Two Over Easy

The magic of the Theatre

2011-02-27T15:26:00.016-05:00

Friday night my mom took us to see Cinderella at the local high school. The girls were so excited! They wanted to wear there princess dresses from their cousins wedding and their fancy shoes and necklaces from their birthday party. Even though the show started at their bed time they did great.

I think my favorite part was listening to the words come out of their mouth.

Pretending that Daddy is Prince Charming
"Prince Charming, will you come home with me after the ball?"

Prince Charming

Cinderella- when she came out in her gown Coppelia touches her chest and says "like me"
because they where wearing the same dress.

The Fairy Godmother - They LOVED her dress! The lights bounced off it and the whole room sparkled like a disco ball.

Step sister

step sister

step sister and Godmother (the where sisters) and we weren't the only people photographing my children with the characters... they had followers.

Step sister

Child Cinderella

The Queen

The mice

Where they really wanted to be... ON STAGE!

The girls could not have been given any more attention by the cast they were in Heaven! When they saw Cinderella leave backstage to the dressing rooms they were so upset. I had to explain to them that it was late even past their bedtime and that Cinderella had to go home and rest her voice and body because she had a show tomorrow night.

That got Estee talking. She is my quite one. But she went at it none stop. "Tomorrow?!!! Daddy take me tomorrow, I so excited!" She had the whole date with Daddy planed her head. But we only went the one night, they needed to sleep and they had already met everyone.

Some of my favorite quotes from my little peanut gallery...

During Act I
Estee, "Rella (as she calls her)needs to go to the ball"

When the Stepmother rips Cinderella's dress
Coppelia, "She ripped her dress, she ripped it!" She was so upset she did not want to meet or get her picture with the stepmother.

When the couch appears
Coppelia, "Thats pretty nice"

When Prince Charming and Cinderella kiss
Coppelia, "WOW" she then stands up on her chair and starts clapping.

Coppelia also was dancing in front of her seat at the end and was trying to take a bow when Cinderella took hers.

Coppelia's quest for Jesus

2011-01-15T23:04:00.002-05:00

You will see me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. Jeremiah 29:13

When this sweet little girl was about 15 months old she was sitting in her high chair eating lunch. She looked up at the ceiling and just started giggling.

Mommy: "Coppie what are you laughing at?"
Coppelia: "God."

and then continued to laugh at the ceiling.

The thing about this is that I always say Jesus... Jesus loves you, Jesus made you, Thank you Jesus for our food.... So for her to say God was pretty big.

Then a few months back she was sitting on her bed and Estee asked to listen to music to fall asleep to. So I put on my worship music and Coppelia lifts her arms into the air and closes her eyes.

Mommy: "Coppelia what are you doing?"
Coppelia: "praising Jesus."

Now for those of you who don't know me I very much love God! But I'm not sure were she learned to do this. I'm teach Sunday school so I'm always with her in the class room and when I'm worshiping, I'm dancing!

This week after Sunday school I was cleaning the classroom and I told her it was time to go home.

Coppelia: "But I haven't seen Jesus yet."

Then as we were playing in the snow this week...

Coppelia: "Mommy I see Jesus!"
Mommy: "Where?"
Coppelia: "Over there!" and points (there is houses and cars all covered in snow)
Mommy: "Where? I don't see him"
Coppelia: "Over there!" pointing again its clean she is pointing at someones yard and its just a big yard of white. She starts marching over there. But I've got Estee wanting to go inside and I don't want her trespassing in someone's yard so I say
"no, we can't go over there"

This is one of those moments I regret I should have let her take me by the hand and let her walk me to the neighbors yard.

Have you ever seen the movie "Wide Awake"? one of my favorites. If you haven't you should.

Toddlers and Tiaras

2011-01-14T11:35:00.002-05:00

Yup... I think the title of this post sounds about right.

Mary

2010-12-27T18:56:00.002-05:00

She dressed up in my ballet costume and put her blanket on her head. As she was checking herself out in the mirror (something she loves to do) she said "I'm Mary, Where is baby Jesus?" So I had to get her a baby doll.

Christmas so far

2010-12-22T20:57:00.018-05:00

Estee decorating the girlie tree
The theme is "The land of Sweets" so lots of candy and ballerinas.

Coppelia likes to make the ballerinas dance

We went on the Polar Express Train with our Friends The Hailey's

Santa boarded the train when we got to the North Pole

Estee, Coppie, and their BFF Allison making silly faces

Mamah and PeaPa came to visit
Coppelia making breakfast with her Peapa

Mamah and her girls in the snow

Getting ready for a Mamah, Peapa Christmas

The Dickens Festival downtown Franklin

Girls and Santa (there picture was in the Williamson Harrold)

Girls with the Spirit of Christmas Past(picture made the front page of The Tennessean...two papers in one week, not bad)

Family shot

Still as cute as ever!

Halloween

2010-12-21T18:32:00.006-05:00

I know, I know... I'm seriously trying to play catch up. We had a crazy fall, we moved in September and I had October to unpack, organize a house and make 4 costumes. Now I know I could have gone the easy root and bought the darn things but that would have been the easy thing to do. Actually Peapa (Tyler's Dad) was turning 60 and a major party had been planned. So we flew to Houston for the festivities.

Now as cute as they were, I really had much grander plans for the girls. But plums aren't exactly cheap and I was working on zip time.

So with out further ado....

My little Vegas Show Girls.

Shake your tail feathers.

Radio City Rockettes - Their lives have been forever changed

2010-12-21T17:30:00.003-05:00

These ladies made a GINORMOUS impression on my girls. Long legs, high kicks, glamorous costumes, make-up and tap shoes! Really I think Mommy had stars in her eyes too. The ladies came to our mall and performed only one dance and then Paraded Santa in. All the kids followed them threw the mall to bring Santa to his thrown. But my girls could have cared less about Santa they wanted to meet these ladies. We were planning on just getting a picture but Estee really wanted an Autographed picture too (silly girl). Then one of the ladies asked what their names were. Mommy says "Coppelia and Estee" and one of the Rockettes says, " oh like the ballet C-O-P-P-E-L-I-A".

I think Coppelia's world has been changed...she is still talking about them, shows me her high kicks and carries around her autographed picture.

Just a little bit of eye candy

2010-09-28T12:04:00.006-04:00

We had a super fun Summer and I promise I will tell your more about it! We are in the middle of a move but the girls have now started pre-school and I do fully intend to start posting again. So after the move this weekend and maybe a week of setting up and hopefully I'll be ready to boogie. But here is a few to make you smile. Hugs and kisses

Just a stroll around the block

Coppelia in the pool

Estee the patriotic beauty

Daddy's surprise office birthday party!

Balance with Diane Barriere

2010-09-28T11:15:00.003-04:00

LOVED THIS SOOOO much I had to share!

I have to admit I'm a dancer and pretty particular about my classes and usually not a fan of video workouts. I always feel like the video's that get put out there are just too easy and boring. But since giving birth to twins I've had no time for the gym and have been craving a workout!

I LOVED IT!!!! It was actually more challenging then your average workout DVD and my favorite part was it had a good flow. I hate holding poses for too long when all I want to do is move. It was such a good mix and I was actually sore the next day.

I have known Diane for 7 years and have never had a chance to go to any of her classes because we live in different states. But she is such an amazingly, sweet, caring person and if you ever have a chance to go to her classes do! She also has great taste in music and that always makes the class way better.

When Diane told me she was going to be making a yoga DVD and she was looking for music I was able to get her connected with my best friend Melody Plumb. Melody created a few of the tracks and she has one of the most beautiful voices. The tracks she came up with are very Imogen Heap meets Enya. Very relaxing yet you will want to listen to her voice all day.

I'm gonna give you another great reason to buy this DVD... Now till November 11th she is going to being giving a portion of her proceeds to Kidd's Kids ( ) its an organization that gives chronically ill and/or physically challenged children (ages 5 to 12) with an unforgettable adventure to Disneyworld. Having people in my life who have benefited from organizations like make a wish I can tell you first hand that something like this not only gives that child an opportunity to do something they may never have had the chance to do, but it gives them and their families memories to Cherish! I still hold on to my memories everyday and nothing can take that away.

So if your feeling like you could use a GREAT workout, or your thinking hey I just want to support such a great cause. Maybe your thinking Christmas is around the corner and someone could use the hint, don't feel bad about that hint cause really your doing it for the kids :)

Garden Fairy Birthday Party

2010-03-19T17:51:00.012-04:00

In the land of the fairies where pixies fly and roam, sits two tiny fairies whom call this garden home. Their birthday is near and they want you to say that you will share in the magic on their very special day. We’ll drink crystal bubbles from raspberry fountains, with pink fairy cakes of frosted mountains. So come to the garden and sit with your friends, you’ll laugh and have fun, until the day ends.

We turned the house into a fairy land obstacle course. We started off by the stream made with cellophane and leaped from lily pad to lily pad to go under the waterfall to pixie Hallow. We did our fairy stretches and earned our fairy wands. Next we entered the Meadow and played some games with the parachute. The wind from the parachute blew away our pixie dust so everyone was given glitter make up. Next we had to go threw the tunnel of terror, across the bridge of doom (balance beam) where they earned their fairy wings. We then had to launch our fairies to flight by going down the slide and twirling into the meadow. Once there we had to find the fairy treasure so we followed the leader (me) around the kitchen island with tip toe walks, marches, crawls and jumps. We then had each do a forward roll across the mat and run into the cave of hope and wonders (the hall way). We then found the butterfly garden (play room) where the treasure sat. But the treasure would not open so we had to dance as we had never danced before to open the chest. Finally the chest was opened and we all got our goodies and then they where all crowned for their bravery.

Needless to say I had way to much fun planning this and making all the props, decor and costumes... (way to many late nights!!!)

Coppelia loves Cupcakes!!!

Estee not so much a fan of sweets

This is Allison the girls BFF!

Jaden (he was a pixie not a fairy)

Kalen

My two turned 2

2010-03-19T16:39:00.004-04:00

This is how I found them... if you come to my house please remember to shut the doors!

I’m not sure I like saying that. Telling people they where one was hard and now two? It just doesn’t seem right. Time is seriously flying by and I just need to tell time to SLOW DOWN! Actually I probably need to tell the girls that too. They are so busy and quick. I’m thankful someone invented the belt, because as much as I’m trying to keep up with them it’s the only thing holding my baggy pants on.

When I was 2 years old my family went to the mall and was cornered by one of those survey people. Well I must have felt the need to stay busy because I decided to grab hold of the outside of the esqulator and ride it all the way to the top. My Dad raced up and grabbed me right as the belt was rolling under I looked in his eyes and said “again Daddy again!“

Parents always say your kids will be pay back… and yes I’m getting it times 2! THEY are FAST and they are STRONG and they can be very sneaky. But of course I love them to pieces and wouldn’t change a thing about them!

Copie is my talker. She is so affectionate too. She tells everyone she loves them and is always giving hugs and kisses! She is also the wild one still doing everything 150%! She is almost fully potty trained. She just gets to busy and doesn’t want to sit for 5 seconds.

Estee is my silent one but she is taking it all in. She is my little helper! She loves to do laundry, put away the dishes from the dishwasher and help me cook (her favorite is breaking the eggs). She still loves to dance and the girl still has freakishly good rhythm. She is super passive! She won’t complain about anything!!!!!

They are definitely my Sunshine makers! Everyday is brighter with them ☺

OH Christmas Tree

2009-12-01T10:47:00.003-05:00

This is where you can find my girls most every morning. They bring out their instruments to serenade the tree. Notice the little candies on the baby gate? I found them at Walgreen's they are battery operated and all the girls need to do is press a button and the lights start singing and dancing. Now they keep their hands off the tree.

Christmas time part 1

2009-11-29T15:24:00.012-05:00

"CHRISTMAS IS BIG"!!! If you asked my Dad about he would always reply with that answer. Growing up some of my fondest memories where our house during the holidays. My Dad traveled a lot but one thing we could be sure of; he would always be there for the decorating of the house. It was an event, music played while we ate yummy treats and decorated for hours and of course the annual trip to the store when we bought a new set of lights. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and I feel the same way Christmas should be BIG. My husband told me before we were married that he didn't want decorations up and out all the time but he would give me Christmas I could go as wild and crazy as I wanted... and so I do.

Typically I would put off this post till all the decorating was done but then it would never get posted. I tend to still be decorating and making things up to the last minute when it's time to start unwrapping the gifts.

So here is a few of my decorations, projects and favorite sites (cause I must give credit where credit is due)

Here is the advent calendar I made every single detail down to the glittered numbers for my Nieces and Nephews.

I found this

http://afmwords.blogspot.com/2007/11/advent-calender.html

last year. I loved the idea but new there was so much more that could be done with it. I'll post another picture soon but I made these little red Santa bags that hang from each grommet. Inside each bag I planned something special for the family and some of these activities involve a beautiful decorated gift that they can open. I even re wrote "Twas the Night before Christmas" for each family. I have to same I pretty proud of it.

On the 24th day of December we have another family tradition. We have a birthday party for Jesus. We read the Christmas story, sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles on our pretty decorated cupcakes. So on Day 24 when they open their gift they will find party supplies and these party hats I made for each kid.

But once again I can't take the credit I'm obsessed with glitterville and took the idea from this fabulous company

http://www.glitterville.com/Glitterville_Home.html

so as you can see mine are not nearly as beautiful but I was making them for 8 kids and wanted to stay within my budget. It ended up being only $1 a hat.

Here is my garland (only half way done)

once again the inspiration came from glitterville... I literally drool every time I look at his handmade creations.

Halloween

2009-11-05T19:28:00.011-05:00

Here is the family circus... typical me was still putting together costumes at the last minute. The last needle on my sewing machine broke and I had to pull out my glue gun to finish it. My plan were much bigger but its Halloween right.

Sister Love

2009-11-05T19:18:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things in the whole world is watching these two love each other.

Sweet Estee Moe

2009-10-08T05:27:00.005-04:00

Oh my Sweet Estee Moe. You've always been my snuggle bug! Your full of hugs and kisses and run into Mommy and Daddies arms with so much joy. You've always been able to connect with people threw your eyes and your sweet little pats on my back make my heart melt. Your a smart little girl, the wheels are always turning. You may be easy most of the time but you know how to be sneaky. The girls at the gym child care call you "Miss. Mischievous". That is the perfect name for you! You sit back and enjoy everything around you but when the moment is right you execute your plan of attack.

Oh my little Coppelia

2009-10-08T05:00:00.004-04:00

Oh my little Coppelia, you have more energy then 4 2 year old's (and I should know if I can teach a dance class to 8 of them) and your not even 2. You make this world colorful doing everything at 150%, from singing and dancing to throwing a temper tantrum. You have the biggest personality and continually make Mommy and Daddy smile! You have never been a baby, you came out with perfect posture and at 8 months got up and started walking like you'd been doing it for 18 years, I should have know you would be like this in every physical activity. You belong in the circus my sweet girl and I have a feeling I'll be spending many hours watching you from (the bleachers, side line or wings). You may be tiny but watch out world everyone see's you coming!

Band Camp

2009-09-07T15:25:00.002-04:00

Running Over

2009-07-07T13:31:00.004-04:00

Every night before bed we do our devotions. Now I know they aren't old enough to sing or say their memory verses or sing the songs so we use our hand motions. I just feel like its important to teach my children how much God loves them and even now they can learn to hide God's word in their hearts.

"Running Over" by Estee MacKinnon Guidry 16 months

Holding Hands

2009-06-26T10:17:00.004-04:00

This morning for the first time Coppelia grabbed Estee's hand and wanted to walk around. First I grabbed my camera to take a picture because when you pull out a video camera they always stop. But the moment continued so I grabbed the flip and caught this sweet moment. As you can see it ended in frustration for Coppelia because she wanted to go to the Toy room and Estee wanted to play in the bedroom.

The talented Vanessa Ray

2009-06-19T11:13:00.004-04:00

I don't like to post anything on this blog but family things so please visit my person blog to check out my friend and the newest cast member of "As the World Turns". I promise you wont be disappointed... and more then likely you will be seeing a lot more of her in the future... We love you Nessa!

Potty time.

2009-05-22T13:16:00.004-04:00

We decided since the girls always go potty on the floor before they get in the tub we should get them some potty chairs... even if its just to get use to the idea. Well they have yet to potty in them but they do like to sit on them in front of the TV.

Pictures

2009-05-22T13:07:00.011-04:00

The girls love baby dolls! We like to put them to sleep, hold them and kiss them. So I decided to get them some bottles (add something to our imagination play) They knew exactly what to do. They like to feed mommy too.

Us at outside time... playing in the rain.

We like the pantry and now we know where the cheerios are

Mommy after a ruff day!

Long story...hope it keeps you entertained

2009-05-15T00:15:00.001-04:00

The Story of my last 2 days…warning I’m not holding back.

We have been in the market for some big girl car seats, I mean Coppelia is still about a half pound shy of the limit but that’s like a loaded diaper right? So finally we found the ones we wanted on Craigslist for $25 each! I emailed back and forth with the owner and we agreed that I would be there at 10 in the morning to pick them up, cash in hand. I was so excited about this deal I couldn’t sleep. We were up and ready and on our way to pick them up… of course Estee wasn’t feeling good and had thrown up on herself and both the girls screamed in the car the who way there. I show up at her house right on time (this never happens). Nobody was home… I called and left a message. Finally I get a hold of Tyler and ask him to check my email. Sure enough she has left a message saying that someone came by at 8 that morning and picked them up…. STEAM WAS COMING OUT MY EARS! When someone says great I’ll see you tomorrow, I assume that means come and get them they’re yours… well apparently some people are just mean!

Now I was bound and determined to make this a great day. So I went to the mall where I was planning on getting a few things for the girls. Well… our stroller is still broken and I had to put a girl on each hip to get in the mall and to the customer service to rent a stroller. The girls were not having it. They wanted to walk! The girls are pro’s at walking (and running) its following mommy that is a problem. I mean they are only 14 months. So finally I fought them in my arms all the way to the strollers and by now I’m sweating! Of course as soon as I set the girls down to pay the lady they take off in two separate directions. Finally corralled and in our stroller we head to baby gap for their big clearance sale. I got there at 10:30 so it was fully stocked and had piece I had been eyeing for months and all at an additional 25% off!

BUT… Estee learned a new skill…she discovered how to escape the stroller. I had to run and catch Estee 3 times before making a break from the store, while I have a screaming Coppelia who wants in on the action…. FORGET IT!!! I gave up… I left my pile and decided to just go home. Of course Estee is so excited about her new-mastered skill that she continues to escape while the stroller is moving in the mall….AUGH!

So we go home where I continue to be furious about the car seats…

Day 2 – today

Great morning! Tyler got up with the girls and let me sleep in a little bit longer (he is the best). We drop Tyler off at work and head to the gym where I did 45 minutes on the stair master (dripping sweat). Then I decided I wanted to take a tan… Because face it, when you’re a mommy of multiples you don’t have time to sun bath, do your hair or put on your make up so we are all about a quick fix to make us feel a little bit better about ourselves. But I made a mistake on the way to the tanning bed, Coppelia saw me… I still got my tan but when I came back the workers said they had never seen her cry so hard and she was with the manager of the gym walking around… and where should I find my little ball of energy…. In the workout room of course galloping in front of the full length mirrors admiring herself. Then they put on the big fans and she danced in front of them (She would seriously have fun at one of Melody’s girls nights).

We get home, the girls are asleep and bonus I get to take a 5-minute shower. Then I run wake up the girls feed them lunch and get us ready to run errands. This time we go to the mall and use are double jogging stroller, which nobody uses in a mall. The girls are wearing cut off jean shorts and wife beaters with no shoes and there hair is EVERYWHERE! We look like serious hillbillies! We get to gap where I’m bound and determined to get some things. Well today it was Coppelia escaping the stroller and making dashes towards the exits. She was pulling toys and clothes off the shelves and every time I got her back in her seat Estee and her would start a fistfight. Finally I decided to buy everything in my stack and I’ll just have to make returns later. We then go to bare minerals where I accidentally bump a girl getting eyeliner done with the stroller… WOOPS! Don’t worry she was fine, I mean I felt awful, I said I was sorry about 20 times but when she glared at me I wanted to burst into tears!!!

Next we need to head to the apple store to get a new computer charger. By now Coppelia refuses to stay in her stroller and could seriously hurt herself if she continues to dive out of it. So I stick her on my hip and push Estee. Now whoever invented the stroller with the fixed front wheel was seriously stupid!!!! So I’ve got my stroller tipped up so I can maneuver it (which makes Estee nervous) and a wild Coppelia who wants down or wants to scale me. We circle the mall 2x until we finally find the store and get our charger… during the exchange of funds I put Coppelia on my shoulders where now she sits proudly. I on the other hand feel like a circus act and feel utterly embarrassed by Coppelia’s behavior. While exiting the whole store steps to the side and starts clapping for me… I felt like the Jamaican bobsled team in cool running’s when the crowd starts clapping… I feel so touched I really might start crying. Finally we exit the mall, Coppelia has ripped mommies fancy ponytail out and I’m looking like 100 miles of bad road

Onto our next adventure.

Old navy return, no problem. Costco, no problem. Mommy is starving so I decide to get a frozen yogurt to share with the girl. Estee doesn’t like it so much, Coppelia wants to devour it. We exit costco and Coppelia is screaming like her soul has been ripped out… she wants the rest of mommy’s yogurt that she is no longer sharing. Did I mention I spilled yogurt all over my tank now I’m looking like 200 miles of bad road.

Next stop… WAL-MART!!!! Estee is an angel the whole time and sits in her car seat in the basket and Coppelia is up front… but she doesn’t want to be. Finally we are done… mommy is dripping with sweat and what little make up she has on is pooled up on the sides of her nose. We are home and I took pictures of myself as evidence to this long day.

Now I could look at this day and say it was horrible but it wasn’t… and I’ll tell you why….

When I was at Gap the lady said, “You are an amazing mother with the patients of Job.” This simple comment made my day. Granted it was my ADD medicine helping me out but she was right. This day before the medicine would have sent me over the edge but today I kept my cool, I smiled all day and was still able to give my daughters all the hugs and kisses that they needed and you know what no day is going to perfect, but every day and moment I spend with the daughters is a reminder of how good the Lord is and how he has never failed me. He saw my dreams and my hearts desire and blessed me… FOR THE LORD IS GOOD AND HIS MERCIES ENDURES FOREVER!

update...promise more to come

2009-05-14T22:35:00.001-04:00

I’ve been horrible about posting anything and now I find that life is speeding by. So let me get back into the swing of things by talking about my two little loves.

Estee- She is the child you want more of. She is always in a good mood (although doesn’t take long naps) She is always grinning, playing or wanting cuddles. She likes blowing kisses and saying “HI” to everyone. When you tell her no she swats her own hand. She lights up a room with the joy inside her.

Coppelia - Fire and ice… and a bit of birth control, and I love her to pieces! Every morning she wakes up and wraps her tiny little arms around me and gives me the sweetest kisses, oh her kisses are the best. She comes up to me through the whole day to give me these moments… but…when she is angry she is super angry! She screams at you with so much force you would want a voluntary hysterectomy. She is Wild!!! She runs with the big kids and holds her own… in fact she could probably take them.

Now a bit about Mommy… I’m worn out! I felt overwhelmed with life. Tyler told me to go get diagnosed for ADD (something I thought I had) sure enough I do and I have every symptom plus some for ADHD. Basically I had been feeling so overwhelmed I really felt I was become a bad mother. I couldn’t focus enough to give them the attention they deserved and needed. I wanted to be able to read one of my many parenting books and be able to focus to understand what it was teaching me…but I couldn’t. So I was given a prescription and it is like night and day, its like a fog has been lifted from my head. The first day this house was in tip top shape and by Day 2 we were on a much needed schedule… including devotions, school time, story time, outside time, dance time (because as much as I’d love it, it can’t always be dance time) and independent play time. I feel wonderful about this and to top it all off I have the patents and energy to be the best mommy to my daughters.

2009-01-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

2009-01-11T18:23:00.001-05:00

2008-12-27T13:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T16:51:00.002-05:00

Fergalicious

2008-12-24T15:52:00.001-05:00

Hey Santa Clause....

2008-12-16T21:10:00.004-05:00

Snow in Franklin, TN

2008-12-12T18:18:00.000-05:00

On Rails

2008-11-28T17:11:00.001-05:00

Pre-Christmas Prep

2008-11-25T17:11:00.000-05:00

Polar Express

2008-11-25T14:26:00.001-05:00

Halloween Costumes

2008-11-10T18:53:00.005-05:00

Tunnel

2008-11-01T14:50:00.001-04:00

Tagged: The eights

2008-10-23T20:48:00.005-04:00

8 favorite TV shows
1. Jon and Kate plus 8
2. The office
3. The soup
4. Little house on the Prairie
5. Martha Stewart
6. Flight of the Concords
7. Big Love
8. Mystery Diagnosis

8 things I did yesterday
1. woke up with a migraine and had to take a migraine pill
2. vomited
3. took a shower
4. worked with Coppelia's walking (she can already stand of her own)
5. tried to help Estee clap (she so wants to do like her sister)
6. took a nap
7. made baby food (green bean and peaches)
8. laundry

favorite place to eat
1. Brio
2. Burgerville
3. BJ's
4. Moe's
5. five guys and fries
6. Cheese cake factory
7. Jake's Crawfish
8. Pizza Palace

8 things I'm looking forward to
1. Christmas
2. Tyler coming home
3. LouAnn coming on Friday
4. Halloween with Daddy Joe, Vicki and Mamah
5. sleeping in or taking a nap when company comes
6. Heeney's on Saturday(the most amazing Christmas store ever)
7. Going back to Tennessee
8. Bed time

8 things on my wish list
1. a couch
2. a duvet cover
3. comfy sweets I can wear everywhere
4. mini van
5. beaded spray's for my Christmas tree
6. Garland from Craft warehouse
7. A date with just my husband (maybe when the grandparents are here :)
8. Our house to SALE!!!

8 people I tag
1. Tami Miller
2. Beth Fiegner
3. Naomi Linker
4. Andrea Vann
5. Julie
6. Stephanie H.
7. Erin Waller
8. Andrea Collins

Outside Racing

2008-10-14T22:14:00.002-04:00

Johnny Jump-up

2008-10-10T13:07:00.001-04:00

Watching Sesame Street Together

2008-10-07T09:15:00.001-04:00

Getting ready for Fall

2008-10-05T10:37:00.001-04:00

Levi is the new friend Coppélia & Estee met on our most recent trip to Nashville.

Close to Crawling

2008-09-28T12:31:00.001-04:00

Back in ATL

2008-09-24T16:57:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Beth for updating our blog from the standard templates....

6 Month Pics

2008-09-12T10:58:00.002-04:00

Beth who took the Blue Chair pictures has done an amazing job once again 'Click Here' to see some additional ones.

TexasFun

2008-08-28T15:03:00.001-04:00

PlayTime

2008-08-24T21:57:00.002-04:00

2008-08-16T13:13:00.001-04:00

Oh how I miss it here!

2008-08-13T16:43:00.004-04:00

I'm convinced I grew up in the most beautiful place's ever! I love waking up looking out the window and seeing Mt. Hood and the Columbia river. In the back of the house is a forest I spent many day's exploring. Just a few days ago I sat with the girls in the front lawn playing and a deer came around the corner and watched us. Everything is so green (only because it rains like 9 months out of the year). I love taking my morning walk up to Dorthy Fox Elementary and on my way I always run into friendly faces and get to catch up on all the latest. I remember when the walk was mainly just fields and no sidewalks but it's all developed now. Some days I'll walk down the hill with the girls and visit some of the old favorites... the park, pool, top burger and on Sunday we even went to the cometary. On Monday we took a drive up Washougal river road, we went and saw the falls and the fish hatchery had a picnic and visited a friends house. It's some of the most beautiful country, you see hills and valley's covered in evergreen tree's.

This sweet town has changed a lot... we have lots of school's now (there were only 3 when I was little... elementary, junior high and high school). Sometimes I'm a little sad that I don't get to raise my girls here. But when they do come for visits I hope they'll be filled with magical memories like Camas days, going to the Liberty theater to seeing the latest Disney movie, ice cream at hill top, fresh produce from the produce store and did I forget to mention the craft stores here... I wonder sometimes how I'm surviving with out my craft warehouse and fabric depot!

First tooth

2008-08-13T16:38:00.002-04:00

We have a winner... Estee Mackinnon got her first tooth this week. Monday her gum's where puffy, Tuesday nothing and today I saw that little tooth popping out. She wasn't fussy and never ran a temperature she was a trooper. I'll take a picture as soon as it comes up a bit more. Every time I try and put my finger near her mouth to look at it she starts sucking on my fingers... even when she is sleeping.

Hanging Out

2008-08-08T23:30:00.001-04:00

Waking Up

2008-08-03T18:52:00.001-04:00

This is one of my favorite times; waking up the girls after their morning nap....

2008-08-03T16:26:00.000-04:00

Camas Days Parade

2008-07-28T00:22:00.015-04:00

This past Friday was the "Camas Days" festival that included a kid's parade. The 'Cousin's 9 Gang' took both 'First Place' and 'Best in Show' in the western themed parade. All 9 cousins participated and helped in building the covered wagon, canoe, and smoking brick fireplace.

Check out all the action below:

First Food

2008-07-26T18:50:00.003-04:00

Coppélia's First Meal:

Estee's First Meal:

Hat tip to Paul 'insatiable appetite for bad 80's music' Barriere who inspired the music selection.

Some Firsts....

2008-07-20T12:38:00.002-04:00

First time sitting up....

First time to reach for someone....technically this is the second time, I made them try it again to make sure it was a legitimate reach.

Even thought the previous two first were Coppélia, Estee still continues to always finish her bottle first.

Beware Evil-doers

2008-07-17T09:45:00.003-04:00

So Coppélia always has a very serious look on her face..........its because fighting crime is serious business.

ps- This was Hannah's niece dressing up Coppélia in her Build-a-Bear clothes. Estee would not fit into them.

Growing up

2008-07-12T01:02:00.002-04:00

It all seems so fast. On Wednesday Coppelia discovered her feet and will not let them go. Its rather funny, she is the most inflexible baby I've ever seen! She holds one foot and strains to grab the other, I'm sure she inherited her inflexibility from her Daddy (but I can work with her on that right?) The next night no joke she is sitting on her own. Of course I sit behind her because occasionally she tips over but it is so funny to watch that little tiny body sitting on its own.

Estee on the other hand has no interest in sitting only standing and walking. I keep telling her she needs to sit before she walks but she just doesn't listen. As soon as I sit her on the floor she is pushing herself up to stand. She lives in her walker and thinks she is hot stuff.

Both girls are working on rolling from back to tummy. Estee has done it once by accident.

4th of July

2008-07-05T15:43:00.002-04:00

Stalking Prey

2008-07-04T22:03:00.000-04:00

Royal Rumble

2008-07-03T01:03:00.005-04:00

Two Flavors

2008-06-29T21:47:00.006-04:00

Coppélia is always 'Super Aware'

& Estee is always 'Super Relaxed'

Portland 'n Friends

2008-06-28T17:43:00.001-04:00

My girls are just so cute

2008-06-23T13:38:00.002-04:00

I really need catch this stuff on video and I'll work on that this week. Estee will be walking earlier!!! She has been climbing my chest since a few weeks old and loves to stand and of course hates to sit! I'll sit her on my lap and she holds my fingers and stands up all on her own, I'm only used for balance. We have an expo-saucer at home and I've caught her balancing on her own for short periods of time. Coppelia can stand up from a sitting position too, but Estee is ready for a walker now!!! Coppelia on the other hand is really good with her fine motor skills. We have an activity center at home and she loves to push the bottons and she is really good at turning the pages! She likes to swipe the pacifier from her sister and really tries hard to hold the bottle on her own. She is also taking up singing. It is so funny! We will sing la la la's to her and she sings back. I tried to get her to change from la la la's to me me me's (for her Aunt mimi)but she started crying, then I went back to la la la and she was happy.

Sick

2008-06-23T13:26:00.002-04:00

This week Estee got pink eye, poor girl looked miserable! We were certain Coppelia would get it but never did, surprising since they're always sucking on each others hands. Pink eye was followed by a deep chest cough. Both girls lost their appetites and I was forced to start them on pedialyte... oh man does Estee love it! I felt horrible they would start having a coughing attack after a meal and cough till they would throw-up. Finally that has stopped and they are feeling much better... but of course now Mommy has it. I'm not sure if I got my sore throat from my best friend who we've been staying with or from the girls. But it hurts, I kept checking my throat to make sure I didn't have strep. My head feels like its in a cloud and my head just aches! Of course now the girls are feeling so much better and want there mommy to hold them and kiss them and I'm trying to stay away so I don't pass it back to them.

Family Pictures

2008-06-16T17:53:00.004-04:00

Beth Feigner is Hannah's friend and an amazing photographer. Here is a link to some of the pictures she took of our family: Guidry Family Pictures

2008-06-15T15:32:00.000-04:00

Kids in the Morning

2008-05-29T10:31:00.001-04:00

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

2008-05-28T10:51:00.003-04:00

They sleep through the night!!!! I've had a few rough nights with Coppelia but for the most part we're all sleeping. Today I'm working on their napping. Estee gets really cranky if she doesn't nap, but she wont nap unless I'm holding her. So ever time she wakes up I rock her back to sleep. I'm hoping a few days of this she'll get the idea. I'm hoping to have them both on the same schedule really soon. Its really looking like its happening too!!!!

Another update, they are both rolling over onto their backs. They get so proud of themselves too. They so know what their doing too, I lay them on their bellies and they start working their hips. They haven't figured out where their arms need to be. Coppelia will just keep trying till she gets it, but Estee if her arms are in the wrong position (stretched out side to side) and she is working those hips about 3 minutes into it, if she has rolled over she gets so upset puts her head down on the blanket and starts crying. I hope she isn't always this hard on herself.

Another funny thing I noticed is when they've been crying (really they don't cry that often) after a hard cry and I'm trying to comfort them they both calm themselves using baby talk that sounds like their saying OK OK OK OK... over and over.

2008-05-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

2008-05-22T17:14:00.001-04:00

2008-05-20T11:11:00.001-04:00

Texas Tour

2008-05-16T12:48:00.002-04:00

First trip to church

2008-04-27T14:29:00.002-04:00

I've been so wanting to go back to church and have been counting down the days till we could go again... I know this may sound strange to some people but I really love our church!!! Seriously I could live any where if I could just bring the church with us. I loved working with the kidstuf too, where ever we move I'm really hoping I can find a kidstuf to be involved in again. OK... so anyways... We got up and got the girls ready for church we new they would need to feed again in the middle of church but I thought no problem, fix their bottles and feed them before they fuss and we should be good... WRONG!!! Well as soon as the music started Coppelia's eyes popped open, she just wanted to look at everything!!! I think she got a bit frusterated that she couldnt watch what was going on. I kept hearing people behind us say oh my gosh look at her eyes...(seriously I think she has the biggest eyes ever its like she opens them up so big because she might miss something). Well we did give her the bottle but she still wanted to be a part of it all. So I ended up having to take her out of service because she was getting so rambunkshus. So we went for a little walk around the church and she was just so funny, we got to the kidstuf theater and there was just so much to see. Finally church was over and I missed the whole thing because I had to walk her around... it sounded like a good one too... Estee was wonderful I told Tyler she is out church baby and Coppelia is our kidstuf baby. So how much longer till I can put them in the nursery?

Estee has rhythm!!!

2008-04-23T10:39:00.003-04:00

Since I'm starting to feel a bit more rested I decided today would be the day I start exercising. My mother is one of the most disciplined people I know she gets around 5 in the morning and exercises. So I decided I needed to take a lesson from her, maybe this will give me that little bit of extra energy I need in the morning to stay on top of things. So I turned on the dance music and started doing all the moves I remember from my mom's aerobics class (yes I took her class in high school). Of course I could only remember a few so aerobics time turned into dance time, I did everything... ballet, hip hop and tap (nope didn't pull out any break dancing). The girls just sat and played and when they got fussy I would switch there station. In the process I used them as weights too. Well Estee got fussy under her jungle gym so I put her on her belly for tummy time. She layed there with her head up watching me and they started bopping her head to the beat... sure I can understand a few times but she was going at it for like 5 minutes!!! So yes, Estee has rhythm. Oh and yes I'm horrible I've been looking at there feet waiting to see if one of them has a good arch or anything. Estee has an arch and every time you feed her, her feet open to first position!!! I'm still waiting to find out if Coppelia has any dancer in her... all I can tell you is the girl loves Amy Winehouse!!! Every time she heard her when she was in my tummy she would kick to the beat.

2008-04-07T17:51:00.001-04:00

Jungle Gym

2008-04-06T15:09:00.001-04:00

Strol'n

2008-03-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

Easter

2008-03-23T18:07:00.001-04:00

Lounge'n

2008-03-18T22:41:00.001-04:00

Cheetah Girls

2008-03-14T17:15:00.000-04:00

After Dinner

2008-03-12T20:28:00.001-04:00

Tummy Time

2008-03-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

Baby names

2008-03-05T12:39:00.012-05:00

A lot of people are wondering about our baby names, what they mean, and how we came up with them.

Coppélia Kai Ray

Coppélia is a beautiful ballet about a toy maker who makes a doll named Coppélia. The doll sits in the window and everyone thinks she is so beautiful and one of the men fall in love with her only to realize in the end she is just a doll.

Kai Ray is taken from my Grandpa Greenfield. He was an immigrant from Holland and for many generations in his family the sons would be named Rink Keimpa and then Keimpa Rink. Well he never had a son. So my cousin Nathan and I made a promise to each other that one of us had to name our child Keimpa Rink. Well I lost both my Grandpa and cousin so its a tribute to both of them who meant so much to me.

Estee MacKinnon

Estee means star but its also a shortened version of the name Ester. Ester in the bible was a very amazing women who becomes queen and saves the jewish people. She even has her own book in the bible.

MacKinnon is Tyler's mom's maiden name. We wanted to name one of our girls after someone in his family. If it was a boy he would have carried on the name Royston but we were not about to name our daughter Royston. I love the name MacKinnon!!! Its not like all the other "Mc" names out there either totally different and beautiful!!!

Getting acquainted with motherhood

2008-03-05T12:33:00.003-05:00

We’ve been home from the hospital for 10 days now. The first week I was miserable recovering from the c-section. My first day home was a challenge, my poor babies were so cold and they didn’t like sleeping on their backs so we got a space heater next to there bed and got them inclined sleep position pads, by about 6am in the morning when they finally started to sleep a major storm hit and we lost power until 8:30pm that night. We had the girls in the living room with their crib next to a fire. I thought I was going to go mad!!! But finally everything is better, I’m up and about but don’t worry I’m not dancing yet! My struggle has been breast feeding. The nurses gave me a nipple shield in the hospital and it worked wonderfully but then I had to wean them off of it and that proved to be a challenge for little Estee but now I’m sure she has forgotten it, although we are still trying to master the latch on. Once she has it she is good but it can take her many tries to get it right. Currently my daily routine goes something like this. Work with one baby nursing for 15 + minutes, then supplement with breast milk or formula (while someone else gets to feed the other) then I pump. This may not seem like much but it takes about an hour sometimes longer and if I’m lucky sometimes shorter. Then I have about an hour and 45 minutes until I start setting up for the next feeding so I take that time to sleep, eat, take a shower, which really doesn’t seem like much time at all.

I’m also trying to get enough breast milk for both babies. I’m producing enough for one but I’m still really trying to have more then enough for both. I’m really hoping this comes around the time they can both feed from me with out any work. I really hate that all this work wears me out so much that I don’t feel like I have time to just lay there holding and enjoying my beautiful little gifts.

Last night little Coppelia had gas and she felt miserable!!! I’ve been blessed with super easy going babies who really don’t fuss. But last night the gas made her so uncomfortable and she kept looking at me like I needed to help. I just wanted to cry. Fortunately she fussed herself into sleep and woke up this morning feeling good. But oh how I wanted to take her pain away.

White Party

2008-03-01T14:15:00.005-05:00

Sun 'n Suds

2008-02-28T17:08:00.001-05:00

First Bath at Home

2008-02-27T20:08:00.002-05:00

Goin' Home - Stones 1966

2008-02-25T22:17:00.001-05:00

CarWash

2008-02-23T16:44:00.001-05:00

This was taken right after they were moved into recovery:

2008-02-22T15:08:00.003-05:00

Night Owls....

2008-02-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

Please let me introduce myself.....x2

2008-02-21T17:18:00.003-05:00

First Family Photo

2008-02-21T14:38:00.002-05:00

I will get some video up in about an hour of the girls...

Birthday

2008-02-21T07:56:00.014-05:00

We started this journey on November 15th 2006 and our next adventure starts today at 11:15 EST.

I will keep the blog updated as we go throughout today, the slide show below will update as I upload pictures. You can also see them at this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/tguidry/TwinsBirthday

9:35 EST - In pre op, IV in, and socks on.

10:00 EST - LouAnn and Trina (Grandmothers) are in full 'stakeout mode' in waiting room already. 30 more minutes until they start the epidural.

10:30 EST - Hannah wants to say hey...

11:30 EST - Doctor on his way...

11:58 EST - Coppelia Kai Ray Guidry 5 lbs 7 ouns 19 inches

11:59 EST - Estee MacKinnon Guidry 5 lbs 14 ouns 19 inches

Contractions for over 2 hrs -- Could be the day...Or not?

2008-02-18T13:44:00.015-05:00

The pictures will update as I get a chance....

You can also see them using this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/tguidry

They gave her an IV and a shot to stop the contractions. We will know more in 30 mins......

False Alarm Part II. Everything looks good and we are still set for this Thursday at 1:30pm.

She wanted Ice Cream on the way home...so all is well again.....

Out Numbered

2008-02-16T19:17:00.003-05:00

Nursery Tour

2008-02-07T10:27:00.000-05:00

34 weeks

2008-02-05T17:24:00.000-05:00

What is it? I look like I'm 12!!! No wonder why people look at me funny. My face got all fat I have no energy to put on make up, seriously! I have been getting very swollen in the feet and hands lately, you should have seen me at church on Sunday. I could'nt even fit into my nice shoes so I had to wear my china flats and Tyler had to pin them shut, it looked like I had cramed those fat things in there.

My little sister Tay came last week and is taking care of us until after the babies. She is doing the cooking, cleaning and arrend shopping. She is the best!!!

Promise everyone I'll get pictures up of the nursery, all the ones I've taken just dont do it justice... I think I must be intemidated because all Beth's pictures are so perfect.

false alarm

2008-01-24T21:10:00.001-05:00

So yesterday I woke got out of bed around 9 with horrible back and belly pains. Tyler and I wanted to tidy up our house so we were getting some cleaning done. Don't worry, Tyler does all the lifting and big stuff, I fold laundry and rinse dishes. Anyways my back and belly would just not stop hurting. I laid down and tried to relax many times and it just wasn't working. I literally started sweating I was in so much pain. So finally around 2 I called the doctor and told them what the problem was and they sent me to the Labor and Delivery to be monitored. Once we got in the car it only got worse, I could not sit without feeling more pain. We finally got to the hospital and then checked in... the whole process seemed like 30 min. When in reality it was like 10. Finally I got to my room and they set me up to the monitors and I told them I felt like a big wus and she said no your having contractions and they hurt. I met with the perinatologist (lol... I new his family from church but it was the first time I met him). I had the doctor come in and she checked me out and took some tests. Then they hooked me up to some fluids and eventually the pain eased. They said they wanted to see if my contractions would slow down or stop before they gave me a shot of something to stop it... well they didn't slow down so they gave me the shot and guess what my contractions still we're going. But the tests determined that I was not in labor and that all was fine so they sent me home once I felt normal again and now I'm on limited activity... which they told me before, but no more trips to the grocery store. I'm laying low and not doing much of anything.

Today we went and met our pediatrician.... so one more thing off my list. This weekend Tyler's mom LouAnn is here and she is helping Tyler get the nursery finished. I'll post pictures by the end of the weekend. YIPPI its looking so good!!!