Clogged Kitchen Sink :(

We've all been there,  the water in the kitchen sink is draining VERY slow!!  Well,  our latest episode happened last night around 9:30 pm while the boys were finishing up the evening dishes.  We hear, "Mom, the sink is clogged, we can't finish the dishes."  I know, I know, can't you just hear the sadness in their voices?  AWWWWWWWW!!  Well,  I'm not one to keep Draino or Liquid Plumber on hand and no one wanted to run to Wal-Mart to get any, so..............  Hubby started searching the internet and we got to work. 

All we needed was some baking soda, white vinegar, and boiling water.  Fortunately, I had all of those things on hand. 

1.  Take 1 cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain.  We had to do some old school dipping out of standing water in the sink (YUCK) since it said to make sure the baking soda got down in the drain!! 
2.  Then,  pour 2 cups of hot boiling water down the drain.  You may have to use a plunger depending on how clogged your sink is. Ours was pretty bad!  Evidently, our children put mashed potatoes and mac n' cheese down there. BOOOOO!!! How many times have I told them????  We DO NOT have a garbage disposal down there.  Anywhoo, I digress. 
3.  Now, repeat the baking soda using another cup down the drain again. 
4.  This time follow with 1 cup of white vinegar and immediately plug the drain (plug both sides if you have a double sink). The baking soda and vinegar react and bubble.
5.  Once the bubbling settles down,  pour more boiling water down the drain.
6.  Repeat if necessary.

YAY, it worked for us.  And in our effort to have less harmful chemicals and processed items in our home, not to mention the cost difference between baking soda and Draino,  we will continue to use this process to unclog our drains.  I also will be putting 1 cup of baking soda followed by boiling water once a month down all of our drains in hopes of not getting any more clogged ones. I need to mark it on the calendar so I don't forget. 

Where have we been?

Well, we just got back from 13 days of vacation in Orlando, Florida.  I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had, so maybe the easiest thing to do is show you!!  Enjoy some vacation pics.

Aquatica

 Big brother helping little sisters.

 Going to the next area of fun!!

 Chillin' while waiting for the big kids.

 In front of the commerce dolphins. The slide actually goes through the tank.

 Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I have many more, I just tried to pick out some that showed all of the kids having fun, including daddy!!!

Seaworld

 Petting the stingrays.

 On the carousel

 Up, down, up, down, up, down........................

 What a terrible picture. This ride made me a little nauseous.

The Shamu Show

Legoland

 All the displays were made out of legos,  COOL!!!!

 R2-D2 made out of legos.

 A lego carousel

 A very fast Lego train, round and round and round.

 Mini-Me hiding behind Mr. Helper so she didn't get wet.

 Miniland

 Legoland use to be Cypress Gardens and they left some areas intact.

 Water ride fun!!

 A life size Ford Edge made out of legos.

 Mini-Me driving the lego cars

 Working together to put out a fire!!

Enjoying a leisurely boat ride.

Busch Gardens

 On the swings

 Another carousel

Riding in a dinosaur egg

 The gliders

 Again waiting for the big kids

 Still waiting for the big kids.

I didn't get any pictures of the big kids at Busch Gardens because they were off riding the BIG, FAST roller coasters while the little ones were in kiddie land.

St. Augustine Beach

 Baby loved the ocean

 My girls

 My boys

 Hubby, baby, and me

 Building a sand castle

 The waves are rolling in

 My girls walking on the beach.

 Strike a pose! This was without her knowing I was taking pictures.

 Mr. Gamer trying to not get wet.

Finally got a picture of Mr. Helper at the beach.

Hanging out at the condo

 The kiddie pool at the condo.

 I have many, many more pictures that I will compile into a scrapbook of some sort, but these were some of my favorites.  Now, back to the real world of home schooling, house work, cooking, cleaning, and of course work.  Oh, and unpacking all the stuff we took to have all this fun!!  That will take me a day or two. 

      

  

Weigh In Wednesday

Another week has gone by and while I've not been eating cookies and brownies, I've not been strictly counting points either. :(  Shame on me.  However,  I have taken another 2 pounds off.  Once again, not the 4 or 5 I would like,  but better than gaining.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?