... the problem day...

all drains lead to the ocean right? nemo said it, so it must be true right? well not in this house apparently.

let me first start by saying, the day didn't begin right, hasn't gone right and isn't going right... as a mom, we often find ourselves running into days like these... doesn't make us a bad mom, or a good mom, just a mom, with kids that are meant to be kids. we all learn and grow each day, learning what is right and what is wrong....

so, our riley... our sweet little riley.... i am sure your mind is probably already traveling at lightening speed wondering what she has done today..... I have a huge glass cylinder, i have this from the wedding i did this last summer that the bride allowed me to have once the wedding was done... it is filled with sand, and sea shells and at the top is a pillar candle.... i love this particular thing in my house because of many reasons, and those don't matter for this particular story.... well riley decided after finishing her breakfast that she would take all the sand out.......... she ran into my room where i was getting dressed and yelled "eeee-ch." i said, "what....?" she pulled on my pant leg and directed me into the living room..... the sand was ALL over the living room........... oh, beach i though to myself.... caelan ran in from her room and said, "oh no riley, you're gonna be in big trouble....." i said, caelan that is not your job.... both of you go to your room....."

i sat and stared for a minute hoping it would all disappear......... i knew riley wasn't being a bad girl, simply thinking she was creating this tropical paradise in our living room, i mean after all it is windy and cold and the air feels rainy............

this is the first phase of my day........ as a mom.

the second:
i am trying to figure out our furniture situation. we have gathered all sorts of stuff over the years and have stored it for that magically large home we dreamed of having.... well then came our 1300 sq foot home and we didn't have room for all of our little/big treasures...... so we had a storage unit for a while thinking we would be moving to Idaho, well that hasn't panned out yet... so needless to say we are trying to weigh the pros and cons to everything in our house, family heirloom or ikea.... ditching the ikea obviously.... so anyhow, i have this amazing small chest of drawers that would make a great buffet for candles and napkins and their rings to be stored... problem= fish tank.....

we have had the same fish tank and the same fish for 1 year and a half......... all of the sudden the fish were dying, okay, so only 3 of them.... but it was a great thought.... so anyhow i decided to get rid of the tank. caelan said she doesn't like "bruce" and "nemo" doesn't live in there, so its okay to be done with it... she mentioned she liked it when she was a baby... i forgot we had it that long... she was right........

so i proceeded to flush the fish down the toilet and empty the water.............

bad idea.

what a bad mom.... flushing the family fish, that were alive no less............ anyhow, that's not the problem here... the problem remains at my opening statement to the blog.... all drains lead to the ocean right?

nope. the fish got stuck! and then i poured a whole bottle of bleach down the toilet and flushed it again.... he appeared to be gone............ yipppppeeee i thought!!!!!!!!!!
left to costco, went to the post office....
came back and had to use the restroom....... went to flush and saw the fish swim out of the hole.......... i thought, eeeewwwww he could have sucked my butt. gross but i thought it, then i thought, ewwww these are little boogers that he is still alive after all that bleach and being flushed 6 times.......... gross............ way gross. almost too gross to share with you all.......

point is............ eric came home and got rid of him. so we are in the clear now.- he's way dead...- and out of the toilet in the trash- it was trash day today- perfect- so he really is gone now!
but the bigger point is.... no matter what kind of day, no matter the stress of holiday shopping, or what ever.... remember to take these moments and laugh a little... and share with others your life experiences that might help them laugh a little too. after all we should go through life, learning to laugh, and laughing well.... even in times like these, ya just gotta laugh. :) enjoy you week!

moms: some days are just easier than others, but the hardest job of all, is simply just being the mom. :)

... katie and mike...

many of you know, but i just wanted to post it anyway- katie is pregnant :) and their baby will be born sometime the end of june. we just want to make sure everyone is praying for them. this time of transition. this time of change and excitement for them. congratulations katie and mike! caelan and riley will have a cousin! praying for this new adventure in your lives....

praying for you and your baby on the way. :)

thanksgiving weekend road trip

very ccccoooooolllld and very windy............. bbbbbbuuuuurrrrrrrr. its almost winter.

we went out to the "lake house" thanksgiving evening. we decided to get away for a few days to relax, have fun, play some games, take long walks, cook yummy food, and spend time with family. we had a great time roasting marshmallows outside, enjoying the cold weather, after all it was 47 degrees and the high was 60 degrees. we saw the "bat caves" we played Mexican train dominoes all night long! Mary ended up the winner after tallying the score after 12 rounds... it was a great time of laughter as well. we laughed so hard.... and so often through out the trip.

eric and i found this in sandpoint on our trip to idaho this last march. we gave it to mike and mary... something to ponder, that if we ever live away, we will always have the "lake" in common... some where to go to, to reflect, relax, and escape life for a while... i still love the poem to this day, and forever will love this framed piece we found to hang in their home at the lake.

there is a wall as you enter the house~ that has all of the fun lake house pictures... are some i that are up on the wall....

eric gets great air.... katie and eric many years ago. the summer after caelan was born.

here i am VERY pregnant with riley, almost to due date. the roth family reunion. kelly k. skiis!

the girls in their sweatshirts from katie and mikes new home in Virginia....

the meal mary and i made.

thanksgiving dinner

family picture in front of our house before we left for my parents...

we ate thanksgiving dinner at my parents house this year. we rotate every year between spending thanksgiving with Eric's parents and mine... this year i had the awesome opportunity to cook with my dad. i learned all sorts of great tricks from him. i think we mastered the fine art of cooking- and did it together. dinner was perfect, although the desert area was lacking. we will work on that as a family the next time.... we need to figure out the whole pie thing. i have never been big on making pies but after all it is a thanksgiving traditional menu item!

anyhow, we also went to a park by my parents house called "friendship park" it was adorable.

after we wrapped everything up at my parents we came home and rested a few minutes and then decided to pack up and head out to lake mead and spend the weekend with mike and Mary at their house out there.... for now, here are the pix from thanksgiving. we took some fun ones, but those will remain a surprise since they will be used for Christmas cards! we had a nice afternoon! a lot to be thankful for. thanksgiving is such a great time to focus on family and loved ones....