Jackson, the Professor

Jackson visited another college today. Are we hardcore or what?! Seriously, we have no hidden agenda! We went to visit Grandma at JCCC for lunch and to check out her new office. Instead of doing college student stuff, Jackson got to experience college professor stuff.

Jackson helped "grade papers,"

and then he entered some grades into the computer.

(notice the use of both the keyboard AND the mouse)

He colored pretty artwork all over Grandma's desk calendar

And lastly, he helped Grandma carry her tray as we waited in line at Chick-fil-A.

Is this kid going to be ready for college someday or what!? Maybe it will be free by then...

The wonderful mother strikes again.

I know I've already told you how my mom is pretty awesome, but today she was super awesome. I invited her down to help get some stuff done around the house that I just needed a little motivation and help to get done.

First, she comes over with a fully prepared dish of lasagna for Derek and I to have for dinner. We have friends coming over tonight so we needed a bigger main dish (so she even helped me with that!), but tomorrow I will be eating that lasagna.

But then, she gets all gung-ho about the laundry too and we fold it and I put a lot of it away. She switches loads and folds more. And then because our dryer is suuuuper slow, my mother-in-law (who stopped by) ended up taking a couple loads to her house to wash and dry so we can get all caught up. We hate laundry in this house and with a dryer that takes 2-3 cycles to dry. Needless to say, it gets backed up a lot.

And then we start to tackle the real reason she came down: Jackson's room. I really wish I would have taken a before picture. It was awful. To walk across the room, a zig-zag line was in order to avoid stepping on all sorts of toys. Jackson enjoys emptying out his drawers so clothes are everywhere and the closet was just a bunch of stuff that I haven't gone through and it was all shoved behind the doors so no one could see it. Ugh.... the whole room was just a disaster.

So this is what we got done:

The greatest thing of all that his room is organized, for the very first time. Several of his toys are actually put up so that we can rotate them and they aren't everywhere all of the time. Plus, most of the toys from the family room are now in his room so it doesn't look like a Toys-R-Us when people come over for dinner (my sisters complain about this). The rug is new and it actually looks like a finished room. I do have curtains and they will be up soon.

The closet... is organized. Can you believe it? I had to take a picture because I'm not all to confident that this will continue to be so organized. I put things like his puzzles and non-board books in here, so that I will have to get them out in order for him to play with them to avoid missing pieces and ripped pages. And in case I need a reminder of all of the diapers we buy, I have reused the boxes to store clothes he's outgrown or will be wearing soon. They are the perfect size for the shelf in the closet and are more cost-effective than buying tubs.

And of course, Mom got to spend some quality time with Jackson. He helped her throw laundry down the stairs fold laundry and emptied the kitchen drawers helped put utensils away. He is such a big helper!

So, the mother-in-law is on her way with the laundry (don't be jealous) so I gotta go!

Proof that I can hold down the fort

Today started out as a totally great day. Jackson slept in until 8:00, a nice morning rain watered my lawn, and I got to hang out with good friends all afternoon. Even better, my baking-goddess friend perfected a cereal bar recipe that I just couldn't get to work. We were off to the store to buy some more dried fruit when I noticed it was still overcast and I mentioned that it would be nice if we could get just a little bit more rain so I wouldn't have to water my plants again tomorrow. If only I would have seen the radar:

So, this is now,10pm. The rain started 6 hours ago, so it's looked like this all night.

Driving home from our errands was slow, going 30 mph on the highway because it was just raining so hard. We exited, came to the intersection right close to my house, and noticed that the stoplights weren't working, the gas station and pharmacy were all dark inside and it hit me-- the power is out. And immediately I began to stress out.

See, we have a basement that has suffered significant water damage in the past. We have since cleaned it all up, poured a new basement wall, and replaced the sump pump-- a sump pump that is run by electricity. We once talked about having a back up system, but it was forgotten and didn't  make the list. So, I come home, immediately go to the basement to find that our sump pump is full of water.

For those unfamiliar with sump pumps- it's a hole we have in the basement. Water from around the house flows into it, and when the levels get high the sump pump turns on and "flushes" the water out of the house. Think along the lines of a toilet. But in my case, the pump wasn't going to turn on and the water was rising steadily. And soon enough, the basement would begin to flood.

First thing I do is call Derek and we decide that I should go down and empty as much water as I can into some buckets that we can dump outside. Of course, we don't really have buckets just lying around so I gathered up several trashcans and began scooping. I was only really keeping the water at bay because water was flowing in just as fast as I was scooping. Derek is 45 minutes away from being home- CRAP!!! So, I call Dad.

Dad: "You don't have a battery back up!?" 
Me: "Uhm. No, we never did that"
Dad: "You should."
Me: .......
Dad: "I think I have one of my generators left in your garage still" (from when he helped remodel the house)
Me: "Okay, what does it look like?"
I go to the garage
Dad: "It's black and red, it's pretty big"
Me: Looking around the garage. Find a sticker and read it, "Do not use generator inside it will kill you in minutes... Okay, I think I found it"
Dad: "Okay, you'll need to blah, blah, blah and then hook up an extension cord from the generator to the sump pump."
Me: "Hhmm. Okay. I am gonna see how far Derek is to see if he might be able to do this."

Nope. He's still 20 minutes away based on non-rainy traffic. Can't wait. I try my father-in-law. Nope. He's getting Chipotle for dinner since they don't have power either. Can't wait for him either. But, we ask for him to pick up dinner for us too. Okay, so it's just me. I can do this, right!?

I dig the thing out and drag it outside. Thank goodness for the step by step directions, including pictures, as I try to figure it out. It still took me 15 minutes in the pouring down rain but eventually I got the fuel valve turned on, the power switch on, made sure it was choked and had to pull the start cord thing about 7 times- and it roars up... and dies. I switched the choke to run mode, so I don't really know what happened. So, I curse to myself and try it all again and it takes another 10 minutes and 15 pulls of the cord to get her up and running. I run downstairs to see the water even with the basement floor, the sump pump kick on and then the water level begins going down. HECK YES!!! And then, Derek walks in the door.

I won't lie, I am pretty impressed with myself. When big things come up, your mind just focuses on the problem and I did well- but then, after it was done- I was just exhausted. I didn't really know I was so stressed out. But I just could not let the basement flood- not after all of the work we've put into it.

Woo hoo! I did it- even though I looked like a drowned rat. Why am I smiling?!?

So, the power came on about four hours later and the sump pump is down there doing it's job all on it's own. We've added a new thing to add to the list: organize plan of action for when we lose power in the midst of a thunder storm. Thank goodness for the Chipotle the in-laws brought over- and thank goodness for my friend HanNah who was here to entertain a whiny Jackson while I magnificantly saved the day. :)

Though it would have been nice had Derek been here and he could have saved the day. It's kind of an encouragement to know that I stand a chance of managing this house on my own while he's gone!

Quickie News Bits

1. We are all moved at the in-laws. So far so good! Though I will be excited when we are in our place that has only 1 flight of stairs that is blocked by a door!
2. I've started watching a friend's little boy for the school year. He's 2 1/2 and pretty well behaved.
3. Jackson has two teeth.
4. He climbs stairs (see video).
   
5. He has also started to walk with his push toy in front of him.
6. We've gotten a lot of work done on the house: cleared out basement completely (all walls and ceiling), installed new water heater, painted Jackson's closet and closet doors, ordered kitchen cabinet doors (and hinges and pulls), tore down gutters and fascia, began some painting, and appliances have been delivered.
   
7. We went to see The Proposal last weekend with friends-- loved it!!!

Jackson fell asleep in the swing

Crawling through the coffee table

Hanging out with Daddy