School's Out for SUMMER!

And look how big the kids have gotten!  As we speak, I'm packing them for Camp Magaw & Papa... that's southern speak for grandparent camp!  ;)  They'll be gone for 9 whole days and it'll just be me, mr. fix-it and the baby!  Maybe I can finish any of the 5 semi-homemade projects I'm working on.  Fingers crossed!

Dear Shoe Retailers,

I understand the nature of seasonality business.  I know that, in the interest of profit, company's must sell thru the majority of their goods before marking them to clearance... and before the season ends and the goods are worthless.  Don't forget that I work in retail (and have worked in the shoe industry, even!)

That being said, what can I do to get just one of you to invest in any level of inventory in water socks for kiddos?  After last minute notice from the school about Splash Day (love that!).... and a 12 hour workday.... the last thing I want to do is traipse all over town in search of the elusive water shoes.  After visiting TWO different chain stores, I now have in my possession THREE pairs of water socks, NONE of which I'm confident will actually fit either of my TWO kiddos (thanks in part to that awful ranged sizing and the width of G-man's feet).  And it seems the boy-girl ratio needs to be re-analyzed.  Because did I mention that all three pairs I have are BLUE?  This is not going to fly with a 4yo who refuses to wear anything that isn't pink, Hello Kitty, purple, Hannah Montanna or a dress.  You're not making any of the criteria with this:

(Which is what I've been left with.  Times three.)

Let me know who plans to own this stuff.... for real.... and I'm a loyal customer.  Probably for at least the next 10 yrs. 
Thanks.so.much,

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!

Teachers are the Sunshine - it's Teacher Appreciation time!

Y'all know how much the Semi-Homemades love our teachers!  And this week is Teacher Appreciation at school - woo hoo!  Tomorrow, each kiddo is bringing a flower for their teacher.  By the end of the day, each teacher will have a vase with a beautiful and unique bouquet!

I grabbed these tulips tonight.... added the tags below.... and some tulle (duh!).... and ended up with a turq and red design with a thanks from Big Sis and G-man!

If you want to see any of our past Semi-Homemade Teacher gifts, check 'em out here!

And be sure to visit Joy at Mommas Kinda Crafty - she's featuring lots of ideas, including the Semi-Homemade Smore's Kit I did last summer!  Enjoy!  And appreciate those teachers - they rock!

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.  :)

Semi-Homemade Homework

Last week, Big Sis had her first homework assignment. (Geez! This momma doesn't have time for homework, lol!)

The assignment: make a collage of your family.

Sounded easy enough, right? Umm....

The lesson(?!): The lesson learned here probably wasn't for Big Sis. It was that mom hasn't printed pictures out since G-man was born. 18 months ago. We had to rely on random pictures that other people had taken and mailed us. And the front of our Christmas card. And the back of our Christmas card. Geez!

So, the boring (un-girly) piece of green paper we were given for this project just wasn't girly enough... it didn't say Big Sis.... So, in true semi-homemade style... I let Big Sis pick out a ribbon to hang it by. Let it be noted that we did not use tulle (mr. fix-it rolled his eyes when I even suggested it!)

The middle picture on the left side is Big Sis with her little brother... and Miss Priss, the oldest child of Mrs. and Mr. Everything. We consider them family, but Big Sis's teacher is such a stickler for rules... I told her it would be okay (if asked) to call her a cousin. ;)