I know I haven’t posted in forever.  I’m sorry.  I miss you.  Have you missed me?  (It’s rhetorical.  Really, don’t answer.  I can’t take the indifference.)

I haven’t posted because lately all I do is entertain a seriously hyperactive, always bored, always wanting-a-friend-over-and-getting-in-my-face-if-he-can’t-six-year old, run a nine and twelve year old around to seven different activities a week, try to keep up with my husband’s crazy schedule (i.e., phone call at 5 pm:  “Jen?  Um, did I ever mention to you that I signed us up to bring (insert name of person I’ve never met) dinner tonight?  Please don’t be mad at me…”)

I then do lots of laundry, cook lots of food, do lots of dishes, yell at the kids, “Why am I doing the dishes?”, run lots of errands, do more laundry, cook more food (I am going to move my bed into the kitchen), pick up the house, yell at the kids for not picking up the house, yell at the kids to do their homework, yell at the kids to practice their music, yell at the kids to stop fighting and stop yelling! (“We aren’t trash!” I yell at them.)  By the time I sit down to the computer, it’s 10 pm and I’m beat.  I check my email and flop off to bed.  I don’t even check facebook anymore.  Yes, my friends, it’s gotten that bad.

I don’t know what’s happening.  My life is unraveling just when it was supposed to slow down.  My two older kids are in school and my youngest goes to kindergarten in the afternoon.  This leaves me with a solid two hours of “free” time every day, during which I’d planned to blog, write, keep my house spotless, practice the piano and dang it, finally get those digital scrapbooks caught up (okay, started.)  Instead, I do a little housework, run a quick errand or do church stuff and poof! time’s up and the troops come spilling through the door, with forms to sign and projects to do and things to buy at Michaels and braces needing tightened and clothes needing bought and drama needing dramatized and snacks needing made and driving here, there and everywhere needing driven.  (Please don’t ask me to diagram that sentence.)

The part I feel most sheepish about is that I only have three kids.  I know many of you reading this have many, many more than that, and of course you are managing it all beautifully.  I’ve decided that, ultimately, I just function under a severely limited capacity.  That’s the only explanation I can produce for why, despite the simplicity of my life, I am just barely hanging on.

And that, in my signature long-winded manner, is why I haven’t posted lately.  But big things are coming, my friends.  I’m hitting the booming metropolis of Boise this weekend to see Wicked, and I’m excited.  I’ll treat (bore) you with photos upon my return.  I’ve also lately uncovered some old, gnarly wounds concerning scrapbooking that we need to work out.  (Why do I hate it so much?)  And, of course, I need to tell you about Ethan’s latest cuteness. (“When I love someone so much, my heart thumps really fast.”)

It will be a blessed reunion, my friends.  And exciting.  And long overdue.

And I really am sorry for neglecting our relationship.  Please don’t be mad at me.