Bracing for the big storm

Apparently while Zach and I were pretending that it was spring this weekend everyone else was preparing for the history making storm that is headed our way. Sunday afternoon Zach heard murmurings of this storm on his way to ACE Hardware but we promptly ignored them, because it was spring time at the Korenak house hold.

Reality set in this morning when I turned on the TV to find the news casters loosing their minds over the ice and snow that we can expect in the upcoming days. Of course I work tomorrow, so I will be braving the predicted 0.5-1 inch of ice to go take care of sick kiddos at the hospital. I love when everyone on the news says "don't drive if you don't have to and try to work from home tomorrow." Thanks geniuses, I was thinking about just driving around for kicks and I would LOVE to work from home. No, I will be the crazy person risking life and limb trying to get to work. I thought briefly about emailing my boss, but everyone is going to be the same situation. We can't shut down the hospital and everyone will be dealing with the same road conditions. Hmmm... not going to be fun at all.

After the ice comes 6-12in. of snow which will be falling on top of the inch of ice. I would say "Oh I bet it won't snow that much." But I have learned my lesson, never question or taunt mother nature, lest you end up in a situation like the ice storm of 2002, where I nearly lost my sanity and my religion all at once. I will spare you the horrific details, but lets just say it was the worst time ever, ending with me being addicted to NyQuil from the pure boredom of not having electricity for 33 days, that's right, 33 days! I was a senior in high school which made everything that much worse.

Today Zane and I are cuddling and keeping warm while I dread my commute tomorrow. Wish me luck! Stay warm and try to stay of the roads and work from home tomorrow :)

Perfectly boring weekend

This weekend was the first weekend that we have been home, with me not working, and without house guests since the weekend before Thanksgiving. It has been a busy holiday season and we have loved spending so much time with our family. However, this weekend, having nothing to do but small jobs around the house and playing with our baby, was amazing!!

Saturday we started our day by getting to "sleep in" until 7:20am. Thanks Zane! We had a photography appointment at 11am so we got a little playing and a short nap in before having to get ready. The photographer came to our house which was great since Zane got to be in familiar surroundings through everything. He did seem a little confused about why there were big strange lights in our basement, but other than that of course he was adorable, though slightly sleepy. It was a beautiful day outside which meant we got to take our family photo's outside. I hope they turned out good.

After pictures Zane took a long nap which gave me just enough time to finally take down and put away all of the Christmas decorations. I even had time to clean up the mess that was left from all that greenery. I put away four big boxes of Christmas decorations and put up my two Valentine's day decorations; valentine's day place mats and pink and red little blocks that spell love ( both from the one spot at target). I have to say the house looks emptier now.

While I worked on dechristmasing our house Zach was working on the shelving/storage unit under the stairs in the basement. This project has been going on forever due to the fact that we are never here. Zach was determined to finish it this weekend. I am happy to say we put the final coat of paint on it this evening and now all we have to do is buy the storage bins. I will post a picture once we have all the bins so you can get the full effect. It looks amazing and will be perfect for storing toys, puzzles, and all sorts of fun things that little boys need as they grow up.

With weather in the fifties, after weeks of freezing temperatures and snow, Zach and I decided we  needed to take this opportunity to grill dinner. In case you didn't know, Zach and I love grilling. I made cream peas and red potatoes ( a favorite summer recipe of mine) to go along with our grilled pork tenderloin. I opened the windows and tried to air out all the sickness of the past week and Zane got to go outside for the first time in months. It was tons of fun pretending it was spring, if only for a day.

Today we went to church in the morning and spent the afternoon playing and finishing the shelving project. I even got to take a nap. It was great just being our little family. I loved that Zach and I got to play with Zane together. I didn't realize that we rarely do this until we got to this weekend. Usually when we are both here it is in the evening and there is so much to be done, in a short time, that we divide and conquer. Hopefully we have more time to play as a family more in the future. I loved our perfectly boring weekend!!!

Too adorable

I really don't have a blog to go with these adorable pictures but they were way to cute not to share. Zach found this tiny robe hanging in the closest and we figured since we never actually had him wear it when he was a little baby we should at least have him wear it once before we stored it away with the rest of his tiny clothes. We thought it was just too cute of a picture opp to pass up and boy were we right. How adorable is this baby! Also, look how amazing his scar looks, it gets lighter everyday, amazing!

 Yes I posted every picture I took because I just couldn't decide on which one was the cutest and the view from the back was some how just as adorable. I did spare you all the pictures of Zach and Zane playing peek-a-boo though if that makes it better. Hopes this brightens your day, I know it was the highlight of mine!

Brendan's Birthday Bonaza

With all the sickness I have yet to get around to blogging about all the fun that was Brendan's birthday celebrations this year. I have been to all four of Brendan's birthday parties. The first one was in Washington D.C. and the other three have been in Oklahoma. I have flown to them all. I feel like as an Aunt and a Godmother I should be there for the birthday fun. Also, now I have a streak to up hold. I haven't made it to any of Maggie's birthdays and her birthday is on our anniversary so I feel a little less pressure there, though I hope to make it to the next one.

Brendan's birthday is January 20th. He was born on inauguration day in Washington D.C., how fun is that! Since his birthday is in January Zach often gets to attend the birthday celebrations as well since he still has vacation days at this point in the year. This year we actually got to see him on his actual birthday. Once we finally got out of snowy STL and into sunny ( though freezing and windy) Oklahoma, Able took us to meet up with Abbey, Maggie, Brendan, and Mom for lunch at Cafe 7. It's a restaurant in Edmond, OK where everything costs $7 or less. Dad would have loved this place because, as a strict rule, dad would never eat a meal that cost more than $10 and his favorite number was 7. After our quick lunch we headed over to GiGi's cupcakes where we got cupcakes to celebrate Brendan's big day. The cupcakes had a huge amount of frosting on them, which Brendan of course loved. We sang happy birthday and everything. Tons of fun!

The rest of Thursday was spent playing around the house with Brendan, Maggie, and Zane. Grandma and I were lucky enough to be invited to swim lessons Thursday night. This was unbelievably fun. There were only four kids in the class, all boys, and they were all very excited about swimming. Their teacher was very serious and obviously not a kid person, but they all seemed to have a blast. It was set up differently than how I had taught kids how to swim as a life guard due to the fact that the pool didn't have a true shallow end. This meant they really had to dog paddle their way across the pool, no cheating. Brendan did great and I think we might just have the next Michael Phelps on our hands :) I taught him some swimming stretching and he looked like a total natural doing them.

Friday was full of cooking, decorating, and party planning. Zach and I had a business lunch with Able, so I am now officially set up with life insurance. That is a depressing meeting to have, but a necessary one. Friday evening the boys headed down to last call at O'Connell's ( the most important bar in Norman which is not actually closing just opening a new building). While the boys were gone the ladies continued party decorating, house cleaning, and Abbey started the yearly cake baking/decorating marathon.

The cakes Abbey makes for Brendan's parties are always amazing, always home made, and decorated by Abbey herself. She has made trains, a robot, a space ship, and this year an amazing Lego cake complete with star wars Lego men and buzz light year candles. What more could a boy want. Here are some pictures of the cakes through the years. I think my favorite is a tie between the trains and the robots because I had so much fun decorating them with different types of candy. Here's hoping Abbey comes to Zane's birthday party so he can have an awesome cake.

By Saturday morning we were all ready for the big event except maybe Brendan who woke up feeling not so hot. He told me his "mouth" hurt, translation he had sore throat and just wasn't his normal perky self, but he powered through. This was the family birthday party, with I'm sure a friends birthday party soon to follow. Another staple at Brendan's parties are the decorations, this is my department. There always has to be some sort of decorations hanging from the ceiling, window decorations, and balloons. This year's theme was space so we had planets and stars hanging from every where. There were even space helmets for all the kids. Zane loved his, as you can see.

Even with Brendan not feeling his best he had a great time, got a tons of wonderful gifts, and enjoyed his Lego cake along with blue ice cream ( another must have for Brendan's birthday parties). This year Zach and I got him and Ant farm. I think once his ants actually arrive he will have a blast watching them dig their tunnels. He also got a leapster, a science kit, books, a batman costume, new toy story shows (complete with lasers on the toes), a glow in the dark solar system for his room, and a real life telescope. 

After the party we headed to the farm where we had a relaxing couple of days. Mom taught me how to make bread Sunday. I have watched her make bread hundreds of times, but she could never actually give me measurements, so I took detailed notes this time and now feel confident I could make bread on my own, how exciting is that! It is great to be home, though it is strange being there without dad. I hate that Brendan felt bad the whole time, but he really was a trooper through it all. Monday we headed back to OKC to catch our flight home. I hate when I leave without any plans of when I will see my family again. I know I will, but I like to have a date or time in mind. I'm sure we will figure something out soon.

Ears Down

My dad use to always say he had "an ear down" when he was sick, referring to cattle whose ears apparently droop when they are sick. Well everyone in my little family has had at least one ear down if not multiple ears down all week. I thought I felt well enough to go to work yesterday, but by 12pm I was sicker than a dog, at work, which isn't a pretty sight and as a nurse it isn't just as simple as going home. You have to find people to take your kids and give report before you can leave. It was a hot mess ending in me at home with a fever and feeling worse than ever.

I knew that I was incredibly dehydrated but couldn't muster the strength to drink much of anything yesterday, so I laid on the couch in an achy, sick, fever, coma for the rest of the day. When Zach and Zane got home Zane was very excited to see me and then promptly devastated I wouldn't hold him or play with him. He cried with his little outstretched arms leading me to cry and feel even more miserable. I went to sleep sleep, changing locations to my bed from the couch, at 7:30pm. I hear Zane had a good night, which was great because I was completely out of it. I slept for 12 hours and am feeling (knock on wood) better today, though I didn't brave going back to work with how miserable I felt when I went to sleep. I have felt so good that instead of dry toast ( which, along with saltines and sprite, is all I have eaten all week) I went a little crazy and put some butter on my toast. Hope I don't live to regret that later. I have even folded two loads of laundry while sitting on the couch, it's a step up from deaths door where I was yesterday.

Zane has also had one little ear down all week as well, thanks, I'm sure to the plane ride. It started with his goobery eyes, which we went and had the NP at his doctor's office check out to make sure it wasn't pink eye. Thankfully she said it was just due to his other cold symptoms, a cough and runny nose. We have been putting eye drops in his eyes for a couple days and they have cleared up. His cough is pretty pathetic, mainly just at night, but it hasn't been waking him up so much as waking us up. I say that as though I have had any part in Zane's care over the past week, I have not. Zach has been absolutely amazing taking care of Zane, me, and the house all while having a head cold of his own.

This week of family illness has made me realize why people live by their parents/family. So many times, while laying on the couch moaning I wished my mom, sister, brother, dad, whoever, could come over and pat my sick head, watch my baby, clean my house, cook me dinner, or just give me a little sympathy. I remembered my mom always talking about when her mom would come take us kids back to her house when she was sick. Given I didn't have double pneumonia like mom had, but still it would be nice for that to be an option. I can hear Abbey telling me that I could move home at anytime, which isn't really true, we have to live in this house for at least two more years and then we will see. But I miss the family none the less.

With all that being said the appointment I made, a month ago, to have our family photos taken is tomorrow morning. We are taking them at my house, I'm not really sure how that is going to work, but she said she is bringing stuff. Maybe we will pretend these pictures are being taken at Christmas because my upstairs Christmas decorations are still up. That is what happens when you are either sick or not at your house for the month after Christmas. I am not bothered by it and plan to take them down this weekend, but she may think we are crazy people.

Flying with Zane

I am finally beginning to feel a little bit better so I am getting around to writing about our recent trip to Oklahoma. Lets start with the fun that is flying with a baby... oh wait, really not that fun!

I remember sitting in the airport, reading, on my way back to St. Louis after my baby shower last April and it hit me that this would be my last solo flight for a while. Zane has flown twice, the first time being when we flew home for Dad's funeral. He was only two months old at the time and purely by the grace of God he slept like a baby through both flights. Our most recent flights where a little bit more exciting but not too bad.

Our trip to Oklahoma started at 4am Thursday morning. I had woken up to go to the bathroom, then Zane woke up to eat, and by the time he was settled it again it was almost 5am so I started the packing and preparation. The fact that it had snowed throughout the night made our adventure a little bit more exciting. We left incredibly early in hopes of beating the morning 270 traffic and to allow for plenty of time to get through security and all craziness of an airport on a snowy day.

The luggage and pure amount of stuff that we take places has easily doubled with the addition of our, still very little, boy. Thankfully mom has a car seat in OK that we can use so we don't have to bring that or a stroller, but we still originally planned on taking 3 suitcases and a diaper bag. However, since we don't bring a car seat getting to the airport and parking our car becomes complicated. Zach dropped Zane and I off at the terminal. Zane was in the baby Bjorne, he faces out now and he thoroughly enjoyed people watching while we waiting for Zach to drive back to the parking lot and take a shuttle back to the airport. We all can't ride the shuttle because Zane doesn't have a car seat, see where the problem arises there. All of this was complicated/slowed by the fact that there was at least a foot of snow on the ground at the airport ( it only snowed about 4 inches where we live but we are an hour south of the airport).

Once all of us and all of our bags were at the airport we checked in and got in the short security line. I had confidence that we were good to go at this point. Last time we flew security told us Zane could stay in the Bjorne while I walked through the metal detectors, which I was super excited about. Of course this has now changed and we had to get him out, take the Bjorne off, and then walk through. I made some joke about things being different every time I fly ( because they are) and of course the TSA man did not find this funny. Rule #1 of flying, don't joke with the TSA people, they NEVER think anything is funny.

Zane and I made it through security fine and were at the chairs putting our shoes on ( yes Zane had to take off his shoes to go through security) when I noticed that Zach had been detained by security. I was thinking they may confiscate our baby food, but no turns out Zach had left his Grandfather's pocket knife in his coat pocket. In order to not get his inheritance confiscated we decided to check the little suit case that had all of Zane's stuff in it. Our genius idea had been to carry this on so we would have all the clothes, toys, food, bottles, ect. that we might need in the event of a day long delay at the airport. So Zach ran over, took out the "must haves", which we just had to set in the chairs around me while Zach went back out through security, checked the bag, and then got in the, by that point, long security line. Once Zach had made it through security we had to buy a new bag for the must haves, bringing our grand total of bags to 3 suit cases, one duffle bag, and a baby bag, for a 4.5 day trip AWESOME!

Our plane was only delayed about 30 minutes. This was amazing since we had planned on at least a four hour delay. We ate breakfast and watched the 3yr. old boy's dream land that was outside the window. There were planes, tractors packing down and moving snow, huge snow shovels, dump trucks, little pick ups, trains, and pretty much every piece of large machinery you could ever want to see, if only there could have been a boat and a space ship on the run way.

The plane wasn't very full so Zach and I had a row to ourselves, which was nice since we could store some of Zane's toys, blankets, ect in the seat between us. Zane enjoyed looking out the window, briefly, and then promptly  fell asleep during the de-icing process, sleeping for most of the flight. He woke up and played happily during the remainder of the flight with only a few brief periods of unhappiness during our descent and landing. He really was a trooper.

Our flight back didn't go as smoothly but not horrible. The airport experience went much smoother, Uncle Able dropped us off curb side and we made it through security with out any hiccups. Zane was blatantly tired before we even boarded the plane but was fighting hard to stay awake. Once we boarded the plane they told us we would be waiting for a plane from Denver which had 30 some people who were suppose to be on our flight. Great! Zane was horribly unhappy during this wait, crying/screaming most of the time. When Zach finally got him to sleep, the other passengers arrived and Zach had to move to the center seat since it was now a full plane. Zane played/was restless for the rest of the flight, with small out burst of screaming here and there.

Flying with an unhappy baby is like sitting with a ticking time bomb. No one likes a screaming baby, especially their parents. I felt horrible, but what can you do. He did finally fall asleep when we started our descent into STL. I decided not to wake him up to put him in the Bjorne to deboard the plane. Turns out walking up hill while holding a 20 pound baby is a pretty good work out.

All and all it went well and Zane really did amazingly well and we had tons of fun in Oklahoma. I know we will do it again soon. At some point I know I will make this trip alone, I can't really visualize how that will work, but I am sure I will make it happen some how.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I am sick..... AGAIN! Some where along the way I picked up the stomach bug. I was on an airplane and Brendan was sick so who knows where I got it. I get sick every year after my trip to Brendan's bday. This means that I spent all night in the bathroom and all day laying around feeling achy and miserable. I am planning on sending Zane back to day care tomorrow because I still feel crummy. Hopefully I am better by Thurs. when I am suppose to work again.
2. That being sad we had a fantastic time at Brendan's birthday palooza this weekend, though he was a bit under the weather the whole time so not his perky happy self, but I think he still enjoyed it.

3. When we arrived home last night we had a not so pleasant surprise waiting for us. The fish tank heater that we bought specifically because it said it would shut off if the water got low apparently did the exact opposite and well.... let's just say both of our fish died ( yes our beloved Beverly who we have had since we got married) and our house smells awful. Zach spent about an hour cleaning up the crime scene. Very sad.

4. Zane isn't feeling his best either, though he hasn't vomited yet (knock on wood). After multiple airports, planes, and sick cousins he came home with a very runny nose, what seems like an upset stomach (not tolerating baby food well and doesn't have much of an appetite at all), a baby cough, and he woke up yesterday with a very gobbery (yes that is a scientific word) eye. We should stay home and have a normal life for a while I think.

5. I miss Dad more when I'm in Oklahoma. I don't know how Mom is doing so well, I guess she has adjusted to it more since she is in that house every day. I still expect him to come walking through the door or hear him up early making tea. I am up early now when I am there which really makes me think of the wonderful conversations and time we could have been spending together early in the morning.

6. We are getting family/Zane's 6 month pictures taken this Saturday. I don't know what any of us are going to wear. Hopefully Zane is feeling better. Also, any ideas of where to take pictures in January? Our photographer said she would come up with some ideas, hopefully she does because I can't think of anything.

7. Zane has a new adorable thing that he is doing. He constantly has his hands in motion now. Generally his little arms are sticking out and his little hands are waving, ever to slightly, just at the wrist not he whole arm. He looks like he is conducting with his little hands or possibly waving a very gentle wave at all times. It is so cute. I wonder why he needs his hands in constant motion?

8. In good news my epic failure on purchasing a hotel didn't end up being that bad. It was an older hotel but it wasn't dirty or disgusting like I had imagined. Zane actually slept amazingly well in the hotel and we didn't wake up the Richards clan at 5:30am when we got up.

9. My wonderful husband brought me chicken noodle soup, crackers, and sprite for lunch. It was nice of him and the standard meal for the day after throwing up. I hate the taste that eating plan crackers and sprite leaves in my mouth, probably because I only eat this after being sick.

10. After our recent trip it has become obvious how big of an ordeal traveling with children is and I only have on little child. I have yet to decide which is more stressful, driving or flying, but even a short weekend trip involves a day of packing multiple suit cases and apparently ends with me being sick. Maybe we will get better at it, but I can only assume this gets more complicated as Zane gets older and we have more kids. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

7 Month Update

Zane is 7 months old today and loving life. At his last visit to the hospital, Saturday, he weighed 20 lbs 6 oz. He hasn't been measured lately but he seems incredibly tall to me, long and lean, very cute. He has a lot more hair that sticks straight up on his head. It kind of looks and feels like feathers and it smells like baby heaven, I love it! He is still incredibly happy, laughing and squealing with delight all day long, except when he is not :)

Zane still loves his saucer and spends large quantities of time in it each day. He is tall enough to really enjoy his jumperoo downstairs now as well. He has been using it some for a couple months, but up until recently only his tippy toes could touch the ground. Now he can stand up and intensely jump. He loves it. He plays in this while Zach and I get extreme. He finds our exercising very entertaining, especially Monday nights Yoga, which I have to admit probably looked pretty hysterical. He is also still enjoying Tad.  He lights up just at the sight of him and we have been working on clapping to Tads songs. He has tried to clap a couple times and is definitely getting closer. Mooly has also made a reappearance into the rotation after we took her out of his room and brought her out to the play area. He of course still loves anything that makes noise and the he can chew on. We have toys, rattles, balls, and stuffed animals strewn all over the house already and he isn't even mobile yet.

He still doesn't have any teeth, though he has been teething for a long time. All in good time I guess. He is starting to work on crawling, if we can get him to stay on his stomach for longer than a minute.  He usually immediately turns back onto his back, but if he is interested in something or wants to get to a toy he will try to get up on his little knees. I think we are still a ways away from crawling and I am fine with that, I can''t imagine how life will change once he is mobile.

He has become a champion sitter upper over the past month, though I still don't trust him to sit alone upstairs with the hard wood floors ( not sure when I will, I see it as skull fracture in the making). His new fascination is with Zach and I's faces, hair, and glasses. He loves to pull on our noses, my hair, ears, ect. You can tell that he knows us and sometimes I feel like he is just studying my face, very cute.

He is still a good eater and was moved up to second foods this month. He has good eating days and then he has his not so good eating days ( all days are good eating days for me so I don't really understand this). We have started trying to give him things that he can pick up, little pieces of banana or bread. He really doesn't pick them up so much as play with them on his tray but it is a start. He had his first Ritz cracker ( in tiny pieces) at Grammi's house a couple weekends ago, and he loved it, of course. He also has good and not so good days with his sippy cup, but we continue to work with it and he is getting better at holding it himself. He would really love to use his spoon and feed himself. We let him try sometimes which results in him getting food every where but his mouth.

I think I am starting to see signs of some stranger anxiety coming on which I am not looking forward to. He really needs to be able to Zach and I at all times. If we leave the room he almost breaks his neck trying to find us. He has learned to turn his cry on and off quickly as well. He will cry the most pathetic cry you have ever heard when I leave the room and as soon as I am back in his line of sight it is all giggles. How do they learn this so young.

I wish I could report good news on the sleeping front but no such luck. He still is getting up at least two times a night. He has started to take a bottle at 5:30 and go back to  bed until 6:30-7am which is better than starting all my days at 5:30. We kind of got away from letting him put himself to sleep with all the holiday travel, but I tried to reinstate that this week and it seems to be going well. He put himself to sleep for one of his naps on Monday and put himself to sleep yesterday evening. I am hoping the getting up an hour or so after going to bed and being crabby was just from his recent illness and not a new sleep pattern.

Health wise he is doing amazing, besides his recent little fever. His scar look wonderful and is fading much quicker than I thought it would. I know that soon you will barely be able to see it. A plastic surgeon told me the other days that blonde's scars heal the best, hopefully that is true. He will get his monthly RSV shot for a few more months and possibly next year. We go back to the cardiologist on Feb. 11th, hopefully they will stop his Lasix at this time. I think after that he will have to go every three months for a year and then yearly for the rest of his life.

It has been a great month with a happy baby boy. During this month he had his first Christmas, welcomed in his first New Years, and he survived his first big road trip. It is so much fun watching him learn, grow, and change right before our eyes. I am so blessed to have such an amazing baby boy. He lights up my heart.

We love you little man!

Ten on Tuesday

1. I think I am going to take up Zane's workout ethic. From the moment he wakes up to the moment he starts fighting sleep at night he is working out. Constantly doing crunches, leg lifts, and recently he has added the head and leg lift combo. He does isometrics, holding his head and legs up for a few seconds, then repeating it numerous times. He jumps, turns, twists, and is extreme all day. I need to get that kind of motivation to work out and maybe then I will having rocking abs like Zane.

2. My most recent epic failure took place yesterday. Let me start by saying, numerous times in the past either I, or one of my siblings, have booked hotel rooms for our parents through one of the websites where you throw out a low ball bid, without knowing which hotel you were actually going to get. This has always worked out amazingly. For example, when mom and dad came to my nursing school graduation we got them a room at the Hyatt on the water front, in down town St. Louis, across from the arch, for $30 a night. Score! So yesterday I was booking a room for Zach, Zane, and I for our upcoming OK trip. Being me, I failed epically, and now we will be staying in a not so awesome/slightly ghetto hotel! AMAZING!!

3. I was highly motivated to clean my house yesterday. I hate coming home from a trip to a dirty house, so I cleaned like a crazy person while Zane slept. I got a lot done and hopefully we can keep it pulled together the next couple days so it will look good when we get back from Oklahoma. However, looking around the house tonight it is already starting to fall apart.

4. It is suppose to snow a lot on Thursday here. Hope we don't get stuck in the airport with our, by then, 7 month old baby. That will not be fun. I am terrified.

5. My nephew Brendan informed Uncle Able this weekend that he was not ready for his birthday yet. Hope he gets that way soon because I am getting very excited for the upcoming birthday celebrations. He asked me this evening if I wanted to go to his swimming lesson with him on Thursday. Of course I said yes. However, when I asked if Uncle Zach could come he said " Well.... I don't know about that." HYSTERICAL!!

6. I want to congratulate my friend Julie who is leaving us on the 12th floor to start a new job as a Nurse Practitioner for general surgery at Childrens. I will miss her happy, positive attitude. She always brightened my day. Congrats Julie and good luck!!

7. Update on the knife situation here at the Korenak house hold. I have used our new knife multiple times with complete success. I think Zach is getting better at it as well. I am loving our sharp knife mom, thanks!

8. Zane has a new, socially inappropriate, habit. He blows raspberries ( which is a nice way of saying makes fart noises) all the time. I am thinking it is probably due to the teething but it is still socially inappropriate. He does this all the time, while he is eating, when he is trying to stay awake, in his sleep, while he plays, you name it. It isn't a big deal at home, but I am wondering what everyone on the airplane will think when there are fart noises coming from our row the entire flight, probably going to be a little embarrassing.

9. I have yet to pack one thing for our upcoming 5 day trip to OK. Packing for a weekend takes me forever so I'm not sure when I am going to pack for this great adventure since I worked today, will work tomorrow, and our plane leaves at 10:30am on Thursday. Looks like a late night coming up.

10. I cannot believe Zane is going to be 7 months old tomorrow. It is crazy how fast this year is flying by. He is getting so big and is increasingly adorable. I am going to try to write a 7 month update before we head out for OK, we shall if I really make that happen.

Happy Tuesday!!

Baby fever update

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Zane started having a bit of a fever on Friday. He was very cuddly, which I have to say I probably enjoyed a little too much. He didn't really want to play, though he tried on numerous occasions, always ended in him being crabby and needing a cuddle. I didn't think much of this baby fever until Zach told me on Saturday (while I was at work) that he had spiked to 102.9 which really equals 103, which equals a bit concerning.

I would like to think, that as a first time parent and a pediatric nurse, under normal circumstances (i.e. my son not having open heart surgery at 4 months old) I would not be super concerned about this little baby fever. He didn't have a cough, runny nose, vomitting, or anything else concerning, but with his medical history that in itself is concerning. Since I have never parented under normal circumstances, I knew that he would have to go get the whole battery of tests, xrays, ect. just to make sure that he didn't have RSV ( because I would then have to sue the RSV shot people, since he gets a $4000 shot to prevent this every 28 days, I only pay $20 for it, but still). We also needed to make sure he didn't have the flu, pneumonia, or worst case scenario, that his pericardium ( the lining around the heart) wasn't irritated/inflamed, causing him to have a fever. Right... that is the not so normal circumstances under which I parent.

So while I was taking care of other people's kids and being yelled at by angry parents for not being able to give them private rooms, my wonderful husband was sitting with our sick baby in the CARES at Childrne's Hospital. I don't know what CARES stands for but it basically is just like an urgent care for kids at SLCH, hence by passing the dreaded ( and not needed) ER. They did all sorts of tests, including a chest xray to make sure his heart wasn't enlarged or inflamed and everything turned out fine. Praise the Lord!

It was a rough day for everyone involved. It's weird and horrible to be at work taking care of sick kids when you have your own sick kid at home, or in this case also at the hospital. I really just wanted to be taking care of my baby. I did go down and see him, which ultimately just made the day harder and me sadder, but it was the least I could do.

In good news Zach tells me that Zane was back to his happy self today. He didn't have a fever, he played all day, ate, drank, and was merry. He has randomly started waking up about an hour after going to sleep and thinking it is morning/play time. This hasn't been fun because it leads to about a two hours battle to get him to sleep, ending in a very unhappy baby and not so happy parents. That battle is being fought as I finish this blog. I probably should go check in the progress.

Cuddly little pumkin head

Today Zane woke up extra cuddly and took numerous short naps during the morning. I didn't think much of it since we had a bit of rocky night by ourselves last night and frankly I was enjoying the cuddles. However, by noon my little pumkin head was running a fever, explaining why he wanted to sleep and cuddle all day.

After he got his baby does of Tylenol I decided we should watch a movie while we cuddled on the couch. I decided on Princess and the Frog, which turns out it slightly creepy, but Zane enjoyed it. He did perk up a bit after the Tylenol and reluctantly played in his saucer while I worked on his scrapbook, but that didn't last long. Zane couldn't be far away from his blanket and his binki all day. At one point we were sitting on the couch and the blanket was next to me, not being held by him, and he freaked out, then managed to bend over, grab it, and get back in the cuddle. Very pathetic.

He doesn't really have any other symptoms, besides the slightly runny nose he has had for a month, so I'm sure it is nothing. I have enjoyed the extra snuggles from him today and my hug sack if officially full for my weekend at work without my baby boy. He is currently sleeping on the couch next to me, hope he feels better soon, poor little guy. Here is a picture of him relaxing on the couch with his blanky and binki, of course.

Missing Zach

This evening Zach had to head to Springfield, MO so he could be there for customer training tomorrow morning. This meant that a huge wrench was thrown into my evening routine. It was a normal day, playing upstairs, playing downstairs, sleeping upstairs, sleeping downstairs, laughing, crying, the usual fun day. However, on these usual days, by the time Zach gets home at 5:30pm I am in need of some help with the evening.

We work as a well oiled machine. While one person is feeding or entertaining Zane the other is working on making dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, doing the dishes, working on laundry, picking up toys, ect. Bath time usually is a family affair, one person gets Zane ready while the other gets the water ready, and then we both enjoy watching Zane have a blast in bath time. I know this part of the day will have to change when there is more than one child, but for now it is one of my favorite parts of the day. Then there is medicine, jammies, bottle, and if we work it right, bedtime.

Today I was on my own with a lot to do. Zane ate and proceeded to throw a lot of it up. We have to work on him not eating foods he doesn't like instead of happily eating the entire jar and then proceeding to throw it up. There was a diaper blow out, which led to bath time, with Zane having to have some a lone time in his crib while I quickly cleaned the bathroom and got his water ready. He wasn't really happy about this, what with him knowing I exist now. After bath time, we played a little, read a book, ate a bottle, and went to sleep slightly early at 6:30pm. I quickly did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, took all the trash and recycling out and to the curb, changed over the laundry, and showered. As soon as I got out of the shower I heard mutterings from Zane's room. As I suspected he was awake again and ready to finish his bottle. After a little cuddle on the couch, he was belly laughing in his sleep, this is when we know he is really asleep ( isn't that wonderful).

Needless to say I'm exhausted and missing Zach. I am blessed to have an amazing husband. We are truly a partnership, everything 50/50, as it should be in a marriage. We don't really have things that one or the other always does. Zach usually cooks dinner, frankly because he is a better cook, but I cook a lot as well. We both do everything and it works out wonderfully. I know it is just one night, but it does remind me of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful partner to share my life with. Love ya Zach!

Adeline's Tea Party

Monday was my  niece Adeline's 4th birthday and this past Saturday she had a good old fashion tea party to celebrate. Saturday, while the kids were napping, Amy, Trina, and I prepared the food, tea, and decorations for the event. By the end of nap time we had transformed the kids playroom into a beautiful tea room and we had transformed into ever so classy ladies. Amy had on a mink fur wrap and fur hat, which I'm pretty sure traumatized my little one year old nephew for life, who thought she had dead dogs around her neck. She also had on brown gloves and all sorts of fun jewels.

I had bought a boa and brought my Grandmother's ruby ring for the event, but after seeing Trina and Amy's outfits I realized I needed to step up the classyness. I borrowed one of Adeline's hats, some of her dress up jewels, and after raiding Trina's closet and jewelry box I think I managed to look pretty fancy, even in my boring blue sweater and khakis.



When Adeline woke up from her nap it was time to get her fancy for the event. She dawned her Fancy Nancy dress, boa, and shoes, though she couldn't walk in the shoes and the boa was "itchy" so they were really only worn for the pictures. I took pictures of her getting ready, not unlike her wedding day, but here is the end result, complete with her very own tiara.

At three the little princesses began to show up, dressed to the nines. There were only 4 other girls besides Adeline which was just about the perfect number. They decorated crowns and magic wands with stickers before the actual tea party began. The menu consisted of cupcakes, petite fours, chocolate chip cookies, M&Ms, peanuts, and of course real hot tea. The little girls really weren't that interested in the food, but loved their tea with plenty of sugar and cream, which they could stir with their very own tiny spoons. So adorable! The girls drank their tea very carefully out of their glass tea cups and most of them asked for more.

As a "grown up" at the event I served tea, passed the sugar and cream to the girls, passed out cupcakes ( that didn't get eaten), took pictures, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the little girls, all dressed up, enjoying their tea party. There was gift time and a little bit of play time after the tea and then the party was over. A great time was had by all. After a tough week this was just the happy thought that I needed, topped of with Adeline telling me I was the best Aunt in the world and that our gift was her favorite, you can't beat that! It made me want to have a girl, not any time soon, but at some point. I can't wait for the next tea party!

Ten on Tuesday

I'm home sick today, feeling crummy, so my brain isn't working very well, but here goes.

1. I woke up feeling kind of sick yesterday but powered forward with my new way of dealing with feeling sick which is ignore it because I cannot afford ( literally because I have no ETO at work so I'm not getting paid today) to be sick. This method worked briefly but by the time I was home from my training class at work I was feeling very crummy and by the time the National Championship started I was achy, my throat hurt horribly, and I was officially sick :(

2. I had planned to blog about the amazing tea party I attended over the weekend yesterday but my brain wasn't working so I couldn't do it justice. But stay tuned for some adorable tea party pictures once I am feeling better.

3. It snowed a lot yesterday/last night. Maybe eating some fresh snow will make me feel better. Zach tells me it is perfect snow man snow which means it is probably delicious.

4. I got to pick Zane up from day care again yesterday and I am so glad that both times I have picked him up he has been having a blast and been so happy. He seems to really love his day care ladies and they of course adore him.

5. I hate that I can't get extreme due to feeling aweful. I was just starting to get in a bit of a working out routine and after this weekend of eating my weight in cupcakes at the tea party and now being sick I'm completely out of sync. I will have to get back on the horse when I'm feeling better, which will be right about the time we are heading back to Oklahoma for Brendan's bday!

6. Today has been really lonely here without Zane. I don't know what I did on my days off at home without him. I have slept all day today, in hopes of feeling better, it hasn't really worked and I have missed Zane terribly.

7. I miss reading. Ever since Dad died I can't concentrate long enough to read. I have two books on my night stand that I really want to read but every time I try to start them I get about 5 pages in and realize that I don't remember anything that I have read because my brain/thoughts are some where else. I keep trying, so hopefully I will be able to read again soon.

8. Zane has really started to enjoy sitting up on his changing table. He really would love to use the hand sanitizer and thoroughly enjoys looking through/playing with all the stuff ( mainly medicine, lotion, powder, ect) that are kept in a basket at the end of the table. Here he is, very focused on the task at hand.

9. Zach and I got a new knife for Christmas and I am pretty sure it is too sharp to be safe. Zach has cut himself both times he has used it. I have yet to use it, but am slightly scared now. Time to go over knife safety.

10. I am getting very nervous about the upcoming plane ride with Zane. I know we flew with him once before but he was 2 months old and slept all the time. Now he is awake and needs to be entertained. Hopefully he doesn't scream the whole time. Wish us luck.

Where would I be without Zane

Well let me answer that question really quickly... I would still be crying on my couch if not for Zane. As it is I am playing with teething toys and rattles on the floor.

Lets go back. A few years ago one of Abbey's friends was in a master's degree class and recorded an oral history of dad's life. This consisted of dad talking about his life, farming, the land run, ect. I vaguely remember this happening but hadn't thought anything of it until Abbey gave us a copy of the CD for Christmas. I found the CD today while unpacking from Christmas and repacking for our upcoming trip to Zach's parents this weekend. I thought it might be comforting to hear dad's voice, though I knew there was the possibility of it being epically depressing.

Turns out it was the later of those two things. I got maybe 2 minutes in before bursting into tears. Zane was taking a nap so I continued to listen/cry for a few minutes, but it did not get any better. I quickly turned it off and fell into a dark place, missing my father horribly. I feel like I should be able to pick up the phone and hear his voice at any time. I expect him to call me early some morning to just check in on me. I cannot believe that isn't going to happen again.

I had to quickly pull myself together, as I heard Zane muttering in his crib. Before going to get Zane I quickly let Abbey and Able know what a horrible idea listening to the CD had been and that they should not listen to it, under any circumstance, at least not yet. I know that at some point the CD will mean the world and years from now it will be a great blessing to have a recording of his voice, but for now it is just to soon.

I am so grateful that I have such a happy baby boy to pull me out of my dark place. I may have a heavy heart, but I have a smile on my face thanks to my happy thought, Zane.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We finally gave in and bought Zane new car seats. He is one pound away from being too heavy for his baby car seat and is already too tall for it, his poor little feet hang over the end. Yesterday when we got home from running errands there were four big boxes on my porch, two new Britax car seats, diapers, and wipes. I thought we would surely be set for a while until I realized today it is time to order more formula. It never ends.  Here is a picture showing just how ready Zane is for a new, bigger, car seat.

2. I am getting really excited about my niece's tea party this weekend. She will be turning four years old and she requested "something beautiful" for her birthday. I'm not sure that I managed that, but I tried.

3. Brendan turns four years old ten days after Adeline and I have no clue what to get him. If anyone has ideas of what to get a four year old boy that has everything let me know.

4. I am back on the workout wagon. Zach and I are doing P90X, the X stands for extreme, and I find it pretty fun. I like that Zach and I can do it together and there is a different work out everyday. We have done it twice so far and I am extremely sore. I had planned on doing it when I got home from work today but my 14 hour work day was pretty extreme so we opted not to do it tonight. I'm trying to eat better as well, hopefully I can start losing some of the weight accrued from last year.

5. Zane is loving his sippy cup. He can control it, but if left to his own devices he would really love to just put it in and out of his mouth for hours at a time. I had to go to Target and get a back up yesterday.

6. Dad was in my dream Sunday night. He has been in a few dreams over the past couple months, but he never talked to me until Sunday night's dream. He asked how Able was doing and for some reason I told him Able had decided to play baseball. It was great to see him, even in a dream. Maybe he will ask about me next time.

7. I am behind on Zane's scrapbook and it is starting to stress me out. I need to just sit down and do some of it, but there are so many cute pictures, how do I decide? Also, when do I find the free time to do that with the kid and what not.

8. Zach is working on building storage under our stairs. It is going to be awesome when it is done. I think he said there is going to be 11 cubbies that will fit big canvas storage bins for Zane's toys, books, blankets, and all the fun stuff that he will be getting in the future. I love what a handy husband I have!!

9. I'm excited that Able is doing so well at his new job in OK. He sells insurance of all kinds, so if anyone in Oklahoma needs some life, car, house, disability, or any other kind of insurance let me know and I can hook you up with quite the sales man. I need to buy some more life insurance while I'm home in a couple weeks myself.

10. How about those Sooners finally pulling off a BCS victory in the Fiesta Bowl. I was sure thaty they were going to figure out a way to loose that game, but they pulled it out and ended the 5 year BSC game loosing streak. Very exciting, BOOMER, SOONER!!!!

Little Zaney Boy

Brendan called Zane little Zaney boy while we were home, because that is what my mom calls him sometimes, it was priceless. That's just a fun side note, I really just wanted to do a quick update on some of Zane's new tricks/interests. For some reason I feel like there has been quite a few changes over the past week or two so I wanted to jot them down

First of all he has a new face that is absolutely hysterical. I think he might have learned it from Maggie, as it vaguely resembles Maggie's "Cheese" face. He scrunches up his nose and eyes and sticks his little lips out, sometimes this includes him saying "mmmm." This face is used to express all emotions, joy, sadness, I want more food, I'm done with food, I want my binki, I don't want my binki, really anything. I tried to capture a picture of the face while he ate lunch yesterday but failed. I will post a picture as soon as I manage to capture it!

Another new adorable habit Zane has is when he eats ( a bottle, a sippy cup, or real food) he likes to play with his hair and pat his little head. I know, not ground breaking but so cute, unless this is happening while he is eating real food and then it becomes a hot mess, but still cute! He is rolling over much more now. He was off rolling for quite a while after surgery, but he now rolls to his back anytime he is put on his belly. He is still not rolling from his back to his belly like he did before surgery, but he does it occasionally. We are working on learning to crawl but not making much progress as of yet!

Zane has now moved to the phase where he knows Zach and I exist and misses us/freaks out when we leave the room. This is wonderful, but can also be frustrating. Now when I run downstairs to change over the laundry, while he is playing in his saucer, he starts to cry immediately and when I get back upstairs he is pathetically standing in his saucers with his little hands up. Also, now when I get home from work, if he wakes up and I try to 'quickly' cuddle him back to sleep, he wakes up and realizes it is me. This leads to him getting really excited and wanting to play, which really isn't ideal at 8:30 or 9pm. All of this makes me feel really loved by my little man. He also loves sitting up on the couch playing with his toys, here is a picture of him maxing and relaxing. From this angle it looks like he has freakishly long legs, which is pretty cute.

His new favorite toys are Tad, the talking frog who sings and plays music. Aunt Abbey gave him this for Christmas and he thoroughly enjoys sitting up with Tad, listening to tunes, and of course trying to eat him. He also is thoroughly enjoying the star stacker that Aunt Trina got him for Christmas. He can get the stars off, which makes a great sound and makes lights come on as well. He does try to eat it, which doesn't really work, but he still likes to try. He has also really started to love playing peek a boo. We spend large quantities of time doing this each day, so much fun.

I could go on all day about how freaking adorable and wonderful my son is but I will stop with those few little updates!

Burning Regrets

As I mentioned in my New Years post, burning our regrets is a family tradition that started when I was in high school. The tradition began when we started having big bon fires on New Years Eve, so it was only natural to think about burning our regrets from the past year as we welcomed in the new one. Often Oklahoma is under a burn ban, due to it never raining there, so Mom and I sometimes had to resort to burning our regrets in a coffee can or metal bucket (whatever is handy) before running around the house with noise makers to welcome in the new year. As you can see in this picture our new years celebrations also include fun hats of any kind and fun nose accessories or glasses, you can't get more festive than that!

In the past my regrets were usually rather trivial, I can't think of anything of much importance that I have burned recently, except possibly burning the regret of going to college forever for no apparent reason. Last year I don't think I burned regrets, as I was in St. Louis, pregnant, and going to bed super early since I was working on New Years day.

This year I felt like I really had quite a few regrets with which I had been grappling with for a while. I thought burning them might just be the ticket to letting them go. After writing them all down, some huge and some trivial, I burned the paper in the fire place. It was surprisingly cathartic to have a tangible image of my regrets disappearing and I feel a bit of the weight has been lifted as I face a new year. I don't know that I will ever fully be able to let go of some of these regrets, but my goal is to learn a lesson from each regret, whether it is to be more compassionate, more patient, to be present in each moment, or to simply not take time, or people, for granted.  

New Years 2011

I had a highly uneventful New Years Eve/New Years day. I worked both days and had fairly busy work days so not a lot of energy for celebration. Last night when I came home from work I ate pretzels and drank ginger ale in honor of Dad's New Years Eve tradition. Growing up I really thought this was a world wide tradition, turns out Dad just liked pretzels and didn't drink, so ginger ale was as festive as he got. Zach had also bought us Champagne so we drank a toast to the new year in our Waterford chrystal champagne flouts from our wedding ( this is one of the two times a year we get them out, the second being our anniversary). I burned my regrets ( and I had a lot) in the fire place ( another family tradition I will elaborate on more in another post), and then thought I would easily cuddle my baby boy to sleep.

Little did I know that Zane has officially become a night owl. He woke up when I got home at 7:45ish and was awake when I had to go to bed at 10pm since I was going to have to work today. He was pretty chipper and playing until about 9:45 and then things went down hill quickly and an epic battle between Zane and Zach ensured. Zane has yet to realize that, spoiler alert, we will always win these battles. Tonight was more of the same with the battle lasting a slightly shorter time but was just as epic.

I am now watching the Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. We are leading as I write this but I feel the choke is imminent. I have watched way too many Fiesta Bowls that we some how manage to loose. I have eaten my Tostitos, so I have done my part.