LOTS of cool stuff

Okay, in the last week or so, I've come across - or been sent! - lots of cool stuff that I've just gotta share (in hopes that I can restrain myself from purchasing 1 of everything!) Here we go....

1. Let's start with ETSY!! And this one's a giveaway! How cute is this little monkey shirt?

Amber at RockerByeBaby is doing a giveaway, so go check it out! Did I ever tell you that I won that really cool skull soap she was giving away a couple wks ago? I've never won anything, it totally made my day!

2. More ETSY! Jess let me know that a gal pal of hers up in KS has started a new Etsy shop (Mr. Fix-It and I lived there for 4 years - after college but before kiddos!) She has the cutest cards - don't ya love this one?

And this one? Awww..... Thanks for sharing, Jess! And good luck to your friend! It's a dream of mine to get crafty and start selling stuff on etsy!

3. Spring fabric! Mrs. Everything and I have more sewing plans than we (okay, she's the one that sews!) have time for! But she sent me some fabric sites to look at and I just looooove this one. I'm going to commision a dress be made of it for Big Sis.

4. Meal Registry - isn't that the coolest idea?! All you do is sign up for a free account with MealBaby and you can have people schedule to bring you meals! (Where was this last August?) I've sent it to my sis - I'm thinking that, as hostess of her baby shower, I could email out invites to her friends, inviting anyone that wants to help to sign up for a night to bring dinner. It's really cool!! I started to set one up for my sis and you include what dates are available, how many portions they'd need for their family, food likes/dislikes/allergies. You can also click on which restarants are local to you, so that long distance friends (or friends that don't cook) can send you a giftcard to a place you could actually use. HOW COOL IS THAT?!

5.. Spring kids clothes! I think Big Sis would look sooooo cute in this... from Gymbo, of course:

The tank has a ladybug and says little lady
And the shorts - too cute!

And I'm loving, loving whales - talked my sister into decorating her baby-on-the-way's nursery in them! (Watch for a post on her semi-homemade nursery in a month or 2!) Anyway, a cute hoodie for g-man

Okay, I think it's time to head out of the office, enjoy the weather, and catch some scores - it's March Madness, y'all!

The wristlet

The wristlet: perfect for the essentials (phone, keys, $$, lipstick). THE solution for going from big purse (i.e. the Carly)

to diaper bag without going thru the whole "switching out" process. The best thing to take to the football game, outdoor event, etc.

Anyway, I got the sweetest email today from Erin who wanted to show me (us!) what she got with my Coach coupon. I'm sooo glad she shared, so I can live vicariously thru you, Erin!

Quick update for those of you who care.... Mr. Fix-It, Mr. Everything and my brother Frank (the Tank) have all arrived safely in "The Vegas." All have promised - with a big, goofy smile on their faces - to "be good." Uh, yeah.... I'm sure.

In other random news.... found out that the reason why Big Sister's pediatrician never faxed her school the info they requested was because... she hasn't been seen for a well visit in over a year. And I guess that's required. We, thinking with our damn recession hats on, decided to 'opt out' of her 3 year well visit. Before you call CPS on us, just know... when I asked Big Sister's ped about it, she said, "I'll just make sure she's met a few developmental milestones (she has - like 9 months ago) and we'll weigh her and see how tall she is. No shots or anything major." We decided that we'd skip out on that AND the price associated with it (because our lovely insurance isn't just a prepay... but a % of the cost of the visit.) Guess we have no choice now but to take our well 3 year old for a good ole chat and weigh in. Geez.....

Ahoy, matey!

How freakin' cute is this? Thanks so much to my friend Megan for seeing this and thinking of us! It's hard to think ahead now, but I know I'm going to blink twice and I'll be putting G-man in a big boy room! ...sniff, sniff...

So, thanks for brightening my day, Megan.... because I was having one of those whiny, feel-sorry-for-myself kind of days.... Helmet update later. Maybe.

It's not easy being green....

But we did it! Last night I searched and found what are probably the kiddos ONLY green clothes. All I can say is, thank goodness it's going to be 80 degrees today, because G-man is in a short romper thing...

But virtually NO ONE in the office is wearing green. And it's even jeans week (that's a BIG deal - all you corporate types know that!) I mean, has the recession robbed you of your ability to have fun?! Come on, people!!

Aren't they sweet? In other news, Big Sister is the Class Ambassador this week.... doesn't that sound impressive? What does it mean? No clue. But I think I'll ask the teachers when I'm at the school tomorrow. She also has show & tell on Friday and the subject is Spring. Any ideas?

I'll leave you with a (semi-homemade St. Patrick's day) pic of Mr. Fix-It and me with the kiddos....

Happy St. Patrick's Day, y'all!!!!!!

(Oh, and for all of you who were concerned about me last night -- thank you, btw! -- I DID have some wine last night.... a glass before The Everythings dropped by and another glass after. Maybe I'll finish the bottle off tonight...)

More wine, please!

I'm heading home to feed the kiddos and have some of this:

Okay, it may or may not be this exact brand, but it's definitely going to be a riesling and I could definitely stand to relax. I am probably/definitely going to finish the whole bottle. By myself. Tonight. While I try to catch last night's episode of Big Love.

I'm just soooo mad....

So mad that I just cried. At work. On the phone with my sister. Who, ironically, had called to vent about insurance issues. I am just. so. mad. SO mad. Why?

Insurance sucks. I'm about to email our HR dept and ask them where my premiums are going, since it seems that nothing has been covered this year. This email is NOT gonna be pretty. So far, insurance has denied:

~ G-man's helmet - deemed medically necessary to correct plagiocephaly and various other possible issues - not covered. I think I've told you that this is $3600 and we'll be paying on it until he turns TWO!
~ G-man's prevacid. My company decided this year not to cover PPIs because of the plentitude of OTC remedies. That's fine if you're a grown man, who weighs in at 200 lbs. Not fine if you're a tiny (okay, G isn't tiny, but he's still a) baby! NOTHING is approved for babes - and that's according to our ped and the American Academy of Pediatrics. HR actually told me today that I could file an appeal but that it would be denied. And that they'd review it for 2010 but couldn't make any promises. I'm so mad I could slap an HR person.

On top of that? We're in a recession.... and there's possible more bad news coming next wk on that front when it comes to jobs, etc. It's hard not to worry.

Today sucks. But there IS a bright spot.

And her name is Mrs. Everything. Not only is she going to proofread said hate mail to HR.... she's going to take G-man to his helmet appt tomorrow (thus, saving both my job and hopefully Mr. Fix-It's). God bless Mrs. Everything - she's an answer to prayer.

Puke, passing out, and the 'mumps'

OMG, y'all. It's gotten so ridiculous that I almost didn't say anything. Almost... I had just gotten done with my jog this afternoon (I ran for 30 straight minutes - 2 1/2 miles!!) and Mr. Fix-It was off to the gym. Big Sister had been in bed for about 20 min when she started crying. I marched upstairs, alreading yelling to her to pipe down and take a nap. But what I saw made me feel bad for yelling....

Big Sister. Sitting up in her bed. Skip the rest of this paragraph if you have a weak stomach, and especially if you don't have kids or pets........ are you gone yet? ;)...... A pile of puke (if any of you have ever seen a pile of dog vomit, you get the picture). More down her arm. Big Sister is bawling, super afraid because this has never happened to her.... poor thing.

As I load her bedding in the washer and get her into the tub, I'm trying to get ahold of my youngest sis who had called me crying at 8:30am. My mom was down visiting and had gotten a serious stomach bug in the night (this time I'll spare you the details.) When she got up for her 14th trip to the bathroom and didn't come back, my sister got worried. Long story short, she was passed out in the bathroom, laying on the floor against the door.... eyes wide open but nobody home and totally unresponsive. When my sister asked my mom if she should call 911 and my mom STILL didn't respond.... she called 911. By the time my sister grabbed her next door neighbor and they came back over, my mom had come to and insisted she was fine and just got too hot. My sister was still on the phone with 911 and told them all was well. Then my mom preceded to get on a 5pm flight (totally against my wishes) from Harlingen to Dallas to Tulsa. Then has over an hour drive home. She's still sick to her stomach and I'm still worried she hit her head when she fainted this morning.

~~~~~~~~~~My mom just called! She's made it on the first 2 legs and actually does sound much better, I have to admit. I'm still not happy that she didn't stay another day.... ~~~~~~

Just another chaotic day in the Semi-homemade family. Big Sister and I were actually going to do some semi-homemade Easter cookies today, but it didn't happen after the pukefest. The more I thought about it.... her (croup) cough got worse over the weekend and she'd been coughing.... I think she coughed so hard she gagged. But I knew she was fine when she ate an entire fajita for dinner. And then asked for a mumps (Thin Mint!) :)

OMG - I'm going to do a 5k!

It's my first one, y'all, and I'm a little freaked out.... I have 3 wks left to "train" - eek! I'm jogging 2+ miles without stopping, so I only need to work up another mile, but.... I don't run in front of people!

Mr. Everything and I are going to participate in the Bunny Hop 5k in my neighborhood, while Mrs. Everything and Mr. Fix-It wrangle the kiddos. Afterwards is an Easter Egg Hunt, and the Easter Bunny himself will be there. There's also a petting zoo, face painting, bounce house (Big Sister will love that part), and train rides. That day is also Mr. Fix-It's birthday (he may or may not be turning 33!!) and we're going out for dinner with the Everythings without kids!!

"The 5k is challenging and certified." I don't like the sounds of that. Not one bit.

So, check in c25k'ers! Where are you in the process?

From the Semi-Homemade Cookbook: Dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, y'all know my whole thing is semi-homemade. As in, my pretty standing mixer has only seen use a few times. Sorry, that's true. I love it, but I don't have time to use it. Until now. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Especially if it involves chocolate.
So... if you find yourself on a dairy-free diet OR if you're simply breastfeeding and want something yummy that promotes this, try these yummy cookies! Even if they ARE homemade. As in, from scratch.


OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 cup shortening - or use 1 stick, it's much easier!
1 cup white sugar
1 cupe brown sugar
(I can't even believe I eat this - it's so against my normal, fairly healthy eating habits! Before this, I'd never in my life used shortening. And all this sugar? Eeek!)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Cream together shortening and sugars in super cute, under-utilized mixer. Add eggs and vanilla - mix well.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 CUPS oats
1 cup Ghiradelli semi-sweet choc chips (they're yummy & dairy free!)

Fold the above into creamed mixture. Roll into small balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork. (Hmmm, I've never noticed that part of the directions... but I don't make mine much of a ball anyway.) Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 min.



I somehow got here without the pic of the finished product, but I'll put that up later.... OMG, it's so YUMMY! I've had to get away from making a batch of these every. single. wk. It's ridiculous!

Now, if you're wanting to go the semi-homemade route for a chocolate fix, follow these easy instructions: Go to the grocery store and get some oreos. Okay, you're done! (I know, it's weird that oreos are dairy free... don't think about it for very long!)

Semi-Homemade Nursery makes the news!

Isn't this exciting? G-man's nursery has been reviewed and is now online at Creative Baby Nursery Rooms for moms who are looking for inspiration and ideas - or just to comment on and give feedback. Click on the picture above of g-man's room to see his gallery!

And click here to be inspired by other mom's and their beautiful nurseries.