Give away!



Have you ever wondered how you can preserve your birth announcements or wedding invitations? What about favorite picture or saying? Well, the people at Sadie Ryan Keepsake Tiles helped us out and are willing to help you out as well!

They contacted me and kindly offered to send us a sample and we loved it! All we had to do was send a picture and our saying and they sent it on it's way.  We've placed it in Teagan's room and it will be something she can keep forever.

They have also offered to give one of my readers the same gift they gave to our family! There are many chances to enter.  Here are the ways:

*Tell one creative thing you've done to preserve the memory of your child or children's birth?
*Follow @RiciReid on Twitter
*Follow the Teagan Tales blog
*Vote for Teagan Tales on Top Baby Blogs (this is a honesty entry guys & gals)


*The giveaway winner will be picked randomly on April 9th! Spread the word!*

Leaving a legacy.

One of my favorite Mommy bloggers, Tiffany from Mom-Nom wrote this post and asked we pass it on.  I'm with her. I love my Starbucks but I think I could live without it for a day or two to help out:

*Blog post DIRECTLY from her blog.*

For Paige…


by Tiffany
I’m terrified I won’t do this family the justice they deserve. However, I also feel I will be doing them a disservice if I don’t tell you all about a little girl named Paige Ryan…and how you can help the world remember her.
Over the last year many of our online friends have had babies. Several had them premature – including a girl I love dearly, Jenny from What’s the Blog? – I’m sure you know her and her adorable triplets by now. Many of our lives have been touched by the miracles that occur in NICU’s all across the country, everyday and the amazing research that the March of Dimes and other organizations do that help save lives…
Paige and Patrick were born at 23 weeks old on February 9. Many of you know, just from hearing those words, that the severity of this birth was rather high. To make matters even more complicated, their daddy was in Fort Bliss, preparing to deploy to Iraq for his second tour…looking forward to coming home in May for the twins’ arrival.
At birth, Patrick weighed in at 1 pound, 7 ounces and Paige weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces – and they were beautiful - just like their parents. As you can imagine, their first few nights were rocky, unstable at best. Fortunately the Army had given Shannon a little over a week for emergency leave – so Amanda had him by her side – and together they were finally a family of four.
Unfortunately, after a week of fighting for her life, Paige Ryan passed away at Nationwide Children’s Hosital.
Her daddy and mommy were by her side. Her brother nearby. And, as you can imagine, they are devastated.
Patrick is still fighting – currently they are trying to figure out his stoma/bowel issues and hoping to regulate his blood pressure. While Amanda stays in a Ronald McDonald home at the hospital, their daddy is on his way to Iraq. Everyday Amanda updates all of us on her CaringBridge site. She shares her highs and lows and allows us to share them with her.
And everyday I read her words and can’t imagine what she is going through.
So there you have it, friends. A mother, like us, has just lost her daughter. She has a son fighting for his life. And her husband is in Iraq, serving his country.
Can you take a moment, for me, and wrap your brain around that?
And what are they asking people for? What is the one thing that is on their mind constantly?
How do they help the world remember Paige Ryan?
How can they ensure their daughter is not forgotten? That her legacy lives on?
And, in the midst of their sorrow and sadness, they have started the Paige Ryan Project.



"Directly from Amanda & Shannon -
During the past month and a half, we’ve quickly realized there’s not much about this whole situation we can control. It literally has been a rollercoaster ride, full of short-lived highs and the lowest of lows, and will continue to be for many more months to come. We’re experiencing things so incredibly heartbreaking – the loss of our daughter and watching our son struggle with daily obstacles – that sometimes it’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But we continue to be hopeful and focused on the things we can control – how we respond/overcome, how we choose to remember our little girl and how we can help other families.
For those who know us well, you know we’re not ones to sit back and wallow in our hardships. Fairly soon after we lost Paige, we discussed what we could do to help others. We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted to do, but we agreed our little girl deserved a legacy. Her life, though short, had a purpose and as her parents, we want to make sure it is carried out.
We were surprised at how many husbands and wives are in similar situations as ours. One of them may not be deployed to Iraq, but many are separated just the same. There’s a couple in our unit from the UK who had their baby while on holiday here in Columbus. The mom is still here with their baby while the dad is having to remote parent from England. There’s another couple from North Dakota – the dad had to go back home for work and the mom is now here alone. So as you can see, we’re not the only ones relying on technology to communicate during a time when spouses need each other most. Unfortunately, many families in the NICU cannot afford laptops, ipads and/or webcams. So an experience that is already hard enough is made harder because of the limited tools available to communicate with loved ones, especially those who are far away.
With this in mind, we’ve decided to start a fund within Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The Paige Ryan Project will support the hospital’s technology efforts, specifically by purchasing ipads for the NICU in Paige’s memory. Families will be able to borrow an ipad when they are in the unit visiting with their baby. This will enable them to skype with family members, update their CaringBridge sites, research important medical information about their child, etc. right from the bedside. It really will be an invaluable resource for so many.
If you’d like to show your support by making a donation, please make checks payable to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and mail it to Cathy Kellerman at the address below. You can also call in credit card donations to Cathy as well. Please reference Paige Bibbee on all donations. All donations are tax deductible.
Cathy Kellerman, Foundation Director, Donor Relations
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
700 Children’s Drive
Columbus, OH 43205
Cathy.Kellerman@NationwideChildrens.org
614.355.0817

Shannon and I may never be the same after all of this, but we’re hoping to somehow emerge a stronger couple, more appreciative parents and even more compassionate people. With your support, and with the help of our own special guardian angel, we know it’s possible.
Thank you all for everything,
Shannon & Amanda"



My challenge to you is this:

Donate $5.
Skip your lunch today.
Don’t buy your Starbucks.
And, donate.
Give this family the joy they so desperately deserve. Help them build the legacy for their daughter – a daughter they never got the chance to fully know. I know you are all generous people. I know you understand the depths of this.
I know you know what this would do for their grieving souls.
And, even if you can’t donate, I would really appreciate it if you would help me spread this message. Either by Tweeting my post, copying and pasting my post onto your own blog or emailing it to your friends. This is the greatest gift I can give them right now.
I owe them this.

For Paige

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa's house

Last Saturday we were able to visit with Josh's family and Teagan had a blast running around the farm while Josh fixed his car.  I got that bonnet for her last year and it still fits! Not for long though!



Tantrums

Whoa, Nelly! Have we reached "that age"? We sure have.  The age of tantrums.  Something we are trying to nip in the bud now.
I teach parenting for a living and while talking the talk is easy from my side of my work desk I get a reality check when i get home and have to practice what I preach.  The current approach is ignoring the tantrum but keeping a watchful eye so she doesn't hurt herself if she starts rolling around. 
Usually a tantrum is fueled by me or Josh telling her no.  If she is on a hard surface I try and move her to a carpeted area and then just let her have her tantrum while I keep a watchful eye from across the room.  At her age I don't let it go longer then 7 minutes because to be quite honest I would rather her not make herself sick and she can't calm herself down after that point.  After she stops or after I pick her up I put her on my lap, calm her down and explain to her why I said no, etc., give her a kiss and hug and then let her go back to playing. 
Our theory is letting her realize at a young age that daddy and mommy are not going to tolerate temper tantrums and when we say no it means no. 
What are you discipline techniques? Have you had to deal with tantrums yet?  If not how do you think you will deal with them? 

Here is one of the "tantrum pictures" I snapped a week or so ago...this one will come back out in about 15 years...

Cuteness overload: Proceed with caution

These are some pictures from our last 2 amazing Saturdays.  I know I'm pretty bias but can you get over this cuteness?

 

 

Almost 4 years.

I have a very dear friend whom I met in college.  Fumie Kishiwada Nesbit (before she was married I loved just saying her first and last name all together because it was fun).  Fumie is native Japanese and one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  I honestly don't think there is a mean bone in her body.  When we graduated she only had a few days left in the states before her and her hubs moved back to Japan.  To say I was sad would be an understatement.  I swore to her that Josh & I would make it to Japan to visit her before she & the hubs tried to come back to the states.  Well, it happened! In May of 2008 Josh and I packed our bags and settled in for a 17 hour flight to Narita airport, Japan.  The experience was a whirlwind because we forgot to take into account the amount of travel time and so it left us with only 4 1/2 days of visit time & only 3 days with Fumie.  I had my first taste of "real" sushi in a sushi bar an hour after we got off the airplane (NOT a good idea) and was sick well into the next morning.  The coca-cola over there is amazing and I craved it when I was pregnant...there was just something different about it.  Real sugar maybe?  We tried authentic Japanese cuisine, Brazilian food (her mom is an amazing cook), Brazilian BBQ (can we say HEAVEN? Josh and I still talk about that BBQ) and our first taste of Thai food.  We went to a karaoke bar and had our own room.  I got chased by a KILLER HORNET while waiting on our Thai food.  The trip was full of all sorts of little adventures.  The people were very friendly and orderly and I never once felt unsafe even among the LARGE crowds of Tokyo.  Everything was beautiful.  Even the buildings that towered downtown Tokyo were lovely to look at.  It's an experience we will never forget (even if I get the names mixed up or mispronounce them from time to time) and hope to share with Teagan (and the EVENTUAL next baby) whent they get old enough. 
Then, the quake hit and the tsunami followed.  My heart broke and I was filled with heart wrenching worry for my dear friend and her family.  I knew they were south of what happened but the fear of not hearing from her was something I don't even think I can put into words.  I was glued to 4 live feeds of what was going on.  I cried tears of relief and joy when I heard from Fumie's husband telling me she and her family were okay.  And then when I heard from her in true Fumie fashion all she complained about was having to walk 5 hours to her grandparents in heels.  I laughed and cried at the same time. 
I thought I would share some pictures from our visit over there with you.  Just remember the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers.  The devestation is great and it will be for a very long time.  Even if you can't donate money please keep them in your prayers because prayers are powerful things. 

Chocolate Face

On Saturday we treated Teagan to her first taste of ice cream.  She ate an entire children's portion. And loved it.

Our Saturday Morning Sounds

Teagan's songs when she first wake up in the morning. She could most definitely trump any early morning song bird.
Our stifled giggles from the bedroom at our sweet girls song.
Her frustrated whines after a few minutes of us enjoying her song and not coming in to get her.
Her delighted squeals when one of us comes in to get her or her especially excited screams when both of us come in.
Her laughter as we race back to our room and snuggle up in bed.
That laughter is followed by more giggles when we start tickling her.
Eventually the frustrated "I'm over this and hungry" cries begin (which may or may not have be partially caused by her daddy taking her binky without asking).
After the frustrated grunts and happy squeals of the morning diaper change and the brushing of our teeth the quick footsteps down the stairs fill the house.
A few air plane twirl noises and clicks of the tray on the high chair mean breakfast will soon come.  The guzzle of milk, the crackle of bacon and the pop of the toast make for excited kicks to the high chair.
After breakfast the "all done" hands and babble come followed by the extremely excited "dadadadada" in seeing Daddy come back down the stairs to play.
Now, I'm listening to my own bacon crunch and the sweet sounds of Teagan & Daddy playing in the living room.
I hope your Saturday sounded as sweet as ours did this morning.  Happy Saturday!

Wordless Wednesday

I can't believe she's walking now...bye bye crawling...Wow.

Dearest Teagan

Dearest Teagan,

Wow, kiddo! You are just taking off!  Since Saturday your 3 usual words have seemed to disappear after the verbal floodgates came crashing down!  You are talking nonstop now and your daddy and I love it! Your BFF Matilda was saying "that" (dat) yesterday and you came home saying it.  You two are hilarious! I hope you will continue to be friends for a long time!
You are walking all over the place and actually prefer it to crawling now.  You try to run but sometimes your head tries to get there before your legs and you topple over!  You've also started climbing.  Basically anything you can get a leg up on is fair game.  The dishwasher is a favorite of yours, the stool that (was) in your room, a chair, your rocking cow.  It's pretty funny to watch but I'm getting anxious for that first official tumble. 
You know a lot of your body parts now.  Your "belly, belly", your feet, ears & eyes.  We are still working on your nose.  You know what I'm asking for when I ask for specific items like shoes (and you can almost put them on by yourself, velcro and all!), socks, diaper, coat, gorilla, baby, ball, book, etc.  You know the other kids in your class and point to them when I ask you where they are. 
You are about 23-24 lbs now and still just under 30 inches long.  Just about ready for that new carseat but luckily you are still rear facing and will be until it's not comfortable for you.  What can I say? Mommy is a bit of a worry wart!
My sweet girl, you are such an amazing part of our lives.  We are thankful for you every single day.  The Lord truly blessed us when he allowed us to be vessels for his miracle that is you. 

Love Always & Forever,
Mommy

February's Book review.

*picture via Google Image Search *



For February I teetered off the path of my reading list when I wandered through my local library's jungle of books.  I have a really bad habit of going into the library for the soul purpose of one book and coming out with at least 5.  I'm quite naive in thinking I can read that many in the time it takes to return them and I usually end up with a late fee. Like this time. Ooops. *sidenote, I can consider it helping out the public libraries funding, right?*

Anyway, February's book was "Barbie & Ruth" by Robin Gerber.  I'm not really sure why the book caught my eye amidst all the other books that happened to be in line on that aisle in the library but it did.  Perhaps because I've been wondering about the affect of Barbie on young girls and how that is going to play into how many Barbie's Teagan has.  Anyway, that is another topic for another time.

The book was a good read.  I never really knew the history behind Barbie.  I just knew she has been around for a very long time and that I played with them a lot when I was a little girl.  This book shows the story of how Ruth (the creator of Barbie, named after her daughter, Barbara) took on the world and showed the toy industry how a woman could take control and know what she was doing.  Ruth was a take names, expect perfection and nothing less from anybody kinda gal.  It showed how hard she worked to really make a name for herself & her husband and their company.  I found myself occasionally understanding where she was coming from and then getting angry at her thinking she needed to get her priorities in order.  This is a real "I am woman hear me roar" kind of book.  So, ladies if you need a little "you can do it" fire lit under your rear you might should read this book. 

I would give it about a 3 out of 5.  It would definitely be a good plane ride book. 



The great t-shirt chase.

Teagan is having her picture taken soon by a Mr. Jonathan O'Brien (the guy we consider our family photographer) and we want her to have a cute little outfit.  We are all about cute t-shirts and vintage dresses in our family (well, the ladies are anyway) and I have sketched out a really cute t-shirt but would never be able to make it.  I would love suggestions on who to use, friend of the family? Favorite Etsy seller?

I've had a lot on my mind here lately.  Life has been going in a whirlwind.  My brain is going on overdrive and to be quite honest, I wish it would stop or at least slow down for a little while.  I've lacked inspiration as of late.  Not to say I'm not in love and inspired by my love and my toddler love on a daily basis but it's, well, it's pretty hard to explain.  I don't even really know how to describe it. 
Also, the lack of posts are due to my lack of computer.  My laptop has been on the fritz but luckily my hubs has been able to fix it so that shouldn't be a problem soon!


I will wet your appetite with some upcoming things:
2 give aways!
1 book review
1 (MAYBE) What We Wore Post

I know I've been a slacker but find a little love in your heart for me and spare a vote? Thanks!!