Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

I didn’t finish a book… February 9, 2014

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:48 am

I didn’t finish a book in the entire month of January. Insert shock and awe here. It’s hard to believe. I did read during the month of January. I just didn’t finish the book I was reading. I started Little Women and I do like it. I’m just reading it a lot slower than I would like. After feeling a bit let down in the reading department, I decided to try something new.

I find myself now watching the The Pioneer Woman a couple times a week. Usually when I get home from work on Mondays and Thursdays. Occasionally, I’ll sneak another day in there too. It all depends on what is happening at 2:00pm in our house. I’m finding that 2:00pm is right around the time I need to mentally check out for a half hour and watching Ree Drummond cook seems to be just the ticket. I’m pretty sure I want her to adopt me. That woman has a way with food. My sister has been a long time fan of Ree and so has America for that matter. I’m late to the game when it comes to falling in love with The Pioneer Woman, but it has finally happened. I’m hooked.

But what does watching a cooking show have anything to do with reading? Well, Ree has written a book about her relationship with her husband. It’s their love story and wow, it was steamy! I had heard a great deal about her book (also titled The Pioneer Woman) so it really shouldn’t have come as a shock. I remember April telling me how much she likes her husband. Really likes him. Every inch of him. Her writing style made me laugh a lot and it was fun to see their relationship develop through her eyes. I found myself admiring how many details of their dating relationship she actually remembered. I have to admit that I don’t think I could have written a book about Jeremy and I with that much clarity. Another thing that I’m still tickled by is downloading books. After years of ordering books and waiting for them to arrive in the mail, it’s just a weird thing to just buy it and have it instantly on iPad. I would recommend Ree’s book to anyone who wants to get swept up in a real life love story and could use a good laugh.

I’ve contemplated the place reading has in my life a lot this last month. Because I’m a “reader”, I felt like I let myself down by not finishing a book in the span of a month. Truthfully, there is no law that says I have to read obsessively. I just usually do. Adding things like the a half hour of personal television in the day is also a new thing for me. I never turn the TV on when I’m home alone. All sorts of things are happening to me. Reading less, watching TV more. My self-righteous side is telling me I’m heading down a mind numbing hill. Oh well. I still love to read and when I find a good book I will devour it. I don’t think that will change. I’m just not going to freak out if the rate I read at has changed. I will also let myself off the hook and allow myself to watch a little TV now and then. It’s a nice break.

As you can see from the last week of blogs, I’m finding many different things to fill my time theses days. I have discovered the fun of putting Legos together. Who knew? I have been working on a major projects like reorganizing the mother’s room and moving offices at work. I’ve done a bit of reading. Obviously a lot of my time goes into the happiness of a little 4 month old human… I guess if we were to include all the things I’ve been into lately, I should add that I’m obsessed with the new Switchfoot album that came out on my birthday. Below is a link to my favorite song. It seems to fit me on so many levels right now. And it’s catchy. I could listen to it on repeat!

 

4 Months! February 8, 2014

Filed under: Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 10:16 am
I'm 4 months old!

I’m 4 months old!

Owen is officially 4 months old today! It’s gone fast. He keeps getting bigger and bigger. He has already doubled his birth weight and  then some. My arms can tell that he has been putting on the pounds. The last month has been a tricky one with Owen at times. As I’ve gone back to work, we’ve hit a few speed bumps. He sometimes decides that he doesn’t want to take a bottle. My mom has been great about working with us as we try to figure out what Owen needs on a daily basis. He can have moments of extreme fussiness as well. We wonder if the fuss may be related to teething, but so far we can’t see anything trying to pop up in his mouth.

The development of the fuss has led the development of more diligent nap times. Before I would let Owen sleep anywhere. Mainly, he would take his naps in the bouncer in the front room while I did stuff around the house. Now I am intentional about putting him down for naps in his own room. These naps usually last longer because he is away from distractions. The average day could hold one 2+ hour nap or maybe he’ll break it up into 3 naps that last about 45 minutes. On Wednesday, he took 2 naps that lasted about 2 hours and then a 45 minute nap. I’m learning a lot about reading his tired cues. It seems that he wants a nap about every 2 hours or so. When Owen is not napping, we have a pattern of play time, bouncer, helping mom with chores in the front-facing carrier and bath time.

Toys are starting to become very exciting. He will reach for them and put them in his mouth. His favorite thing to put in mouth right now is his fist or two fingers or a thumb. He often gags himself as he jams his thumb down his throat. Smart, huh? Owen also loves the sound of his voice. I would say that the days of baby coos are gone, but Owen has surprised me this morning and has been talking up a storm in cute little coos. Most of the time, Owen only has two volumes – quiet or loud. He shrieks in delight and he screams when he is upset. Everything comes out loud. He loves to laugh and smile and play.He is an active boy and goes all out in everything he does!

Trying to get the "4 month" photo this morning

Trying to get the “4 month” photo this morning

One of our hurdles right now is transitioning Owen from his newborn napper into his crib at night. This has been a battle that I didn’t anticipate. Because he sleeps an average of 9-11 hours a night, I haven’t wanted to mess with his sleeping arrangement too much. If it’s working, it’s working. However, he will soon be too big for the napper, thus the “newborn” part of the napper title. He just loves being snuggled in it. He’s taken what I call “flat naps” to train him to sleep flat, but he only seems to put up with naps. Oh well. It will work itself out, I’m sure. I have decided that our next baby will not know the goodness of the newborn napper. They will sleep flat from the very beginning. I will not do this again. I have lived and I have learned.

It’s such a joy to watch Owen grow and develop. He has such a personality. As he has gotten bigger, there are a lot more comments about how he looks like Jeremy. It must be the big head or something. Owen does look a lot like Jeremy these days and I’m just fine with that because I happen to think that Jeremy is pretty cute! Taking Owen into stores can be quite the task. We get stopped by multiple strangers so that they can admire Owen. If people aren’t bold enough to stop and talk with us, we often here whispers behind us as we walk through the stores – “Did you see that cute baby?” I keep saying I should send head shots into Gerber. The funny thing about our “cute” baby is that he has pretty crazy hair. There is one section in particular that loves to stand straight up. I have don’t even battle with it anymore because it just bounces back. If he becomes a baby model, we might have to work on section of hair a bit.

This Monday is Owen’s 4 month appointment, so we’ll know his officially stats soon. My guess is that is he close to 16 pounds, if not already there. We’ll see. It’s been an exciting 4 months and Owen has been a great addition to our family even though he does bring a bit of nuttiness to the mix. However, the way I see it, we are all a bit nutty here, so he fits right in! Happy 4 months, Owen!

 

Mother’s Room Remake February 7, 2014

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Parenthood,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 11:03 am

Our church has been doing some construction and expanding our cafe area. This expansion took over the space where our mother’s room once was. As a result the mother’s room has bounced around the church. The first location was too far away from the sanctuary. I had a conversation with some concerned moms. They thought that if someone had a screaming baby coming out of service the walk would be too long. Another mom mentioned the walk might be too far for mom’s recovering from a c-section. I voiced these concerns to Jeremy, who in turn shared them with our staff. And that is how the mother’s room landed on my plate. I’m a mom now and had a mom perspective, so why not redo the room myself? In the past, our mother’s room has been an assortment of mismatched furniture pieces and art work that never really hung up on the walls and “girly” accessories that really had no place in a mother’s room and only made it feel cluttered. Tealight candle holders are nice, but no one is lighting a candle in there for ambiance while they nurse. Plus there was no candle in the holder and nothing to light a candle with even if there was one. Classy, I know. Somehow placing a lighter in the mother’s room doesn’t seem smart. Anyway, after the mother’s room relocated again it became apparent the room needed attention. Whoever set it up originally placed the couch right in front of the door so when you opened the door you would get a full view of whoever is nursing. Not a great set-up if someone who wasn’t a mom happened to walk by the hallway at the same time the door was opening. My biggest vision for the room was clear out the mismatched picture frames, clutter and couches then configure the room into a better flow. Jeremy helped me since most of this project involved moving furniture and hanging things on the wall. I couldn’t do it alone. I’m grateful he shared his valuable time at work to help me out. We moved the wall mounted television to the opposite side of the room. We added a Bible verse vinyl decal above the changing table. A little inspiration for our moms. For the changing table, we bought new storage bins that now house diapers sizes 1-4 and changing table liners so they can use a clean surface every time they change their baby’s diaper. Wipes are also included. The table is now stocked with everything a mom will need. We also added a diaper genie to the room to contain those stinky diapers. Up until now, diapers have just been thrown a way in an open trash can. I figured the room would be a nicer environment if it didn’t smell like a poopy diaper. We bought two matching couches and configured the couches along with the rockers so they could see the TV, but be out of sight when the door is opened. The one thing we kept from the wall art before was a giant mirror. I figured moms might want to do a quick check in the mirror before leaving the room. I know I usually do. There was an old jumper in the room that looked well worn from use (aka gross), so we replaced it with a new jumper and added a bouncer as well. The jumper is good if you want to put your older baby down for a minute and the bouncer will be good for younger babies. The only items that really don’t match now in the room are the rocking chairs, but this remodel was on a budget, so the rocking chairs will be just fine. Plus, my preference would be to use the couches anyway.  Below are a few pictures of the final product! I’m so glad to have this room completed and I’m so thankful for all the help Jeremy gave me!

The television will allow moms to watch the service while they take care of their little ones.

The view to the right of the door

View of the whole room

The well stocked changing table

 

Legoland February 6, 2014

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Getting Creative,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 1:05 am

It’s been a crazy 24 hours. I’m pretty sure Owen has some kind of bug. Yesterday had it’s rough moments especially when it came to putting Owen down for bed. Every time we laid him down he would start screaming. The only option for a while seemed like letting him sleep on my lap or in my arms… Or turn off the monitor and let him cry it out. After about 3 hours of attempting the bedtime process, Owen finally stayed down sometime after midnight. Yipee. Of course, I was thrilled when my alarm went off early this morning. Time to get up and ready for work. We had already decided to let Owen tag along with us today since he has been refusing bottles lately and today we planned to a lot of errands and Owen is a great traveler. I’m not thrilled with the decision to take my baby to work with me, but it is what it is. Anyway, after the crazy night, Jeremy and I decided to  let Owen sleep until he woke up on his own. So now I am home. Listening to the monitor and wondering why I showered at 6:45am. I should be sleeping too. Oh well. It would figure on the day that we have plans to take Owen with us, the kid would decide to sleep past 9:00am. I’m learning that going back to work with a breastfed baby is tricky. Really tricky. Anyway…

My rant on parenthood is now over. Since I’m currently enjoying some free time, I thought I would share a few Lego pictures I took last night of Jeremy’s office. The move is now officially done and the new theme is very much in place. Our office has become Legoland. A small WA state version, but Legoland nonetheless. I’m positive my hubby is very happy as he now works surrounded by his new toys. Who says you have to grow up? Become a children’s pastor and you can surround yourself with Legos too!

Legoland

Legoland

Gotta love Disney!

Gotta love Disney!

 

Legos & The Super Bowl February 5, 2014

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Getting Creative,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 2:18 pm

It was an interesting weekend for us Scotts. After the big office move, my husband decided that his Mr. Potato Head collection was so 2008 and he needed a new theme for a new office. This led to Jeremy selling his potato heads and a shopping trip to Portland. The new theme of choice was Legos. This is a clear winner for Jeremy who at almost 33 still loves Legos. He is a Children’s Pastor, so of course, the theme fits his profession. Friday we drove around looking for various Lego items – storage bricks, giant Lego heads, a cup holder, a calender… etc. Jeremy felt since we share this office that I needed to be represented as well. He purchased Disney Princess Legos in my honor. The office now holds a Lego wall clock that Jeremy made himself and a paper tray he made himself. He purchased Toy Story sets of Buzz Lightyear and Zurg – father and son. He also got a Woody Lego clock. To represent the Northwest we have a Mountain Hut with a Lego with a bread and an ATV. Oh yeah, we’re cool. To represent “me”, we have Ariel and Prince Eric, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider and now we’re soon to add Cinderella.  I don’t any pictures yet of the finished office, but I hope to post some soon. Saturday was spent putting the Legos together. This was a first for me. I’ve never assembled Legos from a kit before. My sister had an assorted box of Duplos growing up, but nothing that gave step by step instructions to build anything. At the beginning of my building experience, I got a bit of a headache from trying to find the right pieces and the right angles, but I quickly got the hang of things and soon learned that I find putting Legos together a most enjoyable pastime. It was a bit of a twilight zone moment for me. Jeremy’s logic is that in a few years when the Lego theme gets old, he can give the Legos to Owen. What a legacy we have started.

Sunday was the Super Bowl. Being from Washington state meant that there was a lot hype about the big game. Our Seahawks were playing in the Super Bowl and the whole state was in an uproar. 12th man flags were everywhere. Everyone was wearing navy and neon green. Signs on local businesses read “Go Hawks”. I told Jeremy no matter what happened WA would need to take Monday off. If the Seahawks lost there was going to be some major recovery necessary and if they won then the whole state would need to a declare it a holiday. I am not into football. I still really don’t understand it. However, I will admit that it’s hard not to get excited when your local team ends up at the Super Bowl. Plus, with everyone being so jazzed, it’s hard for that not to bleed over. Our little family joined my parent’s life group to watch the game at my parent’s house. My dad smoked enough meat to feed 60 people and we all enjoyed yummy pulled-pork sandwiches for dinner. Owen wore his one Seahawk’s outfit to church on Sunday morning. However, he managed to spit up all over that and he got me really as well. I had spit up all down one pant leg and my boot. I noticed that my leg didn’t feel like it was drying and that was because there was also spit up IN my boot. I eventually felt the need to go home and change. I was too moist for comfort. Once I got home, I rewashed the Seahawks onesie and it was ready for Owen to re-wear it by game time. Talk about dedication. For the most part, everyone really enjoyed watching the game and chatting. Owen fought nap time pretty hard but eventually ended up taking a nap on my parent’s bed (no, he can’t roll over yet, so he was safe). The highlight of game for me was the Budweiser puppy commercial. I know, I know. It was  my favorite commercial and pretty much the rest of America’s. Yay for being one of the masses. Oh well. It was a good day and there was much celebration over the Seahawks win. I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the Broncos. They looked so sad. I know someone has to lose in order for someone to win, but still, I felt for them. My heart was probably all soft and tender after that puppy commercial.

Anyway, things are certainly exciting these days. Owen will be 4 months on Saturday and I plan on writing a 4 month update here soon with all the happenings with our little guy. I will also post some photos of Jeremy’s new office, complete with our Lego creations. Plus, I hope to soon give an update on some recent reads. Can’t wait to share! Good times!

The results of Friday's Lego shopping!

The results of Friday’s Lego shopping!

The first Lego creation I've ever built

The first Lego creation I’ve ever built

Owen and Grandpa are ready for the big game

Owen and Grandpa are ready for the big game

 

Moving Offices January 29, 2014

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 1:59 pm

Monday night our little family camped out at the church for the evening. I brought the boppy and Owen’s bouncer. All the comforts of home. We set about making an office switch. The thermostat in our back offices is a bit odd. Jeremy’s office runs about 78-80 degrees most of the time. Since my hubby can sweat in the arctic and it seems that Owen has inherited that trait, it’s just too warm for them. The solution was switching to a cooler office. The great thing about moves is that they force you to examine your stuff. My hubby has been in that space for a long time and had accumulated a lot. I was impressed with how much he paired down and he still has plans to get rid of more. The big challenge of the office was move was swapping two full offices. We would empty one shelf from one office and move it the same shelf in the other office. There was a lot of back and forth. We wanted to make sure when moved the other office, we didn’t mess up anything for the staff members that use that office. We tried to make things as identical as possible and as workable for them. We prioritized them and left our new space a bit of a mess. When you’re working with a baby in tow, we knew we couldn’t complete both offices in one night. After 4 hours of switching, we had to take Owen home and put him to bed. He was a great baby throughout the night. We moved him all around, trying to keep the view exciting and interesting. He also took a couple of good naps. Jeremy and I were really proud of him. I will admit that there was a sad moment when we shut the door on what is now “Jeremy’s old office”. He had been in that office longer than we’ve been married. I remember when he moved in there. A lot of moments have happened in that office. Working alongside Jeremy has been such a blessing. I know that we will make new memories in our new space, but I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic about our old one. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Hanging out with Mom & Dad at work!

Hanging out with Mom & Dad at work!

The middle of the move

The middle of the move

 

New Perspective January 26, 2014

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Parenthood,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 11:19 am
My little nut

My little nut

A few years ago I read a book called You Lost Me and it was all about why 18-30 years aren’t in church. I could understand and relate to the reasons listed, but now I have a new perspective. Maybe 18-30 year olds aren’t coming to church because these are they years that they have infants in their life. As a new mom, I have had my eyes opened to just how tricky it can be to get your family to church. My situation is different than the average attending family, but if they go through even a little bit of what I go through then I get it.

Let’s dissect my morning. On Sundays I am up at 6:00am so I can get showered and ready before Owen wakes up and while Jeremy is still home. Service starts at 9:00am, so that is a good three hours before I have to be anywhere. Jeremy, who is a pastor, has to be to church by 7:30am, so I have his help until 7:15am.  Some mornings Owen is up at 6:45am and others he sleeps until I have to wake him up. This morning was one where I had to wake up him up at 8:15am in order to get him fed and dressed and out the door by 8:45am. I usually get to church right on time and have just a minute or two to say hellos before the service starts. If Owen stays asleep, I can make it through service. This isn’t usually the case. Today Owen was awake during service and wanted to shriek during worship. This wasn’t an unhappy noise, but it was noisy. I took him out into the foyer until he started to get fussy there. Then it was back to Jeremy’s office for a diaper change. That didn’t help his mood. So I fed him. That didn’t help his mood either. I knew he was probably tired and fighting sleep. After a couple of attempts to try to get him to sleep, I left (with him screaming by the way, apparently he didn’t want to be strapped down in his car seat). Of course, he was sleep in just a matter of minutes once the car was on. I got home and I am proud to say that I was able to transfer him from the car seat to his bed. Now he is settled in for the nap he wouldn’t take at church.

A lot of my time is spent at church. I grew up regularly attending church as a kid. In high school, I got involved in serving and I’ve been active ever since. However, Owen has certainly thrown a loop into this. I no longer feel dependable because I never know what mood my kid will be in. Some days are good. Some days we just head home. I have a hard time leaving because I am used to serving alongside my husband and I’m committed to the kids that I serve. I guess the average family has both mom and dad working together to make a Sunday morning happen. At church I am a single mom. This isn’t a poor reflection on my husband at all. I take care of Owen so he can do his job. I understand that Jeremy can’t drop everything for a poopy diaper. While breastfeeding has it’s advantages, the one disadvantage is it makes me the sole provider of Owen’s meals. When he is hungry, I have to stop and feed him. There is no passing him off. Owen does get a pumped bottle daily, but yet again, Jeremy can’t drop his job to feed the baby. It’s on me. I think that is what is so tiring. It’s all on me. The weight of it all. If Owen is a nut it is up to me to fix the problem. If the problem can’t be fixed then it’s me who has to leave with the crazy baby.

I just dedicated my son last week in front of our church congregation and this week like many other weeks, I wonder if church is worth the hassle. Why get up at 6:00am on Sunday when I might only make it an hour at church before needing to head home. Not every week is this way, but the effort is enough to make me wonder if it’s worth it. If I’m doubting my church attendance and I’m a pastor’s wife, I wonder what the average family with young children thinks. It’s not about how wonderful the people are or the classes that are offered. It’s not about great the mother’s room is. It’s about the effort. Are you even getting anything out of the experience? I haven’t been able to sit through service in a couple of weeks. I talk with a few people in the hallways as I’m rushing my unhappy baby to a quiet place for diaper changes and feedings. I am dedicated to raising Owen to know the Lord and I do believe in the local church. My attendance just might be spotty for a few years and I’m a paid staff member. Insert guilt here. But… There is not much I can do about this fact. Now that I’m a parent, church is a totally different.

 

Moments Revisited and Dedication January 19, 2014

Filed under: Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 8:35 pm

Today was a big day. In fact, it might be too soon to write about it. I should maybe let these thoughts marinate more, but I feel like writing so I’m just going to do it. A week ago I was talking about moments and how I need to stop and just enjoy the moments. I talked about giving certain moments more weight than others. Take the good and let go of the bad, I thought… Well, I have failed at this. I am soooooo good at focusing on the negative moments and not letting the good ones pick me up. I find it interesting that I say one thing and automatically do the opposite. It’s difficult to fight my hard-wiring. This fact proves to me even more that this is a direction I need to go. I need to work on enjoying the good moments and letting them, no matter how small, be enough.

I’m going to be honest, Owen is in a super fussy phase. I say phase because I hope it will pass. I’m not too thrilled that I have a mommy needy kid who likes to eat more than he should, doesn’t take very long naps and needs to held and bounced way too much. Also add that he usually cries whenever in the presence of company, my nerves have been frazzled. This Wednesday night he cried himself to sleep in the church nursery (our nursery staff are amazing, by the way). I dream of having a quiet, well adjusted kid, but that is just not happening and I am tired. With my job and the time I spend at church, I feel so out in the open. People are watching and I am trying. I’m trying to keep it together. All this trying just wears me out. It’s hard to be thankful for these moments.

But then there are moments like today when I took Owen shopping and he was wide eyed staring in amazement at the bright lights in the store. He was just too darn cute. When he isn’t fussing, his face is quite sweet. He really is one good looking baby boy. These moments of cuteness do happen. They happen often in all reality, but I let the negative moments overshadow the good one.

This leads me to today. We had Owen dedicated at church this morning. This practice states that Jeremy and I plan to raise Owen to know the Lord. We invite our family and church congregation to join us in this endeavor and hold us up as we try to parent to the best of our ability. It’s a very sweet concept and I am blessed by the family and friends we have surrounding us.

Going into it, I knew that today was going to be big. I knew the dedication was a big deal. I don’t want to make light of it. We decided since we had out of town family visiting and many family members that attend our church, we would do a brunch after church to celebrate. Preparing for 20+ people to come over can be quite the process. Jeremy and I cleaned the house and went shopping for brunch items yesterday. I took a lot of time on Saturday getting things ready because I knew there wouldn’t be much time before church. This morning, Owen decided to sleep in so he ate a big breakfast, super fast so we could get on the road and go to church. He then proceeded to spit up… Hmm… every 5 minutes or so. One spit up session made my brother-in-law think he had a blow out diaper because Owen was wet everywhere. Sooo… right before we’re supposed to go up for the dedication, Jeremy and I made a mad dash to change Owen’s outfit. I was totally thinking of The Office and Cece’s christening…. The first outfit was off and Owen was into a Seahawks outfit. Yes, we are those parents or at least Jeremy is and I don’t really care that much. Up front for the dedication, Owen was great. He was a happy, alert little calm. He did spit up more. In fact, there was some spit up on the carpet where we were standing and Jeremy says he got some in his shoes. Flash forward a bit, Owen is in his 4th outfit of the day (thank you spit up). He decides to be a total fuss face and I manage to get him down for a nap while we have a house full of company technically over to celebrate him. Oh well. Guests of honor don’t have to be seen, right? Better asleep than crying in my opinion. Owen woke up and was saying good-bye to people when my nephew decided to give my dog a good bye hug. This resulted in my dog biting my nephew and probably one of the most horrific moments of my life. Words cannot express how terrible I felt about the situation. I have been sick to my stomach all day over the matter. This is a prime example of one moment ruining all the other moments. While I got many compliments about today’s shindig, all I can think about is a crying baby in a full house and my dog – the biter. To consul myself, I went went on a drive after the house was cleaned up. I turned up my favorite band and had a good cry. It felt good to release a bit of the tension. Then I went shopping and bought Owen pajamas. That also helped.

Sooo…. where is this going??? I am trying. I believe in what I did today. I believe in family. I believe that life is messy. Things get crazy and babies cry and hopefully my dog didn’t create a family rift. But it is what it is. These are my moments. Some good, some bad. But I am dedicated. I am dedicated to raising Owen alongside Jeremy in a way that points Owen to the Lord. I know he won’t remember this day, but I hope as he watches me, he will see a mom who loves him and is doing her best. I hope he sees Jesus and love and kindness. I am praying that in these moments I can find peace and have that peace felt in our home. Here’s hoping.

 

28 is Great! January 17, 2014

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 2:33 pm

This Tuesday was my 28th birthday. I am very much like a little kid and I still look forward to my birthday. Especially years like this – 28! My love of even numbers make even numbered years a highlight. Sadly, this is my last even numbered year in my twenties. That is too weird. I’m still trying to decide if I’m okay with being another step closer to 30. Part of me is excited to turn 30 because it is a big milestone and I plan to party hard when I do. However, a decade is soon coming to a close and that kind of makes me sad. Just a smidge. But that is still down the road, so I push those thoughts aside.

My card from Owen! He does have more than three fingers!

My card from Owen! He does have more than three fingers!

This birthday was a great day. I got up early on Tuesday morning to discover tulips on the counter and two cards. Apparently, I get cards now from both Jeremy and Owen. When Jeremy got up, I opened the cards and both held great surprises. In Jeremy’s card was information about an upcoming trip to Canada! Recently, Jeremy and I got our enhanced driver’s licenses and now we can put them to good use! Jeremy had all the details hammered out. He even had a dog sitter for the weekend. I’m so excited!!! When I opened Owen’s card, I was surprised to see Owen’s handprint in paint inside the card. Jeremy had been super sneaky about it. I almost caught them “signing” the card before bath time, but a call from our friend gave Jeremy a long enough distraction. Later that night I commented on the redness of Owen’s fingernails and Jeremy made up some story about have a marker explode and the ink getting on Owen.

My morning with Owen was quiet and I met up with my mom and sister for lunch. Owen has a nut for the beginning of our time together, but lucky for me the restaurant wasn’t too full and the sound didn’t seem to bother anyone. I’m not really sure though… I wasn’t making eye-contact with anyone else. Eventually my mom bounced Owen to sleep and my sister and I split a yummy piece of coconut cream pie to finish off the meal. I came home from lunch to discover my hubby was home. Sadly, he had a migraine, so we spent a very quiet afternoon at home. Let me tell you, it can be difficult getting a 3 month old baby to be quiet. They don’t understand a migraine. Even though Jeremy wasn’t feeling like himself, it was still nice to see him and have him around.

28 Candles

28 Candles

Later that night my parents and sister and brother-in-law came over for dinner. My meal of choice was from our local Mexican restaurant. The only downside is they don’t have enough seating for all of us and Owen, so my family picked up the food to go and we ate at our house. The funny thing is my dad ordered a big bag of chips which filled a grocery sack. It was impressive. We also got a large tub of their salsa which Jeremy has been happily munching on all week. After dinner we played a game called Bang that my sister and brother-in-law introduced us to. It was fun to play with my parents. The game is a Western card game and let’s just say things got wild. Jeremy and my dad won. They were the Sheriff and the deputy. I almost got them…. Next time!!!

After game time was cake and cards. My traditional cake is a yummy chocolate cake from Safeway and it did not disappoint. 28 candles sure does create a lot of smoke! Overall it was a great day filled with amazing food and family time. This birthday was a lot more fun for me than last year. I was so bummed last year. Life wasn’t turning out like I had hoped. 26 was a rough year and I wasn’t looking forward to 27. However, things have turned around in a lot of ways. It was fun to celebrate this birthday with Owen around. Even though he can be a fussy nut at inopportune times, he does bring a lot of joy to my life and I think his little life really made the difference for me this year. I have a feeling that 28 is going to be great.

 

Hard to Believe January 13, 2014

Filed under: Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 10:28 pm

IMG_4166I reread my blog posts from time to time. It’s like reliving snapshots of my life. I enjoy looking back. I often do the same thing with my photos on Facebook. I find myself looking them over and getting great entertainment out of them all over again. Lately, I’ve noticed a certain phrase popping up a lot in my posts – “It’s hard to believe…”  It feels like a lot has happened in such a short period of time. Each milestone seems to fly by. Owen is growing and changing daily and it’s hard to believe. It’s a lot to take in all at once. Which leads to my next point, I have stolen a word for 2014. A lot of people pick a word to focus on for the whole year. Many people I love and admire do it and it’s become kind of trendy. I said I wasn’t going to pick a word because I didn’t want to do something that everyone else is doing. I am rebel. But a word hit me today as I reading a Sarah Bessey blog. She mentioned she did “moments” a few years ago and I knew the second I saw it that was the word for me. Moments. My life is moving quickly. I find myself lost in the big picture, often looking ahead. But what about the moments? What about when Owen looks up at me and smiles or falls asleep in my arms? I am judging my days on how well Owen behaves. It’s a good day if there is no fuss and it’s a bad day if there is drama. However, each second of every day isn’t drama. Why I am letting a small portion of my moments over power the whole day. I have decided to give different moments different value. Some moments will be worth their weight in gold, those times you wish the clock would stop and stand still because it is so good. Then there will be moments that I chose to let go of. I won’t let these negative moments ruin all the rest.

As I get back to a busy schedule, I’m learning that it’s important to slow down when possible. I’m trying not to over do it and over fill my life (even with the addition of a kid, it’s easy to fall back into old patterns). I don’t want to live in a stressed, hectic pace. I want time to enjoy the moments and revel in them. Times like this while Owen is small will be over much quickly than I care to realize. Somethings are just too important to not fully enter into. So I choose to take those moments, those small little fractions of time and make them last. I choose to make them worth something. It’s hard to believe that something so precious is happening on such ordinary days.  It’s just so hard to believe…