1. No our computer still isn't fixed so still no pictures. Zane looks the same, though becoming quite the big boy. I do have tons of pictures to share when it is up and running again, big changes are afoot here.
2. The first big change that is really starting to come together is Zane's new room. The mattress arrived yesterday so the bed is made, with dinosaur sheets and his bug quilt. The closet is mostly cleared out, and the paint is finished. Now we just need to figure out where to put his clothes and all the stuff that we once stored in the catch all room.
This evening he requested to sleep in his "big bed" so he is currently in there, our fingers are crossed all goes well.
3. Yesterday Zane wanted to try nap time in his big bed but changed his mind after about half an hour. We moved back to the little bed where I thought he slept for an hour. I heard some grumbling and went to get him, but walked in to Zane surrounded by stuffed animals and blankets, on the floor. He quickly informed me, "I didn't sleep mama." Just in case I couldn't figure that out. He was very proud of getting away with it.
4. Last night we took Zane to the little gym 1 yr to 2.5 yr old gymnastics class. I was picturing them getting to run, flip, and jump on all the mats, swing on the bars ect. Well that was the last 20 minutes of an HOUR class for toddlers. The first thirty minutes was circle time, hitting sticks on the ground, clapping, and walking/running in a circle. None of that is neccisarry, everyone just wants to run and play. Zane was easily three to four inches taller than everyone and probably would need to be in the next class up, but memberships are for a year and expensive. We will probably just go to the park instead.
5. My hope was that Zane would be exhausted and sleep good last night. That was the opposite of what happened. He woke up three times, making for very nervous parents since baby number two is coming in about six months. I am exhausted just thinking about it.
6. Mom arrives Thursday for a weekend of fun while Zach visits Adam in our nations capital. I am afraid we will be getting rain thanks to hurricane Isaac but I am sure we will have tons of fun no matter what.
7. I am back on days and trying to get back to a normal schedule. I worked all weekend then had yesterday and today to do errands and catch up. It is amazing how much I can get done when I have a full day to do it. Zane was very excited when I wasn't leaving in th morning Monday. We had a lunch date together yesterday, just Zane and I, with entertaining two year old conversations.
He informed me he would go night night in his big bed, but no the baby couldn't sleep in his little bed (obviously that is a general translation, no he doesn't speak that well).
8. Today we went to the zoo with Michelle and Jamey. It was a little warm but we saw tons of animals, went in the new sea lion exhibit where they swim over you, and per Zane's request saw turtles. To be fair he did also request to see dragons but no luck with that request.
9. Zane has had some random requests as of late, such as he wanted popcorn for breakfast today, wanted to help me iron curtains downstairs, and desperately wanted to sweep the kitchen floor this afternoon. I eventually let him sweep but there was no budging on the popcorn for breakfast which lead to the first of many, highly emotional melt downs today. Of course the ironing was a no go as well ending in Zane kicking a truck and ending up in timeout. Being two is soooo hard, for everyone.
10. Lastly, Zane's dinosaur/dragon costume got here today. Initially he was very excited, but once we tried it on he was having none of it. We will try again later I guess. I loves stomping and roaring so he would make an amazing dinosaur, but we do have the pumpkin as back up. Also, we have two months to prepare but who is counting.
Happy Tuesday everyone, hopefully I will be back with pictures soon.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Quotes by Zane at Two
As Zane's vocabulary continues to grow more and more entertaining quotes are surfacing. Ok, maybe not entertaining to everyone, but things I want to remember his adorable little two year old voice saying. So here are some of my current favorites with a little explanation of their meanings.
* " I me" So here is where the explanation comes in. Whenever Zach and I go somewhere, i.e. downstairs or outside, instead of saying "I want to go too or go with you" he points to himself and says " I me." He says it crying when either of us leave and he wants to go with us. I'm not sure how he arrived on that phrase, but he always says it with great passion behind it and it's too cute.
* Kind of on the same note as the first one when he doesn't want to go somewhere, i.e.going inside or going to get his diaper changed, and we say "Zane let's go get your diaper changed" he says "I'm Zane" in a very defensive tone of voice, as though we weren't aware of who he is.
* "I ready," this is our not so suttle clue that Zane is ready to go, to the car, outside, downstairs, really anywhere. In the mornings while I was on nights he would come tell me "Mamma, get ready, I ready, daddy ready." He was so confused why we weren't all getting ready at the same time. On the off chance that we do all get ready at the same time we are never going to the same place which also doesn't make since to him. It doesn't make since to me either buddy, but such is life.
-Side note, there is no way to get across, via writing, how cute all these little sayings are in his adorable two year old voice, but you knew that already.
* "Tan cu" translation, Thank You. The cutest little voice says this everytime you give him anything. He also has started saying randomly as he rides his little dog around the house. I am not sure who he is thanking while on his rides but you just here little "tan cu"s coming through out the house.
* "I wanna eeggg." This isn't so much for how cute it is so much as for how frequently he says it. Anytime, no matter the time of day, you ask Zane what he wants to eat the answer will be " I wanna eeeggg," very enthusiastically. He does get eggs a lot for breakfast, but I don't feel like he really should be eating them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all his snacks in between, but he really does.
* "Cocciccal" translation- Popsical always requested anytime we go outside, but rarely actually eaten. He really likes the idea of it more than actually eating it because it is too cold for his taste. He also always wants whoever is going outside with him to have one, but Zach and I actually eat ours!
* "I dive" translation - I drive. He starts saying this as soon as we get to our neighborhood in order to get to pretend to "drive" the car once it's parked. If he gets to do this usually depends on how well behaved he has been on our outing, whether or not a fit is thrown over it, and most importantly how blazing hot it is outside. He doesn't require a lot of time "driving" usually a couple minutes and he is fine with going inside. Easy to please, I like that.
* "Where it go" followed "err it is" I love when Zane is looking for something or has lost something. He will ask you "Where it go" i.e. "where bebe go" followed by "Oh bebe" searching the surrounding areas, up down, and under things. Then once he finds it he triumphantly shows it to you, saying "err it is" translation "there it is." I know all this sounds like a normal conversation, not entertaining at all, but oh so cute.
* " I gonna get chu" translation I'm going to get you. This comes out of no where and he runs up with his little hands out, like he is trying to tickle you, and says "I'm gonna get chu" and then the chase begins. He of course really likes to be gotten more than chase you, but it's all very entertaining. Daddy is usually invovled in this game more than I am. I think Zane knows mommy isn't really up to par, probably not up to chasing right now.
He also loves to pretend to be all sorts of animals. The dinosaur is his current favorite, complete with stomping around and of course roaring. The tiger and lion look quite a bit like the dinosaur, with less stomping. Yesterday he added a dog to his collection, crawling around panting, with his littlle tongue out, occasionally barking. You have to love the two year old imagination.
Ok I could write about this all day, but probably that will suffice for now. You get the picture, adorable, two year old!
* " I me" So here is where the explanation comes in. Whenever Zach and I go somewhere, i.e. downstairs or outside, instead of saying "I want to go too or go with you" he points to himself and says " I me." He says it crying when either of us leave and he wants to go with us. I'm not sure how he arrived on that phrase, but he always says it with great passion behind it and it's too cute.
* Kind of on the same note as the first one when he doesn't want to go somewhere, i.e.going inside or going to get his diaper changed, and we say "Zane let's go get your diaper changed" he says "I'm Zane" in a very defensive tone of voice, as though we weren't aware of who he is.
* "I ready," this is our not so suttle clue that Zane is ready to go, to the car, outside, downstairs, really anywhere. In the mornings while I was on nights he would come tell me "Mamma, get ready, I ready, daddy ready." He was so confused why we weren't all getting ready at the same time. On the off chance that we do all get ready at the same time we are never going to the same place which also doesn't make since to him. It doesn't make since to me either buddy, but such is life.
-Side note, there is no way to get across, via writing, how cute all these little sayings are in his adorable two year old voice, but you knew that already.
* "Tan cu" translation, Thank You. The cutest little voice says this everytime you give him anything. He also has started saying randomly as he rides his little dog around the house. I am not sure who he is thanking while on his rides but you just here little "tan cu"s coming through out the house.
* "I wanna eeggg." This isn't so much for how cute it is so much as for how frequently he says it. Anytime, no matter the time of day, you ask Zane what he wants to eat the answer will be " I wanna eeeggg," very enthusiastically. He does get eggs a lot for breakfast, but I don't feel like he really should be eating them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all his snacks in between, but he really does.
* "Cocciccal" translation- Popsical always requested anytime we go outside, but rarely actually eaten. He really likes the idea of it more than actually eating it because it is too cold for his taste. He also always wants whoever is going outside with him to have one, but Zach and I actually eat ours!
* "I dive" translation - I drive. He starts saying this as soon as we get to our neighborhood in order to get to pretend to "drive" the car once it's parked. If he gets to do this usually depends on how well behaved he has been on our outing, whether or not a fit is thrown over it, and most importantly how blazing hot it is outside. He doesn't require a lot of time "driving" usually a couple minutes and he is fine with going inside. Easy to please, I like that.
* "Where it go" followed "err it is" I love when Zane is looking for something or has lost something. He will ask you "Where it go" i.e. "where bebe go" followed by "Oh bebe" searching the surrounding areas, up down, and under things. Then once he finds it he triumphantly shows it to you, saying "err it is" translation "there it is." I know all this sounds like a normal conversation, not entertaining at all, but oh so cute.
* " I gonna get chu" translation I'm going to get you. This comes out of no where and he runs up with his little hands out, like he is trying to tickle you, and says "I'm gonna get chu" and then the chase begins. He of course really likes to be gotten more than chase you, but it's all very entertaining. Daddy is usually invovled in this game more than I am. I think Zane knows mommy isn't really up to par, probably not up to chasing right now.
He also loves to pretend to be all sorts of animals. The dinosaur is his current favorite, complete with stomping around and of course roaring. The tiger and lion look quite a bit like the dinosaur, with less stomping. Yesterday he added a dog to his collection, crawling around panting, with his littlle tongue out, occasionally barking. You have to love the two year old imagination.
Ok I could write about this all day, but probably that will suffice for now. You get the picture, adorable, two year old!
Friday, August 24, 2012
Cardiology second year appointment
Ever since Zane was cleared after his surgery he has only had to go to see the cardiologist once a year. It's great that for 364 days a year we really don't have to think about the fact that at some point Zane is going to require another surgery in order to fix his pulmonary artery valve that currently doesn't work at all. However, this one day a year it is a bit of a reality check that the journey really isn't over. Even though Zane is a healthy, happy, crazy energetic two year old, he not only bares the scares of the past, but isn't quite completely "fixed."
His second surgery won't be until he is a teenager, easily far enough away to not think about it or worry about it. These yearly appointments are just to get the EKG and ECHO measurements to make sure everything is still working properly and to make sure his left ventricle isn't getting too enlarged, which will be what eventually determines when he will need his valve placed.
I remember leaving last years appointment with Zane in his stroller, not yet big enough to brave walking around the hospital, and thinking, " next year he will be running everywhere and he will love the trains that go around the ceiling when we walk in." I was spot on with these predictions. He walked around the cardiology sweet and heart station like such a big boy, playing with all the toys and obviously being the cutest kid in the waiting room. He also thoroughly enjoyed the train and the sucker he got as a reward for some what cooperating with the tests.
He did pretty well with the testing, not so happy about the EKG, which involves putting about 20 stickers on his chest then clipping little wires to each one and expecting him to sit still with all this going on. He went a little crazy, screaming like he was being murdered, but luckily once all the wires and stickers are on it only takes a minute to get the recording. The echo went better, he sat on my lap and laid back on me, hanging out watching Super Why while they ultrasounded his little heart. As expected all looked well. He has a murmur, but we knew that because his pulmonary artery valve doesn't close, so there is back flow into his ventrical. His left ventrical isn't bigger so we are good for a few years.
It's great to have that done and very strange to think about next years visit when Zane will be three and we will have a six month old, oh my! It is also strange to think that some year the measurements will show that it's time for another surgery, it kind of makes me want to vomit, but we are trying to ignore that right now.
Zane came home and took an amazingly long nap then we went to the train museum to celebrate another year of Zane's little miraculous heart. There was no one there so we had the run of the place. I find myself trying to bottle this moment in time up. Sometimes two is very frustrating and difficult, today Zane was wonderful and I wanted to freeze time. I know that soon our little fun outings will be more complicated and my attention will be split, so we are making the most of it for the next couple months. While waiting for the train to leave Zane asked if the baby could ride the train, as if reading my mind as I wondered where the baby would fit in out little seat next year. I told him he or she would obviously love riding the train with their amazing big brother, which was a perfect answer for a two year old. So we count our blessings again and remember that our son's life truly is a miracle. Here is to the next 364 days of not thinking about his heart condition, hooray!!!!!
His second surgery won't be until he is a teenager, easily far enough away to not think about it or worry about it. These yearly appointments are just to get the EKG and ECHO measurements to make sure everything is still working properly and to make sure his left ventricle isn't getting too enlarged, which will be what eventually determines when he will need his valve placed.
I remember leaving last years appointment with Zane in his stroller, not yet big enough to brave walking around the hospital, and thinking, " next year he will be running everywhere and he will love the trains that go around the ceiling when we walk in." I was spot on with these predictions. He walked around the cardiology sweet and heart station like such a big boy, playing with all the toys and obviously being the cutest kid in the waiting room. He also thoroughly enjoyed the train and the sucker he got as a reward for some what cooperating with the tests.
He did pretty well with the testing, not so happy about the EKG, which involves putting about 20 stickers on his chest then clipping little wires to each one and expecting him to sit still with all this going on. He went a little crazy, screaming like he was being murdered, but luckily once all the wires and stickers are on it only takes a minute to get the recording. The echo went better, he sat on my lap and laid back on me, hanging out watching Super Why while they ultrasounded his little heart. As expected all looked well. He has a murmur, but we knew that because his pulmonary artery valve doesn't close, so there is back flow into his ventrical. His left ventrical isn't bigger so we are good for a few years.
It's great to have that done and very strange to think about next years visit when Zane will be three and we will have a six month old, oh my! It is also strange to think that some year the measurements will show that it's time for another surgery, it kind of makes me want to vomit, but we are trying to ignore that right now.
Zane came home and took an amazingly long nap then we went to the train museum to celebrate another year of Zane's little miraculous heart. There was no one there so we had the run of the place. I find myself trying to bottle this moment in time up. Sometimes two is very frustrating and difficult, today Zane was wonderful and I wanted to freeze time. I know that soon our little fun outings will be more complicated and my attention will be split, so we are making the most of it for the next couple months. While waiting for the train to leave Zane asked if the baby could ride the train, as if reading my mind as I wondered where the baby would fit in out little seat next year. I told him he or she would obviously love riding the train with their amazing big brother, which was a perfect answer for a two year old. So we count our blessings again and remember that our son's life truly is a miracle. Here is to the next 364 days of not thinking about his heart condition, hooray!!!!!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. In super sad face news, my laptop has gone on strike. After taking all sorts of adorable pictures this weekend of our family fun in the beautiful weather, my lap top has decided it hates me and won't hook up to the internet. Never fear I have an ipad and a smart phone, but I can't upload pictures from either of those sources. So Zach is on the case, but is going to require it being taken some where so for now you will just have to use your imagination and trust that all these thing were terribly adorable.
2. Our weekend of fun started with a trip to Purina Farms out by Ellisville, MO. We met the Wamser clan there and I have to say it was kind of disappointing, but the kids had a good time. There weren't very many animals and they were all in tiny pens, with very few you could pet. Zane did pet a rabbit and a pig, which was a blast and did get to see some chickens, which he had been talking about for days. He didn't understand why he couldn't gather the eggs, which is always the problem with other chickens besides Grandma's. We did stay for the dog show at the end and saw all sorts of frisbee dog tricks, dogs running through obsticle courses, and jumping into pools which was very entertaining. In the end probably not worth the 50 minute drive there, but free so can't complain.
3. Saturday afternoon Zane took and epic nap, and by Zane I mean we all took an epic nap, then spent the afternoon in the back yard. Zane swam, Zach grilled, I gardened, and we even ate at our patio table, which Zane loved. There are some adorable pictures of Zane shucking corn and eating corn on the corb that I can't upload at this time, sad face.
4. Also Saturday I made peach cobbler with some amazing Eckert's peaches. It was super easy and a perfect summer treat. Why don't I do that more often. Oh right I am lazy, I remember now.
4. Sunday Zach and Zane worked on Zach's current project which is a learning tower for the kitchen. This idea stemmed from Zane always wanting to stand on a chair and watch me cook, but the chair not being the most sturdy place for him to stand. Zane was a big helper, hammering on random things for hours while I was in and out of the house scrapbooking some and watching the boys at work the rest of the time. Zach is almost done, with it being slightly bigger than I had imagined, so he might tweek it a little so it doesn't take up as much room in the kitchen. It is much sturdier than the chair though so I am sure it will be a great addition to kitchen time.
5. I wanted to show some of my new scrapbook pages, but suffice it to say I did about five pages this weekend, ranging from Zane's itty bitty baby pictures to pictures from this summer. I love them all and Zane loves looking at the book with all the pages in it, which I think is the cutest thing ever. I am glad to have gotten in some craft time and hopefully will have more time for it once I'm off of nights.
6. Speaking of which tonight is my last night shift for this rotation. Hooray!! Of course I have to sleep Wednesday, have meetings on Thursday, then Zane's yearly cardiology appointment is Friday so really no free days until next week. I can't wait for a peaceful, normal day at home with Zane. I'm not sure I will not what to do with myself.
7. I had my twelve week doctors appointment last week where they went into all the fun details of the extensive testing I will get to have with this baby. Apparently the echos are done at Children's by the same people who do Zane's which is not cool at all. The heart station at Children's Hospital makes me want to throw up on a normal day, so I can't imagine how big of a basket case I will be when I'm there to get an echo done on my unborn child. That isn't until about 26wk after the long regular ultrasound in October. Yes, we will find out what we are having, no I am not looking forward to the ultrasound, see me being a basket case from the above sentence.
8. The nausa is still in full affect at week thirteen which is awesome. Still taking Zofran like candy and my pants are getting tight which is just uncalled for this early on. Also, baby doesn't like me sleeping on my stomach, which is my favorite way to sleep, but as soon as I turn over onto my stomach I immediatly feel like I am going to vomit, so that's a big no go. And that's the update on the baby front for this week.
9. Zane's new funtivity this week is putting me "night night." Initially he did this on the couch Friday night when I was passing out at 9:30pm after sleeping four hours that day. He covered me with all his favorite blankets, brought me a binki, which he would not buy that I didn't need, gave me pats, sang me songs, then told me night night. Yesterday he wanted me to lay in his bed to go night night, which was quite the sight. He got all the blankets he could find and surrounded me with his animals, then kissed me good night, and left. So entertaning to him and I was so tired I almost actually fell asleep, that wouldn't have ended well.
10. Lastly I want to congratulate my dear friend Emily on welcoming her second little boy into the world. Little Knox was born on August tenth and from what I hear mommy and baby are doing well. I hope brother Kyser is handling big brotherhood well. Congrats to the whole Hester family, can't wait to meet your new little man.
2. Our weekend of fun started with a trip to Purina Farms out by Ellisville, MO. We met the Wamser clan there and I have to say it was kind of disappointing, but the kids had a good time. There weren't very many animals and they were all in tiny pens, with very few you could pet. Zane did pet a rabbit and a pig, which was a blast and did get to see some chickens, which he had been talking about for days. He didn't understand why he couldn't gather the eggs, which is always the problem with other chickens besides Grandma's. We did stay for the dog show at the end and saw all sorts of frisbee dog tricks, dogs running through obsticle courses, and jumping into pools which was very entertaining. In the end probably not worth the 50 minute drive there, but free so can't complain.
3. Saturday afternoon Zane took and epic nap, and by Zane I mean we all took an epic nap, then spent the afternoon in the back yard. Zane swam, Zach grilled, I gardened, and we even ate at our patio table, which Zane loved. There are some adorable pictures of Zane shucking corn and eating corn on the corb that I can't upload at this time, sad face.
4. Also Saturday I made peach cobbler with some amazing Eckert's peaches. It was super easy and a perfect summer treat. Why don't I do that more often. Oh right I am lazy, I remember now.
4. Sunday Zach and Zane worked on Zach's current project which is a learning tower for the kitchen. This idea stemmed from Zane always wanting to stand on a chair and watch me cook, but the chair not being the most sturdy place for him to stand. Zane was a big helper, hammering on random things for hours while I was in and out of the house scrapbooking some and watching the boys at work the rest of the time. Zach is almost done, with it being slightly bigger than I had imagined, so he might tweek it a little so it doesn't take up as much room in the kitchen. It is much sturdier than the chair though so I am sure it will be a great addition to kitchen time.
5. I wanted to show some of my new scrapbook pages, but suffice it to say I did about five pages this weekend, ranging from Zane's itty bitty baby pictures to pictures from this summer. I love them all and Zane loves looking at the book with all the pages in it, which I think is the cutest thing ever. I am glad to have gotten in some craft time and hopefully will have more time for it once I'm off of nights.
6. Speaking of which tonight is my last night shift for this rotation. Hooray!! Of course I have to sleep Wednesday, have meetings on Thursday, then Zane's yearly cardiology appointment is Friday so really no free days until next week. I can't wait for a peaceful, normal day at home with Zane. I'm not sure I will not what to do with myself.
7. I had my twelve week doctors appointment last week where they went into all the fun details of the extensive testing I will get to have with this baby. Apparently the echos are done at Children's by the same people who do Zane's which is not cool at all. The heart station at Children's Hospital makes me want to throw up on a normal day, so I can't imagine how big of a basket case I will be when I'm there to get an echo done on my unborn child. That isn't until about 26wk after the long regular ultrasound in October. Yes, we will find out what we are having, no I am not looking forward to the ultrasound, see me being a basket case from the above sentence.
8. The nausa is still in full affect at week thirteen which is awesome. Still taking Zofran like candy and my pants are getting tight which is just uncalled for this early on. Also, baby doesn't like me sleeping on my stomach, which is my favorite way to sleep, but as soon as I turn over onto my stomach I immediatly feel like I am going to vomit, so that's a big no go. And that's the update on the baby front for this week.
9. Zane's new funtivity this week is putting me "night night." Initially he did this on the couch Friday night when I was passing out at 9:30pm after sleeping four hours that day. He covered me with all his favorite blankets, brought me a binki, which he would not buy that I didn't need, gave me pats, sang me songs, then told me night night. Yesterday he wanted me to lay in his bed to go night night, which was quite the sight. He got all the blankets he could find and surrounded me with his animals, then kissed me good night, and left. So entertaning to him and I was so tired I almost actually fell asleep, that wouldn't have ended well.
10. Lastly I want to congratulate my dear friend Emily on welcoming her second little boy into the world. Little Knox was born on August tenth and from what I hear mommy and baby are doing well. I hope brother Kyser is handling big brotherhood well. Congrats to the whole Hester family, can't wait to meet your new little man.
Friday, August 17, 2012
The Worst Kept Secret in the World
Here's the big news, brought to you by Zane.
HOORAY!!!
That's right we are expecting baby number two, due at the end of February. I am almost 13 weeks pregnant now and had planned on making the big reveal on the blog sooner but turns out big brother shirts are hard to come by. That's why we ended up with a random, long sleeved, raccoon shirt, but it gets the point across.
For now I am still feeling pretty crummy as my first trimesters seem to be rather miserable. You might have noticed I had been slightly MIA from the blog world, partly due to being on nights and literally doing nothing note worthy, but mostly because I have felt pretty terrible for about two months now. I would say I am sicker this time around but am better medicated, with high doses of Zofran and Phenegran making it manageable. Also, I think last time, though I was pretty sick, I was able to lay around and do nothing on my days off. This time around there is a two year old raring to go no matter how sick I might feel.
So far we have had two ultrasounds, the first thanks to an unexpected ER trip the last time we were in Oklahoma and the second one at the normal first appointment time. Little Peanut looks good, with a beautiful heart beat, sounds and looks just like Zane's, though faster, so not completely reassuring to us. We are trying to stay positive, but we are notably more nervous about the baby being born and keeping his/her clean bill of health for more than a few hours.
Zane is pretty much clueless about the whole thing, though he can show you where the baby is if asked. He has played "babies" more with his stuffed animals, wrapping them in blankets and bringing them to me to cuddle. There is the small part of me that feels bad about the fact that his perfect little utopia of a world will explode soon, but I know in the end he will love his brother/sister as much as I love mine. So we are trying to soak up every second with our little man and try to prepare him for all the changes as best you can with a two year old.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. We took a weekend trip to Current River in Southeast MO where Zach's sister has a cabin. The weather was beautiful, bordering on chilly in the morning. Zane had a great time swimming in the river, with a little bit too much confidence at times, which was terrifying. Here is Zane loving the water.
2. The weekend came to a bit of an early end when on Saturday afternoon Zane's eye started looking pink and oozing nasty goop. It looked a little better Sunday, but we headed back to the STL to get him into the doctor early. The doctor said it was pink eye after being in the room for literally 15 seconds. I have doubts about that since none of the other kids got it, but we are doing the eye drops for a week anyway.
3. Earlier in the week Zach and I had a night out to celebrate our sixth anniversary. We went to the Lantern Festival which did not disappoint. It was a lovely evening so it was a little crowded, but still a great time.
4. Exciting news from yesterday is that Zane pooped on the potty. Keep in mind he randomly asks to sit on his potty seat all the time, but he really never does anything and doesn't really get the idea yet. So when he asked to go potty yesterday I sat him on his Thomas potty seat and went to pick up his dirty clothes. When I got back he was very proud of himself, per usual, but this time he actually had pooped. I don't hold out a lot of hope that this means we are really ready to potty train but its a step in the right direction.
5. Zane continues to be quite the helper as of late, picking up his toys, helping to put away his clothes, and constantly taking things to the trash for me. This week he learned that we throw dirty towels and down the stairs for the laundry and really wanted to take part in that, throwing all sorts of random things down the stairs. What's more fun than that??
6. This up coming weekend will be the first weekend at home, where I am not working, in a long time. I am excited about a calm weekend, though I am thinking about planning a short trip out to Purina Farms Saturday to see all the animals. We will see if we actually have the energy for that when it gets closer.
7. It actually rained a couple times last week, followed by cooler temperatures. It has been great to play outside in the afternoon without having a heat stroke. It is getting me excited for the fall and cooler weather.
8. This week our nephew Brendan and niece Adeline are both starting kindergarten. They were born ten days apart, five years ago, and it just feels like yesterday that we were waiting for them to be born then going to meet them. We bought them both their first back packs a few weeks ago in preparation. I am nervous for them and hope they have a great time at school, as I am sure they will. Good luck kiddos, we love you!
9. I miss crafting. I feel like I have no time for anything fun being on nights. I barely have time to keep my house clean and laundry done. I have months of pictures I need to buy as well so I haven't scrapbooked in months and I miss it. Maybe this weekend I can actually get some scrapping done.
10. In exciting news I only have four night shifts left before I head back to day shift and my life gets back to normal!!! Hooray!
3. Earlier in the week Zach and I had a night out to celebrate our sixth anniversary. We went to the Lantern Festival which did not disappoint. It was a lovely evening so it was a little crowded, but still a great time.
5. Zane continues to be quite the helper as of late, picking up his toys, helping to put away his clothes, and constantly taking things to the trash for me. This week he learned that we throw dirty towels and down the stairs for the laundry and really wanted to take part in that, throwing all sorts of random things down the stairs. What's more fun than that??
6. This up coming weekend will be the first weekend at home, where I am not working, in a long time. I am excited about a calm weekend, though I am thinking about planning a short trip out to Purina Farms Saturday to see all the animals. We will see if we actually have the energy for that when it gets closer.
7. It actually rained a couple times last week, followed by cooler temperatures. It has been great to play outside in the afternoon without having a heat stroke. It is getting me excited for the fall and cooler weather.
8. This week our nephew Brendan and niece Adeline are both starting kindergarten. They were born ten days apart, five years ago, and it just feels like yesterday that we were waiting for them to be born then going to meet them. We bought them both their first back packs a few weeks ago in preparation. I am nervous for them and hope they have a great time at school, as I am sure they will. Good luck kiddos, we love you!
9. I miss crafting. I feel like I have no time for anything fun being on nights. I barely have time to keep my house clean and laundry done. I have months of pictures I need to buy as well so I haven't scrapbooked in months and I miss it. Maybe this weekend I can actually get some scrapping done.
10. In exciting news I only have four night shifts left before I head back to day shift and my life gets back to normal!!! Hooray!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Ten on Tuesday
1. Sunday was Zach and I's sixth wedding anniversary and tonight we are going on a date for the first time in about a year. We are eating on The Hill then going to see the Lantern Festival at the Botanical Gardens. They light everything up at night so it should be tons of fun. Many thanks to Rachel for watching our little man while we celebrate.
2. Nights continues and I find myself missing being a mother. Our days are all mixed up with our schedule completely different and everyone sleeping/crabby. I got called off Sunday so actually got two days of normal this week and I so miss our calm mornings here on my days off. Two more weeks, next week I have to work three days during the week which means Zane will once again be at day care everyday. His daycare ladies are loving seeing him more but it is breaking my heart.
3. To celebrate not having to sleep all day yesterday Zane and I headed to the zoo early. It was actually not blazing hot in the morning since it rained twice over the weekend. We rode the train, saw the tiger (Zane's new favorite though he calls it a lion, close enough), saw the penguins, rode the carousel, and ended our trip with a soft pretzel snack. It was a quick trip, leaving before it got to hot, but I love that we live so close that it doesn't have to be a whole day activity.
4. I continue to enjoy the olympics though working nights has led to me missing big events like the women's gymnastics team winning the all around gold and Micheal Phelp's last race. I take back my previous comments about Mikey P's demise, he obviously is amazing and I will miss my favorite olympian. Also I needed to make a correction on my favorite Prince, I said Prince Harry last week, that is obviously wrong, I am on team William. I know everyone was thoroughly confused!
5. I watched the women's soccer game yesterday. What and exciting finish. I was due for an exciting finish since usually, in the other three soccer games I have committed to watch, we have lost dramatically in the end. Also, I watched synchronized swimming today. Let me just say, joke all you like about the silly costumes and make up, but I would drowned trying to do that.The announcers said that the Chinese teams swims eight to ten hours a day, OMG!
6. Zane has become quite the helper in the kitchen as of late. He is enjoying his kitchen much more, spending long periods of times cooking in it. He also has started helping me cook more as well. He will push a chair into the kitchen so he can help stir whatever we are cooking. He has done very well understanding the concept of the pans being hot and is very patient while whatever we are making cooks. Hopefully he will remain interested in it so he can grow to be as good of a cook as his father.
7. Zane's big boy room is coming along nicely. While I was in South Carolina Zach got the room painted a beautiful blue, now we just need to touch up the floor boards and ceiling, buy a mattress and move him in. I think he will really enjoy having a bigger room to play in, making more room for all his animals and toys.
8. I am currently working on the art work for the room. I thought was going to be a simple idea, but turns out I was a little cocky and should have done a little research before starting. I made a book cover collage on a big canvas. I took covers from Zane's books and glued them to the canvas, then decoupaged the top. After trying multiple ways of gluing the covers down I broke down and googled it, apparently I needed spray adhesive. So the second half looks much better than the first half, but all and all I think it will be an adorable addition to his room.
9. I want to wish a late happy birthday to Miss Maggie J. She was born on our anniversary and sadly I had to miss her Very Cherry Third Birthday party. However, I have sen pictures and she was absolutely adorable in her cherry dress. We miss you and love you so much Maggie!
10. Lastly, the highlight of my week has been Zane's nightly/daily requests for me to to cuddle him and sing. His little voice saying "More sing mamma" is about the cutest thing ever. He knows the tunes to a lot of his night time songs, like "Good Night Starlight" and his "Night Night" song. I know that soon the time will come that he doesn't want to cuddle so I am soaking it in while I can.
2. Nights continues and I find myself missing being a mother. Our days are all mixed up with our schedule completely different and everyone sleeping/crabby. I got called off Sunday so actually got two days of normal this week and I so miss our calm mornings here on my days off. Two more weeks, next week I have to work three days during the week which means Zane will once again be at day care everyday. His daycare ladies are loving seeing him more but it is breaking my heart.
3. To celebrate not having to sleep all day yesterday Zane and I headed to the zoo early. It was actually not blazing hot in the morning since it rained twice over the weekend. We rode the train, saw the tiger (Zane's new favorite though he calls it a lion, close enough), saw the penguins, rode the carousel, and ended our trip with a soft pretzel snack. It was a quick trip, leaving before it got to hot, but I love that we live so close that it doesn't have to be a whole day activity.
4. I continue to enjoy the olympics though working nights has led to me missing big events like the women's gymnastics team winning the all around gold and Micheal Phelp's last race. I take back my previous comments about Mikey P's demise, he obviously is amazing and I will miss my favorite olympian. Also I needed to make a correction on my favorite Prince, I said Prince Harry last week, that is obviously wrong, I am on team William. I know everyone was thoroughly confused!
5. I watched the women's soccer game yesterday. What and exciting finish. I was due for an exciting finish since usually, in the other three soccer games I have committed to watch, we have lost dramatically in the end. Also, I watched synchronized swimming today. Let me just say, joke all you like about the silly costumes and make up, but I would drowned trying to do that.The announcers said that the Chinese teams swims eight to ten hours a day, OMG!
6. Zane has become quite the helper in the kitchen as of late. He is enjoying his kitchen much more, spending long periods of times cooking in it. He also has started helping me cook more as well. He will push a chair into the kitchen so he can help stir whatever we are cooking. He has done very well understanding the concept of the pans being hot and is very patient while whatever we are making cooks. Hopefully he will remain interested in it so he can grow to be as good of a cook as his father.
7. Zane's big boy room is coming along nicely. While I was in South Carolina Zach got the room painted a beautiful blue, now we just need to touch up the floor boards and ceiling, buy a mattress and move him in. I think he will really enjoy having a bigger room to play in, making more room for all his animals and toys.
8. I am currently working on the art work for the room. I thought was going to be a simple idea, but turns out I was a little cocky and should have done a little research before starting. I made a book cover collage on a big canvas. I took covers from Zane's books and glued them to the canvas, then decoupaged the top. After trying multiple ways of gluing the covers down I broke down and googled it, apparently I needed spray adhesive. So the second half looks much better than the first half, but all and all I think it will be an adorable addition to his room.
9. I want to wish a late happy birthday to Miss Maggie J. She was born on our anniversary and sadly I had to miss her Very Cherry Third Birthday party. However, I have sen pictures and she was absolutely adorable in her cherry dress. We miss you and love you so much Maggie!
10. Lastly, the highlight of my week has been Zane's nightly/daily requests for me to to cuddle him and sing. His little voice saying "More sing mamma" is about the cutest thing ever. He knows the tunes to a lot of his night time songs, like "Good Night Starlight" and his "Night Night" song. I know that soon the time will come that he doesn't want to cuddle so I am soaking it in while I can.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Girls weekend 2012
Last week I worked nights Tuesday and Wednesday, slept/packed Thursday then headed to girls weekend 2012 in Charleston, SC early Friday. Don't ask me why Anna and I decided on Charleston. It wasn't particularly cheap nor did we have specific things we wanted to see there. However, Anna and I fly by the seat of our pants and thought seeing some southern beauty and the ocean would be fun. Turns out Charleston is miserably hot/humid at this time of the year which was a bit of a downer but we powered on, sweating it out to see some sights. We didn't spend time on the beach, though we tossed the idea around numerous times, but we just couldn't face the sweltoring heat. Apparently we are passed the point of caring about a tan and we decided we would much rather get a manicure and pedicure in the air conditioning.
Here are the highlights of our adventure. My favorite thing that we saw was the the Angel Oak tree. I randomly came across pictures of this tree during my thirty minute google research I did one night at work. It looked amazingly beautiful so it was added to the very short list of things I had found to do. The tree is estimated to be in excess of 1500 years old, stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall, measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m2). From tip to tip its longest branch distance is 187 ft. If those fun facts don't do it for you check out the photos. It was almost impossible to get it all in one shot or to truly capture how big it was. I walked around it thinking of all the people who had been shaded by it's branches and wished my mother was there to see it. She would have loved this giant beauty. The sun was weird at the time of day we were there so the pictures aren't as great as I had hoped.
Second up on our to see list Boone Hall Plantation. We researched numerous different plantations but picked this one to go see because of the amazingly beautiful live oak tree that line the drive up to the house. That was by far the best part of the whole plantation. All the trees were covered in hanging moss, that just looked and smelled southern. They were planted by the plantation owners as a sign of wealth since they didn't serve a purpose other than beauty. The house tour left a little to be desired, but the tour of the land and crops was a great look into plantation life both then and now. They are still a working plantation growing all sorts of produce year round.
On our last day of touring we decided we should probably take in a little bit of the history. We felt like we had to see Fort Sumter since it was were the first shots of the civil war were fired and what Charleston is most known for. We got a great history lesson at the fort from a park ranger who absolutely loved everything about the civil war. She was way too excited about all the shooting and bombing that took place at the fort. I had forgotten that South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union. We had an hour to explore the fort, which was way too long, but we learned all about SC history before heading back to the boat to cool off. I am ready to help Zane with his American history tests any day now.
We finished up our trip with a tour of the USS Yorktown. The Yorktown is an aircraft carrier built during WWII and finished just six days before Pearls Harbor. It was used in WWII and later in it's career it acted as the recovery ship for the Apollo 8 space mission. It was decommissioned in 1970 and has been in Charleston Harbor ever since. The shear size of it was very impressive. We were able to walk around all the different areas of the ship, from where people slept, the mail room, kitchen, the torpedo launching area, and Anna and I's favorite the make shift hospital area of the ship. I would have gotten terribly lost and most likely had a panic attack due to my claustrophobia. I can't imagine grown men walking around/living on that kind of ship, with it's extremely low ceilings and tiny living spaces. After seeing the inside we walked around on the flight deck where all sorts of planes from past and present are on display. I was so glad we decided to brave the rain to see it.
We ate lots of good food and had a few dining failures, such as the worst pizza we had ever eaten. Urbanspoon led us a stray on that one and the "best bbq" place that ended up being a little shack/hot dog stand outside of a hardware store. We were showered and in bed by eight each night to watch the Olympics, which was great fun. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my bff and we have both agreed next time we are either going somewhere much cooler.
Here are the highlights of our adventure. My favorite thing that we saw was the the Angel Oak tree. I randomly came across pictures of this tree during my thirty minute google research I did one night at work. It looked amazingly beautiful so it was added to the very short list of things I had found to do. The tree is estimated to be in excess of 1500 years old, stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall, measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m2). From tip to tip its longest branch distance is 187 ft. If those fun facts don't do it for you check out the photos. It was almost impossible to get it all in one shot or to truly capture how big it was. I walked around it thinking of all the people who had been shaded by it's branches and wished my mother was there to see it. She would have loved this giant beauty. The sun was weird at the time of day we were there so the pictures aren't as great as I had hoped.
Second up on our to see list Boone Hall Plantation. We researched numerous different plantations but picked this one to go see because of the amazingly beautiful live oak tree that line the drive up to the house. That was by far the best part of the whole plantation. All the trees were covered in hanging moss, that just looked and smelled southern. They were planted by the plantation owners as a sign of wealth since they didn't serve a purpose other than beauty. The house tour left a little to be desired, but the tour of the land and crops was a great look into plantation life both then and now. They are still a working plantation growing all sorts of produce year round.
The House
The drive, unbelievably beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice.
These are the nine remaining slave houses. At one time the plantation had around thirty six. There were exhibits about different aspects of slave culture in each. I don't know how they could possibly survive in those houses during the summer. I nearly died of a heat stroke.
On our last day of touring we decided we should probably take in a little bit of the history. We felt like we had to see Fort Sumter since it was were the first shots of the civil war were fired and what Charleston is most known for. We got a great history lesson at the fort from a park ranger who absolutely loved everything about the civil war. She was way too excited about all the shooting and bombing that took place at the fort. I had forgotten that South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union. We had an hour to explore the fort, which was way too long, but we learned all about SC history before heading back to the boat to cool off. I am ready to help Zane with his American history tests any day now.
Here I am on the boat ride to the Fort.
Inside the fort, it use to be about twice this tall.
Here is the flag that the confederates let Major Anderson take with him after the Major and his troops surrendered to the confederates. They also let them do a one hundred cannon solute, leading to the only death during the whole battle when one of the cannon's back fired. There is a lesson there somewhere I'm sure.
Fort Sumter in all its glory, check that off the goals list.
Sleeping quarters. My feet would be sticking off the end of these beds.
Telfa pads, which is what I do dressing changes with all the time today. I found it entertaining.
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