Stepping Backwards

It started out as a good day.  I got up early, made blueberry muffins for breakfast and then gave Aric pancakes since he decided he didn't like muffins.  Due to the snow, Ryan didn't have to go in quite as early and we were a bit leisurely getting ready for our day.  After Ryan left for work, I started a load of laundry and the kids and I headed downstairs to play.  While downstairs it occured to me that it sounded like water was falling in the ceiling and walls.  I was a bit confused as I stood there listening to the sound, trying to figure out if that's how the pipes normally sound when the washing machine was on.  Soon I headed upstairs to check on the washer and that's when I discovered water all over my kitchen floor.  The water was gushing back out of the drain pipe for the washer, all over my floor, down into the floor vents into the basement.

I grabbed the phone, frantically called Ryan and told him to come home, as I ran into the garage to get the shopvac.  Then I vacuumed, and vacuumed, and vacuumed.  At one point I went down to check on the kids and that's when I discovered water was leaking down the sheetrock, out of the ceiling, and out of any vent, light fixture, anything that it could possibly leak out of.  Aric told me he was wet.  Sure enough, he must've been under one of them when it started leaking.  His hair was sopping wet and so was our recliner.

Ryan came home and helped me clean up the mess.  I called the insurance company.   Pretty soon the water mitigation company came out, the plumber came out and the restoration company came out.  They tore out sheetrock, part of my kitchen floor, cabinets, pulled back carpet, and my house now sounds like a wind tunnel with all of the fans blowing.  We're now discussing flooring and other options and my house is nowhere near being baby-proof.

I'll be glad when I can post more in-progress photos.  For now, I leave you with some photos of our steps backward.