Sugar

Sugar.  At least that's what I call her.  :)  G-man calls her Punkin.  And Sissy holds her every chance she gets.

I am sooo excited to say that I'm on the mend from my 3rd c-section (I STILL can't believe I'm momma to 3 sometimes!), and I'm ready to decorate!  So stay tuned as I tackle all 3 kiddos' bedrooms (Finally, right?) as well as take on the rest of the house.  I'll also fill you in on what's keeping me up at night (and it's not the newborn!)

WOO HOO to decorating and blogging!

xoxo,

And the tie goes to........

So sorry to keep y'all waiting!  (Thanks for the comments and emails, checking on me!)  It's just chaos when you have a baby (and family in town to help, and 2 big kids!)  :)  So, last Tues, our little Tiebreaker was born.  And the tie goes to.......

PINK!!

Here she is yesterday, 1 week old, showing off her dimple!... in a cute outfit from her most frequent visitor (my brother's girlfriend!) and on a blanket that one of my dearest friends made.  So sweet!

I'll be back soon with TONS of info about her birth day, how Sissy and Gman are coping, (how I am coping!), what we should call her on the blog, etc.  I promise!  But right now, I have THE best mom.in.law in town to help and I'm spending my time sleeping and visiting with her - more computer time next wk!

xoxo,

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,

Life's a Beach

I'm about to head to my last dr. appt before we meet our last new baby... but just wanted to share this totally cool giveaway with y'all first.  You win the entire.party.  Everything you see here (talk about the ultimate in semi-homemade entertaining)!  It's unbelievable!  Go here to enter (and if you win, I want to be invited to your fab beachy party!)

More from me later today before I'm off to the hospital tomorrow!
xoxo,

3 days and counting!

So much has happened that I don't know where to start!  So, I'll start with an update on #3.  We'll be meeting him or her on Tues, April 19.  While I'm excited that we've gotten to move the date up (I've been miserable, I've had contractions like nothing else, and I'm READY!), it's a tough day for Oklahomans like me and mr. fix-it.  Tuesday will be the 16th anniversary of the OKC Bombing, a date that we both rememeber with more clarity than yesterday. 

But we're anxious to add happiness to that day and meet the newest member of our family!  More to come, as I fill you in on how my world has turned upside down in the last 3 wks. 

xoxo,

Sneak Peek: Semi-Homemade Black & White Nursery

Because I want to prove to y'all that I really AM still here... because you haven't seen peeks of ANYTHING fun and semi-homemade out of me in forever..... because it's spring and nothing says spring like LIME GREEN!.... and because, if you're like me, it's been one of those weeks where you could definitely use a pick-me-up.....

Here's a sneak peek of Baby #3's nursery! 
There will likely be a decal in the space above the crib... Just waiting to see if it needs to be boyish or if we're gonna go girly!

I just LOVE the bedding!  I sent some fabric ideas to Mellissa at Mellissa's Boutique on Etsy and she made it happen!  She let me mix & match my own set, based on what I wanted or didn't want... and that helped me keep my costs low. 

I also got some great stuff for #3's room at my shower last weekend! 
My sister ordered a custom mobile - elephants in black, white and chartreuse! - from Lollipop Moon on Etsy.  Looks like Sarah is trying to catch up on orders, so she's taken her listings down... but as soon as mine comes in, I'll be excited to share it!

And my brother and his girlfriend (okay, let's not kid ourselves,  my brother probably STILL doesn't know what they got the baby!) bought us this cute hamper!  Now GT can have his blue one back, and the nursery is set for all the onesie laundry this kiddo can bring!

Whew!  After an evening of Braxton Hicks, lower back pain, and spending the entire evening on the couch... this momma is off to bed.  Happy weekend, y'all! 

A Hangover Party! (No, not for me... yet!)

I was starting to get several emails and comments of concern so I wanted to apologize!!  And let y'all know that I AM still around... still pregnant... and very much suddenly on the countdown.  Last week the exhaustion hit and this week I am definitely moving slower.  But if all goes to plan, we'll have a newborn in about a month (and if all goes according to history... we'll have one in a few wks!)

And I wanted to share this AMAZING idea with y'all!  I have to admit, I've been pretty MIA in the blogging world lately (not just as a blogger, but a reader, too!)  But I just came across this and I'm already thinking this would be a PERFECT way to celebrate mr. fix-it and my 10th wedding anniversary next spring!

mr. fix-it and I LOVE Vegas.  We love The Hangover.  So... what better way to celebrate a big milestone anniversary than with a Vegas Hangover celebration!  Ohmigosh, this is truly amazing... and inspiring.. and SO FUN!  I'm about to make mr. fix-it sit down with the laptop and look at every last, hilarious detail.  Love it!  You can read all about the Hangover-inspired party here.

Thanks so much for all the sweet emails and comments of concern.  I promise to keep you posted better during this last month as we prepare for Baby #3 (which is still a surprise - our latest gender pool has the guesses at 60% boy to 40% girl, so it's a close race!)  And - I know this is sad - but I'm looking forward to getting in ALOT more blogging while on maternity leave... when I'll have a teeny bit more time!

xoxo,

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,

Recipes for your Super Bowl Weekend - both Semi-Homemade... and not.so.much

Howdy from the Dallas area - home to Super Bowl XLV!  Whew, I was just out running errands and thank GOODNESS, the ice/snow is finally melting.  What a week. 

But now... on to important things, like what ARE we gonna snack on tomorrow?  In case you're looking for that perfect snack, I've got it for you.  I have to warn you, it's not all that semi-homemade... but when my friend Erin passed it along, I knew I had to share.  If you make this, I wanna see pics!

The Snackadium
(courtesy of ABC News)

They say you can't move this, once you make it, so make it where you want to serve it! 

What you'll need:

Guacamole
Cheese dip
Salsa
Sour cream
15 Vienna sausages
8 cubes yellow cheese
7 cubes white cheese
2 sausage sticks
2 slices Monterey Jack cheese
Sponge cake snacks
Cooked bacon
Bags of assorted snacks
20-oz. summer sausage


Equipment:
9 x 13-in. pan
Pastry bag with tip
Toothpicks
Wire

Step 1: Fill the field
Fill the middle of the pan with guacamole to represent grass. Then line one end zone with salsa and the other with cheese dip.


Step 2: Draw the yard lines
Draw yard lines with sour cream. Use the pastry bag to draw straight, even lines.


Step 3: Top sausages with cheese
Use toothpicks to secure cheese cubes to the tops of the Vienna sausages to represent players with helmets. Align the players with opposing colors on opposite sides of the field.


Step 4: Fabricate goal posts
Cut the sausage sticks and fabricate goal posts using toothpicks to hold them together. Then lay a slice of Monterey Jack cheese in either end zone, securing the posts through the cheese and to the field with toothpicks.


Step 5: Build the stadium
Build the stadium. Line the edges of the field with a layer of snack cakes and secure strips of bacon to the tops of the cakes with toothpicks. Add another row of cakes and bacon 4 inches outside of the first and make it 3 layers high.


Step 6: Add the fans
Fill the space between the stadium walls with different kinds and colors of chips or party mix to represent fans. Separate each kind of snack with a piece of bacon.


Step 7: Hang the blimp
Fashion a 20-ounce summer sausage into a blimp and hang it over the field with a wire. After you have displayed your masterpiece go ahead and enjoy your tasty football treat.
Recipe from howcast.com

What am I making?  I have a huge bag of wheat dinner rolls that I'm turning into sliders, ham and cheese sandwiches (and possibly grilled cheese for the kids). 

(Pic from Imperial Catering)

A couple of our go-to game day recipes (which are totally from my semi-homemade playbook):

Buffalo Chicken dip (a long time fav from my mom!)

(Photo from Frank's Red Hot)

Mix together:
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing - or bleu cheese!
1/2 cup hot wing sauce (I use Frank's!)
chicken - I use a package of the already cooked chicken strips, but you can slice up chicken breasts you have, or a rotisserie chicken or even canned chicken

Then either heat in the microwave (stirring often) until hot OR bake 20 min at 350.
Serve with crackers, chips, celery sticks.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies (another one from Mom!)
This one is super simple!
Cut cheap bacon slices (cheaper because it's thinner and cooks better) into 1/3s.
Wrap around lil smokies and secure with a toothpick.
Place bacon smokies in a big cooking dish (lined with foil, so you don't have to clean this mess up!)
Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake at 325 for about 45 min.... or until the bacon is done and the brown sugar has carmelized.  Yummy!


And check out Amy's ideas on Living Locurto (Amy is from mr. fix-it's hometown and now she lives in the same suburb where I work - small world!  Naturally, she and mr. fix-it know ALL the same people back home and she's so sweet and creative!)  The Antipasto Bake she has pictured looks AMAZING (and seems pretty semi-homemade, too!)

I'm not even gonna think about the depression that enters my household as the last football game of the year wraps up.... ;)  Happy snacking!

14 things I love

In honor of that upcoming holiday... and in no particular order... here are 14 things I love!

1.  Sliced bananas with hot fudge.  It's kinda a fake-out sundae.  Of course, sometimes, I just say screw it... and add some frozen yogurt to it.  (We'll see how that glucose test goes tmrw! LOL!)

2.  Decorating!  I have 3 bedrooms to start working on stat!  But trying to finish unpacking first... and using decorating as my reward/motivation!

3.  Getting 2 free drinks from Starbucks - one for my birthday and one 'cause I earned it by being a rewards member!  (What?  You haven't heard of that!  Go to starbucks.com right now and sign up!)  In a crazy turn of events, I also received a free Starbucks oatmeal.  I'm in Bucks heaven...  Sign up here!

4.  My big belly!

5.  Castle.  Yes, I know I've already told you.  But I love it that much.

6.  Spring in TX!  Before long... it'll be bluebonnet time!  (Thank goodness - the ground is covered in sleet today and I hate cold weather!)

7. Okay, this is almost contradicting #6, but... Snow/Ice days!  We've been stuck in our house for 3 days now.  And while most everyone I know is about to lose it, I am LOVING it.  We're always on the go, never do much more than sleep at our house, it seems!  And I never get enough time with my sweet kiddos and hubby.  So I.am.LOVING.it.  (Just not loving the drive in to the office that takes as long as the actual time the servers are up and productive there!)  I've started getting used to big crashes coming from upstairs, followed by lots of giggling.  They can't really hurt anything, so what's the problem? :)

8.  Supportive girl friends!  This year is going to be full of the sweetest blessings (a new baby, settling into a new home) and some of the biggest challenges (balancing being a momma to 3 with a demanding job that doesn't quit for anything).  I thank God daily for some women that help support me, help lift me up, tell me I can do it (even when I have serious doubts).  Don't know what I'd do without them!

9.  Lists!  If I don't have something on a list, it doesn't get done.  Period.

10.  Traveling!  mr. fix-it and I are headed to a weekend away in San Antonio at the end of this month, to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary (which isn't until April, but that's too close to the arrival of #3!)  We don't have family close, so to get a weekend away and someone to watch the kids... it's a big deal! 
Have recommendations for our trip to San Antonio?  Let me know!  mr. fix-it has never been there and we love American history, so we're going to have alot of fun at the Alamo (and then ALOT of relaxation!)

11.  Surprises!  My birthday was Monday and I worked late.  I rushed home to have cake with the kids, but it was too late when I got there (I guess cake after 8pm is a little late for little ones!)  Needless to say, the day hadn't been my favorite.
Enter my sweet hubby... he made sure the kids treated me like a queen before he put them in bed.  In the kitchen, there were flowers and a card and a trip to the spa for a pedi - from the hubby and kids!  When I went to our room to change out of work clothes, more flowers on my nightstand!  With a sweet card from my hubby and a GC to Starbucks!  When I headed to the bathroom (he knows this pg momma TOO well!), more flowers!  Another card!  Another gift card!  He turned a crappy day into one of the sweetest ever. :)

12.  Semi-Homemade Projects!  IF I get home from work in time today... I'm going to start on the kids' semi-homemade valentines for their parties at school.  I'm starting with the 32 boxes of conversation hearts I bought last weekend... ;)

And if you want to get your house ready for Valentine's Day... and if you're like me and have been meaning to jump on the Subway Art bandwagon... check out eighteen25's cute ones!  They have it in 2 colorways!

13.  This guy! I told you this was in no particular order!  Or he'd be #1! :)

14.  These kids!

What do y'all love?  Maybe one day I'll do a linky blog and y'all can share these things with me! :)  Stay warm, friends!! 

xoxo,