My first Dirty Shank card!

OK I'm all proud of myself - this is my first attempt at a Dirty Shank card. If you are easily offended, do not click here to see the Dirty Shanks blog. She basically makes hysterically rude, offensive cards. It's all a joke, meant to be funny, blah blah blah - so don't go getting all righteous on me, OK? I like to laugh, period.

So anyway, I had the idea for this card because every time my friend Sheila at work calls me on the phone, I am happy - see, we have caller ID and I like Sheila! So when I know it's her, I put on my "happy voice" even if I'm not happy! So she always says to me, "Jenn, how do you stay so happy? Share the drugs!" and I laugh and say "Valium!" Now, I actually was prescribed Valium once in my life and I liked it so much that I knew I should never take it again. Ha! So again, all just a little joke. Yes, I know drug addiction is not funny - my own family has been affected by it, so just shut up and enjoy the joke, OK? I have a stamp that says "A smile a day keeps the grumpies away" so I just hand-wrote the word Valium and cut it out and pasted it where the word smile would have been. I sent this card to Sheila the other day, I hope it makes her smile, Valium or not.

Much Better!

I'm feeling MUCH better today, you'll be happy to know. I try to maintain a positive attitude all the time, I think that perspective colors your attitude, so I try to always look at things from the bright side. But hey, I'm only human and a girl's gotta be able to have a little mini-breakdown every now and then, or else she'll end up having a HUGE breakdown eventually.

Yesterday I had lunch with a dear friend of mine who SHOULD have been my sister. *sigh* An and I have been friends for 20 years. God, that makes me sound old. Well, hell, if it walks like a duck and all that.... So anyway, An's brother John was my first "real" boyfriend. "Real" as in we planned to get married. We were 18, need I say more? LOL We dated for 2 years and I loved his family like my own. An and I became fast friends and we couldn't wait to be sisters. Then John and I broke up and I think I was more upset about losing the possibility of An being my sis than I was about losing my boyfriend. LOL Well, we didn't get to become sisters, but we have stayed lifelong friends and I love her like a sister. We don't get to see each other very often, but it doesn't matter. Whether it's days, months, or years that go by, we pick right up where we left off and it's like we were just with each other yesterday. I love friends like that, don't you? Those are your real, true friends, as far as I'm concerned.

It's like that with my friend Holly, too. We've been friends for even longer - since 9th grade. She lived close to me, and I spent more time at her house than at my own. My mom was always thin and she had a million pairs of jeans that Holly and I would steal and cram our bigger butts into - every few weeks or so, my mom would pull up in front of Holly's house and say "OK - I'm coming in to get my jeans!" LOL And sure enough, she'd find at least 3-4 pairs of her jeans there. Then we'd do it all over again. Holly was always taking care of me, she's one year older than me and she always had a boyfriend. I was always falling in love with the wrong guys, and Holly was always the one to pick me up when I fell apart heartbroken. She's still one of my best friends in the world, and I am thankful to have her in my life.

So anyway, one of the reasons for my psychotic outburst yesterday was also because Trevor got in trouble at school. When I'm upset about something, it magnifies EVERYTHING for me. For example, I may start crying about something that I had not even thought of in two years. hee hee Seriously, though, once I let myself get upset and all emotional and girly-like, I just can't stop myself! I find myself sobbing about 9/11 (that hit me hard and the anniversaries are never easy), people who don't like me (oh - boo hoo, get over it, right?), and Trev's problems - the next thing I know, I'm babbling about homeless people and abused children and the lack of world peace. Then I kick myself in the ass and take a deep breath and finish crying and dry my eyes and continue on with life. So here I am, baby, I'm back to being the happy me. The cry-baby psycho has left the building. She'll probably be back just in time for PMS next month, though, so be prepared.

OK - so back to Trev. He got suspended from school for a couple of stupid things. Now before you roll your eyes and think that I am one of those mothers who thinks her child can do no wrong (and you obviously do not KNOW me if that was even a fleeting thought in your head), you have to hear this story. After I got the call that he had been suspended, I got a call from one of his teachers who left a message letting me know that Trevor has been a delight, a pleasure, extremely helpful, participating in class, etc. - and that she was so proud of him and she wanted us to know. See why my life feels like a roller-coaster sometimes? When I returned her call, I got her voicemail - I left a message wondering if she knew that her "delightful little pleasure" had been suspended?!? She called me back later that day and she was pretty much disgusted that Trevor had been suspended. She said that he had been doing so well, she didn't understand why they make such a big deal of such little things. I had to laugh, while I was crying, because she sounded just like me. She said that if they continue to do this to him, he will learn that no matter how hard he tries or how good he is, it doesn't matter - he'll get in trouble for something stupid anyway. She said she worries that eventually he'll give up. Let me tell you, I burst into tears and wanted to KISS this woman. Thank God she was on the phone, she would have thought I was really nuts if she had been in front of me, because I would have thrown myself on her showering her with hugs and kisses for being so understanding. Everything she said was exactly how I was feeling - and I had said all these things in the past, but no one seemed to listen. Trevor has 2 new teachers this year (she is one of them) and I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to feel confident about his teachers and know that they have his best interests at heart. I can honestly say I've never felt that way before. I met these 2 women just this past Monday, and I felt good about them the minute I met them. I truly think this could be a good year for Trevor if he gives it his best effort. He's thriving in ROTC and going on a "leadership camp" with them at the end of the month - it's 5 days long and there is a dance (co-ed, ROTC programs from all different schools in Massachusetts) on the last night. He is really looking forward to it.

So that's been my week - TGIF!!! Have a great weekend, my friends!

ANNOYANCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK I have just GOT to vent today, so if you don't feel like listening to me bitch, you may leave and come back another day when I'm back to my happy, bubbly self. Also - this is going to be really long, as I cannot tell the story without telling ALL of the story. You've been warned.

I wasn't going to blog about this because I kept thinking, "what if someone reads it?" Well, you know what? That's the point. I need to vent, this is my blog, and I really don't give a rat's ass if someone reads it - and do you know why? Because I am in the right, and I do believe that any rational person will agree with me.

Remember a few weeks ago I told you how I got a raise and a promotion from Manager to Director? Um - don't you read my blog? You better remember! Anyway, I didn't really tell the whole story for the reason above, I was afraid someone might read it and be offended. But now, as I also said, I do not give a rat's ass. So here's the story:

My prior boss, we'll call her Sally for blog purposes. Sally was my boss at a previous job I had worked at, and then she got a job here about a year after I did. Sally is a control freak and can be a very difficult person to get along with. I made every effort to be nice to her - I actually thought we were friends in a weird sort of way - let's put it this way, she is the type of person that wants to be my friend outside of work and hang out, but then when we're back at work, she's like "I'm not your friend, I'm your boss." As far as I'm concerned, you can't have it both ways. If you're my friend, you're my friend - period. I'm professional enough to know how to behave at work regardless of whether my boss is my friend or not. OK - so this went on for two years. The majority of people here hate this woman and I have spent 2 years defending her and trying to stick up for her, even with my sister, who cannot stand her. Students, parents, and other staff members here have all had a hard time with her - there have been numerous letters written to the President's office complaining about her and the way she treats people. Many of the staff members here in my building have gone to Human Resources to complain about her, as well.

Now I must back-track a bit, forgive me. When I started my job here, my boss was Annik (isn't that a beautiful name?), and Annik and I were good friends. I started as a Student Account Representative, but I learned quickly and Annik pushed for me to be promoted to Assistant Bursar within a year. I had taken on many additional responsibilities and she knew I should be compensated and given the appropriate title for that. However, she had given her notice and the "powers that be" wanted to see if her replacement felt the same way about me. Sally turned out to be her replacement.

OK - moving on now - a year went by with me doing the job but never getting the raise/promotion. After a year, Sally came to me and asked me to change my hours - I had always done 7:30-4, but she wanted me to work 8:30-5. Why? Because SHE didn't come in until 9 or 10 every day, and she worked until 6, 7, 8 at night - and she wanted a friend here with her. That's it. There was no real reason, and it was really quite ridiculous. She constantly complains about her family and hates to be home - I do not, I love my family and I'm anxious to go home every night. So I basically put my foot down and said no to my boss for the first time in my life. I told her that I was not willing to make any changes or take on any additional responsbilities until I had been given the raise and promotion that they had been dangling in front of me like a carrot for over a year. She said she'd see what she could do. A couple days later, she called me into her office and let me know that it had been approved. But my new title was "Billing & Collections Manager" and the raise was not what I had hoped for. Being an optimist, though, I was still happy and agreed to change my hours to 8:30-5.

OK - now it's been another year that's gone by. I have continued to take on additional responsibilities, but there are certain things that Sally would not teach me or let me know how it was handled. She'd say "Oh I have to teach you that" but then she never would. I was given a laptop with the promotion - I asked for the access that I needed in order to bring it home and work from home. I asked at least 5 times, and she kept blowing me off, I didn't understand it. About a month or so ago, she sent me an e-mail saying that she expected me to work "many extra hours" now that I'm salary! I replied to her e-mail and told her that I'm happy to put in some extra hours, but that I prefer to do it from home - and that I need the access on my laptop in order to be able to do that. She said "I'll see about getting you the access, but you still need to work late many nights." I was so pissed - I can't possibly put into words here all that we'd been through but this was like the straw that broke the camel's back. I had just had it - I went to Human Resources and explained the situation, and I asked her "If I have to work extra hours, do you have any problem with me doing so either by coming in earlier in the morning, or by bringing my laptop home to work from home?" And she said that was not a problem at all, and for me to just calmly explain that to Sally. I should mention that I am always willing to work late if I'm needed - if there are students lined up waiting for help, or 100 phone calls to return, etc. That is not a problem - I'm talking about turning it into a regular basis type thing. I won't do that - if I wanted a night job, I'd be working at a night job that paid a lot more money.

It's never really been about the money for me, but I have definitely learned that if you don't look out for yourself, NO ONE WILL. That took me a long time to learn - I've always just trusted people and assumed that they'd do the right thing! I foolishly thought that people cared about each other, that they would look out for each other. I mean, you spend the majority of the day with the people you work with. Unfortunately, I've learned that some people are just plain evil, mean, heartless, uncaring - it's been a tough lesson for me to learn. I know, I know, I'm PUSHING FORTY for Christ's sake, I should not be shocked by this revelation, huh? I don't care, I'd still rather be me, naive and all, than one of THEM.

So anyway - shortly after Sally had tried to tell me I had to work "late nights" and I pretty much told her "no", I saw a job opening at another local college for the Bursar/Director of Student Accounts position (that is Sally's position here). I decided on a whim to apply for it, it was a Friday afternoon. Sally was going away that weekend and had said that she was taking Monday off from work, but that she'd be back on Tuesday. This happened to be the start of the busiest season for us - and Sally did not come back that week. On Monday, I got a call from the HR Office where I had applied and they asked me to come in for an interview, which I did on Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon, Sally called me to see how things were going and to let me know she would be back to the office on Friday. She asked me if I was job-searching. I was surprised that she asked, but I do not lie, I do not like to get caught in a lie, so I don't do it. So I said "I'm surprised you asked me that, I am not really job-searching, but I did go on an interview this morning" and I told her about it. She said "Well, I'd hate to lose you, but you need to do what's best for your family. Good luck." That's it. I was definitely a bit disappointed, as I thought we worked well together and that she valued me as an employee at the very least.

That afternoon, I received a phone call asking me to come back for a 2nd interview with the CFO of their college. I was flattered but started to get nervous - I wasn't sure if I was really ready to leave my job, I LOVE my job! But I had to do it - so I went back the next day. He liked me, he was an older man who said to me, "Well, you're certainly bubbly!" LOL I got a kick out of that. Long story short - they offered me the job that day.

Later on that day (Wednesday), we were called in to a meeting to inform us that our office was being "re-structured" and that Mindy (not her real name, either) was now going to be in charge of our department as well as Financial Aid. This meant that Sally would now report to Mindy, and I knew that Sally would not be happy with this at all. An e-mail was sent out to the entire college informing them all of this change. I felt bad that Sally had to find this out while she was away on vacation through an e-mail. Later on that day, I told Mindy that I was offered a job at another school. She asked what it would take to keep me here - and I told her they'd have to match what I was being offered for the other job. She came back shortly after and said "If you'd like to stay here, we'd like to offer you a change in title from Manager to Director, and you will be reporting directly to me. Your raise was approved, as well, effective immediately." She basically said that they could not afford to lose me, I'm a valued employee, etc. I was, of course, thrilled, and I accepted immediately.

In the meantime, Sally had been communicating with me and others in our office through e-mails. She stopped communicating at all and did not respond to anything we asked her. I wasn't sure what to do, should I call her to "make sure she knew" what I knew she would be upset about? Wouldn't that make me a jerk, almost like rubbing it in her face? That's what I thought, so I figured we'd talk on Friday when she got back - and I was actually eager to share my promotion with her - we would now in effect be co-directors of our department, and I thought we'd work well together. I won't lie, though, I was definitely happy to not have to report to her anymore. I do not need to be micro-managed, as I do my job and I do it well. So as much as I do respect her work ethic and I know she works hard, I'd rather work WITH her than FOR her. Anyway, she never showed up on Friday, so I had no idea what was going on with her.

Friday afternoon I leave work around 5:00 and go home - as I'm walking into my house at 5:15, my cell phone starts ringing and it's Sally. I looked at my husband and I said "You have got to be kidding me. This is MY time now! I don't want to have to deal with this now, when I'm home!" So I let it go to voicemail, she left me a message asking me to call her back. I then went and took a shower - when I got out of the shower, she had left me THREE more messages, on both my cell phone and home phone, and on the last one she actually said "If you don't return my call, I'll have to come stop over." ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Can you say "stalker"?

I went up to my bedroom and shut the door and called her back, knowing full well by now that she must be very upset to have called me so many times and to leave such a message.

She immediately began to interrogate me about what had happened while she was gone. She was not happy and kept insisting that “there will be shake-ups” and that she hopes I made the right decision, etc. She kept saying that no one has the right to make personnel changes without her. She accused me of avoiding her – I pointed out that it was after 5:00 on a Friday night, and that I had been available to discuss work matters all week – I didn’t see how I was avoiding her when I was at work, she was not. I told her that I fully intended to speak to her on Friday, but she never came in – I then expected to speak to her on Monday morning regarding all that had happened and I didn’t think it would have been appropriate for me to call her while she was on vacation to discuss everything. We finally hung up after about 15 minutes of this, but I knew it wasn't over just by the tone of the discussion.

Monday morning – I arrived at work at 8:05 a.m. and Sally was sitting in her car in the parking lot waiting for me (keep in mind she normally comes in between 9:00-10:00 a.m.). A co-worker confirmed for me that she had been sitting out there for a bit, so I am quite sure that she was waiting specifically for me. She followed me into the building and asked if she could talk to me. She said that she feels as if I betrayed her and she no longer trusts me – she didn’t understand why I would want Mindy to “go to bat for me” and that she wishes she had been given the opportunity to do that. I told her that I did give her the chance, and she basically told me "Hate to lose you, but do what you need to do." That certainly did not give me any indication that she had planned to "go to bat for me" - am I wrong??? She was very upset that she now has to report to Mindy and she actually started crying. I said I was sorry that she was so upset, but that she really couldn’t be angry at me for the changes that administration had made – she had to know that I did not have anything to do with it. Then she said that I should have called her and that I was in the middle – I told her I was very uncomfortable with being put in the middle and that she was really the only one doing that.

So then she became even more angry and said that she hopes I realize that whatever I was promised last week is pretty much no good and that I WILL be back "underneath her" (don't you love the terminology? I'm a psych major - I could have a FIELD DAY with that) within the week or two and that because she no longer trusts me, it will not be good for me. She said that I should have left, I should have taken the other job because I was not going to be happy once I was back “under her”. I just kept trying to be professional, not really saying much but nodding or shaking my head and saying “I’m sorry you feel that way.” I tried to point out the positive side and all the good things, about us working so well together and how it wasn't even a big deal, she was not losing her job, just getting me as a co-worker instead of her staff. She kept saying, “I’m happy for you but….” and then she’d say a bunch of mean/obnoxious things. She said "I hope they didn't promise you that I was leaving" and "I hope they didn't promise you my job, because I am NOT leaving." and I was like "WHAT? No! Of course not!" This went on for a good 15 minutes or so, and eventually she was starting to get very nasty and I just stopped responding, she finally left my office and went upstairs.

So - needless to say, she was wrong. There was even more that went on, but this was all that I need to vent about. She will not speak to me, and neither will one other woman in the building who she is friendly with. I don't understand it, I don't understand how they can be angry at me for wanting something good for myself. She is a liar, a control-freak and a bitch, and I'm OK with that now. She is who she is, and I feel bad for her because of that. She has to live with herself, the poor thing. She actually told a good friend of mine that when she was in my office, all she said to me was that she thought I was crazy for not accepting the other position, as it would have been the next step for me professionally. This is the 3rd time that I have heard her outright lie with a straight face, so I've just accepted that she is one of those people who is truly only out for herself - and that I have to watch my back.

So if you're still with me - PHEW! You'll be happy to know (well, I sure was happy!) that my NEW boss has approved my hours to go back to 7:30 - 4:00, AND she got me the access I needed to be able to work from home within 15 minutes of my asking her about it. I love my job and I am good at it - as far as I'm concerned, that should matter, you know? It annoys me to think that someone doesn't like me or is angry at me when I don't understand the reasoning, but I won't sink to that level and become a petty bitch like them - then they would be winning. There have been a few days during the past few weeks that I wanted so badly to say to one of them, "What is your freaking PROBLEM???" when they walked by me and I said "good morning" and they refused to answer, or when one of them walked by me and just gave me a dirty look. But - nope, nope, nope - I'll continue to be my happy, cheerful, BUBBLY self, and REALLY piss them off. hee hee Kill 'em with kindness, I say.

Peace, my friends. ;o)

Cassidy's Nevus

Well it's Saturday and even though I have LOTS to say and every intention of blogging much more often than once a WEEK, such is the working woman's dilemma: I HAVE NO STINKIN' TIME! This is the busiest time of year for me at work - the students moved back onto campus last week and classes started on Thursday. By the time I get home from work, I have no energy left and no desire to go back on the computer, I just want to eat dinner and put my feet up. Hopefully things will start to settle back down over the next couple of weeks.

So today I'd like to tell you my story about Cassidy's nevus. You may have never even heard of a nevus, which is why I like to tell this story. Because when Cassidy was born, I had never heard of a nevus, and I was scared to death.

When I was pregnant with Cassidy, we had an ultrasound and wanted to know if she was a boy or a girl. We had a little boy already and my sister also had a little boy - we were all hoping for the first baby girl in the family. I was absolutely thrilled when the technician said "Looks like it's a girl!" But her next words made me laugh, "She's got a lot of hair" is what she said. My sister, brother, husband, and I were all born completely bald. Trevor and Eric - born bald. So it was surprising to hear that this baby had a head-full of hair - but I wasn't too worried, I mean come on - it's just hair, right? *sigh* Keep reading.My due date was April 12. April 12 came and went. I should have known - Trevor didn't want to be born, either, and I was induced 2 weeks after his due date. Sure enough, Cassidy proved to be just as stubborn. On April 22 I was induced in the morning and was ready to give birth by around 2:30 that afternoon. My labors tend to be long and tortuous (I don't care what you've read about "forgetting the pain" - if you forgot, you're brain damaged), but my deliveries quick and easy - so quick, as a matter of fact, that the nurses did not believe me that I was ready to start pushing this baby out. Let's just say they believed me when they pulled the sheets back and took a peek. After about 20 minutes, they yelled at me to stop pushing - the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, just as it had been with Trevor. Talk about deja-vu - it was actually kind of weird how similar my two childbirth experiences were!This one proved to be different, though - when she was finally born, the nurses and midwife (I had midwives instead of doctors) got kind of quiet. I was so out of it, I barely noticed. Jeremy was with me and we were so thrilled to have our baby girl - I instantly said "Her name is Cassidy Rae" - she even LOOKED like a Cassidy. They said "She's 9 pounds, a big one! And she's 20 1/2 inches long." She was beautiful - all red in the face from screaming and this big shock of hair on her head. They wheeled me into a room to recover and kept Cassidy to do whatever it is that they do - then a doctor with a heavy accent came into my room and said "Don't worry, we'll schedule an appointment with a dermatologist and specialist, but we think she'll be fine - take her home and love her" - or something VERY similar to that. My heart almost stopped - EXCUSE ME? What the hell do you mean,you THINK she'll be fine??? What is wrong with her???? I thought I misunderstood his accent, or he must be in the wrong room - my baby is perfect! Of course she'll be fine, this is my baby girl!!!

When they brought Cassidy to me shortly after, we began inspecting her. That's when we realized that shock of dark hair on her head was not just hair. The skin underneath it was black - it looked like she was wearing one of those Jewish beanie-caps (yamulke?) on her head, it was almost perfectly round and only in that spot, towards the back of her scalp. But it was big - a good 4-5 inches round and covered in black hair, almost like a halo. The rest of her head was bald as can be. This is the best picture that I have that shows the nevus:

See how it's only on the top/back of her head? This is another good picture, I think she was about 3-4 months old in these:

So anyway - once we got her home, we made an appointment with her pediatrician, who immediately referred us to Dr. Seth Kates, the head of dermatology who turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us. You see, this nevus is a "hairy congenital nevus", which means it would have hair growing out of it no matter what part of her body it was on. She was lucky that it was on her head, but we weren't sure if "normal" hair would grow, or if the nevus itself would get bigger, etc.

Dr. Kates took one look at Cassidy and I believe he fell in love. He was just starting his family, too, and he had young children at home. He knew I was terrified, all I did was cry. I had done research on this "nevus" and discovered that medical journals were filled with worst-case scenarios. Children who were born with this could develop these nevus cells on their spinal cord, a disease called "Neurocutaneous Melanosis" - NCM for short - and these children often died before they reached their 6th birthday - it is a fatal disease, no treatment and no cure. The first thing Dr. Kates told me was to stop reading medical journals. I took his advice.

I discovered a couple of support groups - Nevus Network was one of them, and they were very helpful and supportive. I had realized that an awful lot of parents worry most about the cosmetic impact of this birthmark and they opt to have the nevus removed. This is not as easy as it sounds - the child must have "tissue expanders" inserted into the "healthy skin" and filled with saline, so that the skin stretches up like a water balloon. Then, when they've got enough healthy skin, they cut out the nevus skin and stretch the healthy skin over it. It's not pretty, it causes scarring and if it's on the child's head, it's not a guarantee that their hair will grow in correctly, etc. If you go to the Nevus Network Photo Album page, you can see pictures of what the skin expanders look like and some of the finished results. WARNING - these pictures can be disturbing, please don't go look at them if you can't handle it.

Dr. Kates encouraged us to leave the nevus alone - his words were, "I will do whatever you choose, she is your child. But if she was my child, I would leave it alone and monitor it closely." Removing the nevus itself does not remove the risks that are associated with it - an increased risk of cancer, NCM, etc. If those nevus cells are scattered and in her brain/spinal cord, you cannot remove them. We trusted his expert opinion, and we've never been sorry. Cassidy had a couple of biopsies done on "suspicious spots" within the nevus - basically a mole within a mole - and all was clean. Dr. Kates convinced us not to have Cassidy tested for NCM - there is no cure, no treatment, and we knew that if she tested positive, we'd die of heartbreak. We decided to enjoy her instead and if the symptoms started to appear, we'd deal with it then. I will tell you, though, that those birthdays when she was 5, 6, 7 - they were milestones for us. We didn't talk about it, it would have been like jinxing ourselves. But I know I breathed a sigh of relief every year when we reached another birthday. By the time she turned 10, I finally started to relax and I actually started to forget about it - wait, "forget" is not the right word, because I could never forget. I guess I let it drift to that back part of your mind where you keep stuff that you can't bear to think about every day, but you know better than to forget - I put it all back there and let it rest.

There was one point when Cassidy was a pre-schooler and we had no health insurance. We were worried about a spot on her head, and we called Dr. Kates to ask his advice. He told us to come right in and not to worry about the insurance - he saw us free of charge and I will never forget that. We stay in contact, he sends us pictures of his family and I send him pictures of mine every year at Christmas. Cassidy has many birthmarks all over her body - they call them "satellite birthmarks" as if they are extensions of the nevus. She has them on her back, her arms, her legs, her stomach, etc. Last year she had a funny bump on her neck that I instantly called Dr. Kates about - it turned out to be a normal thing unrelated to the nevus, and he froze it off like you would do a wart. He was amazed at how big/old she has gotten - this is her now:
My baby is now 13 1/2 years old and has grown up so much. Her hair grew in thick and beautiful, with no indication of what lies beneath. It's got every color you can think of - her "normal" hair is light brown and blonde, the nevus hair is darker and coarser, but it all blends together and just looks like she has natural highlights. The nevus faded remarkably over the years, and you would never know it's there unless I told you. She's got the most adorable freckle-face you've ever seen (yeah, I'm a bit biased). I have volunteered my name and contact info to Nevus Network so they can give it out to any parents who need someone to talk to. Every now and then, I'll get an e-mail from a parent whose child was just born with a similar nevus - and their words are reminiscent of how I felt back when my baby was born and I was so scared and confused. I tell them my story, I tell them that it's a personal decision and no matter what, you HAVE to be willing to live with your decision. This is your baby and he/she can't make that decision - as shitty as it is, you have to take responsibility and then stand by it. If you choose to leave it alone, you cannot beat yourself up later if complications arise. By the same token, if you choose to remove it you cannot change your mind later - what's done is done. You did what you thought was best at the time, like so many other decisions we have to make as parents, and you can only move forward and make the best of each decision. Some parents have chastised me for not removing Cassidy's nevus, some have thanked me to the ends of the earth and back for sharing my story in time before they DID remove it - some doctors are aggressive and push the surgery - not all are as wonderful as Dr. Kates and willing to work WITH the family on what decision to make.

Dr. Kates has always been fascinated by the fact that Cassidy's nevus faded so much - I guess the majority of them do not. I happen to also have a cousin whose son has a hairy nevus on his thigh, and an aunt who has the same thing. We do know that genetics play a part in why some people are born with a nevus, and Cassidy is me 100%, so it's not surprising to think that my genetics had something to do with her nevus. A couple of months ago, I got an envelope in the mail from Dr. Kates. It was an article ripped out of a medical journal that discussed the spontaneous fading of congenital nevi. He had put a note on it "Interesting, huh? Hope all is well!" and I was flattered that he thought enough of me to share this article and also thrilled to see in writing, in a medical journal, what I knew all along - that Cassidy's nevus had faded.

So if you've read my previous blog entries, you know that I consider myself an odds-breaker. This is just one more example - nevi themselves are extremely rare, for one to fade and practically disappear is almost unheard of. So I guess my girl is an odds-breaker, too. All I care about is that she continues to grow up happy and healthy - so far, so good!

Have a great weekend! Peace!

Do you love my blog?

Well, Steph does!

Awwwww - isn't that sweet? Thank you to my friend Stephanie at Stephanie's Stampin Spot! for giving me this award, I am honored! Steph used to live in Worcester and she found me through Stampin' Up!'s "online locator" a few years ago when she needed to order something. She moved to South Carolina but she is still my loyal customer, which I appreciate so very much! She is also my stamping buddy and friend - you can never have too many of those!

The kids are back to school and we have returned to some type of routine, which really feels good after such a whirlwind of a Summer! Here they are on their first day - Trevor of 10th grade:

And Cassidy started 8th grade - Missy cut about 3 inches off of Cassidy's hair the night before school started, and Missy helped her straighten it, it came out really cute:Don't you love her shirt? PEACE RULES - that's my girl! That apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, I tell you!

Things have been SUPER busy at work, which can be draining but also fun - it sure makes the day go by fast. I definitely don't have the type of job that drags by, no clock-watching for me! By the time I look at the clock, it's usually almost time to go home! Our freshmen move in on Monday, so I am working that day to help make sure they are all financially cleared (which basically means they've paid their bill in full) and can receive their keys. The rest of our undergrads move back in on Wednesday, and classes start on Thursday - so I expect the next couple of weeks to be pretty busy, too.

Wanna see my new glasses? I love them - I'm one of those people who could care less about name brands and stuff, but I always seem to pick out expensive stuff without even realizing it. I'll say to Jeremy, "oh look at that cute little car - I'd like one of those!" and he'll just shake his head at me and say "Jenn, that car costs more than our HOUSE!" LOL These frames are Perry Ellis and I will not tell you how much they cost - but I definitely splurged. Like 'em?
Jeremy and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on August 28. We went to dinner and had a nice time - we talked about when we got married and when we were young. We talked about what we'd do to celebrate our 20th and 25th anniversaries - and I realized how lucky we are to like each other enough to be thinking that far ahead. hee hee Seriously, though, we hope to do something really romantic - hopefully both kids will be in college and/or the military by our 20th (they will be 18 and 20!), so we are going to try to plan for a romantic cruise or trip to somewhere exotic. I'll keep you posted!

Have a great Labor Day weekend - no drinking and driving. Wear your seatbelt, no texting while driving, all that good stuff. Be safe, my friends.
Peace!

An actual stamping-related blog! OMG!

Yup, believe it or not - this blog is going to be about (gasp!) my artwork! See, I know the title StampinAngelJenn has probably left some of you wondering "where the heck is the stampin?" Well, it's right here! Enjoy!

These are my attempts at using up my background papers for b-day cards, I make a LOT of birthday cards because I send them to all of the Audrey's Umbrella recipients, the ChemoAngels recipients AND I am a part of the SplitCoastStampers Birthday RAK :

This was a card I CASEd from a fellow SCS friend who I had sent this image to through Wish RAK and she made me a card with one of the images I sent, I just love the idea of sharing my stamped images with others and I've really enjoyed being on the receiving end, too! Here is my version:

These are 2 of my most recent favorite creations. I made these with images I got through Wish RAK, as well. These were made for 2 of the teenage girls who worked in my office this Summer, they are sweet girls who are always smiling and willing to help out with whatever. We enjoyed having them around, these were the thank-you cards I made for them:

Summer is almost over - the kids go back to school Tuesday (WOO HOO!!!!!!!!) and life should get back to some kind of routine. I am really looking forward to it. It's quite ironic how in April or May I find myself longing for the Summer, not having the chaos of school routines, etc. But by the end of August, we are all quite ready for the routines to return! I actually took Monday off from work because I have to work next Monday (Labor Day), so I will do something with the kids to celebrate their last day of freedom! Hey Linda- HERE COMES FALL! :o)

Everything happens for a reason!

Well, I gotta tell ya - I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. OK - maybe I haven't ALWAYS believed that, but as I've gotten older, I've learned that it really does seem to be true. I've had things happen in my life that seemed like the end of the world, only to discover something good that came out of it, even if it was a year later. So I've come to believe that everything really does happen for a reason, and that those reasons might not be evident at the time. It can certainly make some situations easier to get through by believing that.

I love my job - I've been at my job for 3 years now, and I truly love it. I rarely wake up in the morning thinking "damn, I have to go to work." Now don't get me wrong, I love weekends and vacations, etc. - but I am lucky enough to really enjoy what I do for a living. Last Friday, I saw an ad at another local college for a Bursar position. My position is kind of one step down from Bursar - I'm the Billing & Collections Manager. So anyway, totally on a whim, I sent in my resume for that job opening. I was not job-searching, and I didn't even expect to get a call. They called me the following Monday - wanted me to come in and interview the very next day. So I did - they asked me to come back for a 2nd interview immediately! They wanted me to meet their CEO. I was thrilled and flattered, but I did let them know that I really was not job-searching and that I wasn't really planning on leaving my job, but that this was an opportunity I had to pursue for professional and financial reasons - I had to check it out, basically!

To make a really long story short, they really liked me and I had a feeling I'd get an offer. I mentioned this to some co-workers and said that I had a lot of thinking to do. So later on that day, the VP of the college came into my office and talked to me - he said he had heard I went on an interview (they had already started calling my references) and that they basically didn't want to lose me and to keep him informed before I made a decision. By Thursday, I had been offered the job. I spoke to someone else at my current job and before I knew it, I had been offered a raise and a bit of a promotion - basically a change in title from "Manager" to "Director" - I was so flattered, honored, thrilled - and I truly love the college where I work. So I am a happy girl this week - I have never in my life negotiated for anything, that kind of stuff really makes me nervous. And this all happened so quickly and without any real planning, that I didn't really have time to get nervous! It all just fell into place, and it all worked in my favor. How often does THAT happen? Not often, let me tell you!

Can you believe the summer is almost over? My kids go back to school next week and we all get back on a schedule - I am definitely looking forward to that, at the very least. I am trying to stay optimistic about it all - THINK POSITIVE, right? Trevor is looking forward to being a sophomore and Cassidy is glad that she will be an 8th grader, the big cheese at the middle school. One more year and BOTH of my babies will be in high school - GULP!!! Where in the name of God does the time go, I'd like to know?!?

So here are some end-of-summer pics, from probably one of the last days at my parents' pool:

Cassidy, isn't she just beautiful? I'm a little biased.

Trev - my handsome little man (actually, not so little anymore!)

This is Cassidy and her friend Jamie, my 2nd daughter:

And this is me, at the conference I went to for work at the end of July. They gave us ice cream and then this guy walked around taking pictures. I had a mouthful of ice cream and I was cracking up threatening his life if he took a pic of me like that. This is the result. LOL

Enjoy what's left of the Summer!