The Freckle

Lay out. Get color. Bake. Fry.

I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t gone through the phase of trying to be a tanned goddess. Usually it happens when you have no grasp on consequences and what could happen down the road. We lay there with friends on a blanket, maybe with a small amount of sunblock, but not reapplying, or maybe with none at all. At least a sunburned nose was a badge that you were someplace cool romping in the waves or sitting in the sand.

I like to think of myself as being somewhat intelligent, but even though my mom has had numerous basal cell and squamous cell lesions removed, in my teens I couldn’t see beyond the short-term. A day at the beach with friends... got to get some color! A semester on the Mediterranean... I need to come home looking like a bronze statue! I soon realized I would never tan easily, and by my early 20’s embraced my fair complexion. Perhaps by then it was too late. The damage could have been done.

Two weeks ago a freckle that I always sort of liked on my stomach was deemed “suspicious”. The biopsy came back as a moderately atypical dysplastic nevus. I didn’t know what it meant either. I was referred to another dermatologist that specializes in surgery and what I found out was eye-opening. My mole had nothing to do with my mother’s history of skin cancer, rather my freckle that had been removed was on the spectrum of melanoma. This is a whole other ball game. Luckily it wasn’t melanoma yet, but the cells potentially could develop that way.

I went home surprised and confused. Although basal cell and squamous cell cancers are a result of accumulated sun exposure over a number of years, I was shocked to discover that it is believed melanoma can result from one or two severe burns. One or two. I can remember at least three or four major sun burns over the years which means there were many more. One or two.

Yesterday I returned to the doctor and an oval shaped section of skin about an inch long was removed around the freckle. The entire skin tissue, down to the fat, was removed and I was stitched back up. I will now have to be diligent with regular skin checks as well as personal checks at home. I need to get Jason to the doctor too. All of a sudden every mole scares me.

My sister calls me frail and pale, and I guess I will carry my pale banner proudly. Better than golden and buried.

A little veg, a little bean, a little Mmmmm.....

This spring Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution was the big thing in our house. The funky British chef with the funny accent set out to change the way an American town looks at food, mostly through the public school lunch program. My kids could relate to the cafeteria meals, cranky lunch ladies and the difficult choices such as white over chocolate milk. I found myself saying things like, "What would Jamie say about that?" or "Jamie would love this with all the veg!"

Those who have eaten a meal or two with my family know that I have one child that will eat anything, one that won't, and one somewhere in the middle. So when they were pestering me to make Jamie Oliver's Chili Beef Nachos (said in a child's bad English accent) I finally felt like I had to give in and try it. On the show, Chili Beef Nachos was one of the favorite hot lunch meals at the elementary school and my kids were more than intrigued. Google to the rescue, and the recipe was mine.

Today I set out to make it, and thank goodness I started early as it wasn't simple. No wonder Alice the Cafeteria Lady was cranky!

Step one was to make the Hidden Veg Sauce, and you need some heavy duty equipment to pull it off. With my Kitchen Aid grater attachment (a food processor would work) I grated two big carrots, two zucchini and half a butternut squash resulting in a huge bowl of veg. To that add two diced onions and two diced red peppers, cook it all with 5 cups of canned tomatoes and some spices and get all that "lovely veg goodness" going. Next take out the Kitchen Aid hand blender and "blitz it up". I actually had to read the recipe a few times to figure out what "blitz" meant, thank goodness I had a "blitzer" to make the job easy. Ok, so there you have a huge pot of pureed veg sauce. Step one done. Phew.

Time to make the chili. Chopped onion, a pound of hamburger, add to that a quart, yes a quart, of Hidden Veg Sauce. Then add two cups of pureed kidney beans. See how this is getting too good to be true? The thought that my kids would eat all these veg and beans... I was starting to question this project. Cook it all up, throw in some seasoning, and top it off with a bunch of corn. I put it aside and waited for dinner time with high hopes.

I sat down with my fellas (Alanya is with my sister for a few days) and told them how Jamie said to put together the nachos. A handful of chips, a hearty serving of chili on top, sprinkle of cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and I added some salsa and nonfat plain yogurt. They jumped right in and to my shock and delight, the boys were Mmmming and Yummming and wolfing it down. I have never been a mother who hides ingredients from her kids, and they both knew exactly what was in it. Somewhere in his second serving and in between bites, the picky 11 year old said, "It's all in the presentation."

So, in the end, it was worth it. Jamie does know what he's doing after all if he can get my kids to eat something with seven veg and beans with even more veg sprinkled on top. My pediatrician told me when Noah was about 6 that Noah would not eat chicken fingers at his wedding. I wasn't so sure then, but there may be hope!

The clavicle

By now I'm sure most of my friends and family have heard the story of Noah breaking his clavicle two weeks ago. He was on a ripstick and tried to jump off when he got going to fast at the top of a hill. The xray says it all. It was my first broken bone ever as a parent and I won't go into all the details. Instead, a few things I'm thankful for.

• The Helmet. Noah insisted he didn't hit his head, but a few days after the accident I went and looked at it. Sure enough there was evidence that he hit his head. I only hope my kids continue to wear their helmets because they know it's the right thing to do, not because we said so. Just this evening my mother in law called to tell me that a 26 year old family friend of hers died in a skateboard accident yesterday. No helmet.
• It was the Left. Noah writes with his right hand so his transition back to school wasn't so difficult. The worst part was having to use a new rolling backpack, according to him. But the left hand is getting use even with his sling. I have caught him using his PSP, playing wii and balancing a laptop on his lap.
• Health Insurance. Since the fall less than two weeks ago he has had three doctor's appointments and two sets of xrays and we are just getting started. Cha ching. Health insurance is a beautiful thing when you need it.
• The Timing. No time is a good time, but I realize this is a good time of year for this to happen. School is winding down, he doesn't need to wear a heavy coat, he can't slip and fall on the ice... Ok, maybe I'm reaching now.

He'll be ok, and eventually be well enough to get back on that wretched ripstick of his, which he was getting very good at actually. Ironically, I sort of enjoy seeing him slow down for a little bit. We talk in the car when I drive him to and from school. We hang out together before the little ones get home. He lets me cuddle and smooch him a little more than normal. I better take it while I can get it before the sling comes off and he's too cool for his mom again.

A message from the sick ward

Nine days ago I woke up and my life came to a screeching halt. Ben had a fever. The stories on the news of the H1N1 virus making its way through the schools echoed in my head. The thought of a day at home wasn't so bad at the time, but little did I know I'd still be here nine days later.

That first day Alanya got off the bus and I knew I was in trouble. She had it too. For the next few days we were the sick ward and miraculously Noah and I showed no signs of getting sick. I cancelled my plans and turned into a vampire, venturing out only when it was dark after Jason got home from work. Trips to the grocery store and pharmacy the extent of my travels.

Around Day 6, the two little ones looked to be coming out of it and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. And then... "Mom, my throat is sore," from Noah. Say it isn't so.

The doctor's offices around here don't want to see kids with the flu as there is nothing that can be done for it. No need to bring them out in public to infect others. Something was different with Noah though, and on the third day I decided to call. After more than two hours of busy signals I finally got through and convinced the nurse he should get in to see someone. Strep throat, not the flu. Go figure. My doctor, who had told me he highly doubted Noah had strep, but would do the test anyway, handed me the prescription for antibiotics and said that Noah was one of the few kids he could help this week, and he should be feeling better in 48 hours.

So here I sit, day nine. You'd think my house would be spotless, closets cleaned, yard raked. What do I have to show for this house-bound vacation of mine? Not much. I need a vacation.

Ooooh, yuck!

For those of you who remember the post I did about Jason kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland, consider this... the editors of Trip Advisor dot com has released a list of the top five 'germiest' tourist attractions. Guess what was at the top of the list. You got it. The Blarney Stone. Yuck! Get the Listerine and wet wipes!

Live Free or Buckle Up?

New Hampshire is the only state in the union that does not have a mandatory seat belt law. Yesterday the state senate voted against a bill that would require those 18 and older to buckle up. Although I think it is ridiculous that people argue it isn't the state's place to dictate a "personal choice" such as using a seat belt, part of me thinks the New Hampshire senators may be onto something. If you are stupid enough to not wear a seat belt, I suppose it is some sick kind of natural selection. Those New Hampshire citizens who would rather not buckle up as they Live Free or Die, and then get in an accident and don't die... those are the ones that are the problem. If you haven't figured it out yet, seatbelts save lives. You shouldn't need a law to make you do it, but if that's going to push you to buckling, go for it. Legislate away!

Stay Healthy Saturday - 5 Toothpastes

Back in November I read this post on Getting Ahead where Jennifer shared how she gives each of her kids their own tube of toothpaste to help cut down on the spread of germs. Have you ever seen a child put toothpaste on a toothbrush? They basically scrub the tube up and down and all over the toothbrush, then the next child picks it up and does the same thing, so on and so on. No wonder kids get sick all the time! I read Jennifer's post, and although it seemed a hair bit crazy, it was easy enough to try. So I dug out three cups and three tubes of toothpaste. The kids thought it was all very exciting.

Jump ahead five months to April. I am thrilled to report that this winter..... NO ONE HAS GOTTEN SICK!!! You read that right. No one. Noah had a little sniffle for two days back in January. That's the closest we even got to a common cold. I am completely shocked and amazed. Was it the new toothbrushing system? It must have helped. All five of us also got flu shots, that can't hurt. I try to encourage hand washing, but come on, we're talking kids here. I have thought about posting this for a month or two now, but didn't want to jinx our house. Knowing my luck we'll have a stomach flu raging through the house within 24 hours, but I'm taking the chance.

My conclusion? We have a new toothpaste system in our house from now on!!

Stay Healthy Saturday

I haven't done one of these posts in a while. Life can take over sometimes, and that's part of the reason I wanted to stop and reflect on what I can do to stay healthy. This week was more of a wake up call. Tuesday morning while I was in the dentist chair, Jason's father was having a heart attack. I found out about an hour later and it seems like the roller coaster hasn't stopped since then.

Grandpa was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is resting at home, but what does this mean? In the last ten months - just 10 short months - our family has had a wake up call to heart disease. My father, my brother, and now Jason's father. A year ago I probably would have blown off any concern about heart disease. That always happens to other people. Now, I'm rethinking things.

For Jason and I diet has been an easy area to work on and in the last few months we are eating oatmeal over regular cereal, adding soy and flax seed to our diet, and reducing our meat. Fitting regular exercise in has been more challenging, but now that the snow is melting, hopefully we'll make time for getting out and moving. Stress management is another big one to work on. We have been reading more, playing games together, trying to find time to wind down and turn the brain on to something else. For a while I didn't think I had stress in my life simply because I don't have a "real" job, but that is far from the truth. Everyone has stress in their lives and it is important to find a way to deal with it to stay healthy.

So what have I done this week to stay healthy? I talked with Jason, my family and friends about my worries and concerns. I turned to friends and asked for help when I needed it. I found time each day to connect with my kids with a kiss, or a cuddle. Finally, I thought long and hard about what I can control and what I can't. If I expect myself to do and handle everything, then I will only feel like a failure when life throws a curveball at you. And the curveballs always come. That's one thing I'm sure of.

F-Laura-nce Nightingale

On Wednesday night I packed up a suitcase and left for three nights to help out my sister who was having surgery on Thursday morning. It was outpatient surgery, but still a big deal having to get her into Boston early, talk to the surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses, and understand the discharge instructions. Once I got her home I had to get her settled, fill her prescriptions, make sure she ate, drank, peed and took her pain medication.

By Friday she was feeling a whole lot better and the demands on me were not so intense. As you can see from this photo, I had an exhausting afternoon reading my book and taking a nap.

I have to admit, I did feel a smidge guilty that Jason was home juggling the kids, work, the contractor and everything else going on. The last few days were a bit of a recharge for me though not having to think about packing lunches, combing hair, or checking homework. The only responsibility I had was to be there in case my sister needed me. A rare treat for a mom with little ones. Too bad my sister had to have surgery for me to have a few days of doing nothing. I don't know any mom who gives themselves permission to do nothing.

My mom tells me a story of a good friend of hers who used to give herself a day off when she had little ones at home. One day of the week was designated as her day and she wouldn't do housework, and would even sit around in her pj's all day if that's what tickled her fancy. She'd read a book, talk with friends on the phone, or watch tv. It was all about her. After the last two days I had, I'm starting to think my mom's friend was on to something good!

"Heart" Healthy Saturday

I woke up this morning and there was a Valentine on my nightstand from Noah. He also worked on a Valentine gift for me… cleaning out his closet. He took countless trips up and down the stairs getting rid of papers and trash. This truly was a gift because I get a rash every time I have to open his closet! Alanya also got in on the action and cleaned her room for me. She makes a bed better than anyone in this house! Ben on the other hand marches to his own drummer, and his room is still a mess. I love his independence. No one is going to pressure him into anything he doesn't want to do.

I got a heartfelt poetic reflection from my husband. He’s a romantic, but can’t stand this holiday. About two weeks ago he sent me an email from work that was worthy of a greeting card. I suggested he save it and print it out again for Valentine’s Day. Instead of going out or buying each other gifts, we decided we would find a few hours in Florida when we can leave the kids with my parents and go have a picnic on the beach, just the two of us. That sounds way better than some grocery store flowers or drugstore candy to me.

From the mouths of babes

Consider this a late Stay Healthy Saturday post, laughter being the best thing to keep you young and healthy. Alanya was in prime form this week.

• About a year ago I had to have an abdominal hernia repaired, and at the time we explained it to 5 year old Alanya that mommy's tummy had gotten so big with all my babies that the doctor had to sew up a little hole that opened up. How else to explain it? Well apparently the other day my little angel walked up to a pregnant teacher at school and told her "My mommy's belly was so big and her three babies kicked so much that she had to go get a tummy tuck!"
• This week after taking a practice test with her spelling words, I wrote the correct spelling next to Alanya's where she had gotten one letter wrong in each word. When she realized her mistakes she said "Man! I was so close! I just misspelled them all!"
• And finally, yesterday out of the blue she said "Mom, even though I'm a righty, my lefty comes in handy a lot!"

Frugal Friday

Life Insurance. It doesn't seem frugal as it is a lot of money that you don't really get anything for. And in fact you don't want to actually get what you are buying. However, it's necessary. And if in fact it is needed, it then becomes an item for discussion for frugal Friday.

It isn't a happy thing to consider. No one wants to think about it. But find one person who actually needed it and benefited from it, and you will understand. For example, I have three small children, ages 6, 8 and 10. It will be a good 18 years or so before I can really expect them to take care of themselves financially. What if, God forbid, something happens to Jason? Yes, I'm an educated person, and I am intelligent and talented, but could I enter the workplace and make what he makes to keep our household going? No. Plain and simple. No.

Looking at it from the other side, if I kicked the bucket... sure, I have no income, but would it be easy on Jason? He would have to pay for before and after school care for the kids, as well as full time child care for the summer. That adds up. He also pointed out that he won't have the time to shop around to find all the money saving deals that I do. Kids need clothes? He'd go online to Gap and order three jeans for each and a few shirts and fleeces. Then he might even pay extra to overnight them so he wouldn't have to do laundry. So is my "job" actually worth money? Yes.

Both working and at home parents need life insurance. When Noah was born, money was tight and we got the bare bones with a ten year term policy. Our payments were low (mine are $12.99 a month for a $250,000 policy) and we hoped that in ten years we'd be in a better position that we would need more. Noah is now ten, and we need to re-think things. We are now blessed and have so much more in our lives. A beautiful home.... mortgage, insurance, maintenance. Three beautiful children... clothes, activities, COLLEGE. Time to rethink our financial needs.

A few weeks ago we set in motion applications for increasing our life insurance. I had my phone interview today, and happily I said "no" over and over. I guess I'm pretty healthy. Yes, $35, $55 or $100 or more a month is a ton of money, and it adds up to nothing Insha'Allah (that's God willing in Arabic, and a favorite phrase of Jason and I) but in the end, it's the right thing to do. We love our kids too much not to.

Stay Healthy Saturday

This week we tried a few new things in our diet including the TVP, and a recipe for quinoa stuffed peppers. If you have never heard of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), you aren't alone. It isn't a new food though, rather it has been around for thousands of years and was the primary staple for the Incas in South America. It is high in protein and fiber and can be substituted for rice in many recipes. We hit our goal of diversifying our meals with only one big meat meal, our pot roast on the snow day, all the rest were either veggie or had small amounts of meat.

As far as exercise, I actually made it to the gym twice, and Jason's sneakers met the gym floor again today after a bit of a break. He continues to slowly drop a pound or two every week or so, and I'm in my healthy zone.

Personally, I forced myself to get outside to soak up some much need sunshine on the days the weather cooperated. Walking the kids to the bus, or chopping the ice off the front walk for a few minutes truly made a difference for me. I also finished a book, a small accomplishment as I rarely take the time to sit and have quiet time. Here's to another healthy week. Hope we don't throw it all out the window tomorrow enjoying our Super Bowl treats!

WTF is TVP?

TVP? Otherwise known as Textured Vegetable Protein. It's a food, a meat substitute to be precise that is high in protein. Yesterday I went to the store hoping to pick up frozen Boca Burger Crumbles, which is technically TVP colored and molded to look like scrambled hamburger, to put in some veggie chili. My store didn't have any, but much to my surprise, I was in the health food aisle and saw a bag of dry TVP. I'd never heard of it!

Dry TVP is rehydrated by soaking it in hot water, and then can be used in chili, soups, whatever you want to increase the protein in a vegetarian meal or stretch a meat meal making it healthier. A 1/4 cup serving has 80 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, 4 grams of fiber and 12 grams of protein. It sounds like a dream food. The ingredients are simply defatted soy flour that is mixed with water to make a dough and then dried. No preservatives, no colors, no nothing. And if that isn't enough... it's cheap. A 10 ounce bag cost me $2.89, and I'm guessing I'll be able to get at least 8 meals out of that little bag.

I brought home my little bag and plumped up my TVP. It smelled like soy, no surprise there, and was pale in color. Like tofu, it takes on the flavors of what you cook it in. I used it in my chili, and then made taco meat with lean hamburger and used the TVP to double the volume. I won't lie to you, it's different, but you'd be hard pressed to find the difference when mixed with the hamburger. Ben and Alanya gobbled down the chili and didn't say anything other than it was good. I never lie to the kids about food or try to hide things in our food. They didn't say anything, so I didn't offer it, but after we ate I told them. Some kids would have announced they didn't like it after all. Not these kids. Ben shrugged and today asked for a thermos of it in his lunchbox! Tonight's taco meal was just as successful, and it all got eaten.

TVP, my new discovery. I'm excited. And hopefully I didn't offend anyone with the title of this post. When I wrote it, it made me giggle, and isn't that what this blog is all about? My parents just figured out LOL and TTYL, so I should be safe that they haven't yet figured out WTF. Tee hee hee.

**Editing this to add** My mom emailed me and said "WTF you are CRZ!" Next thing you know she'll actually start texting people!!! You go Mom!

Stay Healthy Saturday

Without a doubt, the biggest thing we did this week to stay healthy was to get the horrific mold out of this house! It was truly shocking to see underneath the paneling and see the extent of black mold back there. I'm happy to report it's all out of here as you can see from these pictures I just took. Our contractor also just discovered there has been a leaking pipe behind one of the walls for quite some time that he just had to repair. Add that to the list. (Notice how I didn't have a Frugal Friday post this week?)

What else did we do to stay healthy this week? Jason went to see his doctor and got a battery of bloodwork. The conclusion after the appointment was exercise, exercise, exercise for stress management and overall health.

For the past two weeks I have also planned meals with a new strategy. My goal is to have two seafood, two vegetarian, two meals where meat is a small part of the dish, and one normal meat meal. We came pretty close this week. We actually had three vegetarian, one chicken, one seafood and one beef. The seventh night was breakfast for dinner and we had pancakes, eggs and bacon. Just two slices a person. We aren't angels, we can't go completely cold turkey, but I'm trying to just live moderation and see those times as treats maybe once a week. I have yet to plan my meals for the coming week, but we'll see if we can stick with it.

I guess what it comes down to this week is no mold, and less meat.

Stay Healthy Saturday

If I had to pick a "Before" picture I think this would be a front runner. At least out of digital pictures that I have. This picture was taken in August of 2003, and a few months later I slipped on my front steps, fell and broke my tailbone. There is nothing they can do for that other than send you home with a bottle of percoset and advise you to lay off the Oreos. It was winter, I was in pain, I was depressed and I was eating. One Friday night I announced to a shocked Jason that I was going to Weight Watchers the next day. I was nervous how I would be accepted there since I knew I didn't need to lose tons of weight, but I knew I needed help. Five months later I had lost 29 pounds and made "Lifetime" at Weight Watchers.

Five years after going to that first meeting, I'm happy to say I've kept most of the weight off. I'm about 4-5 pounds heavier than my lowest weigh in at WW which I am very happy with. I realized that I actually was too thin and look healthier with a few extra pounds. So I guess I'm right where I want to be.

But this year I had a wake up call that health is not all about weight. In May, my very active and thin father had a quadruple bypass. That alone was a shock. Then my older brother was diagnosed with cardiac problems and he needed a stent put in. I started to get worried. This fall at my annual exam I discussed my concerns with my doctor and she ran a bunch of tests. My blood work showed that I had an inherited gene that predisposes me to heart disease. So what does that mean? It means I have to be extra careful with diet, exercise and stress management now because once I hit menopause my risk sky-rockets. The time to deal with this is now by making lifestyle changes. Keeping the weight off is a great start, but there is so much more I should do. I'm already labeled as "the healthy aunt" by my nieces and nephews because I make bean muffins and wholewheat and soy flour pancakes with flax seed. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Jason thought I was kidding, but I'm going to institute "Stay Healthy Saturday" here on I Absolutely Do. Ok, maybe I'll post it on a Tuesday, but who cares. I want to reflect on what I did to stay healthy that week. Jason and I have already started a Saturday morning weigh in. His goal is to lose, and he's already lost ten pounds since the fall. He has another ten to go. My goal is to keep my weight in my healthy zone, find time to exercise, and make positive changes to our diet. I hope this keeps me a little accountable. If I know I have to write something, maybe I'll squeeze in a trip to the gym. Which I did this week... twice. My kids asked if my card beeped when I scanned it since I haven't been there in so long. Buzzards.

So here is to Stay Healthy Saturday. Small changes now will make a big difference down the road.