A "CRAP" Day...

Before you read this- BEWARE- you might want to not continue...

So, yesterday afternoon, after I get back from a crazy day taking the children to the dentist- so not fun - especially for Celeste- but not really part of the main story....okay, so as I switch the last load of laundry into the dryer, I notice in my basement a lot of water coming up from my floor drain...did I mention it is black water? Yeah...black water, you read right...BUT, I am on my way out the door to pick up the older 2 for the dentist, SO, I can't clean it up...I have to leave it!! I am spastic all the way to the dentist and irritable with the kids...freaking out that I need to find a plumber tonight!! Seriously, it is not good...thankfully I have most things in plastic totes, so any water damage won't hurt it all...I get a hold of a phone book and start calling around for places to clean SEWER pipes!! Yuck! I find a place that can do it in the morning for $100- the best price, because all the others I called charged $200 for the first hour!!! (I am tellin ya- there is money in plumbing!) I call Dana and he gets it cleaned up before I even get home- a godsend was the shop vac my parents gave me a few months ago- never thought I'd need that! He didn't even complain- love him! Problem: No water can be run- or else it will just come right back up- meaning NO FLUSHING TOILETS!! This is a problem!! I tell the children they can pee, but nothing else, and no flushing! Gross, I know...
I get up this morning and my sweet sweet friend, Suzanne offers to pick Celeste up and take her to her house while I deal with this problem: this gross problem- Here's where it goes from bad to worse- ready?
The plumber shows up- very nice guy right on time- 9am. We look all over and all around my house for the main drain....WE CAN'T FIND IT!! What?! There has to be a drain, right?! It is not where the stuff (uh, crap) is coming up out of the floor, it is a completely different pipe that follows to that one...it is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! We search all over my house, inside and out...no pipe, anywhere! Panic? Yes, you can say that...
Remember, I am here alone with this guy who now starts to tell me that we might have to cut a hole in a wall to find the pipe- and if it's not there, another wall, or pull up carpet in case it is under there....WHAT?!
Now panic...now tears...now breakdown...this is not good...
I don't know what to do...I run upstairs, sobbing, of course, and plead with Heavenly Father to help me figure this out...I just wanted it all to be manageable. I get on the phone and call Dana at school. He happened to be in his classroom and his class was watching a movie. He calms me down while the guy proceeds to cut a whole in the drywall in my bathroom...did you read that? CUT A WHOLE!! A whole in my wall!! I am sobbing more when he says he can't find the pipe- WAIT...he cuts a larger hole and VIOLA- there it is! Hidden from the world...Here is what it looks like:

The larger whole is about 2 foot by 2 foot- and I now have to get a cover for it- since repairing it is out of the question, and heaven forbid I ever need to access it again! I also have to replace the molding around the baseboard. If it wasn't there, he would have to keep searching...this was not looking good..but a silent prayer was answered at that time...the first of many this day.

SO, he takes off the cap, and I can't even explain how gross it is- filled with sludge and who even knows what else...disgusting. He starts to snake it out with his super machine, and it is going, I can hear it digging in the pipe drain below in the basement. He proceeds to fill my washer with water and drain it to make sure it has worked...

YEAH, it doesn't!! Dana gets here about this time, such a wonderful man to come home to his wife who is about to lose it altogether- he got a friend to cover his class for an hour so he could come rescue me...he has no idea what is about to happen!

The washer drains, and CRAP starts filling my basement----seriously, sewer backup- yes, you imagined it- it was there- see, told ya it was not a fun thing to read- I warned you! Pure black with floaties, sorry, no pic of that- the shop vac again saved the day, and we cleaned it up entirely. Thank the Lord for bleach- it cleans like no other- it looks like this NOW:

About 30 minutes later, as he is un-snaking the drain, the machine makes a terrible sound, and I walk up to see that it has splattered CRAP and sludge all over my walls in my family room- yeah, really that is what went down...here is a small portion of what won't come off my wall and ceiling for that matter:
Mind you, I really hate this wallpaper, but I don't want to pay to replace it and tear it down- it would be a huge undertaking, and the whole room is in this paper- yeah...it is not good...he feels bad, and gives me the name of his insurance agent- am I going to call him? Heck yeah I am! First thing in the morning...my walls are ruined- BUT....
there is so much to be thankful for:
1- Celeste wasn't here in the mess- Suzanne kept her all day and fed her lunch, and brought her home- so thankful for her!!
2- A sweet husband who left his job to come comfort me- I would've not made it otherwise!
3- Money from savings to pay for this disaster- no, it was not cheap- here's just a clue: in this year alone, I have paid nearly $900 to plumbers! No, I am not kidding, and no, none is for re-modeling! This alone was a third of that!
4- My drain is fixed, and nothing of too importance was ruined- the girls' princess tent didn't survive, and I didn't keep any of the towels we used to clean with, but everything else just needed cleaning.
5- My prayers were answered- it all became manageable, and we are all okay-I have a heck of a mess to clean and repair, but I am okay. I felt comfort along the way, and am so grateful for that!

I teared up every time I told the story today...but tomorrow I will hopefully be better...I think I just don't do well with things that are out of my control, and this was soooo out of my control. I just couldn't deal with it all at once. I felt helpless and didn't know what to do...what could I do? But let him do his job and repair my mess...
So there you have it- hopefully you all know where your main sewer drain is in case this ever happens at your house- good luck!!

Tumbling 101

Leah started "beginning tumbling" this fall at the place she has always taken dance. She LOVES it! She has a great little body for tumbling, and has done really well so far. She is perfecting her cartwheel, and headstand- she is awesome at back rolls and back straddle. There are about 10 kids in her class, all working on different things- she loves to attempt new tricks, and loves to practice at home, too. She can go up in a "bridge" and then walk across a room-I tried to upload the video of it...but it was not cooperating...but this is how she starts...it really is amazing!the lighting in her dance studio isn't that great, so some of these aren't that good quality...but here are some anyway...
Handstand.

Back straddle.

Practicing her backwalk over.

Celeste patiently waited for her turn on the mats, and Joyce is so wonderful, she helped her tumble too!

Since she started in September, this is what she has learned! I am impressed. I hope she continues in it- she really loves this class! Celeste is patiently waiting for next year when she can start!

Fantastic Fall...

School was out on Monday and Tuesday and the weather was still fantastic, so Dana took the older two miniature golfing! They had a blast, and Alex actually beat Dana!! This is a first!
Leah did much better than when we were on vacation - she beat her old score! Go Leah!

This was Election Day, and Leah was signaling her "peace" sign in honor of the day! She is hilarious.

Yes, it was warm enough for Leah to still wear flip flops! She truly would try to wear them anyway, but it was super nice this day.

Today is another warm day, probably the last one of the season, so we raked up some leaves in our front yard, and Celeste and a few friends played in them:

Celeste chases James around and around...
Emma joins in the fun pile!







Sadly the weather is going to get cold, and the next sets of outdoor pics will probably be with snow! I shutter at the thought!

Saturday in the Park...

We got out and enjoyed the beautiful weather on Saturday by going to a park we had never been to before. We even got smoothies for each one of us- making it all even better!! It was so nice and sunny and warm. I told Dana that I wished everyday was like this one- gorgeous weather and nothing else to do but be outdoors with the kids soaking it all up! It was just glorious.

If only life were always this simple:

Celeste's Birthday Continues...

This is on Saturday when we opened presents from us and Alex and Leah. Alex got her a pack of gum, with 3 pieces! Look at that smile of happiness! Leah gave her a huge bag filled with things, including her Ariel doll, that Celeste just treasures. From us she got a Cinderella dress, a cute brown dress, the shirt she is wearing, the 7 princess figurines, and a bunch of play food. This girl was overjoyed!!

At my parents house last night, she got a new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa, along with an Ariel doll that changes colors in the bath (she is so loving her!), and from Sean and Steph and the girls she got a cute pink outfit and a Diego figure- everyone surely knows what she loves!
I wanted her to have some sort of Halloween party for her birthday, so all my nieces dressed up and my kids too for the party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was really cute. We made mummy dogs, witch's brew, and made candle-eye bra's and played fun Halloween games- here are some of the best:

We made "Skeleton Cupcakes" for her cake and had cookie dough ice cream! Here is the funny/no so funny part of her celebration:

She was happily smiling while we sang to her, and then she attempted to blow out the candle. She huffed and puffed and attempted blew out the candle, but she missed and instead got her chin right over the flame and that blew it out! The poor little one got a nice little burn on her chin and cried for long time afterwards, so these are the only shots we got:

Right before the burn:
About 10 minutes later:
Such a fun 3rd birthday! Wow!!