five on friday...

i'm linking up again with darci and some other fun bloggers for five on friday...

one. 

i've been working on some summer printables, calendars, and activities for the girls. i'll be sharing them soon...hopefully within a day or two! maybe it's the list maker in me or the scheduler, i don't know. but we just thrive so much better when we have a plan. and a schedule. otherwise, i'm likely to stay in pj's all day and accomplish nothing.... other than keeping the girls fed and alive, which should count for something, right?  ;-)

here's a little sneak peek of what's to come...

two. 

we went to a fairy garden party last weekend. y'all. it was seriously the cutest thing ever. my friend amanda is THE best party planner. you have to check out this party...click HERE to see her blog post and all the details. my iphone pics just don't do it justice. 

my girls were in heaven (despite their uber serious faces in these pics). libbi was way too embarrassed to wear her "fairy costume" at the party, but you better believe she threw it on as soon as we walked in the door. and we kept it classy by keeping the fairy party going outside while jeffrey cleaned out the car. the girls watched from their "front row" seats, blew bubbles, and drew with sidewalk chalk. all in their fairy costumes. 

three.

just a little PSA....if you don't have a water table for your kiddos, get one. asap. 

our water table is one of the few toys that has withstood the test of time...and two toddlers. we got it when libbi was around 18mos old, and almost 2.5 years later(!) my girls would still play with it all day every day.  and honestly, it's not even one of those water tables with all the bells and whistles. in fact, most of the original pieces are missing...but. it is SO worth it. we throw out some tupperware, cups, measuring spoons, paintbrushes, etc. and they are set. there are times they treat it like their own personal bird bath and want to roost in it all day, but who can blame them when it's 80*+ outside? :)

four.

in the spirit of trying new recipes, i decided to take one for team tippins and try the "perfect m&m cookie" recipe that i pinned. maybe i just had too high of expectations for this since they were deemed "perfect" but i have to say, i wasn't impressed. don't get me wrong, it didn't stop me from eating them, but i just wouldn't label them as "perfect." i MUCH prefer the cookie recipe my friend rachel shared. now THOSE are gooooooood.

five. 

we found these "playground pals" at kohls and LOVE them! since libbi has grown out of her bloomers, but not quite grown into her ladylike ways, she's still in need of some coverage under her dresses and skirts. these playground pals are the perfect little short to put under her dresses. they stay hidden, but  still preserve her modesty while playing. the smallest size we could find was a 4 so they're a little baggy on my skinny minny, but they still get the job done. they go all they way up to "big girl" sizes, so girl mommas....head over to kohl's (or their website) and find your little lady some of these!

happy friday, friends!! :) 

check-ups....

thanks to doc mcstuffins, i can never say the word "check-up" without singing, "time for your check-up, time for your check-up...." 

so annoying. and i apologize if you're now singing it too. :) 

laney had her two year old checkup last week and i am thrilled to report that she is a healthy, growing girl! i'm even more thrilled to report that she did not scream the entire appointment! maybe she's starting to mellow out in her "old age"....ha! not quite. she still loses her mind at least 5000 times a day. but we love her anyway ;-)

laylay weighed in at 27lbs 8oz (50-75%) and she is 34 1/8 inches tall (50-75%). she's our perfectly proportional girl! she's right on track developmentally and we couldn't be happier. 

her language and vocabulary skills have really exploded over the past month or so. she is talking up a storm and is so funny! she has this precious little raspy voice and it just makes me smile every time i hear her talk. she's in that stage where she basically narrates every move she makes (and every one else's, too). "nay-knee shirt on."  "daddy open gate."  "momma get shoes." and her personal favorites, "snack...'ight now!!" and "bibbi in trouble." ha! 

laney LOVES libbi. she adores her and wants to do every thing that libbi does. she constantly mimics her - sometimes to libbi's delight and other times to her dismay. if libbi ever gets hurt (falls, trips, runs into something, etc) laney is right behind her pretending to do the exact same thing and fake crying right along with her. she loves to play with libbi just as much as she loves to antagonize libbi - ha! she knows how to push her sister's buttons and she doesn't hesitate to do so all day every day. but she also knows how to speak libbi's love language. every morning when libbi gets dressed, she walks into laney's room and laney will say, "OHHH...BIBBI!!! SOOOOOO CUTE!" and libbi just beams. she likes to ask laney throughout the day, "how do i look?" and laney will always respond with a hearty, "SOOOOO CUTE!" 

it's precious. :)  

laylay also loves babies. she's borderline obsessed (hopefully she'll still feel the same way come july!) she carries at least two babies with her at all times. she sleeps with no less than four each night. it doesn't matter where we go, she can spot a baby a mile away. she immediately says, "awww...baby. hi baby!" and will try her best to get to him/her. also, it doesn't matter if the child is 3 weeks old or 3 years old, he/she is still a "baby" as far as laney is concerned. :) 

not only did laney have her two year old well visit this past week, but i also had a check-up of my own! 

and....i was lucky enough(ha!) to be able bring the girls with me. hooray for summer, right?! :) 

actually, they were very well behaved and it wasn't bad at all. it was much more stressful getting everyone up, dressed, fed, showering and getting myself ready, and out the door by 9am. not to mention the fact that my girls seem to have a radar for when i'm waking up early to shower and get ready. i usually either shower at night or just take a quick shower in the morning while they're watching tv in my room (aka...emptying my makeup drawer, hiding in the closet, fighting, opening the shower door, etc). but whenever i wake early to shower and actually get ready - they know. i don't know how, but they just know. laney was up at 5:40am. and libbi was not far behind. they're typically early risers (6:30/45) anyway, but that was pushing it. so in all honesty, once we were at the doctor it was a breeze!

baby girl #3 (who is still without a name....) looks great and is strong and healthy. i'm technically 30 weeks today, but measuring 2 weeks ahead. i measured ahead with both libbi and laney and delivered libbi at 37.5wks and laney at 38. they were both well over 8lbs....close to 9.  so we're pretty sure that this baby will be here on the same time schedule as her sister's. which means that we have about 7/8 weeks to go!  woohoo! 

her sisters were obviously thrilled about this news...

FYI - snacks and stickers at the doctor's office cover a multitude of sins. believe me, i'm pretty sure that's biblical. ha! :) 

we're so thankful for two wonderful check-ups and for our healthy, growing girls! 

memorial day videos...

in honor of memorial day, here are a few videos of my favorite three year old singing some of her favorite patriotic songs. complete with bed head and a small cold. bless her...

she may not have all the right words, but her heart is in the right place. :) 

God Bless America 

(with a small cameo by laney...)

Star Spangled Banner

(the home of the "pray") 

Grand Old Flag

(and for your personal reference, here are the actual lyrics...) 

you're a grand old flag, you're a high flying flag

and forever in peace may you wave. 

you're the emblem of the land i love, 

the home of the free and the brave.

every heart beats true 'neath the red, white, and blue

where there's never a boast or brag. 

let old acquaintance be forgot, keep your eye on that grand old flag. 

and one last thing, in honor of memorial day, - Goat & Lulu - is offering 25% off their Grand Old Flag shirt. just enter the code USA25 at checkout! this would be perfect for the 4th and the whole summer! :) 

happy memorial day! 

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

5 on friday...

ONE...

first of all, and most importantly - i passed the three hour glucose test. and all God's people said, "amen!" after i heard back from my doctor on tuesday to let me know i had passed, i did what any normal person would do: i celebrated with a glass of sweet tea (from chickfila) and a few oreos. ;-)

TWO...

libbi has been very inquisitive lately. she listens to everything, and i mean EV-ER-Y-THING going on around her (especially conversations she is not involved in...). i posted the other day about the CD that the girls like to listen to in the car (and fight over) and libbi is constantly asking me what certain words or phrases from the songs mean. one afternoon she asked, "momma...what's a creeper?" 

uh....excuse me, a creeper?! what?! i started worrying she'd heard me retelling a facebook stalking episode of some sort - not that i've ever done that or anything. ;-)

and so i asked her to repeat her question just to make sure i'd heard her correctly. and again, she asked, "what's a creeper?" when i asked her where she'd heard the word "creeper" she told me it was in a song. she then started singing, "oh, we'll all come out to CREEPER when she comes. yes we'll all come out to CREEPER when she comes..." ha! who knew that "she'll be comin' round the mountain" would be so relevant in today's world? :) 

and poor libbi doesn't know it yet, but she is stuck with her "creeper" mother that takes pictures of her while she sleeps at night. :) 

THREE...

i've tried a few new pinterest recipes this week. i guess i decided it was high time i actually do something instead of just pin everything. i would say one recipe was a success and one was definitely not. the chicken and rice bake has been deemed, "never make that again." (and i'll admit that the majority of it went into the trash). but the chicken and dumplings recipe was a success. they were good! and easy! i know late spring is not really "chicken and dumpling" season, but if you're 8 months pregnant and chicken and dumplings sound good, then chicken and dumplings it is. :) 

FOUR...

when jeffrey and i came back from orlando a few weeks ago, he found a bird's nest in one of the trees near our front porch. it had four beautiful blue eggs inside. we would all watch (or should i say, "creep on") the nest throughout the day. :) 

we'd see the momma bird come and go and finally one day when the girls and i were outside playing, we noticed that one of the eggs had hatched! it was such a neat thing to see and over the next few days, all of the eggs hatched and there were four itty bitty baby birds living in the nest - so amazing!

until, one day this week we noticed that the nest was completely empty. no momma bird, no babies, no egg shells, nothing. it doesn't look like the nest has been disturbed, but there is literally not a trace of anything left in it. optimistically, i'm hoping that the momma bird just decided to move her family (i have no idea if that is even possible?!) but i also know that there's a chance something else "happened." fortunately (i guess?) libbi is thrilled. since the nest is now empty, she has deemed it hers for the taking. we haven't moved it, yet. but she can't wait much longer. she reminds me every day that the nest is empty and that "you said if i ever found a nest that didn't have birds or eggs in it, i could have it." (well, duh. of course i said that. because who really thought THAT would EVER happen?!) 

FIVE...

I have two giveaways currently going on. the first giveaway, a $50 credit to Mikarose, ends at midnight tonight - so hurry and enter if you haven't already! the second giveaway, in honor of my new etsy shop, ends next week. you can find the giveaway HERE. 

now, make sure to check out the 5 on friday link-up to read other's "5 on friday" posts....

cheers to the weekend, y'all! 

One Good Name....(and a giveaway!)

so....i finally did it. 

after thinking about it, talking about it, and going back and forth about it - i finally opened up a little etsy shop of my own. i've been making things for friends and family for a while now so i thought, why not? 

One Good Name is officially open for business! :)

i'm only offering a few things right now - but hopefully the selection will increase with time. here are a few products that are offered in my shop, "One Good Name"

Team Spirit Tumbler

Child/Youth Personalized Water Bottle

Personalized Insulated Tumblers

 

Personalized Sandwich Holder

Personalized Water Bottle

 

i can also do custom orders. if you're interested in a custom monogram, label, or name i  can do that too! i've made quite a few custom monograms and decals for friends and family based upon their requests.  you can see all available colors and patterns in the shop and then just email me or convo me through etsy to set up your custom listing. i've made vinyl monograms for cars, sippy cups, walls - you name it! we also have quite the collection of "T's" around our home and on various items (which Jeffrey just loves-as you can imagine). i can do all the "work" and then just ship it to you to apply on the item of your choosing.  the decals are very easy to apply yourself - even for someone like me who can't even draw a straight line with a ruler. 

and what's the point of having my own blog and esty shop if i can't do a little shameless self promotion now and then?! so with that being said, i've got two fun offers for y'all today! 

first off is a giveaway....

enter below to win your very own sandwich holder and water bottle. you can choose the color and design. check out One Good Name to see the available colors/designs/and monograms. 

Entry-Form

and never fear - if you don't win, but you're interested in purchasing an item, you can use the code TTT10 for 10% off your purchase! 

thanks for indulging me by reading this post (and hopefully checking out the etsy shop!) and thank you to all those that have supported me thus far! i hope to see some of y'all around One Good Name! 

thanks, friends! :) 

it was the best of days; it was the worst of days...

libbi had her last day of 3 year old preschool last wednesday. laney's last day was the previous monday. both girls had end of the year parties wednesday morning and they were SO excited! 

our morning started like any other school day, except for the fact that the girls were even more wired because daddy had taken the day off and was driving them to school.

i was in my typical emotional state of distress wondering how on earth time could have passed so quickly....which is not all the unusual for me, so i'm pretty sure no one even pays me any attention at this point. ;)

we took a few pictures before the girls and jeffrey left for school: 

you can tell that libbi was thrilled....

of course, i am not above bribery. you better believe that laney will throw out her cheesiest smile for some "canny" 

we gotta work on those smiles :)

i took a few pictures of libbi by herself so i could compare the beginning of school with the end of school and make myself cry even more. it's my own personal form of torture. 

i didn't have any of laney's first day because she didn't start in september. she started in january (after christmas) and apparently she takes after her momma, because at that point in time - the weeping and crying was so great, having photographic evidence of it felt a little wrong. :)

besides - laney was done with pics anyway-ha! 

and....cue the tears. ;(

after our little photo session, jeffrey and the girls headed off to school ready for a day of parties and celebration. it was going to be a great day. 

or so we thought.

jeffrey, laney, and i went back to school for laney's party around 10:30 and then made our way over to libbi's party at 11. the very first thing i noticed was how pale she looked. i immediately told jeffrey i thought she was going to throw up. and then i started sweating and stressing and feeling nauseous myself. 

poor, poor libbi made it through the first part of her party insisting that she was fine, but i knew better. 

we quickly thanked her teachers and made a quick exit just trying to get our girl home as soon as possible. 

of course, we made it about 5 minutes from home....and had to pull over. bless her heart. the stomach bug waits for no one. we had to pull over on the side of the road, clean her up as best we could, change her clothes, and then re-start our drive back home. thankfully, her teacher had given the class sand buckets as an end of the year gift - let's just say ours doubled as another kind of bucket on our drive home. 

as awful as it is seeing libbi sick, i do have to say that she is a wonderful patient. especially with the stomach bug. mercifully, it doesn't upset her and she's pretty good about making it to the potty on time. it's just so pitiful seeing your baby sick. 

and if you know me at all, you know that i am terrified of throw-up. being in the same house as someone with the stomach bug is my idea of an episode of fear factor. and i would gladly forfeit the million dollar prize to not have to endure it. all those people that said, "it's different when it's your own child..." are complete liars. it's not different. it's still throw up and it's still just as awful. 

jeffrey had plans for that afternoon so i was left with the patient and her wild sister. and my out of control hormones and nerves. oh, and then there was the phone call from my doctor in the midst of all this telling me i had failed my glucose test. i'm sure jeffrey was glad he wasn't home - it wasn't a pretty sight.  

what started out as a wonderful day full of parties and celebrations, quickly turned into a pretty crummy day full of sickness and stress. but, thankfully - like most things - it did pass. and we're still praying - and thankful - that no one else has fallen victim to the dreaded bug as of yet. we had such a great school year, so we hated to end on this note, but it definitely makes for a memorable story...

although, i would have rather had the memories of a class party and i'm sure libbi would have, too. ;)

laney's fiesta...

laney turned two last weekend and we had a fun little get together for her birthday. i went against every party planning bone in my body and decided we'd just have lunch at the mexican restaurant with family instead of a big birthday bash. we definitely went all out for her first birthday, but this year i wanted to focus more on laney and less on the party. i know we made the right decision, especially since *I* was the only one distraught over not having a party - ha!

even though we had a small family gathering, i was still able to flex my creative muscles a bit. since we were having her birthday lunch at the mexican restaurant, i decided to use a "fiesta" theme for her invitations. it worked out that her birthday is less than a week after cinco de mayo, so there were still plenty of fiesta related goodies out in stores. 

i made laney's invites using my memories software. (side note: i have really gotten so much use out of this program - i love it! if you're interested in purchasing it for yourself, there is a coupon code for $10 off on my sidebar). i just used fun colors, bunting, and of course, the ever present cheesy text and copy! my favorite. :) 

front of invite...and chevron back :) 

and on another side note.... obviously the invite didn't read, "1234 anywhere road..." but it might as well have. seeing as i put THE WRONG ADDRESS on the actual invite. not one of my prouder moments. but unfortunately, not altogether surprising either. i wish i could blame it on "pregnancy brain", but i'm afraid it's just my "all the time brain." directions are not my strong suit. ;) 

thankfully, all was worked out before the party and everyone ended up at the correct location. no thanks to me. :) 

we had a few party favors for the guests (and i also sent these in to school with laney to celebrate with her preschool friends the day before). it was a super easy snack - animal cookies with a small container of funfetti icing for dipping! almost like their own personal dunkaroos (remember those?!) 

i made the labels to coordinate with her invites and then i found the maracas at target (thank you dollar section!) 

i think it's pretty safe to say that laney enjoyed herself. 

what can i say? food is one of her love languages :) and queso is definitely one of her main food groups. 

laney's adorable shirt was made by amanda from goat & lulu. i was so happy with how it turned out! i sent amanda a picture of the invite and basically gave her free reign. as usual, she did not disappoint! we got so many compliments on laney's shirt at her party! laney also has a precious coordinating skirt from goat & lulu, but her big sister immediately claimed it as soon as she laid eyes on it. there was no tearing it away from her. so....libbi wore laney's birthday skirt to laney's birthday party. gotta love sisters. :) 

i had a hard time finding a picture where laney wasn't stuffing chips in her face. i think there was a point when she forgot there was even anyone else at the table. she only had eyes for her chips and queso.

that is, until her second love came along....

see also: this is the reason i'm taking the 3 hour glucose test tomorrow morning. eating that delicious bit of heaven all weekend did not bode well for my monday morning 1 hour glucose test. oops. 

overall, it was a wonderful time with family and laney enjoyed every minute of it. and that's what matters most. i can't believe our baby girl is TWO!!! we go for her well visit this week, so i'll update with all of her stats and a little bit about some of her current favorites as a "new" two-year-old after her appointment. 

we love you, laylay! :) 

*don't forget to enter the Mikarose giveaway! click HERE to enter*

**click HERE for free printables/teacher gift ideas**