Mild Catastrophes

Forgive me right off the bat for the giggles and full out belly laughs that happened to escape my mouth, uncontrollably, during this first mild catastrophe. Sorry boys, but I had to share. I must repeat, "We are not experts!" and we need to know where to draw the line between DIY and "Call the contractor!" So here it goes...

Catastrophe #1

It all began last Sunday morning, when I requested that the boys put up the ceiling medallion up, that I had painted, around the base of the dining room fixture. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but we only really need the last one and the story is told. What's the use in dragging this out.

1.) Chad and Nathan proceeded to the dining room table to reach the light fixture. They had to remove it from the ceiling to slide the medallion over the chain and reinstall.

2.) I removed a stack of picture frames and my hedge ball arrangement from the table, as I feel there is a possibility for some foul play.

3.) The boys successfully remove the fixture as, the fixture would not secure the medallion as tight as we needed. They handed it to me to set in the other room.

4.) They try beading glue around the edge of the medallion to help attach it to the ceiling, that does not work.  They send me to the kitchen for a damp rag to wipe the excess glue away and...

KAPOWIE!!

5.) The boys kung-fu'd the dining room table and made it look like a WWF crime scene in our dining room. Nathan took too many steps towards the middle of the table where Chad stood and the table collapsed under the pressure. I walk into Nathan laying on top of Chad and the table and it's leaves strewn throughout the dining room.

6.) We had one bleeding hand, a bummed up knee, a shattered lamp, 4-5 pieces of a dining room table and one unhappy camper who threatened the Aruba trip because we would have to buy a new dining room table.

7.) After some brainstorming, mostaccioli, and a few supplies later...

Our table is back in commission. However, no table dancing at our next dinner party.

Catastrophe #2

I will make this quick, as it is too painful for me to relive this sequence of events. 

The day after the table breaking, Monday, around supper time. I was going to make a chicken tortilla soup, with the dehydrated vegetables and fixins' that come in a bag and you add to water and tomato sauce. Nathan was in the field and would be late getting in, so lightbulb goes off..."I should make the soup in the crockpot to keep warm for him until he gets home." Great idea. I gather the water and tomato sauce in the ceramic pot of the crock pot and turn it on hot. Once I finally read the directions, it says that the water and tomato sauce mixture needs to be boiling to cook the vegetables. Bummer...I already put the liquid into crock pot and it has a lip on the edge, making pouring into a pot, a complete mess. 

Karen's intelligent solution: To take the ceramic pot out of the crock pot and sit it on the hot burner, where the pot of boiled chicken had just be removed. That way it will kick start the boiling and then I can place it on high in the crock pot until Nathan gets home. 

For a few seconds while I debated what I was going to do, I thought those ceramic pots are extremely hot when you remove them from the crock pot, surely it can handle the burner on the stove...but why haven't I  heard of anyone else ever doing this? That thought was short-lived and in seconds...

BOOM!

The ceramic pot had literally popped, exploded and nasty watered down tomato sauce was EVERYWHERE.

Including, puddles under all burners...

Oh, it was a mess! I had to clean it up and still get something together for supper. So my solution, soak it up with gobs of paper towels.

Lesson for everyone... IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF ANYONE DOING IT, DO NOT BE THE GUINEA PIG AND TRY IT and do not put ceramic crock pot liners on a stove burner it equals a disaster.