3 reasons why I love being a Mom

BTW- Erik is not flipping off the camera in photo #2, he is using his pointer finger to point at his tongue :-)

Okay, the 3 three reasons why I love being a Mom: Erik, Claire, and Megan. Sometimes I catch myself wishing they were a bit older so that they could help out more. Ultimately I consider their young ages a blessing in disguise. They know I have "sick muscles" but still expect me to help with nearly everything. Taking care of my children occupies my mind so that I don't waste too much time fretting about conditions I have no control over. Anyone with small children will agree that it is all about living in the moment.

I love how simple life can be when I immerse myself in my childrens world.

This past week I took Erik and 2 of his friends to our neighborhood lake. It was Saturday, the temperature had warmed into the 40's and they wanted to go fishing. We managed to find a little spot without ice and the boys took turns casting a cheep looking lure into the cold water. For some unknown reason there were no nibbles. They then turned their attention to the ice. The boys would throw the biggest rocks they could lift, attempting to break off ice chunks. For all you safety first people, don't worry, we were firmly planted on the shore. You should get out and try it. Turns out throwing rocks at ice is really fun...and therapeutic ("and this rock is for that one time that so-and-so...")

For Claire, I gave her and some neighborhood girls mini-manicures. We painted their nails various shade of pink and then applied flower stickers. I will credit my 4 year old daughter with educating me on how to be a girly-girl!

Megan is easy to please. Take her on a walk or anything outside and she is happy. I'm the same way so I'm game to bundle up and get out. Although this child baffles me in other ways. Such as: Why does she try to put macaroni in her nose? This has happened more than once and I now have to keep an eye on her. The other thing thing which has become bothersome is that we have to plan Megan's bath time around her bowel movements. Otherwise when she gets in that warm sudsy water she will poop in the tub! Jeff and I have washed and bleached the tub much too often lately.

Before we had kids I enjoyed my time working in office settings as a landscape architect. But man, I love what I now do as a Mom. I figure I'm involved in the most inspiring and some days frustrating, yet influential project of my life.

The good news and the bad news...It snows here.

Yes the good news and bad news applies, in this case, to the same thing. Snow. When the snow first comes the white blanket covering the grungy brown of leftover Fall is a beautiful sight. But now that we are into February I'm sick of it. I want it all to go AWAY. If I could call the shots, after Valentines Day, moisture would come in the forms of valley rain and mountain snow.

With my grumbling aside, we do get out and have fun in the snow.

Jeff and Megan

Jeff, Erik and Claire. This is called the "3 Car Pileup". Sometimes they make it all the way down the hill without anyone falling off.

Jeff took Erik night skiing in January. Grandma LaKay let Erik hold onto her kid skis and so he has been practicing on the hill of a nearby park.

Pictured above: Janae, Jen, Laurie, and Shelby. I have been snow shoeing a couple of times with friends. These days I'm not setting any land speed records but it feels so good to get out.

Neuroscience Clinic

Yesterday was a clinic day. My last visit was in September. The primary purpose for them is to gather data to track disease progression and also to do what they can to help the patient manage the situation. We plan on between 4-5 hours per visit where we meet with a variety of clinic staff. Yesterday we spent time with the nutritionist, the pharmacist, the occupational therapist, the physical therapist, the social worker, a representative from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the respiratory therapist, someone to draw blood, the clinic nurse & the neurologist.

My main concerns were:
1- Trying to find a medication to stop/lessen the constant muscle twitches and night time muscle cramps so that I can sleep. We talked about different options.
2-My left leg continues to weaken affecting my balance and gait so we looked at a new brace. I'm not fond of my current brace and want to upgrade if I'm going to be using it more often.
3-They will be sending an occupational therapist out to visit our home. She will observe my routine and offer suggestions on methods or equipment to help simplify day to day tasks.

According to the nurse, this neuroscience clinic has between 200-300 ALS patients who come in from 7 different states. In 2007 they diagnosed 40-ish ALS cases. In 2008 they diagnosed around 62 cases. The facility and staff are fantastic. I feel fortunate to be close to this type of resource.

Random notes from the day:
-While walking into the clinic I saw an old man leaning against a parked car smoking a pipe. I wasn't amused that he was lucky enough to get old with a habit like that.

-There were 10 other patients besides me in various rooms. I caught here and there glimpses of different levels of ALS progression. Hmmm is all I have to say.

-Dr. Bromberg is the only neurologist at the clinic who specializes in ALS. He is hoping to have another specialist sooner rather than later. Jeff said if we heard of anyone we would pass the word along and send them his way. Dr. Bromberg had a good laugh over the notion that it would be as easy as passing the word along to your next door neighbor.

-Jeff found a pillow and napped on the examination table between visits while I read a novel. Then he got bored and decided to check his weight on the huge scale (you can roll a wheelchair onto it). Jeff wasn't entirely pleased with the results. So he made a quick trip to the bathroom, emptied his pockets of his phone and some coins, took off his shoes and got back on the scale. He managed to shed a few ounces but still wasn't happy. Having Jeff around makes these visits much more tolerable!

My Saturday 2 weeks ago sums up my physical status. I went snow shoeing with some girlfriends in the morning. But I needed help getting up when I tripped, and they helped carry gear etc. I hate how slow I now am in getting from point A to point B. It drives me nuts. That night we went out for sushi with Shane and Julie. I can no longer hold chopsticks, so I ate my sushi with a fork. My voice is usually fatigued come evening so I limit the songs I sing to my kids. Later we were playing cribbage and I discovered that I can no longer shuffle a deck of cards. We constantly modify for the situation.

Some Serious Talent!

I like to think that everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has a talent, a skill, or an ability of sorts. We just have to get to know the person first to find out what it is. I'll meet someone and think "They seem nice." But once I get to know them (it never fails) and then I'm re-thinking to "Wow! I had no idea!" If anything this entry is to remind myself to not be so quick to judge and categorize the people around me.

For instance, how did:
-She become such an intuitive photographer...
-She ever learn to sing and act like that...
-She become such a brillant artist...
-She/He get such a good eye for design...
-She become so gosh-darn funny...(I'm thinking of whole bunch of women who are a great combo of wit/sass/humor)...
-She teach 150+ kids a new primary song (and they sing it like they mean it)...
-They manage to week after week teach my sons primary class of 13+ kids and maintain order...
-She/He become so spiritually in tune...
-They figure out how to plan for and bring to reality a new charter school/dance studio/bed and breakfast inn...
-He learn to direct a movie...
-He run so many marathons...
-He tie "flies" and actually catch a fish with it...
-She write such a delightful book...
-She learn to save babies lives and then teach it to others in 3rd world countries...
-She have the patience to let a plant grow from seed and not just buy it big...
-She figure out how to sew like that...
-She make such a BIG cupcake...
-She/He be so gracious...
-She always know the right thing to say at the right time...
-They become so in tune with their children's needs...
-She give a church talk or R.S. lesson and talk through the tears ;-)

Seriously...some serious talent.