Goodbye May, Hello June

So, I was looking at recent posts and see that January was pretty tough... a few rounds of illnesses, dead car battery, misc frustrations, etc... and May has continued the 2016 trend of frustration. It's not life ending. It won't matter in 10 years. Life goes on, but I'm elbows deep in one thing after another, and could use a break.
It actually started April 18, when our old kitty, Sebastian, after 18 years of always being around, he is no longer here. A few short days later, the world lost Prince. Who wasn't like David Bowie to me, but still... Prince.
My car had the check engine light on, as well as a light to fix some burned out bulbs - the dealer had the car all day and forgot to check the bulbs and didn't have time to fix the other problem.
Look, it's a pain to take the car in. Husband has to take my car, drive it to the dealer, get the shuttle to work, get the shuttle back to the dealer. In the meantime, I have a car that cannot take 3 kids anywhere so I'm trapped at home.
We take it in a second time, and they finally remember to fix the burned out lightbulbs, but then the check engine light comes right back on the next day. The manifold something or other they just fixed, is still indicating it is broken. I have not yet scheduled the third return to the dealer.
The mower won't start. I took the battery and had it charged, but mowing uses up the battery - it doesn't recharge itself. Mower gets picked up tomorrow for repair.
My husband's horrid brother comes to town. He's gonna be with some girl he knew in high school. You know that person in your family nobody likes? The black sheep? The one who shouldn't be around children or pets? Yeah, this guy. So, he immediately gets in a fight with his dumb girlfriend and moves in with his parents instead. He is a dangerous person, he regularly makes threats to my family, I will not be around him, and damn well my kids won't be around him either.
SO, after watching our kids 2x a week since they were a few months old, my husband's parents decide they'll choose their shitty son over everyone else. Kids haven't been to their house since. Shitty useless brother has moved back in with his girl or something. More news has been discovered, and the kids won't be going back to Nana & Papas. After an extensive search, a new sitter has been hired, she started last week.  Daycare is hard. We can afford to pay for daycare, but I can't justify paying more money than I bring in in a day - otherwise, what's the point? Why beat my brains out at work, if there's no profit? I love my job, but I'm not doing it for nothing.
In the meantime I've had my mom helping out, and I'm so jealous of other people who have awesome parents that are thoughtful and independent and confident and mature and energetic. Other moms clean and cook. My mom looks at Facebook. Other moms take kids on long walks or to the pool or to the playground. Mine is afraid to take them outside. I get home and still have more cleaning to do and get asked what's for dinner. Yes, it's true that other moms smoke crack or won't watch their grandkids at all, but that isn't my story, ok? I should be grateful she's offering to help at all? It doesn't mean I don't get to be frustrated at the lack of forethought.
April 30 - I take the kids to get photos taken, and they all look good, but it is 24 hours before I'm to leave town for western Canada with Rocky Mountaineer. Claire throws up on the couch at 8:30 am. We get photos taken anyway. (Sorry!) They are cold and grumpy, but we get a few good ones somehow. Claire throws up two more times this day. I leave for a week, which is a bright spot in the month of May. My parents are here keeping children alive while I'm out of town. My keys disappear, as well as a couple of spoons and who knows what else. Well, kids are still alive so I've got that going for me which is nice.
Rocky Mountaineer does good work, but look, Kensington set the bar really high. People pay Kensington money for Rocky Mountaineer and it lacks the intimacy, magic, and special moments that good tour companies know are important. Our group leader was new, I didn't make any friends, or have any special experiences. Africa was filled with them. I know. Not every trip can be Africa - but I would have expected more of that special something from a company like Rocky Mountaineer. However, I still love Canada and the scenery was cool. Vancouver is fantastic. Lake Louise was stellar. It was a good trip.
Continuing on.... we had sprinklers installed. I find out after install, that in order to add a second meter (to not pay for sewer service) you must add plumbing between the sprinklers and the second meter. An added cost that was quoted to be as much as $650. Later I find out my neighbor friend got a quote from a different company including the necessary plumbing for the same price I paid - and his yard is bigger.
Sprinklers are stupid. The necessary plumbing is done, second pump comes Thursday. I hope all is well with that.
We ordered caterpillars online, and fed them. They soon turned to chrysalises and sat that way for several days. The butterflies began to emerge on Friday. This past weekend the weather turned beautiful. The pool opened and we spent several hours playing and enjoying the hot weather and sunshine. Monday afternoon it was time to set the butterflies free. One by one, they all flew to their freedom. All five caterpillars made it to chrysalides, and then to butterflies. I'd like to think it's a simple sign and positive change is coming.