When Grandma can make the dress...by all means!

I found Teagan's birthday dress online and instantly fell in love.  Then I looked at the price tag.  It was over a hundred dollars.  Really?! A dress for a 1 year old?  So, I saved the picture, hit print and showed it to Grandma.  We decided to make the elephant a bear and we had Teagan's birthday dress. 
Isn't it beautiful....



Wicked.



                                                        picture via: google image search

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read more.  So far I've met my goal...the whole 1 book for the month of January...although I am almost finished with my February read so I haven't fallen off the bandwagon just yet!
I've decided to start reviewing, not summarizing, the books on the blog as a new monthly feature. Although, I should probably do this more closely to the time I actually read the book instead of a month later.  I don't have the best memory but I'll do my best this time and do better the next.
I really enjoyed the book.  There were many nights that I stayed up too late because I didn't want to put it down.  To be honest I picked Wicked because I love a good Broadway musical and Wicked has been a hit. Also, I have quite a few friends who have loved it and recommended it.
The idea behind the book is genius.  Who ever really thinks about the villian or villaness? Where they came from? What their parents were like? If they had real friends, ever? This book tells all about the wicked witches of the Wizard of Oz story; the wicked witch of the West and East.  This book is written as "the other side" of the story of Wizard of Oz.  What happens before Dorothy comes to Oz and what "really" happened.  The characters are incredible and have more depth then you would expect when you compare them to the Wizard of Oz characters.  The description of the characters was amazing and they weren't hard to visualize at all.  You almost feel like the way they are described in the book is the way they should have been in the movie. 
I was kind of taken back by some of the more sexual parts of the book.  This book is not something Teagan is going to be allowed to borrow until she is at least 17. 
If you don't mind the occasional "adult scenes" then this is a good book overall. I would absolutely recommend it to a friend but it's not something my mom is going to read.  I would probably give this book a 3 1/2 out of 5.   

Next up: Barbie & Ruth. 

Teagan's sweet friend, Eva is in the top 10 of Six Cherries on Top "My Funny Valentine".  Can you go spare a vote for her to win? She is number 9 with My Purrrrfect Valentine.  Thanks!

*you can click the picture and it will take you to the place you need to be to vote! *

Our V'day

We celebrated at home and as a family.  We only took pictures of Teagan because she was the only one feeling photogenic. 

Since it was so warm I let Teagan take her tricycle outside and play after we got home and before I started dinner. 

When Josh came home he entered the door with flowers & Flipz pretzels for me and a box of conversation hearts (so she could shake them) for Teagan.  Of course I willingly shared my stinkbug-less flowers with my Little Bear. 

Miles David called Teagan during dinner to wish her a Happy Valentine's Day.  It was so sweet! They were babblin' all over the place.  It was super cute.



We put Teagan to bed and then hung out on opposite end of the couch exhausted and not wanting to get each other sick.  I drank my milk and ate my Flipz and we both went to bed at 9.  We did fall asleep with our feet doing their sweet "foot cuddles" as usual.  Welcome to a normal night at the Reid's...

The cake. Oh the cake!

Teagan has been blessed with good teachers at school.  We got extra lucky when her favorite teacher just happened to be extrodinarily talented in the sweets department.  Ms. Haley made Teagan's cake.  All I had to do was show her a picture and she made an exact replica of it.  It was adorable and delicious and Teagan loved it!

If you're in the area and want to get in touch with Haley just e-mail me at TeagnTales@gmail.com and I will get you the information! She makes basically anything sweet!

Reset.

So, they reset the numbers over at Top Baby Blogs again.  Think you could help us get back up to the top? Two clicks is all it takes! I'll even bribe you with a picture of a cute baby!

picture by Jonathan O'Brien

There is a word for wordless wednesday...

Hilarious. 

I was reading the latest post on the Barley & Birch blog and came across this amazing song/video! It is definitely stuck in my head now! I love it! Go show Kina some love on her fb page and go tell Barley & Birch hello! You definitely won't regret it!

Doctors visits.

I wrote you all about the 105 degree temp scare but I absolutely forgot to write about Teagan's doc visit.  For those of you not interested, it's absolutely okay.  I'm writing this more of a baby book for Teagan so some of the mundane mommy is just trying to remember stuff please feel free to skip over.
Now, the 1 year check up wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I went in there thinking she was going to have 4 shots but there was only 3.  Although the forth one basically was replaced by a finger prick and squeeze to check iron so it pretty much counts as the forth shot. 
Teagan is growing like a weed. Slowly but surely. She has moved from the 5th and 10th percentile in weight and height to the 25% coming in at a whopping 19.5 lbs and 28 inches.  Her head is in the 75th percentile which goes along with the old saying "big head, big brain"! Just to prove that fact she scored above average on her developmental assessment.  She definitely has her daddy's brains and my personality.  Quite the combination, so look out world!
There was once not so fun thing the doctor found.  Teagan STILL had an ear infection.  They don't think it cleared up from December and since she's never been a symptomatic child we had no idea.  The doc gave her stronger antibiotics and we go for a re-check in another week to make sure it cleared up this time.  I definitely felt awful but the doc reassured me that non-symptomatic babies are not unusual so to show my self some slack.
I've also had some concerns about a few things they are serving at Teagan's school.  The Friday of her doctor's appointment they were having HOT DOGS.  My child has 2 teeth. Really?? They were also giving them juice. Like mixed fruit, packed full of sugar, two fruits in the title juice.  The doctor was as appalled as I was and wrote Teagan a note for no juice and no hot dogs (due to lack of teeth).  Can I just tell you how amazing Teagan's docs are?
Of course before the torture pictures had to be taken...

New Year's Resolution #3

Right now how many tabs or windows do you have open on your computer screen? Be honest.  I have 6 open.  One of those being Twitter, my e-mail and my facebook and basically those are multi-tabs within tabs.  I also have music on in the background and my cell phone right beside me.  I have typed and deleted one sentence 3 times already because I got distracted by a song and then received a text.  How often does this happen to you during the day? It happens to me quite often.  I try to do six things at one time and none of them get completed to the best of my ability.   If I had just done one thing at a time those things would have gotten done more efficiently and probably more quickly.   Here lies my resolution.  Do. One. Thing. At. A. Time. (I know it's February and I'm still making them but I'm making them to keep, folks, so don't judge)

I spend so much time during the day focusing on too much at one time.

If I'm driving I plan on just driving. Not talking on the cell phone and not reading a text.  Although singing and chatting with Teagan do not count as a distraction here.  If I'm playing with Teagan then I'm playing with Teagan. The cell phone will not be within arms reach because face it; I'm not going to be the one they call when the world starts falling a part.  When I am watching TV then I will watch TV without checking my e-mail or reading a magazine at the same time.  When I am trying to spend time with Josh then that is what I will be doing although this can include doing various things (don't go dirty thinking on me folks, I mean like watching TV or doing the laundry or even reading beside each other).  When I am reading a book I will not be watching TV or listening to music because then I won't remember what I just read. My mind just doesn't work that way and it's taken this long to really accept that.  I cannot effectively multi-task when it comes to things I need to really enjoy or think about. 
I challenge you to adapt this resolution to your life.  The more distractions we have the less we are really able to enjoy those things around us.  We've become so needy for instant gratification and to always be "in the know" that we're missing out on those thing around us.  The first year of Teagan's life went by too quickly and with too many distractions.  Her second year will go by equally as fast but with far less distractions.

Guilt. Pure Guilt.

I'm feeling guilty. Guilty about not feeling bad for being away from my family.  To be quite honest though, I think I've needed this.  For a few months.
Don't get me wrong I miss them terribly.  I miss the way Teagan greets me with the biggest smile I've ever seen everyday when I pick her up from school.  I miss the way she cuddles up to me and gives me "lovin'" every single time I pick her up.  I miss the way Josh and I cuddle next to each other on the couch and the way he warms my feet and wraps his arms around me when we got to bed.  I miss them.
I've also been missing me a little.  I think being able to get away for a few days knowing Teagan is safe and in good hands with her daddy has done me good.  It's brought back a little of Rici. Social, professional, can actually be effective, Rici.  It made me rethink my negative attitude towards me never going back to get my MSW.  An educational light has been re-lit in me and I can't wait to see where it goes.
I am thankful for being able to do get away for a few days and learn a little bit but boy am I excited to see my two loves tomorrow when I get home.  How I've missed them...

Have you ever had one of those moments where you lose your breath, your head spins and you feel like you need to throw up but you have to be "on" so you can't? Yeah, that was me about an hour ago. 
A little background: I'm at a training for work. I am over 2 hours away from home.  Teagan had a low grade fever yesterday and I had to get her early from daycare.  I already feel guilty and awful for leaving her.  Which brings us to now.
We had speakers from 12ish to 5:30 today and we have a 9pm reservation for dinner so I had time to get in a workout before dinner.  I get a call from Josh while I'm mid-run and he very calmly asks what I'm doing, I tell him & then ask him what was wrong (you have to know Josh to know he doesn't call unless there is something wrong).  He told me Teagan had a temperature of 105.  Yes, you read that correctly 105.  I almost fell off the treadmill grabbing my stuff and very loudly making sure I heard him correctly.  I told him I was going to call the doctor to see if an appointment, urgent care or the emergency room needed to happen and then I'd call him back.  I race from the gym to the room while trying to get the doctor's office on the phone.  While I was pacing the room, I was packing my bag and waiting to talk to somebody instead of the nice "we appreciate your call" recording.  Finally I got somebody and talked to them and they said to bring her in.  Just as I hung up with them Josh was calling.  Somewhere some wires got crossed and Teagan's temperature was 100 POINT 5. Yes, 100.5.  I lost it.  I started sobbing.  I haven't cried that much in a very long time. 
I'm just so thankful that she is okay and that it was all a mistake.  I'm still recovering but she made me feel better by talking to me and pressing buttons on the phone.  I really miss both of my loves but hearing that she was okay made me unpack my bags and settle in for the next three days.