Let's get a little bit rambly!

Well it seems that college football around our house has officially started for the year. Today is Noles Day, and we all know that while I'll support it as far as it goes, I really don't have the attention span to watch it. However, I DO seem to possess the attention span to blog and to wage endless losing battles trying to get Blogger to do what I want it to do, so I figured this would be a primo opportunity to share our latest round of pictures!

** Also, before you read any further / in case you don't read any further, PLEASE pray for Tamsie! (This gives a little background on her kidney issues in case you have no idea what I'm talking about.) We take her for her BIG tests on Wednesday. These are the ones that involve IVs and catheterization, so they are NEVER fun. In fact, Chris takes her to that appointment each time while I stay home with Evie, because I just can't handle it. Friday we meet with the doctor for the results, and the doctor has asked that Chris come too this time because she expects us to set a surgery date. We're praying that she sees enough improvement that T may not need surgery! THAT would be amazing, but we know we sure need a lot of prayer for the little girl regardless of the outcome! After all, I know neither she nor her sister would be anywhere near where they are today without lots and lots of prayer! Thanks so much!!! **

We've been working more and more on potty-training issues lately, so one day this week I put the girls in their Future OBU Tiger shirts as a reminder to me that potty training will occur eventually. By the time they go off to college, this particular aspect of their childhoods will be a distant memory! ;)

Naptime Evie all cuddled up with her Wubbies and blankies. I thought she looked especially precious with her lambie tucked under her arm!

And for good measure, here's Tamsie in her classic daytime napping pose.

We met our friend Bethany and her twinnies Penny and Lydia at the mall this week! This family is extra special to us. I love that Tamsie inadvertently showed up matching them!

I'm so excited to watch their friendships grow through the years. I think they'll always have a special bond, not only because they are twins and NICU grads, but also because they're all such little miracles.

Tamsie loves the slide at the mall! (So does E, but T was the only one I could get a non-blurry picture of at the time!)

Saturday my mom and I took them back to the mall again, since it happens to be their favorite place and it was too hot to do anything else. She has slipped into full-fledged Grandma mode, y'all. I don't know how it has happened. We passed through the Disney store and she couldn't resist getting them an enormous Mickey and Minnie, which they then proudly toted all through the mall. We also went up and down nearly every escalator we passed, which, as you can imagine, thrilled the girls to no end.

Yesterday the girls were excited to have their man Cole (and prospective future husband for one/bro-in-law for the other) over for a swim date! We also loved getting a chance to visit with Justin and Ashley.

You should know I always feel inadequate posting pictures of Cole since his parents are professional photographers, but this little guy is just so cute I can't help it! Just look at those dark eyelashes!

Now because I come close to breaking the Internet (yes, the whole thing) whenever I try to get Blogger to put a caption on the next picture, I'll just have to mess you up by captioning it before you see it. Here are T and E in their FSU finery today compliments of Uncle Alex, ready for the season to start!

And here's an outtake taken by Chris. T was in the act of falling off the toy box, and E appears to be rolling her eyes at her silly sister.

We spent the afternoon post-nap at my Uncle Myron and Aunt Lauren's. Here's my Dad showing the girls one of their favorite Sesame Street videos on YouTube:

When we got back home, the girls watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while they  cuddled with Chris, who cheered on (literally, as you can see) the Noles at the same time.

The intensity of it all was almost more than I could handle, especially since I already find myself singing a constant stream of "M-I-C-K-E-Y" and "The Hot Dog Song" ever since their MMC obsession began. So off I went to their room, so I could snap a picture of their new little shelves we've been working on. And this is where the rambling beings. This picture features a collection of various teacups and pitchers that belonged to either my Grandma or my Meemaw, along with some of my Grandma's old pearl necklaces:

 Here's my attempt to show how it adds to that area of their room:

This is one of my favorite things in our entire house. It's my Meemaw's old teacup souvenir from the Memphis Zoo back when its entrance looked like this:

This little doll belonged to my Aunt Lauren ages ago:

and here is the wreath I ordered from Etsy for the girls' first birthday party:

Then I got carried away and started taking more pictures, like this one of their bird garland:

 and the chandelier all lit up:

and their lamp and the shadow box with the bonnet my Great-Grandma Pearl made for my Grandma when she was a baby:

then Evie's E, made by Jana

and Tamsie's T, also made by Jana:

and this owl photo made by my friend Tiffany

with the e and the t:

and I started getting all mushy and gushy and sentimental like I do and thought of my T:

and my E and how little they were when they watched their first Noles game last year:

And that got me thinking of nursery pictures Melissa took back when she visited us in Louisville in January 2012 and how she takes better pictures of their nursery than I ever could:

 and especially how far ALL of us have come since WAY back then:

and I can't help but think of how incredibly faithful God has been through it all. Then I remember that it's OK to cast my cares on Him, because He really does care for me. And for my girls. And for Chris. And for Tamsie's kidney issue. And that He's got this. 

Sunday we sang "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in church. I was mindlessly singing the following lyrics:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I looked over at Chris and said, "I have such a heavy heart today because of what Tamsie will have to go through this week." Just the thought of being back in the hospital with her takes me to a place of PTSD where no parent ever wants to go. Then he asked me if I was even listening to the lyrics of the hymn! :) I guess I wasn't! Then the tears started flowing. 

Thanks again for all your prayers for us! This is a week I've been dreading for a while, but it will be good to know what the doctor has to say. If you've made it this far, know that we love you! :)

Big Weekend in Little Rock!

A while back, Becky mentioned that she, Jonathan and baby Alexander would be going to Little Rock the weekend of August 24th. After Chris and I talked it over, we decided this would be an excellent opportunity for us to meet Baby A, see more LR friends and get out of town for the weekend! Of course, getaways with two 22-month olds are plenty of work, as you can imagine, but all in all our trip was a wonderful success! We left Saturday and came back Sunday and had tons of fun!

This little set of pictures is actually from Friday.

Lately the girls are loving what I refer to as "Sister Time." The way it works is that Twin 1 wakes up from her nap and hangs out with me until Twin 2 wakes up. Then I take Twin 1 in to see Twin 2, and Twin 1 about jumps out of my arms trying to get in Twin 2's crib. I've learned not to fight it: I just give them lots of toys and books, and they entertain themselves for up to 30-45 minutes! If I try to take them out before they're ready, they will say, "No get out."

I can't even bribe them out with snacks when they're having Sister Time. They just look at me like I'm crazy if I suggest it, and then they loudly proclaim, "NO SNACKS!" and go right back to what they were doing before. Sometimes they don't even look up at me! It's really precious -- they talk, sing and (pretend to) read to each other during Sister Time. It melts my old mama's heart. And gives me a chance to drink my afternoon coffee. ;)

JJ came to visit us Friday afternoon! We tried several times to get a picture of her with the girls, but most of them turned out about like this!

Finally, Chris had the idea of letting them watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Once again, Mickey saves the day!

Rachel let me know that a fabulous double stroller was available at the consignment sale last weekend, so I swooped in and claimed it as soon as I could! Chris and I are planning on getting them dolls for their birthday (shhh! don't tell!), so we hid this in a closet until October 12th. Alas, T found it.

E entertained herself by pushing two twin Raggedy Anns around in it while we packed for our trip. Then I snuck it right back into the closet!

These big girls eat yogurt by themselves these days!

On the way to LR Saturday morning, Tamsie loved holding Chris's hand.

Once we checked into our hotel, our first stop was to visit my college friend April who has a set of twins that surprised everyone by arriving at 31 weeks -- the day before T and E were born!

Needless to say, we have a special bond, having gone through such similar experiences! It was so much fun watching the girls play together and getting to visit with April and Derek!

Looks like their girls have posed for a picture or two! ;) Mine are clearly over the photo session at this point!

Saturday night we met up at Chuy's (YUM!) with Becky, Jonathan and Alexander, plus another friend from OBU, Jessica, her husband Scott (who also happens to be an identical twin!) and their son Dean. Somehow I totally failed to take any pictures! :( In fact, I captured nary a picture of Baby A this weekend! I guess we were too busy catching up and enjoying ourselves.

Sunday morning was noteworthy because I became THAT MOM at Starbuck's whose crazy child runs laughing hysterically behind the counter and then up to random strangers' tables. Chris had Tamsie, I was trying to juggle a coffee and a cup of water, and E took that opportunity to go bananas!

She also took many opportunities to sing the song she has written, "O banana!"

Watching the magical Elmo brushing teeth video on YouTube while brushing their teeth Sunday morning

I finally got to see JP's sweet little baby Olivia ... and JP too! ;)

T and E decided to hit their low point of the weekend in their presence. I guess they had gone as far as they could go.
Thus the Wubbies, you see.

With JP. This was hideous lighting for me, but as JP said, one day we will look back on this and think how nice and young we looked! ha!

Fascinated by the fishies in the lobby

They kept running from one side of the bridge to the other, saying, "More fish! More fish!"

At least Becky and I managed to get a picture together at lunch, although I'm 99% sure babies were going crazy at the time and our husbands may or may not have been in favor of this photo op. Or maybe that was just Chris. 

We had a wonderful trip to LR and loved seeing everyone!

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things...

I have a few special stations on Pandora set up for T and E, and one of them thinks that we want to hear selections from The Sound of Music 24/7. I think it's because they played "My Favorite Things" one time, the girls really took a liking to it, and so I clicked that thumbs-up thingy. Now they must think we're junkies because it is truly neverending -- which is OK. But now you can guarantee that one of the songs will be stuck in my head at any given time.

Or perhaps I'm singing numbers from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If you've been on Pinterest lately, I'm sure I've bombed your home page (is that what people call those anymore or is that a 90s term? I have no idea!) with items the Mouse himself would love and be proud of, because I'm thinking that's the theme we're going to go with for T and E's 2nd birthday party! As obsessed as they are, I can't imagine it being anything other than a huge hit.

Thank you Netflix for unleashing this into our lives.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post a round-up of a few of our favorite things that we're loving these days. Who knows, maybe it will help someone out! :)

1. Honest sunscreen:

Actually I have yet to meet a product from Honest that I'm not loving.

2. Thermos Funtainers

These are the best straw sippys we've found. Our sweet friend Tara let us borrow a couple that belong to her kids so that we could try them out before buying them, and we just loved them! 

However, T is not above finding my water cup and drinking from it when she can get away with it. This morning she snuck off to the living room while I was getting E dressed for the day, and when we went looking for her, this is what we found:

 She was just sitting on the couch, drinking from my cup and watching Sesame Street like she knew what she was doing!

3. Consignment sales
Last week we participated in/shopped at the sale at Germantown United Methodist, and we came home with a ton of new bows, a few new books and this:

 This is something I never would have wanted to pay full price for, but ever since I brought it home, the girls have been loving it. It was well worth the $15 I paid for it.

If you're in the Cordova area, you should totally check out the Here We Grow sale going on at 8014 Club Center Drive #2, right by Cici's Pizza! It's for a great cause, and T and E are consigning some items at the sale too. :) I found a fabulous double doll stroller there for $7 that I snatched up to go along with T and E's birthday present!

Carissa called and told me she's also had great success at the Emmanuel UMC Consignment Sale going on this weekend. We've both decided we're a little obsessed with the deals we've been finding! :)

4. Books
When are we not loving books?! Sadly, T and E are getting burnt out on their old standbys, so now we're having to add to our collection. But fortunately, Polite as a Princess is still a favorite, and last time we read it they told me who the princesses REALLY are:

Belle = Aunt Mo, Jasmine = Aunt Jennifer, Cinderella = YaYa, and Sleeping Beauty = both Aunt Carissa and Mama, somehow. Still not sure who Ariel really is, but it was suggested that Snow White might be Amma. 

When E started fussing because it was time to share a toy with T, this book from Gigi cheered her right on up!

This book remains ridiculously popular around our house.

5. Anything that helps with the teething process
Hylands teething tablets qualify, as does anything that can be pushed into the back of a mouth and chewed.

6. Brushing teeth is a new favorite thing to do.

 I think it has everything to do with this Elmo video we found that they want to watch over and over and over. (And over.)

 7. Napping
 T actually asked if she could go down for a nap today. I'm loving it!

They also like pretending to nap, as T demonstrates here.

8. Pouches
These grab-and-go snacks are a persistent favorite.

9. Costco
We have recently rediscovered our love for Costco, thanks to a sale on memberships that Zulily offered a while back.

This is one of my favorite lunchtime foods! T and E like to eat it too. I must say the lentils are extra fabulous when a nice big helping of cheese is added!

I bought these popsicles for myself from Costco, but the girls have recently become enamored with them as well.

 10. Getting into things that are off-limits
... like this bookshelf in the living room. OK, so maybe this is one of their favorites... not so much one of mine! They particularly love this picture, and if I ever hear them talking about Rachel, Jennifer and Mommy I know I need to get over there and intervene ASAP!!

11. Kidfresh Wagon Wheels Mac + Cheese

In the world of T and E, all macaroni and cheese dishes are NOT created equal, but this one happens to be at the very top of their list. They don't often clean their plates, but they do when this is what's offered. I'm not gonna lie, it really is yummy!

 12. This wagon
We found it at Bargain Hunt, and it has made everyone's lives easier!

 13. This brush
...detangles without tears. That's what I'm talking about!!

OK, so I caved last week and bought one for myself too.

14. Pinterest Told Me To

Friends are always asking me for blog recommendations, since I kind of have a habit, but this is my latest discovery in the blogosphere. It's just a fun little fashion blog that has become rather addicting for me. Maybe one of these days I'll make a big post just about excellent blogs!

15. ABC Jesus Loves Me

This is a wonderful free curriculum I've started with the girls. Jennifer W. (who is having a baby girl no later than Aug. 29th!!!!!!!) told me about it ages ago, and it is awesome! It gives me great ideas of fun things to do with the girls that teach them good basics.

Well something tells me that naptime is nearing an end, so I'd better wrap this up. Y'all have a wonderful weekend, and tell Carissa HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!!!