always, sometimes, never...

apparently i've become a once a week blogger....unintentionally, of course. we're still as busy as ever and i still take 1000 pictures a day, but for some reason, when it comes down to naptime or bedtime (my usual blogging time) i tend to feel a little dazed and confused - ha! so much so that i'm not sure i could put together a coherent thought if i tried. guess i'll just chalk it up to pregnancy brain....or who knows, maybe i'm just losing my mind. either way, i need to do better about posting since this very well may be the only way i'll remember this time in my life. :) 

so, what better way to start off the week than a little random posting of "always, sometimes, never..."? i've written a few A/S/N posts in the past, but it's been a long while. and by long while, i mean at least a year (maybe two) so i'd say it's overdue :) 

i always...

*write out a list for the store. pen and paper lists are a MUST (cute stationery is just an added bonus)

*lose my phone. it drives jeffrey crazy :) 

*cry during church. there's just something beautiful about worship that moves me to tears.

*stay up way too late

*watch the local news every morning before the girls wake up

*get nervous before any kind of doctor's appt. even if i'm just taking my girls for a well-visit

i sometimes...

*forget my list for the store at home

*run the dryer just so i don't have to fold the clothes in it

*forget that i'm the one in charge of cooking supper (sorry, family!)

*get into "detective mode" on facebook

*nap when the girls nap

*watch reality shows that i hate just because i love to hate them. (i'm looking at you, RHOC!)

i never...

*get everything on my list at the store. especially when my "assistants" are with me

*sleep all night

*wash my hair every day

*get tired of hearing my girls play together

*give directions to any one. it's a rarity that i even know where i'm going most days

*eat fish. ever.

what are some of your "always, sometimes, nevers?" 

lately...

the girls have been so full of personality lately and it's so much fun to watch them interact with each other. especially now that laney is much more verbal. it's never boring (or quiet) at our house, that's for sure. ;)

here are a few of my favorite moments lately...

libbi is very fascinated with my growing belly. she really has no memory of me being pregnant with laney, because she was so young at the time. so seeing my ever expanding baby belly has been extremely interesting for her and has brought up a lot of questions. of course, she's also quick to remind me how large and in charge i am. "momma, you can't fit through here. it's only for little girls...not momma's with big bellies." or "woah! your belly is just getting bigger and bigger and bigger!!" believe me, those comments do wonders for my self esteem - ha! the other day she was doing her usual commentary of how my belly was just "growing, and growing, and growing..." and out of curiosity jeffrey asked her what was going to happen when the baby was ready to come out. she thought for a minute and then said, "momma's belly will get bigger, bigger, bigger...and then....Crrrrrrrrrack! the baby comes out." apparently i'm going to hatch in about 12 weeks. 

we have a little toy that libbi and laney fight over constantly. it's a stuffed dog "rattle" that i'm pretty sure someone gave me when i was pregnant with libbi. anyway, libbi and laney fight over this stupid toy all day every day. it makes me insane. i am seriously *thisclose* to just throwing it away. they call it "milo" and walk him around the house with a custom leash (aka the tie from my bathrobe). libbi wants milo to wear barbie's skirts and crowns since he is a "princess puppy" but laney disagrees. as soon as laney finds milo, she rips all of his accessories off. as soon as libbi reclaims him, she puts them back on. it's a never-ending cycle. oh, and y'all know that both of my girls are terrified of dogs. i guess they only like the breed of dog that is pink, rattles instead of barks, and is the size of a tangerine. 

laney loves to copy everything libbi does. i mean LOVES to copy her. obviously, this can be both a good and a bad thing...depending on what kind of day libbi is having. it's so sweet to hear them talk to each other (unless they're screaming at each other) and it's funny because they each have their own "nicknames" for one another. libbi calls laney, "lane." not that original, but no one else calls her that. we've never called her lane. in fact, we still call her laylay (which libbi originally started) but libbi always calls her lane. laney says, "bibbi" instead of "libbi" which is super cute, but even cuter when she calls her "bib." every morning when libbi wakes up we always say, "hey lib" or "good morning lib" and now laney has started calling her "bib" too. i love hearing her say, "heyyyyyyy bib!" when she sees libbi.

laney is also very quick to offer a "bess you" when you sneeze, a "tank you" when you give her something or a "'welcome" when you've thanked her. there's nothing cuter than hearing her say, "scue me!" when someone is in her way. if i let her walk in a store or at the mall instead of riding in the stroller, she will say, "scue me!" to every.single.person we pass (which almost makes up for the enormous amount of stress she causes me when she's trying to escape 99% of the time).  i love hearing her say, "you 'kay bib?" if libbi falls or trips over something. she sure is a polite little thing, that laylay. ;-)

laney is very into taking turns. libbi is too, actually. and it's hard for libs, because laney used to be very unaware of "turns" so she could sneak in an extra turn for herself and laney would be none the wiser. these days laney watches her like a hawk. and as soon as she sees libbi finish she yells, "laney's turn!" and you don't even want to know what happens if laney doesn't get her turn. it isn't pretty. 

unfortunately, laney thinks that just by yelling, "laney's turn!" she'll automatically be granted a turn no matter the situation. this doesn't bode well during gymnastics class. libbi participates and laney yells, "laney's turn!" every five minutes and also happens to fall apart every five minutes when she's not granted that turn. she even waits for libbi's teacher at the gym door and says, "laney's turn!" as soon as she walks out and expects the teacher to take her out into the gym. again, it isn't pretty when we have to leave the gymnastics lesson without laney being given her "rightful turn."

libbi loves reminding us when we've "forgotten" something. when she's being sent to her room, she will always stop on the stairs and say, "you forgot to say something! you forgot to say, "don't go anywhere else but your room!"" although i never really thought i "forgot" to say that. i kind of always assumed it was a given: if you're sent to your room, you go to your room.

the other day laney had a doozy of a diaper. after i changed her and took her diaper out, libbi said, "momma, you forgot to say something. you forgot to say, "laney, you made this house smell like reek!"" ha! guess she must have heard us say, "that reeks" a time or two. ;-) 

these girls are a mess! i can only imagine how much fun we'll have when we add another one to the mix. :) 

(and please excuse the fact that libbi looks like "dr. evil" from austin powers petting her stuffed animal-ha!)

#3 - week 25

since i'm almost 25 weeks and heading into the 3rd trimester, i guess it's high time i do a little pregnancy update on baby girl #3...so here are a few pregnancy highlights thus far:

baby girl weighs about a pound and a half. although sometimes it feels more like 25lbs. especially by the end of the day, i feel like i'm dragging. 

i think that's the main difference (so far) in this pregnancy - i get tired so much faster and it's just more exhausting this go 'round. i don't know if it's because i'm now chasing two other kids around, or that i'm older, or more out of shape, or maybe a combination of all three. but whew! growing a baby is hard work sometimes ;-)

just like with my pregnancies with libbi and laney, i have horrible insomnia again. i tell jeffrey all the time that i wish i were half as tired at night as i am during the day - ha! but for now, i just use that time to catch up on all my shows on the DVR. you can imagine how thrilling it is for jeffrey to hear the real housewives of orange county screaming at each other at 2am. 

i feel a good bit of movement and lots of hiccups. i don't know if that's a common thing or not? but all of my babies have been frequent hiccup-ers in the womb.

i don't have any major cravings that i can think of off the top of my head. for a while i had a chicken aversion, but that has passed (thankfully!) so i'm able to enjoy chick-fil-a again. there were a few weeks that i loved chinese food. jeffrey said that's how he knew i was really pregnant - in the almost 6 years we've been married and the 15+ that we've been together, he'd never seen me eat chinese food. he didn't even believe me when i first told him i wanted it for lunch after church. ha! lately my main craving has been chick-fil-a sweet tea. i could drink it by the gallon!

my last check-up was on monday and everything looked good! measuring right on track and baby's heartbeat was a steady 149. i go back in three weeks for my glucose test. i happen to enjoy the glucose drink, so i'm not dreading drinking it, i'm just worried about passing. ;-)

the main questions i'm asked are if we've chosen a name and if we're sticking with the "L" theme. and the answers are, "no" and "i don't know":)

we have a few names that we like, but nothing that has really stuck out just yet. either i like it and he doesn't, he likes it and i don't, or it's a cute name, but just doesn't "flow" with libbi and laney. i'm hoping that one day (SOON!) i'll hear a name and just know that it's the one. i'd like to keep it an "L" name, but i'm not completely set on it, so i'm open to any names at this point. libbi has quite a few suggestions, but so far none of them are keepers. i'm pretty sure that most of them are not even "real" names...at least not in our language. ;)

i don't have any pictures, but i will try my best to post a few of the baby belly just for posterity's sake. but let's just say i could probably give kim kardashian a run for her money. thank God there's no paparazzi following me around ;-)

i'm also going to try to post more about baby girl and the plans for her nursery as well as the plans to move the two big girls into their shared room - ah! :) it's been fun to watch libbi's reactions this pregnancy since she's much more aware of what's going on. laney is still oblivious, but she'll get there.... maybe. ha!

overall, i'm happy that there's really nothing exciting to report. boring is good as far as pregnancy is concerned. because Lord knows that once the baby is here, our lives will be anything but boring! 

ice cream cones & bathing suits...

libbi and laney both got new bathing suits in their easter baskets. the week of easter it was too chilly to do any swimming or outdoor playing in their bathing suits, so i told libbi that over spring break they could have a swimming party in the bathtub and wear their new bathing suits. 

one night this past week, jeffrey had to work late and (of course) it had been a long, rainy day and we'd been stuck inside all day. i told libbi that after supper we'd have our swim party in the bathtub. she was beside herself with excitement....and laney was too, but only because she likes to copy her big sister. ;)

i had the bright(?) idea to let the girls eat ice cream cones in the bathtub before they went "swimming." i figured we'd just wash everything down and there'd be no sticky mess for me to clean up. it was a shamelessly selfish act on my part  - they just happened to reap the benefits of it. 

it never ceases to surprise me how completely different my girls can be. with each given scenario, their individual nuances and quirks shine through. the way they eat ice cream cones is a prime example of the differences in their personalities. libbi carefully ate the top of hers and despite being in a bathing suit and in the bathtub, as soon as her ice cream began to melt and drip - she was done. she wanted nothing more to do with it and was disgusted at the thought of the ice cream dripping onto her bathing suit. laney, on the other hand, picked off each individual sprinkle one by one. the fact that ice cream was running down her hands as she did this didn't bother her a bit. once she ate all the sprinkles, she started in on her ice cream - which was now more of a milkshake. she honestly would have licked it off the bathtub tile if i'd let her. 

after their dessert, and once laney decided she was FINALLY finished, we rinsed out the tub and filled it up with bubbles and warm water. another prime example of the differences between libbi and laney.... libbi would "swim" but made sure to keep her chin up and head out of the water. she did not want her hair getting wet. laney flopped around like a fish and took great pleasure out of dumping cups of water over her own head. i'm telling you what, these girls don't need a swimming pool. they had a blast just swimming around our bathtub. (and i'm pretty sure they'd be in some kind of legal trouble for using crayons on the pools walls. it might be considered graffiti.) ;-)

i think that i enjoyed their swimming party as much as they did. libbi has asked no less than 5,000 times if she can wear her bathing suit in the bath again. i haven't given in yet, but i'm sure it won't be long before i do. it was so much fun watching them laugh and play - and we didn't even have to worry about sunscreen. :)

projects and pins...

i'm linking up with my friend sarah today for "the proof is in the pin!" if you follow me on pinterest, you might notice that i'm sort of sporadic with my pinning. some weeks i'll pin tons of ideas; and others - not a one. you might think it's because i'm spending those "off" weeks actually trying some of the ideas i've pinned, but no. my name is amy and i like to pin and run. that's why sarah's "the proof is in the pin" linkup is perfect. it encourages me to actually try some of those pins and not just admire them on my boards. 

first up this week is an EASY, INEXPENSIVE, and darling project. i posted these on instagram the other night and had people asking if i was selling them. and i honestly felt guilty, because they're seriously THAT easy to make. of course, after i share how to make them, if you're not up for making it yourself, just email me (mrsamytippins{at}gmail{dot}com) and i'll send you the ordering details. it would basically be just enough to cover the cost of shipping plus the monogram. 

i found this idea from the The Idea Room and basically followed her directions with a few tweaks of my own and it worked perfectly! 

start with bottles of hand sanitizer - i found mine on sale for $1.50- and remove the labels. (tip: the purell labels peel of the easiest!)after peeling off the stickers, i use "goo-gone" to take off the remainder of the adhesive. (tip: there are small bottles of goo-gone in the dollar section at target right now!) 

next up, you'll want to print the insert on a transparency (think old school overhead projectors). i had mine done at fedex for around $1.50 and i fit four on one transparency, so that's less than $0.40 per hand sanitizer. {if you're keeping track, we're up to $1.90 total for each bottle of soap.} 

to find a FREE printable of the insert i used, CLICK HERE. 

i created my own based off of the original author's and added in a bible verse at the bottom. my download is for a HAND SANITIZER label. (tip: if you're using a hand sanitizer, you will want your insert to measure 3inches wide, by 4 inches tall. if you're using a hand soap, you'll want it to measure 3inches wide, by 3.5 inches tall.) feel free to download my version or create your own! you could really get creative... a single initial, a monogram, a cute saying - anything goes! 

if you download my version, you may want to add in a name at the top. but it would still be cute "as is."

once your label is printed on a transparency, cut it out as close to the words as possible. roll it up (words facing out) and tuck it into the bottle of hand sanitizer. 

you can use the dispenser to help adhere the label to the front of the bottle. i still had a few "bubbles" that wouldn't flatten out, so i found a few other items to assist with the process. i believe i used a dowel rod, a straw, and the rim from a pair of broken sunglasses (which surprisingly, worked the best-ha!) but you may not want to get as "technical" as i did. ;-)

once your label is stuck to the inside of the bottle, put the top back on and you have yourself a fancy little gift! i added some ribbon and a monogram on the back (cut using my silhouette machine). but, i honestly think they look so cute with or without any "extras" 

i've made them for baby gifts, {everyone needs some "magic soap" before squeezing on a new baby} teacher gifts, even a few around our house. so if you're one of my IRL friends, and you've received one of these - or you do in the future - just pretend that you don't know how incredibly easy it was to make. ;-)

feel free to email me if you have any questions or if you decide you'd rather order one than make one. :)

and make sure to check out sarah's "the proof is in the pin!" for more ideas to try... or you know, just pin and admire. :)

insta-catch up...

looks like i dropped off the blogging wagon this past week...oops :-/

trying to catch up and i realized i had TONS of pics on my phone. if you follow me on instagram, you've probably already seen most of these - sorry for the repeats! 

libbi is still super into dressing up and picking out her own outfits. lately she's been very attached to this crocheted hat. it was hers when she was a baby and she happened to find it in box somewhere. she thinks it's very toddler hipster chic. she also has decided she wants her dress up clothes to be big ballroom skirts and she figured out if she wears the dresses around her waist, they will sort of "balloon out" like she wants them to. she had on the lovely outfit above during naptime one day. she was very impressed with herself. 

we were leaving to go meet the grandparents for supper, so i told her to put on some "Real clothes" (as opposed to dress-up). and this is what she came downstairs in. her little sidekick decided to make an appearance, too. as you can see - she's quite attached to her own hat. 

laney loves her pink hat. it was actually libbi's hat from when she dressed up as a farmer for halloween two years ago. it's been "well-loved" since then. we like to call laney "mrs. nesbit" when she puts her hat on and all her dress-up clothes. she reminds me of buzz lightyear from toy story when he was dressing up for the tea party with hannah. ha! our little mrs. nesbit is a busy, busy bee. she's too busy for tea parties. 

we celebrated jeffrey's bday on thursday with some mexican.... a family favorite. :)

most days i try to get ready before the girls are up and about or else i shower the night before. okay, if i'm being honest - most days i throw my hair in a ponytail or a hat and wear minimal makeup. but on the off change that i need to look presentable (ha!) i do whatever it takes to keep the girls occupied. and while they may look like they're "busy" in this picture....don't let them fool you. my shower mostly consists of me opening and closing the door 500 times and each time i find laney somewhere different: trying on my clothes, putting on my makeup, using my toothbrush!, etc, etc, etc...

now do you see why i just wear a hat? ;)

laney has been such a ham lately. she loves to pose for pictures. she will dress up and immediately say, "pi-chure, momma!" and pose. if we tell her to be "happy" she makes the "home alone" face. ;)

the girls each got new bathing suits in their easter baskets. they had fun trying them on one night and even made a pretend pool to swim in. i just wish my chubby thighs looked so cute in a bathing suit. or that i had the same confidence as they do ;) 

 

when i take libbi to school we pass this fancy "establishment" each time. she is 100% convinced that it is a "jumpy place" and she BEGS to stop there every time. she wants to go in and jump in the bounce houses and play games. bless her heart, the (top) sign is a little deceiving. i just tell her i'm pretty sure it's not a jumpy place for kids but she can ask daddy about it - ha! i'm guessing she'll either learn to read or start to notice that there is police car parked out front 24/7 and the patrons are definitely not innocent little children. 

some more lovely moments with mrs. nesbit and libbi and her knit hat. 

 some

laney thinks she is big stuff riding on libbi's bike. except for 99% of the time she's yelling "HELP MOMMA!" so i'm not really keen on the bike riding just yet. 

the girls set up a restaurant the other day. it was clearly a high class establishment since laney was chugging a bottle of mustard and libbi was snacking on an onion. but never fear, the reindeer was enjoying a cup of coffee and hello kitty (in the high chair) was having ice cream. they obviously break out the good stuff for their guests. 

sister love. 

jeffrey brought home a gallon of sweet tea for me. is there anything better than chickfila sweet tea? i think not. it's been my main pregnancy craving. 

sister walk around the block. (libbi dressed herself....again). 

jeffrey and i had a great date night for his birthday with what else? more mexican! 

what can i say? we're creatures of habit. :)

whew! i think that about catches us up for the past week/weekend. tomorrow i'll be linking up with my friend sarah for "the proof is in the pin" and posting a few projects that i've done lately. see you then!  

ABC's of fripp....

Alligators - of the real and fake variety. 

Breakfast with the easter bunny - went about as expected.... ;-)

Cupcakes - so thankful Daddy had a bday so we could eat cupcakes!

Donuts - i may or may not have polished off a 1/2 dozen by myself ;)

Egg Hunt - madness. straight madness. but, libbi came away with bubbles and a candy bracelet, so she thought it was a smashing success. 

Frog slide - the infamous frog slide. unfortunately, this was as close as we got this year. 

Golf cart rides

Horseshoe crabs - found these guys on the beach our first day.

Ice cream - there is NOTHING better than bluebell homemade vanilla with some hershey's chocolate syrup. 

Jeffrey's birthday - we celebrated jeffrey's bday on saturday! 

Knife - (just in case that easter bunny got too close)

Lighthouse - we spent the morning at hunting state park and enjoyed learning about the lighthouse and being outside.

Magic show - there was a magic show before the egg hunt. not sure if you can tell how impressed libbi is (note the sarcasm) ;-)

New bathing suit - the easter bunny brought a new bathing suit for libbi (and laney!) but unfortunately it was too cold to try it out this trip. 

Oh my word, she's touching sand - i think we were mainly in shock that libbi actually (voluntarily!) touched the sand. she was very into burying things and digging them up. a MAJOR change from last year. :) 

Playground - this is libbi's happy place. that girl could swing 24/7

Quality time - we missed laylay so much, but we were SO thankful to have this time with libbi. it was wonderful to make memories with her and have time to focus 100% on our biggest girl!

Run, and run, and run - i think she had one speed and one speed only all week. 

Seashells - one of the best parts of walking on the beach is finding shells! libbi had big plans for all the shells she found (too bad we left them there...oops!)

Tree hugging - we participated in a golf cart scavenger hunt on saturday afternoon. as part of the hunt, we had to take a picture of one of our team member's hugging a tree. you can tell libbi was thrilled to be the chosen team member - ha!

Under the line - when we visited the lighthouse, poor libbi was just a little too short to meet the height requirement for climbing to the top. i felt bad for her, but my pregnant self might have been a little thankful that she i didn't have to climb the 172 winding stairs to the top. whew! 

Views to remember

Writing names in the sand

relaXing

Yesterday...wan't it just yesterday that we visited this same bunny with my BABY?! when did she grow up? 

Zero naps - no naps for libbi all week meant she crashed hard every night. no complaints here ;)

A-Z it was a fabulous trip. thank you to my mom and dad (mimzy and buddy) for taking such good care of laylay (hope y'all have caught up on your rest!) and to the shaver family for their generosity! we love y'all!!