...during the past few weeks.
No, we are not re-modeling.
The upstairs bathroom that's connected with Emma's bedroom had a flood. It seems that the toilet was stopped up (
I can't imagine what little seven year old stopped up the toilet) and the handle didn't raise all of the way, so the water, well, flooded upstairs and then leaked downstairs into the hall way, the laundry room and the spare master bathroom and down the walls.
It was awesome.
Emma came to me, telling me that "There's water in da hallway, Mommy!". I thought perhaps my little Pickles pee'd but no, as Emma continues to tell me that "Yup, there's water comin' out of the ceiling, Mommy! Come see!!".
"Come see" indeed....
I wish that i had thought to take a quick pic of the water streaming out the ceiling or maybe even my face as i saw what my child was talking about, but i was too shocked to move when i saw the heavy stream on water that was landing on my hardwood floors. I yelled for Emma to help me get some towels and we lay down towels on the hardwood floors. Of course, putting down towels does nothing to stop the water that continued to stream out of the light fixtures and down the walls.
I run upstairs, and i stop in my tracks when i see that the bathroom is flooded and water is freely flowing out of the toilet. I grab more towels and lay those down before the water gets to the upstairs hall landing carpet. I shut the water off from the toilet, fix the handle so it stops the water to a slow trickle and continue to lay down towels.
"Wow, Mommy! You know how to fix eberything!" says Emma
I turn around and just stare at her, now realizing the interesting nature fact that some spiders actually DO eat their young,is probably true...
"Mommy, do ya tink we should call Dada? asks my little cherub.
"Holy Crap!" i think to myself. I have to call my husband, a plumber, the insurance company...i call the plumber first (because, of course, it's a Friday and it's after 5 pm) and make arrangements for him to come quickly. Then i make the call to the insurance company to report this little incident. And then, after a lengthy call to the insurance company, i realize that i really do need to call my husband because there is no way to fix this mess before he comes home. Perhaps i should just pretend that there isn't water on the floors, in the laundry room, in the spare master bath and streaming down the walls?
My sweet husband is under enough stress at work and i am worried i am going to throw him under the bus with this news.
So, i put on my happiest, cheery, fake voice and ring up the husband.
"HI, SWEETIE!! Almost ready to come home?" i chirp out.
"Isabel. What's wrong? I know when you use that fake, cheery voice something is wrong....."
Crap. I always forget that he knows me better than i know me. Crap, Crap, CRAP!
"DADA! THERE'S WATER ON DA FLOOR 'N COMIN' OUT OF DA CEILING!!" screams Emma.
Oh, i wish i was a hungry spider.....
"Isabel?" my husband asks.
"Yes, sweetie?" i answer in my still fake chirpy voice.
"What's up?" he calmly asks.
I begin to tell him in a rushed voice, hoping he won't figure out that it really isn't just "some water that over flowed from the upstairs toilet"....but my husband is a very smart man and he knows a line of bull when he hears it
coming from me.
"Call the insurance company. I'm on my way home." he tells me.
The insurance company calls me back to tell me that a company who deals with water damage will be at my home shortly. They give me a case number and a contact number and tell me to please call back if i need anything.
I need a drink, that's what i really need. And i'm not even really a drinker.
The husband arrives home and takes in the scenery of our water logged floors, ceilings laundry room, spare master bath, and the upstairs area. He looks at me, and i know exactly what he is thinking "This IS NOT JUST 'SOME' WATER THAT OVERFLOWED FROM THE UPSTAIRS TOILET!", but he is kind enough not to say those words to me.
The plumber comes and does his thing. He takes my husband upstairs to talk about the toilet and what he did to fix it. I have no interest in seeing the upstairs bathroom as it is now setting in how much worse this whole situation could have been.
Then the Master Pro guy comes....who knew that there were procedures in place to fix water damage? Not me, that's for sure. After giving our Master Pro guy the grand tour, he quickly gets to work, setting up huge fans and dehumidifiers to dry out the walls and floor. It suddenly sounds like we are living in a airport hanger...
About an hour later, my husband gets a call from our insurance agent. I think that we are both stunned that he actually called us late on a Friday night and that he actually gave my husband his cell phone number in case we had questions, needed advice or decided we needed a hotel room. To say that i am grateful he spoke to Robert is an understatement--i could tell my husband felt a little better after speaking to him---> because after having me to speak to about this mess, he needed to hear a voice of reason, i'm sure.
So, we are now in the 're-building' state. The carpet upstairs in now dried, but needs to be re-installed. The tile in the upstairs bathroom has been pulled up and needs to be re-tiled. The laundry room walls/ceiling are dried out and cut into. Molding has been taken out and trashed; it will also need to be re-installed. Areas in the ceiling that had to be cut out also need to be re-done.
Hopefully, that work is being lined up and will start shortly. I don't even care what order it's done in--i just want my house put back together again and done quickly. I'm starting to get an inkling that it's not going to be done as fast as i would like it to be. I'm going to have to find some of that 'patience' stuff that i have so very little of.
Maybe i better find a lot of that 'patience stuff'....
