The Aftermath Part III

I have been able to keep up with what is going on in my neighborhood because of a Yahoo Women's Group I belong to. There had been emails coming out of the neighborhood up until about 2:30 AM Saturday and then all was quiet out of the neighborhood ~ the only things being posted after that were from people who had fled ~ obviously everyone who had stayed either no longer had a laptop or cell phone battery. Once electricity started coming back on though there have been some more post coming from the hood ~ one that came out last night was warning of a sewage backup issue. Since there is no power to the MUD districts there is no power to pump ~ oooohhhhh, gross! So they sent out a notice asking that you not flush toilets ~ if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down (courtesy of Meet the Fockers) ~ only take very quick showers when absolutely necessary, use a bowl to wash dishes, and if you have electricity NOT to do laundry. Someone had sent an email out earlier in the day offering to do people's laundry who still didn't have electricity ~ nice gesture until the ramifications of raw sewage backing up into your house because of it set in! They asked that you unscrew the sewage outlet cap that is located in the front yard so that at least it would bubble out into your yard instead of into your house ~ can you even imagine a house full of raw sewage? At that point I would have to tell Scott just to close all the windows, let the sewer gas build up, and then throw a match in an run like hell! I just can't imagine that is a smell you could possibly ever get rid of! So I forwarded the email on to Scott ~ all I can say is thank god for the Blackberry ~ so that he could pass that on to all of the neighbors since they are all still sitting in the dark. He informed me that he was already well aware of the sewage back up since it has been bubbling up around the corner from us since he got back Monday ~ he had already unscrewed our sewage outlet cap. Guess it's good he went when he did ~ otherwise we could very have very well come home to a house of poo ~ YUCK! A couple of emails have come out this morning reporting that they have seen pump trucks coming into the neighborhood so hopefully they will get this sewage thing under control. Scott FINALLY got a generator yesterday at 5:40 from the Humanitarian Assistance Group at work ~ it took him 1 hour and 10 minutes and 1/4 tank of gas to get 25 miles to the office to pick it up ~ since half of the traffic lights are not working the traffic was terrible. When he got back home he couldn't get the stupid thing to start so he spent the night in complete silence and darkness once again. He did get it going this morning though so he will be able to have some light or a fan tonight ~ he went and got 10 gallons of gas as well at about 6:00 this morning and ONLY had to wait 25 minutes to get that ~ record time since my neighbor waited 45 minutes yesterday.

I talked to my mom last night and they are also still without power so still shacked up in the garage apartment. The good news though is that Bryan and his family have moved out to a neighbors house down the street with a whole house generator. Great set-up except for the minor little detail that the wife doesn't like kids! I fear that this could very well be the end of this friendship! This house where they are is brand new and pristine ~ obviously no children ~ and I would be an absolute nervous wreck to have my kids shacked up there ~ I would undoubtedly be exploring what my other options were in this case. School is closed indefinitely in La Porte ~ I'm sure that Bryce's school probably went under water.

Up here in Big D I think my friend Cindy might like to slit her wrists ~ she is in Noggin hell! She has 2 TVs but the satellite receiver in the bedroom suddenly died Friday night ~ they are coming today to fix it ~ woo hoo! Anyway, the TV that is in the bedroom is ancient and so we couldn't hook a DVD player up to it to let Hunter go in there to watch his stuff ~ TV is his major source of entertainment at this point as we have no car or stroller for Maisie to go anywhere, and I can only stand so many games of Go Fish a day. Cindy has been wanting for about a year now to get a new big TV for her living room and being in Noggin hell was the perfect excuse to finally go buy one! Yesterday she came back from work with a shiny new 46" TV for the living room. We set it up and moved the one from the living room into the bedroom and hooked the DVD player up to it ~ because there was TV in the bedroom Hunter was actually in bed ON TIME last night ~ the first time that has happened since we got here. What a lovely little treat that was! Today he is happier than a pig in you know what because he has the TV box to play in ~ he has been in it since he got up this morning ~ hey whatever makes him happy! I almost bought him a bike when I was at Wal-Mart the other day so he would have something to do, but we don't have room to get it back home ~ between the 3 dogs, 2 kids, and 2 grown ups we are using all 3 rows in my car and just have a little space between the 3rd row and back door the put the bags we brought (which isn't much) and there is no way a bike would fit in that space.

I am so beyond ready to go home, but I know until we have power it is no place I want to be with these kids. Maisie either has a terrible cold or allergies ~ her nose and eyes are running like a faucet which make me think allergies ~ Hunter's nose is also running and he looks like he has been punched in both eyes they are so purple. They said on the news yesterday that the Ragweed is higher than it has ever been ~ could definitely explain the snotty noses! I also believe she is cutting her first 2 teeth which made for a VERY sleepless night last night ~ she would be right on track for them to come in ~ Hunter got his first 2 the day before he was 9 months old ~ she will be 9 months tomorrow. Can you imagine teething unhappy baby and no electricity to just make her even crabbier? Ugly thought! Hopefully we will be able to go home soon!