It takes too much effort to think of a title.

Wow.

It's been so long since I've logged on here that I just don't really know what to do with myself. Let's see, where did I end off? Oh yes, the last time I posted here, I was happily employed by three tiny minions, slaving over a hot stove and wiping a**es every five minutes. While I did enjoy that job ever so much, I have to say that the pay kind of sucked. But now, I'm up at some godforsaken hour typing away at my work computer. Yes, work. As in, paid employment some 30+ miles away from the comfort of my own home. The last few months have been a tumultuous, interesting and strangely educational period in our lives and we're still trying to figure out what the hell we're doing. But in the meantime, this is where I'll be for the next year or so - in front of this computer doing what I did so well for 7 years before I quit in 2008 - pretending to work while sleeping at my desk with my eyes open. So while some things change, some things just stay the same.

Day 8

I snuck in a Level 2 workout on Tuesday and I definitely felt the burn. I haven't worked out again since but I've got some excuses - sick kids, tired mom, etc... I'll resume my workout schedule very shortly.

***

And I also promise I will write about something less mundane than working out. Ugh. Who am I becoming.

Sweats are the new black

Speaking of doing nothing else.....

So yeah, the chasm between blog posts are becoming much wider as time flies by. It's already Thanksgiving and almost time for Christmas madness. How in the world did we get here?!

Anyways, things at Bang household have been pretty standard - lots of poop wiping, general childrearing and house cleaning going on around here.

It's now been about a year and a half since I quit my job to stay home with the kids and in that time frame, I've noticed myself evolving. I've never been the most ambitious person in the world but I've always been generally uniform in my daily tasks. Brisk. Efficient. Before I had kids, I used to shower and dress in normal clothes regardless of my plans for the day. Even if I had planned to stay home and clean the garage, I'd shower, straighten my hair and put on a little makeup. I always felt that being physically put together made me feel more awake, more energetic. Like a human being.

However.

I realize how that the longer you stay home, the more parental responsibilities you hold, the less sleep you attain, things change. And change they have.

A few observations:

1. Daily showers are now rare optional.

2. Long hair is required for ease of ponytails and haphazard buns. *See #1

3. Kids in pjs all day? What's the problem?

4. Me in pj's all day? What's the problem?

5. I have three pairs of sweats on rotation every week. Two of them have bleach stains and rips at the bottom hem.

6. I can officially cross my name off the list for "Hottest Mom in Bonney Lake. *See #5

7. I lie - actually my name wasn't even on the ballot.

As I type this, I'm sitting here in last night's pj's with my unwashed hair in a greasy ponytail. I can feel the beginnings of a volcano zit start to form on my upper lip and I just bit part of my ragged nail off my rough, dry man hands.

I'm still waiting for my casting call, Tyra Banks. ANTM, baby!


***

Btw, my ps camera broke so pictures will be sparse until I can replace it. Boo.

Blah. Just.... blah.

Wow.

I guess I've been neglecting this blog for a while now. I don't know, these days I don't really have much to write about. Normally my mind would be teeming with excellent blog material. I mean, I am a stay at home mom to three kids under the age of 5 and one would think the day would be filled with random happenings and such.

But yeah, I've got nothing going on here.

Well, okay. That's not necessarily true. Now that Evelyn has started school, I have become a part time limo driver. Except it's not a limo, it's an dirty old pathfinder and I don't even have one of those nifty caps.

Which reminds me, I rear ended a car on the way to drop off Evelyn. We were fine, I was fine, the other car was fine. My car was the only one with a tiny bit of minor damage. But somehow, Evelyn manages to bring up the event as often as she can remember.

"Mommy, you should slow down. remember when you hit the red car on the way to school? Daddy, you should slow down because Mommy hit the car on the way to school. You should just down. You don't want to run into another car on the way to school, okay?"

Even Oliver chimes in with "Swow down! You going too fassst!"

Seriously, who knew small children could backseat drive?

Also, when Evelyn's at school, the house is eerily silent. and I LIKE IT. Of course, I miss her terribly during the day when she's at school and I sit by the clock wringing my hands until it's time to leave and pick her up. But I am very much enjoying the peacefulness of having just the boys at home. Believe or not, Oliver turns into an angel when Evelyn's gone. He rarely has a complaint and even enjoys sharing his toys with Wesley. I think Evelyn's presence tends to turn up the noise and the activity up a million few notches.

Other than that, I find myself not really motivated to do much else besides the usual household and motherly duties. I have a pile of books on my nightstand, waiting to be cracked open. I now have time to maybe search online for part time work at home job opportunities. Even start seriously looking into pre-reqs for the Highline nursing program. I have all this extra time when Wesley sleeping that I could devote to learning a new hobby - sewing, perhaps? I even have a sewing machine tucked away somewhere in the closet. But these days, nothing seems to really grab my attention. I'm just feeling kind of.... blah.

Blah, blah, blah.

Sometimes, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore.

To be cont.....

Self absorbed at the core

Sometimes I wonder who exactly reads this blog. When I was using Wordpress, I could easily track the number of people who visited the site. I know there is a way to track it on Blogger but I'm finding I kind of don't care anymore.

Wait!
Let me rephrase.

I do care. I care about the people who do read this blog. When someone at church comes up to me and tells me she enjoyed my story about Oliver's tantrumfest, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It also makes me realize people do read between the lines and know that, while I might feel like my brain is going to explode into tiny, tiny pieces on a daily basis, they know I love my kids and have a sense of humor to deal with whatever comes my way. So yes, I do appreciate the people that take the time to read this, as mundane as I may seem at times. I mean, how much can one person write about poop, vomit and crying you wonder? Well, let me just tell you, A LOT. I can write about it A LOT.

Let's be honest - Blogs are pretty self serving vessels. I mean, I do think many positive things come from blogging. I read one blog regularly who has found a group of faithful (literally and metaphorically) followers who pray for her ailing son. I've read some very insightful stories on parenting, marriage, kids.

But like I said, blogs are at their core, self serving. Honestly, I am a fairly shy person (no... really...) but oddly enough I feel comfortable sharing some of my life with you right out here in the open. I often write about my parenting mishaps. Oh I'm sure some people judge me. Hey, I judge me too! But really, I am not afraid of people judging me. If I were, then I'd probably wouldn't blog. Or uh, open my mouth. I've learned long ago to stop caring how people perceive me. Only those that truly know me understand what I'm like. But I find something comforting in writing out my thoughts in a journal. This journal just happens to be public. I mean, it's not one of those "Dear Diary" kinds of journals. Let's face it, I'm not 16 and in dire need of braces, a pushup bra and a boyfriend.

Well ok, at least I don't need a boyfriend.

But I do find myself bonding with those in similar situations as mine. It's tough being a stay at home mom on one income with little outside help. It's also tough having three kids under the age of 4 in the dead of the hottest summer we've ever had in Seattle. Seriously, the weather was ridiculous. But anyways, it is nice to find common ground and community with other parents who understand.

Anyways, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am thankful I have people who care about me enough to listen to what I have to say.

Whoever you all are.