Simply Me | Amy Scott's Thoughts

Who would have thought? July 20, 2016

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Recollections,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 9:00 am

If you would have asked me about what I thought 2016 would like on January 1st, I would have never imagined any of this. Our world continues to move forward in surprising ways. I can tell that God is in all of this because it’s not something I saw coming. Our counter off to the home inspection was accepted. We will move on August 8th and close on August 12th (as long as the appraisal goes well). I find myself with only a few weeks left in my house. Monday, I packed up dozens of boxes and tried to determined what we needed in our kitchen and what could go. Jeremy and Owen took two truck loads out to the storage unit. We are making progress. Packing is now a daily pastime. I am so grateful to have Jeremy home from camp. It felt like life paused for a week and now we are back to moving full steam ahead. We switched the boys’ dressers so Graham can use the long dresser has a changing table. We will sell our changing table so it’s one less things to store. I’ve been sorting through our things and consolidating. I’m trying to be strategic when it comes to what stuff will move with us and what will go to storage. The nice thing about having a project like this is I feel productive at the end of the day. Keeping my kids alive is a lot of work, but at the end of the day, I don’t always feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. Packing makes me feel like I’m doing something. It’s been good.

The week without Jeremy finished well. We went had dinner with my parents on Thursday and went down to Longview to hang with my sister on Friday. We took Owen to the park and he has a blast. We did a little shopping, got more “panda rice” and milkshakes at Burgerville. The boys were so excited when Jeremy came home. Graham crawled around the house trying to keep up with Jeremy. Every time he reached Jeremy, he would pull himself up and lift his arms up to be held. It was super sweet. Owen gave Jeremy numerous hugs and told him that he missed him. These boys love their Daddy! It’s great to have the family back together.

Our weekend was filled with family time. We drove over the mountains for my niece’s 4th birthday party on Saturday and then we had a family BBQ with relatives visiting from South Dakota on Sunday. Like I mentioned early, Monday was a big day of packing and taking loads to the storage unit. We also walked the property with a local contractor and ran errands up in Olympia. Jeremy hasn’t had any down time to recover from kid’s camp. While the boys napped, I worked on a MOPS project. I walked into our bedroom to find Jeremy laying on the bed with his eyes closed. My hubby never lays down, so this was a big deal. Poor guy just can’t rest with the pace we’ve set.

Yesterday, I went into the church to make a sign for our MOPS play date and then we went to the park to play. Owen had a great time going down the slide and watching for trains with his friends. As we were leaving the park, Owen yelled “Good-bye everybody!” It was sweet to see him connecting with his buddies.

Today, we have our rescheduled home tour with Lexar. I am excited to see if the plan we like is the “one”. If we don’t love this plan then it might be back to the drawing board for us. Lexar has raised their prices, so we might look into other builders. We aren’t sure yet. Things with the property are moving forward. We will need to nail down the details soon. We don’t want anything to hold us up once we have the green light to build.

That’s life in a nutshell. It’s wonderful to see the process move forward. Each steps brings us closer to the next. I’m excited that once we move, we will close. Once we close, we will have the finances to start building. This new home and all that it entails is an adventurous new chapter for our family. I have loved our current home and I am sad in way for this chapter to end. So many sweet and wonderful memories. I am equally thrilled though by the new memories we are going to make moving forward. God is in all the changes. He has our family in his hands. I am thankful, excited and looking forward to the future.

Doesn’t everyone watch TV like this?

Graham: How do I get up there?

Playing outside while baby naps

Dinner at Grandpa & Grandma’s new place

Being such a big boy playing at the park

Milkshakes with Auntie

Welcoming Daddy home!

Happy birthday, Brinley!

Flying planes

Cheering Daddy on while he plays a game

Cousins and buddies!

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Graham – 9 month update! July 19, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:02 pm

9 months and way too active to sit still for pictures!

3/4 of the way to the big one! Graham’s first birthday is just three months away! I can’t believe it. 3 months will go by in a blink. I remember I started to come out of the baby haze around 9 months with Owen. From the beginning, Owen has been a better sleeper than Graham, but Graham has generally had a better attitude than Owen. At 9 months, Owen was becoming less needy and I was sleeping through the night. There was new found freedom. Graham on the other hand… He isn’t a consistent sleeper. He has slept through the night the last two nights. The night before that I forgot to turn the monitor on, so maybe he has slept through the night the last three nights. I don’t really know. He gives me glimpses of what solid sleep might be like and then he goes back to waking up 2-3 times a night. I’m always praying for more sleep. It’s a major big deal in my world. I am just not my best self when I don’t get enough sleep. Overall, though, even with the lack of sleep, Graham has mostly been a happy camper which makes him pretty easy to handle (even when I’m exhausted).

If I could describe Graham in one word it would be wiggly. This kid is always moving. He wants to be on the go. If you are holding him, he wants to be put down so he can move. He is all wiggles and squirms and does whatever he can to be mobile. He is a fast crawler and gets into everything. I’m back to the phase of having to barricade things in the house. He is fairly predictable in what places he wants to go. Of course, most are off limits, like the wood stove or the dog’s water. Instead of playing with toys, Graham’s favorite pastime is doing laps around the house… And maybe, disassembling the track on the train table.

The big exciting news of the month is Graham now has two teeth on the bottom middle. He loves to give kisses and then bite you with his new teeth. It’s a super sweet moment until it isn’t…

Graham loves to look at (aka tear apart) books. He enjoys taking puzzles apart. He likes to destroy block towers or my Lego creations. He is always trying to keep up with Owen. He will drive cars and trucks on the ground just like his brother. He loves nursery songs. He still isn’t very interested in solid food. He will put it in his mouth and then spit it out. Hopefully in the next three months, he will discover more food love. I am ready for some of the freedom that will come with not being his only source of food.

Next week is his 9 month well check. I will share the stats after that. He is a little shorty, so I won’t be surprised to see him at the bottom of the charts. He is my little man, but it doesn’t stop him from trying to be a big boy. My guess with all this pulling himself up on furniture, walls, windows… He will most likely be walking before one. This boy has places to go and things to do!

Playing with Legos while big brother sleep in!

At the park

Having a good time at Brinley’s birthday party

Gotta love Home Depot carts!

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Anniversary Weekend & More July 12, 2016

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Children's Ministry,Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:50 pm

I’m just going to jump in… Our plan to visit the Lexar house plan we like fell through last Wednesday. The guy at Lexar put the wrong date in his calendar so he wasn’t available when we stopped by to meet up with him. That will now be pushed back to next week. We will also be parting ways with Toby next week and attending a Day Out with Thomas. Lots to look forward to. Not to mention this weekend is a family birthday party and then a family BBQ the following day. We like to celebrate!

Wednesday we had our home inspection. It went fairly well. Somethings we expected. Some surprised us. The buyers asked for a few things to be taken care and we countered. Mostly, we wanted Jeremy to be able to fix the majority of the issues since they were small and the buyers wanted a licensed contractor. Trust me, Jeremy’s got this. However, they don’t know how handy my hubby is so I can understand the standard ask of a contractor. We haven’t heard back from them yet if they accept our counter. In other news, our family has an offer accepted on a 12 acre piece of property south of Chehalis. We are super excited. We will do a feasibility to make sure the building there is well… feasible … If all goes well, my parents will be building on 6 acres and we will be building one the other 6 acres. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. We are ready to move this process forward. At this point, we will close a month from today on August 12th. We will move on August 8th, so we are already less an a month away from the big transition. I’ve been steadily packing boxes and pairing stuff down. I’m feeling good about what we will be taking with us to my in-laws house and what will go to storage. I should also give a shout out to my in-laws who have been making space for us. They have been so gracious and generous. I am grateful for their cheerful hearts and their willingness to take in this crazy ragtag bunch. Praying we don’t drive them nuts!

Now that the move update is out the way, let’s move on to daily life. This last weekend, we went to the beach to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! Since Graham is nursing and Owen loves the beach, the boys came along too. Romantic, I know. What was also romantic was the fact that Jeremy and I slept in separate full beds on opposite sides of the trailer stayed in. Jeremy doesn’t fit in a full bed. His feet stick off, so he sleeps diagonal. Jeremy and Owen took the bedroom and Graham and I took the living space. I’m thinking we’ll make 11 years the romantic, kid-free getaway. My friend, Maggie, owns a trailer at the beach and she offered it us free of charge. It’s an adorable 1950’s trailer with lots of wood paneling and Maggie has it decorated so cute. When we arrived there was a gift basket waiting for us. A bunch of friends and family had chipped in. There was a picture frame, chocolate, sparkling cider and gift certificates to local restaurants. It was such a surprise and sweet gesture. We felt loved and blessed. We packed our time at the beach with all our favorite things. The weather was rainy, but it made things quiet and cozy. We took advantage of breaks in the rain and got outside a few times. It was a fantastic family weekend. I love my husband more than words can say. The last 10 years have been better than I could have ever imagined. Jeremy is my best friend and partner in crime. He balances me out and encourages me in so many ways. I know that I am a better person because he is my life. He supports and loves me and values me. I am one grateful lady. God gave me the best!

After the high of the fun family weekend, Jeremy left on Sunday to go to kid’s camp for the week. Which means I am home. alone. with the boys. At this point, we are all still living. Sunday, we stayed after church to have lunch with him and say our good-byes. Then it was home for nap time, a walk with the dog and a movie. Yesterday, my mom came over in the morning, the boys had a bubble bath and then we went over to Nana & Papa’s house for dinner and playtime. Today, we went down to Portland to Powell’s City of Books. Oh my word. I wanted to buy the whole children’s section. It was bad. Books are a weakness of mine. The boys got three new books and each one got read at bed time tonight. My mom and sister joined our little clan on this outing. We had lunch out. Owen got “panda rice” (Panda Express). I got to do a little shopping. It was super helpful to have my mom and April there to distract the boys so I could take few minutes to focus on my wardrobe needs. When we got home from our adventure, we attempted to take the dog for a walk, but it started to rain so we had to turn around. Gotta love this July weather. Last summer was so hot. I am grateful for the cool weather and even the rain. I know. I’m weird. The rest of the week is filled with friends, family and church.The only day I didn’t plan anything on was Friday… Which could be a LONG day since Jeremy doesn’t get home till late. I might have to make up a Friday outing so we are just staring at the clock wondering when Daddy will get home.

That about sums up life. Oh, I read a book. It’s called It’s Just a Phase So Don’t Miss It. It’s written for leaders that work with kids and teenagers about maximizing your influence at each phase in a child’s life. Each phase is important and shouldn’t be overlooked. It was an easy read filled with good information and fun charts. There was humor and honesty spread throughout the pages. As a parent, it was helpful for me to remember to be intentional with my boys where they are now, but to have a plan for the future. I am raising adults. Since this was only the third book I’ve read in 2016, I was proud of myself. When Jeremy isn’t home and I don’t want to go to bed at 8:40pm, I actually take the time to read.

Okay. Now I’m done!

Settling in at the beach

Flashback to July 8, 2006

Graham’s first visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Owen remembered it from last summer and was thrilled to visit again!

Boardwalk selfie in Long Beach

Saying our good-byes before sending Daddy off to camp.

Time for a movie and popcorn

Tubby time!

Reading one of his new books at Powell’s

Sister selfie in Powell’s

A big mouthful of Panda rice! Yum!!!

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Two Posts in One July 5, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:20 pm

I wrote a blog post on Saturday night, but the internet wasn’t agreeing with me so I abandoned ship. Now I’m blogging again, but have more to add so this will be two posts in one. Enjoy!

We are Pending – Post One

We are under contract! Our house is pending! Woo hoo! The papers have been signed and our closing date will be August 12th. Of course, things can always change with inspection and appraisal, but we are praying for the best and hoping things continue to move smoothly. Now that our house is pending, we met for the second time with Lexar Homes to talk through the building process and where to start. We are excited to do a home tour of the plan we are considering this next week. It will be great to see the floor plan in person. I’ve learned that I’m really bad at picturing things so I’m excited to see the floor plan I’ve been studying off the screen and in real life. Next week, we’ll have the septic pumped (oh goodie) and possibly the home inspection. The ball is rolling! I’ve already started packing some non-essentials and moving items into the garage. My philosophy is I’d rather pack a box or two a day instead of packing the whole house up in short time.

I promised an update on Owen! This kid… He is crazy. He has shifted to being a morning person. It’s been a rough transition for our family. I miss the days when he consistently slept past 8:00am. Those were good days. Since Graham is up multiple times in the night, I live for nap time. I can coordinate the boys both going down for an afternoon nap at the same time. Owen only naps for an hour these days, so it’s a short window to rest, but I’ll take what I can get. Sleep is a big deal in this house and it’s been lacking…

Owen loves letters, numbers and shapes. It’s been fun to watch him learn. At times I look around the house and I’m blown away that I’m surrounded by trains, cars, construction vehicles… We watch Mater’s Tall Tales daily. Owen still enjoys Winnie the Pooh and Thomas. He has also really gotten into kid’s music. I love listening to him learn songs. He is also getting into doing motions with the music. I know it will be like this in every life stage, but I love watching him learn! His world continues grow and expand.

Owen is putting sentences together like crazy these days. We were passing a section of a manufactured home on the freeway and Owen exclaimed, “Look, Mommy! There is a house on a flat bed.” He tells me to “Look, Mommy” often. He is taking it all in. The world is so interesting and he can tell me all about it these days. He is getting to that stage where kids say really funny things. We’ll have to be careful about what we say around him since he repeats everything. I love his little voice. He is certainly a chatterbox.

It’s now summer time, so we’ve been taking lots of walks to enjoy the nice weather. Owen has taken to pushing Graham in the stroller. It was sweet the first time he did it, but now it’s just annoying. He walks super slow… And I have to make sure he doesn’t run of the road… Owen is Daddy’s helper in the yard and waters the flowers. He loves his swing set and his sandbox.

Other random facts, Owen is super into pretzels right now… He can says the ABCs in order through G (he knows all the letters, but is still learning order). He can count to 5, but his favorite number is 11. Owen now has to share all his toys with a mobile Graham. This hasn’t been a development he likes. We are working with Owen to not be rough with Graham. Now that Graham is moving, Owen doesn’t view him as baby anymore. He is now competition. Sibling rivalry begins…

That’s the update for now. It’s my bedtime!

I have No Good Title for Post Two

Okay, here we are at the next update. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I often struggle with how to much to write here on this blog. I don’t want to sound whiny and I don’t want to overwhelm the world with too many details. It’s a fine line to find balance. I’m just going to be real with you all, but try to keep it short and sweet.

Sunday, we made it up to Puyallup to celebrate some family birthdays. It had been a while since we’d seen my family so it was really important to us that we made it to the party. It was a good day to BBQ and chat. Owen ran around the cousins and attempted to eat his first popsicle. He ate the top 1/4 before losing interest. He didn’t quite get the concept of big licks or biting on it.

Yesterday was the 4th of July but it didn’t feel too much like a holiday… Our family was busy moving my parents. Again. Last weekend we moved them into what I called the storental (combination of storage and rental). It turns out the storental had tenacious fleas and some other serious issues. God opened up a new rental house and a totally better situation for my parents. After the big day of moving, the family came back to our house for dinner and pie to celebrate my Dad’s 60th birthday (which is today). Happy birthday, Dad!

Here is where the story gets interesting…. Toby was supposed to be going to the humane society tomorrow. I had told my family that this would be the last time they got to see him and to say their good-byes. I planned on blogging about Toby’s departure in advance so I wouldn’t have to write about it once it happened… I had been preparing Owen that Toby was leaving. I told him that Nana and Papa were going to take Toby and find him a new home. It’s been a year since I started looking for a new home for Toby. It was actually last 4th of July that I broke down and contacted a local dog person to see what she could do. That turned into a dead end. Then in January, we tried again to place Toby, but learned that he needed a home with no kids and no other pets. He came back to us… Now my in-laws had offered to take him the humane society for us. It was a nice gesture. With moving, it seems like now would be a good time to part ways. Toby hasn’t been a good fit for our family for a long time, but we’ve done our best to make it work…. Anyway back to the main story… April was loving on Toby and discovered that he had fleas. In all the years that we’ve owned him, he has never had fleas. Sadly, we think that the fleas from my parent’s storental may have come to visit us. My mom and TC had been walking with us a couple days last week. It all seemed innocent and yet a transfer was made. Jeremy gave Toby a bath last night and got a few off of him. It looks like he got them all and we are getting Toby a flea collar and we will bug bomb the house this weekend just to make sure that no fleas have decided to live with us… It seemed like a lot of drama for one dog who will only be with us one more day… but wait… he will stay with longer because the humane society has pet release appointments that we learned about today. My in-laws can’t Toby for us and our appointment is now scheduled for later this month.

It wouldn’t be such a big deal with the whole flea Toby situation, but things are moving quickly with our house. We had the septic pumped today and got to meet the buyers. Our home inspection is tomorrow morning and I am crazy worried that somehow the inspector will think our home is flea ridden (which it isn’t… but I am paranoid). There will be lots of cleaning and vacuuming between now and tomorrow. All these inspections have me on edge because I want them to go well and for there to be no major unforeseen issues. I’m trying to take a deep breath and not stress… It’s kind of working… Kind of not.

All that to say, if I can survive the home inspection tomorrow, we have plans to go look at a house in our favorite Lexar floor plan. I am excited to snoop and see if it’s a plan that will work for us. Thursday, we take off for the beach to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We will be taking the boys with us. Not the most romantic trip, but I am excited to get away (from the fleas, just kidding, kind of). I am ready to have a few days away from the house and all the plates we seem to be juggling. Jeremy leaves for kid’s camp on Sunday… It will be a long week at home with the boys. I’m looking forward to some family time before the week of camp begins. I’m going to try to make some plans throughout the week as a way to keep myself busy and not go crazy at home with two little people all alone.

That about sums it up. Life has been insane. I am overwhelmed and trying not to overthink things. It’s hard for me to just focus on the moment before me and live right now. I have to refocus my thoughts away from worry and stress. God is in control. God is good. God is in the mess of life and he is the details. He’s got this. I don’t have to worry. (Repeat italicized words over and over again).

The end!

All three boys snuggled up watching Daniel Tiger

Walking baby

Graham figured out how to get under the train table, but then he couldn’t figure out how to get out!

Popsicle

Love my Grandma! She is so amazing!

Summertime fun!

Happy 4th of July

Loaded up and ready to move!

Celebrating the Big 6-0 with my awesome dad! I have a feeling 60 will be a full year for him with building a house and getting new neighbors!

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Steam Train Ride, Father’s Day, Moving Party June 26, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:19 pm

Here are some brief highlights from our last week or so. Last Saturday, we took a steam train ride to celebrate my mom’s birthday and father’s day. Our little train lover enjoyed the ride, but I think it might have been overwhelming to him at times. Lots of sights and sounds to take in. After the steam train ride, we enjoyed dinner at our local Chinese restaurant. Owen plowed through a ton of fried rice. I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, Owen or my parents (who the day was celebrating).

For Father’s Day, we went over to Jeremy’s parent’s house and enjoyed some yummy BBQ steaks. It was a low key fun day. My gift to Jeremy this year was 18 holes of golf. I don’t love that golf is a 4 hour sporting event that leaves me home alone with the kids, so this gift seemed sacrificial and something I knew Jeremy would enjoy. He doesn’t get to golf nearly as much as he would like. Jeremy paid the gift forward and said he would take his dad out golfing for Father’s Day. My joke was Owen and Graham could join them and complete the foursome. That would be a win for all! Okay, the kiddos might detract from the golf game, but we can chalk it up to memory making, right?

Friday was a family day for us. We went down to the Portland area for yummy food and shopping. We started our day with breakfast at Chick-fil-A. YUM! We’ve been working on updating Owen’s wardrobe since he is growing and wearing things out. He got some new jammies and some new shoes. Lunch was at the Corner Bakery Cafe. When we visited Chicago, we ate there numerous times and it was a fun memory. The chain has made its way to the northwest now. The meal was tasty and we took home a bag of monster cookie bites to keep the yummy going!

This weekend has been a busy one as well. Yesterday, we moved my parent’s out of their home and into their new rental. I’ve nicknamed it the “storental” since it’s a combination of storage and a rental house. It was a full day of moving. I’d like to say that I was involved… Pretty much my job is hang out with Graham while Owen helps the menfolk load and unload. It’s been fun to spend time with my family and be supportive of my parents as they embark on a new adventure.

Today, Jeremy and his family went golfing. Nana was watching cousins Nolan and Bennett. After nap time, I took the boys over to hang out with the cousins. It was nice for Owen to play with a buddy his own age. It certainly kept him busy and active. I love it when he plays hard. He really enjoyed himself. Nolan is one of his BFFs. They have such a fun relationship.

And that about sums up life for the time being… I’ll keep you posted on our many adventures! I’m thinking it might be time to give a shout out blog to Owen and all his quirkiness these days. And maybe we’ll even have some house news to share in the near future. Time will tell!!!

Steam Train Ride with the fam

Open wide!

Jeremy asked Owen to cut the Play Doh cake they created and Owen ran got the chain saw!

Father’s Day!

Graham is on the move!

First s’mores of the season with my Wednesday night girls

A yummy food day!

Moving Grandpa & Grandma

Graham eats dinosaurs for lunch. He is a growing boy!

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Graham – 8 month update June 19, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:26 pm

8 months!

Graham is officially 8 months old today. It’s been a big week for him. He started “crawling” this week. It’s a combo of regular crawling, army crawling, lunging, and rolling. The fact is he can get from point A to point B now. He seems to be happy with this development, but it tires him out quickly so in the end he still ends up cranky. Plus, he is over us bribing him to get the phone or Apple TV remote. He can only grab it so many times and then have it move across the room again before the game is no longer fun.

Before crawling, he learned to sit himself up from laying down. It seems like in the last two weeks, he keeps jumping forward in developments. We plan to lower his crib tomorrow night. He hasn’t pulled himself up on it yet, but we feel like at this rate, it’s only a matter of time. I’ve been impressed with Graham’s desire to move and be mobile. He has officially beaten Owen when it comes to the rolling and crawling timeline. Graham got crawling down a whole month and a half sooner than Owen. The one downside to Graham being mobile is Owen has gotten a bit rougher with him. My guess is Owen doesn’t like his brother being more like a big boy. He can grab toys and get into things. Owen has less control over what Graham can do. Owen will push Graham over now. He also tries to lay on Graham. It seems that Owen is beginning the “wrestle” with brother phase. Oh goodie. Poor Graham just can’t wrestle back. Yet. Owen has it coming. I’m sure.

While Graham is still toothless, he has made some progress with solid foods. Jeremy got him to eat some baby food yesterday. Graham has also tried more finger foods and small bites. Because he has no teeth, I haven’t been super brave with small foods. I was reading on Baby Center what 8-10 month olds can eat. I’m excited to expand his horizons beyond pureed foods. The last big milestone before the big birthday will be teeth (and most likely walking). Hopefully with teeth his appetite will grow. It would be nice to have his entire diet not rest on me. However, the rhyme is “food before one is just fun.” I realize that it’s okay if he isn’t a big eater for a while. It’s all good.

That’s the update for now. Graham is growing and changing quickly. He has experienced a lot of frustration over the last month, but I’m hoping that his crawling will lessen his angst. He has a new world to explore. He is a great kiddo and certainly adds much love and excitement to our lives.

Birthday brunch with Grandma

Proud of himself for sitting up on his own

Steam train ride! More about that in my next post!

Happy mess maker

Those eyes! That face!

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Breezing Through June June 14, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 6:31 pm

As always, we are a busy bunch. It’s hard to capture the true level of crazy which is our everyday lives in words. The days often seem long and the nights go by too quickly. I am a tired mama. I love my boys and I enjoy our life, but I would really love more sleep. I’m sure I am not alone in that feeling.

June has been full of activity. We have celebrated three family birthdays so far. My sister and I went to see Me Before You on Friday (I read the book so naturally I wanted to see the movie. Both are equally sad). We have Father’s day quickly approaching. As well as a few graduation parties. There is a lot to celebrate in June.

The month started off hot. Our heat wave meant we celebrated my nephews’ birthdays at the Oregon Zoo in 100 degree weather. The last time we were there it was January 1st and 18 degrees. We apparently like to visit the zoo in extreme temperatures. I’m not a fan of the heat, but overall it was a fun day with family. It is certainly a day we will remember!

We’ve spent the last two weekends moving my parents into their new rental and storage unit. The first weekend was very hot and the second weekend was rainy. Lots of extremes just a week a part. Moving my parents is the beginning of the adventure ahead of us all. We are still on the search for the property of our dreams. Our house has still yet to sell. Lots still to do and look forward to. I realize that this process is going to be a bit longer than I anticipated, but that’s okay. I’m enjoying each moment in our current home. As I look around Graham’s nursery, I’m glad to spend more time in it. I know that by the time we move into our new home his nursery days will be over. We’ve been playing in the yard, going on walks and enjoying what time we have left at Moonlit Lane. I have no clue how long we will be here, but I am determined to enjoy it for what it is worth. This has been a good home to us.

This weekend we celebrated my mom’s birthday. The boys and I went to brunch with my parents after church on Sunday. The whole family gathered later that evening for pie. I’m a big fan of using the number exact candles as the birthday person’s age. Jeremy was concerned about damaging the pies with candles all over. We used a rubber band to secure the candles together. This candle brick put off quite an impressive flame.

I always wrestle when writing this blog. Part of me wants to gloss over life and present a happy picture. I want you all to think that I live a peachy existence. Life is truly good. But… there are difficult moments everyday. This mom life is not for the faint of heart. On Sunday as I was getting the boys ready for church, I knelt down on the ground to get Owen dressed and when I got up I realized my knee was wet with dog pee from the night before. I could smell the problem before bed, but couldn’t locate the issue… Well, my knee discovered it! Then Owen dropped Lamby in the toilet. Good thing Lamby has a twin that is is hidden in our home for moments like this. I made a quick Lamby swap and calmed the distraught toddler. Then there are afternoons like today where I assume both boys have napped and been fed, they should be able to play with toys while I take a few minutes to blog. However, if they are awake they seem to demand 110% of my direct focus. Owen had a place mat full of food that he requested himself and yet he is crying and opening the fridge and begging for something else. Owen’s crying upsets Graham and suddenly I have two kiddos in the midst of meltdowns… This is life. Everyday. We have good days, but even the good days are full of moments of frustration and insanity. It blows my mind that life can be so good and so hard at the same time.

We had our last official MOPS meeting for the school year last Tuesday. We announced next year’s theme with a video. The theme is Starry Eyed and in the video it talks about how we are both light and dark. And I’m feeling that these days. Light and dark. Good moments and hard moments. Life is both. God is in both. The starry eyed theme is a call to wonder and to see God in all the moments. I can relate to this. I’m sure that is why they picked it as the theme for a mom’s group.

Okay, the relative peace that I was able to recapture so I could finish this post is fading. I’m off to wrestle with the natives. Pray that I survive! They are adorable and fierce!

PS… I finished this blog about 4:00pm… I am posting it much later than 4:00pm… Mostly because the chaos level was quite high in our home so my husband just drove off in a van full of crying children so I could have a few moments peace. God bless him!

Enjoying a hot day at the Oregon Zoo and celebrating Carson and Bennett!

Cooling off in the yard

Documenting the last MOPS meeting! Here I am with my dedicated attenders, Leanna and Marielle! Missing Kim, Kate and Johnna. I love being a table leader! MOPS is the best!

Owen enjoying his prize from MOPS for being potty trained! He loved his sucker and Play Doh.

It was pouring rain when April and I left the theater on Friday. My feet were already wet so when April mentioned the big puddle ahead I thought it was no big deal. Turns out it was extremely deep. My feet were soaked the whole ride home!

Costco run

Owen supervising the moving process from Grandma & Grandpa’s lawn mower

Birthday brunch with my mom

The impressive flame from Mom’s candle brick

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Hello June! June 3, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:31 pm

It’s hard to believe that it’s June! May went by in a blink! Here are the cliff notes on our life…

The house is still for sale. I’ve stopped cleaning it. I was driving myself crazy trying to keep our house spotless at all times. I’m back to my normal cleaning schedule and I’ll do a rush cleaning job if we have a showing. The showings have been few and far between so I’ll take my chances.

Graham is close to crawling. He is currently doing a combo of army crawling and rolling to get where he wants. He never sits still. He can’t be content to sit and play with toys. He has to be always moving. It’s exciting and annoying. I sometimes wish he would just be chill and relax.

Owen is doing awesome in the potty training department. He has been wearing real underwear with no accidents. We have even taken him out on errands in real underwear. He is even dry for naps and in the morning when he wakes up. The big downside to potty training is now Owen wakes up super early having to pee. He doesn’t go back to sleep and peeing in his diaper isn’t an option anymore.

Maybe Owen getting up early wouldn’t be such a big deal, but Graham has decided to wake up 2-3 times a night and I’m back on the what feels like the newborn schedule. Since I’m up so often in the night, Jeremy has been taking the early morning shift with Owen. I really appreciate that. Normally I can’t go back to sleep after Owen screams me awake, but laying in bed is better that being upright.

As we look to June, we have a fun zoo day planned to celebrate two family birthdays. My parent’s house sold and we will be helping them move into their rental house. We have still have yet to find our new homestead. I’m guessing there will be a fair amount of time spent looking at property this month. Good thing Owen loves romping through nature. The property search is one of the highlights of his life right now.

And that about sums it up. Until next time!

This kid! He took a short fall out of our living room window the same day I found him sitting like this. I guess you have to watch a toddler every second of the day to make sure they don’t kill themselves!

Dumped out brother’s toy bin so he could read in it.

“I hold him tight”

Trying to stay warm during the property search

A leaf, a pine cone and a puddle. Looking at a property is the best!

Our Thomas fan!

Enjoying the warmer weather

Owen wanted to ride in the stroller too. Too bad this only lasted for a 1/4 of our walk.

Bonding over Legos

Such a cutie!

Golfing in the backyard… Or playing “hockey” as Owen calls it!

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Miscellaneous Thoughts May 23, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 5:58 pm

My mind seems to be all over the place these days. Lots of big things to process. Our house as been on the market for two weeks. We’ve had two showings. Not as many as I would have hoped for right of the bat. I’m finding that keeping the house clean for potential showings seems a bit illogical. I clean, no one comes. We actually had a showing yesterday. All I can do is pray! So yes, the house update is the house is still for sale. I’m done keeping it clean. I’m praying it sells quickly so I can stop cleaning. I know that doesn’t sound like me. I love to clean… I’m learning that I love to clean weekly, not almost everyday. Big difference.

My last post was all about Graham so I thought I would take a moment to focus on Owen. He has become quite the helper around the house. He loves to put clothes in the washing machine for me. He will grab me a diaper when I’m changing Graham. He will also throw dirty diapers away for me. His new nighttime routine involves giving Graham hugs and kisses. It melts my heart. Owen still loves all things Thomas the train and Winnie the Pooh. He is also still into construction vehicles. He has found the things he loves and has stuck with them.

You might have noticed that I stopped mentioning Owen and potty training. There wasn’t any progress to report. He sort of stalled. However, I am happy to say that he has been doing fantastic this last week! He has done all his business on the toilet the last three days. I am so proud of him. I’m also excited because he can now use the toilet with the help of only a small step stool. No more potty chairs or potty seats! Woo hoo! I am one happy mama! I’m hoping we can officially claim potty training mastered soon!

Owen loves looking at property, going to church and visiting both sets of grandparents. He will often ask to get dressed and tell me he is ready to go. He also loves outside time in the yard. When we are in the van, Owen loves to sing along to the kid’s CD we have playing. He really loves The Isty Bitsy Spider. In fact, he is singing it right now as he plays with his trains.

In random news, I downloaded Pinterest for the first time this week. I now have the joy of creating boards full of ideas for decorating my future home and my boys’ birthday party (because yes, I plan their birthday all year long). Jeremy was away this weekend at a men’s conference and he got to golf twice. I was glad that he could enjoy one of his hobbies since he isn’t putting in a garden this year. He has a garden shaped void in his life. We also just cancelled our satellite television today now that all our shows are taking a break for the summer. This is the first time in our married life that we won’t have a couple hundred channels at our disposal. I have a feeling Jeremy will also have a ESPN and Weather Channel void in his life. Things are a changing here.

Well, I know it’s not brilliant, but that’s what we are up to these days. Lots of cleaning, playing, laughing, crying, praying (and eating of chocolate).

Never enough dump trucks

Watching for Daddy to get home from Men’s Conference

Settled in at Nana & Papa’s house while we have a showing at our house.

Celebrating three accident free days with three new mini trains!

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Graham – 7 Month Update May 19, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 11:10 am

7 months!

Time to update the world on Graham at 7 months. Last month he mastered sitting up on his own. He was so over sitting within a week. He wants to crawl or pull himself up so he can stand. Sitting is what babies do and Graham thinks he is a big boy like his brother. Sometimes he locks his body into standing position. You can’t make him sit to save your life. He loves to watch his brother. Any attention he gets from Owen makes him smile and laugh. Owen has recently learned that it’s fun to make Graham laugh. Owen will dance around Graham and this results in giggles from both boys.

Graham is growing. While he is not a big baby, he just moved up into 9 month clothes. I had fun as a pulled out the 9 month clothes and washed them. These are some of my favorite outfits! Summertime clothes and lots of plaid! I wish I could say solid foods were responsible for Graham getting bigger, but he has decided that solid foods aren’t his thing. Everything you put in his mouth results in gagging. This development is a bummer because it means that Graham is on a timer and can’t be away from Mommy for very long. At this point, I am the only food source he accepts.

Jeremy is positive that Graham has said “Da da” numerous times. Owen said “Da da” first as well. Graham is such a daddy’s boy that I am not surprised that Jeremy got the first words. Graham loves to snuggle with Daddy and will often fall asleep peacefully on Jeremy’s chest.

Graham is a sweet baby. Day time is his best time. He usually gets two naps a day, but really needs three. I’m finding that it can be hard to have a perfect baby schedule and a perfect toddler schedule. Both kiddos have to make sacrifices and the third nap is Graham’s big sacrifice. We are entering into some of my favorite baby days. I love the happy personalities and smiles that come with this age. His smile is still a big gummy one for the time being. I have a feeling in the next month we’ll see teeth due to the amount of chewing Graham does on his fingers.

I’m really curious what the update next month will hold. Graham is trying so hard to crawl. He face plants a lot and has now entered into the bruise phase of boyhood. If he really is saying “da da” then I’m sure more words are just around the corner. Hopefully, if teeth emerge, maybe the desire for solid foods will as well. No matter where we find ourselves next month, I am grateful for a healthy, happy, sweet baby.