Polar Express, Etc 2009

This last week represented another action-packed weekend of fun at the Scovil House. Maysen had his Christmas Program where he was in the choir as a singing Snowman. He did very well, of course, belting out made-up words that sounded right (Sophen Sleigh?) but kept at it for the whole hour the program went on.

Friday night we headed to Portland to see the Imagination Movers LIVE at the RoseGarden. We went with some friends of ours, Tim & Tiffany and their two little ones Austin and Karaline. T&T hit the ice storm as they were leaving town, but luckily we made it out of Eugene in time. We did hit a wreck on our way to the hotel and met them at the Rose Garden just in time as they were announcing the Movers. Since we had an aisle seat, Rich actually High-Fived Maysen twice! He was sure awe-struck. They had just about had it toward the end, but even Griffin was getting into the dancing/singing. It was a blast. The worst part was the Portland Public Transportation Max ... GERMIES!

We woke up, dinked around and had lunch with Jenn on saturday before braving it out in another ice storm - this time on the way to Hood River. I-84 closed down right when we got to Troutdale, so like the rebels we are, drove through town to the other side where they had yet to put up the barriers and kept trucking (slowly of course).

We got to our hotel and went right for the pool. The kids enjoyed swimming in the warm pool. Maysen is quite the swimmer with his arm floaties. Griffin tried to jump in the pool to me, but jumped straight up, scraping his back on the way down. Bummer! We joined T&T for ice cream, pizza, and then returned to our room to change into our special Polar Express jammies! It was Tiffany, Austin, and Karaline's first train trip, so it was extra special. As noted above, Maysen started to have a real bad attitude when we got there. Stinker!

We couldn't have had better seats! We were in the very last train car at the very back (almost a private seating area for us) so the boys were actaully able to lay up in the back by our table and see out. That was super exciting for them.

What exactly did that conductor punch in my ticket?

By 9:00pm, we were having a GREAT time ....

.... and it only got better ...

... this took some prompting and softening up. Once he started talking to Santa there was no shutting him up. Some things he asked for were: new train set, Space pajamas, new books, and new Hot Wheels. Once hot chocolate and the Santa chat were over, Maysen and Griffin laid down and slept the rest of the way back.

... I don't think they even woke up once we got to the hotel.

Maysen slept the whole 3.5hr ride home. He didn't look so hot and sure enough by the afternoon on Sunday he had 103 temp. Unfortunately, it has remained. Went to the doctor today and awaiting culture results but probable strep throat. Remember that Public Transportation I mentioned above? Yeah ...

First Love

Do you remember your first love? Was he the dashing boy who drove the Corvette? Or was she the girl behind the counter that always gave you extra whipped cream on your sundae? Or ... perhaps was she the cute little red-head in your preschool class? In Maysen's case, he's already discovered his first crush, I do believe.

Ms. Claire has been a household name these days, so it seemed natural to invite her to Maysen's birthday party this past weekend. She came and did just great with most of her fellow classmates at the party. Last night, we sat down to do Maysen's Thank-You cards. He got his markers out and his stickers and as he made each card I saw a trend. Most were filled with cars, monsters, snakes, dinosaurs that he would fictitiously draw with is markers. When he was all done he brought me the stack. He showed me each card and who it was to go to. He explained what the snakes were, and which dinosaur was attacking what town, etc. That is, until we got to the last card. You see, Claire had just been "one of the boys to me". That is, until he opened that last card.

"...And mom. This one is for Claire. I made it special. For her." And as I looked inside I no longer saw the dinosaur attacking the city ... or the snake eating the big mouse. I saw ... a long-stemmed purple flower. For Claire. (see photo above)

I although the other 90% of the cards were filled with total BOY MANIA, I realized that I am so truly lucky to have such a thoughtful, soft, caring, and sweet little boy.

Happy 5th Birthday, Bean.

If you put it into true-time form, Maysen is now 1/2 a decade old. Thursday we had his party at school with school friends. Last night was his "real" birthday so we went to ChuchECheese to let him play games and such (Sterilizing between toys ... germaphobe was out in full force). Today was his "friend" party. Next year we're going to have to nix this 3-day birthday event. It's expensive, exhausting, and ridiculous!

Maysen went next door while Nate and I finished up decorations. Fin and mom were taking naps so we got it all done quick. Guests started coming at 3 and before too long they were all here. First everyone looked for their goody bag with their name on it. Then with they ran around and found scooby clues to see who could find the most ... they all "won" Scooby Snacks. Nate volunteered to be "Mummified" with Charmin toilet paper and before too long the kids wanted to be mummies too. After everyone were scary mummies then they chased Maysen through the house. The next game was "who can pick up the most toilet paper?" Worked like a charm. 12 kids running around picking up toilet paper? Genius :)

What party would be complete without "Duck, Duck, Goose". Well, we had our own rendition of it ... "Shaggy, Shaggy, SCOOBY". The 5yr olds didn't quite have the whole concept down, but who cares? We let them run and chase and take turns. They loved it.

And with a fury of tissue paper being thrown to and fro, I looked up to see gifts being torn apart. No supervision, just like a pack of wolves going after a ham. We haulted the show and started over, courtesy of dad's lap. He hit the jackpot with lots of great gifts from all his friends.

At 9:34am on Friday, November 13th my baby turned 5. We laid in bed right when the clock turned 9:34am and daddy called. We talked about his story of when he was born; how he had to eat right away because his blood sugar was low, and how he peed on all the nurses because he came out peeing everywhere. He's such a brilliant boy, full of life and energy. He's been a lot of fun and he's truly my best friend. Happy Birthday, Bean.

Chicken Little and Scooby!

Happy Halloween 2009! Its been a wild few months and we continued with our little Chicken and Scooby filled night of Tricks and Treats.

Unfortunately I was in Urgent Care getting breathing treatments and steroids while the boys were carving their pumpkins but they had a great time. Really all they did was play with the pumpkin guts but that's all that really counts, isn't it?

Griffin wasn't too sure about his costume until we got outside and he got to carry his pumpkin that Nanny-Wendy brought for him with his own name on it. He started getting the hang of things, even saying "Tank Too" and "Bye-Bye" and waving his little wing while falling off their steps to leave.

This looks so real when Maysen puts his head down. Nate and I kept making him put his head down so we could giggle at him.

Last night was the big anticipated USC/Oregon game. It started at a bad time, 5:00pm so we set our DVR and concentrated on the kids and their night until we put them to bed. Then we pretended the game was live (minus commercials) and had a great time watching the game. GO DUCKS! We cut the Trick or Treating night off due to recent illnesses for all involved and the boys were pooped even after our very brief escapade. Tonight we'll finish "Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with popcorn and settle in for the anticipated Thanksgiving Holiday soon to come! (first stop: Maysen's 5th birthday, though.)

This stuff is not a Media Scare ...

With the way media works anymore these days you wonder what is fact, and what is more of a scare tactic. This whole PANDEMIC N1H1/SWINE FLU!! Has made me wonder the truth behind all the scare. That question turned into a reality at our house and hit home harder than I ever thought it could.

SATURDAY: It started with a small cough out of Maysen’s mouth Saturday morning. Considering he’d been fighting an ear infection and pink eye I sort of thought he was battling drainage and that was all there was to it.

By Saturday night at 5:00pm he was in bed, fast asleep (which for any of those that know Maysen, that was truly a rare event) with a 102F fever.

SUNDAY came and the fevers continued as did the cough for Maysen. Motrin AND Tylenol became a round-the-clock medication and when I let the Tylenol lapse for 1hr his fever spiked to 105.2. One episode of puke, but that's it.

MONDAY: The cough caught up to me, but I had no fever and Maysen’s fever seemed to stabilize.

TUESDAY: Nate went to work, Griffin started a runny nose, and Maysen’s fever started to dwindle but cough remained. By the afternoon, though, his fever was pretty much gone (maybe 100.4) and he was ripping the house up! Burning around chasing the cats, wanting to go outside, etc.

WEDNESDAY: 1:00am Wednesday morning, I awoke to Maysen coughing his little heart out. It was a dry non-productive cough and he just couldn’t sleep. Griffin was also running a fever by now and was up off and on all night. I woke up at 3:00am absolutely FREEZING to find my fever was nearly 103F.

Nate took the day off Wednesday to take care of everyone. I called the pediatrician and got Griffin on Tamiflu, but learned what I had worried about – nothing to do for Maysen nor I … just treat symptoms, which we were doing. Man I forgot how bad fevers hurt. Ouch..what surprised me was how hard Maysen kept coughing. He was coughing so hard he was making himself sick. Every time he’d fall asleep he’d wake up 20min later, he started refusing to eat, and when Nate finally laid down with him, I sat – and watched him. Nurse radar went off when I heard him grunting. I pulled the covers back and saw his little chest flailing. “You got about 5 seconds to get your shoes on and get him in the van”. Off to the ER they flew. I still had my 103 fever, so I stayed home with Griffin.

Upon arrival to ER is oxygen saturation was 88% (should be upper 90s). His respiration rate was near 60 (should be 20s). He just couldn’t breathe! He was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and N1H1.

THURSDAY: My fever had broke so I was able to go to the hospital and give Nate a break. That morning he was still having a hard time breathing. Through the night his oxygen was dropping to 89% so he was having to wear continuous oxygen through the night. He also threw up again out of nowhere. But, when I got there, he was off oxygen and resting well. The doctor came in and said that if he stabilized out while he slept he could go home, only because it was safer for Mase to recover at home versus in the hospital. There were so many sick kids in the hospital the doctor didn’t want to risk Maysen getting more sick. I shut cartoons off and Mase was asleep before I knew it. Our prayers were answered and his oxygen stayed 92-94%. The doctor discharged us that night and we couldn’t have been happier ... but not before the nurse came in and said the culture came back POSTIVE for N1H1/Swine Flu. 2 nasal cultures, 2 IV pokes, 4 rounds of antibiotics, 3 trips to the radiology department, and 2 hospital chocolate shakes later and we were out of there!

Today we’re all home. Maysen is acting like he’s never been sick. Griffin’s nose is still running but he’s fighting with his brother like nothing’s wrong. I’m still coughing and man does my chest burn. It luckily goes away with Advil so I’m hoping that goes away sooner than later. I’m the only one not on Tamiflu and from looking at the kids, it seems like a miracle drug! We’re ready to carve pumpkins tonight since we won’t have much of a Halloween this year. We’re considering having some friends put out more candy next week and act like it’s Halloween. I don’t have the heart to not put his Scooby Doo costume on tomorrow, but at this point can’t risk spreading the epidemic.

Thanks to all who passed on thoughts and prayers our way. Not one went unappreciated.

Pumpkins 2009

This time again ... PUMPKIN PATCH! We seem to go every year to Lone Pine and this year was no different. It included a Sunday morning ... bitterly chilly and thankful to have coats ... and outragiously priced hotdogs that end up in the gravel. Splendid. But the kids really enjoy it and so we do it ... to live vicariously through them I suppose. We get a "family" of pumkins, one for each of us, that sits on the porch closer to Halloween.

Picking out his pumpkin took 3.2 seconds. It was the closest to where our wagon stopped.

Mase takes a bit more time in his selection process. Many times he's putting in his two cents into what everyone else should be getting.

Gathered up thinking, "When in the world is this thing going to take off ... because I'm going to throw these boots over the side one more time if it doesn't hurry!" (Twas Fin thinking these thoughts)

Trying to convince Griffin this was, oh indeed, fun. It worked once we hit the orange glowing mass that was the pumpkin patch....

After attempting to eat gravel-infested hotdogs, the brilliant cow "rollercoaster" (55 gallon drums cut out like cow carts driven by 4 wheeler and charge $3 a head ... genius) was ridden. Little one, not so sure. Big one, best thing around.

Lately we're having to play "ghost" which is a festive driven game. All lights get shut off minus the Thomas the Train flashlight, which boasts is annoying "chugga chugga SHHHhhffhfhfhfhfhf" with each flicker of light. Nate will pretend to hide down the hall and when the kids get close he jumps out and yells something to the effect of "Booga Boooga Boooga." Surprisingly it continues to make them jump. Whatever.

Mom got news that Middlefield Oaks has an opening. She saw the doctor today who wrote her orders to move in, so Nate and I are shopping for furniture for her new little apartment there and we'll be moving her in! She seems excited and I can't wait to get her involved in more activities such as bridge. It's good having her close.

New Rental House

(Sorry the pics are so cruddy - camera phone w/ no lighting)
Long await has paid off and we’re finally moved. We don’t close on our house until next week but I am proud to say that we’ve moved into our rental and settling in before mom comes into town on Friday. I have realized every time we’ve moved it has gotten harder and harder. You get more stuff, you have kids/babies. It’s just harder! And finally the move is over. The TVs work, the computer works, I got my washer/dryer (just got used ones because my new ones will go into my new house once it’s built) and finally got laundry done, and I have all my stuff up -- finally I’m at peace …for a few days before mom gets here. Then another chapter of craziness begins!

… and I finally have time for a haircut tomorrow. I can’t wait. ME TIME! I almost forgot that exsisted.

Moving Day

A
Maysen started school last week. He goes 4 days from 1130 - 215 and he loves it. He is looking so forward to learning Science. Miss Nicole is his teacher again this year. She taught PM preschool last year and things have moved this year and she is now teaching PM Pre-K. He loved her and it's great he gets her another year. He is also thankful for returning friends from last year! Griffin just HAD to stand in this picture with him on his first day. It turned out to be one of my favorites. Bubba can do no wrong in his eyes ... I wonder how long that will last.

Tomorrow we are moving into our rental house. It is a 4bdrm, 2 bath approx 2000 sq foot house only 1 yr old so we are pretty lucky. It was either get a small house and save money, or get one with enough space to accommodate mom on visits. We are going to temporarily move mom into an Adult Foster Care home when she arrives in Oregon. We have decided that based on the realization that we are unsure exactly what mom's needs are right now. It's been about 4 years since either Jenn or I have seen her and assessing her needs seems to need to be a priority right now. Unfortunately there were no acceptable foster cares in my town that had availability so she'll be staying in a really nice place near Jenn in Portland. In the meantime, mom will come stay with me for lengthy periods and we needed a house big enough to accommodate her.

God works in mysterious ways and I can't wait to figure out what He has in store. In the last 30 days we've made the decision to move mom, put our house on the market, sold our house, found a rental and signed lease and will be moving tomorrow. On top of that, Nate found out today that all of his former coworkers from Weyerhaeuser got laid off just today. Nate accepted a new job about 4 months ago and it was a decision he didn't take lightly. In other words, he was torn. I can't imagine what life would be like with all that is currently going on -- only to find out today that my husband lost his job. They might just have had to commit me! And what's even more weird about the timing him getting his new job, is that Nate wouldn't have left Weyerhaeuser if it weren't for Mel coming and finding Nate and offering him a new job. So wild ... Thank YOU LORD!

One more blessing is that my dad and Jo are here to help. They had planned to come visit for a few days (Mon-Wed) and dad announced they were changing their plans for the rest of their vacation to stay and help. Totally not expected but it's been an absolute life saver. I think in the delusion of everything going on we didn't realize all we had to do. Thanks to them ... I have a great family.

Life's Curve Balls ...

I think my name should be “Changes”. That seems to be where my life has been headed the last few weeks. So, shall we just begin and hold on … it’s a bumpy ride!

My mother has Multiple Sclerosis. She has been living with it for a long time now, and it has moderately affected her life, getting worse each day. Last week my sister and I made a decision to move her out of her current (bad) living situation in North Carolina and move her here. It was a sudden decision that had to be made. What now? Well, Leslie (me) has taken it upon herself to decide that what is best for me and my family is to build a bigger home to accommodate mom. She needs her dignity and that requires her own living quarters and handicap bathroom. So, on Thursday last week our house went up on the market.

On Friday morning I got a call to see if the house could be seen that morning. Ok, Nate and I were planning on taking the kids to the mountains for Labor Day weekend. We rented a brand new 3bdrm resort house at Eagle Crest and given all the stress that has occurred with mom’s situation over the last few days I was personally looking forward to the private hot tub on the back deck. The showing happened at 10:30am and as I picked Nate up and headed out toward the mountains my phone cell phone rang.

We had an offer. (Notice Sale Pending in pic above!)

We had to accept/decline/counter within 24hrs. Once we got to the property management company they were kind enough to let me use their computer/fax and we were able to get the counter out. We signed papers today and our HOUSE IS SOLD! 5 days on the market and it is officially sold. That’s got to be some record!

I’ve been on the move with rentals and we are going to be renting a 1921 Victorian house right across from the park in town. It’s got 2500 square feet and I’m relishing over the fact my kids will actually have room to play! We’re just renting it for now while we are on the hunt for property to start building. What an amazing last 7 days ..

Mom will be arriving into Oregon September 25th. We will need all the prayers as we all adjust to this new and hectic life. It is a good feeling knowing I can help my mom, and she’s not been able to get to know my kids yet. Or my husband for that matter. I’m looking forward for her to get to know my family for the first time.

On another note, Maysen starts pre-kindergarten tomorrow!! He will be going 4 days a week and I think we’re both equally excited. I will update Griffin’s blog tonight … his words are sprouting faster than he is growing! Its an amazing time right now in our lives …

Work is great ... I've been asked to step up into more scheduled hours as a full fledged PACU (recovery room) nurse and even work some in the O.R. Could be interesting! I'm only going to stick to my 10hrs/week ... I love being home too much and I get my RN fix as well. The other day I had a patient nearly crash from a Fentanyl injection. BP drop is common and it just so happened to flatten out this guy ... as his heart rate dropped 55, 49, 44, 38, 33 ... on the monitor. Needless to say the color drained from both our faces! But ... IV fluids bolus (big gulp, basically), O2 and some reassurance we had him back up in no time. I LOVE my new on-call Nanny. The boys love her, too. I came home from work she had my laundry done and dinner started. Life is good!

I will be posting more as events progress in my life. Stay tuned!

New Additions

Here are our new kitties; the white & black one is Dottie “Dotts” (4mo) and the tiger one is Daisie “Daise” (2mo). We wanted to get a kitten for each boy. Maysen picked Dottie out right away (she’s so great) and I picked out Daisie for Griffin. Daisie was abandoned when she was 4 days old and only weighed 5oz. They had to really work with her and bottle feed her for quite some time and her start just reminded of the trials we had when Griffin was born and got sick. Maysen named them both and so far they are getting along great. I have to make sure the boys don’t strangle them – which seems to be a struggle at times – and keeping Mase in bed past 5:30am is also the new challenge. He’ll sleep good tonight after being at a birthday party all day today. No one can replace Bird but having these two in our house is sure helping create that new start that we all needed.

I will close with a great and wonderful story of my husband’s misfortune. (Aren’t I sweet?). It was when he and Maysen went camping a few weeks ago. Nate decided he’d take his hiking boots along which he hasn’t used much in the last 10yrs. They seemed to be good shoes and all, so why not? On day 2 the boys all went on a long hike up some mountain and snow was even still on the ground in parts. Maysen climbed most the way and then decided he’d had enough. Nate decided they’d better turn back so they started to make their descent. As they started to go, Nate noticed the front of one boot – the rubber part – had started to pull away from his shoe. “Hmm. That’s weird,” he thought as they continued down. He eventually had to cut the rubber flap from his shoe to continue. Soon after, he noticed that the front was coming off the other boot as well. Then he noticed his boots were sliding and looked down to realize that the sole of the boots were coming completely off the boot. Then his foot was cold as he looked down to see snow packed into his shoe. The shoes were coming apart piece by piece …. Thread by thread. As he’s telling me this story and I’m laughing because I’m visualizing this complete circus while Maysen’s losing it coming down. He then adds that he met up with some people on the trail who stopped Nate and INSISTED that he use their duct tape to wrap his shoe back together. By now I’m CACKLING! Poor guy. Then he insisted that he show me the aftermath. Here is what I saw ….

Sad.

RIP Birdie

1999 - 8/8/09

We laid our dear Birdie to rest today. She had been with us for a very long time … through lots of transitions (military deployment, moving, birth of 2 children, first house purchase) and she was a very faithful friend through good times and bad. She became overwhelmed with infections due to a compromised immune system and her kidneys were starting to fail. It was a difficult decision but in the end, it was the best thing we could have done to repay her for all she brought to us.

We rescued her from the pound in Manhattan Kansas in August of 1999. Nathan was just about ready to be deployed to Kuwait for 4mo and I needed some company for those 4 months.

We knew Bird was the one when her cage was the only one unlocked and she kept rubbing back and forth talking to us. On our way home, a bird flew in front of my car and I said, "Lets name her Bird." Ever since then she's always known she was our Birdie.

She loved all kinds of things. She loved being outside and in the trees. Playing with the red laser light was also a love. Most dogs/cats don't get alone but she absolutely loved Bailey. They were pals. When she needed warmth, she'd go to Bay. When she needed protection, she went to Bay. She took care of Bay and licked her. They were best friends.

If I sit still enough, I can still hear her behind me …. but deep down I know she always will be. Miss you … my little Birdie …

Updates ....

Momma & Mase Beach Trip: We went up on Tuesday, stopped at the market right by the house and got pizza for dinner and soda! That is just what he wanted. We unloaded the van and after he'd inspected the house and put his favorite blanket up on the bed we went down to the beach. He stayed out of the waves and we built volcanos. We had our lunch on the beach and I'm not sure how much sandwich he ate ... I think it was mostly sand. Ugh.

After an hour we were back at the beach house for Shower#1. We made cake, ate cake batter, and while the cake baked we colored and did workbooks ... all while soft music played in the background. Then we did puzzles and it was soon announced we were heading back down to the beach. Away we went and I talked him into a seashell-hunt-walk. Holding ever so tightly he held my hand careful not to let the waves get him (had a scare last time we were at the beach). Then we buried Mase' legs/feet in the sand and Maysen put his shoes on the sand and he thought it was hysterical. There was an older boy behind us that buried his whole body and Mase was all concerned. :)

We made it back up to the beachhouse in time for dinner and a movie (Shrek). Maysen got cake and frosting and pizza. Happy boy! Before bed, we went to the park in the community and blew bubbles and played on the playground. He went to sleep relatively easy after we read stories and then I got some quiet time. It was a great time just him and I. I am hoping to make that a yearly ritual.

Boys Camping Trip
Nate and Maysen went camping shortly after I returned from the coast with Maysen. I had my 29th birthday the day before they left. Jenn was in town and we had a good time. Last year in my 20s! Anyway, our poor cat Birdie hasn't been doing well and we had got a new prescription of meds that might save her life, but they needed to be given 3 times a day. I had been planning on going up to Bend to spend time with my step motherinlaw and my sis in law. But in light of Birdie's condition and her new meds, I had to stay home to take care of her. I kept Griffin here so I got some quiet/one-on-one time with just him too and that was nice. The boys had a great time, came back sunburned (nate) tanned (mase) and eaten alive (both!). I flinched at the idea they didn't wear PJs camping ... I'm sooo not a camper. The boys came home after day 4 covered in dirt and filth and they had a blast. Tired, but a blast.

While hiking down the mountain, Nate experienced that seemed to be something out of the twilight zone. You see, as he started down, he noticed the rubber front off the tips of his boots came undone. By the time he got down the mountain it looked as though he was no longer wearing HIKING BOOTS, but rather leather moccasins! They just fell completley apart! I laughed so hard I peed! Poor Nate ...

Birdie
2nd round of pneumonia. We have figured out it is a herpes infection that causes a secondary infection. So her new medicine was a new antibiotic and Lysine. 3 times a day. She seems to be acting better, but not quick on the weight-gain. She looks like a poor little malnutritioned lion. :(

House
We are going to look into putting our house back up on the market. We're realizing now is the time to get out before our house is worth even less .... and we need more space! I'd love to be able to start building a house of our own ... but we have to sell this one first, so that might be happening in the next coming week...

Mom
If no one knows, my mom is disabled. For the last 7 years or so she has been living in North Carolina with a man who took her under his wing to take care of her. He began to develope his own problems and fell very ill the last few weeks during which his daughter, M, was looking after my mom (who refuses to move closer to us). I got a text today that this man, P, had passed away today. I don't know how that changes things, but I think my life will be taking a different path in the next few weeks/months.

Griffin
The second that the boys left on his camping trip, Fin started spitting out words left and right. He didn't have to compete with Maysen and the words came flooding out. He started saying: Ooops. Ooopsie. Uh-Oh. Wet. Momma. What's That!? It was fun. He needed a lot of attention because his Bubba was gone camping, but we had fun ..

Enough of the updates ...