Next time you go to put food down your disposal. . .

This past Saturday night, Ivan and I were going out on a date, (and it had been quite a while since we had gone out because of ball games/practices, Ivan out of town, etc.) Well, I don't cook on date nights, just pull out leftovers for the kids. Since we hadn't gone out for a while, we hadn't had L/O in a while, so there were quite a few, some that just went straight to the trash. Well, therein lies the problem. If I had thrown them in the trash can, instead of the disposal, I wouldn't be writing this right now. Yeah, I kind of put too much old, rotten food down the disposal, pasta, re-fried beans, sloppy joes, etc. I just kept rinsing them down, with the disposal running. Then I noticed that the water was over-flowing on the other side of the sink. We plunged it a few times, but then left on our date. Later that night, I tried to fix the problem, I took some of the pipes apart underneath the sink, (and broke one of the pipe fittings/rings), but couldn't see any clogs. After breaking the ring, Ivan came down, (from watching the NBA play-offs), to help me. We worked on it, snaked it, but to no avail. On Monday Ivan bought a longer snake, but still no luck. Finally we figured out we were going to have to cut the pipe in the basement to find the clog. So, we went down, buckets in hand, and he cut the pipe, and almost hit the clog right on. Just imagine rotten food and water raining down on your heads. Yeah, that was really gross!!! At one point Ivan said, "I have had to do a lot of yucky stuff in my life, but this is just about the worst, because it's on my head." I felt real bad for him, since it was pretty much my fault. But, he didn't get upset w/me or anything. Just kind of said, that I should probably double bag it, and throw it out in the trash next time. We used the snake, and a broomstick to clear out the food, then put it all back together, and it is working fine, no leaks or anything. I spent a couple of hours today cleaning it all up. So, be warned some of these pictures are kind of nasty!!

Spring Break

Last week was our Spring Break. But, you couldn't tell it was Spring by the weather we had. It was cloudy and rainy most of the week. We didn't go out of town, or do a whole lot, just a few different activities. We went to the movies, played with friends, stayed up late and slept in, and went roller skating. Which, I quite enjoyed! I got a pair of skates for me, and after all the kids were ready to go, I joined them on the floor. And, I think that I was just as good, maybe slightly better/faster than my kids at roller skating!! And it doesn't happen very often that I am as good as my kids when it comes to any type of sports. I had fun, and it reminded me of when I was a kid, and our parents would drop my sister and I off at the skating rink on Saturday afternoons. And I think we even had lessons at one point. I can still remember how to skate backwards, and demonstrated it to L & M. (Then when I went to turn around to skate the right way, I fell, which is the only time I fell.)

This isn't a very good picture, but I am wearing skates.

Pinewood Derby

A couple of weeks ago, O had his Pinewood Derby. He has been so excited about it, drawing the pattern, getting it cut out, and sanding and painting it. We let him draw his own design, and pick out the paint color/pattern. We talked to him ahead of time, and basically told him, that he wouldn't win, just to prepare him. Then when they started racing, he was consistently winning, with the exception of one other boy's car. We were all very pleasantly surprised. So, when it was all over and done with, O came in second place, for speed. Way to go!! Several of my older kids were just about as excited as the Cub Scouts.
Getting the car all weighed in. That is the top of P's head, watching, waiting till he's old enough. almost everytime O would work on his Derby car, P would ask/beg me if he could do/have one, and I just told him he had to wait until he turned 8:(

P talking to O's den leader. Probably asking her when he can have a car to race.

Watching the cars cross the finish line. (See I told you my older kids were just as excited as O.)

With his second place trophy!!!