Blogging Momma

I MOVED!

2009-02-18T23:08:00.003-06:00

I have finally moved to WordPress.org for my blog. All the posts from this blog plus more to come can be found at my new location www.MommaDJane.com

Please pardon the mess over there right now as I am still transferring content. The About Me section and other pages are not complete. Although it is a work in progress I must say I am very excited about it. The whole blog has changed not only to a new domain but new look as well. I'm loving it!

My direction will continue to be the same, blogging about life in general. My focus is on climbing the ladder to success, not only in business but in life as well. I hope all you wonderful readers will follow me over. Come visit me and show me some comment love over at the new location. Tell me what you think of the new design. Also don't forget to sign up for the new RSS feed over there too.

Kind of sad that this is my last post on blogger. No more Blogging Momma, now to make my stand as MommaDJane.

CWAHM Blog Tour

2009-02-17T23:04:00.000-06:00

CWAHM.com Announces Work At Home 101
A FREE online 3 week course designed to give moms a work-at-home starting place.

Most people are curious about working from home. We know others do it, but aren't sure how they do it.

CWAHM.com's Work at Home 101 is designed to give you an overview of the choices available that will allow you to work from home. This online course will give you the starting place you've been searching for.

Best of all - it's completely free! CLICK HERE!

Some of the things covered during Work at Home 101:

* Where to Start
* Telecommuting
* Home-Based Businesses
* Avoiding Scams
* Entrepreneur Tips
*AND MUCH MORE!

Plantronics Bluetooth Giveaway

2009-02-16T22:41:00.006-06:00

Below you can view my vlog review of the Plantronics 925 Bluetooth Headset. Sorry that I don't sound like myself, catching this darn cold the kids have had. As I type this post I am losing my voice even more.

Don't you just love it? It is the perfect size, great compact carrying case that doubles as a charger and sleek design. I needed a bluetooth headset because I am very bad about talking on the phone while driving. Not sure about other states but within my area it is against the law to drive in school zones while talking on the phone. My speaker phone option gets used a lot and the person on the other end can never truly hear me well.

Now for the giveaway! As you saw in the video I am giving away a complete Plantronics 925 Bluetooth Headset sealed in box brand new. The winner will receive the one shown in the vlog {pink in color}.

To enter the giveaway leave a comment telling me how you handle your phone when driving... Are you a straight-laced driver who goes by the book and doesn't use your mobile when operating a vehicle? Do you only talk on the phone using a headset and/or speaker phone? Or are you a dare devil who has text messaged, checked emails and maybe even conducted conference calls while cruising down the highway? Come on be honest... whose judging?!

{Additional Entries - worth one entry each}
1. Tweet this giveaway and leave link in separate comment
2. Blog about this giveaway with link and leave separate comment
3. Sign up for newsletter on the top LEFT sidebar and leave separate comment
{Big announcements coming soon so you will want to receive newsletter}

Contest ends Sunday, February 22nd and winner will be chosen using random.org
Please make sure to leave a way to be contacted in the comment in case you win.

Mom It Forward Contest

2009-02-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

For the Mom It Forward Contest to win the HP All-in-one Printer I want to tell you a little about my daughter. Tapanga is 11 years old and has a heart of gold. Her helpful attitude probably started at around age five when she saw the commercial on TV telling everyone to collect the pink yogurt labels to help Breast Cancer Awareness. She would wash the labels and keep them in a ziplock bag for me to mail in. It all stemmed from there... Once starting school she began taking part in annual jump rope for heart and tries to raise funds for just about every charity she is introduced to. Below are a few photos from this past year of her giving back to the community, helping others and just being herself.

Tapanga working at Camp El Tesoro at clean-up day to prepare for summer
Tapanga painting little girls finger nails at a local community awareness event
Having ten inches removed to donate to Locks of Love.
Tapanga sitting in the computer room at the hospital w/ her sister
Dressed up like a clown at the children's hospital, just to make someone smile

{Letter written in her words about her vision for the printer}

A Little 2 Sassy Blog Tour ~ Giveaway

2009-02-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

{Welcome to Day One of A Little 2 Sassy's blog tour}
As you know I just love to support handmade products and I know the true meaning of appreciation for a work at home mom. All that being said makes this post even more exciting to introduce Kristina to you, the owner of A Little 2 Sassy. Kristina is a wife and mother of three. Due to unfortunate events during her childhood she lost her mother and was raised by her grandparents. Kristina's grandmother was always working on crafts and of course she was right by her grandmother's side learning along the way. Now that Kristina has become a mother, her daughter is the inspiration behind her bow making. The creation of A Little 2 Sassy has given her a chance to put her wonderful skills to work. Each item that Kristina hand makes for her customers is filled with love and pride.

First I must point out that I just love the flip flops! How cute are those? And... she makes them in adult size as well. Oh yes I would wear matching flip flops with my Gabby girl in a heart beat!

Next shows the pony o's hair piece. Those are perfect for the little older girl who doesn't want hair bows in her hair any longer. I must admit that although I am able to sneak in a hair bow every so often, these are Gab's favorite.

The third photo shows one of my personal favorites. I just love the curly ribbon hair bows. Plus I just adore the button in the center. What a great finishing touch!

Now for the giveaway! I have been given the opportunity to giveaway a $25 gift certificate good towards any hair bows or flip flops you find at A Little 2 Sassy.
Rules:
Go to Kristina's store A Little 2 Sassy and find one item you just love and come back to leave in the comment section

Additional Entries worth one entry each:
1. Tweet this giveaway and leave link in separate comment
2. Blog this giveaway and leave permalink in separate comment
3. Sign Kristina's guest book and leave separate comment
Don't forget this is a blog tour that continues for four days. There will be three other bloggers writing about A Little 2 Sassy, spotlighting something different and offering a special for their readers. Each post will be different so come back here to find their post links on Mr. Linky below. The tour will span over the next four days and wonderful discounts will be available that you won't want to miss!
Mister Linky below is for the other three bloggers participating in the A Little 2 Sassy Blog Tour, so please check out their posts to read more and receive other discounts.
{Contest ends Friday, February 20th at midnight}

Principessa Jewelry Blog Tour

2009-02-13T08:16:00.003-06:00

Welcome to Principessa Jewelry Designs blog tour Day 5. I am so excited to be given the opportunity to introduce you to Principessa Jewelry. As you know I just love handmade products and supporting work from home women. Lisa, the owner and custom jewelry designer, does beautiful work.

Lisa also offers something really cool, an earring of the month club. I am the type of person who might not always remember to put on my necklace before walking out of the house but I always have on earrings. Just one of those things I feel naked without. The earring of the month club costs only $40 a year and you receive a new pair of the latest and most exclusive earring design before anyone else. The earrings will arrive gift-wrapped on the first week of each month via USPS Priority Mail. What a great way to pamper yourself 12 times a year or receive a package ready to give as a gift each month at a very low price.

I just love the Summer Elegance Dangle Earrings and right now they are on sale! Marked down from the original price of $25 to the sale price of $10.

Principessa Jewelry is also offering Free Shipping right now on all orders with no minimum. Plus don't forget to check out the other days of the tour listed at Writings of a WAHM to learn more about Lisa's store, Principessa Jewelry Designs and you may even find more discounts and a giveaway to enter.

Blissful Wardrobe

2009-02-12T08:19:00.003-06:00

When I decided I was going to Nashville for the BlissDom '09 Conference I knew I was going to need new clothes. I read the schedule and saw there were two cocktail parties going on plus a pajama party. Considering I'm a single mom who doesn't get out much and my sleep wear usually consist of an over sized t-shirt I heard the mall calling my name. Then I realized what a great opportunity to wear clothing from sponsors during the event and help promote some businesses I love.

First up I have the gorgeous dress I wore to Friday night's cocktail party. This dress was handmade out of a satin-type material and was stunning. When I received the dress in the mail from Cowgirl Heaven, an etsy shop, I was impressed! I couldn't believe that it was handmade. Very professional work and if I must say so myself I thought it looked amazing on. I received many compliments and it sure felt good knowing I was prompting a work at home mom of handmade items.

Back View

Next is the customized shirt I got to wear to the Friday night pajama party. I was very excited to be the one wearing the original BlissDom '09 sparkle tee made by Sassy Sparkle, just for me! I am so excited about being given the opportunity to post about this shirt that she also offered me a discount code to share with my readers. If you order anything from her site between now and March 14, '09 and use the code bliss then you will get 10% off your total.

Last but definitely not least here I am sporting my Joe's Jeans. I just LOVED my Joe's Jeans. The denim material was so soft and they were extremely comfy. I wrote a past post announcing their special they have going on for Valentine's Day where you can buy one pair and get second half off. How great is that? Plus it's pretty funny how I finally got the correct size. I will have to admit though, if you are short like me, you better get the petite size otherwise you will have to get them altered. I had about six inches cut off the bottom.

Each one of these articles of clothing made me feel alive and fun while at BlissDom '09. Not only did I feel great in the clothing, get lots of compliments but I was comfortable as well. You just can't beat that!

MomFaves Launch

2009-02-11T23:59:00.001-06:00

Photo captured at BlissDom '09 of co-founders Josh and Rebecca with Dwan
{Welcome MomFaves}
MomFaves.com is an on-line networking site where mothers can go to seek and share advice. Not just any advice, either... Advice on their favorite products, sites, services and others. Did you recently try out an awesome appliance that worked wonders for your family? Do you highly recommend a website that offers great articles or services? MomFaves.com is the place to go and fave those items so other moms can read your referral. This word-of-mouth networking site is a wonderful place to come and find answers to your questions from other moms like you.

The greatness behind the network is the touching story about how MomFaves was founded. I was blessed to have the chance and meet the co-founders of MomFaves during my weekend trip to BlissDom '09 conference. How exciting, right? Josh and Rebecca Unfried are not only the best looking couple in town but very sweet and compassionate too. You can tell by their presence that they feel a strong pull in the right direction with MomFaves. Working hard behind the scenes to be ready for this amazing launch! So what are you wanting for? Go check it out and join now. It's absolutely free and you can meet other great women just like yourself.

MomFaves.com is holding their Sitewarming Party with Amy from Resourceful Mommy by celebrating their launch on Friday, February 13th from 8:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST. Did I mention that I am a panelist during the party? That's right, so come join us on twitter and maybe even win some great prizes.

I Feel the Magic!

2009-02-10T20:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not quite sure there are words that would be enough for this blog post. Looking back I believe I e-met Jyl from GNO around October/November time frame. Jyl and Carissa were holding a Random Acts of Kindness giveaway where they were searching for entries showing any amounts of kindness, big or small. Of course like most GNO conversations it started on twitter. I announced that I was planning to donate a bunch of stuffed animals to the local children's hospital and wanted to do whatever I could to help give back to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. We had purchased items for Christmas gifts, where the proceeds went to Make-a-Wish. Jyl personally contacted me and wanted to know more about my ventures in giving-back. Since Gab was in the hospital the previous year {2007} during all the holidays we were very blessed by local churches and even the hospital with gifts for the children. Also before Gab's brain surgery the Make-a-Wish Foundation sent us to Disney World for Gab's one wish. During the toughest times in our life we were very thankful for all the kind people out there. Now that we are home and although we still continue to go through rough times we are strong believers in trying to help out in anyway possible. After getting to know me better Jyl asked if I would be willing to allow her to place a photo of Gab and myself in a short video she was creating to enter a contest. The theme was "Mom's Make a Difference" and of course I said YES. I am happy to share my experience with any mom if it will help. I knew that Jyl and Carissa were planning to enter the HP Magic Giveaway that Sugar had running on her blog with the video. I was excited to take part. I knew that the Mom It Forward team planned to do great things with it. I was feeling the magic just by participating.

Little did I know they had other plans....

Prior to Gab's disabilities becoming so severe I used to volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and mentored pregnant teens. I am a young mother myself and feel a passion towards helping build strength in young mothers. I also love to speak with teens to try and prevent pregnancy at a young age. Once Gab's disabilities began to take up more of my time I had to place most of my volunteer work on hold. Being able to donate or help at one time events is my way of doing what I can with limited resources. I look forward to the day when I am able to make full swing at it again, like old times. Because I have faith that the day will come where Gab is more independent.

Publicly I want to thank Jyl, Carissa, Sugar and HP for making this happen. Sincerely from the deepest of my heart I feel truly blessed even more than I thought I could. More tears of happiness have been shed since Saturday than I can remember.

Love is in the air... or music!

2009-02-09T23:59:00.004-06:00

You may or may not know back in December I wrote a review on Seal's Soul Album. I also got to give one away, how exciting! The album was so touching and filled with love that I wanted to remind everyone about it during the week of Valentine's Day. Plus there is a special e-card you can send out from Seal to your loved one.

So why not give a little soul and love this Valentine's Day?

Would you just love to enter for another chance to win a Seal Album? Perfect Valentine's Day gift to yourself or late gift for your loved one. It is too late to receive by V-day but never too late to listen to some soul music. Plus did I mention the copy of the Soul album will be signed by Seal himself?! Yes, your very own autographed copy. {I don't even own one}

To enter the contest leave me a comment telling me what your Valentine's Day plans are. Whether it is staying home with your children or going out on the town, what are you doing to share the love this Saturday? One comment per person please. Contest ends on Friday, February the 13th. Also please go send someone you care about an e-card featuring Seal, it's a great way to share great music.

Also I want to mention this Thursday, Feb. 12th at 9:00 PM CST Seal's PBS soundstage show airs. You don't want to miss that.

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

* 6
* 5
* 4
* 7
* 2
* 1
* 3
WINNER IS: JERRI ANN, Congrats!

BlissDom '09 ~ Day One

2009-02-06T23:25:00.004-06:00

Day One at BlissDom '09 is officially complete. I can't express how wonderful it has been to meet everyone. I took a ton of photos as well as videos and plan to post soon. The photos I took on my digital camera I can not upload until Sunday night when I get back home because I forgot my adapter. Sorry, guys... However I did upload a pic of myself wearing my awesome BlissDom '09 shirt from the pajama party that I took with my iPhone. Also if you want to see short clips throughout the weekend watch on twitter and my 12seconds.tv channel. I am trying to post periodically to keep everyone up to date.

I am headed to bed to try and get some shut eye before another early start tomorrow. Will try to post again tomorrow evening.

{Sending love from Nashville}

Happy Valentine's Day from Joe

2009-02-02T21:25:00.005-06:00

In November I was contacted by Joe's Jeans to conduct a review for them on my blog. I was so excited! I got to pick out my style from their website and then I had to tell them my size. Should be easy, right? You would think I would know my own size but NO. Let me explain of course how I came up with the wrong size. I am used to purchasing pants that come in sizes such as 0,1,3,5,7,9,11,etc. I am very petite so I do still shop in the juniors section unless I am shopping at Petite Sophisticated. Joe's Jeans come in sizes such as 24,25,26,27,28,29,30. I must have been having a blonde moment when I decided to take out a measuring tape and measure the outside of my pants. I thought it seemed like a good plan, how could I go wrong? Well apparently I didn't know what the heck I was doing and the number I came up with was way off from the number I wear. To tell you the truth I don't even know how I came up with this number. I have been married in the past and my former spouse used to wear about a 32/34 therefore I should have known if the number I got was close to that, then it was wrong, of course keyword there is SHOULD. So needless to say when I received my Joe's Jeans, while jumping for joy, ripped them open to be highly disappointed I couldn't wear them. They were five sizes too big. Yes, FIVE. I know, what kind of idiot measures five sizes larger? The company has been so gracious to let me send the jeans back and exchange for the right size. They found a way to dumby proof my sizing guess by sending me to Nordstrom's to try some on. Now my jeans are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday and again I am super excited! I can't wait to conduct my full review, although I know I'll love them, the denim was so soft. I also plan to sport my new jeans at BlissDom!

Joe's Jeans is loving him some mommas. Their blog campaigns have done so well they wanted to offer a special Valentine's Day coupon code for all our wonderful readers. You can buy a pair of jeans for yourself and get 50% off a pair for your LOVE. Or you could just get yourself another pair half price. Use code: Joeslovesmomma which is good until February 23rd.

Super Bowl Commercials

2009-02-01T21:57:00.005-06:00

I know today was all about the Super Bowl Buzz. To be honest I am not a huge football fan, I know - shame on me. Plus it's not like my state went to the Super Bowl or anything... However, I do like to watch the commercials. Although I must admit the past couple of years I wasn't as impressed as I used to be. I watched as many commercials this time as I could while caring for children but there was one commercial that stood out the most. Did you see the Jack in the Box commercial where Jack got hit by the bus? At the end of the commercial they posted a web site link which of course struck my curiosity, apparently like many others from the speed of the site. They created a whole blog along with You Tube account just to go along with this one commercial. Now that is dedication. The thing I didn't understand was why would they show Jack being hit by a bus with his head literally cracking? I personally thought it was a little disturbing for kids to see but it also left me wondering what it meant. Was that the point of the commercial, to leave you wondering? My first reaction was that the bus symbolizes the economy and Jack was suffering as the economy crashes... Does that sound right? The first thing I said was, "is Jack in the Box going bankrupt?" Once visiting the web site/blog that they set up I couldn't gather any more information then what I saw in the commercial. There were over 300 comments left by various people. So, readers, tell me... did you see this commercial? If not go view it over on You Tube and tell me what you thought. I am curious to hear what other views are on this. Is the economy suffering so bad that even fast food restaurants are 'crashing' and creating commercials to display their hurt? If Jack in the Box fast food restaurant is not hurting economically then is it just entertaining to see Jack get hit by a bus? I am curious to know what is the real point? Also if you are concerned, on their blog they even list ways to send Get Well Wishes to Jack, along with places to upload your own videos wishing him well or a way to sign up for text message alerts letting you know Jack's update. By the way Jack in the Box is on twitter and facebook too. Am I the only one that thinks this is far fetch?

I Did It!

2009-01-31T21:01:00.004-06:00

I set a goal at the beginning of this year to blog more often. So I joined the NaBloPoMo and committed to blogging once a day for the month of January. I am proud to say, I did it. 31 posts in 31 days and the above badge is what I got to show for it. I won't say that the badge is ALL I got from blogging daily because it's not. I met lots of new bloggers by being more active with my blog and have developed some great relationships with other mothers. I also enjoy taking time on my blog and keeping everyone updated.

Highlights from the month of January:
Intro to Lilly
16 Random Facts
My Momism
Vlog Update
Braces Removal
BlissDom Here I come

Plus two awesome giveaways!
You Can Make This
Momma-Made Grand Opening

I have lots of exciting things planned for February, including a domain move to a new blog. Take the time to sign up for my newsletter so you can get the first hand sneak peek into what is going on. I am sure there will also be surprises inside my newsletters! The sign up form is on the top left hand side bar of this blog.

I am going to try to continue on my pattern of blogging daily. The topic this month for NaBloPoMo is WANT. Of course bloggers don't have to blog within the theme as long as they just post daily. February should be easier to achieve since there are only 28 days. We'll see...

Fitness Friday

2009-01-30T08:48:00.004-06:00

I will admit I have not done my duty at staying active on the Wii. Don't ask me how I got lost somewhere along the way... The other Wii Fit Mommies are wonderful and motivational! So to ~~distract~~ entertain you while I'm being lazy here is a video. I received this video in an e-mail and couldn't resist to pass it on. This cracks me up every time I watch it!
Enjoy

Now seriously I need to get my butt back on the Wii and start exercising!

BlissDom Here I Come!

2009-01-29T23:37:00.003-06:00

Besides being completely psyched about the opportunity to listen to all the brilliant women speak at BlissDom and learn some new knowledge during the conference, I am totally pumped to meet some of my {soon to be} non-exclusively-virtual friends! We have read each others blogs for months, tweeted on twitter for hours at a time and now will be able to meet face to face. How much better could it get?! BlissDom '09 will be the ultimate 'hen fest' and I can't wait to be a part of it. From conferences to cocktail parties to pajama bash... two days of excitement.

Of course if you have been around my blog for a while then you will remember this post and you know how I feel about flying. If not, take a glance back for your own amusement. I am going to try and stay focused on all my excitement brewing inside to keep my mind off of the steal object I am bottled in while it soars through the air. I am also going to try very hard not to jump and grab the person next to me each time the plane turns. Speaking of the person next to me... I e-met Amy through twitter and the blogosphere and we realized we only live less than an hour apart. Although we have not taken the time to meet we have decided to fly together to BlissDom. Honestly, as soon as I saw Amy tweet she was going to BlissDom I jumped on the opportunity to attach myself to her hip. That's right, my fear of flying is worse when flying alone. You could only imagine how giddy I was when Amy forwarded me her flight arrangements, then realizing I could get on the same flights! I am so looking forward to it...

I plan to pack the camera and the FLIP to be prepared to capture the moments on my trip. I am sure there will be plenty to 'snap' during the cocktail par-tay! I am hoping to be able to squeeze in some time to blog live from Nashville and will do my best to post some photos. Of course not to worry because as soon as I get home it will all be revealed!

Momma~Made Grand Opening Giveaway - CLOSED

2009-01-28T21:02:00.005-06:00

I am so excited to finally announce the Momma-Made Grand Opening!

I have been working on putting together Momma-Made since October '08. I created this on-line boutique to promote handmade items that are designed by work at home mothers. To kick off our Grand Opening I am hosting a giveaway. Just in time for Valentine's Day I thought this beautiful red handbag would be perfect!
To enter the giveaway browse Momma-Made and find which product you would love to have. Come back to this post and leave the item you just love in the comment section. Make sure you leave a way to be contacted in case you are the winner. Additional entries available; details below.
Contest ends February 4th at midnight

Numerous ways to gain extra entries into the contest below. Each action listed are considered extra entries which are completely optional. You must first leave your original entry in a comment as explained above to qualify for additional entries.

1. Tweet about this giveaway on twitter {leave link in comment} 1 entry

2. Blog about this giveaway on your blog {leave link in comment} 1 entry

3. Join our newsletter on the top left sidebar to receive behind the scenes news first hand {leave additional comment} 1 entry

4. Attend our Grand Opening virtual party at Mom Chats on Saturday, January 31st at 4:00 PM EST {leave comment saying you attended} 4 entries

5. Make a purchase at Momma-Made worth any value {leave separate comment} 5 entries

Again the additional entries into the contest are optional and not necessary to enter contest. We look forward to seeing you at our on-line party on Saturday!

Don't forget to visit us at Momma-Made and sign our guest book while you are there. Visit us often as we are still adding new products frequently. Know a mom who hand-makes products to sale? Have craft skills you want to put to good use? Contact us to place your items in our store. We are always looking for new products.

Want to enter some more great giveaways? Visit the bloggy giveaways carnival to find over 1000 more!

Tuesday Toot

2009-01-27T23:57:00.002-06:00

This week I am tootin' my own horn for starting Momma-Made. I started the store last November and am finally getting it going with the help of Brandy. I am so excited about the store and plan to post the Grand Opening Giveaway Announcement on my blog tomorrow. So come back and check it out.

I also have my newsletter setup so you can join. Very excited about that so don't forget to enter your email in the top left corner so you get all the new information especially before I move my blog which is going to happen soon. I am switching to WordPress.

Short post this week but either way toot - toot!

You Can Make This ~ Giveaway ~ CLOSED

2009-01-26T22:06:00.008-06:00

I am so excited about this giveaway. I was lucky enough to interact on-line with Kim, the founder of You Can Make This at Rock Your Blog with Jessica Smith. Kim was able to share her excitement about her company with me. Kim is a mom who wanted to provide downloadable instructions on how to make just about anything from children's clothing and jewelry, to handbags, home decor and more. What makes You Can Make This unique is that these instructions are written by everyday moms {just like you and me} who have an expertise in an area. They are written in a way that makes you feel as if your friend is right next to you leading the way. They all have detailed instructions and step-by-step full-color photos so even the most "craft-challenged" {ME} person can make these items for their home and families. I was really excited to check out the site since I just recently learned how to make tutus, I thought what else could I try?... By joining to receive their FREE newsletter I received a free ebooks to try out for myself. You can subscribe to their newsletter here and receive all the product instructions pictured below for FREE, plus an on-line video and digital scrapbooking frame.

Along with the free instruction manuals that come with the newsletter I also have been given the opportunity to share a $50 bundle of even more DIY instructions with one lucky reader.

To enter the contest go to You Can Make This and find one thing you would love to learn how to make. Come back to this post and leave me a comment telling me what you found. I personally can't wait to start learning how to make the "She Loves Me, She Loves Me KNOT" Handbag. There are several others that I want to try with my daughter but I believe the handbag will be first. Now remember, even if you have never sewn before, You Can Make This is a site that is designed to truly show you how. They BELIEVE you REALLY CAN make these things!

Now of course this is a giveaway so there are also extra ways to gain entries. You must first post a comment letting me know an item you want to learn to make before working on additional entries.

Additional entries:
1. Tweet this blog post announcing giveaway and leave twitter link in comment

2. Subscribe to my newsletter in the upper left hand sidebar so you can be the first to see my handbag once it is complete, then leave additional comment

3. Blog about this giveaway on your own blog and post link within comments

Contest ends January 31st at midnight. Please make sure I have a way to contact you either through your blog profile or email address incase you are the winner!

Want to enter some more giveaways? Visit the bloggy giveaways carnival to find 100's more!

And the WINNER is:
Random Sequence Generator
Here is your sequence:

9
5
19
93
77
10
46
17
35
8
21
56
67
54
{there were 96 numbers but I cut it off to save room}
Diane from Mom to Monkeys
Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered!

Bloggy Bling!

2009-01-25T21:19:00.006-06:00

I have been given two more awards this week for my blog. I love being thought of and receiving awards {even if they are work}. For both of these awards they came with rules of writing about myself. The first one says you must list six things that make you happy and the second award rules say you must list ten honest things about yourself. Since I recently wrote 16 random facts about myself {which happen to all be true} I thought I would combine these two awards and just list ten honest things that make me happy. How is that for bending the rules?

For starters, here are the awards and who was so nice to pass them on to me.
From Cynthia at Good Enough Witch I received:

From Jenn at The Coupon Coup I received:

Now to try and follow the rules by listing 10 honest things that make me happy.
1. I love cuddling with my kids. I am a very affectionate person in general but I am a sucker for a child who wants to sit in my lap or sleep right next to me.

2. I love networking on the computer via twitter and blogs. I have become a social media addict. I am honestly closer to my blog buddies then I am to my real life friends. Go figure...

3. I love taking photos. I always carry a camera and most the time I have my FLIP ready to capture short film.

4. Although I feel cheesy doing it, I have actually developed a love for vlogging.

5. I love to travel. Short trips or long trips, doesn't matter... I just love a getaway, especially to see a new place.

6. I love watching movies. I don't love all movies but I do enjoy drama, most comedy, most action and some suspense.

7. I love live music. I love listening to music in general but listening to music live is the best, especially all acoustic.

8. I love to dance. I am usually shy at first but truly have a love for dance.

9. I love to host dinner parties or cook outs. I love having company over for the day.

10. Even though I am high strung I love to relax. I am a romantic who would rather have a relaxing getaway to the mountains or stay indoors for a candlelight dinner, than paint the town.

Now to pass these awards on to others. I am going to bend the rules a little again. Don't hate me! The first set of rules said to pass the award on to five people and the second award didn't have a limit. So I am going to pass both of these awards on to the same five people. I figured if they are receiving an award from me then I must be hooked on their blog and would always love to hear more honest 'scrap' about them.
So here it goes:
1. iHeartFaces
2. Writings of a WAHM
3. Baby Tee
4. The Wise Young Mommy
5. An Ordinary Life

Scholarships

2009-01-24T21:44:00.003-06:00

As most of you may know I am pursuing my college degree. I am enrolled with University of Phoenix taking their online courses and I must admit that my student loans are piling up. One of my classmates was recently talking about how they literally get paid to go to school. He said he applied for enough scholarships that his college expense is covered plus extra to live on. My professor thought it would be a good idea if we all took time to apply for at least one scholarship so she actually created this as an assignment. Although this was an easy A to receive just by completion of assignment I also thought this was a great way to get motivated to continue on the search. Hearing this classmate's story I am determined to find some extra money laying around out there to help cover my expense. I took the free online scholarship search and plan to apply for as many as I can. Some companies require essays where some only require you to fill out a form. I have ran across several that are scholarships towards next semester but I can promise that it is not too early to start. My goal is to try and apply for at least one new scholarship each month. The online search also let me know the deadlines for each scholarship so I can stay organized.

I hear many women talk about getting sponsors for conferences and I thought in a way a scholarship is the same. Why not apply for the money available to sponsor me through college? {By the way, I am searching for a sponsor for BlogHer}

Do you know someone in college? Are you in college? Have a scholarship success story to tell? Share with me... Also apply for your own scholarships or refer someone to do the same.

Fitness Friday

2009-01-23T22:36:00.004-06:00

Last week I had been a real slacker when it came to the Wii Fit. I honestly can't say much about this week either. Two days worth of working out is not reaching my goal. I knew I didn't expect myself to exercise daily {although I would like to} but I do want to exercise at least every other day. Last week I also mentioned taking on the hula hoop challenge. So for this Fitness Friday post I am showing a photo of my scores doing the Super Hula Hoop for 3 minutes.

Do you do the hula hoop also? What are your scores? How many spins can you get up to within three minutes?

Twitter Party and Giveaway

2009-01-22T22:07:00.004-06:00

Amy from Resourceful Mommy is having yet another fabulous twitter party. She is SiteWarming Crafty Nation and don't forget the hashtag #crafty during the party. It starts at 8:00PM CST. Hope to see you there. Watch my vlog to see why I am so excited!

Don't forget to go sign up to win the prizes at Resourceful Mommy.

Braces Removal and Non-Hernia

2009-01-21T16:40:00.004-06:00

This morning while sitting in the dentist office awaiting the removal of my braces, I was nervous. At first I couldn't understand why I would be so nervous, considering this was the day I had been longing, for four years! After wearing braces on your teeth for so long it becomes a part of you, a part of your identity. I think I was a little nervous I would have those decay spots on my teeth that would never go away. You know those horror stories you hear about what can happen when you wear braces? Although I knew I had taken care of my teeth I knew that the natural discoloring had happened over the four years and I was scared to see the comparison underneath the metal brackets. I am sure there was a part of me that was scared it would hurt to have these metal brackets popped off my teeth as well {which it did a little}. There was also a big part of me that was scared my teeth wouldn't be just right after they removed the braces. Like maybe they would mess up or shift or .... I think you get the point. I was just full of fear and it hit me all this morning.
Then they finished.
I can now admit I am so excited!

Watch this:

[iPhone] Braces off! on 12seconds.tv

Well enough about me. Like the title says, this day was more than just having braces removed. It was the day we took Gab to the surgeon to find out what the next step was with her hernia.

Quick recap: Gab has been having stomach problems for a while, complaining of her stomach hurting, etc. The pains have began to affect her daily life. They started as 'tummy aches' and now have turned into pains that literally prevented her from going to Six Flags one day. The pains will come and go; few days in pain, few days without complaining. This has gone on for months. Due to Gab's disabilities she is on several medications so for the most part I had always chalked it up to med issues. Once it started keeping her from doing the things she loves and hurting her when she moves, I became alarmed. After running blood tests and putting her through an Ultrasound, the Pediatrician informed me she had a hernia {which lead us to surgeon}.

Now today at the surgeon's office, he placed Gab in every angle you could imagine. He leaned her back, he laid her down, he stood her up, he bent and twisted her. He could not find any signs of a hernia. Gab did complain of some pains but nothing as strong as she has suffered. Of course this didn't surprise me because like I mentioned, the pains have come and gone. The end results today where both positive and negative. The positive result is: no surgery to fix a hernia. The negative result is: we still have no clue what the problem is or how to fix it. The surgeon said he was going to type up a letter to her Pediatrician to inform her that Gab does not have a hernia or that if Gab does have a hernia it is too small to worry with and would not be causing these kind of pains. He also told me from his medical point of view he thought with the medication Gab is on and the brain surgery she has gone through that he wasn't surprised if it could all be causing pains. He said he could imagine that some of it could be neurological. Therefore now we just monitor her and stay in contact with her doctor. I will also be following up with her Neurologist to see what he thinks. Of course I am happy she doesn't have to go through another surgery but it just stinks that we don't have a fix yet. I hate seeing her in pain.

Thank you to everyone who sent prayers our way, we really appreciate it! It is so nice to know there are so many great people out there who offer support, even if it is through the internet. It is wonderful being able to network with each and every one of you!

Tuesday Toot

2009-01-20T22:36:00.003-06:00

For this week's Toot I am making an announcement. I finally stepped outside of just my blog and twitter and have finally joined some other social media sites. I recently joined 12seconds.tv and have created a couple of short films. That site is really fun and I plan to update more often. I like trying to see what I can fit into 12 seconds of recording. I also joined Facebook, yes I know you are thinking, FINALLY. So now all my readers have a little homework to do... Go check out my two new sites and add me as your friend if you are a member of the sites. Let me know what you think of my 12seconds of fame. I also posted a cute one of Noah. Don't laugh at my simple profile on Facebook because I am still learning. I also joined LinkedIn which I haven't done much with either but working on it. Making a lot of changes and branching out to network with new people. I am very excited about all this and love meeting new people.
So toot-toot!

I Heart Faces - Week Two

2009-01-19T22:06:00.003-06:00

For this week's face photo I am sharing a pic of Gab during her eight day EEG. This photo was during the process of having the leads placed on her head. With all her hospital visits, each time I wanted a good photo of her smiling, I had to agree to let her be silly first. It's funny how we look back at the photos and the silly ones tend to be the 'good' ones because they show the true character of our children. The ones we love! No matter what this child has gone through, she still takes time out to be silly.
Enjoy!

Seeking Help with Article

2009-01-18T11:31:00.002-06:00

I am so excited that I have been given an opportunity to write an article for a Utah Women's Magazine. Although we all know I always have plenty to say, I thought it would be great to seek advice to make the article more rich. I would love your point of views on the topic. So please take the below poll and also feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think, your ideas or any thoughts you would love to see mentioned in this article. The topic is how to set guidelines and/or rules with your children. The main focus is on pre-teens/teens but I will take any and all advice. Don't have a teen? That's okay tell me what your plan is. How do you plan to set your guidelines and continue to have a good relationship with your teen?

Vlog Update

2009-01-17T01:15:00.000-06:00

Instead of writing out the results of Gab's most recent doctor appointment and test results along with my views on the problems we are dealing with in the public school system, I decided to vlog it. After watching my vlog below if you have any advice please leave me a comment with your tips or thoughts.

Again thank you for stopping by and taking time to listen to our updates!

Fitness Friday

2009-01-16T15:49:00.003-06:00

Since Wii Fit Mommies is a group that I joined as part of my New Year's Resolutions, I am determined to continue with my Friday posts! Even though, sadly I must say this week was not good for me in the work out area. Heck this week hasn't had much ups at all and has been super busy with plenty of bad news. No, scratch that! This is a new year and I am determined to be a new me... So positive thinking! This week has been super busy with lots being work related, blogging and writing which is GREAT! Also a few doctor appointments and school appointments with Gab that could have went worse so although the news wasn't what I wanted it sure beats what it could have been. I promise to post tomorrow all about her updates though so check back soon to read more.

Now to staying positive!

My Wii Fit week wasn't the best. I did work out last Friday, Saturday and Sunday for at least 30 minutes each day. However, unfortunately I did not work out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. I know FOUR days in a row. I am frustrated that I let it slip by for that many days in a row. I know in my first Friday post I said I wasn't going to be hard on myself if I didn't work out every day but to skip that many days in a row is hard to avoid being negative towards myself. I wish I would have at least done every other day or something. But today is not over yet and I am determined to work out tonight! I do plan to get back going and vlog next week my full update, including new Wii Fit Age! So don't give up on me yet and I will be back at it again before you know it.

By the way, on the days I had worked out this week I continued working hard to beat the other moms' scores in the hula hoop challenge. Leave me a comment and cheer me on, it isn't easy! I am feeling a little competitive spirit building up in me. ;)

Am I Blessed or What?!

2009-01-15T22:26:00.006-06:00

Not even two weeks ago I was given the Lemonade Award and now I have been given TWO more blog awards! How great is that? The Wii Fit Mommies have passed on these two awards to me. I feel so honored to get so much recognition lately.

Rules state that I must link back to who gave me the award and pass on to ten others.

Amazing women who have shown me support that I believe deserve these awards! I am linking to their twitter address and their blog address because lately I have used twitter to interact with people more then just their blog. I hope you get a chance to enjoy these women as much as I have!

@JessicaKnows Jessica from Jessica Knows
@ToThink Arianne from To Think Is To Create
@princesstimetoy Connie at Princess Time Toys
@cynchrys Cindy from Streamside Farm
@tpompa Terri from QHealth Beauty
@rbuscemi Rebecca from Creative Virtual Office
@chatterboxcgc Christie from My Life a Work in Progress
@brandyellen Brandy from Writings of a WAHM

Some blogs I just adore!

@wiseyoungmommy Petra at The Wise Young Mommy
@tenakim Tena from My Therapy

I know there are many more and wish I could add them all...

I Heart Faces - Kids Contest

2009-01-14T16:53:00.003-06:00

There is a cool new website called I Heart Faces and I have decided to join their weekly contest. The way you enter is pick a category and display a photo with a face from that category. I selected the Kids category and here is my photo.

This is the first face photo I received of my son. I know at times these sonogram photos can be hard to see. It is his side profile and looks as if his thumb is in his mouth. So adorable! I feel in love with my son before I even gave birth and being able to see a 3D photo of him was priceless.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Toot

2009-01-13T09:10:00.002-06:00

Last night I took my oldest to the Open House at the 6th grade school. T will be attending 6th grade in the fall and here the school is separate, one building for only 6th graders. We got to tour the school and listen to the PTA talk, Principal tell all about their programs, electives and introduce the teachers. Yes, it was brutally boring! We did enjoy our tour though... T was really excited to see the two-story school and how big it is. They also teach foreign language there which is very exciting for her as well since she wants to learn French. I took French in school but can hardly say two words now, LOL. Maybe I'll re-learn with her.

So going to this school last night and sitting next to my daughter with her friends, who I might add are all the same size as me, was enlightening {if that's the right word}. It just dawned on me, I was sitting next to a 'little me'. I was in awe. I mean I know I had her young but it was like it just hit me that I am a mother of a pre-teen. She is going to be 12 years old this year! Have you ever had that moment, where you just sit back and say... WOW, this is my life! Well I have had those moments a few times lately when it comes to T. Even though I am the one who has raised her for 11.5 years it is almost like I am in shock that I have a child this age. I know, I know... I'm not old enough to have a kid who is going to turn 12, I know I was too young. Trust me, I've heard it all. But this leads to today's toot.

So for today's Tuesday Toot I want to toot my own horn that I am proud of myself. Although I was way too young, I did it! T does well in school, a great helper with her younger siblings and full of love! I don't think I could have done a better job. She is a good friend, good student and wonderful sister/daughter!

Toot Toot for me at making it as a mom!

Monday Momisms

2009-01-12T13:06:00.002-06:00

Carla from Mama Hearts Baby came up with a great idea of writing Monday Momisms. This is where you write some form of Mommy Wisdom for your child/children that you would like to pass along to them one day. Maybe a little bit of life advice that you would like your children to know even if you can't tell them right now. Sort of like a short version of that Michael Keaton movie, My Life.

So for today's Monday Momisms:

Dear T,
I am sorry you were not an only child. I am sorry that you have to share things with your younger siblings and that both your sister and brother go into your room without permission. I know my time has been stretched thin and taken away from you to care for my other children. I am truly sorry that you seem to be upset a lot and believe life is not fair to not only have mom all to yourself like in the first 5 years of your life.
Love,
Mom

Dear T,
I feel so blessed to be able to give you a younger sister and brother. I know the treasures a family shares will be cherished by you all throughout your life. I hope you realize how blessed you truly are to be able to share life with siblings and have such a close family. I am also very excited to be able to share you with my other children. You are such a wonderful big sister and will continue to grow into a good role model for Gab and Noah.
Love,
Mom

Life Lesson: "What may seem to be the worse right now, could end up being the best blessing in life"

Amy Adele

2009-01-11T12:06:00.003-06:00

FREE shipping until Monday, January 12th at 11:59 PM EST on all items with no minimum at Amy Adele. I love the fact that all Amy Adele paper items are 100% post consumer recycled paper. What better way to send stationery or use business cards while staying on the track of being green.

Not only is Amy Adele offering free shipping but right now through the end of January all the boys t-shirts are 50% off. How great is that? I just love the adorable monkey t-shirt which you can customize with your own little one's name.

When you check out Amy Adele's products the sales are automatic, no need for codes.
Happy Shopping!

16 Random Facts

2009-01-10T11:13:00.006-06:00

I was tagged by Erin from Son Up to Son Down when she gave me the Lemonade Award to write 16 random facts about myself. This took some thinking.

1. When I was a kid I took dance class for five years. Although I did jazz, tap and ballet my main dance was clogging. {now hold back the giggles please} I also can not believe I am adding this photo!

2. Starting in middle school I became an Algebra Honors student and maintained A's. I love math as geeky as that might sound. I always disliked science and history, although I now wish I would have paid more attention. I am also a straight A college student now. Go me!

3. When I was very young I tried climbing on a dog b/c my cousin told me I could ride him like a horse. I was young enough to believe her and although she might have been right, this particular dog was eating at the time. Unfortunately he threw me off pretty quick and bit me pretty bad. I still have the scar across my nose as you can see in this picture.

4. When I was 16yo I got a job at Claire's piercing ears at a local mall. The requirements for being able to pierce live human ears including babies... well let's just say the requirements weren't very high! :)

5. I have not always lived in the state of Texas. I once lived in Tennessee for 6 months and lived in Oklahoma for 2 months. Short resident trips yet long stories.

6. Although this random fact has been posted before I can't get more random then being able to move my ears. Yes that's right and there is a video to see this happening here.

7. I love to travel! Long distance, short distance, it doesn't matter. I have visited 12 states more then once each and would love to visit all 50. Want to take a quick road trip? I'm game. I fly places although I hate flying.

8. When I was little I also used to model for Dillard's. Another embarrassing photo of me walking the runway setup outside of Dillard's Department store within the mall.

9. I got married after only knowing the man for four weeks! Although it lasted three years I am guessing that is one reason he is my ex-husband now. The things we do when we're 18yo!

10. The pets/animals I've owned: {not at the same time} two snakes, two bunnies, Chinchilla, cats, dogs, fish, hamster, guinea pig, hermit crabs, turtles and mice to feed the snakes. I also used to spend a lot of time with my sister's wolf and sugar gliders, years back.

11. For a couple of years {before Gabby started having problems} I was a volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters and was a Big Sister to a teenage mom. I love being a mentor and have a very strong passion for it.

12. Throughout all of school years I used to love drawing cartoon characters. This one I haven't done in a while but my parents still have some framed in their house, unfortunately I don't have one to scan to display a photo. My daughter has recently asked me to draw her some Looney Toon characters so once that is complete I will post a photo.

13. I am a huge One Tree Hill fan. I love that show and don't miss it. I own all the previous seasons on DVD. I also am really bad about searching out spoilers online b/c I can't wait to know what's going to happen next. Such a cheater, I know...

14. I collect magnets. The front of my refrigerator is covered in them and I make sure to pick one up from every new location. I also enjoy receiving them from friends and family who travel to new places. {hint, hint}

15. I used to be on the YMCA swim team. I tried finding a photo to attach but apparently they are all at my parent's house. Again this was before high school days.

16. Now this is the final random fact. I love to bite and some {jokingly} believe I must have cannibal ancestors. Now before you go start thinking all dirty, this isn't ~~just~~ a sexual thing. I see my baby's fat cheeks and not only want to squeeze them like most people but I want to nibble them off. LOL {put down the phone and don't call CPS} I don't really hurt my children or bring blood or even bruise them. But haven't you ever had the desire to just nibble on your kids? Like the old saying "so cute I could just eat 'em up." Now if I am dating you, on the other hand, watch out. You could just be standing there and I will walk across the room to bite the shit out of you because it feels good. I do want to note I have never brought blood or felt the desire to taste blood on my victims. I am very affectionate, love to cuddle, squeeze and well... bite.

Fitness Friday

2009-01-09T08:05:00.000-06:00

Week One of the Wii Fit Mommies Challenge is complete. I must say I believe I did fairly good for the first week. To go from not working out at all to almost working out daily is a success for me. My last update was on the 1st with me creating my Mii and I worked out for over 30 minutes. On January 2nd I took my daughter to Six Flags and we walked around for four hours, therefore I did not make it on the Wii that night. Needless to say I was exhausted by the time I got home. I did find the option to log time for exercise outside of the Wii system. It even gives you the options of different types of exercises. I logged only two hours of walking for that day since I figured we stood in lines for rides and ate lunch during the four hours we were there. The only other day I missed any workout time was on Wednesday after spending the day at doctor appointments with my daughter, we had a total of three appts. that lasted until 7 PM. So, yes I decided to be lazy on Wednesday.

In my vlog you will see my weekly Wii Fit log, showing all my credits to activity. I also show my weight at this current time which if you would like you can go back and compare from my first update.

{MommaDJane's vlog}

Now you all know I absolutely LOVE the Wii Fit for myself! But did you know that I also love using it for my daughter? Gab had a stroke in utero and was born with Cerebral Palsy because of it. She has right-sided weakness in her body and goes through physical and occupational therapy twice a week. I think the Wii Fit is a great way to help her build strength and learn balance. It also gives her a FUN way to do her exercise and therapy at home instead of boring stretches like with her therapists. {No offense therapists} The Wii Fit gives options to really help all ages and be able to use the program to meet your own needs in an exciting environment where you don't even realize you are working out.

{Gab's vlog}

Introduction to Lilly

2009-01-08T10:46:00.005-06:00

Today I am introducing our new family pet, Lilly. About a week before Christmas we adopted Lilly from a couple moving to New York who were unable to keep her. Lilly is about two years old and the perfect dog for us. To be honest, I will be the first to admit I am not much of a dog person. Gab has wanted a dog for a long time and over the summer we did decide on one. Once we purchased the dog from a breeder and got it home within two days we realized it had parvo. The vet said to play it safe we shouldn't have another dog in the apartment for at least six months since parvo is so deadly and highly contagious. Now that we have moved to a house we were able to start looking again. When Gab came to me and informed me she was asking Santa for a Chihuahua, I thought... guess I better search. I was nervous because I didn't know how I was going to tell her we couldn't get a puppy. Trying to potty train a dog is just not in my cards. I have tried it and wasn't successful. Plus with all of Gab's doctor appts and our running around I don't think we are home enough to potty train a dog.

Thank goodness I found Lilly. She is grown and fully trained! She loves to go on car rides therefore she rides with me every morning and afternoon to the kids' school. She loves to sleep with us and literally follows us around. The kids can dress her up a million times and she won't complain. My favorite part is the fact she goes outside to potty! I never thought I could like a dog so much as I do her. I already baby her a ton! She is very spoiled {to say the least}.

I used SmileBox to create digital scrapbook slideshows for you to see our newest addition. I just LOVE SmileBox and signed up for a FREE account. The below slideshows were absolutely free and the luxury is I can email them to friends/family or post them in my blogs. What better way to show photos then just uploading them in plain view?!

{New Family Pet}

{Bath Time}

Now after I created Lilly's slideshows I noticed I have never done an introduction for Miso, my beloved Cat. I am a total cat fan and not only because he is low maintenance by keeping himself clean but b/c he is so soft and lovable! So here are a few pics of him. {We adopted Miso from PetSmart in October, he is now 8months old}

{Miso}

Don't forget to check out SmileBox for great e-cards or invitations too! You can even print the scrapbook pages or e-cards you create to mail out too. I love it!

A Great Loss

2009-01-07T00:00:00.004-06:00

I have sat staring at the computer screen for a while, trying to pick the right words. Not sure there are any... So let's try this.

Imagine you are happily married to a wonderful husband and mother to two beautiful girls. Now you and your husband are anxiously waiting for your first son to be born. Filled with excitement, love and joy...

Now the day comes when the anticipation is over. Just as you thought your heart was filled with love for your daughters, your son is born. You now know your family could not be more complete.

Your two innocent little girls learn how to love fully and cherish their baby brother. They witness the great miracles of life while stepping into the role of BIG sister with their arms wide open, knowing no limits on love and life.

Imagine the warmth you feel inside while holding your precious baby. Seeing him smile, hearing him giggle and not even understanding how somebody so small and so young can make you feel so wonderful.

Now imagine not quite seven months after the birth of your baby boy, he is pulled into heaven after an accidental death.

Can you imagine it? No, neither can I.

Now imagine grieving while caring for your daughters, helping them understand where their brother went when in reality you don't understand yourself. Trying to stay positive and supportive yet your heart is breaking at the same time. Do you think that is enough to deal with? What if you didn't have funeral expense money saved? You never expected to suffer a loss so great... Now during the roughest time in your life you have a funeral expense hanging over your head to figure out how to pay. Trying to build up the strength and the courage to ask for help would seem overwhelming.

Vanessa Huebner is an old friend of mine. We went to school together. Her family has suffered a great loss and I can't imagine. Thinking of her during this time has made me feel guilty for even getting upset over what seems such simple things in life. I think we all at some point take for granted what we have {our children by our sides}. Vanessa and her husband asked for donations to the Keaton Huebner Memorial Fund in lieu of flowers for the funeral. It just wasn't enough. Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo location by mentioning Keaton Huebner. I am asking publicly for any help. $1, $10, $100 any amount would be helpful. A paypal donation button is below for you to send money straight to the Huebner Family online if you are not near a Wells Fargo. Want to help but just don't have any extra money? Blog or tweet about this post and help me find donations. Helping erase this family's debt would be the biggest blessing right now.

Keaton's Obituary can be found here at Fort Worth Star Telegram to read more about him and his family. Also while you are there don't forget to sign the guest book because as you all know the Huebner family can use all the kind, supportive words and prayers they can get.

Thank you in advance!
Blessings to you...

Tuesday Toot

2009-01-06T00:30:00.000-06:00

It sure has been a long time since I wrote a Tuesday Toot! I even had to go back and look to see when the last one was written and it was on October 28, '08!
So for those of you who don't know what a Tuesday Toot is, it is where you toot your own horn. Most parents spend their time bragging about their children's accomplishments and forget to take a moment to acknowledge what THEY have done, themselves. With the new plan of blogging daily I hope to continue with the Tuesday Toot weekly b/c I think it is healthy to be proud of yourself!

For this week's tootin' I am just proud of myself for surviving the holidays! That is not only surviving the kids home from school every day for over TWO weeks but I also survived my family coming in town and staying at my house. Oh and did I mention they brought their dogs, who stayed indoors? Now don't get me wrong, I am not dog bashing or even family bashing. I love my family and they love their dogs. I knew their dogs were coming before hand and they did ask my permission. Their dogs are potty trained to go on pet pads they lay out on the floor within certain rooms of their house. The dogs will also go in the yard if they happen to be outdoors but will only use the pads if they are in the house {not go to the door}. Of course let me clear this up, the dogs will do this at their house. At my house... well that's a different story. The dogs felt the need to ~~piss on~~ 'bless' {yes, that's the word we'll go with} my carpet in every room about three times a day. The first 'blessing' took place within five minutes of entering my home after getting out of their crates in the car and stretching their legs while 'blessing' my lawn. Do dogs really pee two times within five minutes? So the first night I thought, it's okay, it's a new home and they must not realize where their pads are and maybe they just want to mark their territory once. Ha, ha, did I say once? I wish! After about 4 days I was ready to pull my hair out. If you have read any of my past posts you probably know I am very open to admit I already stress easy. But thinking of walking around on my carpet barefoot that a dog is 'blessing' all over, drove me nuts! The first day I actually tried shampooing the spots right away. After that we just cleaned it up by hand and waited the week out. Now the carpets have all been shampooed with pet odor control shampoo and my house is back to normal. I also am proud of myself for not getting upset once in front of my family. Nope, I walked away and worked really hard to just enjoy my time with my family. Although as sad as it might sound, from now on I would have to say no if I was asked again. Is that wrong?

The kids were also being extra 'special' this week. I guess they are bored being home for so long and must be ready to get back to school! Noah felt the need to turn his room upside down at least three times a day and Gab was defiant. T just got in the routine of staying up late and sleeping most the day and enjoying how lazy life can be for an 11yo on break. I will give her credit for helping me after I felt like I was 'pulling teeth' to get her moving, LOL. :)

But... I survived! Toot - Toot

When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade

2009-01-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

I am so excited that I was recently blessed with this blog award thanks to Erin over at From Son Up To Son Down.

The purpose of this award is to give it to someone who is showing gratitude or good attitude "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." This award fits perfect with the current situation going on with my daughter, Gab. After our recent news we are trying to just 'make lemonade'.

Now the rules say you must link back to the person who awarded you and add the award logo to your blog. Then you must pass on the lemonade award to ten people who express gratitude or good attitude within their life and/or blog.
Ten Recipients Below {in no particular order}
1. Brandy at Writings of a WAHM, she is a mother of three little ones ages 6 and under, including two in diapers. While the economy hurts everyone right now, Brandy still manages to stay positive, work hard from home and find time to blog at not only one blog but TWO including one that is designed to help others: Ask Brandy.

2. Jyl at Mommy Gossip, takes time to raise her own family while being positive and encouraging to others through #GNO via twitter. Even though she is super busy with MomItForward she still takes time out for others and trust me I know. Outside of twitter and blogger, Jyl has personally been supportive while I was having a hard time with my daughter's results. She took time to show she cared!

3. Claire at Single Mom Meltdown is a disabled mother, working hard to not only care for herself but her darling daughter as well. Did I mention she is SINGLE? It's a tough enough road being a single parent but working hard from home to make ends meet is even more difficult. She blogs and is trying to just 'make lemonade'.

4. Dannie at The Brunette Blog is a Jill of all trades. Here is just some of the things she does. While working a full time job, raising a family and networking online while starting her own non-profit company she remains positive and helpful to others. She has even reached out her hand to me and my family as a way of being a support system to us!

5. Janine at Twofer The Price of One is a mother of 5yo twins, need I say more?! I am impressed by the fact her twins can read, write and draw very cute pictures and just the fact she raised two babies at the same time!

6. Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time has a great attitude all around! Even though she was raised in a home with an alcoholic father and recently suffered a great loss she still takes the time out to award her blogger friends with virtual gifts including well wishes for health to MY family!
{Last time I blessed Mrs. 4444 with an award she forced me to do a Stupid Human Trick, which I believe is worth passing on a second!}
7. Katja at Skimbaco Lifestyle is a very positive woman! This post pretty much sums up her 2008 with the loss of her baby, the loss of her family pet, becoming a Walmart 11Mom, moving to a new state and yet continuing to blog and run a business. No matter the lemons she was dealt she continued to make lemonade!

8. Julie at Cool Mom Guide is a very positive and inspirational person. Her story about losing 60 pounds using the Wii Fit and now created the Wii Fit Mommies to help encourage other moms to stay fit while using their Wii! I think that is enough good attitude to deserve an award.

9. Misty from The Johnson Family is a wonderful wife and mother. I think she is probably the most involved mother with her daughter's school PTA and blogs about life. She is a stay-at-home mother and a good one at that. I believe she demonstrates gratitude on her blog and in life!

10. Teri, Johnathon's mother blogs his updates on his Care Page daily {sometimes more than once a day} about his progress dealing with cancer at the age of 3. The doctor's found a tumor on Johnathon's brain the same week he turned 3 years old. While Teri watches her son go through chemo and all the downfalls from it she stays strong and positive. I only wish there was more I could give besides prayers and this award! No matter what lemons her family has been dealt she manages to make lemonade and even try to help others through Johnathon's Rainbow Road Project. What a wonderful woman!

Now Erin with From Son Up to Son Down also tagged me as part of this award to list 16 random things about myself. Since it took so long to write this post I think I will save the 16 facts for a later date! But check back often b/c I do plan to write them soon and you won't want to miss that!

Merry Christmas To Me!

2009-01-04T00:03:00.000-06:00

I know what you are thinking... Merry Christmas To Me..., Christmas is over! Well although that may be true this was a post I wasn't going to let slide by. In October last year I joined a group of bloggers in becoming a Secret Santa. Georgie from Decisionally Challenged put together a great Christmas exchange and kept all the names secret from each other. Our deadline was to send out our Secret Santa gifts by December 10th and once we received our items from our Secret Santa we were to blog about it. Hence this post. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't just receive my gift. No, the late post is all on me! I could try and blame it on my recent move into a house, or my motherly duties or heck even the fact I had family come in town over the holidays and stay with me... but the truth is there is no excuse for me to wait this long.

So without further adieu

As you see my Secret Santa wrapped my wonderful gifts in a Snowman box, which I LOVE snowmen. I also can't believe everything I got! I just love all my goodies... The cute little Christmas/Santa magnets were a lot of fun for the kids to play with on the fridge and perfect to hold Christmas cards up, the photo frame is just adorable with all the buttons {it is holding our family Christmas picture on my desk}, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the D initial ornament and to top it off with some fabulous Christmas towels. But wait... that's not all {not shown in photo} she also sent me a $5 Starbucks GC! I was surely blessed by my Secret Santa.

Georgie has since revealed the names of our Secret Santas so I am thanking mine publicly and apologizing for my post being so late. Thank you Jill from Charming & Delightful, I just love all my wonderful gifts! I am also excited to be introduced to another blog that I had not yet found online. It is always great to meet new bloggers and I look forward to reading more of Jill's posts.

I hope this post was better late, than never. Blogging more is important to me this year, so here's to a New Year and New Me!

{Going to SHINE in 2009}

Wii Fit Mommies Twitter Party

2009-01-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

So as you know from reading my New Year's Resolutions and my Fitness Friday post I have joined the Wii Fit Mommies! I am so excited about this. To add to the excitement I get to inform you {all my readers} of a great twitter party going on. Online twitter parties are literally the best! Twitter {to say the least} has become very addicting and anyone who has used it will back me up on this. So if you haven't created yourself a twitter account then hop right to it and be ready for the par-tay!

Now you are probably wondering "why should I join this party?" well let me tell you! Not only will there be fun chatting going on with hundreds of other tweeples but prizes are going to be given away. That's right, I said FREE prizes. Plus what other great way to kick off the new year then to join a fun, motivating twitter party. {New Year, New You}

There is also another announcement that I can't forget to mention. Wii Fit Mommies have created a partnership with NewBaby.com for mommies to vlog their progress for the world to see. NewBaby.com has also donated a FLIP video camera to be given away as the grand prize during the Wii Fit Mommies twitter party.

Now to read more about the party details click here.

Twitter Party Date: Saturday, January 3, 2008
Twitter Party Time: 7-9PM CST
Twitter Hashtag to be used during party: #wiimoms

Enter to win all the prizes:

Wii Fit Mommies Grand Prize: FLIP video camera

Cool Mom Guide {Julie} is giving away a sunglasses and sun hat combo from Baby Banz

The Good Enough Witch {Cynthia} is giving away a Wii Fit Workout Kit

The Coupon Coup {Jenn} is giving away a Wii Travel Bag

Real Life Blog {Sarah} is giving away a $20 Amazon GC to purchase a Wii accessory

Remember if you have any questions regarding joining a twitter party, what hashtags are or even more info on Wii Fit Mommies, you can find great help here.

I can't wait to join everyone at the Wii Fit Mommies twitter party and hopefully those who have not yet joined The Wii Fit Mommies challenge will soon! Don't forget to follow me on twitter so we can chat during the party @MommaDJane.

{I'm gonna SHINE in 2009}

Fitness Friday

2009-01-02T00:37:00.004-06:00

Day 1 of my New Year Challenge as being a Wii Fit Mommy!I created a vlog for you to see my process of starting all over. I first received my Wii Fit in July and have LOVED it. I used it a lot in the beginning and then with my recent move, holidays and busy life I got side-tracked. When Wii Fit Mommies was created I loved the idea of New Year, New You. Plus it is a great forum to interact with other moms who have the same goals {to become fit}. I especially like it because this is my way of holding myself accountable to stay on track with exercising. What better way to exercise than with a fun Wii Fit and support system of other blogging mommies?! So now I have started fresh, from scratch and even created my whole Mii again. You will see in the video my process of weighing in, balance test and Wii Fit Age!

To be honest I don't believe I am less than 100 pounds. I know I am short and little but need to shape up and exercise more. I have a petite frame but would love to thin out the middle. Have never completely felt confident since my c-section with my son who is now two. I would love this year to become healthier and firmer.
Here's to a New Year and New Me! {Planning to SHINE in 2009}

New Year Resolutions '09

2009-01-01T14:00:00.000-06:00

It is 2009 already? Wow time sure has gone by fast.
First I want to say Happy New Year to all my readers!

My New Year's Resolutions:

1. Save money! My first step towards saving money is becoming a little more GREEN and saving electricity. I already started converting all my light bulbs over to the GE energy saver bulbs... What's next? I took the pledge, did you?

2. To add to saving money and to create more quality family time, I want to cook at home more! So I took the challenge, will you?

3. I also have joined the Wii Fit Mommies to set goals and push myself to become more fit. I don't have a goal for a specific amount of weight loss just to exercise more and become more healthy. I own a Wii Fit system and plan to use it on a regular bases and blog about it on Fitness Fridays so check back to see my progress. Will even create vlogs for you to see!

4. To add to becoming more healthy I have decided to try and cut out caffeine. I love drinking tea and Dr Pepper so my goal is to cut back as much as possible and basically eliminate it altogether. I drink decaf-tea at home and have stopped buying DP for the house. My real challenge will be in public, I guess I'll have to drink Sprite or more water. Drinking more water is my challenge but I am determined! To keep energy while working out and in my daily routine I already drink XS energy drinks which I purchase the caffeine free ones and LOVE 'em! Same price as Red Bull but so much better for you... Plus they come in several flavors.

5. I want to take better care of myself. I get so busy with the kids, the house and life in general that I don't do much just for myself. I plan to schedule more "me" time and along with becoming healthy I want to take care of my outer self as well. More relaxing baths and more time spent taking care of my skin. I plan to schedule doing a facial on myself once a month. I already own all the products and use my facial cleanser, toner and moisturize each morning in the shower but forget to do it again at night. I want to start taking more time working on myself! Using a pore cleanser mask is not only good for your skin but it is refreshing as well. Maybe blogging about it will hold myself more accountable and marking it on a calendar will remind me to DO it!

6. Another 'goal' is to blog more often. I love blogging and it is something I truly do for myself. I have a tendency to neglect my blog when I get busy with life. I joined the NaBloPoMo for the month of January and plan to blog once a day. I am not used to blogging that much so this will help motivate me and get me in the groove of blogging more. After January if I don't continue blogging daily I want to at least blog several times a week.

View my page on NaBloPoMo

7. Be more happy! I know that I have a lot of stress in my life and in general I stress pretty easily {okay I stress a LOT}. I have found myself raising my voice with the kids more than I should and staying more negative about everything lately. For 2009 I want to turn the tables on that and become more positive. Stop yelling at the kids, try to relax more and realize that no matter how rough things get I should be happy that we are ALIVE!

8. For my final resolution... I want to become more successful! I am not setting a dollar amount that I want to make this year but rather just feeling more successful and knowing I gave it my all. I want to do more with my blog and I feel a strong pull towards networking online and helping others. I want to SHINE in 2009!

Happy New Years Everyone!
Don't forget to Shine in 2009...

Anticipation

2008-12-22T01:16:00.007-06:00

Have you ever received bad news that you wanted to blog about yet putting the words in writing for some reason made it seem more real than you would like? I know it may seem silly but for a little over a week now I have been really struggling with this. Many of you, especially my followers are twitter, knew Gab went in for her big test on the 11th of December and have been waiting for me to post the results. I have briefly posted tweets about what happened and even took the time to upload the video from that day and put together a vlog... just not post it. I have such a hard time putting myself out there, so to say. Writing my feelings on such a sensitive subject makes me feel somewhat vulnerable and I DON'T like to feel vulnerable ;) To better explain myself, I guess I am one of those people who would rather hold it in than feel as if I am throwing a self pity party, no matter what the circumstance is. I am sure this is all my own perspective on the situation and probably the real truth behind my subconscious is that I just don't want to type out the results or talk about it with many people b/c DANG IT, I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT! Putting it all out there is allowing myself to admit it is real. I remember last year when Gab went into the hospital to have brain surgery I created an awesome site for her. I sent it out to everyone who was in contact with us including family, friends, co-workers and they each sent it on to someone else. There were so many people commenting and reading her story it was great. We received plenty of comments sending along prayers and people saying they were touched by reading Gab's progress and seeing all the photos I would post. Shortly after she started having problems in the hospital I quit updating. I was going through so much that writing about it at that time was not something I could do. It was depressing enough to watch my daughter go through all of it but to put it into words was even more difficult. I look back now and wish I would have continued with her site. Many people throughout the past year have asked how things went and what happened. Family and friends miss seeing all the photos... So now even though it has been over a week, I am determined to pull my head out of the sand, try to fight the depression, have a little faith and publish this post!

I also won an awesome FLIP video camera from Katja, in one of her blog giveaways, to whom I owe a vlog post. So here you go with my very first vlog!

{Without further adieu}
Gabby's video update.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For those of you with a million questions... I know the video was vague for someone who hasn't known us for a year or doesn't know the whole story behind Gab's surgery. I will do my best to sum it up. Gab had a stroke during utero and therefore was born with Cerebral Palsy. At nine months old she started having seizures. With the help of steroid shots, seizure medication and lots of therapy we had been able to keep her healthy and active until she was about 4. Her seizures at this point became monthly, weekly and then daily. Since she had brain damage caused by the stroke her epilepsy was only going to get worse. The Neurosurgeon informed me we had to do surgery to remove the abnormal brain tissue in order to stop the seizures, the convulsions were lasting 20 minutes each time and she could no longer even go to school. The surgeon believed if we did not remove the left side of the brain (which was the damaged part) then eventually her right side (good side) would suffer stress and start having seizures as well. Once he approached me about surgery it was scheduled within two weeks. Since we did not know if she would walk or talk after surgery the Make-a-Wish foundation sent us to Disney World for the first week before surgery. She was a little over 5 1/2 years old when she had the first brain surgery. The whole process did not go as the doctor wished and she developed infections in the blood stream which kept us in the hospital for over four months straight. The end result was the removal of the left side of her brain. We were not able to have an EEG to see the results of surgery until December 11th of this year, one year after her final surgery. They had to allow the brain a year to heal to show an accurate EEG test without the stress in the brain waves from surgery. She has continued seizure medication everyday since surgery. During this recent test we hoped for the best results, a completely clear EEG so we could stop meds. Unfortunately what the doctor was trying to avoid from happening, happened. The seizure activity has now moved to the right side of the brain. There is nothing left for the doctors to do except continue her on medication. Since she is now only 6 years old and already tried many medications we can only hope for the best. She only has half a brain left and really can't afford for the seizures to cause much more damage. Within the past month I have seen at least two episodes of seizure activity which really scares me. This test meant a lot to us and the end results were supposed to make us feel like everything we have been through was worth it. It was supposed to be a sign that things were getting better and hopefully one day soon I could work outside of the home again and stop all the crazy appointments that we have weekly. Apparently that is not in the cards for me at this time. I am trying to keep up my spirits and hope that my working from home will perk up to become more successful soon. Did you hear about Tom Cruise's daughter Suri and her Ladybug Shoes on Oprah? Well reading the post on Katja's blog has really given me hope that something BIG can happen to a work from home mother who blogs.

Happy Holidays!

Confession ~ Seal Album Giveaway

2008-12-02T00:33:00.007-06:00

{Confession}
In 1994 I was 12 years old and
jammed to Seal's hit song at the time,
Kiss From a Rose.
Yes, I owned that baby on cassette tape!
Probably where I recorded it
off the radio thinking I was so cool.

When I was told Seal's new album was being released November 11th I was excited to hear it.

{Confession}
I have been overly stressed lately.
I haven't had the chance to write blog
posts lately or even read my favorites.
I recently wrote an updated post to try and
catch everyone up. I am on overload.

Once I received Seal's Soul album, the kids and I played it in the living room stereo. We danced, sang and smiled. Since then we have listened to it while driving and singing along. After dropping the kids off at school, I listen to it alone and relax. A Change is Gonna Come is very soothing. Taking a moment to be stress-free has not happened around here lately. ~Thank you Seal!

My title says a giveaway... so here it is! I have the opportunity to giveaway a copy of Seal's new album on CD. How exciting? In perfect time for the holidays too, when you need to relax the most!

But wait... that's not all!
(always wanted to say that, so infomercial)

I also get to giveaway (something I don't even own myself) mini-retro iPod speakers thanks to Delight.com!

How cool are these?! They will make a perfect stocking stuffer for my daughter.

Think of Delight.com as a unique boutique that stocks the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Delight features eco-friendly tote bags, gadgets for guys, kitchen gear that is smart and saves time, travel essentials, one-of-a-kind baby gifts, stocking stuffers for holiday gift shopping and unique jewelry and décor accessories with most under $50.

Also a great way to get the inside scoop
on newsletter only deals and tips sign up here.

{Confession}
Even though I want to believe I can do
it all, I can't. My load has to be lightened.
Therefore, for me, A Change is Gonna Come.

Now for ways to enter contest...!

1 entry} post a comment here telling me what it is you do for your down time (read, listen to music, watch TV?)

1 entry} tweet or blog about this giveaway and help promote Seal's new album release then re-comment here with a link to your post

1 entry} follow my blog to be the first to hear all the upcoming giveaways and re-comment letting me know you did

Contest ends Monday, December 8th and the winner will be randomly picked using random.org

Special thanks goes out to Arianne over at To Think is To Create and One2One Network along with Delight.com for making this great giveaway happen!

To enter more gift fest giveaways check this out.

Random Sequence Generator
Here is your sequence:

2
7
17
15
8
3
12
13
18
14
1
4
10
5
16
9
11
6
Timestamp: 2008-12-12 15:10:23 UTC

~~WINNER is Katy Wheaton! Katy posted the second comment which as you see in my random.org results the 2 comment was picked! CONGRATS Katy!~~
Since Katy never responded I went down the list, the second winner had no contact info listed and no blogger profile so I went on to the third where I found our winner!
Congrats to SHANNAN POWELL!

Holiday Shopping Guide Giveaway

2008-12-01T17:52:00.007-06:00

In celebration of Cyber Monday and the Holiday Gift Guide Virtual Party going on I am hosting a giveaway on my blog.

I am excited to giveaway a copy of the new book The Problem With Women is Men by Charles Orlando.

I can't wait to get my own personal copy of this book to read. I just love the title in itself and know it will be a great read!

This book would be a wonderful gift for any woman on your holiday gift lists along with all the curious men wanting to know what it's all about.

Don't want to wait to win a free copy? Get yours on Amazon today!

Contest starts right away and ends on Sunday, December 7, 2008. In plenty of time to receive the book for Christmas giving.
Entry details:

1 entry} Leave a comment telling me who you would like the book for (yourself or gift).

1 entry} tweet about this giveaway along with link to blog post and come back to leave second comment with link to your tweet

1 entry} blog about giveaway or link within blog post to this original blog post and come back to comment with link to your post

Don't forget to follow my blog to stay tuned for up coming giveaways and reviews!

Random.org will be used to determine the winner Monday morning!

Good luck readers and Happy Holidays!

CONGRATULATIONS TO BRANDI! Random.org pulled the number Brandi's tweet stood for making her the winner of the Problem with Women is Men.

For more gift fest giveaways enter here.

Holiday Shopping Guide Part 1

2008-11-30T21:36:00.005-06:00

This is the first post for the beginning of my Holiday Shopping Guide. In this post I have included a few recommended shopping sites along with descriptions of what kinds of products they offer. Happy Holidays Everyone!

Still haven't sent out your holiday cards? Here are a few great sites to look over. Amy Adele has the cutest stationary and cards you can find. I also love the fact that they are eco-friendly!

Although Clinique is not a store that sales holiday cards they do have a wonderful offer going on right now which includes FREE holiday cards from Big Brothers Big Sisters. I have done quite a bit of volunteer work with this wonderful organization and love to promote any company that helps them out! So why not purchase a Christmas gift and receive your holiday cards for FREE?!

Vista Print is a great company that I use for a lot of my business printing needs. They offer many of their items either FREE or at a very large discount. Always worth checking out their deals.

Shutterfly is a great site to create online photo sites to share your memories throughout the year which is great for the holiday season. You can also create your holiday gift cards with a personal touch of a family photo.

Here are a few web stores that offer gifts for anyone on your list.

I absolutely LOVE the Personal Creations site! You can literally shop for everyone hard to buy for on your list. A personalized gift is priceless. I am personally purchasing our Christmas ornaments for this year through this store!

I had to throw in the Label Daddy store. This store is great during the holidays. Purchasing labels for all your new items, especially for the children is almost a necessity. Not only their coats they take to school but all the toys the might travel with over the holiday breaks. Label Daddy is also a great way to help keep yourself organized so this year don't forget to label the Christmas decor before putting it back in the attic.

Napster is perfect for the music lover in your life. For the teen you might not know what to get a subscription to Napster would do the trick.

Vans is a great store for children, teens and adults. They don't only have shoes but boots and clothing as well.

Sirius Satellite Radio is not only for music lovers but sports and new addicts as well. Anyone with or without a vehicle would love to have a XM-on-Sirius Radio this holiday season.

Who doesn't love Flowers? When I don't know what to send my grandmother or out of town Aunt for the holidays, flowers always do the trick! What about for co-workers or other non-personal relationships? I believe plants, wine and gift baskets are all great gift giving items to say Happy Holidays.

iTunes is a great place to purchase gift cards, download music or even movies and television series. Most everyone nowadays has an iPod or some sort of MP3 player. This is another great site for gifts.

The Buckle store is another well known store for not only their clothing but accessories as well. Great for anyone on your list.

This concludes Part 1 of my Holiday Shopping Guide. Within the next couple of posts you will hear all about the giveaway taking place on my blog along with Part 2 of the Shopping Guide which will include shopping sites for Women, Men and of course Children!

I am Thankful...

2008-11-27T20:53:00.009-06:00

I am Thankful that we are home for the holidays. I don't just mean home in the town of Benbrook, TX where we live. I mean for the fact that we are spending the holidays in the comfort of our home outside of the hospital.

Last year we spent every holiday in the hospital while Gab undergone brain surgery. We didn't even celebrate Thanksgiving and because of her short term memory loss she didn't truly remember what Thanksgiving was. It is so nice this year to be able to celebrate the holidays with our family and be thankful everyone is healthy.

There are many more reason I am thankful this year and many more family members and friends I am thankful to have in my life. Being thankful to not be living in a hospital is just the number one change this year from last.

Gab November 13, 2007 before first surgery

Gab after first surgery (a little swollen)

Gab after second surgery

Gab while in rehab at hospital (first time standing alone)

Gab now, a year later! A beautiful survivor of brain resection surgery removing left side of brain, lots of rehab, therapy weekly and relearning all about life!

My two other blessings in life.

I would say I have plenty to be thankful for!

Change...

2008-11-20T11:06:00.002-06:00

Where to start...
First I want to say I am sorry I have not posted in a while. So much has gone on the past couple of weeks.

Update.

1. We moved into a house and left the apartment in the past. Hopefully it will stay there. I painted the kids' rooms and will post photos soon. First time painting, so beware. I have completely relocated but have not completely unpacked. Working on it... and almost done.

2. I decided to change my major in college. Yes, I am completely shocked too. Especially since I am scheduled to graduate next year. I have been torn and confused on my outlook and really feel a pull towards a different focus. Accounting will still be part of my experiences and I am sure Business will play a large factor in my major. However I have new plans now. Announcement coming soon!

3. We have been sick! Very sick. First Gabby came home with a high fever a day after receiving the flu vaccine. She had no other symptoms except the high fever, which to me is scary enough considering her epilepsy. After two days of non-stop fever she was fine. Until the next week when she got the stomach virus that lasted 24 hours and of course, passed on to me. I thankfully did not catch it as bad as she did. Now for the past four days I have been fighting a sinus infection. Finally started antibiotics yesterday and starting to get a little better. You can at least understand me now when I talk.

4. Although I was sick I managed to get out and do some shopping on Black Friday. I could not resist considering the deals I was after. I really need to watch every penny this holiday season so I had to get the items on my wish list while they were on sale. I will post the great deals soon!

5. Over the past few weeks another big thing happened. One of our suppliers for Unique Diva Boutique went out of business. Unfortunately that is happening to a lot of small companies right now with the economy the way it is. That leaves us with only a few items left from Mineral Girlz and our web store has been updated. So if you would like any mineral makeup or makeup tools (as in brushes) you better hurry over to Unique Diva Boutique to check out what is left. We have marked the items on sale as well. They will make great stocking stuffers.

6. I also received the new album out by Seal and the review is coming next on my blog. And what's better with a review other than a GIVEAWAY?! So watch for it soon!

Now there are other announcements coming soon along with a Holiday Shopping Guide. Can't do it all in one post, now can I?

Sorry for being out of touch but I promise that will change soon!

Tiny Prints Holiday Card Contest

2008-11-02T21:01:00.006-06:00

I am so excited to announce yet another giveaway! This round is going to be a lot of fun. In the Tiny Prints Holiday Card Contest I am going to send you on a little scavenger hunt. Yes, you read that correctly I am going to make you work for this prize. Don't panic yet, I won't make you work too hard.

So what is the prize you ask?

Winner receives:
50 holiday photo cards,
72 address labels and
60 stamps with the matching card design!
O.M.G. I know, don't fall out of your chair!

If you are anything like me then 50 greeting cards for the holidays is more than enough to send out to friends and family. I am amazed that I get to offer this great deal to one lucky reader. Wish I could hand it out to more than one of you.

Now for the fun part! Go to Tiny Prints Holiday Photo Cards and let the scavenger hunt begin! You all know that I am giving you a free excuse to browse the internet to look at fabulous holiday cards just in time for this wonderful season! On your scavenger hunt find the photo card with "slushy to chic" in the description. Once you have succeeded in your quest you must click the "ask a friend" option to share the card with me to my email address: djanep05 (@) sbcglobal.net. There is still another catch, the fun part! You can not just find the card and email me as proof, you must also create a fun greeting for the card. Once you find the card and create the greeting then email it to me and click save to favorites. Then come back to this post and leave a comment including your witty, catchy, impressive greeting. Do not give away the title of the holiday card otherwise you will inform your competitors where to go. The person with the most creative greeting will win! I know all my wonderful readers are smart so go get your creative juices flowing and win some beautiful photo cards for Christmas.

Break Down:
Click Here
Find photo card with "slushy to chic" in description
Click Ask a Friend
Type creative greeting
Enter my email for proof djanep05 (@) sbcglobal.net
Click Save to Favorites *must complete this step for prize
Come back to this post and leave comment with your creative greeting
Best greeting wins prize!

Everyone needs holiday cards and why not get yours for FREE? The bonus of having your family photo on the card is priceless.
BTW I have to list the Terms and Conditions:
*only people who have not won a Tiny Prints Contest within the past 90 days are eligible
*contestants can only win once but may enter as many times as they wish
*winner responsible for full purchase price of any items that fall outside of contest winnings
*contest ends Friday, November 7th
*contestants relinquish greeting text ownership and allow Tiny Prints to use their entries for promotional use

Have Fun and Good Luck

CONTEST WINNER: AMY IN TEXAS

Halloween Blog Party

2008-10-29T09:57:00.005-05:00

Here is my last entry into the Halloween Blog Party being thrown by Amy at Living Locurto...

I recently purchased Photoshop Elements and decided to try it out on a Halloween photo from last year of my girlies dressed in their poodle skirts.

I also found this video on You Tube that I thought might get everyone in the trick or treating mood for tomorrow.

Happy Halloween everyone and be safe tomorrow!

Klean Kanteen Product Review

2008-10-28T17:06:00.012-05:00

Going Green or just Going Safe? Then I have the product for you. Recently I was contacted by Kay Green from My Precious Kid and asked if I wanted to try out their new product, the Klean Kanteen, for my son. Of course I jumped on the opportunity! I love trying out new things, especially when they are FREE. Kay not only sent me one for Noah but she sent me an extra one to giveaway to one lucky reader. Yep, you read that right, I get to give one away. Cool, huh?

I tried/kept the blue one for Noah.

To give you the run down on the Klean Kanteen and why it is so great... First it is made from 100% recyclable, high-quality, food-grade stainless steel so it doesn’t need a special lining like some other metal bottles. It’s completely BPA-free and won’t leach chemicals, toxins, or funky flavors into your little one's drink. The Klean Kanteen is safer than plastic sippy cups. To read more from the experts click here.

Although I am not an expert, I am a mother of three whose two year old son personally tried out the Klean Kanteen. This is my personal opinion, I love it! With Noah being two I love the fact it doesn't look so baby like. It is also a perfect size for him. The width was just right for him to hold onto without having those huge handles sticking out the side. This also benefited me with the ease of being able to slip it into my purse. I am the worst at not carrying a diaper bag everywhere and instead just sticking a few items down in my own purse, so the smaller the better! However, the Klean Kanteen would also fit perfect in a side pocket of a diaper bag or backpack. Even though it is slim it still holds plenty of drink at 12 ounces. Another great thing about it is the fact it keeps the drink inside nice and cold for a long time. In plastic sippy cups I hate for Noah to carry around milk. It will spoil so fast because it gets warm quick. In the Klean Kanteen this wasn't the case. I am very eager to try it with warm beverages too, like hot cocoa during the upcoming holidays. One plus for me is the Klean Kanteen is dishwasher safe! Can't beat that. It actually comes clean in the dishwasher too since the opening is so large the soap and water can fully get inside it and clean. My Precious Kid also has Klean Kanteens in the sports bottle size for older children. My 11 year old wants one so bad. She envied her baby brother when he got his. She loves the look of it. She wants a pink one and now that they allow them to carry water bottles to school, I will just have to get her one.

So now that you have heard all about the product, I know you are dying to have one. Let the contest begin! First are the rules. I know, I know, rules, rules... But every contest has to have them.

1. First go to Kay Green's website at My Precious Kid and find one item that you would love to have besides the Klean Kanteen and come back to leave your pick in a comment. (one entry)
2. To earn extra entries follow me on twitter @MommaDJane to stay informed of all giveaways and also follow @MyPreciousKid to hear all about her upcoming products, you must leave comment with proof of following (two entries for new followers)
3. Post a tweet about this giveaway linking to this blog post to share in the excitement, leave a comment including link to tweet (one entry for each tweet)
4. Post on your blog talking about this giveaway with a link to this post and earn yet another entry

That is a total of five possible entries to win a silver Klean Kanteen.

Good Luck Readers!

BONUS
Kay Green didn't want to leave anyone out so she is being so kind to also offer this 10% discount code. If you want to shop now for anything on her site or in case you are not the lucky winner you will have a chance to purchase your own product at a 10% discount. Just use coupon code # 112081208 and this coupon is valid until December 31, 2008 so have fun Christmas shopping! There are tons of items I want from the site, including a medical ID bracelet for my six year old.

Want to see more giveaways? Visit the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. There are literally over 1000 more! Join them all for FREE!

WINNER ANNOUNCED USING RANDOM.ORG ON NOVEMBER 2ND @ 10:26 PM.
Michelle found over at Life with Three is the lucky winner of the Klean Kanteen! Congrats Michelle!

Tuesday Toot

2008-10-28T07:03:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday Toot time again and since I haven't participated in the toot'n for a couple of weeks I thought I would get back to it.

Saturday evening I setup a booth at my daughters' Fall Festival at their elementary school. I brought some of my inventory from my store to sale including some Creationz By Me products for kids to do themselves at my table. It was a fun activity for them and they really enjoyed it. The body lotion was the most popular and the girls loved to mix their own colors and scents into their lotion. Such a success. If you haven't seen this then check out my online store right away. Unique Diva Boutique So I sold $75 worth of children's hair bows, a $38 purse and six Creationz By Me. I was so excited about this. Although the booth cost me $25 to setup my main goal was to advertise my store by handing out coupons, which I did. Therefore, I expected to donate $25 to the girls' school and benefit by advertising to all the mothers my business. Imagine how excited I was to sale quite a bit of inventory and make some money! YAY!
Toot ~ Toot
Here are a few updated photos of the store!

Friday Fragments

2008-10-24T09:16:00.004-05:00

So it's Friday Fragment time again.
First I want to mention I am excited because on November 7th we are moving into a house! The kids and I are finally moving out of our apartment and into a house where they will have a backyard. Finally, thank goodness! I am a bit scared though b/c our apartment is four bedrooms and the house is only three bedrooms which means two kiddos have to share. They are so spread out in age that this makes me nervous b/c of sibling battles.

Since we are moving we decided to get rid of one of our pets. Yes I said one of them. We had a cat, guinea pig and bunny. The guinea pig and bunny were sharing a cage and the bunny had gotten so big it was time to get a new cage or bye bye bunny. Between the two animals eating and pooping the cost of food and bedding was about $80 a month. No kidding. So since the bunny was getting so big and the kids were not playing with her as much I decided to get rid of her. I thought this was going to be easy but it was actually pretty hard for me. Sad... But now we are down to two pets for the move.

This week I have participated in the Halloween Blog Party that is going on over at Living Locurto. You should check it out and join in. While I was over there I found this really neat blog with this beautiful dress that was being given away. Although the giveaway for the dress is over you should still check it out. I was amazed at her work, everything is done by hand. Check it out here.

Talking about giveaways you should head over to Loot 4 Mama and join in on the giveaway. I am actually a sponsor in this giveaway offering a $25 gift certificate on any Christmas items from Unique Diva Boutique. So join in on the fun!

Now that I have told a little about my week and a little about work, I can't forget to mention school. I took two college finals recently and made straight A's. YAY! I am so proud of myself, especially since going back to college while having kids is not an easy task. This is the perfect time to share this great FREE mother's guide to going back to school online. This guide is completely free and might help answer questions or guide you down the path to pursuing your degree. I love for my kids to be able to see how important college is no matter when you graduate.

Stupid People Trick

2008-10-22T20:39:00.011-05:00

Drum Roll Please...

Presenting my long past due "Stupid People Trick"! First let me introduce this 'stupid' trick. For those of you who are new to my blog, I was awarded a Gold Card in this post. As I was following the rules and handing the award back out to other fellow bloggers I decided to send it over to Half Past Kissin' Time. Well to my surprise Mrs4444 has an ~~humiliating~~ entertaining little challenge, we shall call it, that everyone must commit to in order for her to accept an award from them. You must check out her challenge here and see her stupid people trick. Now at first when she informed me of this ~~ridiculous~~ interesting challenge that I must perform on the internet for everyone to see... well let's just say I was sure she was getting the last laugh. After seeing her stupid people trick in a photo and heading over to Zoe's Dad to see his video, I felt much better. Okay well maybe that's not true, I still don't feel great about it. But at least I know I'm not alone. I would like to however clear up one thing. I do not believe these are 'stupid people' tricks, I believe these are 'stupid tricks' done by people. So read it like 'stupid' people trick. Just to make that clear!

Without further adieu...

Yes, I am able to move my ears. Yes, I just posted that video of myself on the world wide web for everyone to see and I have no makeup on. Yes, I was trying very hard to be serious yet continuously busted out laughing. Yes, I am embarassed but hey what's the harm in a little fun?! So now that I have shown you my stupid trick I thought I would also share this video of my daughter's useless people trick.

They call it the "Human Ball"
Maybe her display of rolling on the ground will distract you and make you forget my stupid people trick.

.... yeah, I didn't think so.

Halloween Blog Party

2008-10-19T22:07:00.005-05:00

In celebration of the Halloween blog party going on over at Living Locurto I have decided to share some photos from our most recent Halloween activities. Today we went to Six Flags Over Texas to their Fright Fest which the kiddos loved! Gab actually rode a ton of rides including some really fast moving rides and roller coasters. Of course only the ones they allow six year old children on! I was still surprised to not see her get scared of anything. Not even the spooky people walking around. She is growing so fast, too fast! Since they were not allowed to wear their costumes, T wanted to at least spray her hair with color. Hot pink and black color to be exact. Ever since Miley Cyrus became so popular with T, her new craze is pink and black. When T cut her hair over the summer she removed ten inches to donate to Locks of Love. She could literally spike it in the back although the front was longer reaching her chin. Well she has let it grow since then so when we bought the stuff to put in her hair I ~~stupidly~~thought I could still spike it. We bought black hair gel with hot pink color hair spray. The idea was to make her look like a rocker chick while still maintaining the look of age 11. We got completely ready and started to do her hair right before we walked out the door. "I mean come on how long could that possibly take?" I started by trying to spike her hair with regular gel then adding the black and planned to spray the pink at the very end to touch it up with color. O.M.G. What a mess! Her hair has obviously grown a foot and is now way too long to spike. Therefore at this point we had a black gooey mess. I took baby wipes to the side of her head and face where the black mess had gotten. Also had to clean her ears. I never wanted to be a hair stylist. Instead of stopping and rinsing, we continued. I then added the pink spray along with some spray gel and two different kinds of hair spray to help 'hold' the hair in some form of place. I did my best to at least get the back some what slicked into a type of mini mo-hawk. Now remember, this was for Halloween rocker chick ONLY! I would never let my child normally leave the house looking this way. We then decided to add a little glitter spray that we had bought for Gab's Halloween costume of Cinderella. So now it was black with hot pink and glitter. T left the house with having regular molding gel, spray gel, two different brands of hair spray, black dye hair gel, hot pink hair color spray and glitter spray in her hair. I have never known someone to have so many products in their hair at once. We finished up the little touches with a couple of temp tattoos and TADA! Rocker chick. Check out the photos below.

Now Gabby did not do anything today as far as dressing up for Halloween but she did have a bunch of fun at Six Flags. I managed to get a few photos of her with some characters dressed in costume and next to a few life size blow up decorations.

I do not have the photo shop programs on my computer to make cute little collages but I did manage to find this neat digital scrapbook page from photobucket. I thought this was perfect for the Halloween Blog Party. So here are a few photos from today that I uploaded into photobucket.

This scrapbook Halloween theme slideshow was free and easy to create. I am actually very impressed with the online program. They have a ton of other themes to chose from, not just holiday related. Check it out here. It is called Scrap Blog but is partnered with Photobucket and uses your photos from your already created albums. Pretty neat and you do not have to be crafty to know how to do this. The themes are already laid out and you just upload the photos right into place.

Now that I have left you with some photos, a cute little short story and a Halloween tip that can be used anytime with all digital photos.... I am calling it a day, off to bed for me. Giving Gab several piggy back rides today has worn me out. Had a blast though and was well worth it!

Site-warming Party Going On Tonight!

2008-10-17T17:18:00.002-05:00

There is a blog-warming party going on tonight on twitter @ResourcefulMom. Tweet with us tonight by following the conversation here.

ResourcefulMom is giving away a goodie bag full of prizes. In order to be entered into the drawing visit her blog here.

See you tonight online!

Friday Fragments

2008-10-17T01:00:00.006-05:00

Yes, it is Friday again and this time I remembered to post my Friday Fragments.

A few weeks ago I posted in one of my Friday Fragments about the Anthony case. Read the post HERE. I ran across this blog post where a little boy asks his mother about the mom going to jail. If you didn’t know she recently has been placed back in custody and charged with murder, although they have not found the body of Caylee yet. So sad!

I am very excited this week to announce that I am going to be doing a product review very soon! Kay Green with My Precious Kid is sending me two Klean Kanteen Sippys, one for me to review and the other to GIVE AWAY! Yes you read that right, I get to give one away to a lucky reader. Check back soon to enter.

I remember when I was a kid and every box of cereal had a toy inside. Did your cereal have toys? I miss that and had put the memory in the far back of my mind until my daughter got a toy inside her Cheerios box today. It was a neat little slider toy from the new Madagascar movie. I remember the toys used to be 'inside' the cereal bag within the box and you had to either empty the cereal out in a large bowl (if your parents were feeling friendly) or wait until you ate enough cereal to find the toy surprisingly one morning when it fell out! Her toy was beside the bag inside the box. Easy to find!

Another thing that has been going on this week that I really feel I need to mention is business. We have added new products to our online store that I would love for you to check out. Unique Diva Boutique is growing! Check out our new line of Bath and Body products that are so cute for kids, bath bombs and our Christmas section.

Next week I will be publishing a video of my "Stupid People Trick" followed with my daughter's video of her trick, funny stuff! Mrs. 4444 from Half Past Kissin' Time requires anyone who gives her a blog award to do this and well.... I gave her an award. It has taken me long enough but I plan to post it soon. You will want to see me make a fool of myself just to impress someone in the blog world, LOL, the things we do...

Also I need help with posting a video. Comments/suggestions welcome. I somehow have a video of my son that is sideways. I know you are thinking, what idiot videos sideways? Well in my defense it was with my digital camera so I really didn't think anything of turning it on the side to view better. Almost a natural thing when taking photos. So this short video clip is sideways and I can't find a way to turn it. The option of turning photos around as many times as you wish isn't there when it comes to the video. Does anyone know how to do this?

Last but not least. If you have been to my blog before did you notice now that my logo is larger? The photo of the girl journaling at the top? How about the fact that the middle column is wider and the print is a little larger? Doesn't it all look GREAT!? I have Christina Coleman to thank for all her hard work. Visit her blog over at Retro Designz.

Hits Home

2008-10-14T22:33:00.003-05:00

Wow, where to start. I have to admit I have kept all my blog posts pretty light hearted so far and this one is going to be deep. For all of you bloggers out there, have you ever thought about writing a post and almost written a post, yet didn't? Maybe since I am still fairly new to the blogosphere and have not completely cracked out of my shell, it is still hard. Hard to just put it all out there.

Last Thursday I had a blog post I was going to submit that again was very light hearted, witty and carefree. I stopped from submitting it because I ended up having other things on my mind. My friend Teri from Sweet Surprises By Teri called me up from our local children's hospital to inform me that her son who just turned three last Monday has a brain tumor. *Sigh* They took him into surgery first thing Friday morning to remove the tumor. Teri is a very good friend of mine who I met through Noah's Ark Animal Workshop which I started once I found out my daughter was having brain surgery last year. I knew then I would have to stay at home. Teri does other businesses as well so when I opened my store this month she actually created my business tags, coupons and other marketing materials for me. She is truly GREAT! Teri has a four year old son as well that she takes care of full time. This news was devastating, to say the least. Johnathon (Teri's three year old) had not been feeling well for about a month now. He had been stumbling, throwing up, complaining of headaches, etc. First the doc said he had the flu, then it was 'oh he is a typical three year old who is just off balance' whatever like Teri wouldn't know if her son was usually off balance. I mean come on, I know little ones take time learning balance but do they learn it then lose it again right before they turn three? A mother knows when something is wrong. So of course after a few weeks of worrying Teri finally had enough and demanded a scan be done. Sure enough, tumor! Now we talked over the weeks about him not feeling well and even though I could hear in Teri's voice that something was wrong, I NEVER thought tumor. That night I couldn't sleep. I was worried. No, I was scared to death for Teri. I know you are thinking, for Teri?! Don't you mean Johnathon... Yes I was worried about Johnathon of course but for me this was like re-living my daughter's surgery last year. I know what I went through and never wanted anyone to go through that. Of course for those of you who don't know, Gab's surgery and Johnathon's were completely different. Gab did not have a tumor.

A quick recap: Gab had a stroke when she was in utero and was born with Cerebral Palsy, then came Epilepsy, mood disorder and ADHD. For years we had done medication to control her seizures and therapy to help with her CP but last year her seizures got out of control. They were causing brain damage and were happening daily. The neurologist said the only way to stop them was to remove part of her brain. So I, like Teri, had to go through all the warnings of the surgery. Gab had the whole left side removed so we were not sure if she would talk, walk or ever wake up the same, again. The wonderful Make-a-Wish Foundation sent us to Disney World before her surgery, another great story for another day.

Back on track. So I knew the neurosurgeons working on Johnathon and also know there are many wonderful people praying for him. I couldn't stop worrying about Teri. I was so afraid that she would go through what I did. Not knowing what would happen come surgery, not knowing if Johnathon would wake up and know who she was. That feeling never goes away. You can push it down and try to clear the image from your mind but it's there, forever. I went to the hospital during the day Friday to sit with Teri while Johnathon was in surgery. I was not able to stay the whole day due to picking up kids from school. But the little time I was there, seeing Teri with her swollen eyes and worried looks, just broke my heart. The memories of sitting in that surgery waiting room, the same smell, the same lights and sounds... The same fear. The fear of losing your child. The feeling of no control. The anticipation to hear everything went okay, to see your child and to know they are the same. Words truly can't describe it. I was so nervous yet hopeful! When Gab went into the hospital for surgery she was supposed to be in and out in two weeks, well let's say FOUR MONTHS. When she woke up from surgery she knew no one. That night she cried for her mommy and when I went to her side eagerly, knowing she said my name, she did not know me. At one point she asked me to go get her mommy. *Sigh of broken heart* All I kept thinking and feeling last Thursday night and Friday were those same exact feelings again. Scared to death that Teri would have to feel that. Thank God that afternoon when Johnathon came out of surgery he was himself and he knew his parents. YAY! That was so important for me to hear. Unfortunately his tumor was cancer and their hospital road is not yet over. Although they will be able to go home within the next few days, soon they will start the chemo and radiation process. Something I was fortunate to know nothing about.
*Please pray*

Now a year ago when Gab was going through all this I created her a web page to inform family and friends of her progress throughout the surgeries. I created it at Sampa which was great for us. We were able to password protect it and all. I have a ton of photos and stories to go along. Unfortunately I did not continue keeping it updated against popular demand. The difficult times were hard enough for me to manage, writing about it was overwhelming. I believe I am ready now to finish the story. So I would like advice. Should I go back to Sampa and redo her old site or create a blog here? I read how I can make it private for only readers I add, yet they have to create a login. Has anyone done this? It might be easier to have both blogs in the same location. If the readers are required to have a login at either place then would it matter? Advice appreciated.

SITS Blogathon

2008-10-11T14:48:00.004-05:00

Yes! You read that right, there is a blogathon going on right now. Prizes every hour at The Secret is in the Sauce. Go check it out!

When I first started blogging I ran across The Secret is in the Sauce and joined the blog list. I added a button to my blog right away to show that I love comments. The great thing about The Secret is in the Sauce is that they provide daily featured bloggers, weekly featured Saucy bloggers and give away prizes all the time! It is great! I can't wait until I am a featured blogger so I can reach out to new readers (once I have more posts, of course). Until then I have used their site to browse new blogs and have found some great ones!

A blog that I found recently that I just love is written by The Apron Queen, over at Confessions of an Apron Queen. She also has a second blog for reviews which is just as great. I can't wait to try her recommended recipes. BTW did I mention that she is also giving away a prize in the blogathon?

Another lady who has a great blog and is also giving away a prize at the blogathon can be found at Mama Goes Green. I recently took her challenge to eat from home instead of eating out and you will read more about that tomorrow. She has some great ideas on her site and wonderful advice about going green.

Now here is another blog that I found that I just love. Anissa AKA The Queen Bee writes all about homeschooling over at her blog. She has some great halloween party ideas. So cute! She also does blog design which you can check out in her other blog here.

So even though I just gave you five good blogs to check out I wanted to add one more. This blog is the Martha Stewart Blog. No, not just her professional blog she has listed on her business site with ideas and tips. This is actually her up close and personal blog with photos of her life. Kind of neat!

Don't forget to check out The Secret is in the Sauce and get added to the list of blogs to one day be featured. Visit all the blogs you find and don't forget to show some blogosphere love! (comment, people!)

Happy Fall

2008-10-09T14:12:00.003-05:00

As you all know I took the kids to the pumpkin patch last weekend. I just love Fall! It is truly my favorite season. Nice weather, pretty colors, and the season just seems relaxing. Not to mention all the wonderful holidays. Lately I have been reading a bunch of blog posts that talk about preparing for the holidays and avoiding the stress. Does everyone really get stressed over the holidays? Okay, okay maybe I can see why a little... If you know me... I stress to the max everyday so to me the holidays are nothing different. I love shopping for my kids, absolutely love to wrap presents. I can't decorate enough! I am looking forward to this holiday the most because last year we spent several months in the hospital with Gab's brain surgery. We only got to put up a very small tree near her hospital bed. Of course we weren't home to decorate. I didn't wrap presents but by all means the kids were not lacking in anything. They got plenty. I also didn't get to accomplish my favorite BLACK FRIDAY shopping event which I do plan on this year. The rush from ~~fighting~~ working hard to get the good deals before the stores sale out is priceless!

Okay so not everything that comes with Fall is perfect. With Fall comes sickness. T is already on antibiotics from last week getting the sinus infection crap. Gab had a small runny nose which I am sure will come back and Noah suffers from allergies so I know he will spend most of his time sick. That is the part I dread. We went to the zoo for Gab's field trip (again you know) where the teachers could not use enough Purell. So my goal is to try and maintain a healthy fall. I did a search for some free samples of the needed items and ran across this site. Check it out! "Healthy Fall free samples"

I just wanted to say Happy Fall to everyone! My kids are out of school AGAIN on Monday. Seems like they have had several days off this year already. Watch my post later today about the cool 5th grade trip we are planning at the school. I am so excited to take part in it! I went to the meeting last night and volunteered. I will share the news later.

Tuesday Toot

2008-10-07T21:28:00.007-05:00

It's Tooting Tuesday time again and I am not very happy already... This is literally the fourth time I have redone this post. First I had problems creating the links to add photos. I added the photos and they were not showing up, then I had to publish the post to view it so after I edited it the automatic save feature was not on. Therefore when my computer froze up I lost the whole post. So... let's try again!

Okay this Tuesday I am not only going to toot my horn about my store opening. Since I promised photos of the store I will provide some here:

Now remember these photos were taken last week and the store is still under construction. I promise I will post new photos as soon as I am done with everything. The shelves are already fuller. This is just the preview of what I have been working on.

Now I also want to toot my horn for other things I have been doing recently. Spending more time with the kids. T has started violin lessons and while she is in her lesson after school I take Gab to the park. Here is a priceless photo of our last trip.

Her hair was standing straight up after coming down the slide, priceless.

Our family also recently adopted a kitty. His name is Miso (yes, like the soup) and he is five months old. He is so sweet, cuddles, purrs really loud and pounces my hands/feet during the night when I move in my sleep.

T went out of town for a quick day trip with my parents last weekend. While she was gone I took the little kiddos to the pumpkin patch. They loved it! They got to decorate pumpkins, Noah explored and Gab jumped in the bounce house.

I am also proud of myself for surviving the 1st grade field trip today. It went great, we had fun and all the ~~noisy hyperactive~~ wonderful children did not push me over the edge! :)

That concludes my Tuesday Toot. So.... Toot Toot!!

Not So Friday Fragments...

2008-10-06T19:14:00.006-05:00

Okay so it's not Friday but I am typing up some fragments anyways... Why? B/c it's my blog... well to tell you the truth b/c I forgot to post it on Friday. No wait that's not the truth, I didn't forget. Matter of fact my blog has been on my mind every day for the past two weeks.

DJane's Thoughts:
"Don't forget to write blog post"
"Blog about store, post photos you took a week ago"
"Announce the giveaway and how everyone can enter"
"Discuss the new menu plan in your blog"
"Post the cute pics from the park for Wordless Wednesday or Thousand something Thursday..."
"Hell just freakin' take time out to blog"
"Hello! Still haven't blogged"
"Blog about Gab's bad doctor's visit"
"Blog about ANYTHING"

DJane's Actions: (not in correct order)
Took kids to the pumpkin patch.
Opened store.
Still working on stocking store.
Still working on tagging all the wonderful items to place in the store.
Took Gab to her follow-up appointment and it went horribly!
Spent the whole day shopping at the Dallas Market Center from wholesalers to stock my store even more.
Almost forgot, been working on two college courses.
Took Gab to the park.
I know there has been a lot more going on then I can think of to type, such as birthday parties we were invited to, sick kids and doc appts. Other normal yet stressful things.

So although none of these are good enough excuses to not blog, they are my excuses. The thing I hate the most or should I say the thing that bothers me the most is that out of all these things I don't feel like I am accomplishing any of them. I love to blog and this is the only thing that is just for MOMMY! Well okay the store and college is for me too but ultimately they will benefit my family as well. The blog is just MINE!

Tuesday Toot

2008-09-30T22:40:00.002-05:00

It's Tootin' Tuesday again! So to toot my own horn I must say I am still excited about my store. Grand Opening is tomorrow! So although I finally got my slate board up, shelves in place and most products unpacked and priced on display I am not quite finished. I worked all day today and plan to go back in the morning to finish up a few more things. I will take a few photos of how the booth looks so far tomorrow and post for you to see. Right now I am focusing more on Christmas until the end of the year. While I am tooting my own horn I want to share with my readers that I am giving away a gift certificate to my store which you can redeem online for $20! Stay tuned and watch for the details on how to enter for a chance to win for FREE! I am so excited I wanted to give something away.

L is for....

2008-09-27T14:42:00.012-05:00

Since I am new to blogosphere I have been recently surfing other blogs to get acquainted with other mother/women bloggers. I ran across a blog that I just loved, Crumbs in the Minivan. Cynthia had published a cute little meme which consisted of a top 10 list of favorites that begin with an assigned letter. So I commented her and asked for my letter.

The rules:

Comment on this post and I’ll give you a letter. List ten things you LOVE which begin with that letter, then post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own.

So my letter was.... L

1. Love... Okay, I know it's cheesy but to me love is so important. Loving your children, loving yourself and being loved.

2. Laughter - I love to hear my kids laugh and I love to laugh. Laughter just feels good.

3. Laziness - I love to be lazy, curl up on the couch and watch a movie.

4. Leisure - I love to use my leisure time to blog... What can I say I didn't get assigned a B so I had to make L include my favorite new obsession.

5. Lettuce - Lately I can't get enough Caesar Salad.

6. Learning - I love to learn new things, whether it is college work or a bunch of useless tidbits. I also love to see the accomplishment of my kiddos learning something new.

7. Letters - I love to get hand written letters in the mail and love to send them in return.

8. Loot - Come on, who doesn't love money?!

9. Listen - I love to listen to music...

10. Life - Finally last but not least. I love life! Need I say more?

Now let me tell you. I thought this meme would be a lot of fun but it was actually pretty hard. I had to really do some thinking in order to come up with ten favorites that all started with L. Who is with me on the challenge? If you want a letter of your own for your top ten then leave me a comment and I will send you one. I am interested in reading others top ten favorites.

Friday Fragment

2008-09-26T09:30:00.009-05:00

Welcome to Friday Fragments, a great way to unclutter your mind with the gems you've thought of all week that were too short for a post, but too good to discard!

I found this Meme on Mrs. 4444's blog, Half-Past Kissin' Time and thought I would give it a try.

To start I want to mention the news story that has been going on for a while. Sure you've heard about it, the Casey Anthony case? I was following this case nightly on the show called On The Record with Greta until the political race took over the media. Between the presidential race and the hurricane news (which are not light subjects by any matter) I have not seen much coverage on the baby Caylee case. This case really bothered me. It is so sad, if you haven’t heard about it you should check it out online. So I know there has been much controversy about rather or not Casey killed her little girl, I want to believe she didn’t. I have such a hard time believing anyone could do such a thing. However this little girl has been missing since June. If Casey did do it, my God just admit it by now. Do murderers never feel remorse? I will never understand this but I would believe if she ever loved her daughter she would want a proper burial for her by now. If she didn’t do it, I pray that the little girl is safe and found soon.

Our family got a Wii. I have never been one of those parents who just let their kids sit in front of a video game and play nonstop. I love games but I love interaction too. My kids have owned other video games, don’t get me wrong. Matter of fact Gab still has a PS2. However I always felt the need to put limits on the amount of play that was allowed. We decided to branch out and get a Wii system. When these first came out and I saw people playing them, I thought it was so funny. All I could think is how embarrassing it would be to pretend to play tennis or jump around in front of the TV. Who would do that? LOL I do! I love it! I can honestly say I would recommend a Wii to any family. You can play games with your children and interact together. I also got the Wii Fitness program for me. I do step aerobics, yoga and other fun yet fitness related games. Maybe I should do a product review in more detail about the Wii and all the games we have tried so far…. One day.

I joined Coupon Mom. I want to be more resourceful and actually planning out our meals. I joined, I looked over it and that’s it. There is a lot of information on there and I am sure it is all very useful but right now I think I need something even more detailed and step by step for me. I have heard of several wonderful meal planning sites and other coupon sites. Maybe, Dine Without Whine? Readers, do you have any suggestions? Also is anyone interested in guest blogging about motivation?

I read about Chi Walking in a magazine the other day. What is Chi Walking? It’s a technique based on tai chi, a Chinese martial art that uses flowing movements and breathing to direct chi, or energy, through the body. So the photos in the magazine and what I read about it looks pretty cool. The headline says: “Walk off the weight in 4 weeks!” I am not wanting to go on a diet per say but I do want to become more fit and healthy. Anyone else do this Chi Walking? Again this is another great opportunity for a motivational speaker.

Banish wrinkles… Not from your skin but from your clothes. Does anyone own Esteam handheld steamer, by Jiffy Steamer Co.? I found this in a magazine as well and it looks really neat. Just curious to hear product reviews on the item from a reader. The manufacture claims once you plug it in it is ready to rid your clothes of wrinkles in about three minutes.

The last thing I want to discuss is another very sad story. Of course everyone knows about the Hurricane Ike causing destruction. Well I live in Fort Worth, TX where many residents of Houston came to find shelter nearby. There was a story on the news the other night about a family who left Houston in order to find safety in Dallas yet once here their little one year old son got hit by a car and died. I hate to say the dreaded comment of “how much worse could it get” because I am always a strong believer that it could get worse, but come on! Being ran out of their home due to a life threatening storm to only find shelter where their son is ran over? This kind of devastation makes me very thankful for my children, no matter how much they act out.

Gold Card Award - Very First One!

2008-09-25T10:35:00.003-05:00

So I was blessed with a blog award recently! Sweet Petra from The Wise (*Young*) Mommy sent me this award. It is a Gold Card award titled BFF, Blogging Friends Forever. Not only is this an awesome award but it is my very FIRST award.

The deal is when receiving this award I have a duty to pass it on. I was given a set of rules...

Here are the rules:

-Only five people allowed
-Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog
-One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world -You must link back to whoever gave you the award

I am usually more of a rule ~~breaker~~ maker than a rule follower. But I am going to give this my best shot. First I have to admit, I am new to the blog world, so not many followers yet (that I am aware of). Second, I don't have followers in another part of the world, unless you count a different state.

Here it goes:

Loyal followers (or someone who has commented more than once):
Mrs. 4444 over at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Michelle from Home, Sweet Natural, Home
Barbara found at Out of the Attic
(not sure if she follows mine but I follow hers) Michelle with Mommy Confessions

My new follower:
My good friend and business partner Sabrae - new to blogosphere on Humdrum of Life

Well I think that about wraps it up. I believe I followed all the rules to the best of my ability. Now I am off to share the love and news with my award recipients!

Tuesday Toot

2008-09-23T21:41:00.005-05:00

Okay so I have decided to join Mommy Community Tuesday Toot for the first time tonight.

I am not one to toot my own horn usually which I believe is the whole point of this meme, as they call it. But there is one accomplishment that I am working on. I have decided to open my own store, well booth actually.

This is where my booth will be located. It will contain items from my online store, Unique Diva Boutique At first I will focus on Christmas then branching out to other items. I am excited and nervous. My booth/store will be open for business come October 1st. I will keep you updated as I finish it, maybe I can toot my own horn next Tuesday to say it is up and running! Until then my toot is the fact I decided to do it and am working towards it! GO ME...

Vegas Trip - Over...

2008-09-20T10:44:00.006-05:00

So the short and sweet trip to Las Vegas is over now. It was an extremely fast yet fun two day/two night trip. Since this wasn't my first trip we didn't do much sightseeing, therefore not many photos. However! I did manage to take a few pics of the things I was doing over the two days to share with my readers. Here is a recap!
Monday afternoon we arrived to Vegas after the ~~dreadful~~ smooth flight. I got to watch the Dallas Cowboys Monday night Football game at one of the casinos and watch all the fans hoot and holler. Half of the fans were there rooting on the other team. BTW did I mention at the end of the game a fight almost broke out? Crazy fans... LOL Here is a pic of the football game from my view:

So after winning a little money on the game, I got to eat my favorite: PF Changs! YUM, doesn't my food look good? :)

So on Tuesday I gambled a little. Some blackjack, some slots. Not much b/c I can't handle the thought of losing money. I played blackjack for a while and broke even, then played some games on the slots and won $200! YAY, Go Me! LOL
Here is a photo of the casino New York New York which is where I stayed.

Once the day came to an end I got ready for the night. Night life in Vegas is ~~wild crazy~~ bright and alive! The restaurant was so good. Have you heard of Emeril? The famous chef on television? I was blessed to eat at one of his restaurants. It was yummy!

Then after the food was the show. Since this was my third trip to Vegas I have seen most of the shows. This time I got to see David Copperfield. I used to love watching his yearly magic show on TV when I was a kid. His act was pretty good in some parts but I have to admit it was predictable in others. I hate to sound like a bad critic. :(
Here is the last photo of me in the night lights of Las Vegas.

The trip was fun and now I am home. Back to work and motherhood!

Another Guest Blogger Post

2008-09-19T13:27:00.004-05:00

I found this guest blogger through Mom Pack which I am a member of to promote my wahm businesses. Rebecca posted this in our yahoo group and I asked if I could share with my readers her post. So here it goes:

I think the term "stay at home mom" is offensive. As a previous poster
stated, it implies that we stay at home and do nothing.

When our parents were in school they had an organization called Future
Homemakers of America. They taught young women how to make a house
into a home; how to cook; how to sew; basically how to take care of
your family. I can definitely see where we need this in today's
society. Just look at our children. They can't even dress themselves,
walking around with their pants around their knees.

I am not a SAHM. I am a mother, a wife, a homemaker, nurse, chauffeur,
psychiatrist, referee, chef, volunteer, business owner,I can go on and
on. I AM NOT a SAHM.

By: Rebecca Marshall
Jordan Essentials I.R.

Well I hope you enjoyed Rebecca's post about SAHMs. I had never thought of this point of view before but she made a good point! Check out her Jordan Essentials site!

First Guest Blogger Post

2008-09-18T12:29:00.003-05:00

Back to School - Homeschool, That Is

by Vicki Arnold
www.SimplyVicki.com

The back to school season can be hectic for any student, whether homeschooled or traditionally schooled. Here are some tips to smooth the transition in your homeschool.

1. Look back and make notes on what worked. Most homeschool parents take some reflection time at the end of the school year, now is the time to pull out those notes and give your mind a refresher on the things you saw. The benefit of looking at this as the school year begins is that you will be able to immediately take action on your observations.

If this is your first year of homeschooling, take a look at how your child plays. Especially in the early years, your child learns through play. By noting his or her favorite games, you can gain insight into the way your child processes information.

If this is your first year of homeschooling after traditional schooling, talk to your child. Ask them what they liked best about school. One of the perks of homeschooling is the ability to build on these strengths.

2. Acknowledge what didn't work. As important as working with techniques and books that grow your child is stopping things that aren't working. Forcing you and your child to work through a workbook simply because you paid for it and don't want to waste it, will get you nowhere. Sometimes the approach is wrong for one child, but right for another and sometimes the timing is simply wrong.

It is especially important to look at what is working for your child, not what you feel most comfortable teaching. The goal of homeschooling is your child's success in his or her educational journey, not you.

3. Try something new for the new year. If your child participates in a library program, take your school work with you on those days. Or take your reading and writing to a quiet park. Sometimes a simple change in scenery is all you need to fuel the learning.

4. Find a year-long or semester-long project, something you can incorporate across the subject lines. Take advantage of that summer vacation you are planning and study about the local area, find things to do and interesting history facts. Or have your child journal weekly or daily about the things they are learning about.

Back to school doesn't have to be stressful. Take all that energy and infuse your school year with it. Study something your child finds fascinating, find a way to work it into all subjects for a period of time. And above all, relax. You will find your routine.

I hope you enjoyed our guest blogger for today. You can find Vicki on her link listed above.

Update on Glogster

2008-09-16T11:17:00.003-05:00

So this post is a follow-up from the School Promotes Glogster post. If you haven't read that post, you might want to first.

I received several comments about this post and one specially that I wanted to share. The comment below is from Glogster themselves.

Hi DJane

Glogster here – we saw this post voicing your concerns over your daughters use of Glogster for school projects and thought we would be able to share some helpful information with you. The same tools that allow Glogster users to express themselves also provide educators with a great opportunity to provide their students with interactive tools for projects. In order to help schools, educators and parents leverage these opportunities further; Glogster will be launching an education version of Glogster. This special section of the site will be launching soon and will have many new capabilities, including the ability to keep students separated from the social network part on Glogster. We will continuously work to perfect use in this new education segment.

If you would like, we can keep you updated on the education version of Glogster. I hope this information helps you and your readers and that the new education version will afford your daughter the opportunity to use Glogster for school in a manner you feel is appropriate.

Kind regards,
Glogster

Well I have to admit that I was a little impressed when I first read their comment. I mean Glogster is apparently growing large and they took time out to place a comment on my little blog. WOW! I am also excited about the upcoming education version of Glogster to protect kids. As soon as they inform me about more news I will make sure to share with my readers. So KUDOS to Glogster for trying to clear their name!

Now..... Below is what I found on their website under the FAQ section.

What is an inappropriate content?
Inappropriate content is any content that contains racial hate, nudity, pornography or anything unsuitable for an audience of 18 years and younger. If 5 users click the inappropriate tag on your Glog, the Glog will be hidden. Then, only our administrators can change the state of your Glog. If the Glogster Team finds any Glog inappropriate, it will be erased immediately.

Readers, did you read the last sentence? Did ya? Oh go ahead and read it again, LOL. As we all know the Glogster team read my blog, they saw the links, they heard our ~~disgust~~ frustrations and concerns. However if you click on the link in the original blog post, the one titled Not Intended for Eyes Under 18 the glog is still listed. So did Glogster really want to clear their name? Are the FAQs just listed to make you feel secure with joining Glogster? Did they really not intend to hold their word?

Hey... Some sites are made for kids and some aren't... Who am I to judge?

BTW those who wanted to know what the Principal at the elementary school said, well let's just say she about had a heart attack!

Headed to Las Vegas

2008-09-15T15:24:00.002-05:00

I am headed to Las Vegas. Most would be ~~jumping for joy~~ sitting in their airplane seats impatiently awaiting thrilled with excitement to arrive to the city of lights, where secrets are kept and the fun never ends. Not me… Well okay I take that back, I am excited and I do look forward to my two night mini-vacation, however at the moment I am scared senseless. I hate flying! I am literally sitting in my seat on the airplane trying not to believe I am on a plane. LOL That’s not working out too well for me. So I have decided to blog in order to keep myself busy. Of course this post is beginning in a MS Word document considering I do not have internet on the airplane. Oh there I go ahead thinking about flying… :( I will post this blog entry if when we land. The irony behind this whole fear of flying really stinks because I absolutely LOVE to travel. I fly all the time. It never gets easier either. I take pretty quick trips mostly so driving is just brutal and waste most of your time that could be spent sight-seeing. I love short road trips, cruises and traveling in general. Just hate flying. I guess it is something about the whole fear of plummeting to the ground in a steel object that weighs (well I don’t know how much it weighs) but a lot and the end result being death. Hell even if I was one of the lucky ones in an airplane crash that ended up with a few minor bruises, I would die of high anxiety causing a heart attack on the way down. Okay well this blog post is starting on such a wonderful light subject, LOL. Hey at least a little humor about my fear helps lighten me up.

So… onto a better note. I will have about two guest blogger posts for you this week. Since I am going to be gone and trying really hard to provide my readers with words I thought it would be a great time to branch out. So watch for the new posts coming over the next couple of days. Also I thought I might do a following post while I am in Vegas for the readers out there that might be interested in a few photos and hear how the trip is going. I will also be posting an update about the School Promotes Glogster post as soon as I get a few extra minutes.

BTW here is a photo of me sitting in my airplane seat blogging on the computer. Do I look nervous? LOL Sorry it is make-up free too, too nervous to finish getting ready this morning, will do that at the casino/hotel.

School Promotes Glogster

2008-09-06T00:20:00.006-05:00

T comes home from school today all excited about this new site her librarian tells the fifth grade class all about. I do not allow her on MySpace so when her librarian is telling the class how she found a site that is perfect for children and so neat to create their own page, well let's just say T was sold! The librarian even tells the kids how she doesn't allow her own children to have a MySpace page but allows them to use Glogster b/c it is aimed towards children. HA HA!! At first I had never heard of Glogster, so of course when she came home I said I had to research it to decide if she was allowed to create an account. T brought home a paper that was printed out with Quick Guide Online Resources listing links and such from school today and one of the links is the schools Glogster page where they can read books and go online to take the tests. They even use this website while at school in the library. So with all this info, the paper promoting it, T telling me all she heard and finally the initial opening of the web site was... okay for the moment. Until of course I started browsing around and found ~~trashy~~ non-appropriate glogs for my 11 year old to view. I am in total shock! I can't believe the elementary school is promoting this. On top of that now all of T's friends were going to go home to create a site and all of them planned to network together over the weekend. Mom, once again, is the bad guy in all of this b/c I am the one who had no choice but say no. So let's link share for a moment...
The school's link for their Glog: Click Here
To view Glogster's main initial web page: Click Here
Now whatever you do, don't accidentally type in glogspot dot com b/c let's just say you will NOT end up at the right location, lol
Now here are a few glogs that I was able to browse around through within a few seconds...
Sex Education ~ All youngsters need to know this, right?!...
Not Intended for Eyes Under 18 ~ I mean come on!

Now that is just two, RIGHT AWAY that were found. Now remember... A piece of paper came home promoting this web site from my 11 year old daughter's school. Her fifth grade peers all get on this web site while at school. I just can't believe it. Yes, of course there are some really cute, innocent ones out there but is that enough? Not for me. I have decided to add a poll out there and would love for everyone to answer it. The poll is to help give me some insight as to how other parents feel about this topic. Some questions to think on....
1. Do you allow your children to get on MySpace, Glogster or other networking websites? What age is old enough?
2. Is telling your children not to look at bad things, enough but still allowing the access to be there?
3. Would you say it was okay to have their own site as long as it was kept appropriate and just tell them to not look at inappropriate things?
I would love honest comments. I know I can't control what everyone puts on the internet but I can control where my daughter goes. Or I guess I should say I will try my hardest to control where she goes. Just wonder when is the right time to trust her to make good decisions on her own. I think for now we will stick with Webkinz World, Toon Town and other Disney sites. LOL I am sure I would keep her young for ever but either way 11 is just not old enough for me.

I think all of us wahm and/or sahm should get together and create a Kid ONLY networking website for children to be safe on. Literally delete every profile or page that has one inappropriate thing (language, photo, etc.). It is so sad that kids can't do something fun/innocent without other people ruining it. If you know of a place like this, please send me the link.

Back to School

2008-09-03T22:11:00.003-05:00

So a quick post with thoughts for the night...
Although I have a few blog posts coming soon, it is getting late tonight and I am tired. However, I do have a few thoughts I would like to post. School has been back in now since August 25th and the kids seem to be getting back on track. Things are good and we love their teachers.

Today something happened to make me feel old, LOL. No I'm not old! But I felt like one of 'those' older people who always say things like "we never had that when we were kids" or "consider yourself blessed b/c that is not a necessity". It is funny to think about it now... When T came home from school telling me she had a project due that consisted of creating a PowerPoint presentation and saving it to her flash drive (that was on the school supply list) and she needed me to teach her how to do it, well let's just say I was in shock. Now don't get me wrong, I am a total PowerPoint guru and have put together many presentations when I was part of the corporate world back in the J.O.B. days. I guess I just can't believe that computers, internet and flash drives have become a necessity even for children. I mean does every home to a 5th grader have these items? The part that was the best is when I asked T if she was learning P.P. in school and she said no. I looked at her and said what if the parents don't know how to use it?.... Her reply was, well the teacher said we could do one in MS Word if we don't have PowerPoint. LOL How convenient. I can't say that I complain because I think it is fun to work with my daughter and teach her how to use the program. I just love P.P. and have fun designing presentations. I really made her do the work though and she is learning to use a new program which is great. Although with having a sick two year old at home, I am sure glad we have a week.

Love and Logic

2008-09-01T22:08:00.009-05:00

So as you may or may not know after my middle child, Gab had major brain surgery she changed quite a bit. Her surgery was in November 2007 so not yet a year ago. She woke up from that surgery, angry... She gained aggression, strong impulsiveness and actually in many cases has been violent. Due to all these changes and just the fact that she isn't exactly the same child she used to be for five years I have sought out changes in my parenting. After having three children who each are very different I have come to learn you can't parent them all the same. What works for one doesn't work for the other. In Gab's case what used to work on her doesn't work anymore. She almost came out of surgery with this careless attitude. Grounded from toys? Who cares... Sit in time out? Who cares... Go to bed early? Who cares... There have even been the times where we can't finish a movie at the theatre, we can't go to the theme parks for fun, she has even preferred to stay home in her room and is ready to stand up and fight like she is a grown man. Many say; well she had brain surgery, think of what she has been through, I would be mad at the world myself... But it's hard for everyone. Her, her siblings and I suffer from her new found demeanor. Although on a positive note, I will admit that today, September 1st it is a LOT better then what it was last November.
Well we do play therapy, Gab sees a psychiatrist, I have watched several doctor recommended videos and finally the most recent class I took was Love and Logic. This course was a two day class that I took the past two Saturdays. First I want to say that it is great. Honestly... I loved it. I plan to take it again, and again and again. One reason is like the old saying "hard to teach an old dog new tricks" there was so much info to take in. Becoming a love and logic parent is pretty picture perfect to tell you the truth. Something I am not, YET, okay I know, I'll never be the perfect parent (if one exists). But either way I am really wanting to try the whole: don't stress, don't raise your voice, don't argue with the kids thing. LOL Okay it is still kind of funny to think I can accomplish that but hey I said I want to TRY... There were a lot of really good ideas and points made in this class. I really do encourage mothers of all types to take it. One part that was my favorite is when we discussed the three different types of parents. There are the Helicopters, the Drill Sergeants and the Consultants. Of course learning the Love and Logic process makes you want to become a consultant parent. I think consultant parents must have low anxiety levels, which I do not. LOL I hope once everything returns to normal around my house (if there is such a thing) or maybe just calms down from the surgeries and chaos that I can become a consultant. Until then I will continue to try the new strategies and work at becoming a love and logic parent.

Contact DJane

2008-09-01T00:15:00.003-05:00

To contact DJane:

For all questions, comments or topics related to this blog...
email - djanep05@sbcglobal.net

To get in touch to discuss questions related to Unique Diva Boutique
email - uniquedivaboutique@sbcglobal.net
web site - www.UniqueDivaBoutique.com

Interested in scheduling a party, workshop or joining Noah's Ark Animal Workshop?
email - care2beethere@sbcglobal.net
web site - www.Care2BeeThere.com

Contests & Giveaways

2008-09-01T00:14:00.031-05:00

Click the links below to view contests and giveaways.

Seal's New Album - Soul ~ 12/2/2008

Autographed Copy of Problem with Women is Men ~ 12/1/2008 ~ CLOSED as of 12/8/08

Tiny Prints Holiday Card Contest ~ 11/2/08 ~ CLOSED as of 11/7/08

Klean Kanteen ~ My Precious Kid ~ 10/28/08 ~ CLOSED as of 11/2/08

Product Reviews

2008-09-01T00:14:00.029-05:00

Click the links below to view each product review. Check back often as I add more.

Seal ~ Soul New Album Released November 11 ~ 12/2/2008

Klean Kanteen Product Review ~ 10/28/08

Why Blogging Momma?!

2008-08-31T18:35:00.011-05:00

So now that I have begun my blog I figured I would take a moment to introduce myself and tell you why...

First to tell you a little about myself and my family. Of course I'm the mom, AKA DJane. I have high anxiety, act silly with the kids, stress to the max, am a planner, organizer, loving mother who is dedicated to my kids, straight A college student, gullible, outgoing and well... just me. I have three little ones that I am a single mother to. T is my oldest and she is 11, wow just typing that is so hard to believe, she has grown so fast. T is my ~~brat~~ drama queen, ~~tomboy~~ athletic, ~~loud mouth~~ full of life child. But on a positive note she is my big helper, my wonderful, well behaved daughter, all in all - my side kick. Then we have Gab who is the middle child at age 6. Gab was born with disabilities and even recently had major brain surgery. She is ~~stubborn~~ strong willed, ~~a fighter~~ spunky and ~~a loner~~ set in her ways/hard to tame. On another note she can be so lovable, caring, very bright at such a young age and just my little princess. Finally I have Noah who is my last child at the age of two. Noah is ~~defiant~~ TWO, ~~pain in my rear, hyper active, gets into everything~~ my high sprinted child. On top of it all he loves me, loves to cuddle, climbs into mine or his big sissy's bed every night and so adorable you can barely say no. My little ones are my life. They are why I get up in the mornings and although they drive me to the insane limit they always seem to pull me right back to sanity.

As I mentioned in my first post I have been wanting to publish a blog for a while now. I have many ideas that I want to do with my blog. Although I do own an online store and am a WAHM, this is not a business blog. I actually want to use this blog for mostly personal use to blog about my life as a mother in general. I will network with other mothers and other wahms. I love constructive criticism and great advice! I have been reading several other blogs that I just love. You can always check my Blog Roll to find out who they are. So why blogging momma? Well because this is who I am... Some blogs you will read from other moms might say they blog to help others, some blog to have that little bit of time to themselves to get their thoughts out and I have even heard the cutest thing which is it's Cheaper Than Therapy. All I can say is this blog might fall into all those categories but right now it is defiantly in addition to therapy... lol :)
Enjoy!

And... it begins

2008-08-31T15:25:00.008-05:00

Wow.... The first blog to be published. Where to start? So I go by DJane and I actually created this blog in May '07. I know, created over a year ago but just now publishing a blog! Can we say ~~lazy~~, ~~procrastinator~~, busy? But seriously though, I have been living a very hectic life over the past year. I have wanted to blog for a while now but have had a hard time starting one. I have so many ideas that I guess I just got lost with where to start. Recently I have been reading a lot of other women's blogs and just fell in love with them. Some are so funny, others are full of great information and there are the ones that are just entertaining to read. That is when I decided to ~~stop procrastinating~~ set some time aside out of the busyness and start my blog. Instead of worrying over whether or not it will be perfect, I am just jumping in! :)

I know most of you who read this will think, it's about time you join the blogsphere. Funny thing is my kids and I have been teasing my parents lately for just now getting internet and a home computer. We are welcoming them into the world of technology.

Enjoy my blog!