When It Rains, It Rains

Last night I was at my (new!) women's group and as my prayer intention I asked for a big pile of money.  Maybe that's wrong...To be fair, I also asked for prayers last time for some folks with sick kids, so it's not all about me all the time.

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you probably remember how I crashed into my own garage door.  We have yet to fix/replace that door.  Our basement has been mildly flooding since we moved in last fall but with the crazy monsoon we had last week it was more of a major flood.  So we need a sump pump or some yard re-grading or some other stuff I don't really understand. And yesterday our 10 year old van might have bitten the big one...gone to the parking lot in the sky...kicked the oil bucket...you get the idea.  It essentially turned off in the middle of driving.  Brakes and steering locked up.  I had to pull the emergency brake to stop it.  So that was fun.  And I totally get that my life is not that hard, even with all of these inconveniences, hence the title of this post.  But still.  Frustrated is my middle name some days. 

So, other than looking for a pile of money, we might also be looking for a new-to-us family vehicle.  Which secretly makes me excited to be getting a new(er) one--one that might not have Cheez-its and melted crayon stuck in every crevice.  (I feel like Cheez-its should pay me to advertise for them here, as often as I mention them.  Actually they are the Aldi brand "Savor-itz."  Aldi is my BFF.)

So herein lies the dilemma...what kind of prison-on-wheels should we buy for the little Burns inmates?  There are six in our family to date.  There are no guarantees if we will or will not have another ginger baby sometime in the future.  We are open to either possibility, honestly.  Plus, I babysit other kids--sometimes just one, but soon it will be 2 because she is having a baby sister.  With our current minivan situation, we can seat all the kids in the middle and back seats with no room to spare.  When J's little sis comes along, one of my big kids will have to ride shotgun in order for everyone to fit.  Which is fine, but probably isn't the safest thing.

So, do we go with another minivan or SUV that seats seven?  One that seats 8?  A Suburban, which the internet tells me seats nine?  Or do we really go for the gusto and get a Nissan NV 12 passenger monstrosity?  We've been debating for quite a while because the NV would be so nice what with all the can't-elbow-your-siblings room.  Right now, if we were going to go on a long trip (for instance, to Jazzercise on the south side of town...or some fancy vacation I guess) each kid could have their own isolation chamber in the NV.  One big, happy, well-spaced family!  And if/when I am babysitting other kids or my own offspring want to have a friend ride with us somewhere we could all fit without wanting to murder each other.  And as far as fuel non-economy goes, Mike tells me the NV gets about the same gas mileage as our current mom-mobile.  But I don't know.  What do other people with 4+ kids do to get around?  I am intrigued.  Give me your opinions, educated or otherwise.

For today, I will enjoy the fresh and clean rental van.  Sorry kids, we can't listen to Frozen--they only have satellite radio!  If we get stuck in the rental during the zombie apocalypse or a snow storm or something we won't be able to survive on the crevice crumbs, but I guess we'll rough it for now. 

Terrifically horrible rental van selfie!