[ Ali Edwards ]

Capture, savor, and celebrate right now.

After a few weeks of having all three of us here together Chris is back to meetings (the new legislative session begins next week) and Simon has one more day off school today (it's a "professional development/planning day"). I am ready for a bit of "alone" time around here to get some more work done before the baby actually arrives.

I finished cleaning up, clearing out, and reorganizing Simon's room yesterday. One of the things that was most fun was having him rediscover toys he has not played with for awhile that still bring him entertainment and joy. I am glad to have that entire project completed and can move on to my list for the baby room (thanks for all those kind words on the sneak peek).

One of my favorite things over the past couple of weeks is that Simon has really gotten into reading. REAL reading on his own.

Our normal routine is to read a book to him each evening before going to sleep of his choice (we intervene or make suggestions depending on how late or early it is). One night last week he picked Green Eggs & Ham, climbed up on his bed, sat criss-cross, and told Chris he wanted to read it that night.

It took over an hour for Simon to read Green Eggs & Ham the first evening.

After the excitement (and a bit of fatigue all around) Chris had the brilliant idea to come up with a simple way to track the books he reads all by himself: each time he finishes a book he can add it to a list we are keeping on a bulletin board in his bedroom. That in and of itself was enough of a motivator for him to get down to business and it has been working like a charm for the last week.

The next night he read Robert the Rose Horse. It also took him over an hour. He is super tired by the end and we are working in the suggestion that you can break a book into two nights (or more) but that idea has not caught on just yet. In the meantime we are adding in some shorter books or changing it up by having one of us read to him.

Tonight he fell asleep while Chris was reading to him. He had spent part of his afternoon reading Green Eggs & Ham (on his own on the couch) and starting on Horton Hears A Who.

I so hope this is just the beginning of a lifetime love of reading.

In addition, I would like to ask for your prayers and positive thoughts. Many of you know that I have had a bunch of moles removed over the last year and a half (actually more than 20 since August 2007). This past week I received some results indicating that the most recent one I had removed from my upper chest area is stage one melanoma (this is more serious on the spectrum than the melanoma I had removed in the past which was only on the surface of the skin). I should be getting more information this week as to what the next steps are in this situation.

Consider this your friendly reminder to have your own skin checked by a dermatologist if you have any suspicions or conerns.

Updates.

Need to change out the Christmas mat on the front porch (not to mention take down the interior decorations). A bit distracted with some deadlines + a general malaise this past week.

This afternoon I headed back to the dermatologist for some additional work on my moles. Two of the three that were taken out last time came back atypical (one moderate + one severe) and needed additional margins removed around the initial spot. While we were there (Chris came along to have some of his questions answered and see the process) she decided to remove three more on my back as well.

According to the American Cancer Society, "Although most moles never turn into a melanoma, some do. Researchers have found some DNA changes that transform benign nevus (mole) cells into melanoma cells. But it is still not known exactly why some moles become cancerous or why having many moles or atypical (dysplastic) moles increases your risk of developing melanoma."

Basically I am all about having them removed if they look the least bit suspicious. Especially after having one come back as melanoma in-situ (on the surface of my skin) in August. A back full of scars sounds pretty good to me.

Another thing that sounds good to me? Living for today and not worrying about what comes next.

Another gentle reminder: make an appointment to get your own skin checked.

Completely enjoying reading all your words for 2008. I will compile one big list and post it here next week.

The path.

My Mom took this photo when we were all recently down on the coast. There are tons of trails along the beach, weaving in and out of the forest and right to the edge of the ocean.

I like seeing photos like this of the three of us together. Relates great to that post the other day about each of us being on our own separate journeys even while traveling down the very same path.

Yesterday I got a call from my dermatologist with the results of my skin biopsies. One of the moles they removed was melanoma. Luckily (and this is so the reason for being proactive and having your body checked) it was very, very early and only on the top layer of skin. I have to go back in and they will remove some more of my skin around that area as a precaution - to make sure they got all the cancer that was there with that mole.

So very lucky.

Here's to kind dermatologists, sunscreen and being smart about the sun.

Adventures in modern medicine.

Had another medical adventure today.

Having my moles checked is something I have been planning to do for awhile. I finally made the appointment and went to see a dermatologist last month. My Dad recently had some spots removed (Squamous Cell Carcinoma) which definitely spurred me to action. My doctor decided there were three she would like to remove just as a precaution - they were ones that were a bit irregular looking and larger than a pencil eraser.

Skin cancer is something I have had in the back of my mind as an adult. As a child and teen I basically lived outside at our local pool. Especially as a teen during the summer I was there all day - literally arriving at 6am for swim practice, then staying to teach lessons (and doing some coaching during college summers) and then working as a lifeguard until the pool closed at 8pm. We wore sunscreen...sometimes. I loved being tan. And I admit honestly that I still love the glow as well as the feel of the sun on my face.

I had my removal appointment this afternoon - fairly painless procedure where the doctor excised three of the moles while one was simply shaved off (the anesthesia hurts the worst). Now they go to the lab to be biopsied.

The surreal part for me was simply laying on the table while she cut and stitched and all I felt was a bit of tugging. Laying there I was thinking of how infrequently I have visited doctors over the years - I have been really lucky to be physically healthy. Here now, in the span of just a couple weeks, I am all about medical stuff. Obviously some of it is just crazy timing...but it is happening right now...hello life.

I don't think there is really anything to be worried about - just trying to be proactive and catch anything early if possible. Skin cancer is really fairly common. Here's a great site with lots of information including how to do a self-exam. I have done self-exams in the past but never felt confident in my ability to tell what was normal. It was definitely worth a visit to a dermatologist.

Also, I found a nice resource today for the low-iodine diet. Gave me a bit more direction and clarification (that salt and iodine are not the same thing...duh).