friday favorites...

i'm linking up with some fun blogs today to share some of my "friday favorites"…..

1. fall tv!! woo-hoo. i am SO happy that fall tv shows have started again. SVU is probably my favorite of the week - i set my dvr to record it since jeffrey was out of town on wednesday night and i can't bring myself to watch anything "scary" while he's gone - ha!  instead i stick to educational programs like real housewives and teen mom.

2. i am loving these toms booties. the herringbone is adorable! i'm seriously considering them…. i just have to make myself buy them. for some reason i have no problem buying all sorts of precious little girl clothes, but when it's time to stock my own wardrobe, i always hesitate. i'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that i'm covered in food, babies, or other substances throughout most of the day. (also, shout out to laney for leaving a broken orange crayon in her pocket. in case you didn't know it, those things melt in the dryer. i have a (now orange) shirt to prove it.) 

3. cool weather. can i get an amen?! i think i'm most excited that we won't have to endure any more 1000 degree soccer games on saturday mornings. thank goodness it's cooling off! 

see? H-O-TTTTT! 

4. sweet little kindergarten handwriting. i love that libbi is phonetically spelling words. it just cracks me up. and i have to let you know that i do have secret talent…. i am fluent in phonetic writing. i can decipher almost any piece of kid writing. it's a gift. ;) 

"my apples are juicy." 

"telephone"

this is hysterical to me because while studying the five senses, i guess they did a "smell" experiment where they had to guess what was in a canister based on what it smelled like. it makes me laugh that libbi seriously guessed, "skunks" and "garbage" and believed that her teacher used those scents - haha!

5. another recent favorite is having libbi and her cousins at the same school. actually, my brother and sister in law are there, too. it's so much fun watching the girls attend events with their cousins (who they adore!) and even simple outings like ice cream after school are enough to make their little lives complete - ha! i love it! 

in case you can't tell, that's libbi's "thumbs up, wink, cool kindergarten girl" pose. :)

last week's homecoming parade. don't worry, i think liza has forgiven me for not letting her sit with the big girls. 

6. and what would a list of favorites be without these cuties?! 

we've had a busy week, but these girls have been troopers! liza girl is trying her hardest to walk - she's allllllmost there. 

laney had her tubes removed and handled it like a champ! 

libbi passed her blue sight words at school, met her reading goal, and is just all around rocking at kindergarten. 

i couldn't be prouder of all three of my girls! 

have a great weekend, friends!  

it's friday...

it's friday and i have a quick five on friday list to share before i go to bed. this momma is 
t-i-r-e-d!!

1. i cannot use the acronym LOL. seriously, i can't make myself use it. i'm pretty sure that i have never in my life typed it out in a text or email. i will say, "i laughed out loud" but for some reason i feel like an idiot using LOL. i'll use plenty of other acronyms, "IMO, ICYMI, OMG, but LOL? i just can't do it. 

2. i don't like pumpkin spice anything. lattes, candles, muffins, hashtags, whatever. so i guess i'm not totally a basic white girl - ha! ;-) 

3.  i secretly enjoy the carpool line. most of the time, liza and laney are either sleeping or watching a dvd so i have a few minutes of peace and quiet. i've actually been reading while i wait. reading!! who would have thunk it?! don't get me wrong, there are the days when the carpool line is anything but peaceful (think liza screaming and laney having to potty. thankfully, i travel with a potty. hey - you gotta do what you gotta do) but for the most part, it's almost (dare i say it?) relaxing. 

4. we've been putting the girls to bed almost an hour earlier, but please don't tell them. haha! :) 
kindergarten and preschool are very exhausting, so i figured why not? 
there's no sense in staying up just because it was still light outside, right? so libbi and laney have been going to bed at 7:30. and most nights laney is fast asleep by 7:40 and libbi is not too far behind. libbi is our little night owl, so every once in a while she's still talking my ear off at 8:30, but for the most part - our 7:30 bedtime has been successful for a few weeks now. liza is easy - she's practically begging to go to bed by 7:00 - girl likes her sleep. (now if she could just quit having major blowouts at 3AM i'd be a lot happier!)

5. today we went to a pep rally, a homecoming parade, and a tailgate for the homecoming football game. that 7:30 bedtime never sounded so good! TGIF friends! :) 

house party...

i'm sure the day will come when jeffrey and i will go out for the night and our girls will be old enough to stay home alone. it seems like a lifetime away, but that day will come….right? right??? right?!?! ;-) 

when that day comes, i can assure you of one thing: 

laney tippins will NOT be trusted to stay home alone. 

here are just a few reasons why: 

this "friend" of laney's has partied way too hard. she's just passed out right there in the middle of the floor. while i'm concerned about what's under the blanket, i do appreciate the fact that laney brought out the wipes and (swim) diapers for her - just in case. 

 it's obvious that there has been some shenanigans going on at this house party. i mean, just look at the way this motley crew is hanging out in the bathroom. there's only one reason they'd need to be that close to the potty…. and i'm sure it wasn't the snacks. (although, knowing laney - the gummies and goldfish would be overflowing at her party). 

 this many people at our house?! she can't possibly know them all. and don't even get me started on the way those girls are dressing….

 it's never a good sign when laney is no where to be found, and yet her "guests" are still partying by flashlight. 

 this group is obviously up to no good…. who's in charge here?! 

 oh. that explains it. 

(also: where did that dog come from?! and how did he get up there?!) 

i guess i should take a little bit of comfort in knowing that although she's a bit wild, she is also prepared. computer? check. mode of transportation? check. books, white boards, and cooking utensils? check. breathing treatment machine and mask? check. 

so if you come to one of laney's parties, you'll be able to read, cook, surf the net, and self medicate. awesome. 

and she's obviously the most gracious hostess. just look at that welcoming smile! :) 

oh, how we love our laylay. and i'm so thankful that she's sandwiched in between two sisters that will hopefully tattle on her for the rest of her (wild) life. ;) 

S is for...

today's post is brought to you by the letter "S"

S is for….

Soccer... 
libbi had her first soccer game on saturday…. she's still getting comfortable with the whole thing, but in the words of the great elle woods: - she totally "looked the part" ;) 

cutest soccer player i've ever seen! 

School pictures….
speaking of cuteness…. this school picture?! just about did me in. precious!!

School….the other tippins sisters have been busy as well. laney had her first day of school (more on that later) and she loved it! although she doesn't love waking up early and getting dressed. she likes to stay in her jammies all day - unlike libbi who wants to be up and fully dressed (bow and shoes included) by 7 am. 

Surgery….laney also had a visit to the ENT a few weeks back and we scheduled her surgery to have her tubes removed. yes, you read that correctly - removed. the ENT said that this only happens in about 8% of the cases with tubes, and so naturally - we're in that 8%. laney had her tubes put in when she was 13 months old. while they have served her (and us!) well, they have not fallen out like they should. so more than two years later, she's having them taken out. hopefully it will be just as quick and painless as the original surgery. 

liza girl also has a big month with a procedure of her own! sweet girl has a blocked tear duct. she's had it since she was around 7-8 weeks old. we tried every remedy we could think of, both prescription and at home, but nothing seemed to work. libbi and laney both had a blocked tear duct when they were infants, but theirs corrected itself. liza wasn't so lucky. so she'll be having a minor surgical procedure to help clear out the blockage and hopefully clear things up. 

Series…. we started a new series at church last week, "at the movies" and so far it's been a hit with the girls. :) it's so much fun to go to church each week and see the lobby set up like scenes from a movie! if you're local - you should join us! and if you're not local, you can watch online :) (www.12stone.com) 

Storytime…. doesn't everyone read SEC themed books for their bedtime story? ha! :) 

we do love us some georgia bulldogs. when we're not reading about our dawgs, libbi has been reading her library books to us at night. and let me tell you, it's both amazing and completely strange to hear your child read. i mean, actually READ books on her own. 

so between soccer, surgeries, school, and just regular old sister fun - our september is shaping up to be a busy, busy month! :) 

wednesday "wee-view"...

i've had the pleasure of receiving quite a few products as of late to review here on the blog. that's one of the fun "perks" of blogging - because, c'mon…who doesn't like free stuff?! :) 
instead of doing post after post of reviews and giveaways, i thought i'd break them up and do a fun little weekly series called, "wednesday wee-views" (get it? since most of the products are for my wee little ones - haha!) ;-)

the first wednesday wee-view is from kidecals.com. i'm pretty sure that i was sold as soon as i saw the word, "labels" in the subject line of their email.  but seriously, y'all know i love to label everything! and with two girls in school, gymnastics, soccer, and so on - we HAVE to label everything or else we'd never see it again. can i get an amen? 

kidecals is the perfect solution to labeling all of those important items. they have everything from personalized labels to keyboard labels. and you want to know what one of my favorite things about the labels? they're waterproof! isn't that fabulous? i'm talking waterproof as in the can go in the dishwasher or the washing machine! 

i love that you can move the text around on the labels and see a preview of what it will look like before ordering. it gives the label a personalized touch, but for visual people like me, it also helps to be able to see what it looks like before i click the "order" button. because let's be honest, sometimes what looks good in my head, doesn't look good on paper. :) 

kidecals has pretty much thought of every kind of label…so you don't have to! 
labels for bottles:

allergen labels (how great are these?!)

even fun doorbell signs - hahaha! :)

i chose the address label, but decided to customize it to use for other purposes.

i put all of our names on it, that way i can label each girls' jackets, water bottles, etc. with the same labels and know that it will find it's way back to us somehow. 

i've used them on sippy cups (the little labels are the PERFECT size for sippy cups!) 

water bottles

even libbi's soccer ball! 

the fabulous people at kidecals have so generously offered a giveaway for readers of total tippins takeover. just head on over to their site and check out the wide array of labels. here are a few links to help you navigate the site and find what you're looking for: 

Boys Labels: http://kidecals.com/product-category/boy-labels/

Girls Labels: http://kidecals.com/product-category/girl-labels/

Parents Labels: http://kidecals.com/product-category/parents-corner/

Organizing and Kitchen Labels: http://kidecals.com/product-category/canning-labels/

there are also non-personalized labels for all sorts of different needs:

Keyboard Stickers: http://kidecals.com/product-category/keyboard-stickers/

Chalkboard Labels: http://kidecals.com/product-category/chalkboard-labels/

Wall Decals: http://kidecals.com/product-category/wall-decals/

when you've found the labels that are just perfect for you - 

enter in the code:  ilovelabels

for 15% off your order!! 

thank you to kidecals for the discount code and for the set of labels for the tippins family! :) 

disclosure: all thoughts, opinions, and text are my own. i was provided with a credit to kidecals in exchange for my honest review of their product. some images via kidecals.com