What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I probably read this book in the early 2000s but I’m not too sure when it was published. I remember that the main character played with little figurines and would act out scenes - pretty sure there was a scenario where Bartholomew the donkey was banished to a ‘pit’ that was just a dark stain on a mattress. I wanna say there was a pet turtle in the book? There was one specific scene from the book that I remember - she’s sitting next to her first crush and he puts his hand of top of hers and she internally monologues about him intentionally pushing down so their hands were together. Any help would be appreciated! It was a cutesy fun read as a child and I’ve been tearing the internet apart to find it.

Oof, that's a toughie! I wasn't able to pull it up with this text (got a lot of religious hits, as you can imagine!).

Do you think it was Christian fiction specifically?

I don't suppose you can remember anything about the cover?

Absolutely Normal Chaos maybe?

If Ayshe didn't already solve it for you, there's also the YA diary/epistolary lists to scroll through. :)

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
&
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Ayshe's suggestion of Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech sounds like your book.

Google Books has a snippet preview, you can search for keywords:
https://books.google.com/books?id=wSs... There are different cover images.

Quotes from the book:
- ... later I said I was going to have trouble not saying God and stuff, and she said, "Mary Lou!"
- He sure had a lot of sum and substance in there. Alpha and Omega! About twenty packs of gum ...
- I'll just have to wait until everyone's asleep and use the pot that's under the bed. Oh, Alpha and ...
- ... Omega, when will I be able to go home???
Monday, July 30 ...
- (Scene fades out. Next scene opens as family is finishing dinner. Mary Lou, Maggie, Tommy, Dennis, their mother, their father, ...)
- "Snapping turtle, dummy," Lee Bob said.
- Do you think he was going to kiss me? I wish there was a manual for this sort of ting, something that would tell you about holding hands and kissing. When should this happen?

I also immediately thought of Absolutely Normal Chaos

Y’all…. You’re miracle workers. Part of the reason I couldnt find it myself is because I also got an insane amount of religious hits. The book I’m thinking of is Absolutely Normal Chaos. Thank you so much.