Can't hardly wait!

We went to the arboretum this weekend with Kristie for G-man's 18 month pics - finally!  Yes, he's about to turn 2.... but after rescheduling because of Big Sis's Puke Fest and then 3(!!!) days of rain, we finally got 'em in.  And I cannot wait to see what she got! 

We walked around after the shoot and took maybe 4 pics total before deciding the kids were more.than.over.it.  So we just enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful spring Texas weather!  And don't worry - I'll share Kristie's work when it's ready!

Until then... the couple of shots I got...

I know, I know.... I have an obsession with rocker babies:

This might make your eyes hurt, but for some reason, I kept going til it was brighter and brighter.  And I like it. ;)

There's no place like home... there's no place like home....

I think I've been watching too much Wizard of Oz with Big Sis, but this looked like Aunt Em's place to me!

Dragons, beware!

I promise I'm working on some fun posts (like 6 at a time!) but in the meantime...

Last weekend we had friends in town from KS and we ended up taking their 10wk old baby and our 2 kiddos to the movies (yes, I know it sounds crazy!) - How to Train your Dragon - in 3D!

G-man did SO well at his first movie ever.  He slept thru the first half (personally, I think taking him to his first movie during naptime was brilliant.  PLUS we had a showing at our house and needed to kill time.)  And then he LOVED the dragons and that kept him occupied for the rest of the movie.

Big Sis on the other hand... didn't do as well.  It's not because she can't - she sat thru the Squeakquel " like a 6yr old" (her words) last Dec.  But... as she told me towards the end of the dragon movie... Mommy, I'm just not that into this movie.  There aren't even any princesses.  Yep, that's her... ;)

But she was more than happy to chat with her new bff Stacia.  Poor Stacia....

So, the last 3 movies I've seen at the theater...

~How to Train Your Dragon

~Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

~The Princess and the Frog

Guess I should scout the parenting mags to see what's out next! ;)

Vegas, baby!

What next?  I feel like that's been playing over and over in my head in the last few days...  All I can tell you at this point (sorry!) is that the number of things that are unknown are outnumbering the number of known things.... and it's getting more and more lopsided by the minute.

So, excuse me and my current panic attack.... and let's go back to a simpler time, a time when it didn't seem as if my whole world was up in the air.  You know, like last week.  And so I present to you (since so many of y'all asked!), the Semi-homemade/Everything Vegas trip!

Mr. Fix-It took this pic of us (seriously, I'm not that photogenic, so my best pics are usually these self portraits, ha!) in front of a fountain outside of Paris. 

We had just been to see the hypnotist Anthony Cools with the Everythings.... he was hil-arious! The only downside... was crying off 1/2 my party makeup in the first 5 min of the show, while I was laughing uncontrollably!  Here I am with Mrs. Everything, right after the show!

And with my sweet groom.... celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss.  (Okay, that sounds cheesy, but it's true!)

The Everythings!  I love Mrs. Everything's fun necklace - it says, Hello Summer of 2010!  (For those of you who are just joining us... Summer of 2010 has special meaning for the Semi-Homemades and Everythings! It's the first summer in ages when someone wasn't pregnant!  She was pregnant for summers of '09 and '07 - I was pregnant with G-man in '08... and back in '06, I was a first time mom and the Everythings were childless newlyweds!)

I picked our dinner location one night and this was it - our night at Tao!  YUMMY!  Don't the Everythings look sweet?

Another self portrait....  We went to Nobu for our anniversary and it was absolutely the.best.dining.experience.EVAH!  Loved it!  We picked a couple things from the cold menu, a couple from the hot menu, and some sushi... and these white wine Saki drinks... mmmm... I'd fly back to Vegas just for those!  I never thought the day would come when we'd go to a sushi place over a steak house for our anniversary - and mr. fix-it even ate raw fish!

Me and mr. fix-it at Tao.

This is the ONLY pic I ended up with from our cabana - bummer!  We had so much fun the first day (probably had nothing to do with the 2 bottles of bacardi we finished off!) that we booked a cabana for the next day, lol!  Here's Mr. Everything, kicking back...

And finally, my farewell to Carly.  Y'all, Carly has been my love.  Mr. fix-it got her for me a million Christmases ago and she's gone with me everywhere.. regardless of what Iwas wearing, where I was going.  I committed to her and there was no other bag for me.  (Okay, this is sounding dramatic to some of you... the rest of you are nodding your head in agreement!)  I loved this bag because it was big enough to be my "mom bag" but all that metallic trim and big hardware kept it from looking like a mom bag!

So, walking into the big Coach at Caesar's, I wasn't expecting to say goodbye to her.  I was simply there to look at shoes.  But... while talking to the (amazing!) salesperson, we ended up discussing how my Carly was one of the originals, which had issues ripping out at the top.  Coach was replacing them a couple yrs ago, but I couldn't ever find a replacement bag I loved.  But, the salesperson offered to replace my bag in Vegas, even though it was a few years old, and they gave me the allowance of the full price that was paid for that bag.  Wow, how could I pass that up?  Especially noticing that my bag had the wear & tear (dirt!!) that accumulates after a few years of being a busy momma.  So I said hello to Maggie... and here I am, saying goodbye... to Carly.

Ooh, got a few pics from Mrs. Everything! :)

We were joined at the cabana by a friend of the Everythings, and the 5 of us had so much fun!  (Seriously, can we go back?  Like tomorrow?)  :)

Thanks, Mrs. Everything!  You got lots of good pics!  And some funny ones (you & I will discuss those later!)

Hello Maggie, Goodbye Carly

I'm back, y'all!  Were any of you starting to wonder if I'd won the jackpot and run away to the beach?  :)  Darn!

I have lots of stories to tell you (like how I said goodbye to my long time friend... okay, my bag.... Carly!  And said hello to a new friend Maggie!)  

...and lots of pictures to share.... but right now I'm still trying to catch up at home and at work!  And the best part was coming home!  We didn't even get up the driveway before those 2 kiddos came running out of the house, screaming Momma!  Daddy!  Made my heart melt.  And those huge hugs... What a jackpot!  More soon - happy weekend!  We have old friends coming in from KS, then I'm right back here to hang with y'all!

Tomorrow....

I'll be starting my Vegas experience here....

We pretty much always hang at Margaritaville when we go to Vegas - love the cas, fun atmosphere and sipping on magaritas (something I don't usually do unless on vacay - the calories!)

And then Sat (in case you're lookin' for me!) I'll be here:

And here!  It's Cabana day on the Semi-Homemade/Everything Vegas trip!  (And doncha know I'll be looking JUST as good as these girls, ha!)

We get back late Tues and I'm right back to work Wed.  Wish I could say I had alot of super fun posts scheduled for y'all to read while I'm gone, but.... My mom-in-law comes in late tonight and then we're Vegas-bound tomorrow!

Tonight is workout #20 of my Vegas Challenge (to workout 20 times in 26 days) - I'm almost there!  See ya when I get back (and don't worry, when I hit the big jackpot, I'll remember each and every one of you!)

Semi-Homemade Huh?

So, if you're like me, you've been wondering....

What (the hell) happened to all the fun semi-homemade ideas, projects, recipes, and inspiration that I used to come here for?

Um, yeah, about that.....
House on the Market + Vegas Challenge = Little Time to be Semi-Homemade

My semi-homemade feats as of late include things like:
Semi-homemaking of beds.  Every.single.day.  (This was kinda optional prior to now.)
Semi-mopping of sparkling floors and shining countertops.
Semi-homemade dinners on the table.  Like scrambled eggs.  Twice in a week.

But don't y'all fret!  I have several fun ideas in my head and I promise to get around to them after Vegas!  (The fact that I can't leave a project out while it's in progress is really slowing me down... but after Vegas, I think I can get a couple uninterrupted hours in a day to make progress!)

Speaking about getting it all in.... Melissa at the Inspired Room talks today about how she does it all - especially how she makes time for home projects admist the chaos of her everyday life!

April 6

8 years ago, about this time, this was me, kicking up my heels with mr. fix-it (just hours after I became mrs. fix-it!)

I loved the tradition in our wedding

All our closest friends... My sisters are the girls on the outside!

Our engagement pic - one of only a couple I can find (uh, yeah, I had to scan all these in - that's why they look this way!)  All you lucky modern day brides and your digital photography... ;)

Happy anniversary, to my sweet husband!  He's been my best friend for 11 years, the best daddy for over 4 years, and I never imagined being this happy.  XOXO

3 days til Vegas

And I'm wearing these!

Do y'all think they'll be okay for the damn dam tour?  Just kiddin'!

I FINALLY found a replacement to my fav.shoes.of.ALL.time.  I think one of my first blog entries was about these shoes.  And finally... at long last.... ahhh... I have them.  The wear-with-everything, perfect-height-heel, WEDGE.... and at less than $100!  Where have they been for the last 2 yrs?  ;)

The Easter Bunny is (finally) ready!

Well, it's about an hour away from Easter.... so, what better time for the Easter Bunny to be finishing up at the Semi-Homemade House?  Right?  ;)

Just a quick sneak peek into what the kiddos will wake up to tomorrow morning - y'all know how much I love this stuff!  Look at these fun eggs!  I got a few football eggs for G-man (filled with matchbox cars) and some Hello Kitty for Big Sis (filled with hair things and jelly beans!

How cute are these Lilly P animal crackers?  (I didn't figure G would appreciate all that girliness... so I got him the manly man ones.)  ;)

Tomorrow will be Family Movie Day for the Semi-Homemades!  Big Sis gets The Princess and the Frog and G-man gets E.T.  (I realize that might sound strange, but trust me when I say that both my kiddos like that movie.  What's not to like?)

This part of the Easter basket is Semi-Homemade family tradition!  (You may remember that from last year.)  SWIM SUITS!  :) Lobster trunks and an anchor rash guard for G-man... a pretty pink paisley one piece for Big Sis.  Can't wait for summer!

And to go with them?  New flip flops!

I don't want you to think mr. fix-it got left out of the fun!  He's getting The Blind Side (one of the very few movies we saw in the theater last year.  We both L-O-V-E-D it!), his fav Easter treat (those disgusting egg yolk-y Cadbury eggs), and a couple small things.

And don't worry about me either - the Easter Bunny always takes care of me.  The Oklahoman Bunny has already sent me a Sonic GC (via my sweet momma!)  And tomorrow there will be a new Scentsy warmer (appropriately named Faith) with some new scents (Mrs. Everything and I went "smelling" today). 

Hope the Easter Bunny is good to you, all my sweet blog friends, and that you have a blessed Easter.

State of the Semi-Homemade Address....

Madame Speaker(s), distinguished Friends, and fellow Bloggers,

I found it was time to give y'all information about the state of the Semi-Homemade Union.... just a quick recap on what I DO know (because so much is still UNknown), because so many of y'all have left me sweet comments, emails, and phone calls.  And because I know I've seemed a little pissy lately.  ;)

1.  The house is ON the market.  But we don't know if we're going to sell it this year or wait til next year.  There is LOTS of unknown behind this topic (which was contributing to pretty much ALL my pissiness.  I'm working on that.)  In the meantime, we're showing it.  Alot.  Like 6 times in the first 2 wks since the listing went up.  Including a showing on Sunday, when we were home.  Uh... the doorbell rang and when I answered it, I encountered THE perfect person to play the role of a realtor in a comedic film.

Platinum blonde hair?  Check
Orange tan?  Check
Skin tight denim leggings?  Check  (With too short shirt instead of tunic?  Uh, check.)
Smoker voice?  Check
In defense of all you realtors out there (don't hate me!), I didn't know these people actually existed in real life, I thought they were just characters on tv/movies!

She told me she had just gotten clearance to come in our house.  I assured her that we had not received a call.  Then she realized.... my house was 1234... and she thought she was at 1239..... how could she have made such a mistake?  (This was the least of her mistakes, based on her fashion choices, in my opinion.)  She asked if they could see inside anyway, and before I knew it, they were touring my home.  While Big Sis and G-man ate craisins at the table.  They pretended not to see the pile of crap on the island (stuff mr. fix-it had brought in from my car when he detailed it for me!)  They pretended not to notice my bed was unmade (because Big Sis had been napping in it until 3 min before they arrived.)  Weird.... all around.

Where we will live and what our daily lives will look like a year from now, we have no idea.  Stay tuned, it'll be an interesting show.

2.  Puke Fest 2010.  Yes, it happened.  But it's over.  There's nothing like hearing a sweet child voice at 3am.... saying, Mommy my tummy hurts.  Followed by, And I'm gonna throw up!

Poor Big Sis.... It began Sun at 3am and lasted until about 7.... but bless her heart, by Sun lunch, she wanted chicken nuggets! 

3.  The Vegas Challenge is going strong!
I'm jogging 4 miles at a time now and feeling amazing!  My work pants are so big that I've resorted to wearing dresses everyday.  (I love spring weather in TX and wearing dresses with sandals!)
I have worked out 14 of the last 18 days, and by the time I go to bed tonight, I'll have workout #15 in.  Just 5 to go before we head to Vegas next Friday!

I should have probably also institued a Wardrobe Challenge to myself!  I'm currently on the watch for a Vegas appropriate (which means kinda sexy, kinda fun, not working-mother-of-2!) dress... a one-shoulder that's reasonably priced.  If you've seen one, you let me know! 

4.  Have a blessed holiday weekend!  Here's a message from us:

Here is mr. fix-it with the kiddos at our neighborhood egg hunt. They do it right - the Easter Bunny makes his appearance, along with a bounce house, train rides, clowns, a petting zoo (with bunnies, chicks and various others!), and an egg hunt (of course!)  Super fun!

Ready, set, GO!

Big Sis took to the egg hunt like a seasoned veteran!

G-man is new to this game, but he's a natural!

Face painting is Big Sis's fav part.  Last year, she got a kitty face that was too cute.  This year, they matched a floral design to her shirt!