2 down 1 to go

Houston we have a van I repeat...we. have. a. van.
We went with the 8 passenger Odyssey in Silver.    It had all of  the bells and whistles that we wanted PLUS we were at our wits end and this was the one priced right.   I would have bought a mini cooper had that been presented Saturday.  I'm glad it wasn't an option :)
We are waiting for new carseats to arrive.   We went with the Radian 65's (thanks Steph) so that we could fit 3 in back and remove the 3rd seat in the 2nd row to leave room for the kids to climb back there.
That's not happening now, but when it does....it's gonna be SWEEEEEEET !

The no water thing is so not very cool.    I mean...it really isn't something someone with 5 kids should ever have to deal with.   No power, no air, no lights even....but no water was crazy.
Do you know what milk looks like coming out of several sippy cups after 2 days of 90 degree heat in the house with no water to wash them out.     We borrowed a couple of buckets of hot water from our neighbor so that I could wash dishes and OMG ! it was so-ho-ho nasty.
Oh and having your hands in hot water, cleaning curdled milk out of sippy cups in a 90 degree house isn't super cool either.

The plug.  It wouldn't screw back on after the putty had dried.  Oh....and just so you know, it does dry as hard as steel.   I haven't tried it on the diapers yet, but J totally used it to fix the dog door :)
ANY WAYS.   Our neighbor works for a plumming supply store and made a special trip on Sunday to work to try and find the piece for us.  no go.  After THAT didn't work out.   J cut some bits off here shaved some bits of there and was able to get it back in.   
I can't tell you how beautiful the sound of running water coming through my pipes sounds.    Music people.
It almost sounded as good as the sound of the toilets flushing.    Speaking of.    We couldn't flush them, because we had no water right.  (remember, it's 90 degrees too)  J.  my farm girl, grew up with well water.....and when the well was out of commission...like say the power was off....you couldn't flush your toilets either...and the only way to get the poop down is to pour water down the toilet.
J would go out......fill a bucket of water up with our secondary water supply from the sprinklers and dump it down the ole comfort station.    How wonderful that was.  

Now....we just need the airconditioner fixed and we'll be set.   Well, except the lawn mower stopped working yesterday...who knows what needs to be done to fix that bad boy.

It's raining it's pouring the old man is snoring.

Ok....so....yesterday when our neighbor came over to see what he could do about our leak...he brought his youngest of 3 daughters with him.  All of whom have babysat our kids.   I do believe she is their very most favorite person in the whole wide world. 
J and Todd were working on the plug when J overheard a conversation between Cameron and Maddie.
Somehow the word "dad" came up between the 2 and that's when J tuned in to the dialog.
Maddie, "that's my dad"
Cameron, "I have a dad....his name is Mommy J"

I crack up each and every time we go over this with them.   
Spencer had a talk with J about this very thing not that long ago.
Spencer, "I have a mama and a daddy"
J, "no, you have two mommies"
Spencer, "NO ! I have a mama and a daddy"
J, "you have a mama and a mommy J"
Spencer, "YAAH-UHH ! mama-mama, daddy-mommy J.  SEE !"

I don't see her teaching them how to shave their beards but she can certainly teach them everything there is to know about sports.  How to change their oil, replace a tire, finish a basement, lay a sprinkling system, install a toilet and repair just about anything that breaks in a house including a stubborn water valve plug.  
She has perfected the spinning of donuts in snow.    She knows all about programming anything from a computer to a thermostat.    She can pull wire, hook up an entertainment system and change a circuit breaker fuse.   She can find anything you can find, cheaper....and can deal with my shit every day for 13 years.
(feeling all verklempt) she's amazing.  (sniff sniff) I just love her.  She's the best (sniff) dad (sniff) I could ever wish for for my kids.   I just wish she were here to hug.
I wish I were a cat and she were a cat lady and I could just curl up in her lap and go to sleep.   and she'd take me everywhere with her.   (sigh)

I don't remember what my point to all of this was.   I need to go call my wife and tell her how much I love her.

Sydney has become quite the little face painter.   I now present.....Nathan.....her Cheetah.
All 4 of her brothers, Mommy J and her fiance Nate have all fallen victim.  
Not too shabby really.