I think we have all come to the same conclusion that we must consider increasing the volume of the pit. How we accomplish the task is irrelavant. On the one hand you could break out more concrete and widen the pit, but on the other hand you could deepen the pit and get the same end result. With this in mind I would consider deepening the pit too. You could easily use a post hole digger to deepen the existing pit then pour a bit of concrete in the bottom to form a base. While that concrete is still wet you could drop a Soni-tube concrete form in the hole (the same soni-tubes that are used to form foundation pilings for a deck). Cut a hole near the top of the soni-tube and pour concete through that hole to fill the cavity between the outer wall of the soni-tube and the dirt to form the sidewalls of your pit. (This could be done fairly easily as a DIY project.) Once you have the pit deepened you could set your submersible pump in the bottom of the pit and extend the length of the float control to adjust for the increased volume. At this point you are only out the cost of a short section of soni-tube, a few bags of sackrete and your labor. Mow before I would expend a lot of money on a battery backup system I would do a bit of "Risk Assesment". You have been in this house for 5 years and only once in that time have you encountered a major storm that really put your sump pump to the test. Statisticaly, what is the risk of that occuring any time soon when you are not at home? In my estimation you have about the same risk of being hit by lightning. In my opinion the smart money here would be to get some federal flood insurance and not be overly worried about the sump pump. On the other hand, let us consider a battery backup. 1. Battery powered sump pumps are relatively expensive. 2. You must have a dedicated battery and a charging system to maintain the battery during periods of non-use. 3.Deep cycle batteries are expensive and have a limited shelf life of about 5 years. Based upon your previous history statistically the battery will probably be on its last legs the first time you need to rely on it. Now let us consider a generator. If we lived in a region where we commonly got storms that knocks the power out for days at a time we would certainly want to consider a permanent mount whole house generator with an auto start feature. In my region here in the midwest we commonly get storms which cause a power outage however I cannot say enough for those people who maintain our power system. Regardless of whether it is severe wind and rain in summer or ice and snow in winter it is very seldom that a power outage lasts more than two or three hours. In fact, i can't rmember the last time our power was actually out for a full day, and we have had numerous storms and even a couple tornados in that time. IN fact, we have had far more power outages that were a result of drunk drivers hitting a pole than weather related problems. Over the years I have had a number of different portable generators that we primarily use for power on a jobsite, but which function very well as backup power for the house in a pinch. Of all the generators that I have owned or used my personal favorite is a Honda 4KVA. This generator has been in almost daily service for nearly ten years and it is still going strong. One of the features that i really like about it is the easy of starting. You turn the ignition switch on, press the primer bulb twice then gently pull the starter cord and off it goes. Notice, i said, gently pull the cord. No need to give that super macho yank that is common to most small motors. This Honda seems to start every time with even a light pull on the cord. In fact, I have seen guys on the job joking about it and actually testing it by seeing how lightly they can pull the cord and still start the motor. It is a rare day when it takes a second pull to get it going. One word of caution especially about your generator but which is true of all small gas motors such as those on our mowers, snowblowers etc. Never leave them set for an extended period of time with gas in the tank. The gas will evaporate and leave a gummy film which stops up the fuel system. Whenever you are preparing a small motor for long term storage let it burn all the fuel out until the engine stops from lack of fuel.

Thanks for all your hard work Karen! Can't wait to read it in its entirety. Jodi-

Ladies may I join you in this discussion? I am a young healthy looking 62. And today is my first visit here after looking up adrenaline I sure understand better now That's what I have going on MY NATURE'S PACE MAKER.working. Adrenaline After a stay in icu heart recently everyone finally agreed i am mot crazy.it was.my heart. The docs installed is a device catch my heart acting badly is a heart tracker like halter monitor. Under my chest muscles on top of my heart. I can cause it record what just happened.. iam write with excitment because your stories are all so familiar. These stories for me begin after mitral valve repair. 7 years ago. Basic problem ..unless the doc sees the heart behaving badly they deny the problem. All this time we never could catch it Last doc said bluntly if we dont see it didnt happen. You must to er Well recent at 230 am it woke me up, just as you have described. I went directly to the er They caught the serious thing! Arrithemia and more then two days in icu. Now meds have slowed my heart from 70 to 52 while docs decide what to do. Last night I realized I was having an adreilin rush. The same rush I went to a neurologist for help. Over a year and half. Often it also affect my skin. Goose bumps crawling feeling all day long! Well have I got news for him.I was not crazy about that either. my gp I visited last month just to say. I know you don't know what is wrong but I still got it. Knows too I sat in neros office two months ago ,,,same thing. I said dr i just want you know ME when I end up in er..and i need you. well it was er straight to icu. Home now with electrical issues. Last last night meds have my average at 52 bpm.it woke me. 2 3 am. I use my tricks to get back to sleep.as soon as felt sleep coming on the stomach feeling spread. It woke me up heart pounding.sweat .out of breath!!! Happened several times . then checked average heart rate on my Garmin. 48. Average 48 so i was probably lower. Maybe 45! My natural pace maker kicked in every time sleep lowered bpm and I was short on air. Natural pace maker? Adrenaline can't wait to see what was recorded on my device Thank you body! Now I think i know what as going on for long time hidden from doc view. Electric shock adrenaline style

Stepmomof4 and newwife58, thank you both so much. I can't tell you how much this forum has already helped me personally. I sucks that BM can put a strain on my marriage. We are newly married as well. I just worry if I can strong enough to keep fighting the fight. Our goal is simply peace in our home. Newwife58, I love the advice of keeping it out of the bedroom. Just last night the hubby and I were in our room talking about what to do next with BM. I announced it was 9:31, the discussion is over till tomorrow. I really do believe the children need counseling. When BM was backer acted, dad tried to get custody to no avail. We live in Florida, if that helps give anyone some insight. Family Law's are outdated. Let me share an email BM sent. By the way, she completely abuses any form of communication. In the past 4 days we have received 17 emails!!! AND It is really hard to not respond to them. Is that our best approach? To just ignore them? We so badly want to just tell her off, ya know? Stick up for our self. *BM is speaking of me here of course* "It just seems there is something off with her. She seems to have an issue with everything. Its just wierd. Its immature. I know because before u were with her we had decent and civil communication. Now however god forbid I wanna tell u anything at all about the kids. Its an issue.. She seems to feel threatend by my kids or the fact that u were married before. She feels the need to control and manipulate any contact with the kids. Its just wierd and sad. But that's ur choice and I'm glad u r happy. My kids will hav to deal with the fact that u no longer hav any interest in them or their day to day lives." Second email from BM : "(dads name here), U can also tell ur wife to stop writing all in my kids school adjendas. That's for PARENTS to sign. Not someone who sees them 2x a month. And plays absolutely no role in their lives or schooling. She is in no way their parent. I am. I guess it makes her feel important to sign their school things. LoLOLOLOLOL!! Pullleeaaase!" Let me just say, BM is still married to husband #2 but now has a new man living in her home for about 2 months, or so. This new guy also signs the children's school papers.but that's okay with her?!?! Is it so bad that I, their SM, wrote a note in SD's workbook, "have a great week at school. Love dad and (my name)" Or that I wrote a note in her book to help her remember how to spell a word correctly?? She is completely off base here. I don't know if this is part of her disorder or what. Have you ever had to deal with someone that no matter what you say, how you say it, they JUST don't get it? Thing is, not that long ago her and I were able to work well together. Before this, BM would tell me that she couldn't have picked a better SM for her children, that she is comfortable in her position, they could call me mom if they wanted, etc. She only sung my praises before, saying things have only improved since I have been around. BUT she couldn't control herself, called me an ugly, fat whore one too many times, I put her in her place and stopped all contact. Before this, BM would tell me that she couldn't have picked a better SM for her children, that she is comfortable in her position, they could call me mom if they wanted, etc. She only sung my praises before, saying things have only improved since I have been around. It seems to me that BM really WANTS to believe that my hubby is only restricting her because I am making him. Saying they used to be civil is a joke. They have never been civil. There was just too much destruction in their marriage, too much hurt. I don't believe they will ever be able to peacefully co parent. I digress. Sorry this has been so long. I am new here and felt that I needed to give a bit of a back-story. ***My main objective, as quickly as we can, figure out how to set boundaries and enforce BM to comply. What is the best approach here? How do we stop BM from telling the children that we are drug addicts, alcoholics, or that we don't love them or that I'm not their parent?? Her opinions are her own, that's fine but BM can not be allowed to continue to tell the children these things. Like I said, you CAN'T tell her anything. We have tried everything and now feel that we must resort to legal action. That is why I am here.. Thank you all!!