Water Water Everywhere and my litter box drama.

So the last few days we have had some much needed rain for the area. We've spent most of the summer wishing for rain because our poor grass is just dying away and brown from the heat the last couple of months. What I didn't want, however, was a summer's worth of rain in two days time...or rather a combined total of 2 hours in two days time!

Sunday we received 6 inches of rain in our neighborhood, plus hail in less than two hours. Of course, if any of you have been to my house we have a driveway that slopes down towards the garage and basement at a 45 degree angle. Because of the slope, we actually have a grated drain in front of the whole expanse of the front of the house that is connected to an underground drain that runs under the garage and to a sump pump in the garage to help prevent any flooding to our garage and basement. But, the problem arises when you get too much rain in too short amount of time that the poor little sump pump can't keep up with it and we end up having 6 inches of water standing in front of our garage and basement front door that it has no other choice but to start pouring under the doors and into the garage and basement living room.

We have lived in our house now for 6 years and we've had a bit of garage flooding in that time, so we've learned to keep things off the floor that can't get wet, etc. Who cares, it's a garage, right? Well we've also experienced mild flooding in the past where it comes through the garage into a linoleumd hallway and then drains in the floor drain in the concrete laundry room, or has come in the front basement walk out door and onto the entryway and an inch or so onto the carpet.

At 4am Monday morning, after laying awake for hours while 3 huge rain storms ripped through our area, I finally got up to see how bad the basement was. I almost broke down in tears, when I got to the steps to find that the entire basement (carpeting, couches, furniture, dogs, etc.) was under an inch or more of water...wall to wall. By far the worst flooding we've EVER had down there, and it was still pouring under the garage door that comes into the house and into the walk out door. In fact there was a stream of water flowing across the floor. Despite my wanting to rush around and fix it, all that Tony and I could do was move things off the floor onto the couches and coffee table and go back to bed. There was no way to fix it at that point in time. Needless to say I did not fall back asleep.

Next morning the carpet was a full sponge of water. It sloshed over your feet when we'd walk on it. Luckily my friend loaned me her carpet cleaner, so I got started sucking water out of the carpet. Later that night Tony's mom and husband came over and helped Tony move furniture out of the room and we sucked up more water. Then yesterday I sucked up more water, and we've had fans going on it since it first happened. It still is not dry. The carpet is damp, but I sliced a piece of carpet away from the wall and the padding is still soggy. I am not a carpet expert, and I don't know how to dry that before it molds or whatever, and that stresses me out.

Here is the other HORRIBLE dilemma. The previous owners of our house owned 3 cats which must have spent most of their time peeing on the floors all over the house. So every time we get the carpets cleaned, or they get wet at all, the whole house smells terrible like cat pee. You see where I'm going with this? I about vomit when I breathe in, my entire house smells like a saturated, pee filled litter box! It's so disgusting. I still have to work, so the kids and I have to be in this rank smelling house, but there is really nothing I can do - until the carpets dry completely. I tried shampooing them already, but it doesn't help, since the carpet pads are still so wet. I also called Stanley Steemer to get some prices, but they won't even come if the carpet is wet in any way. So we are stuck for the moment with the cat smell. I'd rather have wet carpet smell, but the cat smell is overwhelming. I have an automatic air freshener in our main floor living room that is set to go off every 9 minutes now, but it really makes no difference.

So I am currently at the bottom of the barrel of ideas. Ideally getting new carpet  is the solution, but realistically we cannot afford that at all. Not even a penny of it, so we are stuck for the time being living in a litter box.

Cowboys

During our recent family trip we stopped in Cheyenne for the Frontier Days Rodeo as I have previously stated in an earlier post. The boys were lucky enough to go behind the chutes with their Aunt Kimmy that works during the rodeo taking the Press around and all that jazz. So she decided to take them behind the chutes during the Bull riding event. She said that a couple guys made room for them at the fence and even put them up on the fence so they could get an up close view of the cowboy being thrown from the bull.

She took the cutest pictures of them and it makes me wish all the more that I lived in Wyoming and that we somehow owned a ranch and lived the Cowboy life. Ahhhh, dreams. Enjoy my future Rodeo stars....