Our Latest Adventure

When Kyper was 7 days old, the three of us moved from Des Moines, IA to Detroit, MI.  It was quite an adventure, one I was happy not to repeat with little Anja.  I was so excited to take a baby home to a house we have lived in for almost a year and not one I hadn't seen at all.  Well, I guess Anja needed to go on an adventure with us as well.

We came home from the hospital on Monday night.  Wednesday morning, I went downstairs to get something from our pantry.  We have a rug at the bottom of the stairs and when I put my foot on the rug, I discovered that 90% of the basement was wet.  It hadn't rained at all, so the water came from our drain.  Along with the water came food remains and an awful stench.  Oh, joy! 

Fortunately, we do not own the house, so we called our landlord, Matt, right away and he made work of getting Mr. Rooter over to our house.  We along with Matt hoped that all the drain needed was to be snaked.  Matt said they had to have the drain snaked once a year due to the age of the pipes and the fact that we have a huge tree in the backyard.  Mr. Rooter came that afternoon and left about a half hour later after he told us and Matt that he had to come back on Thursday with a jackhammer.  Again, oh joy!

So, they came back on Thursday morning.  Kyper was at daycare and Anja was fast asleep.  They jack-hammered for 10 minutes and then told Joel and Matt that this was a much bigger job than they originally had thought.  They had found mud/clay in the pipe. They had to jackhammer the entire length of the basement and replace the pipe.  However, they didn't want to do it with little kids in the house.  (If it were just Joel and I we probably could have stayed, but due to kids we had to be out o the house when they were doing the work.)  We also were not able to use the kitchen plumbing or washer and dryer during this time.  Fortunately, the pipe was not connected to our septic tank, but smelly rotting food also smells a bit like poo.  This was going to be a 2 day job.  Matt offered to pay for a hotel for us, but we decided instead to go to Holland and visit family who hadn't met Anja.  So, we have gone to Holland and back before Anja was even a week old!  What an adventure.

So, we left the house in a rush. We couldn't do our dishes or the laundry.  Joel had done a lot of cleaning of the basement on Wednesday night.  The water didn't ruin anything because we have learned from friends' experiences to put anything valuable in plastic tubs or off the ground in any basement--no matter if there is a history of flooding or not.  We did however have some sheets and rugs on the floor that did need to be washed.  That unfortunately, we can't do until at least tomorrow night.  We need to make sure the cement is dry before moving the washer and dryer back in place.

Joel's mom is coming on Tuesday for a few days...needless to say we have a list of things she can help us with.  Mainly cleaning and organizing the house after this lovely adventure. :)  Don't worry I am sure she will also get lots of cuddle time with both Kyper and Anja!   Actually, I hope to go to the village with her on Wednesday, so she can experience riding the train and carousel with Kyperman.

Here are some pictures of our basement: