*Insert your most pathetic violin music here as I tell our tale of the Great Snow Storm of 2011*
Dallas/Fort Worth (as well as half the US) was hit with a large Snow Storm this past week. We didn't fair so well with last years snow storm/cold front, so I was a bit uneasy as this weather came. (Note, on my 2010 Year in Review recap, our tree fell on my car, we lost power for 48 hours...etc.)
So, the snow / ice combo hit us on Monday night. We woke Tuesday morning to a blanket of white, Michael's work was closed for the first time ever, Jonathan's school was closed, and so it looked like it would be a fun day at home!
After we got up, we realized our heater wasn't working...pause...let's go back one week. Monday before last our heater stopped working. I called our repair company, they came out...yada yada and $250 later, the part was fixed. The repair man did tell me it was a 20 year old unit and would need to be completely replaced soon. Michael and I discussed replacing is last week, but decided to wait until the Spring when it wasn't so cold and we could shop around...etc...etc... - It is also important to know that I HATE that heater/ac unit! It is horrible and I have been waiting to replace it for all 4 years we have been here!
So as you can imagine, we were a bit frustrated on Tuesday morning to find that it wasn't working AGAIN! We called the repair man, he came out and basically told us we needed a new unit, but he was able to do something to the heater to make it work temporarily. The guy who sells the units wouldn't be able to come out until the morning.
Around 7:00 pm on Tuesday evening, the "quick fix" the repair man did, stopped working and once again, we were without heat. We discussed going to a hotel, but in the end decided to turn on the space heater, get tons of blankets and the 3 of us cuddle up in our bed. It wasn't the best night's sleep for any of us, but we were warm and toasty and that's all that matters!
Wednesday, as we lay in bed at 7:30 am discussing our lack of sleep from the night before we notice that the space heater stopped working. (One reason I didn't sleep well was because I kept waking up to check on the heaters, I was afraid of a fire hazard. So when it turned off it scared me.) Then I noticed my alarm clock was no longer on...well I think you get the picture from there...our power had gone out. This is unfortunately VERY common in our house, so we weren't surprised, but as with the morning before, we were super frustrated.
As we got up and checked on our IPhones the news, Facebook, etc (what did we do before those things?). We discovered that North Texas was having "rolling blackouts" to conserve energy. They were saying they should only last 15-45 minutes. So, we were a tad bit relieved, but still, it was down right cold in our house. The over night high was 9 degrees!!!! But to my surprise it was only 59 degrees inside, according to our thermostat, which I didn't believe. Then we realized it had now been well over an hour and our power had not come back on...I was starting to lose it! Our super sweet neighbors had offered for Jonathan and I to come over because their house was still warm, even though they didn't have power either, but for some reason, I chose not to go over there...I would regret it later.
I decided that the 3 of us needed to get out, go some place warm and have a nice hot breakfast! So I called the guy who was supposed to be coming over to sell us the heater and he was almost there. I couldn't wait, so Michael and I decided that I should go and take Jonathan. So off the 2 of us went. I am not sure why I thought it was a good idea to drive, all of DFW schools had been shut down, there had to be a reason for that! I soon found out, and it was only a couple blocks away from the house. The roads were pure ice. I couldn't believe it, I had never seen it that bad. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I thought, okay, this is the stupidest thing I have ever done. I have put my life, and my two son's lives in danger just cause I was a little cold and a little hungry. Thankfully we made it to IHOP in one piece. I let Jonathan order his own dish from the pictures on the menu. He was really excited! I wouldn't say that the trip was worth it, but I do know that both of us needed it!
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| This is what Jonathan ordered. |
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He kept calling the whip cream, ice cream! Then he went in, one bite, all the whip cream was gone. He then turned around, looking for the waiter, didn't see him, so he just yelled out, "More Ice Cream, Please!!!" I hadn't laughed in days, it was awesome! - And no, I did not let him get more whip cream / ice cream.
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| Pure Ice in the parking lot. |
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| An intersection by our house, again, just pure ice on the roads. Scary. (I was stopped at the stop light) |
So Jonathan and I arrived back home from our breakfast at 10:45. Only moments after we walked in the house and the power comes back on!!!!! Then, we hear a knock at the door, it was the guys with our new heater! WHAT??? YES! Things were looking up at the Ewert house hold! :)
It took about 4 hours for the guys to take out the old and install our new Heater! It is amazing. I am in love with it. Every time I hear it come on I smile a little bit. :)
I should have mentioned that at some point on Wednesday morning, before Jonathan and I left for breakfast, Michael noticed that our hot water wasn't working. I am pretty sure that neither of us could handle that information at the time, because we did next to nothing about it on Wed. We obviously didn't get to take showers on Wed...not the greatest thing...especially since Michael was planning on returning to work on Thursday. (his office had re-opened Wed and he had to take the day off)
Thursday morning came, we had all slept better in our nice warm home, but we still had no hot water. Michael decided to stay home again to help us deal with the hot water issue. What we didn't know at the time was that there is nothing that we could do...we just had to wait for it to thaw.
By Thursday night I felt disgusting, 2 day's no shower...NO THANK YOU! So I suggested we go to the Hurst Recreation Center down the road and shower there. Thankfully Michael agreed and Thankfully it was FREE! It wasn't the best experience for poor Jonathan. His first stand up shower. He was crying because the water was too hot or too cold or too much in his eyes! I felt for the little man and was trying to get him soaped down and rinsed off in record time! Thankfully we were all clean and happy.
Michael went into work on Friday morning as planned even though ANOTHER snow storm had come through that morning. He said the roads were pretty slick, but I'm just happy he made it there and back home safely!
Since the last couple of days hadn't been fun AT ALL for our poor kiddo, I decided to bundle him up and let him go play in the snow. We didn't stay out there too long though! It was REALLY COLD! But I got some good video and photo's of him playing in it!
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| Playing in the snow! He didn't understand why he couldn't slide! :) |
I sat down Friday afternoon to write this blog and halfway through typing I heard a gush of water! Not the bad kind, the good kind! Our hot water was running full blast! We had left the hot water faucets on or open as well as our cold water faucets dripping, so that is why I could hear it running! I was so excited I ran/waddled a couple laps around the house! I ran to the garage to make sure there wasn't water everywhere, since we were afraid of a pipe burst, and nothing! I called Michael to tell him the good news! Within 5 minutes I was in the shower...it was the best shower EVER! :)
So that, hopefully, concludes our adventure of the Snow Storm 2011. I hope that we have no more cold weather the rest of this year.
