Team Hope

This year's Walk MS will be held on Saturday, April 16th. I really hope you will consider walking with our team, but if you can't make it, please help us out by making a donation. Our team's fundraising goal for this year is $3000.

Here's the website where you can sign up, donate...or both! http://nationalmssociety.org/goto/teamhope2011

Thank you so much!

Minimalist

I've been trying to write about our last symphony concert for a couple of weeks now.

I'll start with the easy part...the actual concert. I have to admit, it left Todd and I both with a kind of "eh" reaction. It wasn't that it was particularly bad, with the exception of some french horn issues, it just never seemed to really take off. The oboe soloist was good, but the piece didn't really do much for me. While I wasn't terribly impressed, I am always amazed by anyone who can play the oboe (or any double-reed for that matter). When I try to describe to people what having asthma is like, I describe it as trying to breath through one of those tiny, red coffee straws. This is also what trying to blow through an oboe reed is like. Not easy.

As always, though, it's so nice to get out of the house with Todd, just the two of us. Our favorite babysitter, Ashley, came over to watch Mason. Actually, Ashley is our only babysitter, but this doesn't take away from her awesomeness at all!

And now for the hard part...Randy's hair. We all know by now that swooning over Randy's hair is my favorite part of having season ASO tickets. It's ok, Todd has come to terms with my little love affair. You can imagine my great shock and disappointment when Randy walked onto the stage with his new, very short haircut. I think I literally gasped. I'm still upset about it. My only hope is that by the time March rolls around and we have our next concert I can look forward to one, the return of Violin Boy and two, the quick regrowth of Randy's hair.

Until next time...

El Naturalista

First, this blog isn't about shoes, but I will say for the record that the title of this blog is also the name of a favorite shoe brand. Second, Todd and I went to another symphony concert last weekend, and I will post the blog I've been working on soon. Let's just say I've been mourning over the loss of Randy's hair for almost a week now, so I haven't gotten around to posting it.

Recently I have been thinking of alternative ways to help deal with my MS symptoms. I made an appointment at Avante for Tuesday with a naturopathic doctor I was referred to, Dr. Babij. I'm not really sure what to expect, or really even what I'm hoping to achieve, but I'm definitely open to trying out other options. The main symptom I'm hoping to address is the fatigue. I've worked in health care long enough to know that western, or "traditional" medicine doesn't always have all the answers. I've had great luck in the past with acupuncture for various things, but we'll see what this ND has to offer.

I'll be sure to let you know what happens.

Quick break

I'm sitting at Kaladi Brothers by TitleWave. Alone. It's crazy. Actually, I came here to get some work done for the UAA students who will be starting tomorrow, and my time is about up before I have to be home so Todd can go to volleyball. It's kind of a strange deja vu, being at a coffee shop with my laptop and a bunch of papers. It definitely makes me thankful I'm not in school! I can't imagine when I would find time for any homework...I can barely find an hour to get things ready for my job!! I definitely can't complain about having a quick break from being Mama, though.

I do have time for a quick story about Mason...I guess I don't really ever stop being Mama, do I? Anyway, he is really into Play-doh lately. He just loves it. For Christmas he got a new Play-doh toy that is a dog. We were playing with it the other evening and made the puppy mold, which he put into the bed. He then asked for a blanket for the puppy, so I flattened out some Play-doh for a blanket. Next thing I know, Mason is holding the puppy and rubbing his back, singing Twinkle Twinkle to him. It was so cute! I wished I had a video camera ready, but was only able to snap a couple quick pics with my phone.

Feeding the dog 

Rubbing puppy's back and singing Twinkle Twinkle

Close up of the puppy with his blanket on

Yesterday was also a big day in Mason's world. He got his haircut again, which means he gets a lollipop from the lady who does it. Then we went to the pet store to pick up dog food, and came home with a beta. So he has his own fishy now. He's pretty cute with it. He knows he isn't allowed to touch him, or the bowl. "Only eyes" he tells me. We also have to be sure to blow kisses to the fish and tell him night-night. That kid cracks me up!

One more for the road

I need to add a number eleven to my top ten. As I was telling Todd tonight about my list, he mentioned one that I can't even believe I didn't include...Mason's awesome daycare!!! It's hard to believe that he has been at JEC for a year now (he started last January), it just seems like we've always known the people there.

So, number 11 is definitely Mason being at the Joy Greisen Jewish Education Center (JEC) daycare. I searched this town, going to many, many daycare centers before finding them. It's everything we wanted in a daycare...small, friendly, part-time...and as an added bonus we all get to learn a little more about the Jewish culture/faith while Mason is there.

It started out as two days a week (we now go three) to get Mason socialized and also for us to have a little break. Mason has blossomed so much there. He is such a social little guy and it is so much fun listening to him tell us about all his friends at school and what he did that day.

Top Ten of 2010

2010 wasn't such a bad year. And it seemed to go by pretty fast. Here's a little list of my top ten things that happened last year...in no particular order.

1. Mac Book Pro. Seriously, guys. Best computer purchase ever. I will never go back. I have been officially converted, and am even taking others with me. Todd recently got a Mac Mini for the house, and an iPad for himself. 

2. Thomas the Tank Engine. Ok, so this isn't exactly MY favorite thing, but Mason is absolutely obsessed with trains. We have train toys, train tracks, bath tub toys that are trains, Thomas the train clothes, underwear, movies....you get the picture. Mason even had a Thomas-themed 2nd birthday party. I'm thankful that he isn't into some other super obnoxious 2 year old things like Barney, Elmo, Wow Wow Wubbzy, or that fricking Yo Gabba Gabba nonsense. (Yes, I realize that even knowing what these things are makes me that much closer to being a mini-van driver. I am not proud of this)

3. Getting fired. Ok, well, he never actually had the balls to say this, but it's what happened. It just "wasn't busy enough" for me, and my "contract wasn't being renewed". Blah blah. The fact of the matter is that my former employer has a ridiculous office manager, who has no managerial education/experience and she and I didn't get along. Whatever. It actually ended up being such an amazing blessing. I really wasn't happy there, but I'm not the type to quit something, especially not without a plan. It just happened that I had already been contacted by Providence before being fired to see if I would come back. I ended up back with Prov, with a set schedule that allows me to only work part-time, AND I was given the position of clinical educator. Seriously, I'm working with people I like AND get to use my brain for what I went to school for rather than filing patient charts and reading all day. Sometimes life is funny that way.

4. GHD flat iron. I know, it's a little weird to love a flat iron as much as I do, but it is honestly the best thing I have even used. They're expensive, but completely worth it. I will never go back!

5. Northwestern/Chicago. I know I didn't end up in the treatment group, but finding this study at Northwestern has already changed my whole outlook on having MS. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have found Dr. Burt and to be one of his patients. The man is has cured MS. CURED! This is something that no one ever thought was possible, and now it may happen to me. It's really amazing, and I just need to remind myself of that every so often when things aren't really going my way.

6. Curbside recycling. Finally! No more trips to the recycling center! The trash man just comes to our house and picks it up. Oh, how long I have waited for this day...I was beginning to think it would never come. 

7. Sarah. This is the name of my little brother's new girlfriend. It's been awkward with the whole "baby mama" situation, but even with all the extra drama it brings, it is SO much better that they are not together anymore. For the first time in 5 years, I have my brother back. He is happy, he is himself. It's so great to see him smile again! And Sarah is super nice, and fits in really well with all the crazy that can be our family. 

8. Mediport. What have I been doing without this thing for 31 years? It is so nice to only be poked once whenever I need my infusion. It has made all the difference needing to get these monthly infusions, I actually don't dread going in at all because I know it will be so easy now. 

9. New puppies. Not in our family (we have enough going on with our two dogs) but there were two new puppies added last year. My aunt and uncle had to put down their dog suddenly, but soon found little Kojak (a rottweiler). I know, ridiculous name. And my brother, along with getting a new girlfriend, also finally got a puppy, Kane (a pit bull). And while he isn't a puppy (he's 10), Sarah (see number 7) brought Jake (a HUGE yellow lab) into our crazy mix. It's going to be a fun summer at the lake this year for sure!

10. Boat/Whittier. We sold our sailboat (yay!) and soon found ourselves the owner of a bayliner. The new boat is still un-named, so if you have suggestions I'd love to hear them. The sailboat was "Hat Trick", which I really loved, so nothing has really struck me yet for this one. Mason LOVES the boat, and I feel so much safer with him on this one, I can't wait to get out on it this summer. Mason also LOVES Whittier, which is where I'm sure we'll be spending most of our time. What's not to love there, it's a 2 year old heaven...puddles, trains, boats and a LOOOOONG tunnel to get there. 

Welcome to the World!

Our dear, dear friends (who also happen to be our neighbors) had their beautiful baby girl! We've been waiting for a playmate for Mason, and of course we're all sure they're going to be the best of friends. It will be fun to watch them grow up together. Two years apart is just like Mason and his cousin Landon are and it's been great. We went over the other night to meet the newest member of the Robinson family. Mason was curious about the baby, and wanted to hold her...but he had a few problems being as gentle as I wanted him to be. He also was not a fan of his mama holding the baby for too long. He kept telling me to put her down and then he'd crawl up in my lap. It was actually pretty cute.

Here she is...my future daughter-in-law! Atalaya, born December 30, 2010, she weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces. Congratulations again, Tim and Cheska! Welcome to the wonderful, wacky, insane world that is parenthood. Glad we have someone to share this awesome journey with.

"Want this. Want this."

"What baby doing? Kiss it"

Another resolutions post

I am not normally one that makes resolutions. I mean, if I really want to do something or change something, I generally just do it. But there are a few things I have in mind for 2011...

1. I WILL get Mason potty trained. I know this isn't really up to me, but I would love for this to be accomplished sooner rather than later.

2. I really want to read more. I used to read all the time, and I really miss it. Of course, this will mean I'll need to stay up a little later, or maybe take less naps, but it will be worth it. When I worked at an orthopedic clinic it was so slow I would go through a book a week (on average), but now life is a little busier at both home and work, so reading has gotten pushed aside.

3. Of course, like everyone, I want to lose weight......this is kind of an ongoing goal.

4. Lastly, I want to work on accepting more help from people. I'm pretty bad at this, and I know this about me. Unfortunately, not letting people help leads to me being stressed and cranky, not to mention exhausted. I suppose along with letting people, and possibly even more important, is to work on asking people for what I need help with. Hmmm, maybe this resolution is doomed from the start.

I suppose that's it, unless something else comes to me. Good luck with all your resolutions, and wish me luck on mine.

Happy 2011

Happy new year to everyone. I hope 2011 is full of health, happiness and love for you. New Year's Eve at the Loy house was pretty uneventful. I woke up yesterday without much of a voice, which made for a funny conversation with Mason while we were getting ready for daycare. He told me, "Sound funny mama" so I told him that I lost my voice. He immediately started running into my room, saying "Find it!". Pretty cute, actually. I only wish he really could have found my voice somewhere, it's still missing today.

After Mason got out of daycare we hung out at the house, playing trains on his new train table Todd found on Craigslist, and watched "Hero of the Rails" before Mason took a bath and went to bed. Unfortunately, the downtown fireworks started right around the time Mason was going to sleep. He was able to finally fall asleep but only after asking MANY times "What noise is?".

Todd and I stayed up, but only until about 10pm. I watched the dreamy Anderson Cooper on CNN's New Year's show but that was about all I could handle. As tired as I was, though, there wasn't a whole lot of sleep to be had. This year, the Anchorage Assembly decided to legalize fireworks from 9:30pm until 1:30am. What a horrible idea! If I ever run into Dick Traini again, you better believe he will hear my opinion about him proposing this awful ordinance. There were so many fireworks going off in our neighborhood it seriously sounded like a war zone.

Like I said, a pretty boring New Year by most standards, but for us, it was just right.