The happyhaunts go South... the endless trip report!

[javamom]

OM

Wow, glad no one was hurt. Stay safe, and hope all returns to "normal" soon.

 

[Shelby5514]

Yikes! CALVIN!!!

 

[pumpkinfish]

Wow...it takes me 1/2 a day to read through all of your installments only to come to a brick wall of your home being flooded

Keep us updated on your home-life, as I know I speak for ALL your fans in saying we hope all is well!!!

Get back to us soon! I can only do so many tequila shots with orange and cin. (and I don't even like tequila ).

 

[zachnlucy]

CALVIN!

 

[wdwr]

Hey there people of the Dis. It's Mel. I'm not quite sure when I'll get a chance to post the next Part. We had a little bit of "excitement" here at the happyhaunt abode this weekend. Major flooding and water damage on all three floors. There are hordes of contractors here as I type. Ripping out walls, ceilings, crown moldings, carpets and floors. Lot's of water. Here. Lots. Amazed our cat didn't drown. Why? You ask. One word. CALVIN. 'nuff said. It's gonna be busy around here for a little bit. I'll try to write the next part as soon as I can, tho. Wish us luck.

Here's wishing you luck and a little Glad the HappyHaunts and the cat are all OKAY.

Now if you would just learn to post photos we could get trip photos and photos of all those lovely contractors!

Sounds like you might need another trip to WDW to feel better after all this is done!

I'll be while I wait. Not big on tequila either.

 

[extreme8]

Yes, those are Zotz. STILL my all-time favorite candy, although I haven't seen any in ages.

If you're missing Zotz have a look here
http://www.oldtimecandy.com/zotz.htm

 

[javamom]

Awesome! Thanks

 

[VanniGirl]

Sorry to hear of your troubles - hope all is fixed soon - and you can get back to your report

 

[1000thhappyhaunt]

Just thought that since I have a little lull in the action, here, I'd give you an update. The fire/water emergency restoration crew just left. About 1/4 of our house is ripped apart. Second floor right down through to the basement. Ceilings are gone, walls, carpet, baseboards, yada. Big huge fans and dehumidifiers are set up and running. For the next two days or so. So everything dries. However, on the upside, we the happyhaunts have learned several valuable lessons. The first being that great volumes of water can do tremendous damage. The second is that we DO love a good insurance policy. Thirdly, and most important, CALVIN has learned to not dispose of Tommy's prized possessions by flushing them down the toilet. (That's "terlet" for all you folks in Jersey). You see, on Saturday, the happyhaunts were happily on our way to "Margaritaville". Otherwise known as "Spot's Place". But... Jimmy Buffett has nothing on Spot. Spot is cool as crap AND he can cook his a** off, too. Anywho... sometime between loading up the van and heading out, Calvin decided to experiment in the washroom. It went badly. Very. And he did not tell anyone. We returned Sunday afternoon to Armageddon. And. WOW. Realized that... cats CAN swim. They just don't ENJOY it. Very much. So that, so far, is all she wrote. We're waiting for things to dry. Then we rebuild. I'm stressed. Calvin's name is "Mud". I must go now... I must escape to my peaceful place of sanity:
"Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a Harley-Davidson
Her long blond hair
Flyin' in the wind
She's been runnin' half her life
The chrome and steel she rides
Collidin' with the very air she breathes..."

 

[labdogs42]

OMGosh! I'm so sorry to hear about the damage!! I'm glad no one was hurt and your kitty was able to stay afloat! I can't believe that darn Calvin -- what a little hooligan ! I'll be looking forward to the next trip report and now the rebuilding/contractor report! Something else for you to write about after the trip is over -- yippee!!

 

[tcfdick]

Mel,

I feel your pain! In 2004, exactly one week before Thanksgiving, my daughter flooded my house. At least Calvin is 8. My daugther was 19. She turned the faucets the wrong way on the bathtub and left the tub plugged so no water could escape down the drain. Of course, there was the fact that the water went off as she was taking a bath. Seven hours later, I enter the house to the sound of a waterfall! It seems the water came back on just minutes after she left the house. The water went through two stories and I also had all of the floors and walls stripped. It felt like forever before my house was back to normal, but it was only two months . (I also had wonderful insurance, thank God!) At least I got my house remodeled and I kept my sense of humor.

Sherry in KY who is no longer flooded out of her house

 

[J and R's mom]

HOLY COW! Sorry. That's no fun. How's the blood pressure?

I guess I'll have to quit making fun of DH now. He turns the water valve at each toilet off before we leave the house on overnight (or longer) trips. To his credit, he does this now because my parents' house flooded once when the hose connecting the water valve to the toilet came off and sprayed water into the house for the 8+ hours they were at work.

Best wishes to the Happyhaunts...

 

[PrincessAurora]

Take care Mel. I'll catch back up when I return from The Mouse with my own trip reports. You know everyone wants to know the little told Bible story of Calvin and the Flood as well as the rest of your Disney trip.

 

[pumpkinfish]

I must go now... I must escape to my peaceful place of sanity:
"Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a Harley-Davidson
Her long blond hair
Flyin' in the wind
She's been runnin' half her life
The chrome and steel she rides
Collidin' with the very air she breathes..."

OMG love that song Neil Young is one of my favorites...


Still keeping you and your family in my thoughts, hoping for a SPEEDY recovery

 

[bobcat]

I keep wondering if Calvin has a stuffed tiger named Hobbs. Here's hoping you dry out soon.

 

[mcreste]

First, Mel, I'm horrified by your H20 disaster, & wish you & your home a speedy recovery. However, from a purely selfish/self-preservationist standpoint, I am relieved to not find a new post from you tonight. I am in graduate school. I have work to do. And last night I was pretending that I was doing homework and meanwhile was reading about the happyhaunts until 2 a.m. I have never read anything so addictive in my life! What a talent for writing!

 

[Katy Belle]

Good luck with your remodel Mel! My DS 8 at the time caused a toilet flood, an accident from a serious bathroom incadent. We caught it after about an hour, I can't imagine the next day!!! I HATED those noisy fans, ours ran four days solid. Loved the insurance policy. Hated the floor dude that started refinishing our wood and then go the flu, so we only had access to the kitchen(which was full of all our livingroom furninture), the laundry room one bedroom and one bathroom.....for two weeks. We are 5 people, it was way too much together time! It was nice to have new carpet, refinished wood, all new painted walls, etc when it was all finally finished! Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Katy
PS LOVING your trip report. Neglecting my duties in order to read the latest

 

[janets]

and have been enjoying them as much as Vettechick's or Delswife's reports. I so wish I could have been following your family around WDW as it would have been a constant laugh riot.

So sorry about Calvin's bathroom incident and all the resulting damage. Hope that this finds you all drying out and hope the remodeling work goes smoothly and quickly.

Can't wait to hear everything is back in order again.

And I, too, am a true child of the 70's. Had my Sweet 16 at a disco in NYC, loved, loved, loved the music, knew every commercial jingle as a kid.

Looking forward to hearing from you again soon.

 

[1000thhappyhaunt]

Well... my new manfriends were here, again, to check how the happyhaunthouse is drying. Ya... it's drying. Slowly. They'll be back, again, tomorrow to check once more. Nothing can be rebuilt or fixed until everything is COMPLETELY dry. However, I'm learning a lot about their field of work because Tommy CANNOT leave them alone. So... I trail around after Bama, who trails after THEM, making sure he doesn't get in their way, talking to them, playing peekaboo through the hole in the floor, yada. Today they gave me a lesson on how to use a moisture testing device. It's neat. It looks kinda like a BBQ meat fork thermometer thingie which you poke at floors and walls, etc. I used it on Tommy. He REALLY beeped. He's moist. So is our floor, unfortunately. Cat's gone. Away. To my Mom's. She hustled over, ran into the house, crammed poor Lotie into the carrier and dashed out. Bye Mom! She's very happy. And pretty fast on her feet for a 78 year old woman. However... the noise of the fans are beginning to drive me mental(er). So... on with the endless trip report:

Day 6, Dec 16: I left you with ace seventies slang and the mental picture of Beth and her cat-worth of fudge. We walked up Sunset toward The ToT to meet the boys. She was eating this HUGE piece of fudge off of a little plastic knife as we walked. Watching her nauseated me to THE MAX. And made me thirsty. And, also, worried. Because she was walking in a crowd eating off of a knife. Poor Beth is blessed with my terrible co-ordination (as well as my good looks!). Truthfully, she's WAY more co-ordinated than me but...it was still slightly dangerous. We're livin' on the edge during our Disney Vacation. We stroll into the Tower's dump shop and right through into the tunnel area where the elevators exit in to, and stand in front of the ride photo viewing area. We're looking for the boys in all the groups of photos which are coming up on the screens. About eight shots later, we see them. Ha, ha, ha. DH's face is SO funny everytime he does this ride. SO FUNNY! This time he looks like he just swallowed a squirrel. They come out and we all laugh at DH's face together. Then we decide to head out of the park and back to the BCV. DH says that he's very hungry. I offer him the last little pasty blob of Beth's fudge. He gives me a dirty look. DH doesn't have much of a sweet-tooth. He wants me to decide where we're going to eat. I suggest walking through the Yacht Club and checking out the Yacht Club Galley. He agrees. Calvin tells me that they BETTER have burgers or he's not eating ANYTHING! Immediately, I can tell this evening is gonna be ALL about Calvin. Solidly, for the next couple hours. Until he goes to sleep. Goody gumdrops. He's tired. Therefore... ANNOYING! And he wants to "GO"! We walk out the entrance gates and look over towards the Friendship dock. The boat is there! RUN! RUN! RUN! I grab Calvin's and Beth's hands and jog down to get in line. DH pushes Tommy in the stroller and SLOWLY moseys along. "Hurry, Mel!" I yell. 'Cause there's NO WAY he is going to make it at that snail's pace. He doesn't. If anything... he actually slowed down. ARRRGH! The Friendship sails. Bye. But there's still about fifteen people in front of us waiting for the next one, too. We wouldn't have gotten on anyway. DH is one LUCKY livin' on the edge of a DH. Now we get to stand in line and wait..and WAIT... and people watch. Which I love. 'Cause I'm nosy, I guess. This time it pays off and we're all treated to QUITE a show. Of kissing. It's a young kisser couple and it seems they've forgotten that they are in PUBLIC. There was hair stroking, hugging, rubbing and kissing. It was "exteme" kissing. More like dental surgery by tongue. Calvin was riveted to the scene. "Mommy... you and Daddy don't kiss like that. Why not? Why don't you do romantic kissing like that?" He really felt the need to know. So I tell him, "For one, my dear Calvin, 'romantic' is not the word that first comes to mind. And, for another, I was born with an abnormally small tongue. Just a tongue stub, if you will. So was your Dad." It's NOT true. I was just messin' with him. Then we started talking to this other, older couple in front of us. The woman had noticed my DVC knapsack with the Mickey Sniff Glove Hand and told me they were members, too. So we talked for a while. Blah, blah, blah. FINALLY... the next boat came. We piled on. DH took Tommy and the stroller right to the back. The rest of us grabbed a bench seat in the middle. I sat beside the window, then Calvin beside me and Beth on the other side of Calvin. Calvin turns to me. Oh, no! I KNOW this look. It's "conversation" time:

Calvin: Mom? If you borned out a donut... would you eat it?
Me: Come again?
Calvin: If you had a donut come out of you, instead of a baby, would you eat it?
Me: Can you describe this donut baby?
Calvin: Well, it's small. It's a small donut.
Me: Like a Timbit? Not a fritter or a bear claw?
Calvin: Yeah. A chocolate Timbit. And it's alive.
Me: How do I know that?
Calvin: 'Cause it breathes. And says "Mama, mama!".
Me: Oh. Is it a boy or girl donut baby?
Calvin: Oh... it's a boy. It's me. I'm your donut baby.
Me: Then no, Calvin, I would not eat you if you were my donut baby.
Calvin: Good. Good. You're a good Mom.
Me: Thanks. Am I a donut Mom?
Calvin: No. You're the same. You're you.
Me: Oh. That's good to know.
Calvin: So do you still like to eat donuts?
Me: Not so much.
Calvin: Good.

Then I feel the need to end this and escape to my peaceful place of sanity. (Insert the lyrics to Neil Young's "Unknown Legend"... NOW.) Because, sometimes, I find that these crazy "chats" that Calvin and I have... seem to make SENSE to me. It's strange. But true. Now that he's finished with me, Calvin turns to Beth and decides to bother her. First he pokes her. Then he breathes on her. Then they start to bicker. I blow it all off, like a good parent, and stare out the window instead. I'm in a good place. On a beautiful tropical island. With a white sand beach. And Gary Sinise. Nothing else. Except for some tequila. And a razor to shave my legs. It's all good. Until my fantasy is rudely interupted by Calvin licking his finger and sticking it deep into my ear canal. Shudder!!! Gross. Gross. Gross. I turn to him, annoyed and grossed out, "CALVIN! Stop it! That's enough. Leave Beth alone. Don't stick your finger in my ear! Just sit there nicely!" Calvin SHOULD take my advice. Sit still. And be thankful that he's even here due to my lax birth control habits. Yada. Calvin is a unique guy, though. DH claims there is absolutely NONE of his DNA in Calvin. He says that Calvin is all MINE. But... he LOOKS just like DH. The others look like me. Calvin IS unique. He is! He has SPIRIT. And FIGHT. And he's a smart one. He can be SO trying and SO relentless but there's something absolutely captivating about him. It's a rare quality. Think about it. How many truly "captivating" people have you ever met in your lifetime? Not a lot. You can probably count them all on one hand. If that. I, personally, have met three such people with a unique and powerful ability to beguile me. Not a lot. And I've met a lot of people. It's a good thing. Most of the time. But... always interesting. Because these people have such distinct levels of complexity about them. They are enigmas. A riddle... in human form. Interesting. Demanding. Confusing. Fascinating! Blah. Yada. Let's move on. So, Calvin decides NOT to take my wise advice and turns back to Beth. Digs in. It's time to drive his older sister INSANE. He's very good. He's knows just the right buttons to press. And just when to press them. By the time we dock at the Beach and Yacht Clubs, she's completely tizzed out. And... he's smiling that little private smile he has. The one that says he's REALLY enjoying himself. He is a tremendous pain in the butt! But, GOD, how I love him! DH is right. That one is ALL MINE!

To be continued.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Great installment, you have me PMP again!

Your mother must have been in her glory to have an excuse to steal the cat, do you think she'll give her back...ever?

I hope your house dries out soon. Poor Calvin, it's so hard to be the middle child, and get attention- I bet this flood got him plenty though.