A Little Hard Work Never Hurt Anyone

Well, a week ago yesterday we discovered that we were having a few plumbing problems (i.e. water backing up into the house), so last Monday I called our home warranty people and they sent a plumbing company out to take a look at our mess. The guys came out that afternoon and took the lid off the tank and then ran a "snake" from the clean-out at the house to the tank. Finding nothing wrong with the pipe, they told me that we needed to have the tank pumped and replace the lateral lines out in the yard - giving me an estimated cost of $6,500 to $8000 for the work. After talking with Chad about the ordeal, we took the clean-out cap off (creating quite a mess in the back yard) so we could use the plumbing in the house, and then we called another company to have them come pump the tank and then we were going to do somewhat of an experiment. Our best guess was that the lines weren't broken, but rather that with the massive amount of rain we have received this year, the ground just couldn't hold anymore water from the lines. Well, our second plumber came out on Saturday to pump the tank and promptly told Chad that the tank was exactly where it needed to be and then he ran a "snake" from the clean-out to the tank and told Chad that he wasn't sure what the problem was exactly, but that it was somewhere in that pipe and not in the lateral lines.
This is where my weekend started getting really bad!!! To back up just a bit, Chad had a little procedure done Friday morning and was instructed to not lift ANYTHING (including Tyler) or do anything strenuous for at least 7 days. At 3:00 on Saturday afternoon this directly translates to "Jodi gets to dig up the pipe and get the plumbing fixed." So after feeding Tyler and putting him in his stroller (because Chad can't lift him, Hailey is sick, Lacee is at Fiesta Texas with friends, and Leah is at a slumber party), I begin to dig, and dig, and dig. This was NOT how I intended to "ease" into my post baby work out program. So, I dug for 3 or 4 hours on Saturday (Hailey did help dig for about 30 minutes and then magically disappeared), thought I found what might be the leak, and then continued to dig Sunday morning for about another 3 hours when I knew I found the leak. I could not believe my eyes...the previous owner apparently had the same problem and rather than cutting the pipe at the break and gluing a new section in, they took a wooden stake and duct taped it to the pipe and then just used a lot of duct tape to "fix" the leak! We did have a friend come over who knows about septics and he was helping get the old pipe off and new pipe on and discovered that they also never glued the clean-out to the house, just had it pushed on there. GEESH!!! Finally this afternoon I pushed dirt back in under the pipe and then Chad borrowed the neighbor's tractor to push the rest of the dirt in over the pipe. All I can say is hopefully this holds till we move or die!


My weekend project



Happy cowboy

Look how tall & skinny I can be

In Tyler news, he had his first cowboy experience. No, I didn't put him on a horse just yet, but he did go sporting his boots and jeans for the first time last week. Granted these boots won't be worn out by the time his XL feet outgrow them, but they sure are cute and nothing melts my heart like a good-lookin' cowboy!



Just try to resist this face

The perfect nap with Ms. Elva

Tyler also had the pleasure of meeting one of my dearest friends this week, Elva. I worked with her when I was at the courthouse and she took me literally after only knowing me a couple of days. She was quickly an official part of my family and Tyler agreed right off the bat and had no problem falling right to sleep in her arms and staying there for over 3 hours while we had a great visit.

Sporting my new duds

Hangin' out while Momma makes the bed

Tyler update: currently he weighs in at 10 lbs 6 oz and is 23 inches long. He has begun to hold his head up for much longer periods of time and to my extreme pleasure, he has begun to sleep longer at night. Not that this was so much of an issue before, but he has been going to be around 9:30 every night and will now sleep until about 5:00 or sometimes even 6:00 in the morning!!!! He sure knows how to win my heart. He still has the occasional tummy fits, but for the most part seems to be working through most of those issues. Also, to add even more pleasure to my life, he is starting to hold eye contact with me for longer periods of time and is starting to make more noises (other than screaming and crying) and will occasionally smile at me when I smile at him. Everyday is such a blessing with this precious little creature in my life!!!

Just chillin'