Broken Ground

It was an important day for the Scovil family today. We finally broke ground on our new home!! Maysen got to see the gravel truck bring in our gravel for the foundation today and explained why the gravel was used. It was just a neat thing to see. It sounds funny, but the thing I can’t wait the most for is when they pour our concrete. I can’t wait to put our little family’s handprints and the date. Then it’ll be … HOME for a very long time. I feel very very blessed to have been given this opportunity to watch my home be built, custom for our family, from the ground up. I’ll forever be grateful for yet such a blessed opportunity.

Lost at Sea..

Maysen,

Yesterday was kind of a hard day for our little Mr Bean. First you pooped your pants (poor guy) and while you were washing your hands, Griffin came right behind you, picked up your poopy underwear (StarWars favorite, btw) and flushed them down the toilet. You just couldn’t believe it!! I was not only amazed that a) he flushed your underwear but that b) it actually WENT THROUGH. I was envisioning a huge clog of sorts, but it just sailed right down!

You had a melt down because (courtesy of “Finding Nemo”) you just knew that all drains and such lead to the ocean. And now your pour undies were somewhere out there, lost at sea. But rest assured. I informed you that there are other little boys out there that have this happen to them, too. So, when all the underwear finally float to the top of the ocean, they gather in an underwear pile near the shore. PHEW! You knew there had to be an explanation, and there it was!

After such a long day, you finally had it and rested cozily up in your little personalized toy box. I knew that thing had another purpose. Sleep tight, my Bean.

Future site of the Scovil Home 2010

This is the future home of the Scovil Family June 2010. What I love about this lot is the fact our backyard will be backing up to the trees, for the most part. It’ll be so beautiful (and shady) in the summer. Our neighbor, whose house is pictured here, is our builder’s mother-in-law. She’s single so nice and quiet neighbor and of course we don’t have a neighbor on the other side of us yet.

Our lot that we bought is along the bottom, last sold one if you're looking left to right. We have made some plan modifications, the biggest one being 12ft ceilings in the foyer and living area. Because of that, the front elevation of the house had to be changed and so we should be getting those plans back this weekend. Can't wait to see!

What Happened!?

Where did the last 4 weeks go? I mean, seriously? I spent 3 months preparing for the last 4 weeks and it’s gone in a flash. And every year goes faster than the year before it. Life has been an absolute blur since August. We’re still adjusting but we have some exciting news … we’re building a new house! We got our approval last week and we meet with the builder on Monday to review our house plan and pick our lot. Nothing like starting out 2010 with a bang! Hopefully we’ll be breaking ground in January and having it finished right up when our lease here ends in June.

Christmas Eve Day Nate had to work, so the boys and I enjoyed some together time and finished up making Christmas cookies for Santa. Most of the frosting went toward the boys' mouths than on the cookies but it was a great time for Momma and boys!

We started off with Christmas at Nate’s mom’s house. Maysen did the usual helping with handing out of presents. Griffin had fun this year as he was ripping presents open left and right. He was getting frustrated at not being able to play with the toy he had just opened! Maysen did so good being patient awaiting his turn at opening another great score!

Christmas morning we had homemade cinnamon rolls (a new holiday tradition) and opened presents. Jenn and Mom were here. By present #3 Griffin had enough and was done opening presents. We kept the rest for his birthday, which was right around the corner in 2 days!

Griffin turned two on December 27th. We had a Barber Shop-themed birthday party. It was filled with family and friends. We had presents, followed by Griffin’s first hair cut by Grandma! Cake was soon to follow and BOOM .. he was TWO!

This is a "before" picture above.

"After"

 

The next day we headed to Redmond for a get-away to the snow! It was wonderful! The house we always stay in is equipped with everything you might need and we barricaded ourselves in for 4 days. We played games, watched movies, played in the snow, built snowmen, swam, soaked in the hot tub. It was amazing!

We’ve had a great vacation. Maysen goes to school on Monday while we meet with the builder, and Nate goes back to work on Tuesday. Time flies when you’re having fun!

I have made a resolution to not make a resolution this year. It’s going to be another wild wild year and I can’t wait to see what it brings. But I know one thing it will bring … A NEW HOUSE! I can’t wait to move … the last time for a VERY long time.

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.