Scenes from a Spunky Soul: Trick AND Treat?

Oh, the fun of having a family! Picture it: a five year old princess-to-be waiting for daddy to come home from work so we may conquer all that is Trick or Treating. A one year old, not sure why she was so excited, but was excited nonetheless because her big sister was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Two pups, chasing the girls around the house in an attempt to butter up their owners into letting them go on the outing that had the whole neighborhood buzzing with funny looking humans of all shapes and sizes. A mommy watching the clock, hoping it doesn't take her husband too long before he gets off of work... worrying that if the children and dogs get any more riled up, they'll likely burst.

And then it happened. I let the pups outside in the backyard to get some bladder relief (and, let's face it... a little bit of down time from all of the excitement) when I smelled it. It was a smell like none other. Then I heard it: gushing, gurgling, running water. I stepped out onto my back porch and watched (in slow motion) as my chihuahua puppy ran right into a puddle. There hasn't been rain for days here. How did a puddle suddenly appear? Then, pieces of a puzzle started to not only appear in my mind's eye... but connect.

The spare bathroom in our house started to gurgle this afternoon. Thinking one of the girls decided to flush way too much toilet paper down it again, I took a plunger to it. The odd part to me was that there was fresh, sparkly water in the bowl. More gurgling. I plunged until my arms got sore. No water moved. I flushed. Bad mistake. The water moved, but not down. I watched the water reach the very top of the bowl, and make that bubbled-over shape just before it starts pouring down the side. God heard my prayers: no spillage! Thinking nothing of it, I called the work order in and was told to close the bathroom off and not allow anybody to use it until they could come out to fix it. They were short handed on maintenance people, so it may take a few days. No worries.

Now, that very same gurgling sound was coming from my backyard. Not only was it coming from my backyard, but it was ten feet from my back door. The sound wasn't what did it. It was the smell. I could run a daycare, give half a pound of prunes to each child and their parents, wait thirty minutes, and hold them all hostage in the same bedroom and still not be able to come close to that smell in my backyard. My stomach hadn't turned over completely until I saw my puppy do the Baywatch run toward the puddle and bathe herself in it.

The gurgling...

I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, really. Who would have guessed? Who could plan such an event? Who would I have been justified to be mad at? Nobody. I called the housing office and got the very same employee who took my "non-emergent" work order for a backed up toilet. Laughing, literally out loud, I asked her to move that work order up to "come over to my house in five minutes or less". She asked why and I explained. Literally five minutes later, my husband had come home to a bummed out five year old, a curious one year old, a poopy covered chihuahua, and a wife who was running around the house wondering how we'd be able to trick or treat and clean off the poop. Oh, the fun of having a family!

Anyway. Here are my precious angels just moments before we plundered the neighborhood for booty. I thought about dressing up as a pirate, but was busy having poopy water spew all over my back yard. Basically, I dressed the girls and we hit the road while Josh was stuck working with Roto Rooter. What a wonderful husband I have!