Oh the things she says.

This morning we were in the car on the way to school and Teagan just starts chatting away....I love it when she does that.

"We can't drive over the mountain, Mommy"- T
"Why not, Little Bear?" -Mommy
"Because the car will get DIRTY!" -T
"Then how do we get over the mountain, Teagan?" -Mommy
"Tilda and Teagan take off shoes and walk.  Just Tilda Teagan."-T

So, nobody else is allowed to go over the mountain, especially not in the car because the car will get dirty, but "Tilda-Teagan" are allowed to go over with their bare feet...Where does she come up with this stuff? Oh to have the imagination of a two year old again...

My new favorite night time snack.

For the last week or two this has been in my belly before bedtime. SO FLIPPIN' GOOD!!

In the bowl: Strawberries, Mango, mini-chocolate chips, plain organic yogurt w/Splenda & a little cinnamon/sugar mix.

Teagan's favorite tunes.

Teagan LOVES this song. She asks for it almost every time she gets into the car. It's the "Roarin' like a lion" song. She even knows a little more than the chorus now. I thought I'd share. It's something we rock out to whenever we hear it in the car or at home or at church or...well, you get the point. Enjoy!!

Newsboys - God's Not Dead (Official Music Video) from newsboys on GodTube.

Oh the things she says.

This morning Teagan wanted to call her Papaw and Mamaw.  She loves talking on the phone, especially to her grandparents. 
Teagan and Papaw chatted for a while and then it was time to hang up.  We have numerous "pet" names for each other in our family and this morning it just happened to be "Punkin"....

"Teagan, tell Papaw bye bye" - Mommy
"Bye, Bye Papaw.  Love you"- Teagan
"Bye, Punkin' have a great day at school!"- Papaw
"NOT PUNKIN', Papaw! Teagan Aiza Reid!!!" - Teagan

Well, at least I know she know her name.  She later said she WAS a pumpkin.  So, Punkin' Teagan Aiza Reid? Love it.

Easier. Never easy.

I don't think leaving the girls is ever going to be easy.  I think it will get easier each time but never easy.  I dropped the girls off at their grandparents and drove away with only a few tears.  I rode with the windows down blasting the radio and singing as loudly as I could.  The sun beaming down while I rolled my arm with the wind.  Here lately Teagan doesn't really like the windows down because her hair blows in her face so windows down is a treat for me.  Especially on a sunny day.
When I got home I jumped in the shower but not before turning the monitor off.  I enjoyed a shower, knowing there wouldn't be somebody needing immediate attention the second my foot hit the rug.  I blow dried my hair and curled it.  I spent a few minutes picking out my outfit (well, like 30 and a few txt messages/sent pics for opinions) and then got ready, slowly and thoughtfully. 
Josh and I enjoyed a nice evening.  We called the girls on the road to tell them "night-night" and then we were wrapped up in nothing but each other the rest of the night. 
When we got home I thought I would probably cry like I'd done any other time we'd left the girls over night (you know, the whole two times) but I didn't.  I did, however, go stand in each of their rooms for a minute.  I stood there and thought about them, and prayed for them each individually.  I knew they were in very capable hands.  I knew that their grandparents were loving them with an intensity that almost matched mine and Josh's.  All was well.  Easier but not easy. Never easy. 

Feature of a Favorite Friday.

I had this post planned for 3 weeks ago.  But the hurricane called life smacked us with a category 4 1/2 and posting hasn't happened a lot.  For that I apologize.  We are all well.  No worries, y'all. 

Anyway, I am proud to introduce you to the company, to the sisters, to my friends whose button you've seen to the right of my blog content for a while.  These girls and I met via a contest I won and then Amanda & I clicked and even became "real life" friends a little while later.  Her sister Jayme is equally as sweet as Amanda and I hope we will all three be able to get together soon, with our little girls in tow!

Be sure to go check out their blog and their Etsy shop.  All three of us Reid ladies have clothes from their amazing online vintage store!!

Without further ado...I will let them tell you a little about themselves.


Miskabelle was founded in May 2009,although it was a brainchild of ours years and years ago before we had the gumption to actually do it. Fashion has always interested us (we played with Barbies until almost our teens!) and our close friendship as sisters made it easy to become business partners. 
Drawing on our creative strengths in art, writing, design, and style, we put together our own vintage fashion shop on Etsy (which has now spread into a fashion blog and more!).  Jayme lives in Pennsylvania and Amanda in Virginia—which is great for finding a wide range of merchandise for the shops, but it also can be a challenge (and we miss each other!).
The shop name, Miskabelle, comes from our last name (Miska) and "belle" which means"beautiful" in French--a language we both studied and loved.
We have worked really hard to perfect the Miskabelle shop—evolving/improving how we photograph the items and searching for only the most unique and noteworthy pieces to add to our inventory, and in turn we've seen our sales and number of blog readers really grow over these past three years.  The whole thing has been a dream come true--doing what you love with someone you love never feels like work.

Random Ramblings.

Recently life has started going full on.  The intensity of our lives as a family of four has been kicked up an Emeril Lagasse notch.

We have been blessed in so many ways.  The way the Lord's provision has been shown to us and those we love just blows my mind.

I watched the entire last season of One Tree Hill.  I cried my eyes out most episodes.  I'm not ashamed.

Teagan now begs for me to play Adele's "Rumor has it".  Just for the claps and the chorus.  I've created a monster.

Kyra started solids.  She was trying to karate chop the rest of us for our food.  It was time.  She's rockin' it.

My husband has grown so much in his walk with the Lord.  He called me out a week or so ago.  As a husband.  As a brother in Christ.  It was amazing and humbling and I am so thankful for him.  For the man he is.  For the man he is becoming.  For the man he will be. 

Teagan has started telling us her name is Teagan Aiza Reid when we call her anything but Teagan.  It's pretty humorous. 

Kyra is the best little raspberry blower I know.  She is giggling and squealing up a storm.  Some days I think our friend, Jeanmarie, can hear her down the road. 

I am in the middle of a ton of stuff.  Organizing the pictures, like thousands, on our external hard drive and making a photo book for the first six months of Kyra's life is on the top of that list.

I am going to start revamping my closet.  We are on a budget that surpasses strict and penny pinching.  My items will all be second hand and I'm okay with that.  I am going to pick things that compliment my mommy body and I'm going to rock it. 

I am going to take more time for the girls and Josh individually.  Last weekend I had some one on one time with Teagan and it was great.  It was good for both of us and something we needed so badly.  I hadn't had more then 45 minutes of alone time with her since Kyra was born.  Kyra and I need some uninterrupted time as well.  Just me and her playing and loving.  Josh and I need the same.  Most mornings we barely get a kiss before we're all backing out of the garage and most nights there is so much to do I think our heads spin in sync.  Making time out for each other; for us and the girls individually needs to become a priority.

I read the Hunger Games.  I broke down and read all three books.  In less then 5 days.  Yeah...I guess you were right my friends.  You were right.


This is probably going to be the format of my posts for a while.  Just so you know.  I'll be back with heartfelt and thoughtful posts soon....We're just walking up a mountain right now.  I can't wait to see what all is at the top waiting for us.

I have a bottle fed baby.

I did an update a week or so ago and included with it how Kyra was now a bottle fed baby and I sold my pump.  I said there would be an explanation.  Honestly, there isn't much of one. I've felt a flood of emotions about it.  From anger, to hurt, to bitterness, to frustration, to jealousy, to acceptance, to sucking it up and getting over it. There are times when I see other mom's feeding their baby that I feel a twinge of guilt and I have to blink back tears.  That should be me. I should be feeding Kyra that way.  I can honestly say I went down with a fight.  It was not for lack of trying by any means.  There was nothing else I could do.
We went to Kyra's four month check up and she hadn't gained enough weight.  She'd dropped below the threshold (20th percentile) and they were concerned so we decided to come back in a month.  She and I had been struggling, as I've talked about before, to the point of tears and exhaustion at every feeding.  The doctor confirmed my fears and so we started pushing the bottle more.  We made it to four and a half months of just breast milk.  But, I was so determined she wouldn't have to use formula that I was pumping to the point I made myself bleed.  Not just a little mind you, it was pretty substantial.
My friend, Meghan, called me on it.  Breastfeeding, giving Kyra breast milk was quickly becoming an idol for me.  It was all I could think about.  I was letting so much other stuff go just so I could give Kyra breast milk.  Some would call that doing the best for Kyra.  Others called me crazy.  I will admit now, and had to admit then, that I had reached that proverbial line in the sand and jumped across it. I had to decrease what I was doing because honestly, I was sacrificing too much and it wasn't worth it.  I was hurting myself physically and emotionally and sacrificing precious time WITH Kyra and Teagan and Josh.  After a little while my body gave up.  It realized it wasn't Kyra at my breast but a measly pump.  After a few weeks my milk was gone and we ran out of our freezer supply.  Now, she is a formula fed baby.   I broke out in HIVES the day I realized we would have to put her on formula.  I cried crocodile tears on the day we sold the pump.
I know she won't grow an extra arm.  I know she is going to be just as smart as her sister.  I know she is developmentally on target and growing like a weed.  Like she should.  Sometimes it still hurts though.  In the middle of the night when she can't go back to sleep; I know if I could just put her to my breast she would settle in a mere minute and fall right back to sleep.  Now, we have to give her an entire bottle before she will settle down.  I do feel pangs of guilt, like when we're at church and a mom sneaks out to feed her baby while I'm feeding Kyra with a bottle during the sermon.  I feel envious when other moms talk about their babies wanting to be at the breast all the time.  I am sure it's a little frustrating for them, but I can only wish that was me complaining.  Then there is the fact that I breastfed Teagan for an entire year.  I almost feel like I've done Kyra an injustice.  Like she isn't getting the things Teagan got because I wasn't able to do the same for her.
There are upsides that I have tried to focus on.  Teagan has fed Kyra, Josh gets to feed her more often.  We've been able to leave both girls at my parents for a night.  Feedings are good now for Kyra and I at night.  We snuggle up in the rocking chair, she buries the side of her head close to my chest and drinks the bottle while we stare at each other and I smile.  That is how a feeding should be.  That is how ours are now.  No more circus act.  No more acrobatics trying to keep her latched.  It's peaceful.  It's calm.  It's a good experience instead of a frustrating one.  It is exactly how our time should be together.