Toliver Ten on Tuesday

1) It's late, but I'm up working anyway so I thought I'd go ahead and publish my Ten on Tuesday.
2)We watched The Voice again tonight. I like it but don't LOVE it like I'd like to. KT actually left in the middle to run to the store. Now I'm really lookin forward to So You Think You Can Dance.
3)I got the girls their first pair of flip flops.  Nala liked holding them but didn't like the way they felt on.  I could tell that Nia felt cute in hers.  We stopped by my mom's and she got to show them off.  I got them at Babies R Us for only $3.99 each.  While there I also scored a couple of camera tees...not as cute as some of the ones I've seen online, but cute still. 

4)If I thought it would help, I'd love to make fun Bento Lunches  for my girls.  Nia and Nala always get "ate some" on their take home papers.  I'm just not sure what to pack them because they can't have warm ups...
5)MacKenzie wrapped up her school year on Monday.  It was a short day.  They just had field day and were dismissed at 1:00.  I can't believ how fast this year went by.  I think I've just about gotten her summer schedule set.  Before the twins, I'd always have this done by early March. 
6)MacKenzie's teacher for next year gave them summer homework. She has to read and critique 5 books for a minimum total of 500 pages.  This is no problem for her.  She loves to read and I'm requiring her to read 100 pages a day anyway.  Speaking of books, We spent a lot of time at Barnes and Noble this weekend. I used to take MacKenzie to the bookstore all the time. It's just a bit harder with the girlies. I have to keep them in their stroller because I have runners (this week, we had running episodes at Target and at Food Pyramid). I got Mammarazzi: Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids, NiNa got Marvin K. Mooney (one of MacK's favs when she was little), and MacKenzie chose Four Truths and Lie and Sounder.
7) My cell phone whacked out on me last Thursday.  I called customer service and they want me to do a master reset. When I realized I'd lose all 718 (yes...for real) pictures that I had on my phone, I told the rep, I just wasn't ready.  I'm not.  I'm so mad at myself for not backing those pics up... In the meantime, while I mourn (yes, it is that serious) I am left using my HTC HD2 phone that I had before getting the Samsung Vibrant.  I remember why I switched!
8) The girls and I also went to my two nieces' piano recital...UNFORTUNATELY, we had to step out almost as soon as we walked in because a)Nala decided whining was appropriate in a quiet auditorium and b) Nia wanted to loudly greet her Nana.  We spent the rest of the recital in the noise proof cry room...those girls!
9) My sister wants to go to the Katy Perry concert and I told her I 'd go with her...but the truth is I've only heard one of her songs...I'm so out of touch and I'm largely ok with this.  I just looked because of course I had no idea...it's in September so I guess I have a little bit more time to get more familar.

10)Cue the orchestra!  Pomp and Circumstance would be appropriate.  Nia graduated from her fingerguard and I'm all done talking about it here...LOL.  I'm just loving seeing her put better use to those chubby lil fingers.

Have a great rest of the week!

Toliver Ten on Tuesday

 1.) I am so excited about the new Pinterest App!  I LOVE Pinterest and have  loads and loads of Pins.  So much eye candy.  I'm hope4ou on pinterest. If you aren't on yet, shoot me an email or leave a comment and I'll try to send an invite if you want one.  If you are on,  send me a link so I can check out your boards.  I'm kinda addicted :)
      
      What is Pinterest?

       Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections created by people with great
       taste.People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things -- wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.
       We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world

2.) Summer has come way too fast! This is MacKenzie's last full week of school and it's full of assemblies, ceremonies, field day, etc.  Really???  Why do I have to pay for the last week if there is no learning involved??  j/k (kinda)

3.) Nia's one ponytail milestone came sooner than I expected.  I think it's adorable

  You can see more here.

 4.) Nia only has a few more days with the Finger guard. Whoot whoot! I found another mommy blogger that had success with it with her twins.  Seriously, this is why I love the blogosphere.  There is always someone out there that has been there and done that. 

 5.) Someone shared the Scar Project  (amazing photographic gallery by David Jay of the scars left of breast  cancer survivors) with me and boy was I moved.  Really there are no words...but seeing it just makes you realize how much of our womanhood is tied to our breasts.  Really...seriously amazing project.

 6.) When I've needed a good laugh, I've come back to my friend Regina's post here about her first day with  her new job.  She cracks me up.

 7.) I've been wanting one for several months now, so I'm so excited that KT got me a 5-in-1 Reflector.  Excited to try it out soon.

 8.) KT is sick.  Big bummer.  He never gets sick but when he has it's been pretty bad.  Pray with us that he gets to feeling better soon!  He's sleep now.  A bt selfishly, I'm hoping he wakes up in time for us to watch The Voice tonight.  We watched and really enjoyed last week.  Love the concept.

 9.) Nala should be in bed, but she just got out and came and told me "Bye Sweetie"... grown!  Speaking of Nala, is this why   they say eyes are windows to the soul??  I often hear of people saying how hard it is to get good catchlights in dark eyes...um...wow...just find the right light.  This is straight out of the camera just resized.  You can see me, the sky, and our yard in her eyes.
It's a bit much and kinda spooky to me (could be when combined with her "I'm gonna get you look"...anyway...wanted someone else to see this.  :)














10.) I shared on my Three Sisters Blog already, but I'm pretty stoked that I won a prize on Clickinmoms.  It was an ABC Challenge.  Check it out here!  It was for the letter "g" representing golden hour. 

Finger Sucking | Finger Guard

A couple of weeks ago I posted that we were going to be trying out the finger guard for Nia.  We are about a week in a half into the recommended three weeks. 

I was totally skeptical about the whole ordeal, but attempted out of desperation because she refused to listen to me.  I searched and couldn't find any third party reviews outside of those on retail sites.  But when I found a site that was selling it with a Money Back Guarantee and free shipping (I'm a sucker for free shipping), I figured I had nothing to lose.  Well ten days in, I HIGHLY recommend  mommies of finger suckers give this a shot.  I am AMAZED by how well  and how fast it is working.  Here is a summary of our progress.

Finger Guard Journal  | Days 1 - 10
Day 1 | Morning  - Showed Nia a portion of the included instructional video and told her I had something to help her with her finger sucking.  She has no problem letting me put it on.  I called it a bracelet.  It actually comes with 50 colored hospital bands that secure the guard on the fingers. 
Day 1 - 30 min later  - She wanted to take it off.  We told her no, that she was going to have to try.  I left for work and felt awful because she cried a bit. 
Day 1 - Noon - KT called and said she had a hard time at naptme and cried for a while but eventually went down.
Day 1 - Evening - Took her a while to go to bed.  She usually goes right down.
Day 1 Summary - Just need to keep her busy and she'll be fine.


Day 2 - Morning - No hesitation when I washed and changed her guard.   No finger sucking.
Day 2 - Evening - Totally fine until bedtime. Cried but by then, use to the guard, just not to sure how to otherwise comfort herself.


Day 3 - Morning  - Again no hesitation.  She doesn't mind wearing it at all.  No finger sucking.
Day 3- Evening - Caught her with fingers in her mouth with the guard on.  I was discouraged.
 
Day 4 -10  No hesitation to wear the guard.  Enjoys picking the bracelet color.  Leave "bracelet" off between 10 - 60 min to let her fingers breathe a bit better and wash it warm soapy water.  No attempts whatsoever to put her fingers in her mouth.  Convinced that the product has worked as promised.  Planning to finish out the 21 days though.
 
I am so thankful to have found this.  I know it sounds crazy, but I think I can actually see a difference in her teeth already.  I confess, and my friend Brandy will confirm, after a good workout, I can always see a difference in my ab muscles...but seriously...I think I can.  I told KT and he doesn't think it's possible.  I was shocked but thrilled when my mom told me on Saturday that she thought she could see a difference.  This was BEFORE I even mentioned it. 
 
I'm loving seeing Nia's beautiful smile more and seeing her  make better use of her hands.   Interestingly, she seems to enjoy wearing it now and picking the colored bracelet.  It's funny to see how she is now using her left hand more, but she totally works that right hand with the guard on. It's not intrusive.  Her usage was a little off the first two days, but that is it.  Out in public, we've only had a couple of people comment on it.

Sidebar - Nala was upset that she didn't have a bracelet on day 1 and still occassionally puts her hand out for a bracelet, but I've tried to be clear that it was for Nia to help her. 
 
I'll post again after the 21 days... but I'm just thrilled and so hopeful that this is over for her.
 
If you have a finger sucker...TRY it!!!
 

Nia in her finger guard  purchased from A Zeal For Living.

Her World | My World

My best friends come up a lot here. My girls Brandy and Regina are like family to me. Regina and I have been best friends for about 19 years...for us...a lifetime. Our friendship with Brandy just a couple of years shorter. Live a little...deal with one too many "girl friends"...and spend just one hour in our presence and you can easily see that our friendship is unique. It's a gem and I know that I'm blessed to have those girls in my life. As a mommy to three little girls, I constantly pray and beg of God to bless my girls with friendships like the ones I share with those two special girls. We are never too far out of touch. Via email, text, or phone calls, we pretty much have some sort of contact several times a week. There have definitely been seasons where we talked everyday...work and kids strain that today...but we are still definitely there for each other when the need arises.  I love that miles apart we still bounce ideas off of one other, pray together, cry together...laugh together...and well yes we are girls...so we also roll our eyes at each other :) 

I recall being in college at OU and my oldest sister once telling me something to the effect that we were all kind of one in the same. Today I'd say that our worlds are all very unique.

I've mentioned here before that I joined in with 19 photographer on a creative journey...52 Fridays. I love what the project has done for my personal sense of creativity. I was THRILLED when Regina told me about a month in that she was going to join in on 52 Fridays...but with her own spin on it. Regina is a writer - a darn good writer. For the past several weeks she has used the same themes and used them for writing prompts. I LOVE her posts. We are 16 weeks in to the photography challenge, but last week on my drive to work, I called Brandy because I'd thought of a way for her to join in on the challenge. Right now, her world is centered around raising her miracle baby girl. I'm so excited to announce that Brandy is going to take on the themes each week as well and teach Hannah's lessons around the theme.

A year from now, I hope to compile Her World | My World into a book dedicated to our friendship and our five baby girls between the three of us. I'm so excited about the project and invite you to follow along. Our timing is off, but here below, I will link you to each of our Week 1 Post - Self Portraits

Her World | My World  | 52 Fridays | Week 1 | Self Portraits

Hope's World
Regina's World
Brandy's World

And because it's Friday...and I love joining in on the fun...here is my Flashback Friday! This is a picture of the three of us about a week or so before Brandy's daughter, Hannah, was born prematurely at 26 weeks. We had no idea how different life was going to be so soon...

And sure, I should be embarrassed, but here is another pic of us dressed alike during a girls weekend in Dallas - Regina's home at the time.  It was hilarious...but somehow when you get the three of us together...we don't care much about what anyone else thinks...ok...I admit...I can't believe we did that...LOL (totally ripped this pic off of Regina's blog...it's mutual...she's done it to me too :))

Don't forget to join in by visiting Jen's blog and linking up!

Happy Friday!

Flashback Friday

Easter is this weekend and I'm hoping to make it fun for the girls.  For the first time ever, I have purchased Easter baskets that I plan to put together...nothing fancy...but something.  I'm hoping we can dye and decorate eggs tomorrow.  I'm also hoping that the weather holds up so we can possibly do an egg hunt in the backyard.

This is a flashback from last Easter.  All three girls have grown SOOO SOOOOO much.  It's unbelievable.  Last year, I purchased MacKenzie's dress early on from Dillards on sale and I got the twins dresses from Target for $24.99.  This year, I found them dresses again at Target for $14.99/ea.  I'm thrilled.  They aren't fancy, but I'm not really one for the fancy dress, white shoes, and hat.  It just isn't me... :)  I ordered MacKenzie's online from Hautelook.com.  It's by US Angels.  I like it a lot, but  I'm just glad it fits!  She's seriously growing like a weed.

I hope you enjoy your Easter Weekend ! May your heart be filled with thanks for the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  For this, we were not worthy, but he paid the price anyway.  We are so very blessed.

This is probably a really dumb question, but why does the date of Easter change so drastically?  Last year, Easter was the first week of April...

I'm sure this is something I should know...but I'm going to have to google it... Enough of my blabbering...wanna play?? Head over to Jen's blog and link up!  !

Bad Habit | Finger Sucking

Spend any length of time with Nia and you are sure to see her doing this at some point.  I won't say it's constant, but it's a frequent habit.  We wanted it to be a phase.  We obeyed the doctors and dentists and tried not to make to big of a deal out of it...but she's two now.  I'm ready for this habit to go bye-bye.  It may not be a popular choice...but I'm going to be trying out  Finger Guard.  We are hoping that if she wears it for 3 weeks or so she can break the habit.  I feel bad, because I can see that it's effected her teeth.  She has a bit of a cross-bite, the slightest bit of a lisp (so far only noticed by me...), and gets seriously mad when she's tired and you bother her finger sucking.

So...I'm hoping it will be here by the end of the week.  I'll document our journey.  Hopefully it will be smooth... It looks pretty funky, huh??

They recommend it for ages 3 and up, but I've read that some kids have had success at 2...here's to hoping Nia is in that group!

Interestingly, I'd never seen nor heard of this habit prior to Nia, but it really isn't all that uncommon from what I've read and heard now.  When I've talked to other people about it, they almost always say they know someone who did or does.  And oh my goodness, I was checking out Oklahoma City photographer, Beth Jansen's blog and saw the cutest little red head doing the same (look!!! serious adorableness) ...I showed Nia and she instructed "No Fingers!!"... mimicking what she hears from us...Now if she'd just take her own advice... :P

Ponytails!!!

Black women and our hair.  It's a very very very long story.  I'm amazed at what black mamas can come up with when styling their babies hair!  Nia and Nala were born with a little bit of hair but lost it pretty quickly.  It's been... well...rather slow growing...but today I present to you...Nia's TWO PONYTAILS!  In the world of all mamas this is reason to celebrate...In the world of black mamas...it's a reason to stop by Nanas and show off!  My mom, a.k.a Nana, could never braid hair and I've followed in her foot steps.  HOWEVER, what Nana can do is create a head full of ponytails on the shortest of short hair.  Whenever the girls are left with her, you can nearly always guarantee that they will come home with MULTIPLE ponytails...yes, even Nala...I know! I know!  Don't ask because I can't figure it out either.

But today, we celebrate Nia's two ponytails - styled by yours truly.  Look at my big girl...it only took TWO years...

Next goal?? One Ponytail...

disclaimer - this was the end of the day...they were neater this morning...

Check out a few more shots of my three sisters blog that I'm way behind on!!

Flashback Friday - One Pound Difference

My girls...one of their first nights together...still amazed by the difference one lb can make.  Nala was 1 lb bigger than Nia...and now...2 years later...so much bigger...

They go to the doctor on the 12th for their 2 year check up.  While neither of them were on the charts with their birth weights...they've made up for it...two healthy girls today :)

Wanna play, head over to Jen's blog and link up!  I already peeked...some wonderful flashback this week!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Nia & Nala

It happened faster than I ever would have guessed, hoped, or dreamed...but today...I have two year olds!  We celebrated with a party at the Little Gym...not much went quite as planned (cake collasped in the heat, Nia's dressed was stained because her cousin thought she could drink out of a gatorade bottle, I left the favors at home, etc, etc), but I'm learning to roll with life as it comes.  And what matters most is that my girls had fun.

Happy Birthday Nia & Nala!!  Love you both to the moon and back!

Flashback Friday - In the Arms of a Sister

The twins will be two on Sunday so I've been thinking back a lot lately to the day they were born.  The first picture is one of maybe two or three pictures we got of MacKenzie together before Nia was taken to the NICU.  She loved her sissy at first site.   The second is from January of this year.  It was one of the first pics I posted on my 52 Week Blog for 2011.   Love love love the way my big baby loves my little babies. 

Wanna play, head over to Jen's blog and link up!  I already peeked...some wonderful flashback this week!