Ear infections

Here we go again.  My brave trooper has another ear infection.  Did we know it? No.  Did she have a fever? No. Was she complaining? No.
I took her in because she had developed a slight cough that was going on about 2 weeks and because she had a ¨crazy not herself day¨ yesterday.  I slightly (and I stress slightly) thought there could be an ear infection possibility because she had dug in her ears about 2 times in the last few days.  She´s NEVER done that before even when she had the last ear infection that lasted 3 months.  I thought it might be water in her ears from her baths but it looks like I should start listening to my motherś intuition more often. 
The doctor said we caught it at about a 4 on a 1-10 scale so I feel pretty good about that. 
I just hope we aren´t on the road to tubes.  The thing I really can´t get over is the ear infections never seem to bother her.  Please keep Teagan in your thoughts and prayers that this antibiotic works & we don´t have another 3 month ear infection that leads to tubes.  

Easter best.

This is what our Easter looked like this year...

Easter Bunny brought Teagan a "car" to ride in the yard!

*isn't the dress beautiful? Her grandma made it!*

The Easter Bunny at Mamaw & Papaw's brought Teagan a bubble mower!!

She decided it was more fun for Daddy to push the mower so she could catch the bubbles...

Playing with Mamaw & Grammy!

Yes...even inside the sunglasses are on.

Watching a little hockey with Daddy while Mamaw hide Easter eggs.

Finding her Easter eggs!

How was your Easter? Did you do anything special?

Passing it on.

Having children is a miracle in itself.  Just the amount of things that have to line up for a woman to get pregnant blows my mind.  Every single detail has to be perfect. Each time I've seen that word "PREGNANT" the moment has taken my breath away.  Then the flood of worry starts to overcome me.  What am I going to pass on to this child?
I don't do drugs. I don't smoke. I very rarely drink (obviously not at all during pregnancy/nursing).  I eat healthy.  I take my prenatal vitamins. I exercise. I don't eat deli-meat and I stop myself from eating cookie dough.  I do all the "right things".  It's not those things I worry about. 
I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression in college and struggled with it many years before and a few years after my diagnosis.  I was diagnosed with an eating disorder in college and struggled with it for almost 7 years total.  I was diagnosed with a mathmatical learning disability and some other little stuff in college.  Am I going to pass this on to my children? Are they going to have to suffer with depression that grabs a hold of them to the point they can't breathe? Are my children going to start counting calories in their head or try to survive on water, diet coke and raw vegetables or throw up the "normal" food? Are my children going to hate themselves so much that they will write what they hate on their bodies or try and harm themselves? Are my children going to feel like they have to get by on their personalities because they can't do fractions or percentages?  Are they going to feel stupid because their best friends are the "smart kids" and yet they can't keep up with them even though they share the label?
It pains me that there is a possibility that my children will struggle with these things.  The fact that I might pass on these horrible things to these innocent children who have no say so in it.  The memories of my feelings occasionally haunt me now.  I sometimes still go to that dark place and have to claw my way out of it because I refuse to let it pull me all the way in.  Will my children have to fight as hard as I did?  I do worry that these are things that will be passed on.

Coloring Easter eggs!

This year we felt Teagan was old enough to color Easter eggs.  I boiled them the night before so they would be ready to go.  Teagan wasn't too sure what was going on but she had fun getting messy...thank goodness we have a deck and it was a pretty day!


"Writing" on her eggs where she didn't want color...this didn't work too well.

Tasting the egg to see if she wanted to eat it or color it.

Figuring out what she was supposed to do with all these bowls full of colored water!

It didn't take her long to figure it out!

Teagan and her works of art! Beautiful!

15 weeks

*picture via Google Images*

I will be 15 weeks on Saturday.  I really can't believe we're already at this point.  This pregnancy is flying by.  It's a little daunting.  I feel sometimes that I'm not spending enough "time" with the baby in my belly because all of my focus is on taking care of Teagan. I spent a lot of time reading and singing and rubbing and thinking about Teagan when she was in my belly.  I know this baby hears all of that but it's all directed to Teagan.  I need to start taking a few minutes during the day to really just focus on this baby every single day. 

On to the "good stuff":

Weight gain- 4 1/2 - 5lbs depending on the day.  Most of the weight is in the "top" section of my body & that is all I'm going to say about that right now.

Size of Baby Bear- 4 inches long about the size of an apple!! Not even a pound yet!

Clothes- I can still fit in about 95% of my clothes.  My "hot mama" skinny jeans definitely got put in the back of the closet a few weeks ago.  I'm in that weird "I look like I've just let myself go, where is that round belly at" phase. 

Baby Bear's movement- Once or twice when I'm still and on the couch relaxing I've felt a little dainty roll that leaves as quickly as it comes.  It brings tears to my eyes every time. 

Cravings- ORANGES!!! I can tear through a 5lb bag in a week at work with no help.  Grape kool-aid. Mashed potatoes. Substation 2 subs (that I can't have but they sound SO very good).

Aversions- The thought of berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) makes me sick.  Strawberries are okay and I can definitely eat them like crazy!

Feeling: Pretty great! I have my days where I feel exhausted, bloated and irritable but the pretty great days outweigh the bad.  Chasing Teagan around has helped me keep the weight down and not just sit and veg on the couch.  I do feel the exhaustion hit around lunch and so I grab a short lunch and a power nap at my parents after.  That has definitely helped me function and not burn out. 
I have struggled a little more mentally with the weight thing this time.  A lot rides on me keeping my wieght on the lower end of normal.  I was also trying to get down to a healthy goal weight when I got pregnant and so I am having to re-adjust my mental game.  It is going to take time but I have a very supportive husband who helps me keep it in perspective. 
(Guys in my life other then my husband should probably stop reading right now, TMI ahead)
Also, the girls are already HUGE!!! For those of you who know me you know that I hate boobs.  I always have.  I was wearing sports bras in high school & college just to smoosh them down everyday.  There have even been a few times during the years where I have seriously joked with friends who are "less full"  that I will share.  I am already up a size and I am only 15 weeks.  My milk never really had time to dry up and so I can only imagine how big they are going to get in the next 25 weeks.  YIKES!
Honestly, that would be my biggest and really only complaint.  I am truly thankful every single day for such a healthy pregnancy so far.  I will do my best to post an official 15 week picture on Saturday!

Wordless Wednesday

How awesome is this picture?

I have an incredible husband that I sometimes take advantage of.  He does so many things for Teagan and I that I'm sure I don't thank him enough. 
Sunday Josh had to help out his dad and babysit the chickens (yes, Teagan's grandparents own a chicken farm. yes, there are thousands).  So, Teagan and I had to fend for ourselves.  Josh brought Teagan in to snuggle with me before he left and we both went back to sleep no problem.  It was the waking up that was the problem.  Church starts at 9am (or 11am but we typically go to the 9am).  We woke up at 8am.  I hadn't showered, Teagan needed to eat and to be quite honest I didn't have a clue as to what either of us were going to wear.  So, in true Mommy fashion, I got as ready and as put together as I could in 10 minutes (insert scarf on my head) and then quickly dressed Teagan and went down stairs to feed her.  Normally, Josh would get dressed while I got Teagan dressed and then he would feed her while I got ready. After breakfast Teagan needed a diaper change I needed to eat as well.  She got the diaper change and I got a Nutrigrain bar.  Josh will usually put her in the carseat while I gather everything we need.  It takes us 15 minutes to get to church.  We were 5 minutes late when we are usually early or on time...thanks to team work.  Needless to say there were many times during that morning and the rest of the day where I was silently thanking the Lord for giving me such an amazing husband and giving Teagan such an incredible and loving daddy.

Thermometers

We've been hunting a good thermometer for Teagan.  One that I don't have to put under her arm or other places...lol.
With all the ear infections and teeth breaking through determining temps has been kind of difficult because she is so squirmy now but it's a necessity.  We've had a few top contenders but this one is what we will probably end up with.  It's the  Thermomendics Talking non-contact thermometer. 

 The price isn't too bad, it's digital and it takes mere seconds.  Seconds are precious when you're talking about a squirming toddler.  Maybe after we get it taking temps won't be like pulling teeth from an alligator.  If you are interested in this thermometer you can go to their website here.    

When you run out of pants...

You improvise!



Teagan has 3 pair of pants that fit her right now that are not high waters on her and I refuse to buy her pants in the middle of April when shorts season is right around the corner.  The ones that fit are in the dirty laundry this morning. It's not supposed to go above 65ish today. So, we pulled out shorts, Baby Legs & she was good to go! Of course she had to sport her sunglasses (from A Children's Place).  That way if the weather tricks us and it does get warm then we can strip the Baby Legs and have shorts.  Also, how CUTE is that coat? We got it from our sweet mama friends over at Miskabelly/Miskabelle! Go check out their Etsy site! You will not be sorry!

Try this. You'll love it.

We are very blessed to have found a great church home with friends that just kind of came with the package.  Our community group tries to get together as much as we can.  This week we had family dinner and we volunteered to host.  I made the decision I would try and make baked ziti.  I had never tried it before and figured friends were the best guinea pigs so I went for it.  I found a really easy recipe here but I'll lay it out for you after the pictures too.  We had a great time and everybody loved it.  Even Josh, who I call (lovingly), my toughest critic.  And of course Teagan chowed down, ate more then I did and had a ziti grin from ear to ear.  I didn't take a picture. Fail.  

But I did manage a picture of the finished product before we chowed down! We also had a great home-grown lettuce salad that almost looked too fresh and green to eat!

Ingredients


1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I left this out. I hate sour cream. Not really sure what the point was but it was great without it)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used more and just sprinkled as much as I wanted on the top)


Directions


1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2.In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Arts & Crafts Day!

This week was Teacher Apprecition week (or at least it was at Teagan's school).  We love Teagan's teachers and of course we wanted to do something (after Matilda's mom reminded me it was this week).  We've been very blessed in finding friends in Matilda's parents and so since the girls have met we've done teacher presents together.  This time was no different.  We wanted to do something special for them that nobody else could do and so we decided they would paint flower pots and we would put flowers in them and drop them off this morning. 
The girls painted Wednesday after "school" and it was adorable! We stripped them down to nothing but diapers and let them go.  They were more interested in painting the INSIDE of the pots then the outside.  We finally got them to paint the bottom and eventually some of the outside got painted.  After about 15 minutes they were both done.  Tara did manage to get a few before, during and after pictures.  They were so cute!

Of course after they painted "the pots" (aka: themselves) we just stripped them down and tossed them in the bathtub.  They had such a good time in the bathtub.  They spashed each other, washed the paint off each other, swtiched washcloths and splashed some more.  Neither one of them wanted to get out until they hear it was time to eat and then they were okay.  Tara fixed chicken tacos and the girls loved them! Teagan and I are so thankful for good friends!

When it was time to leave Teagan didn't want to leave & Matilda didn't want her to leave.  It took us forever to get actually out the door or even to get to the car.  But Tara couldn't resist getting a few pictures. She told me Matilda stood at the door and waved forever after we had pulled out of the driveway. 

Wordless Wednesday

I couldn't decide...so you all get three adorable Wordless Wednesday pictures!

*Oh and can you spare us 2 more seconds and give us a vote?*

Giveaway Winner!!

The winner of the Sadie Ryan Keepsake tile is: Adrian!
Please contact me at RiciReid@gmail.com so I can provide you with details! Congratulations!

Make it a double

A double stroller that is...

You guessed it! Teagan is going to be a big sister in October!  We are very excited and cannot wait to start this new journey of becoming a family of four!
Here are the very basics for right now:
Yes, we were "not-not trying". Yes, we might be a little crazy.  No, we're not finding out (we don't think) the sex of the baby.  We are almost 13 weeks.  The due date is estimated at Oct 20th.  I feel great just pretty tired.  Josh has been amazing.  We think Teagan will be excited.  She already rubs my not quite there yet "belly belly".  She will be 21 months (give or take a few days) when "Baby Bear" is born.  So yes, that is 2 under 2 but just barely!  I have only gained 4 lbs and I'm still (thankfully) in my normal clothes but I don't think that is going to last much longer.

I will begin posting more about our journey in the coming weeks (maybe with a few belly pics mixed in) but for now we are just trying to spend as much time as we can with Teagan and I am trying to get as much rest as I can!  The exhaustion is even tougher the second time around when you add chasing a toddler to the mix!

Lullabies for Getty

Teagan and I have had the honor of calling Getty and her mom friends for a little while now.  We have never met in person but hopefully one day we will.  We have grown closer via the internet/e-mail then some people grow face to face.  I am already forever thankful for their friendship and can´t wait for the day Teagan & Getty dress up in their tutus and party.  When we got the good news about an album coming out that would help raise money for the official Getty Owl Foundation we jumped on the chance we were given to tell people about it.

The album is Sweet Water Child--Lullabies for Getty by the Damnwells.  Tuesday, April 5th (tomorrow) is the official drop date of the album.  The idea is to skyrocket this album so it shows up on the big Itunes kids charts because the more people that buy the album the more money goes to the Getty Owl Foundation.  The Getty Owl Foundation is raising money for SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) research.  The cure is so close and is within arms reach as long as the researchers have enough money to keep researching.

So, if you can help us out and buy the album tomorrow all of the SMA warriors would appreciate it (I have recently been bestowed the honor of being called a SMA warrior and I wear the badge proudly).

For those of you who don´t know about SMA here are some facts about it (taken from Gettyś blog).  And don´t worry I had never heard of SMA until I happened upon Getty Owlś blog. 

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Infants, like Getty, with SMA Type 1 (SMA1), the most severe type of SMA, are born with very little muscle tone and weak muscles. They develop feeding and breathing problems as the weakness gets worse over time. The weakness eventually becomes severe.

There is no cure or treatment for SMA. The lifespan with SMA1 is seldom longer than 2 – 3 years.

• SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children.
• SMA is estimated to occur in nearly 1 out of every 6,000 births.
• 1 in every 40 people, or nearly 10 million Americans, UNKNOWINGLY carries the gene responsible for SMA. Few have any known family history.
• SMA is a pan-ethnic disease and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or gender.
• There is currently no treatment and no cure, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) selected SMA as the disease closest to treatment of more than 600 neurological disorders.
• Researchers estimate that a viable treatment and/or cure is attainable in as little as 5 years – IF provided adequate resources.
• The American College of Medical Genetics recommends that SMA carrier testing be made available to ALL couples planning a family, regardless of ethnicity or family history.
• SMA does not affect the mind.
  Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Infants, like Getty, with SMA Type 1 (SMA1), the most severe type of SMA, are born with very little muscle tone and weak muscles. They develop feeding and breathing problems as the weakness gets worse over time. The weakness eventually becomes severe.
  There is no cure or treatment for SMA. The lifespan with SMA1 is seldom longer than 2 – 3 years.
• SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children.
• SMA is estimated to occur in nearly 1 out of every 6,000 births.
• 1 in every 40 people, or nearly 10 million Americans, UNKNOWINGLY carries the gene responsible for SMA. Few have any known family history.
• SMA is a pan-ethnic disease and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or gender.
• There is currently no treatment and no cure, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) selected SMA as the disease closest to treatment of more than 600 neurological disorders.
• Researchers estimate that a viable treatment and/or cure is attainable in as little as 5 years – IF provided adequate resources.
• The American College of Medical Genetics recommends that SMA carrier testing be made available to ALL couples planning a family, regardless of ethnicity or family history.
• SMA does not affect the mind.

Chuck E. Cheese

These are pictures from Teagan's first trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We went for a cousin's b'day party and Teagan had a pretty good time.  She loved watching the big kids and there were 2 "car" rides that she rode the whole time.  She got a little overwhelmed because there were a lot of kids there (3-4 b'day parties going on at the same time).  We got some cute picutes though (via one of the rides).  You can just see her enthusiasm in the pictures...