7 QT: Water, Water Everywhere

Joining Jen and welcoming her back!

Waiting for take-off!

1) Kyle let Will and I tag along on a business trip to Cincinnati and Columbus early last week. It was Will's first airplane ride and our first trip away alone (well, almost!) since 2008. My sister stayed with our oldest 6 kids and we are forever grateful.

 2) While Kyle had to spend his days working, Will and I were able to visit the Cincinnati Zoo and the Oletangy Indian Caverns. Cincy Zoo is a must-see, but never attempt the caverns alone during the off-season. The caverns were flooding, but they saw fit to still send me down 200 feet below ground level with a baby strapped to my chest. Oh! They also neglected to mention that BATS were in these caverns. With the possibly-inbred gift shop clerk running the show, it had the feel of a Stephen King-Alfred Hitchcock collaboration. 

I'm not sure, but I think Will may have enjoyed the carousel...

Will and I with a photo-bombing giraffe!

3) Kyle did manage to spend quite a but of time with us, though, and we took some lovely strolls through the Mt. Adams neighborhood in Cincinnati, at dinner at a couple of wonderful restaurants (tapas and sangria, anyone?), and even hit an outlet mall during a hailstorm. "Tis a terrible thing to be trapped in a Gap Outlet store by ice falling from the heavens" -- I'm pretty sure that's an old Irish saying...

4) Our return flight home was delayed and delayed again due to really horrific storms in Chicago. At one point, I was sure we were spending the night in Columbus airport. But, finally the weather cleared a bit, and we boarded for a bumpy ride home. Followed by an extremely lengthy wait in baggage claim and the world's longest taxi queue...in the rain. We dropped into our bed at 1am. The record rainfall continued and the nearby river flooded like never before.

5) At 6:30, Kyle went downstairs to get ready for work in the basement bathroom. 10 minutes later, our oldest son knocked on my door and said, "Dad says to call to call school and tell them we won't be there today.". Bleary-eyed, I asked, "why? Are you guys sick?" and his reply was, "No, Mom, the basement is flooded. Our room is flooded. My clothes and homework are floating."

6) The basement that we just finished renovating from a cement nothing into a gorgeous family room, playroom, teen bedroom and full bathroom last Fall, was filled with 8 inches of water. Dudes, I
couldn't even cry. You need oxygen to cry.

7) My sainted husband and our older kids spent the entire day pumping out water, sucking as much dampness as they could from the carpeting, and bleached walls.
Now, according to the carpet cleaning guy's instructions, we waited 24-48 hours until the carpet was dry and smelled musty before he came and sanitized it. As for the walls, we bleached them in the hopes that mold won't take hold (hey! That's a depressing rhyme!).

Scary Caverns or our flooded basement?
YOU decide!