Out Like A Lion? More Like a SeaLion.

I demand a recount of days. Surely, this madness should count for March coming in like a Lion.

We have lived in this house for 9 and a half years now, and in that time I have never seen anything like last night. Yesterday, we got oddly warm for Ohio. Great, right? Well, maybe not so much. At first, I thought it was great. It was 59 degrees...that's balmy here, so I opened the kitchen window and turned off the heat. The sun was out here and there, and the snow was melting. Wretched stuff...begone.

Then it got dark. And it stayed warm. And it started raining. And it started lightening. And my kids begged to sleep on the couch. And the weather service issued tornade warnings. And flood warnings. And flash flood warnings. And it would NOT STOP RAINING. And, and, and...

You get the picture.

With Jon in NY, I get paranoid about things I would normally never give a second thought to. Things like the sump pump. When I have my big, strong man here, I don't think about the sump pump. I think about planting flowers and making cupcakes. When my big, strong man is here my most unpleasant thought is about scrubbing the toilet...I simply don't worry my pretty little head about things like basements flooding. Thats what big, strong men are for, right?

Well, currently my big, strong man is in NY working so we can pay for that basement...SO, guess who was worried about the sump pump last night. And thank God I did...

...BECAUSE I was worried about it, I didn't sleep much, but I DID check on the sump pump at least once an hour. So when the basement started flooding I caught it really early. Immediately even. It wasn't the sump pump we had a problem with though, ironically. The storm drain at the bottom of our outside stairwell clogged up...so water was coming in under the basement door. I tried messing around with it...I even plunged the damn thing...like I said, toilets are more my speed. To no avail. The water was pounding out of the sky, no relief in sight and some of it was in my basement. 

My kids reacted admirably. Sam leapt to action using towels to sop up the water and ringing it out outside, then putting them in the dryer. Over, and over, and over again. He tried using towels and boards to stop the water from coming in. Maggie sat on the couch and wrote a letter to Jesus, asking him to please make the rain stop. Liam slept through part of the madness, but quickly joined Sam in his damming efforts when he woke up.

While I, like the pathetically helpless female I apparently am, called my brother Bobby crying. Well, I wasn't that bad, I mean I tried plunging the darn thing...I was trying but nothing I did was helping, so I did, really, call Bobby crying.

Within the hour, Bobby was here, snaking the drain pipe. He got it mostly cleared...it still needs cleaned out some, which my big, strong man will take care of for me this weekend. But, it's fixed enough that I don't have water coming in anymore. Fixed enough that when it gets down to 20 degrees tonight that pipe won't freeze and burst. Yea, 20 degrees, only in Ohio, people.

In hindsight, I would like to thank the academy...

not really, but I would like to thank:

My kids, they handled themselves beautifully and were really helpful, when I really needed them to be.

My big, strong man, for talking me through the panic and calming me down. And telling me to call Bobby. That was good thinkin' when I was completely incapable of any good thinkin' that didn't consist of blubbering gibberish.

Bobby, for the obvious. LOL ~ Thank you for fielding the hysterical sister call, then charging to the rescue. And while I did attempt to feed you, out of thankfulness, I realized in hindsight that I never offered you a cup of coffee. Dadgum, I'm sorry about that. What a shitty sister.  

Krisi, thanks for lending me YOUR big, strong man.

Steve, thanks for nuttin'...sorry, Bobbys my favorite brother now. Not sure how you will ever redeem yourself after this one. Ha ha ha.

I love you all.

Spring Fever

I have arrived. At that place I arrive every year. In late February. That sick of snow state of mind. Enough is enough already. It didn't help this year that I kinda started the winter out still sick of snow. A winter hangover, if you will. Last weekend we had a couple of days that were just gorgeous. It was cruel really. We took full advantage of it though. Jon was, of course, home for the weekend so we went to the zoo. Sam chose not to go with us. I don't think I like him being a teenager. I don't know who this kid is...this kid who doesn't want to go to the zoo. I know it's a phase...he will outgrow it. I just don't know how soon. I mean, really, how many ADULTS do you know who wouldn't want to go to the zoo if Mom and Dad are paying?

In Asia Quest

Jon's coat is unnecessary, you'll just have to trust me on that. I wore a hooded sweatshirt and was perfectly comfortable. The snow was all melted. The sun was out. The birds were singing. And the animals were sunbathing.

Which just makes it worse that Monday afternoon into evening, we received a nice thick coat of ice with a few inches of snow on top of it. And now, all the weatherman are freaking out about another snow headed our way Thursday night. I'm SO DONE WITH SNOW!!!!!
Aside from snow, I apologize for doing the crappiest job ever at keeping up with a blog. Well, the second crappiest job ever, Steve has me beat on that score. I have had so much going on lately, it's really hard to convince myself the blog is a priority. Working and trying to keep up with everything at the house with Jon gone is no party, I will say that. I am still working...I had originally thought to only work 3 or 4 days a week once Jon was in Buffalo. That is not panning out too well. Work has been ridiculously busy and unfortunately, they need me more than that. So, last week and this week I have worked everyday. The house is a little less orderly than I'd like. The yard looks like crap. The closets are poised to attack everytime we open them. If I worked anywhere else, I would give my 2 weeks and be done with it. However, I adore my manager. I can't abandon her...she has a tough enough time when she does have my help. I guess the good news, hidden in there, would be that jobs are picking up. For a very long time, there were no jobs to be had in Mt Vernon. Lately, we have jobs come in every day. The problem is finding people who actually want to work. But, that is a whole nother story.
So, Jon and I have been discussing a trip south. We unfortunately, are not going to make it down for Easter this year. Which we both are bummed about, as that has become our happy bunny tradition. He is not able to get that weekend off though, so we are rearranging and making other plans. I think we have decided to come down for a long weekend sometime in March. We are figuring out pay days and cut offs and how many days he will  miss and as soon as we know, you all will. But, let me tell you, I definitely have Carolina on my Mind.
I will make some concentrated effort to keep up more on here...I'm sorry it's been so hit or miss lately. I love you all.