... and we all know how THAT ended up
(If not, go check the Wiki ... although, unlike Lady M, I am not consumed with ambition. I just wanted to help out a friend. And ... well, I just need to take a step back.)

I have another friend who's in the midst of medical issues. And she's doing a bit better. She's so sweet ... and independent -- that she hates the idea of putting anyone out. Which makes it a little hard to know how to help her. But she's a sweetie. And she makes me laugh. And I make her laugh (which makes me feel useful).

We have a dinner to attend Sunday. I'm bringing a dessert ... I figure that I'll try something new that sounds yummy. I'll let you know how it goes, eh?

And I've been getting a slew of scammers/telemarketers this week.

With one (scammer), when I called her out on it, she's all "Oh, really?!? You think you're SO SMART! But there are HACKERS out there because of PEOPLE LIKE YOU!!"
(Next time someone accuses me of thinking that I'm "SO SMART" when I know I'm right? I'm gonna be all, "Yeah, baby. I AM that smart. How's about you go think about your life, m'kay? All I know is that I'm able to sleep at night with a clear conscience. Because, face it, lamby cakes, I don't have to use etiquette when I'm dealing with a criminal.")

Another guy (different company) kept talking over me as I refused and refused his spiel.
Finally, I just stated -- in a voice as serious as a heart attack, "If you make me wake my baby, I will track. you. down. and. kill. you."
Yeah ... he didn't talk after that.
Smart man, don't you think?
Be even smarter if he chose a better career, no?

This last dude (from the first scammer company) was treated to my white-girl-gangsta-rappin' skillz when I rolled off the first half of Macklemore's "Thrift Shop," with copious amounts of editing (Hey, I work at not cursing. And I had munchkins in the house, to boot).

He did compliment my singing (and I really should have said, "DON'T patronize me.") ... but he hung up after about a minute of me (and Bruise and Bucket) doing randomly-spaced ambulance noises.
(If you have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, watch Night at the Roxbury. Or look up "Night at the Roxbury, ambulance" on YouTube. You'll TOTALLY understand it ... but, yeah, probably won't understand why. ... I'm mysterious like that. ... "Mysterious" in the sense of "batcrap crazy," that is.)

But, yeah ... until we break down and get Caller ID, I figure that I should brush up on "Ice, Ice Baby," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," some Beastie Boys, and -- the big guns -- "MacArthur Park," baby. Which is NOT rap. At all.

Maybe I should learn some LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG, hella long, Italian arias.
Because, hey, if I'm going to try and waste their time and see how long they'll stay on the line, I might as well get an impromptu karaoke party out of it on my side, right?

Maybe I should find where to get an accordion ... then I can serenade them with the complete works of Weird Al. Especially featuring "You're Pitiful." (Which never was released on a record since Blunt's recording company is STUPID ... but, hey, it led to the great success of "White and Nerdy." Which I should totes perfect for these scammers. If nothing else, they'll learn some good music, right?)

About Bruise ...

I notice that it's easier for me to remember funny things that Bucket says ... and I felt the need to highlight our son's sense of humor.

Today, in Sacrament Meeting (Sacrament is pretty much Communion, in LDS-speak. If you have questions, just let me know), Bruise was (as usual) sitting on my lap ... He ends up in my lap for at least part of the meeting.
(Bucket was ENGROSSED in a NOT-AT-ALL spiritual-type book. But, well, she was behaving herself. So I'll let it slide this time. ... If she hadn't been so enthralled by her novel, she'd have been clamoring to get on my lap, too. YES, BOTH my seven-year-olds want to be ON MY LAP at church. ... I don't really get it, but I am flattered.)

So, Bruise is on my lap. And I've already fixed his collar ... and one sock that was on inside-out (He was really wanting to watch Jackie Chan Adventures, rather than pay attention to getting dressed). Then I notice that his pants are on backwards (He has REALLY slim hips, so he just pulls on his pants 99% of the time.)

He moves his face THISCLOSE so our noses are touching, after I've told him, "Buddy, your pants are on backwards"

"IT'S NOT FUNNY." He whispers ... Then he immediately whispers, "IT IS FUNNY."

Then he goes into whispering the "no capes" bit from The Incredibles. Then changes it into "No capes for YOU."
To which, I counter with "Are you complaining? NO SOUP FOR YOU."

Yes, we FAIL at being spiritual during church. I'm completely out of practice.

(Although, one of the gals complimented me on how well-behaved my kids were. I thanked her and begged to differ. She just caught them at a good moment ... and we could do a HECK of a lot better at being reverent. But, hey, at least we look good in our irreverence.)

Also, on the drive to church (Michael had meetings, so went earlier in the truck), Bruise declared that Jackie Chan was his favorite guy.

"More than Indiana Jones??"
(Don't get me wrong. I ADORE Jackie Chan. But, well, I was a little taken aback at this change.)

"Well ..." Bruise considered, "I like them the same percent."

I don't know that Bruise totally understands percentages, but I love that he is working at it.
Cracks me up.

But, really, he's a (mostly) amiable young man. He does get frustrated easily ... and distracted (by LEGO or TV shows or toys) easily ... But he's a pretty strong reader (which he worked SO hard to be) and his writing has improved. He is getting more into sports ... though he LOVES video games.
He is kind ... and enjoys some shows because his sister loves them (e.g., My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic *BRONY HOOF!!*).

He has a good ear for a melody ... which is proven by how he'll hum/sing theme music as he plays (Mostly John Williams soundtracks ... Yup, we've raised a geek. It's lovely).

He hasn't seen a lot of Doctor Who, but he is VERY interested in the Daleks.

He loves to win ... doesn't care what it is, as long as he wins.

He hates to nap ... but he is a sound sleeper when he DOES fall asleep. Out of all our kids, he's the one that, if we have to have a child in bed, I handle best. Because he doesn't move around, like his sisters (who take after ME when I was that age.)

He has to work at his pronunciation ... which he finds frustrating.

I can tell that he's listening, since he picks up on certain speech mannerisms ... like how I (apparently) am prone to state, "As I was saying ..."
I have to say that it's rather hilarious to hear that come out of a five-year-old's mouth.
And it's still funny years later.

He does also have some good aptitude into math/engineering ... I still am boggled that he corrected his grandpa on how to set up the tire swing ... and that, sure enough, it was a better solution.

He also enjoys chess ... with his LEGO chess set.

He loves to snuggle. And, if I'm laying on the floor while reading story-story (bedtime story, as opposed to a scripture story, which is also part of our bedtime routine with the kids), he'll walk on my back.

I mean, really ... when I learned that I'd be mother to a son (as well as a daughter, since they ARE kind of a package deal), I was a little nervous.  I mean, I don't really enjoy watching football. I barely know how to grill. I prefer chicken to most red meat (besides bacon, I suppose. Bacon-wrapped chicken, though? Yummm.). I'm not really all that into cars and engines and stuff ...

I've grown more into LEGO, as my collection of the Harry Potter sets and my ever-increasing MiniFig collection proves. I try to figure out books that will catch and keep his attention (as much as I would LOVE to read Anne of Green Gables for story-story, I won't ... YET. But, when I do, I'll temper it with books like Kidnapped or Hatchet or On My Honor ... and maybe a reread of Skinnybones. ;P) ...

But, yes, he is a sweet, rather smart, funny boy.

And I love when he says things like:

• "Freyja, come here! I want to give you the loves!"
• "[Bubbles] is so cute. I love her."
• "[Bucket] is my best twin sister."
• "Daddy's favorite food is protein ... like in vegetables.
• "Down Cuckoo" instead of Count Dooku

And how he loved wearing his Indiana Jones hat and satchel all over Disneyland and California Adventures ... and how Disney Park employees would remark things like "Indiana Jones! You seem taller in the movies!" or "Wow! Hi, Indy!" and Bruise would just smile to himself, so proud.

And he's great at fart jokes. ... So we have that in common. :P
Bruise looked over my shoulder and said I had to take that out.

Two days later ...

So, yesterday morning, I was cleaning the house in a mad frenzy, since my dad and L were coming up.

Michael was awesome and folded a shload of clothes, so we just had to get those out of the living room.
And I loaded the dishwasher, got the front room finished being picked up, the kids helped clean off the dining room table ... and I went to start the dishwasher ... and ... nothing. Like, the dishwasher wouldn't even start.

I've not been wild about this dishwasher ... ever.
So, I called Michael and checked the breaker (it was fine).
L, when they came (shortly after I was showered), tried to troubleshoot it a bit. Nothing.

So, since I helped sell their truck so quickly (via Craigslist) earlier this month, they had given me some money. She offered to, instead, get us a new dishwasher.
Which Michael picked up from the store (heck, it's practically across the street ... I was NOT going to pay $80 for delivery. I would grab the dolly and trek it across traffic to save $80 ... but, instead, Michael picked it up.) and started to install.

The outlet behind the dishwasher, apparently is corroded or something. Regardless, when it should be getting 120 volts (or whatever), it's only transmitting about 20. Yeah ... No wonder it's not running.

Michael replaced the outlet bit. No change. It's the wiring.
So we tried plugging it into the outlet with the garbage disposal. No dice, BOTH plugs are wired to the switch for the disposal. Grrr.
So, Michael grabbed a heavy-duty extension cord and we have it plugged into the outlet on the counter. BUT the main thing is that the dishwasher works again! And this one is WAY nicer: quieter, better racks (it can fit the water bottles on the top rack!!!!), there's a gauge that tells when we need to add more Jet-Dry to it ... and, wow, I know that I mentioned that it's quieter, but it's a LOT quieter. And it's more energy efficient, too.

I still will need to replace the fridge in the kitchen (the seals need to be replaced, at least ... But it'd be nice to get THAT more energy efficient, too) ... and, while I'm at it, we could replace the stove. Maybe get something that'd be even, right? :P

Also, the kids irked me by not paying as much attention to Dad and L as they could have. Bucket went out to play with friends ... for HOURS. L and I had gone out to buy the dishwasher. When we got back, Bubbles (down for a nap when we left) was up and was sporting a cut/deep scratch on her ear.
Bruise had no idea what had happened. A neighbor boy came over and asked to play. And Bruise let him in.
My dad, bless him, is blind, so he is an easy chaperone to have. ;P

One of Bucket's friends talked her into sneaking into their room (as Bubbles was sleeping, a big no-no) to get her friend a toy to play with.
AND this frenemy (since, dude, she does seem to be more into my kids' toys at times than my kids as friends) begged and begged and begged, saying, "Just sneak past [your grandpa], because he can't see anyways."

Also, both of these neighbor kids (NOT related at all) tried to get us (eating lunch or whatever) to give THEM (outside or after lunch) our food that Dad and L paid for.

I mustered a "polite spine" (via EtiquetteHell) and told them no.
(One reason: If we gave the neighbor girl food, we'd need to give her little cousin [also playing outside] some, too. And there's not enough for us to do that. ... And I didn't even mention that she had TONS of family out there who all had the ability, as they're packing for a trip, to make her lunch if she's that hungry that she's begging food from other families.
Two: If the neighbor boy is so thirsty for Dad and L's sodas [they brought them from home], he'd be thirsty for water. Which he wasn't. So THERE.)

I griped to Michael a bit that, golly, I have to parent the whole neighborhood.
And he's all, "YES, you do! Good job!"

And he did let me know that one family would appreciate my being an additional parent. They have a lot on their plates ... and VERY energetic kids, so yes, I should work to help out that way. And teaching manners is a good thing.

I really don't think that I'll ever be the "cool mom." I'm too much of an uptight, semi-introverted, control freak for that. But I can get it so that my kids' friends/neighbors know that they can come here ... and that is a good thing.

Although, I did tell Bucket that she does NOT need to take umpteen water bottles out to the neighbor kids (that I had JUST washed!) ... If they're thirsty, they can come and get a glass of water. That's totally okay.

And, yeah, that was most of yesterday ... except for the parts where I REALLY wanted to curse due to the stupid outlet.

Today, we went to the dentist. Even Bubbles got a check-up.
We need to brush her teeth more often (her gums bled a little, poor kid).
Bucket's teeth might be crowding a little. Bruise's spacer was replaced ... and they noticed that a small filling fell out (but, hey, he'll be losing that tooth soon, so no big, right?).
And, drumroll please!! NO ONE HAD ANY VISIBLE DECAY!
(Bruise does have a bit of a stain on one tooth, so they'll keep an eye on that.)
Still! Whoo Hoo!!! No cavities!! I'll take it!

And Bruise, Bubbles, and I cleaned out the little hall that runs between the house and the shop/storage shed. So Michael'll be happy about that. It looks a lot nicer. Just in time for our work party this weekend (taking out some trees/bushes and chipping a ton of old brush from when the neighbor put in her new fence a couple years ago. Yeah ... I KNOW).

I probably should take an allergy pill, since I swept up a bunch of old leaves/pollen. I'll get around to it.

Due to the dentist visit, we missed the first day of Summer Sports Camp (This week is T-ball). We'll be there the next couple days, though. Just an hour of it. Should still be fun.

Right now, Bubbles is still down for her "morning" nap ... usually it's around 9:30 that she goes down. She was up for the dentist appointment and we only got home about a quarter to one. Then she usually has another nap around 2:30 or so. Well, we'll see.

I should get dinner started ... especially since I can go LOAD MORE DISHES IN THE DISHWASHER when I do that. ;P
(No, really, I get a little excited. Especially since I'm caught up on dishes now. Very nice.
I should also clean out the fridges. *sigh* And go through the deep freeze in the shop.
(One thing I'm looking forward to when we DO get a new fridge for the kitchen? Having a shelf in there. I don't need an icemaker, since the laundry fridge has that ... but a SHELF would make organizing it SO much nicer. Just sayin'. ... Although, to fit in the space we have, we have to downsize the fridge. *sigh*)

I also would kinda like a nap, myself. Don't think it's going to happen, though.

Ten days later ...

What all has gone on since I last blogged?
(A lot)
And I'm SURE that you've been WAITING WITH BATED BREATH since my last post.
Yeah ... I'm so sure.

Regardless, here's the catch-up ...

• So, Michael had his birthday. That was where we left off.
  The grilling went well ... Since Michael was in charge of most of it. ;)
  I did grill some fresh pineapple ... which Bucket promptly, in TRYING to be helpful by bringing it in the house for us, dumped on the carpet. ... It was still good, once you picked off the carpet fuzz and cat hair. *rolls eyes*
• The kids had Crazy Hair Day at school ... Bruise's was all spiked and multi-colored (I still have some red, blue, and green colored hairspray. I LOVE Sally Beauty Supply for that. And it smells WAY better than the generic Target spray that comes out at Halloween. Just sayin'. ... I should see if Sally's carries the glitter hairspray. Hmmm.)
• Michael fell prey to a nasty stomach flu. Bubbles and I came home Friday, after he'd gotten home from work. We were going to all go run some errands ... but he was SACKED OUT on our bed. So, I put Bubbles down for a nap after a while and puttered around the house, waiting for him to wake up ... which he did, shortly before the kids got home ... and we went to his folks' house for a birthday dinner.
• I woke up with Michael's stomach flu on Saturday ... He was starting to feel a bit better, so he let me sleep while he took the kids out to get presents for their cousins' birthday party. And, since he was NOT feeling great when he got back, we called up his folks ... and they saved the day by taking all three kids up to their cousins' party.
  It allowed THEM to have fun ... and it allowed us to sleep and, um, be near the bathrooms. (Yeah, it was NOT pretty.)
• We were feeling much better by the time the kids got home. I had eventually shambled down the hall to join Michael on the couch. We watched some episodes of Portlandia and ate popsicles ... and everything stayed down. Phew.
• Which allowed us to make it to church. And choir.
• The kids' school had an awards assembly. Bruise got recognized for writing (he has worked to improve. He's worked REALLY HARD). Bucket was recognized for Reading (well, she IS reading around a third-grade level) and for being a great student (academically and behaviorally). They were both (along with MOST of their grade) recognized for not having behavioral issues.
  I took the camcorder ... and, well, I messed it up. But I did get some still-shots, so it COULD be worse. But I was really irritated at myself.
  Their principal gave a VERY good speech about how, even though we always want our children to succeed, it's GOOD for them to struggle and even fail once in a while.
  I really thought that Michael would like it, since he's REALLY irritated when there are awards to, well, recognize mediocrity. It's okay not to be the BESTEST at things. And, well, people have to face it ... not everyone CAN be the bestest. In fact, the odds are REALLY stacked AGAINST it. And even though we're all unique and special, we have to face it that the world does NOT revolve around us. (We do work to giving our kids a healthy self-esteem ... but not to let them be at all insufferable.)
• I was still helping to ferry my friend's daughters home from school. Tuesday was ... a little exciting. The gal who was going to do the afternoon pick-up couldn't, due to a family thing. So I got Bruise and Bucket from school a little early and JETTED down to pick up one of the girls. We made it, just five minutes late. Phew!
• My mom was up Wednesday, so she was here when Bruise and Bucket got home from school (it was a half-day ... and I had picked up my friend's girl). Then we went out to lunch ... and, after Michael got home, we went to dinner (a local restaurant has a kids-eat-free Tues-Thurs promotion).
• Thursday ... we slept in a bit, cleaned up the house, played a little ... Mom and I got the kids signed up for a sports academy (1 hour/3x per week for three weeks) and swim lessons. And it POURED on the first day of Summer Break. 
• In the evening, we got the kids ready for bed and I headed out for dessert with some friends of mine. Yup, a girls' night out. Creme Brulee and chatting. It was REALLY nice. Especially since a couple of the friends are headed out of town for a while.
• Friday, Michael and I went to give blood ... and I was turned away. For the first time EVER, I have low iron in my blood! WHAT?? So I tried not to cry. And I bought some iron supplements.
  (I ALSO tried Fentiman's Rose Lemonade. YUM!!! If you like Rose Pastilles, you'll LOVE this!)
• Yesterday, we went to the mall's kids' club -- there was a little concert. Very fun. Then we bought the kids some shoes. Bruise got a pair of sandals (Perry the Platypus?!??), a pair of slip-ons, and another pair of sneakers (since they have sports camp). Bucket got a pair of pink, sparkly wanna-be-Toms slip-ons, a pair of metallic sandals (for church), a pair of brown Mary Janes (also for church), and a pair of sneakers. They should be set for the summer!
  Bubbles' pair of shoes (Moccons, in the next size up) that I ordered came in. So she got new shoes, too. Lucky girl.
• We also went to Jenny and Joseph's Solar Party (learning about solar panels). I don't think we're ready for them ... YET. Don't get me wrong, we'd LOVE to invest in them ... but it's a 20-year contract. And we KNOW that we're not going to keep our current house for 20 years. (We need to get at least a three-bedroom sometime. Preferably something a little bigger ... It'd be AWESOME to have a guest room. And a detached office, so Michael'd have the option for working from home ... without us bugging him all the time. ;P)
  (And a LIBRARY/office. And a backyard that we could fit a play structure in. And a garden! And a koi pond! And room for a pool! And, and, and!!!)
  But it was a fun time to get to chat with people ... and the kids had fun playing with other kids.
  And, of course, the food was awesome. (Caramel Tres Leches cake?? I HAD to try that. FOR SCIENCE, y'all!)
• For Father's Day, we let Michael sleep in. And I made breakfast (pancakes and a POUND OF BACON. Jim Gaffigan would be SO PROUD). We gave him his presents (a DVD and some books: Darth Vader and Son, Vader's Little Princess, and the latest Dan Brown novel) ... and I sent off e-cards to his dad, my dad, my stepdad, and my grampy.
  Then we got ready and went to church (took the neighbor girl) ... and came home, folded tons of laundry, called the dads (I got two answering machines ... I can handle that. And I chatted with my stepdad), and ate lunch.

Besides that, it's been lots of dishes, laundry, trying not to yell at the kids too much, Bubbles getting into the cat food ... and sticking it in Freyja-cat's water dish.
Michael ripped out the other old Juniper bush in our front yard. He asked me where the snake will live now.
I say that it'll move under the rhododendrons. Which, naturally, are next to be taken out. Of course.
Michael has plans for a raised-bed garden. Since it'll get TONS of sunlight. I can handle that.

This week should be fun: Dad and L are coming up tomorrow. The kids ALL have a dental appointment. Sports camp (T-ball) starts ... they'll miss the first day. Whoops. Bubbles has her 15-month check-up. I don't THINK that she is getting any shots ... But, well, it's been six years, so she probably IS getting shots. And Bruise and Bucket will be there to help distract her. Good times.

Then, this weekend, we're going to have a work party to cut down a tree in the back yard (it's getting BIG. And it's taking up a LOT of room. And the leaves are REALLY STICKY so the ants LOVE it. ... And, well, I'm trying NOT to feel TOTALLY guilty about KILLING A TREE.
(But the wood is going to good use! We're giving it to a gal at church so she'll be WARM this winter!)
And, once the yard work is done, we'll have a BBQ to celebrate. So I'll need to go shopping.
Then we'll have choir on Sunday ... and that is the plan for the week.

Besides cleaning, cooking, having the kids memorize Articles of Faith, reading through The Book of Mormon with the kids this summer, working on writing and keeping in the habit of school stuff, researching medical insurance, researching a good not-too-big-or-too-spendy elliptical (because, it'd be NICE to have one. And I'd get through a LOT more movies/TVshows on Netflix that way) ... and updating the Facebook page for the ward (congregation) playgroup ... which, well, I'm in charge of.
I really don't know why. I suck at setting up Playdates. 

But Michael tells me that they have me do it because I'm aware of stuff going on. ... Okay, if you say so.

And ... I really want to get some naps. Naps would be good (or is that the low iron speaking?!?!??).

Funny things said lately:

Bucket and I were talking about cleaning and dirt.
Bucket: Well, when I have my own house, it won't have dirt or germs in it.
Me: Honey, EVERYONE'S house has some dirt and germs.
Bucket: THAT'S IT. I don't want a house. I'm just going to LIVE IN THE STREET!!

.... I really have no idea where she got that dramatic streak.
No clue at all ... *Whistles and walks away. Nothing to see here, officer.*

Michael already started reading "Inferno" (one of the books we got him).
Michael: Dan Brown REALLY has an ego.
Me: I'm Dan Brown and I'M A GENIUS. Read my books and see how smart I am. Because I am SMARTER THAN YOU.
Michael: Because I AM ROBERT LANGDON. ... Seriously, Langdon is Brown, but with more hair!

Bruise's pronunciation still makes us laugh ... He's using GREAT WORDS (that I, at the moment, cannot recall. BAD MOM) ... but, well, he's just great.

Bubbles likes to up the cute to get out of any trouble. And, when we call her on it, she'll flop onto the carpet and cry. Poor thing.

My best bon mot this week was probably this (Michael'll correct me if I was MORE brilliant, I'm sure.):
At Jenny's solar party, the rep was talking about how we get the majority of our electricity in this country.

Him: It's all dams, coal, and oil!
Me (sotto voice to Michael): Damn coal and oil.

Yeah ... I'm a rebel, I am.

But really ... I could totally go for another Rose Lemonade (or a dozen. Maybe ten ... dozens, that is).

A tad bit busy ...

Okay, so yesterday, after I blogged ... what all went on?

• Mom got here.
• Michael and I went to Amanda F's funeral ... we were a little late, since Michael's coworkers decided to give him his card RIGHT before he left, since his boss is on vacation starting today.
  It was a very nice service. There were SO many people there ... which isn't surprising.
  Amanda is a very lovely, sweet person ... of course everyone who knew her couldn't help but love her.
• We took Michael out for dinner. We went out for Mexican food. Yum.
• I got up and got showered ... kinda skipped the Volunteer Breakfast that the kids' school put on. Turned out that it was a buffet. And that barely anyone had taken advantage of it. So, when I showed up to volunteer, I had a bite to eat.
• Ran to the store to (1) meet a gal to get a USB stick full of pictures to upload to a website accessable to ALL people involved with SOTW ... Thank you Shutterfly for free accounts with unlimited storage! and (2) pick up some medicine for me. Because I can NOT handle a yeast infection. I also bought a big ol' thing of drinkable yogurt. Hello, healthy bacteria!
• While I was at the store, my aunt called me with a computer question. I'm so glad that she uses Chrome (like I do), so that I was able to easily give her a walk-through ... as I walked through the store.
  I also got a call from my mom. SHE, at our house, watching Bubbles, got an automated call from the school that BUCKET was NOT in class. Which I couldn't fathom her NOT being. (I was in Bruise's class today ... and HE'D have mentioned if his sister wasn't on the bus or went somewhere.)
  Turns out that she WAS there, all along. Her teacher accidentally marked HER as absent, instead of the absentee (on the line below Bucket's name).
  I had run into Michael's uncle while I was fielding the call from the school ... so, after I got home (after picking up my friend's daughter), I made sure to track down his current number and let him know that all was well ... because I'd want someone to do that for me, if I were in that position.
• And, like I mentioned, I got my friend's daughter from school and delivered her home. ... And I also took my friend (and said daughter) out to get a prescription. 
• I feel like I've made a million phone calls -- Called the other gal picking up my friend's other daughter. Called the gal who was going to be watching the girls, in case my friend got to have surgery today (no) -- Twice!. Called my friend. Called Uncle L (after I called Mom C, to get his updated number! ... since I called a wrong number. Whoops!). ...
  And I called Michael to wish him a happy birthday.
• I defrosted some steaks and threw together a marinade (with some of the truffle honey, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.). We'll roast some potatoes and the kids can have some hot dogs.
  I need to get a dessert wrangled up.
• I sent out a slew of emails ... some making sure that we have meals for my friend and her family for the next couple days.

And I need to hit up facebook and wish my Uncle B and Aunt T a happy anniversary. And I think I have a couple other friends with birthdays today. So I should get on that.

But ... I'd really like a nap. That'd be nice.

Well, let's hope that my friend can get things fixed (soon) so she won't be in pain.
And that next week will be a LOT quieter. I'm ready for a relaxing week.
(At least, starting Thursday, I don't have to get the kids out to the bus anymore. That's nice.)

Crazy Dream Chronicles - Costume Reunion Edition

Somehow, this didn't ever get published. Weird.
But it's from the middle of March.
Which I WAS going to say was last month.
HAHAHAHAHAHAAaaaaaaaaaaa ... Seriously, it's already June? What?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So, my dreams last night were ... special.

(Knowing me, what would you expect, right?)

In the first part, Michael, the kids and I were taking a drive in the country. We wanted to go to a swimming hole ... and it was an area that we didn't know.

He found a house that looked as if it'd have creekfront-type property and pulled over.
We had a plan, since there was a party happening: Michael and I would crash the party and exit out of the back of the house, meeting the kids in the backyard, where we'd make our way to the water to swim.

Of course, we didn't have swimsuits, so we'd just be wading ... but, still ...

Now, when Michael and I went in, we found that it was a costume-reunion with a lot of the popular kids from my high school. And the theme was the 80s.

There was crimped hair, neon sunglasses, all that stuff. Lots of the people there were dressed like their pictures back in the 80s, which were projected onto a wall in a slideshow.

Michael, somehow, had an outfit that fit in well enough without screaming "I *heart* the 80s" ... I was wearing a blazer over a white tee and jeans, though ... when people asked me what I was, I screeched out, "I'M A VJ!!" (Yeah, my subconscious obvs loves her some MTV, when it played music ... and Daria. And Road Rules, too. I enjoyed that one. And Aeon Flux, even though I don't understand that one at all.)

But, yeah, we made out way through the place to the back outside, through a side exit off the kitchen (which really reminded me, come to think of it, of the old Methodist church that I attended as a little child. No, really, it's a historic building. And Mom converted from Methodism when I was three ... so, yeah. But my grandfolks were still Methodists, so I have more than a passing familiarity with the building as I grew up). We met up with the kids and rolled up our pant legs to get in the water.

THEN Michael and I (no idea where the kids are in this part) are headed to ... um ... help cater some party?
It's at an even bigger white historic-type house.
And the people who live there are black. Maybe mixed race ... but, um, they won't let us use the front door.

No biggie. Apparently, I handle reverse-racism well enough. I was just sad that, since we seemed to get along, that the lady wouldn't be my friend.

Oh well! Her loss ... because, well, I'm a pretty good friend.
Even if I suck at calling people or being social ... but I'm GREAT at keeping in touch via the interwebs ... So ... yeah.

Progress ... and regress

So, we went grocery shopping last night.

If nothing else, the kids have enough stuff for school lunches for the rest of the school year (we're getting close! Eeeps!).

I made a casserole (Tortilla Bake) for a surprise potluck for their school's Principal.

I picked up my friend's daughter ... and went to talk with my friend, since she'll need childcare on the day of her surgery.
Turns out that the appointment the doctors FINALLY got set up ... is a CONSULT, not a surgery appointment.

WHAT THE WHAT?!?!????

So, on the good side, it looks like I won't have to scramble for childcare on the same day as Michael's birthday and one of the local high school's graduation ceremony.

The bad side ... my friend is in PAIN. And can't drive due to the medicine to control said pain.
And the receptionist seems to treat her like a halfwit.
And I'm just getting frustrated and worried trying to figure out what all to do.

And I KNOW that there are pregnant gals in the ward. But I don't know when they're due ... but I want to make sure that we get meals for them ...

MY HEAD EXPLODE.

But ... yeah.

And the gorram, stupidhead cat peed on our bed yesterday. So we had to change the sheets when we were getting ready for bed.

I still love her. But I gave her a kitty Prozac. And I tossed her out of the bedroom this morning as soon as I got up, since Michael leaves the bedroom door open in the morning.

SO YAY MOAR LAUNDRY!!!!!!
Not. Not yay at all.

And the funeral is today. I should get dressed for it soon ... like in a couple hours.

I just don't really know what to do.
CALLINGS ARE HAAAAAARD.

Seriously, I know that I griped about all the meetings as YW Secretary ... and it's infuriating trying to get 3-8/9 people all to give you information ... but DAMN my calendars/newsletters looked AWESOME. And I had fun making birthday cards for the girls (I AM a MS Publisher fangirl. I know.).

But ... yeah. I just want people to be healthy and happy and self-sufficient.
And, for now, part of my job is getting them what they need to get there.

But, goodness, this is a pretty big situation ... since my friend has been in pain for a LONG time.
And, well, another gal that I know got in THE NEXT DAY for the same kind of surgery.
So this is blowing my mind ... and not in a good way.

I offered to junk-punch someone, even though I'm too pretty for prison.
But I'm so dang frustrated for my friend.
This is NOT COOL.

I just ... I want to know what to do, when I need to assign people to do stuff.
(I got an email back from a gal I emailed last night, asking if she could provide a dinner "tomorrow" ... Sent it LAST NIGHT, so tomorrow = today. She didn't look at the date stamp on the email. So ... Yeah. Whatever. I'll just do it myself. Because I love my friend. And I can grab a pizza and take it over.)

I know, I know ... I should have put "Tomorrow, June 5" or "Wednesday" ... but, well, after TWO other people couldn't do it, I ... yeah. I just was TRYING to get SOMETHING set up.

The Church is still true. Don't get me wrong.
But ... sometimes dealing with people on a general basis ... it's not the easiest.
Even if I love them.

But ... yeah.

So, um ... could you all just pray that my friend gets in for surgery soon? Because, well, it needs to get done so she can feel better. Because pain = NOT FREAKING FUN OR GOOD.

... which is why I don't exercise as much as I should.
True story.
That and I don't like being all sweaty. And it's difficult and expensive to find sports bras in my size.

Phew.

It's confirmed.

I'm not a jerk.

Phew.

Now I can be assured that it's all good.

Still, I do miss being able to take some St. John's Wort ... because you're not supposed to do that when you're nursing. *sigh*

Maybe I should make myself a cuppa (herbal cuppa, that is ... because that's how I roll).

Just .... stuff.

So, yesterday was pretty okay.

• Got the kids ready for a field trip (I didn't go ... Didn't get into the shower until, um, 2? Yeah, kinda lazy day).
• Battled the freaking ants again. Stupid ants. I hates them. I hates them, MY PRESSSSSSHUSSSSSSS.
• Michael and I watched last week's SYTYCD online.
  "Are you sure you should watch this [being a very sentimental clip about a contestant] on your period?"
  Also? Adam Shankman is ADORBZ. I pink-puffy-heart that man. I just want to give him a squeeze and tell him how darling he is. Because he's TOTALLY darling and sweet.
• Michael also was watching a movie preview on his phone.
  "Is that Stanley Tucci," I ask from across the room.
  "Yup. Good job. And Nathan Fillon is in it, too. You'd probably like this one."
  Turns out that it's the next Lightning Thief movie ("Sea of Monsters") ... and it has Sean Bean and Anthony Stewart Head (aka, Giles from BTVS) ... so I'm looking forward to it, as a fangirl of most of the cast. ^_^

Today, I got the kids off to school, got showered and dressed (go me, right?), picked up a friend's daughter from school, got home JUST in time to meet the exterminator (free inspection ... sounds like the ants are probably nesting in our walls. JOY. But they can take care of that.), went to an appointment for WIC, got home, the kids came home, I called my Nana ...

And... I feel like a huge jerk. I called my friend to see if her doctor got (minor) surgery scheduled. And, well, I'm Compassionate Service Leader for my ward (congregation)'s Relief Society. And, so I'm kind of the one that organizes service (in this case, transportation for her kids ... split between 3 ladies, including me).

Her doctor FINALLY is getting her in for a visit. But my friend's been in pain for a while ... like, over a week. Maybe 1.5-2 weeks now. And I'm irritated at her doctor for this. Because, dude, she's hurting.
And, well, I think that my friend thought that I was irritated at HER ... so I feel like a JERK.

And I wrote her an email apologizing in case she felt that I was a jerk.

But I still feel like a complete and total donkeybutt jerk.

Which makes this a much harder day than it started out being.
It was just a kind of busy-ish day. And now I feel like a jerk because my friend cried and might feel that I think she's a burden (which I DON'T) ... but, well, when you're in pain and have been for a while ...
I ... I just ... I just don't want her to think that I was insinuating that she's a bother.
Because she's not. 

Bucket just made Perler Bead creations for her teachers ... I had to iron them.
Something smelled strange over there. I asked the kids if either of them farted (no).
I remarked that something smelled kinda like cat poop.
"Well, it's not me." Bucket asserted. "I do not poop cats."

I needed that.

I made dinner. That's an improvement.
It's kind of amazing what happens when I just throw nearly-random cans into a pan.
(Tonight: boneless chicken tenderloins cooked in chicken broth and tomato sauce, with coconut oil and Italian herbs. Served with brown rice cooked in water, with coconut oil and a dash or two of Fiori salt, which smells amazing, as far as salt goes.)

We'll see if Bruise and Bucket eat. Maybe.

I got a hair donut (it's a mesh circle to do some hairstyles, like a BIG, poofy-type bun with my shorter, fine hair) yesterday. Did up my hair ... I asked Michael later if he liked my hair.
"Did you color it?"
No. Not at all. But nice guess.

Well, SYTYCD is on tonight. That'll be nice.

And we should go grocery shopping tonight. Fun, fun, fun. Since Bubbles went down for a nap not THAT long ago. *sigh*
(She likes to watch SYTYCD, too, by the by. It's pretty cute.)

So ... yeah. Maybe we'll get the ants the heck outta my house. That'd be nice. And shark week is drawing to a close.

Tomorrow is Amanda F's funeral.
Michael and I are going.
I kind of wish that I had some Valium ... because, face it. We all are sad that she's not here anymore.
But I don't want to take any chance of causing a scene. Because, as egocentric as I can be, this is NOT at all about me.

It'd be a whole heckuva lot easier for my life if I didn't look like hell when I cry. If I could be one of those pretty criers. But, no, it's BAD when I cry. And this is about AMANDA's life, not "Omigosh, are YOU okay, Allanna?"

Hopefully, with shark week on the ebb, I can handle myself.

Maybe I should have Michael give me a blessing so that I can shake these stupid angry bees that hate me in my head. (Thanks, Mother Nature. NOT.)

Yeah, I'm just getting irked at myself. I don't do well throwing myself a self-pity party. I start to really get sick and tired of my own mental bellyaching ... because, well, unlike the rest of you lucky people, I'm stuck with my inner monologue.

(Oh, yeah. I also threw some balsamic vinegar in with the chicken.)

So, yeah. That's the last couple of days in a nutshell.

Thanks for letting me vent.
I'm sure that it was perfectly ENTHRALLING (not).

I have awesome friends

Thank you.

You know who you are. So I won't embarrass you ... unless you want me to.

But thank you. I do feel better (Eating a bag of gummi bears helped, too).

Out of Clever Ideas for a Title ... Blah

So, lately, I've been NOT making it through all of church. On a consistant basis.
Which sucks.

I can assure you that it's not because I have any doubts about the Church being true or that our leaders are called of God or anything like that.

It's because Bubbles is an ACTIVE child. And she's not yet old enough for Nursery (still THREE MONTHS TO GO. THREE MONTHS) ... so I have to schlep her to Sunday School and Relief Society. And ... well, to be perfectly blunt, I have a hard enough time trying to pay attention and LEARN something on my own. Adding a (darling, I know, but) LOUD munchkin who wants to go walking/running around the room or to be fed constantly ... And that's when she's NOT sitting in a (backless, at her height) chair and FALLING BACKWARDS ... It's a recipe for failure.

I can't pay attention. She's distracting others. And THAT distracts me.
So, either I stay and be a complete wreck ... or I take her home and lay her down for a nap.
And it's a total lose-lose situation, because I know that I SHOULD stay and show her that church is important enough to stay there ... and I might -- just might, maybe -- get some wonderful nugget of knowledge that'll help me get through the week/be a better person/wife/mother/daughter/sister-in-law/etc ...

But I can't handle it. And it's stupid to just go wandering the halls, since she demands to walk on her own, won't even let me hold her hand ...

I've tried sitting out in the car ... but the weather's getting too warm to keep the windows shut. And she won't fall asleep ... so she's too loud to keep the windows open.

So, instead, I take her home ... and I feel like a jerk/horrible person for NOT being at church.

And this week, with fasting and shark week and everything ... I was there at church. I missed the Sacrament being passed because I was in the Mother's Lounge. Yes, I was talking to another mom in the other ward ... but still, I missed the main reason for going to church (besides worshiping in general). And Bubbles still wasn't winding down ... And I went back in with her and sat with the family ... and then Michael had to take her out.

Amanda's husband was there at church. He seems to be holding up well. I didn't go up and give him a hug. Because I'd probably burst into tears ... and he doesn't need that. I did smile at him ... and then I started to get all teary-eyed ... Stupid emotions.

But I was there, in Sacrament meeting, filling up Michael's handkerchief. When he brought Bubbles back to sit down, since he needed to be close ... since he had to give the closing prayer in the meeting ... And, OF FLIPPING COURSE, she starts squawking again. So I just told him that I was taking her home.

And I cried the way home. Got her in her bed. Took a shower to clean off the rest of my mostly-cried off makeup ... and, while I was there, did my best to pray ... which mostly consisted of my whining and railing at Heavenly Father that I just don't FEEL right. And I want to be able to be at church ... but I CAN'T manage if I'm going to be crying all the time or not able to even listen, let alone concentrate on the lessons .... And it's just HAAAAAAAARD. And there are ants in our house. And I HATE being crazy on a monthly basis.

I just don't really know what to do.

Which makes me cry more.
And I don't know how much of it is just because I'm on my period so I'm a crazy-hormonal MESS.
I don't know if it's because I suck at grieving ... so maybe I just need to handle that ...
I don't know how much is frustration that no matter what I do, there's ants and the house always gets messed up again.
How much is due to Michael texting me this morning to request that I bring his tablet to church, since he didn't have it. And he said that it's on my desk. And it's NOT. And the kids both proclaim that they didn't touch it. And we looked all over the house, for about five minutes ... which is fine, since it's not a big house ... and I still can't find the damned thing.
And how much is due to the fact that I tried fasting even though I get HELLA CRANKY when I don't have food ... AND it's the same week as my cycle (thanks, Mother Nature, you whore)
And .... and .... and .... yeah.

And now I have a headache from crying. WINNER! /sarcasm

But, yeah ... I mostly just feel that I suck. At just about everything.

• attending church and staying once I've gotten there
• Bubbles is TINY. Maybe because I suck at feeding her.
• Personal prayer ... should be an automatic habit. It's not.
• Same with personal scripture reading. SUCKAGE GALORE.
• I can't control my emotions.
• Our house STILL has ants.
• I haven't finished my library books. And the last one that I DID read wasn't that good.
• My pad won't stay in place. Because, apparently, maybe my body is just not put together right.
• Maybe because I could stand to lose about 70 pounds.
• I can't make and stick to a meal planning system if it killed me. And it just might. But I hate scouring the house around 5PM or so, wracking my brain as to what I can manage to scramble up to feed the family (Which would be easier if Michael didn't hate eggs. Can you work on that honey? A frittata wouldn't take long to make. Just sayin'.)
• The fact that I wasn't able to solve the memory card issue on my own. I LIKE being independent and being able to save money. ... Though, knowing that there's a good place to take it/refer people IS a bonus ... but it doesn't totally make up for not being able to do it myself.
• I can't cry without looking AWFUL. And it's OBVIOUS when I've been crying. Or even yawning. Completely unfair. I wonder, if I had brown eyes, would it be so obvious?

And the list goes on. Of course. Because I, apparently, have very little in my system right now besides self-loathing. And I should follow that with a chaser of ibuprofen, since it's given me a headache.

I don't LIKE not being happy. I don't LIKE not feeling like a fun mom. I don't LIKE getting to church and not being able to pay much (if any) attention to the speakers/teachers. I just want to be able to sit with Michael for at least two of the hours and TRY to get something out of the lesson.

While I'm at it, I also want an elliptical that fits in our living room, a house with at least one more bedroom, established scripture reading/prayer habits that I don't even have to think about, a chef, maid and maseusse, and to wake up 70 lbs lighter with boobs that fit in bras that I could buy off the rack ... and that my hair wasn't so porous. That'd be nice, too.

But I'd settle for an elliptical and a child that sits still during Relief Society ... since racing up to stop her from making a run to the front of the room (where the teacher is TRYING to her HER job) is more than a little distracting.

and .... I obviously can't handle it.

...

Yeah, I don't have any great title for ... anything.

Okay ... I feel the need to blog, but I ... I don't really know what to write. So this post is just a huge brain dump.

You're welcome.

Michael and Bruise are out with a couple of the neighbor boys (from a family in the ward ... their dad is pretty ill right now. He was in the hospital earlier this month. I hope he's doing better. Michael'd know. He's been over there a couple times) on the Stake (a group of wards and branches, i.e., congregations) Father-Son Campout.
So it's just us girls here at home tonight.

I watched a cartoon (short) with Bucket. Bubbles is napping. I should get her up.
Bucket and I, pre-cartoon, cleaned up the front rooms ... and picked up their bedroom a little more.
I made mac-n-cheese and hot dogs.
I also put a crapload of boric acid on the dining room carpet (honestly, a carpeted dining room? STUPID), swept it into the carpet ... then vacuumed it up. Because I'm sick of having ants in our house.
Our carpet is a great color for not showing dirt ... but it makes it hard to see if ants are crawling ALL OVER IT. Sucks either way.

We also are getting some estimates from exterminators. Because I've learned that I can't handle these ant swarms by myself. If I could, I'd find a poison that worked ONLY on ants ... and I'd move the house from its foundation, COAT EVERYTHING with the poison, stir it in (Push it! Push it REAL GOOD!), and put the house back.
Or, failing that, NUKE THE HELL OUT OF EVERYTHING.
I really am just fed up with these stupid ants.

If I knew where the nest was, I'd totally be up for piling the agonized corpses of all the ones I've killed by the entrance. Like I'm the freaking Godfather.

Also, like my friend Damien said (and he's TOTALLY right), smashed ants smell like Pepsi.
No wonder I don't care for Pepsi.

Michael's bought me, like, THREE Cherry Cokes this week. Good man.
It's that week now. Shark week, if you get my point.
I NEEDED Cherry Coke.
They must put crack in it.
My mom also picked me up a Cherry Coke.
That's how much she loves me.

I had given Bucket an envelope of money to take to school to buy punch cards and tickets for the Family Fun Fair (School Carnival) this weekend. And she never brought home the cards and tickets ... because she didn't put the money in her bag. Michael did, at my bequest. BUT she had TWO backpacks hanging up. And he had put it in the one that she WASN'T using this week. *sigh* But we got it figured out ... and the cards and tickets are in my purse.

I'm still processing Amanda F's death. There's a fundraiser (like a Kickstarter) to help defray the funeral costs. From what a friend told me, they were waiting to have kids ... so that's a good thing, that it's only one death to mourn. Still, her husband is a YOUNG widower ... It's not something that you'd ever expect. At all.

I was kvetching to Michael earlier ... and he pointed out that it wouldn't work for everyone to "be twinkled" (i.e., translated ... like Moses). And I was all, "WHYYYYYyyyyyy?" And he pointed out that if it WERE the case, people wouldn't develop the faith that they'd need.
He's so smart and stuff.
"Well, I believe. Isn't that good enough? So why does Heavenly Father need to make crap things happen to people around me? I don't like it."
"He doesn't make these things happen," Michael pointed out, patiently.
"Well then, why does he LET crap things happen to people around me? I don't LIKE it," I pouted.

Yeah, he's SOOOOOOO lucky to be married to me.

Apparently, one of my reactions to a shock/tragedy like this is to shop like a madwoman for the nearest life-affirming event most important to me ... in this case, Michael's birthday and then Fathers' Day (but only presents for Michael. I should work on that. And get presents for a nephew and a few of our nieces).

Then I emailed Michael ... in my totally and completely MENTALLY-HEALTHY AND NOT AT ALL DISARMING AT ALL way:

"I bought your birthday present. So you CAN'T DIE. Because you're going to like it. And you'll be REALLY DISAPPOINTED if you don't get it this side of the veil.  .... And can I put $XX on the credit card for your Father's Day present? ... And you can't die before you get that, either."

Yeah ... I'm not at all showing total control-freak/not-handling-death-well issues ... at all.

TOTALLY NORMAL BEHAVIOR HERE. NOTHING TO SEE, Y'ALL.

I didn't volunteer at school this week ... they were doing testing.
I also took Bruise to the dentist; his spacer had broken ... and then broke off. Whoops.
So, it'll be replaced in a couple weeks. The office took a new impression of his teeth.
Looks like he'll have the spacer in until that molar comes in ... in 3-5 years. *sigh*

Not that I should be surprised, his front teeth haven't come out yet. Just those bottom-front ones.

Maybe Bubbles is just going to sleep all through the night? I have no idea. I kind of DON'T want to wake her ... but if she's going to wake up crazy early ... I don't know. I'll wake her up so that she can eat.

Bruise was chuffed to bits with one of the prizes from the dentist.
He got a little stick-on mustache.
And wore it to school ... until he got it wet and it wouldn't stick anymore.

Well, I'm going to go feed that baby ... and then, after I put her to bed, I'll paint Bucket's toes and we can watch some girly movie or something. And break out the ice cream.

And I'll do my best not to burst into tears or stare, catatonic, at walls.
Tragedy + shark week = suckage.

Who knows, maybe Freyja-cat will let Bucket pet her some more. That'd make Bucket's night.

Oh, hey, you know the pintrest thing where you make a body scrub of oil, sugar, and some citrus?
I tried that today. Instead of olive oil, I used coconut oil. And I used key lime juice for the citrus (hey, it was at hand) ... it smells super yum. And my legs and armpits are very soft. So are my feet. Though my feet are a little dry. Oh well. So I can give that Pin a gold star, right?

Mortality Check

A girl who was in my ward (and then moved, but was still in the area) was killed in a car accident yesterday evening.

I'm a bit blindsided by this.

It's not like she and I were bffs or anything ... with a baby, it's a bit difficult to be as social as I used to be.
But I knew her a bit. Not as well as I probably should have.

All I can think is, "I helped her move."

She was ten years younger than I am.
She'd only been married for a couple years.
She was on the honor roll at the local community college.
She was quiet.
She was kind.
She was always very sweet.
She was willing to serve at the drop of a hat.

In my calling at church, I had asked her on a few occasions to take a meal over to a family (either someone was ill or had recently given birth) or to help pack/clean. And she'd fit it into her schedule.

 ... Like I said ... I feel taken aback and at a loss.

Just some random car accident ... It seems that no one else (of the three cars involved) was seriously injured.
But, by the time that responders arrived, ... she was gone.

I hope that her husband is doing okay.

I first met them as newlyweds ... and it doesn't seem like that long ago, at all.

I mean, I know that she's okay. She's not in pain ... she doesn't have to worry about finals or student loans ...
... But, well, the thing about people dying ... it's sad because it's HARD for the rest of us.

I know she'd have been a wonderful mother.
I suppose that she and her husband were planning on children. ... And those plans are on hold.

He's going to be so lonely. And that is sad.
Very sad.

So ... if you wouldn't mind saying a prayer (or lighting a candle/incense or sending positive energy or whatever) for her family and husband to be comforted ... for those who knew her to be comforted, I'd take it as a kindness.

Well ... It's been a while ...

So, I last blogged about Mother's Day ... and, well, what all has happened since then?
Let's do a quick catch-up:

• So, Mom and I went out shopping on Wednesday (with Miss Bubbles in tow, of course). She had asked for sunglasses for Mother's Day, since her old pair was getting scratched up. So, of course, I was more than willing to help her out. We ended up at Ross where I got her two pairs of glasses ... and she ended up replacing her purse and wallet. ... We also ended up, with Bubbles' help, losing her watch. Oops.
• We got plants for Grandma and Mom C. Mom C had requested something to cover a short wall in their yard. And, since their house is on a pit of clay, we got them Viburnum, which will be pretty ... and is one of the only plants that will do well with that soil.
  We picked up some flowers for Grandma to plant -- a couple alyssum, a petunia, and a foxglove.
• Michael's baby sister had her birthday ... she's (as she declares) "20-something."
  I am not 20-anything. And will never be again. *sigh*
  But her daughter did fall asleep on me ... I credit my chub. It's pillow-y.
• Bubbles is sleeping better and back to her sweet, happy self again.
• I got through Season one of Upstairs, Downstairs. I like it. It's a slightly-more modern version of Downton Abbey ... but without Thomas (who's rather a jerk ... at least in season one of DA ... and from the talk I've heard, nothing changes much in the next two seasons ... which I do still need to watch).
• I got some books in the mail ... I now have the WHOLE collection of Shanna Swendson's "Enchanted, Inc." series. I've read all but the last one. And I have a stack of library books that I NEED to get through ... so ... well, I'm going to read that last one. But it's not happening immediately. *sigh*
• I also got a book for the kids (and, well, to be honest, it's for me, too): That's Disgusting!  ... It's HILARIOUS. You should totally read it. 
• I'm mostly over the plague. I still cough a lot ... but it's more of a dry (annoying) cough.
• WE GOT THE PICTURES OFF THE SD CARD.
  Yes, Gallery Photo in Rexburg worked some kind of magic ... and we got our pictures. Some of them aren't perfect (like only 75% of the picture shows up. Or vice versa. But it's a dang sight better than not have ANY of the pictures on the card. And, really, nearly ALL the pictures that I REALLY wanted turned out fine. Phew!!
  So, yeah, if you ever are having issues with an SD card, you should totally check these guys out.
• Today, we went to Costco and had our picture taken with some of the local 501st Legion chapter.
  Bubbles refused to give Darth Vader a high five, but, besides that, it was fun.
  We also gave a friend and her boys a lift to it so they could go, too. Good times.
• I did do my Visiting Teaching ... all via email and Facebook ... but I did make sure to touch bases with each of my sisters ... so that counts, right?
• Bubbles is getting closer and closer to talking. She likes to say "Iiissssssh" for "fish" ... and I think that she's trying to say "hi" and "hello." She likes to babble "mamamamammamama" and "dadadadadadada" ... But it's progress, right? And she's starting to nod her head for "yes," which is a good thing, too.
• The kids are getting closer and closer to summer vacation. And ... at the same time I'm looking forward to it (I get to see Bruise and Bucket a LOT more!) and scared (Oh. My. GOSH ... what am I going to DO with three kids all day every day?!??).
  I know that I need to make sure that the kids read and write and do maths and science and social studies. They also are going to work on reading the Book of Mormon (we'll do it together ... and try and get through it during the summer) and memorizing the Articles of Faith.
  We also need to get the kids into swimming lessons ... since they didn't have lessons last summer (Thanks, Molluscum, you stupid virus. Way to wreck my summer last year.), they don't really remember how to swim. *sigh*
  And, then there are lots of places to go and things to do ... local museums, Summer reading programs. Playdates. ... all those types of things.
• One of my sisters-in-law had a sad thing happen ... the cat they had (they had gotten her as a kitten on their honeymoon) passed away. Very sad.
  But, happy news, they picked up a couple of kittens at a local no-kill shelter. The fuzzy siblings love their new home ... and the family loves having kittens.
  It's almost enough to make me think of getting another animal ... But then I think of how much work it would be. And I think better of it. (Although, when we go to VoldeMart, Bubbles DOES have her eye on these tiny puffer fish ...)
• Bucket is pushing for us to get a dog someday.
  Don't get me wrong, dogs are lovely creatures ... but they're REALLY NEEDY. It'd be like having another child. And Michael's not the type to have a dog in the house. (And our yard isn't all fenced. Even if it were, our yard is rather small.)
  Bucket REALLY wants a Welsh Corgi. Which, at least, is better than a Chiuaua. (No offense intended to any of you who love what my husband refers to as "rat-dogs." In fact, my grandmother had a nice one, named Ticker. ... I don't know why he was named that. But, at least as a geriatric dog, he was very nice. And nowhere near as wired and ill-behaved as her Dachshund duo. Oh ... oh, my.)
• Bruise got to practice writing his numbers (1-100) in five minutes or less. He knows now that he can do it ... and that one of the other classmate's techniques doesn't work for him. But he's able to finish with over a minute to spare. He also still has some trouble pronouncing some words: Churro (sounded more like "shallot"), lawn mower ("molar") ... but he's working really hard. And it's showing.

I think that's about all that I really have to write about.

I did read some scriptures today (getting back on the bandwagon! WHOOHOO!) ... So, yeah. There's that.

Should I work on teaching the kids cursive this summer? Maybe that would help Bruise's handwriting?

Also, I should work at putting together a slew of freezer meals.
I helped a gal that I used to Visit Teach by bringing over a meal. I brought her pizza.
She was happy with it ... but, well, it'd be nice to have a stash of ready-made, healthy meals within reach at all times. I should work on that.

And losing weight. That'd be nice.
Even though I am having a MAD craving for Nacho Cheese Doritos. (WHY?!? ... And I'm not pregnant.)

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.

Vacation Recap

I'm not even getting into HOW far behind I am on scripture study and reading General Conference Talks. Not even going to go there ...

But let's see ... you probably want to know how vacation went! Yes?
Well, you're getting the report anyway. So there!

Friday, Michael stayed home from work and we ran last-minute errands and got everything packed (so when the kids got home, we just had to have them unpack their lunch pails, go to the bathroom, and jump in the van).

Then we drove down to my mom's and spent the night (Going down, we really spread out the traveling, which was nice).
From there, we headed down into California ... hit In-N-Out Burger (first time!) and stayed over at Michael's aunt and uncle's (with most of the rest of the family) that night.
THEN, we drove down to Anaheim and checked into the hotel.

I can say that we weren't terribly impressed with the Hotel del Sol ... we had to change rooms, in fact, because the air conditioner was BROKEN. Poor us. But it was nice to have family in the same hotel. It'd have been nicer if the pool had been open a bit later ... we only went swimming once ... and soaked our feet on another night. The last night we stayed there, we got back and changed into swimsuits ... and got to the stairs JUST as they had locked up the pool. *sigh* So the kids and I did showers instead.

The kids were surprised to go to Disneyland and California Adventures. They loved it, though ... even though Bruise was too short to ride California Screamin', the BIG roller coaster (I rode it with my brother-in-law, since Michael's not a fan of roller coasters.) ... Bruise DID get turned away ONCE from the Indiana Jones ride ... but we stuffed a couple Kleenex in his shoes and he was FIIIIIINE. (Bucket did not care for the Indiana Jones Adventure at all, really).
Bruise also REALLY loved the Twilight Zone Hollywood Tower of Terror. Bucket wasn't wild about it, but did go on it a second time. I'm talking Michael into going on it next time. I think he could handle it. ^_^

The one BIG thing that wasn't good was that our first memory card in the DSLR camera stopped working. So ... Michael's taking it to the IT guys at work today. If nothing else, I'll mail it to a digital image recovery place in Rexburg (I've heard good things about them ... and they have a 95% recovery rate for a lot less than the company in Dresden). I'd really, really like those pictures. I cried myself sick about it after we got home ... but I got a blessing and feel better (and was reassured in the blessing that things will work out).

Also, while we were out of town, a boy in the neighborhood found the spare key and got in out house. Didn't take anything, really (Well, a condom. Probably expired, really. Whatever.) ... It was really weird. But he came and apologized (after I'd gotten off the phone with Staples, who told me that if an SD card goes, there's no hope ... which I know is NOT true. But I cried anyways).  ... Now, when he saw that I'd been crying, he visibly blanched. He did apologize, saying that he wasn't thinking and didn't know what he was thinking.
Instead of berating him, like Michael thought I might ... because, really, I was VERY IRKED ... and hormonal and tired ... I was calm and told him that he NEEDS to think. That he's in control of his actions. That he has an incredible potential for good ... and that he needs to use it. And I asked for a hug, which he gave me.
He was quite abashed ... and I really, really, really hope that this makes him think and make better choices.
That and the fact that he's working in our yard for free for the summer. Our yard is going to look AWESOME.

It could have been way, way worse. Nothing was missing, really. Nothing was damaged.
We had lent the guns to a friend while we were gone. We didn't have any money lying around (I had a $5 bill in a jewelry box. It's still there). I'd already put the external hard drive with the kids' updated baby pictures and all into the (fire-proof) safe ... There wasn't much that could have been taken easily.

So, yes, we were VERY BLESSED.

Also, the other worrisome thing about the trip was that the transmission started to act up. My van doesn't like to shift a whole lot after a LOT of driving. But, after we got home, I had the transmission flushed. We'll see how that helps. But, like I told Michael, if I got an ulcer, we'd know why. :P

Where was I? ... Disneyland, that's right!
Here's a bit of what all we did:

• We did almost EVERYTHING in California Adventures.
• According to Google Maps on my phone, we walked about 16 miles total that first day.
  I can believe it, due to the five blisters that I ended up with. Youch!
• I also got a crazy bad sunburn on one of my shoulders. Dad C was shocked, since he WATCHED me put on a ton of sunscreen. It's mostly all healed now. It still feels all dry and leathery in comparison to the rest of my skin.
• Bubbles got a sunburn across her little nose and cheeks. It's about all faded now.
  She also ended up with Prickly Heat ... so I felt like a crap mom.
• The kids chose their souvenirs: Bruise wound up with a little (cheap) pirate sword at D-land. Bucket got a little Princess Leia dress-up doll kit (with little plastic dresses and different hairstyles). I got Bubbles a stuffed baby Pegasus (from Hercules) wrapped in a blanket. I got a hoodie.
• Bruise and Bucket got picked to be in Jedi training! They had a great time. Bruise dueled with Darth Vader and Bucket battled Darth Maul.
• We met a lot of the princesses: Snow White, Merida, Cinderella, Tiana, Aurora, and Jasmine (Snow White and Jasmine are, sadly, on the malfunctioning SD card. And Jasmine is Bucket's current favorite). We also met with the fairies, Rosetta and Tinker Bell ... two of Bucket's favorites (Silvermist was the missing one of the trifecta). We also got to see Chip and Dale, Brer Fox, Duffy (the Disney bear), Donald Duck, and Aladdin. (Aladdin is ALSO on the other SD card. *sigh*)
• We really could have used another day or two in order to get through all of Disneyland. And we didn't do Radiator Springs, since it was SO, SO crowded (and Bubbles was too small to go on many rides, poor gal).
• We did make sure to hit Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion ... those are dealbreakers for me.
• We shared Dole Whips (yum) and beignets (yummm!!!) ... Cafe Orleans is a bit spendy, but the servers were so, so nice ... and the dipping sauces for the beignets were so good. There's a Creme Anglaise (a vanilla-creme sauce. They described it as a "liquid creme brulee") and a raspberry cloutis ("clew-ee"), which I wanted to drink through a straw. Very good.
• The kids loved going on so many rides ... Splash Mountain was one they really liked. As was the Grizzly River Run (you can't NOT get splashed/soaked on that one). 
• We watched the Aladdin musical show. VERY GOOD. The genie was GREAT. And the scenery and costumes ... I mean, there wasn't anything NOT to love about it. Even Bubbles had a great time. And she's a little with a little's attention span. She clapped, even.
• We also met Mickey Mouse ... and Bubbles was ENTRANCED. She waved to him later, when the parade was starting (we were in line for "It's a Small World," which she enjoyed).
• The characters are all so great ... very in character. Rosetta declared, in a Southern drawl, as she signed Bucket's autograph book that Bucket's dress (her Princess Aurora dress) "It's PINK and SPARKLY, so she's dressed like ME!" ... Tiana was so hospitable. Cinderella was so gracious. Aurora was sweet. Merida ... she was wonderful, and quite taken with Bubbles, "the wee babby!"
• The kids and I went on Goofy's Flight School roller coaster. It's VERY jerky (unlike the smooth speed of California Screamin' ... yes, I'm spoiled forever now). The kids were in front of me ... and I had a single rider next to me.
  "Hi!" I chirped. What?? I'm friendly, okay?
  "Hello, luv," he replied.
  "...Where are you from?"
  "I'm from the UK."
  "Oh, cool! Which part?"
  Turns out he was from Scotland and works for Disney in Florida. He did NOT care for that roller coaster, which made me feel better about it's not being in my favorites, either. And he worked to control himself ... though I heard many "bloody!" things.
  And he rescued my ticket holder when it fell off my lanyard.
  Michael's lucky that I'm so faithful ... ^_^
• I think Bucket's favorite ride was Soarin' Over California ... It's a simulated flying/hang-gliding ride over California vistas, over a huge, curved movie screen. It was a great ride.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise were closed when we were there. Sad. But we'll just have to ride those next time.
• Bubbles really liked ... well, anything. We didn't take her to World of Color, she stayed with Mom and Dad C for that ... but she would have liked it, I think. She loves anything with music (like Ariel's Undersea Adventure and It's a Small World) ... and seeing Mickey.

And that's most of what I really remember about Disneyland.
(Michael, if you want to share anything, go ahead!!)

Then, we packed up and headed south to Carlsbad to LEGOland!
We actually stayed at the resort ... and I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it!

The hotel itself is designed and decorated with kids in mind ... I mean, the elevators alone ... If you're staying on the ground floor (Kingdom themed), you have to ride the elevator anyways!
(If you check my Facebook, I have a short video of it!)

The pool is VERY nice. Bruise, Bucket and I went for a little splash-about while Bubbles and Michael relaxed in the room.

The buffet is a little expensive, but VERY good. The food choices are great ... There were MUSHROOMS!! And I barely ever get to eat mushrooms since I'm about the only person in this house who likes them. So, don't judge me if I gorged myself on mushrooms. And Vegetable curry ... and all sorts of other things (Though, next time, we will try the other two restaurants in the hotel -- the cafe and the lounge). The toilets have a kids' training seat built into the lid ... The decorations are great ... Really, I can't think of anything we DIDN'T like!

Bruise and Bucket LOVED having a TV to themselves. And lights in their bunks.
When they got to the room, there's a little safe for them to open. Inside were chocolate coins (which I knew about) and they each got a new minifig (Series 10): Bucket got Medusa (which was the one she wanted most of all) and Bruise got a skydiver.

LEGOland is smaller than Disneyland ... so we were able to do just about every ride (except for a couple that were closed, the water park -- closed, and a few that we skipped) and the Sea Life aquarium in the two days that we were there. And LEGOland is geared primarily for kids ages 2-12, so Bruise and Bucket were tall enough to go on ALL the rides, including the roller coasters.

Michael was thrilled to be there and see all the LEGO sculptures. We did the factory tour and the kids got to play in the splash park(s) in Pirate's Cove.

After the rides at Disneyland, Bruise and Bucket were a little jaded (because the Disney rides are generally longer) ... but the wait times at LEGOland were not bad at all ... and the Pirate's Reef ride made up for it.
It's a short ride, don't get me wrong ... you go up an incline, come down FAST ... and you WILL get wet. No matter where you sit.
When we got in, there was already about an inch-and-a-half of standing water in the boat. (Felt SO good to my flip-flopped feet after how many days of walking around parks!) ... And, when we finished, the only spots that WEREN'T wet were where my back and butt were against the seat and between my thighs, since I sat with my knees together. The rest of me was SOAKED. So I was REALLY GLAD that I had worn light layers, including leggings, instead of jeans. And that it was a warm, sunny day ... since that helped me to dry off quickly.

Like I mentioned, Bubbles couldn't go on a lot of the rides (she's NOT 36" by a long shot. Yet), but she and Michael had fun looking around at things. And she LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the aquarium. She waved to all the fish ... we think her first real word might end up being "fish." She's getting close ... "ffffsh!!!!" But, then again, it might be "hi!"

We bought our souvenirs before the aquarium ... then picked them up right before we left the park. Michael got two LEGO sets (Y-wing and the LEGOCity Pet Store). Bruise got the LEGO Kingdom chess set and an Iron Man 3 set. Bucket got two stuffed LEGO Friends animals (the grey cat and the brown horse), and ... um ... two Lego Friends sets, I think? Michael gave her an amount to spend ... and she really used it well. We got Bucket a little stuffed panda with a Lego block embroidered on its foot pad and a little Duplo set (polar bear and penguin). I grabbed a hoodie, a bag, a magnet, a couple ice trays, and a DVD for the kids (they still don't know about that, though. Shhh!!). Lots of LEGO loot.

The drive home, after getting out of the aquarium, was LONG. We took off around 4 and drove. Got caught in LA traffic, which was discouraging.

Michael: Why do I even TRY to get up to 60mph? (as we're going around 20 and maxing out around 40mph).
Me: Optimism.

He's so lucky to have me.

As I mentioned, the transmission wasn't wanting to switch gears easily ... so that was nervous-making. But we prayed. And prayed.

We grabbed dinner at McDonald's and filled the gas tank ... and kept driving. I fell asleep around 11 or so. We pulled over at a couple of rest stops so Michael could get a nap (but he couldn't, since Bubbles' car seat is RIGHT behind the driver's seat, so he couldn't recline it much).
We traded off driving when we got gas next. I grabbed a Cherry Coke and drove from around 4am-6ish ... Then we traded when we got gas (and breakfast at IHOP while the van rested a little and I tried not to cry or throw up ... Yeah, I don't handle stress well. I just wanted to be HOME).

We decided that we weren't going to go through Brookings (Michael would like to go there sometime and check out a job site that his company has worked on ... This was NOT that time, though. Poo.), but that we'd just head straight home on the freeway.

And we made it home ... around 3 PM. We checked out the house, figured out that the neighbor kid didn't steal anything, unpacked, started laundry, started loading pictures, got the kids ready for baths and bed ...

We made it to Sacrament meeting on Sunday ... and I went home afterwards ... Bubbles was tired ... and I almost fell asleep three times during Testimony meeting. So, Michael drove us home (the kids were in Primary and he wanted to be at EQ), where we took naps.

Monday, we took the kids out for frozen yogurt (since Bucket was Student of the Month) ... and I was sick with a cold ... and had JUST lost my sense of smell and taste.
Tuesday, my cold got worse and is starting to get better ... moving from my sinuses into my chest. FUN! But, at least, I'm not throwing up due to all the mucus ... so that's a benefit, right? And I don't think I'm running a fever anymore, like I was last night.

So ... just wish us luck on getting all the pictures off of the one SD card ... And that my mom and I get healthy again FAST. I hate being sick. It makes me grumpy. And that Bubbles' heat-rash clears up totally. And that the one neighbor kid turns his life around. Because ... I get the feeling, after meeting him, that he's a good kid. And he needs to KNOW that he's a good person ... and that he's capable of controlling impulses.

... I'll try and get caught up on scriptures and talks soon. It might not be today, though.