7 Year Itch......

Ahhhh, but it feels so good!!! I will be the first to say Happy 7th Anniversary today to my wonderful husband Dan!!!! Yup, 7 years ago today. Honestly, so so so so much has happened in that amount of time. Two of those things are Miss Tatum Brynn (who will be 6 this Saturday!) and Mr. Dalton Patrick who is 3, but is already a lady killer.

Dan and I went to St. Louis this weekend for a quick getaway. It was good, we stayed for FREE!!! Even better, and had fun. The Cardinals were in town, so it was a bit busy in the city, and there was also a Taylor Swift concert (I secretly wanted to go),,,,but it was fun.

Now, we are planning Tatum's big party. Her official birthday is May 2nd, but her school party and her big party won't be until May 8th and 9th. Saturday, May 9th we will have her HORSE PARTY!!! I am having two mini horses brought in, for her and all her buddies and family, some pizza, cake and ice cream,,,doesn't get much better than that! She is excited. I will post pics of that soon.

Here's to a Happy Monday...

What you talkin bout?

Kids are funny. The things that come out of their mouths are truly interesting. They can be hysterical, whiny, creative, truthful, innocent, INSANE, etc. I know I am biased, but my children are really quite intelligent. I know everyone thinks their kids are great, but sometimes I just have to stop and smile and think, "WOW," God has really blessed me with these amazing little souls.

Ok, onto funny things. I just thought I would share some interesting things that have been said by the mouths of the Rice kids.

And if you know Dalton, you know that he still says his y's for his l's....like "I yuv u," uook at this, etc.

D: Are you going to extracise now?

T: Don't tickle my arm picks

D: What did you said?

T: Where are my glubs? (gloves)

T: Thank you God for China

D: I on-yee want to wear my Hulk jammies.....they are the on-yee ones I yike

T: I'm not kidding you this

T: I got my eye on ya,,,,

T: I like this boy in 4th grade, he is sooo nice. I don't know his name.

D: (To his mama) When I grow up, I will kiss you and fall in yuv with you and we can get married
Me: Honey, I am married to Daddy.
D: (A bit irritated) I will kiss Tatum and fall in yuv and get married.
Me: You can't honey, she is your sissy.
D: (ANGRY), FINE WHEN I GROW UP, I WILL KISS GRANDMA, AND FALL IN YUV AND GET MARRIED.
Me: Dude.

There are so many funny things they do and say. They get so big so fast.

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend! It's Friday! Dan works all weekend prepping for trial next week, so me and the kids are going to Disney On Ice tomorrow!

RIP little bunnies

I am truly raising Venus and Mars. On Sunday afternoon, Tatum and Dalton were outside in the backyard really having quite a time investigating. There were rocks to pick up, dirt to move, etc. so I could tell they were very busy and had a LOT of business to discuss out there. About 45 minutes in, I hear Tatum bellowing "THIS IS JUST SO TERRIBLE,,,,,,,IT'S THE MOST HORRIBLE THING EVER.......(crying ensues).....I came down the stairs and she says, "there are dead animals out there".....Um.....what in the? Just so you can visualize this, Tatum is crying now, and Dalton keeps saying "Can I pick up the dead thing mommy? Please mommy, I want to keep the dead animal" Venus and Mars.

Sure enough it was 7 dead baby rabbits, and when I said that to Dan, Tatum just cried even harder "RABBITS??!!! WHAT HAPPENED MOMMY??!"

Dude, I am not on trial here, I have no idea,,,I say, "I don't know honey, but they will all go to heaven" (but for now, this nice plastic bag I have), she says..

"YOU CAN'T put them in that,,,!"

(Dalton) "Are u reayyee reayyee (really really) sure they are dead mommy?"

Luckily none of this drama is nothing two white powdered donuts can't fix (close curtain).

I had fun last week in New Orleans, I went there with my boss for a convention, but it was good. Not my favorite city by any means, but it was cool to get away. I was sure glad to come home though, a LONG day of travel made me so tired I felt sick. Here are some picks.....

ALSO, (it's been awhile since I posted), our Red Hot Night event was spectacular, I will post pics of this too!!!!

Well, we are all heading to the cabin this weekend with the in-laws, so that will be fun. Hope you all have a very happy Easter (in memory of the seven baby bunnies that Tatum has already forgotten about).

Another one bites the dust......

Jaws the second is dead. He/She died the first day! And the stupid thing cost me $6!!! As it was floating on the top of the fish bowl I looked down and said "YOU WILL NEVER BE JAWS the First!!!!" Stupid blue fish. Jaws the first may not have had that beautiful blue shiny look, but he had the heart of a beta warrior fish, it's just not easy to find these days, a beta fish that truly loves his bowl, and fights for his right to party.

Well, I don't even know if I will get another one for awhile, this has just been too hard. The kids could care less......

It just occured to me that I am listening to Miley Cyrus on my ipod and I am wearing a Twilight shirt too, I guess it turns out I am 15, ha!!!! Whatever I like this song and I like the Twilight series,,,,

We had a good night last night. Our friends Laurie and Eric came over, we had some great food and watched some of Twilight, but we are old and we couldn't even finish the movie, we were all so tired!

I have to run to the mall today and buy some Spanx (sp?) everyone says they are great and I have a big event on Thursday night and I am wearing an awesome dress by Nicole Miller, but it's pretty tight, so I better make sure everything is in the right place :)

OH MY WORD,,, I almost forgot, Tatum's debut performance in Chickin Lickin was a smashing success. Everything I have read has been very positive "Breakthrough performance of the year"
"This young star shows much promise and talent" "The most fun I have had in an elementary gym since the 80's" etc. etc.
She was so cute, her nana made her outfit and she looked about as 'chickeny' as a 5 year old could. See pics

Jaws the Beta Fish 10(ish)06-3-16-09

Well, everyone who knew and loved Beta aka Jaws the beta fish, I would like to announce that he/she has gone on to a better place. I know, I know, it's devastating. Jaws the beta fish was a part of our lives for almost 2.5 years. He lived a good life, had a good bowl, etc. but on Monday, March 16, 2009 Jaws kicked it.

My first reaction was OH NO!!! The kids were really more concerned with seeing "him" upside down dead. Comments like WOW, he REALLY ISSSS dead, and CAN WE HOLD HIM, made me realize that I don't think the kids were really not very horrified about the whole thing.....I will attach a pic. Poor Jaws the beta fish. Maybe lived longer than most of his kind.

Anyway, on a different note, things are going well here. Tatum will be in her play "Chicken Licken" on Thursday night. She is very excited!! Her nana made her a very adorable outfit complete with feathers, yellow tights and orange crocs so that she can portray 'Henny Penny,' will be a lot of fun.

I am busy busy with work. So is Dan. I leave for New Orleans in a week and a half....work related, but will be nice to get out of the office for a few days.

OH, I did save Buttons life the other day. You know, typical day in the life of a mom. I was getting ready for work and this silly goofy little puppy decides to steal a ponytail holder and then choke on it; well naturally I sat there watching her like 'hair ball?' not so much. I had NO idea what to do, so I pick her 5 pound little body up, and see something in her mouth and pound her back a few times and out pops this ponytail holder. DUDE. She is fine, but nothing like adding a little spice to the morning.

Hope you all have a great St. Pat's Day!!!

And the Oscar goes to..........

Friday when Tatum got home she had some information in her backpack about the Kindergarten play that is coming up, I saw that she had a role in it and I thought well, that is cute, I am sure that many kids will all be dressed as this character running around, but NO!!! Miss Tatum is one of only 7 in all the kindergarten classes to have a lead role!! And what a role it is,,,,,,the part of 'Henney Penny' in the play 'Chicken Licken' goes to Tatum!! Her music teacher told me she was very talented (of course) and I am sure it is that partnered with some SERIOUSLY great stage presence that just sent her over the top!! Honestly, I just think it's so precious, it's my baby girl's first school program. Of course pictures will be posted when said night occurs.

Save the Best for Last

WOOOOOW........

What a week. It's been busy and hectic, but it's over now. My event (well, I say that, but it's not just MY event) but one of the many things I am working on was VERY successful, I had a great weekend with my best friend Maggie and her family. They drove down from Des Moines and we had such an awesome weekend. Thank you Dan and Chad for realizing that sometimes girls just need some time together to 'hang out'

Here are some pics from the weekend. The kids had fun, the big kids had fun and I am just SO lucky to have the best friends in the world. I will post more later, but here are some pictures.