Like the Bat Mobile, just way less cooler.

We just bought a minivan.

And you know what?

I like it. I really like it.

I KNOW!

Six years ago.... oh hell, six minutes ago I would have never, ever imagined myself driving a "mommy mobile" and now, at the tender age of 32, with three kids ages 5 and under, I am the confused proud owner of a lovely Honda Odyssey. I'm not even sure how it happened really. I wasn't even quite sure of my feelings when I opened the garage door and saw the thing parked in place of our trusty pathfinder.

But when I stepped into the van, I knew.

I knew it was the car for us. Because I was standing. STANDING in the vehicle. With room to spare. Seats far enough apart where the kids couldn't touch, bother, poke each other. Automatic sliding doors. Six cup holders in the front!

What... I get thirsty.

Not to mention enough passenger space to fit more people if need be. Space for the stroller plus other random junk in the back. Just more room. More everything!

And now, days later I'm finding myself creating reasons to leave the house. I stare longingly at the car keys, imagining all the kids piling easily into the van, settling themselves in their seats as I swiftly buckle them in. I practically jump at reasons to run to the store now, whereas before I'd wait until we'd have one egg and 2 ounces of milk left before I left the house.

I'm sure this is what people call the "new car honeymoon phase" - a phase I never thought I'd be in. But look at me now.

Just look at me.

I don't even know who I am anymore. But that's ok. Because now I can get 28 miles to the gallon on this sucker.

Again. Who am I? Yeesh. Just don't be surprised if you find me rolling up to church in denim relaxed fit capri pants, slip on keds and one of those korean mom visors.

I'm just saying.

Roomies

One of the seven dwarves.

I am grumpy.

Very, very grumpy.

Sometimes I wish I could be one of those people who are positive all the time.

Oh wait....

No I don't. That actually sounds pretty annoying.

I just wish, right now, that I wasn't so grumpy. Especially to my kids. They're just kids, they don't know that screaming and playing around is annoying to me. I guess it really shouldn't be annoying but you know what? It is.

I  was very angry at the kids tonight for not cleaning up their rooms. I was angry because Steven someone clogged the toilet and didn't bother to unclog it before he left the house. I was angry because we only have two plungers in this house and three bathrooms. I'll let you guess which bathroom doesn't have a plunger.  I was angry because John bought a different brand of soy milk and Wesley cried and cried because he didn't like the taste.

Stupid things to get angry about. Except the toilet part. Who wouldn't get angry! Toilets are gross. Add cloggage and it's even more gross. Nothing makes me more angry than cleaning toilets.

Rational, I know.

While it is obvious that I need some sort of break, please don't tell me I need a break. Because you know what, it's probably not going to happen. Maybe it's because I don't try hard enough to make time for a break. But we all need breaks. It's just that sometimes we don't get exactly what we need when we need it.

So what's a girl to do, right?

Nothing. Except maybe write about it and feel a little better having gotten it off my mind. And then go crawl into bed with my heating pad and watch hours of frightening yet addicting episodes of Criminal Minds.

I'm not looking for a solution, an answer, a magic wave of the wand to make things better.

I'm just grumpy.

That's all.

Wesley and Elliott

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to watch my nephew Elliott for a couple of days while Lisa and Pat got some packing and cleaning done. Btw, they sold their house.

WHOO! *wild applause*

Guess where they'll be staying for at least the next month?

*crickets*

Yup, you guessed it. The three of them plus the two dogs will be holed up here with the five of us plus my brother. The body heat alone should warm up the house. Maybe I should turn the heat off. Save some money, you know.

Anyways, the three of them stayed with us all weekend. Friday and Saturday I was left home alone with four kids so Lisa and Pat could take care of some "house things".

Now, yes... three of the four are mine so one would think the extra kid wouldn't be so difficult right?

Have you even met Elliott?

Kidding, kidding. He's my nephew and I love his pillowy thighs. It was just quite a challenge taking care of two babies very close in age. My biceps got a workout everytime I had to carry both of them up and down the stairs and I had to alternate feeding each kid between bites. It was like poopy diaper tag team and one would crawl away while the other one foraged in the garbage can. I wouldn't say it was.. difficult. I just had to be more alert than usual especially because Elliott is a daredevil baby. I'd often find him hanging out on the first step of the stairs holding on to the baby gate while shaking it like prison bars.

ANYHOO, overall the weekend was fun. VERY LONG, but fun. I don't get to spend much time with Elliott, or my sister for that matter, so it was nice to have them here for a couple of days. Who knows what it'll be like when they're here for longer than 3 days. I hope the claws don't come out. Although, I'm pretty sure they will.  ROWR!

***

Very random pictures of the babies.

Hey baldy! *cackles*

This ear lobe is GIGANTIC. *snickers*

Playing in the kitchen. There's nothing cuter than babies in footed pajamas.

Honestly, this picture of Wesley is so not cute that it is actually kind of...cute.

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.