Elaine who? Semi-Homemade what?

Let me say this... Yes, I've been THE world's worst blogger.  I didn't even get to wish y'all Happy Thanksgiving (I hope it was full of blessings, btw!)  But yes, I plan to get so much better once we moved.  Who knew that my blogging was so incredibly tied to where we live?  But now we know.  ;)

So... an update on the house.  And I'm going back tomorrow and will have MORE updates (maybe even with bedroom pics - that's missing from this one).  Moving day is 2 weeks away!!!  Dec 18, one little week before Christmas.  And if that doesn't give you enough of a sense of my world lately.... here's a tiny peek:

~ Spent this week in a migraine.  Literally from Sun until Thurs, when my OB sent me to the ER for IV meds.  I finally started feeling better yesterday afternoon.  Never had one, tiny headache when I was pg with Sissy.  Had them with GT, but this was - by far! - the worst I've ever had!
~ Migraine and all, I traveled to Houston on Tues with my parents for my great-uncle's funeral.  It was sad and sweet...  and I wouldn't have missed it, even with a migraine!
~ Big Sis's big 5th birthday party is a week from today!  Because I'm not supermom (duh!), and because we're in boxes, we're holding it somewhere other than home.  She wanted a cooking party so.... Young Chef's Academy for a cooking party!  Pics of details, invites, etc to come!
~ Oh, and remember that new job I started a month ago?  Probably the biggest source of stress right now.. but that's for another time, preferably with a glass of wine (so that'll be awhile!)

But on to what you're waiting for... THE HOUSE!

I love, love the new brick and stone we picked out!

Pretty, unstained garage door.  And I have a thing about lanterns... love this one!

Y'all come in!  (Thru our unstained door, of course!)

The dining room.  Which has since been painted under the chair rail... some beautiful color like glazed pecan or something.  :)

Remember the bar from the last house?  Here's this house's version.... all the cabinets in the house are a distressed black.  This pic is pre-distressing!

A living room under construction.... but oh so pretty anyway....

The kitchen!  Always my fav place.  I have to say, mr. fix-it and I were a little nervous to paint that beautiful wood black... but we've gotta stay up with the trends, so distressed cabinets it is!  And I can't wait to see them now, in all they're stressed out glory. ;)

The back yard.  The patio has that odd shape because of what'll be going on at the end of it.  Can't wait to see it - not sure if that's a pre-move in project or post...

And I just love the beadboard ceiling outside!  I bet it's stained now - can't wait to see it!

Here's Sissy, checking out the test on the tub....  One of the biggest changes we made from the last floorplan was the layout of the bathroom.  We separated the vanities, and put the tub in the middle of the room, as a focal point.  I think this pic was as they'd been tiling the bathroom...

My vanity in the bathroom!

mr. fix-it's man cave!  I picked the color for the walls in here and I think it's perfect (if I don't say so myself!)  I wanted it to have that cigar room feel.... he has some sports memorabilia to hang in here.... Santa is bringing something that will sit on the counter and make the place smell like a movie theater... ;)  Can't wait for Family Movie Night in here!  Did I mention we move in 2 wks?!?!

I really have to hand it to my sweet mr. fix-it.  I just can't believe what he's been able to get done.  We broke ground on Sept 7 (after 3+ months of ripping our hair out with the financial world!), and wait til you see the pics I take tomorrow, Dec 5.  Amazing!  A beautiful house, in record time.  What a lucky girl I am....

The art of saying no.....

Just how does one go about saying "no?" I just never seem to be able to do it, and I know that's a super uncommon trait of moms. ;)

But why is it on my mind now? Maybe because.... even though I told myself I wasn't going to participate in the bake sale at the kiddos' school this time..... I found myself making homemade cookies with Big Sis yesterday evening, after getting the email plea from school that they hadn't received enough baked goods for their fund raiser... So I baked a batch of those yummy oatmeal choc chip cookies.

And maybe because I'm so exhausted right now that I'm wondering how I can attend my 3:00 mtg, much less lead it. Because we've traveled 3 of the last 4 weekends and the whole Semi-Homemade fam is beyond worn out. Because I didn't say no. We haven't had a spare couple of hours since the first of February. Because I didn't say no. And there has been more than one occasion where we've forgotten show & tell, someone has not had clean clothes to wear, there has been nothing for dinner, and the house is embarassingly chaotic. Because at some point, I didn't say no.

I am looking forward to this weekend more than Christmas. We have NOTHING! I've been craving it. Being alone with just my hubby and 2 cutie kiddos. We're going to have family movie night one night (any suggestions, fellow mommies?).... We're going to have a Puerto Rican Staycation Sat night.... complete with a Puerto Rican dinner that we're cooking ourselves (I've GOT to start looking for recipes!) and fun, festive music. Who knows, maybe we'll throw on our swimsuits for fun (it DID hit 90 here yesterday, okay?) Ahhhhhh...... and did I mention we'll have a totally helmet-free G-man for all this fun? I could cry, I'm so excited. Or tired. Whichever.

The Easter Bunny knows me so well...

Y'all, isn't the Easter Bunny the sweetest thing? I mean, he knows me so well.... And seriously, it was like Christmas morning if you saw all the stuff he brought for the kids. (And I want to give myself some credit... I usually go totally overboard for holidays, but with this damn recession, I didn't. And I tried to influence what the grandmothers bought, too, so that the kids got clothes!)

So, y'all know by now how easy I am to please. Seriously, if you ever want something from me, a Sonic gift card is all it takes to get in my good graces. (Wait, now I'm wondering... just what does the Easter Bunny want from me?!) ;)

I also got one of the Sweet Potato Queens novels. We all know I have no time to read.... but this author is SO funny that I'll find time somehow, even if it's in the wee hours of night. Start with The SPQ's Book of Love and God Save the SPQs - if you love Southern girly humor (and who doesn't?), you'll love, love these books!

And somehow the Easter Bunny must have known that after a seriously long obsession with foamy soap from Bath and Body Works... the recession has reduced us to using foam Dial or some other sort of soap that I most likely bought for super cheap at CVS. Because he got me some. Watch out, Mr. Fix-It, I might be in love with the Big Bunny by this point...

Oh, and one other thing of note. The Maclaren stroller organizer. I think it's totally lame that you don't just GET a cup holder with that hefty price tag. And honestly, if we would have been living in the recession then like we are now... I wouldn't even have asked for that stroller, even though it was a gift! But that's beside the point... the stroller IS orange, so... :)

We did continue with our tradition of the Easter Bunny bringing new swim suits for the kids. Neither of which are online (geez!) so I had to take a couple quick shots of them.

Won't Big Sis be too cute in the halter tankini? We got her a one piece for her 3rd birthday when we went to Great Wolf Lodge for her Semi-Homemade Birthday Party.

And because we're throwing G-man a pirate themed first birthday this summer at the beach club, he got these pirate trunks and matching hat!

He got quite a few pirate items, including this cute foam book.

Now..... I've got to run. We've got our HUGE LINE REVIEW today (yikes!)! And this morning Mr. Fix-It and I decided that we'd better head to OK tonight, instead of tomorrow morning as planned, because of the severe weather forecasted for tomorrow. So.... picture a re-do of the whirlwind that was the time we left for OK 3 wks ago. I haven't packed and had to throw in a load of laundry this morning on my way out the door. Work will run late for both of us tonight, so we'll be racing to see who can get the kids before daycare closes. And I hope that we can make it to my parents' house not long after midnight. You can say it, we are crazy. I know. But we have a fun weekend ahead - more on that later!