Texas Bluebonnets

Wow.... by this time tomorrow, my belly won't be *quite* this big - I'll have traded it in for some sweet, squishy newborn goodness.  By this time tomorrow.  WOW.

My amazing mom.in.law is about an hour away, as we speak.  (She even called to see if she could pick me up a little Sonic happy hour - she's the best!)  And all that's left to do is some laundry and repack that hospital bag.  (We had a rough night last Thurs, in which a chaotic hospital bag was assembled - time to make sure I don't - gasp! - get to the hospital without my favorite mascara or something!)

So in the meantime, a peek into Spring in Texas with my fav... Bluebonnets!

Big Sis and the Big.brother.to.be!!

Can you tell that she loves the camera? ;)

My friend Tracy, mom of MULTIPLE boys, noticed the truck in G-man's hand right away.  See, after 2 years of 'bluebonnets & boo hoos!' we finally learned.  Entertainment is key. 

In fact, take a quick trip down memory lane with me... Here's 2010.  Sissy did pretty well, G-man wanted to be held.

And in 2009?  Yeah... we got lots of pics that looked like this.  NOT funny at the time, but hilarious now!  (And I can't believe how much they've both grown up!  Sniff, sniff!)

Hope that wherever YOU are, Spring has found you!  Wishing you lots of sunshine and a blessed holy week!

xoxo,

Sissy is turning 5

this month and I just can't believe it!  When did time fly by so fast?

Kristie got TONS of amazing shots of her when we got together recently.  And here's my fav one (although it was hard to just pick one!)

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!

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

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!

Egg Hunt - part 1

Happy weekend!!!  Just a few pics of the first egg hunt of the season - we have another one tomorrow!

Sorry I've been a slacking blogger.... between the Vegas Challenge and keeping the house perfect at all times, I've been swamped!  Thanks for all the well wishes and have a great weekend.  :)

GREENday

Hope y'all had a special St. Patrick's day!

This week has been full of uncertainty... but we took time out yesterday to enjoy the weather (it was still nice when we got home from work!) And we celebrated with green jello for dessert (my, have times changed, lol!) I wanted to get a pic of the kids together... this is what I managed to get....

Hope your day was fun!

And when I've felt kinda down this week.... these 2 pics (and the memories that go with them!) lift me back up. Here's my 2 crazy kiddos after church last Sun:

And their fav activity, as of late.... G crawls into Big Sis's lap and she reads to him. Awww.... the sweetest thing!

It's almost weekend, y'all - and March Madness, too! Go, Pokes!

Snow Day in TEXAS

Or what I was doing while management was in MY meeting. (I'm over it, I promise. Okay, I'm mostly over it. I'll BE over it after happy hour on Thurs. And again on Fri.)

Quiz: Is G-man crying because:
a) he was forced to wear his sister's coat when his mysteriously disappeared?
b) he hates the snow - that's why he lives in TX, damnit!?
c) he took 1 step in the snow and face planted? (okay, I can't help but giggle. sorry, g-man!)
d) all of the above



You know it's always, always d!!! Poor g....

Seriously, Big Sis was out to impress! mr. fix-it said, roll a snowball for a snowman... and she did it like it was part of her regular day. You go, Southern girl!

The finished product! Frosty with his new friends, the Semi-Homemades. And yes... Frosty is an Oklahoma State fan (go, pokes!) He's sporting his o-state cowboy hat and scarf! (And that's popcorn from Mom and Popcorn for his eyes and mouth, lol!)

Big Sis making snow angels. We got a FOOT of snow! A foot! Which means that Big Sis could do snow angels and not even sink to the ground - crazy!

She convinced daddy that HE needed to do snow angels, too... lol....

G-man was watching safely from his post on the porch. That boy did NOT like the snow. He must get that from his momma. And he's trying to pull off that manly hat to combat his pink & grey plaid peacoat.... I'm still laughing. ;)

The snow missed us today - woo hoo! And seriously, I have a call in to Spring and she better be on the way stat. But we'll always remember this snow day... in more ways than one! What a fun day with my kiddos!

Ahh, the happier times...

Since January has sucked (the life right out of me, almost literally!), I've been thinking back to December. I'm not sure how we loaded all this in.... but hang on for a quick (or quick as I can!) pictorial recap! (This should more than make up for the LACK of pics in the last couple rants!)
.

1. Mom's Weekend - the kick off to December! This was our 8th annual mom's weekend of shopping, eating and fun! This year we added something new: Pei Wei and Polar Express! We ordered some takeout one night... headed up to the movie room... and watched The Polar Express! (Most of mom's weekend is centered just around the moms and Mr. Fix-It and I... since there weren't any kids in the picture 8 yrs ago! So this part... was for them!)

2. Dec' the halls! I never got around to one of my big, semi-homemade recaps of all my fun decorating ideas... Big Sis's party took all my creative time and energy this year, so I'm saving a semi-homemade Christmas recap for next year, in the new house! ;)

Big Sis, decorating the Kids' Tree upstairs....

And our family tree... (shut up... yes, this picture is POST-Christmas... when I realize I never took a pic during the season!) And wander over here, if you want to weigh in on next year's decs...

3. Big Sister's Ballet Recital - you already know the details! (Or you can read them here.)

4. Big Sister's Nutcracker 'Sweet' Birthday Party - seriously, the upside to a December birthday? That you celebrate it 100 times. (I still wouldn't recommend it. Would highly discourage it. Have I shared my views on Dec children enough?) ;)

If you haven't been bored to death of the details yet, you're invited to check out her party!

5. Christmas Lights & Hot Chocolate - Mr. Fix-It and I have had this tradition since before we had kids... We make hot choc and load into the car to listen to Christmas music and enjoy everyone's Christmas decroations. We have a nearby neighborhood where every house has different wooden Disney cutouts in the yards... EVERY movie ever made, it's so cool!

We modified the tradition when Big Sis could participate and added Hot Choc in Sippys.... (yes, I still insist on sippys for 4yos... in my beautiful car....)

Last year, I modified my hot choc because I was nursing G-man (remember all that dairy-free ranting I did when I first started blogging?) I had soy hot choc that year... This year....

..... I had coconut rum hot chocolate.... yummmm.... ;)

6. Elfing! Our Elf first made his appearance in 2008 and he was quite busy this year... here, he's having tea with Frosty and Rudolph...

... and here, he's gone to the bathroom.... at least that's what Big Sis explained to us... it's 'green elf pee'...... hmmm....

7. All Aboard the Polar Express! This one is a new tradition... that instead of buying gifts for the Everything children... and them for us.... we'd just DO something instead! (This is probably the 17th Semi-Homemade/Everything family tradition, they just keep coming!)

We headed to a nearby suburb and boarded the Polar Express!

This way to the North Pole! It was even snowing!

Mrs. Everything, Baby Priss and G-man (looking like such a big boy!) are on the train!

Mr. Fix-It and Big Sis (and Mr. Everything and Miss Priss) sat in front of us, keeping their eye out....

.... for the big man in red!! I love it, so magical!

8. CHRISTMAS! We were snowed in for days in a teeny, tiny town in OK (where Mr. Fix-It happens to be from!)

"Twas the Night before Christmas...."

Have y'all seen these books from Hallmark? A grandparent/aunt/whoever records the story and each page reads back to your kiddos. AMAZING! I hadn't heard of it, but both our moms bought them for our kids (which is totally lucky because they sold out across the country!) I think it's special they'll have the story from both sides of the family!

Big Sis and Mr. Fix-It's mom always, always decorate sugar cookies together (for pretty much any holiday or any regular ol' weekend!) They were perfect to leave for Santa..

G-man's favorite gift? a box. That wasn't even from one of his gifts. (Haven't all of us parents been there?!)

Big Sis's fav gift.... a bike from Santa!

Then another bday celebration for Big Sis... complete with her wearing a big sombrero and being sereneded to at the local Mexican restaurant!

9. Christmas, part 2. We don't typically do Christmas twice, with both families (in fact, I don't think we ever have!) We trade off... But this year, I decided I just couldn't handle a house full of out-of-state guests and the 12+ 4yos for Big Sis's party, so... we planned to see everyone in OK so they could help us celebrate her big day. Thus... 2 Christmases, while we were at it.

G-man went nuts for his new 'man cave chair.' ;)

And now we can get rid of our tivo version Wizard of Oz... that's over a year old... By her choice of Halloween costumes and the look on her face in the pic to the left, I'm sure you can guess how important this movie is to Big Sis...

Then on to Big Sis's birthday, version 81. The theme this time? Hannah Montana... don't even know how she knows who she is, but that's what she wants to be when she grows up....

10. We Squeak-ueled! We took advantage of being back home... and free babysitting grandparents.... and left G-man with them while we took our soon-to-be-4-yr-old to see the new Chipmunk movie. So fun! Date night with the parents! ;)

11. Big Sister's ACTUAL birthday! By the time it actually came... we had celebrated 100 times and maybe even Big Sis was ready to move on. Okay, maybe not... but...only because that girl loves chocolate cake!

We told her we'd take her to dinner ANYWHERE, her choice....

..... so she picked the "Buffalo Princess Place"..... aka Buffalo Wild Wings!

12. Big Sister's first trip to the dentist (or reason 49 why I should be mom of the year)! Okay, in the picture above... or any of the other 80oo pics of her on this blog... have you ever noticed anything about her smile? Because I'm her own momma, see her every.single.day, and I didn't notice. Mrs. Everything is the daughter of a hygenist and a self-proclaimed 'teeth person,' and she didn't notice.... That Big Sis has an underbite that's unbelievable. She's going to have to visit an orthodontist in 6 months!! So that they can catch her next growth spurt and get her jaw to grow correctly..... WTH?! I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed... and I couldn't believe how sad that made me.

But on the bright side....no cavities and her actual TEETH are perfect.

13. NYE! We switched up the tradition and celebrated with "champagne in Joe's cups" in the Everythings' new house. It's one of those crazy stories... but at some point, years ago, we ended up drinking champagne on a random night... out of cups from 1 of Mr. Fix-It and I's fav college spots, Eskimo Joe's.

Uh, not sure where the Joe's cups were at this point..... ;)

14. New Year's Day Yumminess! We used to always, always make chili and queso on New Year's Day.... nurse our hangovers.... and watch football all day, without ever moving.

Those exact days are over, obviously (although I still nursed a surprising hangover this year, ouch!)..... we're grown up, so this year we decided on a more 'grown up' meal... Mr. Fix-It made THE perfect prime rib and I combined 3 recipes and made 'fancy steakhouse-style' mushrooms.... I'll share both recipes soon!

Hmmmm..... reading thru this, maybe I can see what led to all the illness we had this weekend! We were worn out!!! But.... I already can't wait for next year!