Feel your.... boobies!

Ha! This morning I had the pleasure of having my 4th mammogram... I'm only 31. But my mom was diagnosed at age 36 - super young! My dr. is super proactive (yea!) and she ordered up a 'benchmark' mammogram for me at age 25. Then I've been measured against that benchmark every 2 years. I'm pretty sure that I'll now be going EVERY year, but it's something to check with my dr. when I see her next in Sept.

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I'll never forget the day my mom was diagnosed... I was 10. (Which means my mom has been a SURVIVOR for over 20 years! For her 20 year anniversary, my siblings and I got her a PINK ipod to use while walking!) Anyway, I was at a friend's house for the afternoon.... but oddly, my grandmother - who lived 4 hours away in KS - unexpectedly came to pick me up. That set the alarms off, immediately.... At home, my dad was crying. I'd never, ever seen him cry before. They gave me the news that mom was sick... would be in/out of the hospital... that my 2 youngest siblings (age 6 and 4) would be going to KS for awhile to stay with grandparents while dad took care of me and my 8 yr old sister at home. That's the first time in my life that I've felt the fear of uncertainty. That fear is probably what keeps the day so fresh in my mind, even 21 years later.

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My mom is an amazing lady and went thru chemo, a masectomy, and more. Luckily, the advances that have been made since she went through everything are remarkable. I'm thankful that my risks are as low as they possibly could be, based on the preventitve screenings we're doing. I'm hoping for the best, but the truth is.... even if one of these screenings turns up with something, it'll be caught so much earlier than ever before, increasing the chances of successful treatment.

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That was the conversations the tech was having with me this morning. Btw, the ladies where I get my mammograms are SO sweet that you just WANT to go! I'm serious! They're the most pleasant, compassionate women.... I almost considered asking them if they were hiring - who wouldn't want to work in that kind of environment?

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So, as my PSA..... check your boobies! (You can click on the pic above to go to feelyourboobies.com and see what they're doing to raise awareness.)

From the Semi-Homemade Cookbook: Cowboy Ribeyes!

Nothing says 'Happy Father's Day' like a nice ribeye... At least, that's what Mr. Fix-It would tell ya! So.... after a fun filled family day..... Mr. Fix-It's famous omelets in the morning... a trip to the beach club (I forgot my camera!).... and a family lunch.... we had planned to make dinner together, a recipe we'd seen on Food Network that looked yummy and right up Mr. Fix-It's alley.

Oh.mi.god. Y'all. It was amazing. I felt like a steakhouse chef had come over and made us dinner. Except that we made it! The recipe is Pan Roasted Cowboy Ribeye with Creamed Swiss Chard (we did spinach)... from the show Tyler's Ultimate.

The basic idea.... is that you infuse heated olive oil with fresh rosemary and thyme. In a cast iron skillet. This made the house smell amazing! And now that I have these fresh herbs in my house, I'm looking for millions of other ways to use them! Anyway, then you sear the ribeye by cooking it a few minutes on each side in the olive oil. Then it goes into the oven to bake!

It's topped with the creamed spinach..... heavy cream and more fresh herbs..... and then on top of that, breadcrumbs that you season and toast yourself.

We took a few pics, but they don't do it any justice....

The cream actually thickened up a bit after I dished mine up, but....

Then it was on to dessert - s'mores! Big Sis loooooved them....

After dessert, we headed up to the movie room for Little Mermaid (Big Sister's pick, not Mr. Fix-It's!) Today was just one of those days where you can't believe how sweet life is.

I took this picture today, on Mr. Fix-It's 4th Father's Day as a daddy.

Funny how similar it looks to one of my fav pics of all time.... Mr. Fix-It with Big Sis on his first father's day as a dad.... in 2006.

Happy Father's Day to the sweetest daddy, Mr. Fix-It.... and all the daddies! Here's a picture of my crew from today... Big Sis was pouting because she wanted to be on daddy's shoulders - ha!

Where you Live Friday: Media Room, Playroom, Laundry Room

This week on Where You Live Friday over at Kelly's Korner.... it's Playrooms (what room isn't a playroom?!), Bonus Rooms (we call ours the movie room!), and Laundry Rooms (check out how this working momma gets everyone out the door in the morning!)

My hubby Mr. Fix-It is a builder and homes are our biggest hobby! In this house, we knew we were going to do a media room and we couldn't wait to start having Family Movie Nights! (We're having one tonight to celebrate Father's Day - Madagascar 2, anyone?)

The double door entrance to the theater, with our personalized wooden theater sign hanging overhead:



We've been dreaming of getting actual theater room furniture ever since we moved in a year and a half ago. But this damn recession... ;) Luckily, we've still got this furniture from early in our marriage and it's working just fine!

Warning: you could get too cozy in this chair to ever get up!

You can see one of the sconces... they're on dimmers so we can have just the right amount of light for kiddos to see snacks or in case anyone is getting scared. ;)

We've got 3 pictures hanging of old movie theaters... this is an old Hollywood theater.

And what movie room doesn't have a few framed movie posters up? Mr. Fix-It insisted on The Godfather (what manly man doesn't love that one?) ;) and we both love Walk The Line... with Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix and that cutie Ginnifer Goodwin!

And that's the couch I got right out of college.... when I was still living like a poor college kid!

We've been talking about hanging thick, nice, velvet curtains (my mom was gonna make them) on this wall with the tv.... making it more like a theater.... but it hasn't happened yet either!

This is our official playroom (although more actual playing goes on in our Living Room!) There is a tv and baskets full of toys in the black armoire, and tons of crayons and other craft supplies in the kids' desk.

But it's more than just a playroom! It's also where I have worked through the Couch to 5k up to jogging 3 miles now!

I should be up their now.... but I hurt myself being graceful this morning (it's a regular occurrence, I'm clumsy!) and I think I broke 2 of my toes. Seriously. I can't move them and they've been swelling up for an hour now.... I hope I feel better soon, because I don't stay sane if I don't jog regularly!

And for the laundry room.... Some of you will remember the Semi-Homemade Organizational System I showed y'all back in March. But, for those of you who haven't seen it, here you go!

I got these great canvas organizers at One Step Ahead (they're only $20/ea if you order 2 or more!), and then had my friend Mrs. Everything embroider the kiddos' (actual) names on them! Then I photoshopped some of my fav pics of them into Days of the Week cards!

As an example, here is Big Sis on Tuesday - hers have the English, Spanish (hello, we live in Texas!) and French days of the week on them, so we can all learn it!

Here is G-man's Thursday:

And a close up.... These organizers hang in the laundry room. I lay out EVERYTHING on Sundays. I put their outfit (down to socks and undies), and their PJs for the night, all in that day's compartment. Helps us get out of the house in the mornings big time!! (And since they hang in the laundry room, I can put stuff straight from the dryer to the organizer!)


Next week is Master Bedrooms - yea! I love mine (Mr. Fix-It did a good job in there), although I'm not sure it's as exciting as Big Sister's Preppy Bedroom and G-man' Pirate Nursery! Happy weekend, y'all!

Great giveaway!

This is a huge giveaway to celebrate the bday of Tip Junkie!

Seriously, I'd love to have just any of this stuff! And I could totally use the custom invite - it would save me from making my own for G-man's pirate bday party! Be sure to go enter!!

More later! I've been in mtgs all day..... but I've got so many random posts, I can't decide which one to do next!

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Everything

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Everything!! We hope today is super special for you!

So, Sat night, Mr. Fix-It and I went out with the Everythings to celebrate Mrs. Everything's birthday. (She's the youngest of our group by several years... but I try to forget that small fact!)

Anyway, I was realizing... this is the FOURTH birthday we've celebrated with her (and it's obvious that this girl likes her Mexican food - just one of many reasons we're friends!!) This year we got babysitters and went out for fondue and wine. Yum! Last year, we went to that Mexican restaurant in Frisco that's something different everytime I drive by there. ;) The year before, Mrs. Everything was pregnant and we surprised her at a Mexican restaurant in downtown McKinney. And the year before that (the only birthday out of 4 that one of us hasn't been pregnant!), we went to a Mexican restaurant in Plano. It was H-O-T, but we ate on the patio (do you remember, Mrs. Everything?!) We didn't know each other as well then... but we had a 5 month old Big Sis with us and there were a few other couples there, as well.

Dear friend, we hope you have a wonderful birthday! Go out and check in your mailbox this morning. ;) And let us know if you want to meet us and G-man out for dinner to celebrate (again!) tonight!

A model day...

Okay, not a model day as in the perfect day.... like being home with Mr. Fix-It and the kids.... having a leisurely morning, heading off to the pool... no, nothing like that.

But today definitely wasn't ordinary! This morning at work, we had a big monthly meeting that typically includes... a couple hundred people? (I'm not good at estimating crowds!) Anyway, I was sitting in the front row (somewhere you'd never catch me... I'm more of a back row, closer to the Starbucks, kinda girl...)

Anyway, we had heard rumor that today's mtg would be special. About halfway thru the presentations, the production assistant (or whoever she was) asks me and a peer to move out of our seats, obviously making room for someone more important. (I know, I'm sure you can't imagine that!) She pulls in 2 chairs and now I am sitting in FRONT of the FRONT ROW! I'm practically on stage and totally not comfy with it.

Just about then... in walks Cindy Crawford. She came right past me and actually looked at me on her way down the aisle. (I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true!) When I'd heard she was coming, honestly, I was only mildly interested. But seeing her in person was totally different! It was exciting and she truly was different than I expected. She talked about being a working mom... she talked about relating to middle America and regular people.. and although lots of stars try to say all those things, she seemed genuine and real. She spoke intelligently and proved she wasn't trying to be just a pretty face. I was impressed!

Anyway, Mr. Fix-It nearly died when I told him I was within feet of Cindy Crawford today. ;) I'm pretty sure he was thinking of her, circa that 1992 Super Bowl commercial where the 2 little boys are watching her in amazement. ;) hee hee

Quick update on Magaw Camp 2009. Big Sis is having the time of her life! She's gone swimming the last few days and even made a new friend there, named Cheyenne. Big Sis loves to call the shots, and she even scheduled her own playdate, telling Cheyenne to meet her at the pool tomorrow morning. We did get a call on Sun, that almost broke my heart.... after being gone for 3 days, she missed us so much and called saying, "Momma, I want you... I want to come home to Teeeex-as...." (You'll remember I've told you about her drawl!) Anyway, some reassuring words from mommy and talks of all the fun things she still had left to do, and she was fine. She's such an independent, grown up little 3 year old! Anyway, our house is unbelievably quiet and we just can't wait to see her on Friday!

Y'all know how I love to personalize...

OMG, how cute are these melamine plates? I've always wanted to order some... but lately, you know, with the recession... I've put these kinds of things on hold. But I have a coupon code where you can save 25% (most are priced at $24, so that puts them at $18) at Bailey Bea Designs. Just enter code CMP25 thru 6/30 to get the discount!

Honestly, I'm not sure I'll be able to decide on which one(s) to get! There are so many cute ones! I really, really love the monograms (just not sure my kids would have the same appreciation for them at their ages!)

I think this would be a cute gift for a baby's 1st birthday.... I mean, what 1-year-old do you know that needs more toys?!

I'm definitely getting something like this when I'm done having kids. We have a 'Cookies for Santa' plate now, but I want something personalized! Maybe by Christmas 2011..... ;)


My sister needs to get this one for baby Carter!

And don't ya think G-man needs something like this?

Or this? Love the subtle skulls in the grey....
So you know I had to check out Etsy to see what I could find there... and how the pricing compares, etc....

These are adorable, aren't they? From lima bean kids... These are all $24.

I love the birdies...

Cute teapots! Perfect for a little girl tea party....

I really, really love these guitar ones!

And doesn't giraffe look cute just about anywhere?

And these are just simple and clean.... from Me Oh My Paper Boutique and they're only $22!

Love the background on this...

Okay, now time to pick which one(s)! I've had a very most interesting morning at work..... I'm hoping to fill y'all in later!

Where You Live Friday: Bathrooms!

This week on Where You Live Friday the topic? Bathrooms! My hubby Mr. Fix-It is a builder and homes are our hobby. And believe it or not, Mr. Fix-It grew up in (and his parents still live in) a house with only ONE bathroom! Yep, he grew up with 2 boys, 2 parents... 5 people to 1 bathroom! At least they were boys and not girls!

Now we have 4 bathrooms, which is both a blessing (y'all know how much we love to entertain out-of-state friends and family) and a curse (who has time to clean 1 bathroom?! Let alone 4!!)

So, on to the master bath.... which truly is one of the most impressive parts of our house, even though I couldn't take a good picture of it to save my life!

To the left in this shot is the walk-in shower.... to the right, the spa tub.


Another picture of the tub - it's a corner tub so it's really roomy! And deep (esp if you've given in and you're letting Big Sis take a bath in the 'big kid' tub!)

We've had a double vanity ALWAYS in our marriage, even our first little townhouse in Lawrence, KS (it's one of our tips for a happy marriage, LOL!)

Just a little peek at the private bathroom... to the right of my sink!

This is the view from our room into the bathroom. Thru that doorway is the closet that Mr. Fix-It and I designed. I had some, ahem... laundry chaos going on in there, so I'll spare you the pics until the tour rolls around to the master bedroom!

Next up - the guestroom bath upstairs. Mr. Fix-It and I picked these mirrors. We loved them so much (and they were such a good deal at JCP!) that we bought 5 of them and used them in every bathroom in this house!

This granite is also in every bath. And the oil rubbed bronze fixtures are throughout the house as well.

This bathroom is decorated in baby blue and chocolate brown...

I initially thought this tile was too dark.... but I should have known better than to doubt the skills of the best builder around!

The third bathroom - also upstairs - is Big Sis's bathroom! It's done in pink and brown dots, a compliment to Big Sis's pink and green preppy bedroom!

Her bathroom is filled with her initials/monograms - I changed these to B to match her blog name! (Didn't want you trying to guess what her B name was.... Bella? Brit?)

The animal print towels coordinate with this cross....

And a shot of the vanity....

On to the FINAL bathroom... back downstairs, right off baby G's pirate nursery. It's also right off the living room, so it gets alot of guest traffic!

The shower curtain is gorgeous, I need to take a photography class so I can take better pics! I love the accent tile in this shower, too. (Good job, again, Mr. Fix-It!)

Okay, okay, we have alot of iron wall hangings in our house. And fleur de lis. So what? ;)

This is a close up of that berry basket sitting on the toilet. It's the cutest thing... I got it on my very first (and only, so far!) trip to Canton with Mrs. Everything during my maternity leave. We took a new baby G-man and her Miss Priss... ahh, great memories!

Thanks for stopping by to see our bathrooms! See you next week. I think we still have the master bedroom.... and yards/patios, which I'm excited about.... oh, and media rooms - the movie room, as Big Sis calls it. Lots of fun left!