Home Alone

I hate it when bad things happen when Ryan isn't around.  I mean, I really, really hate it.  I think that is one of the things that bothers me the most about Ryan being out of town.  I can probably handle more things than I give myself credit for, but the unexpected leaves me flustered.  

So, of course, the unexpected happened this week.

Tuesday morning I got a call from a guy from AmeriGas.  We sold our giant propane tank (which we didn't use after the installation of our heat pump two years ago) finally, and some dude with a truck was here to pick it up and take it to the new owner.  I was asked if it was ok to park by the tank (yep), if the bees were going to get him (nope, no killer bees at our house, and it's cold), and if he was going to run over any septic system by driving over there (no septic there, should be fine).  

5 minutes later he called back saying there was water gushing out of the ground.

Crap.  Crap.  Crap.  What on earth.....?

I called Ryan.  And then called again.  The second call in a row is our distress signal, and he got back to me.  I told him about the truck ("You never said anything about not driving over there!!!") and what on earth was I going to do about this problem?  I had to shut off the well, and there was no way in heck I was going without water until Saturday when he could be home to fix our problem.  I don't know enough about plumbing to fix this alone.  (Well, in hindsight, I probably could have done it ok.)

 The culprit truck, and the hole where the water was gushing out of the ground in the lower left hand corner.  I needed photographic evidence for my discussion with Ryan.

Ryan called Doug B, and Doug called me.  Then Doug came over and helped me with my water problem.  I sprayed him in the face when I went inside to turn the water back on so he could see where the water was spewing from.  He tried to get even by lying on the ground next to the hole when I came back outside.  Good thing I know him, and am married to Ryan.  It didn't scare me at all.  It made me laugh.

We no longer have water out to the frost free in the front garden, but after an hour and a half of drying time, I had water again in the house.  The funny thing is, the pipe that broke was underneath another pipe that Ryan had to fix a year or so ago.  I don't know what is up with those pipes right there.

I am so thankful for the wonderful people in our ward.  Doug was such a life saver.

So, Monday Elizabeth was sick, and I had to start her on her nebulizer so she could breathe easier.  That Albuterol sets her going.  She goes crazy.

Tuesday was the broken pipe fun.

Wednesday was just a rough, rough time.  I ended up yelling like a crazy maniac.

This morning was off to a very rocky start.  Emma didn't want to get up, and was in bed until 6:49 (cutting it awfully close to bus pick up time), Elizabeth didn't get her homework done until after the twins had left to walk down to the bus, and Maddie forgot her glasses.  I am hoping/praying/knocking on wood/wishing that tonight goes a bit smoother.

So, I fortified myself against a rough evening: