On the second day of the ultimate disaster it began to sink in that we weren't getting power back anytime soon. We were on the rural electric company not the big Oklahoma Electric company. This meant they had fewer trucks, less man power, and all the houses were much more spread out in the country. After a couple days on the lamp Jerry came into our lives. Jerry was a gas powered generator that allowed us to use a few electronics, sparingly, and only in certain combinations. For instance the refrigerator couldn't be run at the same time as my beloved hair dryer.
Once the roads were cleared of trees, power lines, and power poles Emily made her way out to the farm because we had heat and her house in town didn't. I got caught up on all the city gossip and she got warmed up. I remember laying in front of our furnace in the living room eating white chocolate covered oreos pondering how far into June we would have to go to school and when we would finally get to graduate. We didn't even think of the option that we would be out of school for two weeks then we wouldn't get a spring break, but graduate on time. Which is what actually happened. That's right, no spring break my senior year. Doesn't sound like a big deal to me as an adult, but imagine the scandal that would be to a class of seniors.
The first weekend after the storm my brother and his friends came up to help with tree chopping and hauling. I was sure that my big brother, my best friend in the world, would surely stay with me over the weekend. Oh no, after cleaning up trees limbs all day I vividly remember him coming in with a thing of pringles. I thought he was coming in to chill with me, keep me company with my crazy parents. But nope he was coming to say GOOD BYE!!!! I sadly said to him, "aren't you staying the whole weekend?" To which he said no and tried to take the pringles, don't worry I kept them. Devastating, why did I name my son after him again? I must have forgotten this betrayal in the moment of naming my son.
I forgot to mention in my first post that a few weeks prior to this storm Able had gotten into a minor wreck while driving my brand new Neon. So my new car had been in the shop and a few weeks into the ice storm depressing situation the exciting news came that my car was finally fixed. As I recall I got this news on Valentine's day, of course I didn't have a boy friend, so picking up my car was the high light of my Valentine's day. Let me just go back a little bit, every night on the news they would update how many people were still without power. Every night this was like a slap in the face, no I wasn't happy for the thousands of people who had power back because I'm pretty sure we were in the last 100 people to get power. So I was not too happy with the OG&E company, the city electric company whose trucks taunted me all the time. Back to the car story, on my way home from picking up newly fixed car one of those damn OG&E trucks was driving right down the center of the road. I kept thinking that it would move over so as not to hit me head on, but that didn't happen so I swirved, to save my life, in turn hitting a pot hole, bending the rim on the tire of my car, rendering it useless AGAIN! SHOOT ME at this point. Cried so hard that night!! Classic Audra story.
The second part to that story involves me telling about the smelly friends that we sometimes shared our one hundred year old house with. Let me say the house was built in 1890 something, at which point they didn't build houses on foundations, so much as huge rocks they found a long the creek bed. So after a hundred years the rocks really don't do their job anymore and certain animals can dig under the house, climb up in between the walls to keep warm in the winter. Yes let's just say it, skunks lived in our ceiling hence why this house was bull dozed under shortly after the ice devastation. So on the night of the car disaster I hit my rock bottom of the ice storm. I finally got home, in my useless car, probably took some nyquil and went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of dad spraying air freshener. Sometimes I woke up to the sound of the little skunk feet running around, sometimes I would wake up to the sound of them actually spraying, and sometimes I would wake up due to the smell. This time it was dad spraying his favorite orange air freshener non stop. This didn't help anything, so much as make a terrible new smell, a mixture of oranges and skunk. I could throw up just thinking about it. He would not stop with the air freshener, it was too cold to open the windows, and in an attempt to turn Jerry on quickly, in the dark pretty much all our electronics were fried. I was officially pushed over the edge. While mom and dad were trying to air out the house I went and slept in my broken car. It was freezing and cramped, but didn't smell like a horrible mixture of orange and skunk.
Time passed and we all got use to our new routine. Lamps/candles came out in the evening when we turned Jerry off for the night. We figured out how to turned Jerry on effectively in the event of a skunk attack. I figured out that if I slept under the covers at the bottom of the bed I really couldn't smell anything. There was no turning the light on to go downstairs to the bathroom at night and no cellphones to use as flash lights. I am surprised that no one fell down our stairs and broke their neck. Mom went back to school pretty soon and dad was out feeding cattle, fixing fences damaged by the storm, and all other sorts of farming. This left me home by myself for weeks with nothing to do but finish my depressing book and stress out about never graduating high school. I wish I could say I learned lessons of gratitude for electricity in the whole process. Probably at some level I did, but in reality I was just in a dark place, bored, and missing the twenty first century technology that I was accustom to.
In the end we were without power for thirty three days. I swear we were the last people in the state to get power back. I remember the day I saw the Cimarron Electric trucks on our road. It was the greatest day. Emily and I even stopped to take pictures with the new power line poles that were waiting to be put up. Yes, we had to buy a lot of new electronics but we were finally back to real life and I could finally blow dry my precious hair. And that is the story of the the great 2002 ice storm from the senior in high school perspective.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. It has been unseasonably warm here the past couple days which has given Zane a chance to play with his new cozy coup that he got for Christmas. There isn't a lot of room for him to drive it around here, but we have pushed him around the yard and he tries to drive it around on our little back patio, he just runs into the table, house, or grill pretty quickly. This mornings outside time ending with a fall with Zane hitting his face on the leg of a chair.
*Sorry I don't have pictures our camera's battery was dead and I didn't know it.
2. Needless to say our Boo Boo bunny has been busy today. This is the one I have, which I found randomly in a little baby boutique while I was pregnant. Recently it has gotten a lot of use. Zane felt like he really wanted it on the opposite cheek than the one that was hurt, but after a little instruction he figured it out and left it on his bruise for quite some awhile.
3. For some reason this week Zane has seemed to become so much more of a big boy rather than a baby. I gave him a hair cut, the first one I had done without mom's help. This always takes him back to being a big boy, looking so much like Grandpa. Then we decided he needed a booster seat for the table, not just a high chair, and we got him a little singing step stool for the bathroom for future potty training adventures. Those obviously aren't starting anytime soon, but he also needs it for when he washes his hands.
4. The other new thing that has really made me realize that my baby isn't a baby anymore is that one of Zach's work friends brought over a big boy bed that his son had out grown. It is a very nice bed, very sturdy, with drawers underneath and shelves on the head board. It will be perfect some day, but I just can't envision Zaney in a big boy bed. Also, the big boy transition will mean changing rooms as well, so we have to repaint the other room and do all sorts of changes before that happens. For now my baby is staying in his crib. Is that bad?
5. Today I watched The Little Mermaid with Zane for the first time. He was pretty cuddling after his facial injury and that was the first Disney movie I saw in the drawer. I am pretty confident that it is my favorite Disney movie and Ariel is my favorite Princess! There I said it!
6. Zane is now wearing size 7 shoes after complaining about his shoes being too tight the whole Oklahoma trip. He is rocking some Chucky T's like Uncle Able's but the low top version. They look huge on him, but his toes are right where they should be. I can't keep this kid in shoes to save my life. Time to hit up the resale stores again.
7. Zane thinks our TV should be a touch screen. This is the funniest thing ever to watch. He really has started to enjoy looking through the different selections on the streaming Netflix screen on our TV, but he goes up and tries to get the screen to slide over, like on the Ipad. It is so cute, but he does get pretty frustrated when it doesn't actually swipe over when touches it.
8. I need to get back to scrapbooking. I haven't done it in a couple weeks and I miss it. I wish I had a craft room, isn't that everyone's dream? I could organize everything and not worry about having to put everything away so we can use our kitchen table after making one page. That is a dream, so I might need to find a better system for the house I am in .
9. Today will be our first night getting extreme and I have to say I'm pretty nervous. However, I need to do something again and it is always a good workout so it should be good. I have tracked my calories for a couple days now, trying to stay on the wagon for at least a little bit.
10. Lastly I would like to welcome little Hadley Marie Nyman into the world. Congrats to my friend Talisha, who sounds like had a rough labor, after being a week past due. Little Hadley was born on the 28th weighing 6lb 1oz, and everyone is doing great! Congrats Nyman Family and welcome to Mommyhood Talisha, you will love it!
*Sorry I don't have pictures our camera's battery was dead and I didn't know it.
2. Needless to say our Boo Boo bunny has been busy today. This is the one I have, which I found randomly in a little baby boutique while I was pregnant. Recently it has gotten a lot of use. Zane felt like he really wanted it on the opposite cheek than the one that was hurt, but after a little instruction he figured it out and left it on his bruise for quite some awhile.
3. For some reason this week Zane has seemed to become so much more of a big boy rather than a baby. I gave him a hair cut, the first one I had done without mom's help. This always takes him back to being a big boy, looking so much like Grandpa. Then we decided he needed a booster seat for the table, not just a high chair, and we got him a little singing step stool for the bathroom for future potty training adventures. Those obviously aren't starting anytime soon, but he also needs it for when he washes his hands.
4. The other new thing that has really made me realize that my baby isn't a baby anymore is that one of Zach's work friends brought over a big boy bed that his son had out grown. It is a very nice bed, very sturdy, with drawers underneath and shelves on the head board. It will be perfect some day, but I just can't envision Zaney in a big boy bed. Also, the big boy transition will mean changing rooms as well, so we have to repaint the other room and do all sorts of changes before that happens. For now my baby is staying in his crib. Is that bad?
5. Today I watched The Little Mermaid with Zane for the first time. He was pretty cuddling after his facial injury and that was the first Disney movie I saw in the drawer. I am pretty confident that it is my favorite Disney movie and Ariel is my favorite Princess! There I said it!
6. Zane is now wearing size 7 shoes after complaining about his shoes being too tight the whole Oklahoma trip. He is rocking some Chucky T's like Uncle Able's but the low top version. They look huge on him, but his toes are right where they should be. I can't keep this kid in shoes to save my life. Time to hit up the resale stores again.
7. Zane thinks our TV should be a touch screen. This is the funniest thing ever to watch. He really has started to enjoy looking through the different selections on the streaming Netflix screen on our TV, but he goes up and tries to get the screen to slide over, like on the Ipad. It is so cute, but he does get pretty frustrated when it doesn't actually swipe over when touches it.
8. I need to get back to scrapbooking. I haven't done it in a couple weeks and I miss it. I wish I had a craft room, isn't that everyone's dream? I could organize everything and not worry about having to put everything away so we can use our kitchen table after making one page. That is a dream, so I might need to find a better system for the house I am in .
9. Today will be our first night getting extreme and I have to say I'm pretty nervous. However, I need to do something again and it is always a good workout so it should be good. I have tracked my calories for a couple days now, trying to stay on the wagon for at least a little bit.
10. Lastly I would like to welcome little Hadley Marie Nyman into the world. Congrats to my friend Talisha, who sounds like had a rough labor, after being a week past due. Little Hadley was born on the 28th weighing 6lb 1oz, and everyone is doing great! Congrats Nyman Family and welcome to Mommyhood Talisha, you will love it!
Monday, January 30, 2012
My Ice Storm Story: Day One
My mom and Amanda have both written their accounts of Oklahoma's "Ice Storm of the Century" so I have decided to jump on the boat. My account is slightly more... what is the word I am looking for.... maybe aggressive?, than theirs, but I am sure you will all find it entertaining. I did not find this time entertaining at all. I was a senior in high school, so everything was pretty dramatic to start out with, but this seriously was out of control. Here is how the story unfolded.
Lets set the scene. It was January of 2002, I was starting my last semester of high school at Pi Hi, and all was right with the world. Well really nothing was right in the world, but things in my life were going pretty good. I couldn't wait to graduate and head down to Norman to get started on the college life with Able. My best friend, Emily, and I even went so far as making a countdown to graduation calendar at the beginning of this semester because we just couldn't wait to be done with high school.
My last semester of high school started with an English assignment to pick a classic novel to read and write a report on it. I had chosen Toni Morrison's Beloved, do not ask me why. For those of you that haven't read this book, it is a very graphic and depressing book. This comes into play later in the ice storm story, so just keep in mind that was what I was reading during this whole ordeal. I was skinny then, looking back on it, I didn't realize it at the time, but I was. I wish I had enjoyed that more at the time, but that is a side note to the hell which was the ice storm.
I have no recollection of Gary's ice storm warnings on the night of January 29, 2002, but I vaguely remember dad freaking out that night. However, let's be honest, dad freaked out a lot so I must have written it off. I was sleeping upstairs in Able's bed at this point, since I was the only child at home and he had a full size bed. I lived in a one hundred year old farm house, so the upstairs room had the slanted ceiling like you see in the movies. There was a elm tree outside the kitchen that was as old as the house, with a big branch that hung out over the roof of Able's room. On the morning of January 30th I woke up to two strange noises. The first being the sound of that big branch scraping on the roof. I couldn't figure out why I had never heard this before. I hadn't heard this before because it had never been covered with a thick coat of ice, weighing it down to the point that it would scrape the roof. By the grace of God this huge branch didn't fall through the roof. If that had happened I would be dead and this story wouldn't exist. The second sound was the sound of branches falling into the creek, which runs right behind the house. It took me a long time to realize what the sound was. I would hear a cracking sound, which was the branching slowing breaking under the weight of the ice, then a big splash as the branch fell into the ice covered creek. This happened over and over and over, for days, turns out this is a very depressing sound because it crash means another tree being destroyed.
I laid in bed analyzing the new sounds for quite some time. I had heard dad receive the phone call from the principle saying school was canceled, earlier in the morning, so I knew I could didn't have to get up. While I was analyzing all that was going on outside, from the warmth of my bed, I hadn't looked out the window yet, our neighbor called to talk to mom. This was the first time I realized the power was out. Mom, always the calm one, was on the phone downstairs reassuring our neighbor (never the calm one) that the reports that it would be a month before we got power back were crazy talk and that it would surely be fixed in a day or two.
The first day wasn't terrible. Mom and I went outside to assess the damage, which was unbelievable. Every surface was coated with thick ice. Most of the tree branches had broken off over night or were currently breaking that morning. Our long drive way was covered with branches/trees so we literally couldn't leave our house. We had heat because our house was heated using natural gas and we had water because we were on "city" water not well water. We took the food out of our fridge, put it in ice chests, which we filled with ice cycles that we gather from around the yard, and left it outside to stay cold. Dad, being dad, immediately bought into the fact that we would be out of power for weeks, but in a classic the boy who cried wolf situation, I didn't believe him. I spent most of the day laying in beds ( I am pretty sure I napped in every bed in the house that day) reading my depressing Toni Morrison book, while listening to the tree limbs fall into the creek.
I forgot to mention one major factor at play here. Being January I had a terrible chest cold and had such a bad cough that I had literally coughed until I separated my ribs. My grandpa was a doctor, but not one that was impressed with trivial things like separated ribs. He diagnosed me over the phone and the treatment he prescribed was ibuprofen every four hours and keeping heat on it. Heat, provided by a heating pad, which needs electricity to work. It took me a few hours into day one to realize just how painful the ribs were without the heat. This painful injury combine with boredom and bad cough led me to sometimes randomly take Nyquil during my days trapped inside. I'm proud of this fact, but people do terrible things when in dark places, literally.
The night of the 30th was our first night "On the lamp." This means our house was lite by candles and oil lamps. It got dark at 5:30, so the lamps came out early, and their is only so much you can do while sitting around in candle light. Mom and dad were loving this situation. They loved the soft light, dad loved the simplicity of night without TV or phones, and this is when things started to get real for me. There were friends I wanted to call, boys I needed to talk to, TV shows that I was missing (this was long before DVR), CDs I wanted to listen to, and most importantly I COULDN'T DRY MY HAIR!!!!! CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE IT! Honestly that was a huge deal for me at the time and now I couldn't tell you the last time I dried my hair. Mom and dad got bored quickly so they went to bed, at like 8pm. This was not acceptable to my senior in high school self, so I laid on my living room floor, playing solitaire by lamp light for hours. I finally gave up, took some my Nyquil, and went to bed.
Lets set the scene. It was January of 2002, I was starting my last semester of high school at Pi Hi, and all was right with the world. Well really nothing was right in the world, but things in my life were going pretty good. I couldn't wait to graduate and head down to Norman to get started on the college life with Able. My best friend, Emily, and I even went so far as making a countdown to graduation calendar at the beginning of this semester because we just couldn't wait to be done with high school.
My last semester of high school started with an English assignment to pick a classic novel to read and write a report on it. I had chosen Toni Morrison's Beloved, do not ask me why. For those of you that haven't read this book, it is a very graphic and depressing book. This comes into play later in the ice storm story, so just keep in mind that was what I was reading during this whole ordeal. I was skinny then, looking back on it, I didn't realize it at the time, but I was. I wish I had enjoyed that more at the time, but that is a side note to the hell which was the ice storm.
I have no recollection of Gary's ice storm warnings on the night of January 29, 2002, but I vaguely remember dad freaking out that night. However, let's be honest, dad freaked out a lot so I must have written it off. I was sleeping upstairs in Able's bed at this point, since I was the only child at home and he had a full size bed. I lived in a one hundred year old farm house, so the upstairs room had the slanted ceiling like you see in the movies. There was a elm tree outside the kitchen that was as old as the house, with a big branch that hung out over the roof of Able's room. On the morning of January 30th I woke up to two strange noises. The first being the sound of that big branch scraping on the roof. I couldn't figure out why I had never heard this before. I hadn't heard this before because it had never been covered with a thick coat of ice, weighing it down to the point that it would scrape the roof. By the grace of God this huge branch didn't fall through the roof. If that had happened I would be dead and this story wouldn't exist. The second sound was the sound of branches falling into the creek, which runs right behind the house. It took me a long time to realize what the sound was. I would hear a cracking sound, which was the branching slowing breaking under the weight of the ice, then a big splash as the branch fell into the ice covered creek. This happened over and over and over, for days, turns out this is a very depressing sound because it crash means another tree being destroyed.
I laid in bed analyzing the new sounds for quite some time. I had heard dad receive the phone call from the principle saying school was canceled, earlier in the morning, so I knew I could didn't have to get up. While I was analyzing all that was going on outside, from the warmth of my bed, I hadn't looked out the window yet, our neighbor called to talk to mom. This was the first time I realized the power was out. Mom, always the calm one, was on the phone downstairs reassuring our neighbor (never the calm one) that the reports that it would be a month before we got power back were crazy talk and that it would surely be fixed in a day or two.
The first day wasn't terrible. Mom and I went outside to assess the damage, which was unbelievable. Every surface was coated with thick ice. Most of the tree branches had broken off over night or were currently breaking that morning. Our long drive way was covered with branches/trees so we literally couldn't leave our house. We had heat because our house was heated using natural gas and we had water because we were on "city" water not well water. We took the food out of our fridge, put it in ice chests, which we filled with ice cycles that we gather from around the yard, and left it outside to stay cold. Dad, being dad, immediately bought into the fact that we would be out of power for weeks, but in a classic the boy who cried wolf situation, I didn't believe him. I spent most of the day laying in beds ( I am pretty sure I napped in every bed in the house that day) reading my depressing Toni Morrison book, while listening to the tree limbs fall into the creek.
I forgot to mention one major factor at play here. Being January I had a terrible chest cold and had such a bad cough that I had literally coughed until I separated my ribs. My grandpa was a doctor, but not one that was impressed with trivial things like separated ribs. He diagnosed me over the phone and the treatment he prescribed was ibuprofen every four hours and keeping heat on it. Heat, provided by a heating pad, which needs electricity to work. It took me a few hours into day one to realize just how painful the ribs were without the heat. This painful injury combine with boredom and bad cough led me to sometimes randomly take Nyquil during my days trapped inside. I'm proud of this fact, but people do terrible things when in dark places, literally.
The night of the 30th was our first night "On the lamp." This means our house was lite by candles and oil lamps. It got dark at 5:30, so the lamps came out early, and their is only so much you can do while sitting around in candle light. Mom and dad were loving this situation. They loved the soft light, dad loved the simplicity of night without TV or phones, and this is when things started to get real for me. There were friends I wanted to call, boys I needed to talk to, TV shows that I was missing (this was long before DVR), CDs I wanted to listen to, and most importantly I COULDN'T DRY MY HAIR!!!!! CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE IT! Honestly that was a huge deal for me at the time and now I couldn't tell you the last time I dried my hair. Mom and dad got bored quickly so they went to bed, at like 8pm. This was not acceptable to my senior in high school self, so I laid on my living room floor, playing solitaire by lamp light for hours. I finally gave up, took some my Nyquil, and went to bed.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Five on Friday
1. Today was one of those days, after being gone for a week, that my house was a disaster, we had zero food, and pretty much every item of my entire families clothing is dirty. Where do you start? I was exhausted just thinking about today, last night. So far I have spent a small fortune on groceries, cleaned my living room and Zane has gotten it messy again, started the laundry, and finally unpacked. Currently I am eating an orange trying to catch my breath while Zane sleeps.
2. We are trying to figure out some sort of vaca for this May. I have officially gotten the time off approved, so now time to plan it. We have thought about Niagra Falls/baseball hall of fame, but possibly something smaller and closer to home, with Zane. Any cheap, fun, vaca ideas?
3. Zach and I are getting back on the Extreme wagon. We had stopped while he prepared for his PE exam, I ran until I got my first real winter sickness, and now it has been a month since I have done anything. It is more fun when we work out together and it is easier to get motivated together. Back to tracking calories and working out on the days I am off work. Sigh...why am I constantly over weight and struggling with this???
4. As some of you might have seen on Abbey's blog, I am officially on the Kicky Pants boat. I never even knew they existed until this past weekend when Abbey accidentally bought the wrong size of pjs for her new baby and sent a pair of kicky pants pjs home with Zane and I. They are so incredibly soft, I want a pair for myself. They do make kicky pants maternity clothes. That may be the only thing that motivates me to possibly get pregnant again right at this point in life.
5. I wish Zach and I could go on a date. I can't remember the last movie we went and saw. We use to go to the movies all the time, now I don't think we have been to see a movie since July. That is unexceptable. However, no one really wants to watch my kid on Friday or Saturday because they are going to the movies themselves. I am setting a goal of a date night for Febraury. Anyone want to babysit?
Happy Friday, hope you have a fun weekend. I will be saving lives all weekend :)
2. We are trying to figure out some sort of vaca for this May. I have officially gotten the time off approved, so now time to plan it. We have thought about Niagra Falls/baseball hall of fame, but possibly something smaller and closer to home, with Zane. Any cheap, fun, vaca ideas?
3. Zach and I are getting back on the Extreme wagon. We had stopped while he prepared for his PE exam, I ran until I got my first real winter sickness, and now it has been a month since I have done anything. It is more fun when we work out together and it is easier to get motivated together. Back to tracking calories and working out on the days I am off work. Sigh...why am I constantly over weight and struggling with this???
4. As some of you might have seen on Abbey's blog, I am officially on the Kicky Pants boat. I never even knew they existed until this past weekend when Abbey accidentally bought the wrong size of pjs for her new baby and sent a pair of kicky pants pjs home with Zane and I. They are so incredibly soft, I want a pair for myself. They do make kicky pants maternity clothes. That may be the only thing that motivates me to possibly get pregnant again right at this point in life.
5. I wish Zach and I could go on a date. I can't remember the last movie we went and saw. We use to go to the movies all the time, now I don't think we have been to see a movie since July. That is unexceptable. However, no one really wants to watch my kid on Friday or Saturday because they are going to the movies themselves. I am setting a goal of a date night for Febraury. Anyone want to babysit?
Happy Friday, hope you have a fun weekend. I will be saving lives all weekend :)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. Today we flew back from our trip to Oklahoma. We flew down on Friday, Saturday was Brendan's big fifth birthday party, then we spent the rest of the time hanging out at the farm. Zane thoroughly enjoyed playing with his cousins and seeing all the farm animals. He even got a certificate for his first flight today at the airport. I didn't have the heart to tell the woman that Zane has flown about ten times already, but still a nice gesture.
2. The Mario birthday party was a big success. Mom and I made a Mario adventure land in the back yard, which was a huge hit. We had the big black chomper, power flowers, power stars, mushrooms, tunnels to crawl through, balloons with coins in them, and a yoshi they could throw eggs with confetti at, oh what fun!!!!! I added the picture of the cakes as well, since I know everyone was dying to see what Abbey came up with this year. They are planets from Mario World, very cute.
3. Yesterday mom, Anna, and I took Zane on a little zoo trip around to the neighbors. We went and saw the horse farm up by the high school. We got to pet a mare that just got done being ridden. Zane may have been more excited about the dog at that particular farm than the horses. Then we headed up the road to see Vera's goats and chickens. Zane petted all the goats, talked to the chickens, and tried to avoid being attacked by the huge dog. Of course Zaney was also in charge of helping grandma with her chickens every day at the farm.
4. Here is Zaney gathering the eggs. He even shooed a chicken off her nest to get her egg. Anna and I were both slightly frightened, but Zane didn't even blink an eye. There was one stubborn chicken who wouldn't get off her nest. Zane was pretty concerned about her not getting off the egg. He continued to yell at her even after we had left the the chicken house. What a great little farmer.
5. All the kids have matching red and black jackets at the farm. We tried, and failed, to get them all in a picture together, but here are Maggie and Zane looking cute in their jackets.
6. There was a mini dust bowl at the farm Sunday. There were 75mph winds, sweeping down the planes, blowing the red dirt from the new oil well straight into mom's house. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen and was too scared to go out into the dust to take a picture. I can only imagine that was what the actual dust bowl was like, but Grandma always said the cloud of dirt was black.
7. This was my first trip with the Ipad and I have to say I love reading with it on the plane. It is great because you don't have to bring a big book and you don't even have to hold it. I just set it up on my tray table and could read away. I wasn't holding Zane once he fell asleep on the plane, but I think even if I had been I could have held it, without difficulty, and read while he slept. Surprisingly we didn't really use it with Zane that much. We didn't want to use it in the port, in order to avoid a melt down when we had to turn it off, but then he fell asleep on the plane before we could use it. I am not complaining, he was a great traveler and I thoroughly enjoyed the Ipad.
8. During this trip it became obvious that Zane is a music junkie. He loved rocking out on Grandma's piano, he found her CD player immediatly and wanted to hear tunes, we had multiple dance parties, he played her Native American flute, her tambourine, and numerous other musical instruments around the house. He is forever wiggling his little body, with one hand in the air, to the music in his head. I love it! His new favorite thing on the Ipad is his Dinosaur Train music, over all his games. Pretty sure Grandma loved it too.
9. My new duvet cover was waiting for me when we got home from our trip. I put my new, happy bed together, and I love it! The sheets that I had put on my wish list years ago, which I got for Christmas, match my new bedding perfectly! How lucky is that! I can't wait to pick out some paint color to go with my new, cozy, bedding.
10. Lastly, for those of you who don't follow my sisters blog, yesterday we found out that she is having another little baby boy!!! I love baby boys so I am very excited! He will be my fifth nephew and I can't wait to meet him. Abbey got the super long ultra sound, thanks to Zane's heart condition, and I am happy to report all looks well with little baby Richards. I got to see his pictures today before we left. I cannot get enough of little baby fingers and toes! Congrats Richards clan!
2. The Mario birthday party was a big success. Mom and I made a Mario adventure land in the back yard, which was a huge hit. We had the big black chomper, power flowers, power stars, mushrooms, tunnels to crawl through, balloons with coins in them, and a yoshi they could throw eggs with confetti at, oh what fun!!!!! I added the picture of the cakes as well, since I know everyone was dying to see what Abbey came up with this year. They are planets from Mario World, very cute.
3. Yesterday mom, Anna, and I took Zane on a little zoo trip around to the neighbors. We went and saw the horse farm up by the high school. We got to pet a mare that just got done being ridden. Zane may have been more excited about the dog at that particular farm than the horses. Then we headed up the road to see Vera's goats and chickens. Zane petted all the goats, talked to the chickens, and tried to avoid being attacked by the huge dog. Of course Zaney was also in charge of helping grandma with her chickens every day at the farm.
4. Here is Zaney gathering the eggs. He even shooed a chicken off her nest to get her egg. Anna and I were both slightly frightened, but Zane didn't even blink an eye. There was one stubborn chicken who wouldn't get off her nest. Zane was pretty concerned about her not getting off the egg. He continued to yell at her even after we had left the the chicken house. What a great little farmer.
5. All the kids have matching red and black jackets at the farm. We tried, and failed, to get them all in a picture together, but here are Maggie and Zane looking cute in their jackets.
6. There was a mini dust bowl at the farm Sunday. There were 75mph winds, sweeping down the planes, blowing the red dirt from the new oil well straight into mom's house. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen and was too scared to go out into the dust to take a picture. I can only imagine that was what the actual dust bowl was like, but Grandma always said the cloud of dirt was black.
7. This was my first trip with the Ipad and I have to say I love reading with it on the plane. It is great because you don't have to bring a big book and you don't even have to hold it. I just set it up on my tray table and could read away. I wasn't holding Zane once he fell asleep on the plane, but I think even if I had been I could have held it, without difficulty, and read while he slept. Surprisingly we didn't really use it with Zane that much. We didn't want to use it in the port, in order to avoid a melt down when we had to turn it off, but then he fell asleep on the plane before we could use it. I am not complaining, he was a great traveler and I thoroughly enjoyed the Ipad.
8. During this trip it became obvious that Zane is a music junkie. He loved rocking out on Grandma's piano, he found her CD player immediatly and wanted to hear tunes, we had multiple dance parties, he played her Native American flute, her tambourine, and numerous other musical instruments around the house. He is forever wiggling his little body, with one hand in the air, to the music in his head. I love it! His new favorite thing on the Ipad is his Dinosaur Train music, over all his games. Pretty sure Grandma loved it too.
9. My new duvet cover was waiting for me when we got home from our trip. I put my new, happy bed together, and I love it! The sheets that I had put on my wish list years ago, which I got for Christmas, match my new bedding perfectly! How lucky is that! I can't wait to pick out some paint color to go with my new, cozy, bedding.
10. Lastly, for those of you who don't follow my sisters blog, yesterday we found out that she is having another little baby boy!!! I love baby boys so I am very excited! He will be my fifth nephew and I can't wait to meet him. Abbey got the super long ultra sound, thanks to Zane's heart condition, and I am happy to report all looks well with little baby Richards. I got to see his pictures today before we left. I cannot get enough of little baby fingers and toes! Congrats Richards clan!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. This past weekend we headed south to celebrate Christmas and Adeline's birthday with Zach's family. It was the first weekend I didn't have to work one or both days in a month and it was a very welcome break. Saturday we did Christmas celebrations and Sunday was Adeline's fifth birthday. Both celebrations were tons of fun. Zane thoroughly enjoyed playing with his cousins, with his new toys, and with the Prance's new puppy Bell.
2. Here is Zane in his new car, courtesy of Grammi and Papa. This is actually Levi's car on loan for the day because we needed to take it back to St. Louis in the box. Levi had double pneumonia last week and spent a few days in the hospital, but seemed to be recovering nicely. He would play with Zane for a little bit then need to go lay on the couch for a while. Don't worry Aunt Audra brought her stethoscope and checked out his lungs, they were gunky for sure, but sounded alright and he look like he was feeling better.
3. Adeline's birthday theme this year was Hello Kitty so all the same little girls that were at the tea party last year dressed to the nines came to this years party in Hello Kitty shirts and most of them in tutu skirts. They were all very adorable and all seemed much older than last year. Here is the birthday girl. Doesn't she look all grown up. I just adore this kid!
4. Zach flew to Atlanta yesterday for a business trip which has left mom, Zane, and I to hold down the fort. I worked yesterday and part of today, I got to come home a little early since I sent all my patients home. Mom and Zane had already had quite a busy day, including a trip to Toys R Us, but once I got home we headed to a Barnes and Noble for some new dinosaur books. We now have How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You and How Do Dinosaurs Love their Dogs. They were the only ones there that we didn't already own. We also got Dizzy Dinosaur which is a pop out dinosaur book and Zane roars at every page, very funny stuff. Also, this was the first time we took a trip to the book store and Zane actually played with the train table instead of throwing trains around and tearing up tracks. I'm thinking a train table may be in order for his birthday.
5. As mentioned above Zane loved the riding toys at Aunt Trina's and when Grandma B heard this she informed me she had planned on getting him one for Christmas, but didn't because I had told her I thought he would kill himself on one. This still could be true but he played on them, perfectly safely, for two days at Aunt Trina's and loved it, so I gave the green light on the riding toy. This is what prompted their Toys R Us trip today. Now Zane is the proud owner of doggy riding toy, who we have named Spot. I haven't taken any pictures of him yet, but as you could guess it is a white dog with black spots that rolls around, too cute. I had planned to go to some resale shops and find one on the cheap, but this is much cuter. Thanks Grandma B.
6. This evening Zane, Grandma, and I had a dinosaur train dance party. This isn't the first party of this sort, Zach and I have them with Zane all the time. I downloaded the dinosaur train CD, Vol. 1 a few weeks ago and it has all of Zane's favorites on it, such as, Every Dinosaur Poops, All Aboard, and Dinosaurs A-Z. He spins around, stomps his feet like a T-rex, and dances his little heart out. It is very cute and quite the workout for me because he really likes to dance with me holding him. I am pretty sure the dance party threw me into an asthma attack this evening. I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled for tomorrow, I think I might leave out the part that the asthma attack was brought on by dancing with my one year old. She would probably tell me I am morbidly obese and should exercise more, which is all true.
7. Mom and I are deep into planning the Mario World Adventure Land ( the name is still being debated) which we are going to create in Abbey's back yard for Brendan's party Saturday. We thought about a race, but decided on just a fun play area with all sorts of Mario themed things. I am usually in charge of decorations at Brendan's parties, but that usually just entails hanging a few things from the ceiling and blowing up some balloons. This year is going to be my greatest challenge yet, I can't wait to start the decorating. I hope Brendan likes it and that the weather forecast saying it is going to be 65 degrees in Oklahoma Saturday is accurate.
Here is a great picture of Zane with Papa and Grammi. In other cute news Zane says Papa perfectly, so cute.
9. In related news we are having Zane's 18 monthish pictures taken February fourth at the City Museum. I have never been there, but I hear it is fun with tons of stuff to climb on that I am sure will make for adorable little boy photos.
10. Tomorrow is my only day off before our trip to Oklahoma this weekend. I have tons to do and a bit of stir crazy little boy on my hands. Hopefully I can get all my laundry done, pack Zane and I's bags, go to the doctor, make a trip to Hobby Lobby, and the amazing puzzle store in Kirkwood all while keeping Zane entertained and alive. Wish me luck!
2. Here is Zane in his new car, courtesy of Grammi and Papa. This is actually Levi's car on loan for the day because we needed to take it back to St. Louis in the box. Levi had double pneumonia last week and spent a few days in the hospital, but seemed to be recovering nicely. He would play with Zane for a little bit then need to go lay on the couch for a while. Don't worry Aunt Audra brought her stethoscope and checked out his lungs, they were gunky for sure, but sounded alright and he look like he was feeling better.
He also rode the horse, which was tons of fun, though it occasionally "bucked" which almost led to some tumbles.
And he also found this red little car to ride on.
Here she is last year, turning four years old,
And here is Miss Adeline turning five.
4. Zach flew to Atlanta yesterday for a business trip which has left mom, Zane, and I to hold down the fort. I worked yesterday and part of today, I got to come home a little early since I sent all my patients home. Mom and Zane had already had quite a busy day, including a trip to Toys R Us, but once I got home we headed to a Barnes and Noble for some new dinosaur books. We now have How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You and How Do Dinosaurs Love their Dogs. They were the only ones there that we didn't already own. We also got Dizzy Dinosaur which is a pop out dinosaur book and Zane roars at every page, very funny stuff. Also, this was the first time we took a trip to the book store and Zane actually played with the train table instead of throwing trains around and tearing up tracks. I'm thinking a train table may be in order for his birthday.
5. As mentioned above Zane loved the riding toys at Aunt Trina's and when Grandma B heard this she informed me she had planned on getting him one for Christmas, but didn't because I had told her I thought he would kill himself on one. This still could be true but he played on them, perfectly safely, for two days at Aunt Trina's and loved it, so I gave the green light on the riding toy. This is what prompted their Toys R Us trip today. Now Zane is the proud owner of doggy riding toy, who we have named Spot. I haven't taken any pictures of him yet, but as you could guess it is a white dog with black spots that rolls around, too cute. I had planned to go to some resale shops and find one on the cheap, but this is much cuter. Thanks Grandma B.
6. This evening Zane, Grandma, and I had a dinosaur train dance party. This isn't the first party of this sort, Zach and I have them with Zane all the time. I downloaded the dinosaur train CD, Vol. 1 a few weeks ago and it has all of Zane's favorites on it, such as, Every Dinosaur Poops, All Aboard, and Dinosaurs A-Z. He spins around, stomps his feet like a T-rex, and dances his little heart out. It is very cute and quite the workout for me because he really likes to dance with me holding him. I am pretty sure the dance party threw me into an asthma attack this evening. I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled for tomorrow, I think I might leave out the part that the asthma attack was brought on by dancing with my one year old. She would probably tell me I am morbidly obese and should exercise more, which is all true.
7. Mom and I are deep into planning the Mario World Adventure Land ( the name is still being debated) which we are going to create in Abbey's back yard for Brendan's party Saturday. We thought about a race, but decided on just a fun play area with all sorts of Mario themed things. I am usually in charge of decorations at Brendan's parties, but that usually just entails hanging a few things from the ceiling and blowing up some balloons. This year is going to be my greatest challenge yet, I can't wait to start the decorating. I hope Brendan likes it and that the weather forecast saying it is going to be 65 degrees in Oklahoma Saturday is accurate.
8. Thanks to Zane's new affinity for saying cheese whenever a camera comes out we are getting a few more pictures of him actually looking at the camera. Here are some examples
This picture kind of makes me sad because I look like a crack head and my husband and child look super cute. Not to mention the fact that my son looks nothing like me, but whatever, still a good picture of Zane.
10. Tomorrow is my only day off before our trip to Oklahoma this weekend. I have tons to do and a bit of stir crazy little boy on my hands. Hopefully I can get all my laundry done, pack Zane and I's bags, go to the doctor, make a trip to Hobby Lobby, and the amazing puzzle store in Kirkwood all while keeping Zane entertained and alive. Wish me luck!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Baby sitting instructions
Tomorrow Mom is flying in to watch Zane this week while Zach is out of town. I had sat down to write mom a little list of notes/helpful hints for her day tomorrow since I will be at work when she gets here. As I started to think about the various things I would tell her I realized that the list would sum up the phase we are in here amazingly well, so I thought, why not blog it. That way you all can get a small glimpse into a day here at the Korenak household and if anyone ever wants to baby sit, you have these helpful hints. Here goes!
First things first, Zaney has an attention span of nat, so you will be moving quickly and often. Don't worry the house is fairly child proofed, as long as you keep the doors to the bathroom, my bedroom, the guest bedroom, and downstairs locked. He can climb up into all chairs, can reach the top of all tables and counters so don't let him chill out by himself for too long or he will find something to destroy or possibly harm himself with. If you can't find something he was previously playing with or that you had set out, check the trash/recycling bins, he enjoys throwing EVERYTHING away. In good news we emptied both of these trash cans today, hooray!
Two hours after Zane wakes up he will become very emotional, find his blanket, point to the basket on his changing table (requesting his binka), and ask for milk by crying in front of the fridge making M sounds. This means it is time for his first nap. Before nap time we cuddle, sing, and drink milk in the chair for a little bit then Zane goes to sleep with Mooly in his crib. I should say with at least Mooly in his bed he may put various stuffed animals in his bed throughout the morning/day to keep him company. This leads me to a few needed introductions to the rest of the Korenak family. There is Mooly, who you all have heard of or met before, Zane's beloved cow friend. Dale also has made quite a few blogs, he is the Clydesdale in the family. Ignatius (AKA Iggy) is our new dog, he loves being ridden by Zane and often this is Zane's preferred mode of transportation. It is a very slow mode but very adorable and entertaining. The newest addition to the family is Rosemary the hippo, she goes by Ro Ro and Zane has been sleeping with her as of late. We also have a lion, who doesn't have a name so much as Zane roars whenever he sees him. There is also an amazingly soft polar bear, thanks to Aunt Christal, who as been through a few names, but we can't determine if it is a boy or girl so feel free to find a name for him/her. All these animals are welcome in his crib except Iggy. Iggy would take up his whole bed, so if Zane thinks he needs to go night night as well his bed is on the leather chair. Cover him up, give him pats and tell him good night and Zane will accept that he can't sleep with him.
Once Zane goes to sleep I would suggest that you do the same because after this nap there will be three to four hours of non stop toddler fun! Once he wakes up it is usually lunch time. There are a few things that guarantee a good lunch. Apple sauce, cheese sticks, ham, yogurt, chips with things to dip them in, and mac and cheese are always a hit. In sad news we are currently out of cookies. Cookie is Zane's best word by far and he will request them frequently. I would say he could have a couple but we are out. But he loves baking so that might be a good activity idea. Aprons are in the top drawer of the white cabinet and he will need his own little spatula, which can be found in his kitchen or any of the drawers in the real kitchen. If at any point during the day Zane goes and pulls on the fridge he most likely would like a cheese stick, milk, or juice. You can ask him if he wants any of those things and he will say yes and nod his little head to whatever you say so you really can't take him at his word.
If at any point you decide you would like to go to the bathroom by yourself or use the computer you will need to know how to start a Dinosaur Train episode. Here is the step by step. On the right hand side of the TV there are tiny little buttons that really are more like braille. I always just start at the top of the TV and slide my finger down until I reach the top braille button. Push this button twice. Then you will need turn on the the PS3 (left side of the TV cabinet). From there scroll through the PS3 menus until you find the Netflix logo, once you are in Netflix Dinosaur Train will be every where. If at any point Zane brings you the PS3 remote and starts singing 'da da, da da' this is actually a request to watch Dinosaur train. You do not have to turn it on, but if you were confused by what that meant, there is the translation. Also, he might start singing that if you try turning on a different cartoon as a request to please switch it back to Dinosaur Train.
Zane loves reading books and will bring random books to you throughout the day. If you find Zane searching for a book, or if he takes you to the book case and points to it as if you should know which book he is looking for, he is looking for his "How Do Dinosaurs.... " books. There is How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food, and How Do Dinosaurs Go Up and Down. We have a million books but those three are really the only ones he wants to read with the exception of possibly Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs or That's Not My Dinosaur. Do you see a them appearing here?
Downstairs is a whole other adventure. Currently it is a hot mess. I thought about picking it up so that it would look like a lovely little play room when you arrived but you and I both know it will be back to being a hot mess within five minutes so why bother. He has lots of animals down there currently that he loves playing with, blocks, trucks, CAT machines, and all sorts of other toys. Our Christmas tree is still up and he thinks the colored ornaments are balls, which is fine, you can't break them. The little table is covered in butcher paper which is the only place that Zane can draw downstairs. If he draws on the walls or any other piece of furniture, he is to go straight to time out. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Time out can be anywhere, just sit him down by the wall and let him know he is in time out for drawing on the wall. Don't worry he won't be surprised by this, it is a daily occurrence. If you get really brave the arts and crafts box is in the hidden closet and the arts and crafts basket is on the bottom shelve in the office. Feel free to draw or craft at your own risk.
You have all read our night time routine, in case you have forgotten the details refer to this blog post. This begins after super when bath time begins. And that is our day! Good luck and thanks so much for coming to play! If at anytime you have questions or are headed to Children's Hospital please call Zach or I and let us know. Sounds like tons of fun, right?
First things first, Zaney has an attention span of nat, so you will be moving quickly and often. Don't worry the house is fairly child proofed, as long as you keep the doors to the bathroom, my bedroom, the guest bedroom, and downstairs locked. He can climb up into all chairs, can reach the top of all tables and counters so don't let him chill out by himself for too long or he will find something to destroy or possibly harm himself with. If you can't find something he was previously playing with or that you had set out, check the trash/recycling bins, he enjoys throwing EVERYTHING away. In good news we emptied both of these trash cans today, hooray!
Two hours after Zane wakes up he will become very emotional, find his blanket, point to the basket on his changing table (requesting his binka), and ask for milk by crying in front of the fridge making M sounds. This means it is time for his first nap. Before nap time we cuddle, sing, and drink milk in the chair for a little bit then Zane goes to sleep with Mooly in his crib. I should say with at least Mooly in his bed he may put various stuffed animals in his bed throughout the morning/day to keep him company. This leads me to a few needed introductions to the rest of the Korenak family. There is Mooly, who you all have heard of or met before, Zane's beloved cow friend. Dale also has made quite a few blogs, he is the Clydesdale in the family. Ignatius (AKA Iggy) is our new dog, he loves being ridden by Zane and often this is Zane's preferred mode of transportation. It is a very slow mode but very adorable and entertaining. The newest addition to the family is Rosemary the hippo, she goes by Ro Ro and Zane has been sleeping with her as of late. We also have a lion, who doesn't have a name so much as Zane roars whenever he sees him. There is also an amazingly soft polar bear, thanks to Aunt Christal, who as been through a few names, but we can't determine if it is a boy or girl so feel free to find a name for him/her. All these animals are welcome in his crib except Iggy. Iggy would take up his whole bed, so if Zane thinks he needs to go night night as well his bed is on the leather chair. Cover him up, give him pats and tell him good night and Zane will accept that he can't sleep with him.
Once Zane goes to sleep I would suggest that you do the same because after this nap there will be three to four hours of non stop toddler fun! Once he wakes up it is usually lunch time. There are a few things that guarantee a good lunch. Apple sauce, cheese sticks, ham, yogurt, chips with things to dip them in, and mac and cheese are always a hit. In sad news we are currently out of cookies. Cookie is Zane's best word by far and he will request them frequently. I would say he could have a couple but we are out. But he loves baking so that might be a good activity idea. Aprons are in the top drawer of the white cabinet and he will need his own little spatula, which can be found in his kitchen or any of the drawers in the real kitchen. If at any point during the day Zane goes and pulls on the fridge he most likely would like a cheese stick, milk, or juice. You can ask him if he wants any of those things and he will say yes and nod his little head to whatever you say so you really can't take him at his word.
If at any point you decide you would like to go to the bathroom by yourself or use the computer you will need to know how to start a Dinosaur Train episode. Here is the step by step. On the right hand side of the TV there are tiny little buttons that really are more like braille. I always just start at the top of the TV and slide my finger down until I reach the top braille button. Push this button twice. Then you will need turn on the the PS3 (left side of the TV cabinet). From there scroll through the PS3 menus until you find the Netflix logo, once you are in Netflix Dinosaur Train will be every where. If at any point Zane brings you the PS3 remote and starts singing 'da da, da da' this is actually a request to watch Dinosaur train. You do not have to turn it on, but if you were confused by what that meant, there is the translation. Also, he might start singing that if you try turning on a different cartoon as a request to please switch it back to Dinosaur Train.
Zane loves reading books and will bring random books to you throughout the day. If you find Zane searching for a book, or if he takes you to the book case and points to it as if you should know which book he is looking for, he is looking for his "How Do Dinosaurs.... " books. There is How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food, and How Do Dinosaurs Go Up and Down. We have a million books but those three are really the only ones he wants to read with the exception of possibly Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs or That's Not My Dinosaur. Do you see a them appearing here?
Downstairs is a whole other adventure. Currently it is a hot mess. I thought about picking it up so that it would look like a lovely little play room when you arrived but you and I both know it will be back to being a hot mess within five minutes so why bother. He has lots of animals down there currently that he loves playing with, blocks, trucks, CAT machines, and all sorts of other toys. Our Christmas tree is still up and he thinks the colored ornaments are balls, which is fine, you can't break them. The little table is covered in butcher paper which is the only place that Zane can draw downstairs. If he draws on the walls or any other piece of furniture, he is to go straight to time out. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Time out can be anywhere, just sit him down by the wall and let him know he is in time out for drawing on the wall. Don't worry he won't be surprised by this, it is a daily occurrence. If you get really brave the arts and crafts box is in the hidden closet and the arts and crafts basket is on the bottom shelve in the office. Feel free to draw or craft at your own risk.
You have all read our night time routine, in case you have forgotten the details refer to this blog post. This begins after super when bath time begins. And that is our day! Good luck and thanks so much for coming to play! If at anytime you have questions or are headed to Children's Hospital please call Zach or I and let us know. Sounds like tons of fun, right?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Snow Day: Take One
As predicted it was a snowy cold day here today. I knew it was coming, I was dreading it, but had prepared. I was suppose to go get my hair cut today, but when I heard there had been three fatalities one the roads before 8 a.m. I decided my hair cut could wait. This set us up for a day inside, admiring the beautiful snow from afar.
After Zane's morning nap, when Zane started crying by the front door wanting to go outside, it was time to bust out the pipe cleaners and pom poms. I know what you are thinking, Audra your house is full of toys. That is true, but Zane has played with those toys everyday for quite a while, so we needed to mix it up a little, to get his attention away from the fact that there would be no trips to the playground or the zoo today. It worked perfectly. This is what I gave him, the strainer, a package of pipe cleaners, a bag of colorful pom poms, and a muffin pan. He had access to all his normal toys as well, which he did take advantage of filling his trucks with pom poms, but mainly he was kept entertained by my $3 investment for a solid hour. That is a long time in 18 month old land.
Once the fun of the new pipe cleaners and pom poms wore off it was time to finally go explore the snow, ever so briefly. It took quite a while to get bundled up, but once we did we had tons of fun. Zane didn't have any gloves or mittens so we had to steal the mittens off last years snow suit. They were very small, but they worked.
Of course there was quite the melt down when we came inside, but he got over it quickly. We watched the end of the Lion King, which he had found and requested to watch earlier, and then it was nap time again. I tried to make some discovery bottles when he went to sleep. Turns out it isn't as easy as it looks. I made one with baby oil, water, and green food coloring. I thought a couple drops of food coloring would be fine, but it was way to much, so it looks black. I also fill the bottle completely up, which meant you couldn't really get the effect of the oil and water separating. Then I tried baby oil, water, and glitter only to find out the baby oil makes the glitter ball up, ruining the effect, so that bottle was wasted. The last bottle turned out ok, though not that exciting, there are pom poms, ribbon, glitter and water which made a little bit of a snow globe affect. We shall see if he enjoys it at all before I try making any more.
It is still snowing outside, hope it clears up before my early drive to work tomorrow.
After Zane's morning nap, when Zane started crying by the front door wanting to go outside, it was time to bust out the pipe cleaners and pom poms. I know what you are thinking, Audra your house is full of toys. That is true, but Zane has played with those toys everyday for quite a while, so we needed to mix it up a little, to get his attention away from the fact that there would be no trips to the playground or the zoo today. It worked perfectly. This is what I gave him, the strainer, a package of pipe cleaners, a bag of colorful pom poms, and a muffin pan. He had access to all his normal toys as well, which he did take advantage of filling his trucks with pom poms, but mainly he was kept entertained by my $3 investment for a solid hour. That is a long time in 18 month old land.
He focused very hard at getting the pipe cleaners in the holes, but did not want any help from mommy.
He loaded up Zig with his pipe cleaners and pom poms.
Silly boy
Here is Zane, bundle up, ready for the snow.
He really wanted all the snow off of his playhouse, so he spent most of our time outside cleaning it off.
Discovering what snow feels like, turns out it is pretty dang cold if one of your tiny mittens keeps falling off.
This was Zane's last ditch effort to not have to go inside, he thought he was hiding in his house, but really I saw him rolling around in the snow. Too fun!
It is still snowing outside, hope it clears up before my early drive to work tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. Back to work tomorrow after two fun days off. I love the stage Zane is in currently. He is into everything, but follows instructions more and loves trying new things. With the beautiful weather we have spent a lot of time in the back yard, playing with leaves, and running about. Yesterday he was beyond tired when we did this, so at one point he just laid down on his back, checking out the sky. I wish I would have had a camera, it was priceless.
2. Yesterday was a bit of a rough mommy day. Zane threw multiple fits, over nothing, threw up in the car, and was all together too emotional. When I went to take a shower in the evening I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that both of my shoulders were covered in snot, drool, and cookie crumbs, this is always a sign a tough day as a mom. Today was much better, in good news.
3. Over the past week I have begun to start my research on fun, indoor, toddler activities for when the snow arrives, I know that it will. I have found a few promising ideas, most of which were things I knew about but had just forgotten. Yesterday Zane I headed to Hobby Lobby to fill up our arts and crafts box with the must haves for toddler activities, pipe cleaners, pom poms, glitter, glue, paint, and felt. Mom is sending some more fun stuff for me as well. My ideas include, color in a bag which I enjoy this idea because the mess is contained, but I still think Zane will find it interesting. Discovery bottles, there are multiple different things you can put in them from fun colorful stuff to baby oil, water, and food coloring. These are the favorite ones I found so far. And we are making a hand print flower picture for Grandma! I will do posts on them as we finish these new activities so I can remember them in the future.
4. This weekend we are finally heading to South East MO for our Christmas celebration and to celebrate our niece's fifth birthday. I cannot believe my little Adeline is going to be five. We are very excited to see everyone and Zane is ready to open some more presents, I'm sure.
5. Next week mom is coming up to watch Zane while I work and Zach is out of town. Then we will all fly back to Oklahoma for Brendan's 5th birthday celebration (yes Adeline and Brendan were born 10 days a part). I am starting my vitamin regimen in hopes of not getting sick during the trip this year. Maybe the nicer weather will help. Now I just have to figure out what to get Brendan for his big fifth birthday.
6. Speaking of birthdays, in a bit of a crazy streak/loving pinterest on my ipad, I have started planning my son's second birthday, which isn't until June. Of course or theme is Dinosaur train or dinosaurs in general. I have found a lot fun ideas, such as dinosaur egg hunt, digging for dinosaur bones, creating some "time tunnels" and all sorts of other fun dinosaur ideas! I know it is a little crazy, but I am excited already. I'm sad that the Richards won't get to come this year, but they will be busy with their new little bundle of joy so it is all good.
7. I have gotten a few Christmas scrapbook pages done, but did have to walk away from it all the other day when I got frustrated and started to think everything was ugly. I have since gone back to it and it wasn't ugly I just hit a mental block. The sketches I had gotten from the online class have proven to be good jumping off points but I have found that I usually change it up a little bit, which works in the end. Here are my most recent Christmas layouts. I love the train layout, which is the one I initially struggled with. I have twine in the mail which will be added to the banner when it arrives.
The fist layout is almost exactly like one of the layouts from my 12 Days of Christmas class, I love it!
8. I have started planning my bedroom make over, which is my home improvement project for this year. My current bedroom is pretty small and frankly puts me in a bad move. It isn't pretty, we have random bedside tables from college, and a chest of drawers from Target. So Zach is making plans to build us new bedroom furniture and I have begun researching colors, window treatments, and my first purchase, which all other decisions will revolve around, is this duvet cover I have been lusting after for three years. I love this color scheme, it will make my room happy! I can't wait.
9. Check out this adorable shirt that I bought Zane yesterday. I usually get all of Zane's clothes at one of the many different resale shops around town, but I could not resist this shirt at Target. Zane was confused by it this morning when he couldn't get his tools out of his tool belt. The shirt also has a hood on it, how great is that! Yes, Zane is playing with my circle, scrapbooking, punch.
10. Lastly, I think I have finally found an Ipad cover that works for all my needs. It has a stand that goes into multiple different positions without falling down and there is a strap to go around a car's head rest so it can double as a dvd player in the car. In an added bonus maybe Zane will not recognize it anymore, possibly decreasing his Ipad melt downs, "my ipad" and tears, very pathetic. In good news mom and I have figured out face time so mom can see Zane in all his cuteness.
2. Yesterday was a bit of a rough mommy day. Zane threw multiple fits, over nothing, threw up in the car, and was all together too emotional. When I went to take a shower in the evening I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that both of my shoulders were covered in snot, drool, and cookie crumbs, this is always a sign a tough day as a mom. Today was much better, in good news.
3. Over the past week I have begun to start my research on fun, indoor, toddler activities for when the snow arrives, I know that it will. I have found a few promising ideas, most of which were things I knew about but had just forgotten. Yesterday Zane I headed to Hobby Lobby to fill up our arts and crafts box with the must haves for toddler activities, pipe cleaners, pom poms, glitter, glue, paint, and felt. Mom is sending some more fun stuff for me as well. My ideas include, color in a bag which I enjoy this idea because the mess is contained, but I still think Zane will find it interesting. Discovery bottles, there are multiple different things you can put in them from fun colorful stuff to baby oil, water, and food coloring. These are the favorite ones I found so far. And we are making a hand print flower picture for Grandma! I will do posts on them as we finish these new activities so I can remember them in the future.
4. This weekend we are finally heading to South East MO for our Christmas celebration and to celebrate our niece's fifth birthday. I cannot believe my little Adeline is going to be five. We are very excited to see everyone and Zane is ready to open some more presents, I'm sure.
5. Next week mom is coming up to watch Zane while I work and Zach is out of town. Then we will all fly back to Oklahoma for Brendan's 5th birthday celebration (yes Adeline and Brendan were born 10 days a part). I am starting my vitamin regimen in hopes of not getting sick during the trip this year. Maybe the nicer weather will help. Now I just have to figure out what to get Brendan for his big fifth birthday.
6. Speaking of birthdays, in a bit of a crazy streak/loving pinterest on my ipad, I have started planning my son's second birthday, which isn't until June. Of course or theme is Dinosaur train or dinosaurs in general. I have found a lot fun ideas, such as dinosaur egg hunt, digging for dinosaur bones, creating some "time tunnels" and all sorts of other fun dinosaur ideas! I know it is a little crazy, but I am excited already. I'm sad that the Richards won't get to come this year, but they will be busy with their new little bundle of joy so it is all good.
7. I have gotten a few Christmas scrapbook pages done, but did have to walk away from it all the other day when I got frustrated and started to think everything was ugly. I have since gone back to it and it wasn't ugly I just hit a mental block. The sketches I had gotten from the online class have proven to be good jumping off points but I have found that I usually change it up a little bit, which works in the end. Here are my most recent Christmas layouts. I love the train layout, which is the one I initially struggled with. I have twine in the mail which will be added to the banner when it arrives.
The fist layout is almost exactly like one of the layouts from my 12 Days of Christmas class, I love it!
9. Check out this adorable shirt that I bought Zane yesterday. I usually get all of Zane's clothes at one of the many different resale shops around town, but I could not resist this shirt at Target. Zane was confused by it this morning when he couldn't get his tools out of his tool belt. The shirt also has a hood on it, how great is that! Yes, Zane is playing with my circle, scrapbooking, punch.
The Zoo Times Two
We have been blessed with beautiful, almost spring like, weather here over the past week and we have made the best of it. Last Friday it was in the 60s so Michelle and I took our little guys to the Zoo. This was our first trip to the zoo since the summer. Zane understands much more of what is going on and thoroughly enjoyed all the different animals, statues, and has even grown to really like the carousel.
Here are the highlights of our first trip to the Zoo.
While we were waiting for Michelle and Jamey to arrive Zane became fast friends with the seal statues. He petted and gave them kisses. The big statue of seals, which kids usually climb all over, was fenced off due to the Christmas lights, but we waived at them from out the fence.
Once our friends arrived we headed up to the Safari area where we saw this, kind of creepy, camel, giraffes, zebras, and all sorts of antelope, and buffalo. All the animals were out enjoying the gorgeous weather.
This is Zane and I in front of the wild bore exhibit. Zane of course said hi to all the animals, waving bye bye when we left. He particularly enjoyed these guys because he can say pig!
We had to make a quick visit with Zane's old friends, the goats. He petted, brushed, and tickled all of them. He could have played with the goats all day.
The monkey's were out that day as well. Here is the old, orange, orangutang who followed us from window to window, very fun!
Finally, we ended our day with a carousel ride. My little boy who was originally a little scared of the carousel, now loves it. He really would like to ride with no hands while jumping up and down. That's where mommy holding him onto Truman Tiger comes in.
Today the weather was slightly cooler, but still in the 50s so we decided why not go back and see the animals we missed the first day and ride the train! It was just as fun and we have now successfully seen pretty much all the animals in the STL zoo. This is good because the snow is suppose to arrive Thursday. Here are the pictures from today's adventure.
Here are the little boys checking out the African Rhino's. Zane thought they were dinosaurs, smart kiddo!
Here we are enjoying our day in front of the hyena exhibit. You can see one over Zane's shoulder. I have been to the zoo a lot, but have never seen these guys before. They look kind of evil, I think that is thanks to The Lion King. All the animals were out in the River's Edge exhibit, which can sometimes be hit or miss. See mom I told you we have animals in our Zoo.
This is the newest baby elephant. So cute, all the elephants were out and being very friendly.
The elephants were Zane's favorites by far. He ran around talking to them, trying to get the best view. He might have thrown a tiny fit when we had to finally leave the elephant habitat.
The penguins were awfully smelly today for some reason. When we got home and I was putting Zane down for a nap he smelled like a penguin. I didn't think we were in there that long, but I guess we were. He loved them, but kept calling them chickens, close Zane, very close.
We ended this day's trip with a carousel and train ride. Zane was very serious when we started the train ride, but by the time we got to the tunnels at the end of the trip he was very excited, constantly saying 'Choo Choo". We sang the "All Aboard" dinosaur train song, which added to the whole experience.
Serious, train rider boy!
Happy Zoo Day! We probably won't get to go back until spring which is sad, but I can't wait to get back!
Here are the highlights of our first trip to the Zoo.
While we were waiting for Michelle and Jamey to arrive Zane became fast friends with the seal statues. He petted and gave them kisses. The big statue of seals, which kids usually climb all over, was fenced off due to the Christmas lights, but we waived at them from out the fence.
Here are the little boys checking out the African Rhino's. Zane thought they were dinosaurs, smart kiddo!
This is the newest baby elephant. So cute, all the elephants were out and being very friendly.
Happy Zoo Day! We probably won't get to go back until spring which is sad, but I can't wait to get back!
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