ipad and iphone no longer working together

I have an ipad air and an iphone6. Up until recently I could send/receive text messages from my ipad as long as I was in the general vicinity of my iphone. Now all the sudden I cannot send a mms message from my ipad. When I try, I get a message that says "mms messaging must be enabled to send". I've gone under messages and there is no "mms" option. I've double checked that my number and phone are showing under my apple id info and I've checked the same on my phone. Still nothing. I've googled my heart out with no answers. I also sometimes see the message icon in my tray with a small "cell phone" looking emblem in the upper left corner. Any help would be appreciated. Both phone and ipad are updated.