Happy Holidays!!!

I'm going to make BLOGGING one of my new year's resolutions!  :)  As I head out of the office until Jan 3rd (woo hoo!), just wanted to wish y'all a Merry Christmas!!

God Bless America!

Have a safe holiday!  From the Semi-Homemades

iphone Valentines - THE cutest Semi-Homemade Valentine's anywhere!

How stinkin' cute are these?!  And let me tell you how easy!  Amy at Living Locurto has these FREE printables on her site.  All you need is a printer, paper, scissors, tape, and a bunch of boxes of Brach's hearts (after testing 3 kinds, Sissy's fav is the Sassy (tart) ones!!!)  

All you do is print, cut, tape.  They fit perfectly over the boxes of hearts.  Sissy wrote her name on hers and helped me cut some out.  EASY!  And so cute - I can't wait for their party on Monday!  We made 20-something of these for the kids and some for teachers, too!  (Who won't love 'em?)

Just 2 days until Valentine's day - hard to believe!  You should also check out some of the yummy Vday ideas on Amy's blog like this super cute cake:

xoxo,

Put 'Em Up or Tee Up?

So, I'll tell you this..... I haven't run any of these ideas by G-man yet.... But.  Here is MY Top 5 list for G-man's Halloween Costumes.  I plan on getting his opinion tomorrow.  But, of course, I want to hear what you think, too!

1.  A boxer - lately it is NOT unusual for me to get a call at work from the kiddos' school.  And it's almost always an 'incident report' about G.  That kid is all boy, a total bruiser.  Depending on the day, we might not even have to add the fake shiner.  Love this one!

2.  A Golfer - it's almost the anti-costume of #1 and I love it equally.  ;)  Mr. Fix-It lit up when I showed him this costume, complete with the set of golf clubs and bag.

3.  Lil Frankenstein - I don't know what it is about this one, but I can totally see G-man as a Lil Frank.  (Mr. Fix-It brought up a good point.... G prob will NOT wear anything on his head.  Which seriously takes out 92% of all boy costumes.  Geez.)

4.  Woody (or Buzz Lightyear) - this boy is OBSESSED with the Toy Story movies.  He'll stay glued for the.entire.movie.  (Moms of 2 yr old boys know how amazing that is!)  He's got Woody and Buzz toys, cars, movies, even a hooded towel!

5.  A Lil Devil - I couldn't resist this one!  For all those days he's being insanely onery.  ;)

Now... to figure out what I'm going to be! :)  Last year, I was a semi-homemade witch.  I bought a witch hat, spiced it up with some purple and green tulle, and wore my black dress.  This year?  Maybe... the Queen of Hearts.  Same black dress with some heart accessories?  I heart Halloween!

What are YOU gonna be?

I LOVE OCTOBER!  Those of you who know me well, know that it's probably my fav month!  What's not to love about the pumpkin patch, homecoming (with its parade, walkaround, sea of orange, and the big game!), and Halloween!  I have never outgrown my obsession with dressing up!  When else do I get to abandon my real life persona (thirty-something, full-time working, momma of 2) and be WHATEVER I want? 

Sis and I have been brainstorming our costumes for a few weeks now..... and over the holiday weekend, she put together HER Top 5:

1.  Batgirl (but not just any Batgirl... the PINK one!)

And G-man would just have to be her Batman (I like the one with the muscles, lol!)

2.  Cat - she's never mentioned wanting to be a cat before, but after seeing this cute costume, I can't really blame her for picking it!

3.  Southern Belle - I have to say, a part of me (the same part that loves her Southern drawl!) is just lovin' that she picked this in her top 5!  I don't really love the mermaid-like color combo, but I could def see her in a hoop skirt!

4.  Hannah Montana - the choice she mentions the most often, but that I often don't quite hear.  ;)

5.  Alice in Wonderland - there's the sassy version and the sweet version.  And while I usually go for tradition and know that Sissy would make a sweet, traditional Alice... I'm liking the sass!

Now that Sis has narrowed it down, I've gotta spend some time with G-man and see what he likes!  And I have a few ideas for myself.... but since we can't throw a Halloween party at our house this year, I've gotta find somewhere to go and dress up!

xoxo

We heart America!

Wishing your family a safe and blessed 4th of July! 

We had so much fun at the kids' parade yesterday! :)  (mr. fix-it thought g-man looked like a little Shriner!  so cute!)

This is frick and frack... ;)  Big Sis and her bestie.  They're always together... and usually oblivious to the world around them.

I actually got in G-man's face as he came past us and he did.not.see.me.  He was so overwhelmed...  he just grabbed his teacher tight and marched, LOL.

Big Sis grabbed Bestie and they marched with Brother...

And here's to remembering the meaning behind this special day.


Happy 4th, y'all!

xoxo,

Happy Mom's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommas out there!!!

Seriously, I could get used to this.... tacos & margaritas at the Everythings on Fri, lunch with MY momma on Sat, sushi for dinner last night, pancakes for breakfast today, flowers, gifts and artwork from the kids.  All in celebration of ME for mother's day!  Awww....

I think the kids' fav part was giving me what they'd made me at school.  G-man had the biggest grin when he gave me this:

And every 5 seconds since Fri, Big Sis has asked me if it's Sunday yet.... because her teacher said our moms couldn't open these til Sunday! ;)  It was this huge package with this card on the front, and a sweet poem and her hand written name on the inside...

And then her sillhouette and name.  This is my absolute FAVORITE preschool gift I've ever gotten!  And when I told Sissy that, she just beamed...

Happy Mother's day, from the Semi-Homemades!

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!