jammy day

Not quite sure how I feel about today. It was a doozie I tell ya. Have you ever had to go a night and a day without water? I don't really recommend it. I was out last night and got a text from John with some good news and bad. The good news was that he had fixed the toilet which had been out of service since Friday. Hallelujah. As for the bad?...Well, in the process, the valve which controls our main water source had broken. It was way too late to call a plumber, so we just had to make do until this morning. I guess I never really realized how much I rely on running water...until it's taken away. You can go to the bathroom, but can't flush the toilet or wash your hands. Brushing your teeth isn't very enjoyable without water. No morning showers. Couldn't wash the kids' strawberries for breakfast, or asher's grimy hands and face after he had eaten. What just about did me in, though, was when I caught him swishing his hands in the toilet...the same toilet we had all peed in, but couldn't flush. I swooped him up, lathered his hands and arms with soap, and turned on the faucet...to nothing. Oh yeah. No water.

Hand sanitizer, baby wipes, and disposable disinfectant cloths can only go so far.

There's definitely something to be said for good old fashioned soap and water.

The plumber said he'd be out between 10 and noon...but we all know the story, they say between 10 and 12, what they really mean is one. Frustrating.

By the time he left, I was too exhausted to even care that we had water, and just went straight to bed. We all woke up around 4:30ish, and by that time, I just couldn't see the sense in even taking a shower. I declared the day a jammy day, and the kids and I just basically lay around as if it were 7 in the morning. What a waste.

Thinking back, I guess there were a few exciting moments disbursed in our otherwise colorless day. Asher, whom John just pegged as "the tornado" (it's a perfect name for him, I can't believe I didn't come up with it on my own) completely ran amuck while I was talking with my friend Tara on the phone. Kids are pretty smart, they'll usually wait til mom is on the phone - distracted and somewhat vulnerable - to misbehave. They scream and cry and throw all sorts of fits - knowing full well that mom will stuff their faces with treats and snacks just to keep them quiet so that she can actually think while she converses. Ruby used to do that. Who am I kidding? She still totally does that. Well Asher, he's smart too, but in a different sort of way. He takes advantage of my diversion from him, to disappear and get into things. During the duration of my 20 minute phone call, I found him standing on the kitchen counter with a sharp carving knife in his hand, in my bedroom spraying aerosol hairspray on my dresser, and in the bathtub squirting conditioner all over his clothes, all over his head, and all over the shower walls. I was also on the phone when I caught him playing in the pee-water from the toilet. I later related the story to John, and that's when he dubbed Asher a tornado - which totally made me laugh...even though I really just wanted to cry.

Ruby put a little spin on the day, too, which explains why I posted the above photo. John normally takes her to school on his way to work; but since this morning was thrown off due to our plumbing issues, I volunteered to take her myself. I was in my jammies, of course, and was heading out the door, keys in hand...when Ruby said:

Ummmm mom, I don't think you can wear those, I noticed that they had a water spot down on the leg.

Oh really? I replied. Well, it's dry now, so I guess we're ok.

So you're going to wear those to take me to school?

Yes, Ruby, but I'll be staying in the car, remember? No one will even see me.

Ummmm, mom, Miss Arlene told us that our mommies and daddies are not allowed to drop us off in their jammies.

Since when did my little baby start growing up and becoming embarrassed of her mother?

I guess gone are the days I could do no wrong in her eyes.

I'm a little sad/ashamed to have admit that the highlight of my day was putting the children to bed.

But then I can't be too hard on myself, because if I hadn't put them to bed, I'd have never seen this.

And this I tell you...

just about melted my heart.