Now that summer vacation is over and school is back in session, I actually have a few minutes to do a little thinking (and writing)! I have been reflecting on how much Noah and Judah have changed over this past year, and I've had a few chuckles over some of the "calamities" created by these two, although at the time, humor was no where to be found.
Reminiscing back to the two weeks before last Christmas, I recall two little boys who enjoyed their water play in our three bathrooms when no one was the wiser to their goings on. Neil and I woke up one morning to the bath tub in the master bedroom filling slowly with what looked like sewer water. It was brown and, well, I'll spare you the details. One of us sat down to use the toilet and once it was flushed, the water in the tub rose as an overflowing creek bed does when it rains. Needless to say, we didn't try that twice. Neil checked the other upstairs bathroom, and it, too, had a tub full of...the same stuff. The toilet in that one, also, caused the the waters to rise in the tub. I went downstairs to use the commode in the powder room next to the kitchen. I noticed upon entrance, that the water from upstairs was leaking down through the vent in the powder room. Drip, drip, drip. Water was dropping right onto the toilet. I opened the lid with hopes to somewhat contain the mess by having the water drip into the toilet instead of on and around the floor. I called for Neil. Neil hurried downstairs. As we stood in the kitchen watching the water drip down from upstairs, one more thing caught my eye. There were water marks on the wall between the bathroom and the linen closet. I touched the wall. It was wet and soft. Not good.
Our first few phone calls were made to our landlord. Then we called the home owner's insurance. It wasn't long before we had someone standing in our bathroom ready to evaluate and assess our situation. Our landlord also made his way to our home. All the toilets were plugged. The tubs were backing up because the water from the toilets had no place to go, so sewage was coming up through the drains in the bath tubs. Meanwhile, water had soaked the carpeted floor between the powder room and the kitchen. The gentleman who had been called by the insurance company, pulled up one of the toilets upstairs and as well as the one downstairs. He used the "snake" to see how far he would be able to go down the hole before he hit some blockage. Nothing had been revealed downstairs. Good news. However, upstairs was another matter. As he pushed the "snake" tool down the hole, there was definitely something blocking, plugging the toilet. He decided to put a camera down there so we could see what it was. As I stood there watching the screen, I recongnized some of toys that were in our play room the day before. Bummer. "This is going to cost us big time", I thought.
$1200 was the deductible for all the plumbing to be corrected and the water damage in the wall and the floor downstairs. "Merry Christmas", I thought to myself. Could be worse, though, I suppose. Two weeks later, after we arrived back from our vacation, Neil went to Home Depot and bought three sets of door knobs that locked with keys. This way, the boys will not be able to get into the bathroom to cause any more damage or messes, for that matter. This could also prove to be a challenge for potty training in the upcoming months. Neil exchanged the regular door knobs for the the new ones with keys. Now we keep each bathroom door locked at all times, and when people come to visit our house, they have to either ask to use the restroom or take a key with them!
Reminiscing back to the two weeks before last Christmas, I recall two little boys who enjoyed their water play in our three bathrooms when no one was the wiser to their goings on. Neil and I woke up one morning to the bath tub in the master bedroom filling slowly with what looked like sewer water. It was brown and, well, I'll spare you the details. One of us sat down to use the toilet and once it was flushed, the water in the tub rose as an overflowing creek bed does when it rains. Needless to say, we didn't try that twice. Neil checked the other upstairs bathroom, and it, too, had a tub full of...the same stuff. The toilet in that one, also, caused the the waters to rise in the tub. I went downstairs to use the commode in the powder room next to the kitchen. I noticed upon entrance, that the water from upstairs was leaking down through the vent in the powder room. Drip, drip, drip. Water was dropping right onto the toilet. I opened the lid with hopes to somewhat contain the mess by having the water drip into the toilet instead of on and around the floor. I called for Neil. Neil hurried downstairs. As we stood in the kitchen watching the water drip down from upstairs, one more thing caught my eye. There were water marks on the wall between the bathroom and the linen closet. I touched the wall. It was wet and soft. Not good.
Our first few phone calls were made to our landlord. Then we called the home owner's insurance. It wasn't long before we had someone standing in our bathroom ready to evaluate and assess our situation. Our landlord also made his way to our home. All the toilets were plugged. The tubs were backing up because the water from the toilets had no place to go, so sewage was coming up through the drains in the bath tubs. Meanwhile, water had soaked the carpeted floor between the powder room and the kitchen. The gentleman who had been called by the insurance company, pulled up one of the toilets upstairs and as well as the one downstairs. He used the "snake" to see how far he would be able to go down the hole before he hit some blockage. Nothing had been revealed downstairs. Good news. However, upstairs was another matter. As he pushed the "snake" tool down the hole, there was definitely something blocking, plugging the toilet. He decided to put a camera down there so we could see what it was. As I stood there watching the screen, I recongnized some of toys that were in our play room the day before. Bummer. "This is going to cost us big time", I thought.
$1200 was the deductible for all the plumbing to be corrected and the water damage in the wall and the floor downstairs. "Merry Christmas", I thought to myself. Could be worse, though, I suppose. Two weeks later, after we arrived back from our vacation, Neil went to Home Depot and bought three sets of door knobs that locked with keys. This way, the boys will not be able to get into the bathroom to cause any more damage or messes, for that matter. This could also prove to be a challenge for potty training in the upcoming months. Neil exchanged the regular door knobs for the the new ones with keys. Now we keep each bathroom door locked at all times, and when people come to visit our house, they have to either ask to use the restroom or take a key with them!
