its a match....

I know, I know, yes I've become THAT mom. The mom that dresses her children alike....even though they are 4 years apart. 

(my sister and I (10 months apart) dressed alike everyday for like 12 years...if it wasn't the same color, you can believe it was the same pattern in opposite colors, which was totally adorable  ~ Thank you Mama ~)

 I find Rylee's size then the same thing in Reese's size and immediately I get a vision of them together (see picture below) in their matching attire... oooh, it just melts my heart.

 My sister pointed out to me today that Rylee is a diva and Reese is a little rock star.

Just look at my adorable baby....with her little mohawk.

And my diva with her bling bling aka jewelry

Now, if you don't know, my sister and I LOVE LOVE LOVE burritos. For real. Love them. Like love them so much we could eat them everyday. every meal. Ok, so a norm for us is devouring eating burritos at Moes. I should have taken pics of us eating them, but, well, mine was gone before she could even get a pic. But we did manage to take some shots of her with the little ones.

Oh. my. goodness., look she even got the "wear turqoise" memo. Adorable?

And Reese's face? well, she was probably upset from eyeing me inhale my burrito...while she sucked on her thumb. 

So precious.

On a further note, please notice the girl to the right of my sisters lovely head....see her? She looks really upset to be eating at Moes? 

uncool. 

my girls.

Ok, a little sneak peek at something I've been making for my etsy shop soon to open.......a 24" yellow flower cabochon necklace....

like it?

my competition...

Know what this is?

It's my competition.

Why you ask? Well, Well, Well, let me just tell you.

Ok, so Daddy Mackey has been a fan of Notre Dame college football since he was like 8 ish. Win or lose, he never misses a game. Now, when I say fan...you think, ok cool..he roots for the team. No, my dear friends. No. I mean he shouts, he screams, he gets crazy. Our neighbors even know when he's watching because they hear the shouting.

If they lose, seriously, he goes into mourning.

Now every game day, he sports his ND jersey, ummm requiring that the whole family sport theirs as well. So, we do. We certainly want Daddy to know that we support his team.

Want to know what he said to me today?

I'll tell you, and I quote "Notre Dame college football ranks up there with like the birth of our children, our wedding day, I mean it's huge"

I give him THE look, THE look that says "you can NOT be serious".

So he says (a little nervously) "just kidding".

But you know what, I know he isn't kidding...

He can love them. 

And so will the rest of us.

Yay, football season...

NOW LET'S GO IRISH (please win so I can have a happy husband)

back to pre-school...

Twas the night before school, when all through the house,

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse (except for me because I was packing lunches)

The children had just passed out in Rylee's bed,

and I knew not to wake them, for it would be a dread.

~ok, enough of that~

these are some tired babies

Now look who is pumped for their first day of pre-school this year!

Just watching her get ready this morning makes me realize what a big girl she is now.

Here she is with her little friend Bryce - they've been pals since they were 2.

And here she is in class, she just walked right in and was happy to be there. (Which left me feeling happy because 2 years ago, she screamed bloody murder when I left)

Look at their little handwashing chart...adorable, yes? And Rylee knew just what to do.

Is my child the only one who doesn't like to disclose the details of her school day? Its almost like she thinks "its MY school day and I don't have to tell you a thing about it". So I have to ask 1 billion questions from "who did you play with?" "what did you read about?" "who did you sit with at lunch?" "did you use the potty?" "did you use manners?" "did you go to the library?" 

And admittedly, I sometimes bribe her to get her to tell me about her school day.

I know its ridiculous but I love to know how and what she did. So eventually she tells me, and I'm happy.

hurricane irene...

Someone had posted this amazing picture of Hurricane Irene coming onto the NC coast..

It takes my breath away.

It makes me thankful for life.

Thankful for my house still standing.

Thankful my family is safe.

Pray for those affected...

girls' picnic

How do we spend these cooler days lately (and by cooler, I mean 88 degree days)?
Well, we pack up and head to the park for some picnic'n and playtime!


What better way to wrap up our summer than some picnics at the park. Soon, Rylee will be heading back to preschool, and it will just be Reese and I...It's gonna be quiet around here without Rylee chit-chatting with me every moment of the day....
But Reese will be good company.

We chat about all things girly while we munch our sandwiches...

Reese joins in but doesn't get any sandwich

ofcourse we pose for some cheesy pics

And Reese stares down a sandwich, poor thing.

We enjoy some shade and make pictures out of the clouds

Rylee takes random pics of our things

We feed the ducks our leftovers

Ummm, this duck needs a bath.

Reese being naturally adorable.

So, while we were at the park, I notice several other moms with their little ones. Now, normally I'm not one to judge, (ok, who am I kidding, I judge everything) but...if you go to the park in 4 inch heels, a mini skirt, 2 cans of hairspray in your purse, and neon pink lipstick....then you are weird. For reals, I should have taken a picture of these chicks. It was like a "Stripper Gals Mom Club". Seriously disturbing.

I love picnic'n with my little ladies..

what makes her laugh?

Happy Monday!

Seriously, look at these cute faces.

Ok, so I definetly missed a "first" moment yesterday! Let me fill you in...

Reese had her very first chuckle! You know that baby giggle where they can't catch their breath because the funniest thing ever has just happened before their very little eyes?

Well, luckily Daddy Mackey witnessed it.

Reese was sitting on Daddy's lap...

Dixie was bringing her ball back to Rylee for the (probably) 910th time...ok, if you don't throw Dixie's ball within .2 seconds, she totally freaks out by barking.

So....what makes a baby laugh uncontrollably?

A. Barking. Dog.

Seriously folks, that's it.

Adorable? yes.

Please stay tuned, because umm yes I will totally be making Dixie bark all day to capture the moment.

Hope the neighbors won't mind. ;)

I have 2 full time jobs...

It's amazing how happy a bath makes anyone feel....

Yesterday was one of those days where we were all a little cranky and irratable...perhaps mine was related to working the night before and being overwhelmingly exhausted, ok, past exhaustion. See, I work 3 nights a week at a hospital...and stay home with both babies. I knew I always wanted to be a stay at home mom AND bring home a paycheck. And I certainly did not go to school to get my Masters in Counseling to sit at home all the time.

 I never wanted the worry of leaving my children in daycare because if you haven't read/learned by now, I'm a paranoid Mama. And I like to spend money. 'Nuff said. So, I get the best of both worlds.  

I sacrafice a little sleep to stay home with my precious little ones. No matter how tired I may be, I realize it only lasts for a short while because as soon as I see Rylee & Reese's smiling faces, I forget how tired I am and realize it is all worth it!

At bathtime, we giggled, we had a bubble tea party, and we made crazy hair styles. It was just what us 3 gals needed. Just look at this precious face after bath time...

Also, yesterday...Rylee began dance (tap and ballet) class (she tried this like 2 years ago, and couldn't leave my side) -

Now that she is 4, it went much smoother....she actually enjoyed it.

a family visit...

This weekend, Gammy & Paw came up for a visit. As always, we enjoy their company and Rylee never fails to put on a show for them. So, she found her Thumbalina Barbie costume from like 2 Halloweens ago and decided to sport it. 

Reese was her cute self and watched Rylee entertain everyone.

And she checked out Paw 

Hung out with Gam...

It was a Happy Saturday filled with one of my favorite things..........family time

Icecream Truck!

Ok, so call me a nerd....but yesterday was Rylee's very very first "icecream truck" experience! So, naturally I explained to the icecream truck man that I have a family blog where I blog about all our "firsts" and must document this special moment. He naturally agreed to be in this documentary. And he was so precious. He even gave Rylee a little box to stand on so that I could take some pictures without her feet being scalded by the black asphalt.

I remember ordering icecream from the icecream tuck man when I was a youngster! Such fun yanking dollar bills from your piggy bank then flagging down the icecream truck!

Even Mr. Icecream Man explained to Rylee that 50 years ago, he used to run after the icecream truck.

Us Mackey girls are very indesicive so we needed a good mmm 6-7 minutes deciding on what to order.  

Look at that icecream man posing for the picture too. Such a sweet man. (thank you Mr. Icecream Man for making my day)

Rylee made her selection, a fudge bar for $1.50

Then all the kids gathered around, we truly gave that Icecream Man some business.

It was a yummy little treat! 

look who's talking...ok, babbling!

Now, if you know me, then you know I love love love to talk. I could chat for hours about pretty much anything....(trust me, ask my husband) I'd say I've pretty much always been a rambler, always enthusiastic, dramatic, and exaggerative. Hey, that's just me.  Now, Mike is more of a laid back, "chatty when I wanna be" kinda guy...so we make a lovely balance.

Well....Ryle e has followed in our footsteps. The kid truly could talk your head off...about anything...it is adorable. And might I add she has a little southern twang when she talks, making it even cuter....

 Well today...the most precious thing occurred...REESE began talking! (babbling) Yal, it was so cute!

She had her very very first playdate with a 5 month old baby (I know, she's only 13 weeks old, but it's important to socialize with others your own age). (Rylee's first playdate was at 7 months old).

She bagan this morning, chatting it up with Rylee....and ofcourse Rylee chatted back

As I got her dressed, she chatted, totally saying "mommy please put the adorable pink headband on me because it matches my shorts and makes my face look thinner"

She chatted as I held her to watch Rylee swing...

tv or no tv?

so who loves watching tv? Well, I do sometimes...

Since Rylee was born I've always wondered how much TV is too much TV...

I mean don't get me wrong, let me go ahead and say that yes we do own and watch TV ~ I just feel that I should limit the amount my kids watch.

Rylee has such an imagination so I encourage using it to come up with things to play.....I tell her about when I was little and playing school, dress up, baby dolls, etc.....

I think it's important for my children to learn new things, experience new things, and make up new things....so we limit our TV viewing around her for that purpose...

Rylee loves painting, anything artsy and crafty, playing baby dolls and barbies, dressing up, dancing and singing

Reese loves....well so far she loves watching Rylee do all these things...

So around here, we turn the TV off, and let our imaginations run wild.....

Rylee getting ready for "flash-light hide n seek" (such fun and squeals with laughter everytime) 

We play outside.......we explore

Reese watches Rylee All. Day. Long. It's absolutely precious watching the two of them together

We play the Wii....and little Reese watches

We make the most of our days by doing all the things we love....

How do you spend free time?

ok, so have I mentioned that I take like 6.4 million pictures a day? And it's only on my blog that I narrow those 6.4 million to the top 5 or so..

When I was pregnant with Reese, people always told me..."oh just wait until you have her, you won't keep up with everything...no more scrapbooking, crafting, etc...you won't have time for this or that....you think you kept up with Rylee? well, pssshhhh, that's over now......hope you've enjoyed having only 1 child because honey it'll never be the same". Oh and my personal favorite "Since Rylee is such an angel, this next one will be a nightmare" (for the record, she's no nightmare folks...)

Blah Blah Blah....ridiculousness....but I have done a prettttty good job at keeping up. Here are a few examples:
* I've captured about every "firsts" moment on camara (so far)
* I've began Reese's first of five scrapbooks (5 because I scrapbook my kids first 5 years of life)
* I've been able to do things I love to do (during naptime ofcourse)

Now, don't get me wrong, if you have kids and don't do these things, I still think you are a cool mom. These are just things I do and vowed to keep up with because that's just how I am.  :)
Now, just check out these adorable little smiles I captured this weekend!

 Loving her Daddy and watching Rylee...she smiles most at Rylee

"oh, hello again camara"

she looks so tan doesn't she? I keep her out in the sun all day long with no sunscreen (seriously someone asked me that...)

(Oh and notice the flower pin I'm wearing? I made it! ~ more designs and chatting about that later)

 going to get icecream

but Reese would rather eat my finger

Happy Monday from the Mackey girls!