I cannot believe I have been blogging for nearly five years now.  Of course that’s if you don’t count the AOL days and the MySpace journal.  Otherwise I could date it back to the year 2000.  In the Spring of 2007 I created a family blog to share my journey of caring for Gabby.  It was my way to connect with other special needs mothers and to share updates with family and friends without being on the phone all day long.  My blog went from HubSpot to Sampa to Blogger and now has lived on WordPress for the past three years.  With each move came a new design, each design resembling more of my personality.

Last year a lot in my life changed.  That sentence sounds funny to me actually when I think about it.  My life has been changing over the course of several years and we haven’t had very many dull moments to say the least.  In 2011 it seems things finally started to settle.  I matured in even more ways, the main area being my faith.  I realized when I looked at my blog the design was nothing like I wanted.  It wasn’t my favorite colors, the tag line no longer truly fit me and even though I believe I am still climbing the ladder to success in life, one broken step at a time, it just wasn’t… enough.

That’s when I went to my good friend Erica, the only woman I trust with all my tech and design work.  I knew I wanted a blog that was fresh, clean and had to have the color green in it since that is obviously my favorite color and even the colors in my office.  I wanted for anyone to be able to open my blog and feel that it relates to me, personally.  I mean that is what a personal blog should do, right?

After brainstorming over what I wanted the blog to resemble; where I had been in life, where I felt I was at this point and where I’m headed; I came up with the tag line of being a control freak derailed.  Erica helped me decide on the perfect wording and design while my mother took some fun photos of me down at the local railroad tracks.  Once it was finished I can finally say I feel it is the first design that suites me perfect.

All of my life I have battled with some sort of control issue and a slight problem with perfectionism.  I’m sure some of my friends will read that sentence and probably laugh at the reality of it.  That’s okay I laugh about it too.  I’ve never been the one to try and control someone else, just my own life.  Becoming a teen mom I had to overcome a lot of negativity and always felt I was trying to prove I could succeed even with odds against me.  Succeed in parenting, school, work and life…  That’s a tough role to keep with such high expectations.  God has shown me over the years that I’m not the one in control, at all.  Even the days after I realized that was the case it’s funny how often I would battle myself over letting go of the things I couldn’t control.  Like that saying ‘we are our own worst enemy at times’ or is it ‘we are our own worst critic’?  Either way, that was me…

Changing your personality and outlook on life isn’t easy and is never a task that is fully complete.  I think it’s a true work in progress, a journey you continue on during the duration of your life.  At the beginning of last year I decided to finally let go of the control I truly never had, put my full faith in God, pray daily, get back involved in church and trust that the Lord will guide me on the path I’m supposed to be on.  I plan to make the best out of what I have, do the best with what God gives me and enjoy my blessings.  I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.  Thus creating the derailed control freak…

Gabby had her testing with the Endocrinologist over the week of Christmas.  I worked hard to prepare her for the fact she had to receive an IV with medication once an hour for four hours.  I actually feel she did great with it.  Of course she wasn’t happy about it but did very little complaining and held perfectly still.  The testing wasn’t difficult at all and the whole time she played on my iPhone while I worked from my laptop.  Those are the joys of having WiFi at the hospital.

We saw the Endocrinologist again the first week of January and received her results.  She does qualify for the next step in stopping her precocious puberty.  He gave me four different options, which is probably the most difficult part.  How do parents make medical decisions when we aren’t doctors?  All four options had pros and cons, of course.  The test results showed the puberty signals are coming from her brain instead of her ovaries which is a good thing, meaning it can be controlled for a couple of more years.

Unfortunately Gabby started her menstrual over the Christmas break which was a nightmare to handle.  The poor thing is too young in the first place but mentally she is not even close to being mature enough to even understand it let alone handle it.  She had no idea what was going on even when I tried to explain.

Her specialist believes we can put a stop to any progression with her puberty by administering a shot once a month.  There is also an option for placing something small under her skin, which will last a solid year instead of getting an injection every month.  This is an option we will try once we have proven the medication actually does work for her over at least two to three months time.

For Christmas Santa brought her an iPod Touch and it’s been a blessing.  Gabby really connects to music and not only has that iPod brought joy to her, it has made me and T smile/giggle more than once.  We will be sitting in the other room and hear Gabby singing along to a song she is listening to on her headphones.  We won’t be able to hear the music but she has gotten pretty good at memorizing every single word to most her songs.  It’s beyond adorable.  Not to mention when we sit at this long doctor appointments it has worked to keep her calm and keep her mind off of what’s going on.  That’s priceless.

I’ve taken the past month to focus on my family.  Although in my head I have a ton of blog posts planned out and plenty of things to share, the break was much needed.  Our holidays were fabulous and the kids being out of school for two weeks was extremely nice.  We spent quality time together every spare moment I had outside of working.  We took a quick trip in December to Sea World, which was a blast as always.  We stayed right on the Riverwalk in San Antonio at the Hyatt Grand and I can’t wait to share more details about the fun we had.

I’ve started counting down the days until I turn 30 in February.  Leading up to age 29 I was in a panic over the fact I’d soon be 30 and funny thing is now, I’m not so worried about it.  I’m sure my strengthened relationship with God over the past year has a lot to do with that.

I’m headed to San Jose, California for two days to meet with one of my clients.  It’s always nice when you finally are able to meet all the people in person from a company you’ve work with for so many months.  Plus California will be state number 20 on my list, which is one state closer to visiting all 50.

Until then….

With the Christmas holiday upon us I thought it was a great time to have a guest post talking about healthy foods to eat and which unhealthy foods to avoid.  Today’s guest blogger, Charlie, shines some shocking light on those treats we indulge in just for the holidays and how many calories they’re truly worth.

Everyone loves Santa Claus, but not everyone wants to look like Santa Claus by the time the holidays are over.  If you look past all the Christmas cheer and, you’ll quickly realize that the “happiest time of the year” is also the most trying time of the year.  It’s financially trying, since most of us bring our bank accounts dangerously close to zero buying presents and cards for people who we barely even remember.  Psychologically trying, because the last time I checked, it takes a degree of mental fortitude to successfully convince everyone at a Christmas party that you actually want to be there.  Lastly, and perhaps most of all, the holidays are a biologically trying time, since Christmas food is probably the only food on the planet that is that bad for you yet still doesn’t kill you.  Here are 4 of the unhealthiest Holiday foods to look out for.

• Starbucks’ Eggnog Latte

A free for all of cream, sugar, and eggs, it’s not surprising that many people need a little alcohol with it in order to drink it.  A grande eggnog latte at Starbucks is a shocking 630 calories with 30 g of fat… I’m no nutritionist, but that sounds bad.  A simple solution would be to purchase low-fat eggnog if you can find it, or if you’re making it yourself, use egg whites instead of whole eggs and skim milk instead of whole milk.

• Cheesecake Factory’s Original Cheesecake

A regular Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory will set you back around 500 calories and 30 grams of fat. Instead, try using phyllo dough as a base for a holiday pie. Phyllo dough is much lighter (albeit flakier, if you like that sort of thing) than regular dough, and best of all, is virtually fat free.

•  Cheesecake Factory’s Brownie Sundae Cheesecake

There are 970 calories in just 1 serving of Cheesecake Factory’s Brownie Sundae Cheesecake.  Don’t let this happen to you.  If you’re making your own brownies, using cocoa powder in lieu of real chocolate and skim fat milk will shave hundreds of calories off as well as dollars off your future hospital bills.

•  Sonic’s Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast

Perhaps the most devastating “food” on this list, Sonic’s Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast tests the boundaries of what is and isn’t considered edible food.  Potentially the first food to require a calculator in order to count the calories as you eat it, the Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast bills itself as some sort of milk shake/ice cream inspired treat that clocks in with an unapologetic 1,256 calories and 39.6 grams of fat.

Granted, the holidays are only once a year, so it’s not as if you would be eating this stuff throughout the year.  However, for those of us who value our health more than just our belly fat levels, taking small steps to avoid foods like these could end up saving us lots of money on diabetes medication later on, not to mention time spent being alive.  Don’t feel bad if you’ve already had your fair share of calorie packed Christmas foods, though… you can always ask Santa for liposuction.

Charlie Shavargo is a personal trainer at LAVA Sport & Fitness in San Diego, CA. He specializes in plyometrics and abdominal workouts.

As you know, we had a blast at our Breaking Dawn party.  I sent out party invites that looked like Bella and Edward’s wedding invitation.  I hosted a Twilight Saga themed self-serve candy bar for the party guests.  I found some amazing free printables online and demonstrated how I used them for our Breaking Dawn table settings and made some great Breaking Dawn Christmas ornaments as party favors for each of the guests.
The party wouldn’t have been complete without serving Mushroom Ravioli.  Of course not everyone enjoys mushrooms so we also offered cheese and beef ravioli.  Garlic bread and caesar salad were on the side.  Thanks to Ragu the meal came together nicely making the dinner party a true success.

I’m not even going to lie, I bought the pre-stuffed ravioli.  With all the party preparations there was no way I had time to make ravioli from scratch, or should I say learn how to make ravioli from scratch.  I boiled it and let Ragu come to the rescue by adding the delicious sauce.  Instead of using the Traditional flavor I went with the Tomato & Basil Ragu sauce and tossed in some garlic then topped with cheese.

Thanks to Ragu I get to offer one lucky reader a chance to host their very own Breaking Dawn dinner party.  Are you a Twilight Saga fan?  Here’s your chance to bring everyone together to chat over dinner before or after seeing the new Twilight Saga movie – Breaking Dawn in theaters.  Even if you aren’t a Twilight Saga fan this is still a great opportunity for you to enter and host your own dinner party with friends on Ragu.  The randomly selected winner will receive a $300 American Express gift card directly from Ragu to cover the cost of your dinner party expenses.

How to Enter:

Leave a comment telling me – Team Edward or Team Jacob?  Or simply state why you would love to host a dinner party.

Additional Entries: {one entry per comment}

• Follow @MommaDJane on Twitter
• Follow @RaguSauce on Twitter
• Subscribe to MommaDJane RSS Feed
• Tweet the following tweet, leave permalink in comments

Enter the #giveaway hosted by @MommaDJane for a chance to #win $300 from @ragusauce to host #BreakingDawn dinner party http://ow.ly/7ZTkN

*Giveaway is open to all U.S. Residents 18+ Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, December 28th at midnight CST. Any and all comments after that time will not be counted towards giveaway entries. Reader must leave a method of contact within comment and must respond within 24 hours of contact, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Random.org will be used to select a random winner from comments on this post.

Full Disclosure: MommaDJane is one of the selected Ragu Blog Ambassadors.  A gift card was provided to cover the expense of our home party.  All opinions are 100% mine, of course!

Congratulations, Jessie C!

Today Ragu posted the question… Do you think kids are better behaved when holiday guests are visiting?

My answer: No!

At least not with my extended family.  My kids are great at restaurants.  I’d say we’ve eaten out a lot in their lives, especially with traveling and visiting family in another state.  They grew up going out in public and learned to act right at a young age.  My tolerance isn’t very high, I’ll admit.  I’ve never had complaints when they visit others in their homes either.  We often have guests over to grill out during the summer and sometimes have our friends from church over for dinner.  My children are pretty well behaved then too.  Usually just excited to see our friends.

But… get our large family together and it’s like we’re at a zoo.  My nephews are pretty hyper and if my sister reads this post she’ll know it’s true, nothing bad, just facts.  All the kids get excited to be somewhere new and around their family that they bounce off the walls.  Maybe it’s because we are family and not strangers that the kids feel more comfortable.  Either way, during the holidays when our family gets together it’s loud and crazy.  Adults included.  Except me, of course…

Do your children make good dinnertime guests?  When your family gets together for the holidays is it total chaos?

Our family loves Alvin and the Chipmunks.  I used to watch all the cartoons when I was a child and even had the stuffed animals.  It is one of those classics in my eyes that I’m glad they brought back for my kids.  Gabby has been a huge Alvin and the Chipmunks fan since 2007 when the first remake came to theaters.  She was in the hospital recovering from brain surgery and the doctors allowed us to leave for the day to see a movie on Christmas.  For her sixth birthday, the next April, all she wanted was the Alvin and the Chipmunks stuffed animals.  I couldn’t find them anywhere so finally had to bid on eBay.  By this time they were considered a collectible.  Luckily my parents found some of their extra outfits left over from when I was a kid.  Over 20 years old…  Gabby loved it all and still owns them to this day.

The excitement around my house has been building up in anticipation of the new Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked movie that comes out this Friday.  The kids are especially excited that it’s coming out this week and they don’t have to wait until Christmas Day to see it.  The Squeakquel had such a nice twist when they added the female chipmunks and since my kids are also fond of cruises, they are extra excited to see how the story plays out this go round.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Synopsis

The vacationing Chipmunks and Chipettes are turning a luxury cruise liner into their personal playground, until they become ‘chipwrecked’ on a remote island.  As the ‘Munks and Chipettes scheme to find their way home, they accidentally discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is rated G (fun for the whole family) and is in theaters nationwide this Friday, December 16th.

Alvin and the Chipmunks fan?  Head over and Munk Yourself on their website.  You can create fun avatars and all.  It’s quite comical.  You can also follow along on Twitter @OfficialAlvin and use hashtag #chipwrecked for the new movie.  Of course don’t forget to like their Facebook page as well.

Want to head and see Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked on us?  I’m excited to announce, thanks to 20th Century Fox, I’m giving away a prize pack valued at $60!

Prize Pack Includes:

• $25 Fandango Gift Card
• Alvin and the Chipmunks on DVD
• Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel on DVD

How to Enter:

Leave a comment and tell me which is your or your child’s favorite chipmunk from Alvin and the Chipmunks

Additional Entries: {one entry per comment}

• Follow @MommaDJane on Twitter, leave Twitter handle in comments
• Follow @OfficialAlvin on Twitter, leave Twitter handle in comments
• Tweet the below tweet, leave permalink in comments

Enter the #giveaway hosted by @MommaDJane to #win a prize pack valued $60 to see @OfficialAlvin #chipwrecked http://ow.ly/7XkC6

•  Subscribe to MommaDJane RSS Feed

Know other Alvin and the Chipmunk lovers?  Please share this giveaway with them on Facebook.  Also don’t forget to head over and like my page while you are there.

*Giveaway is open to all US Residents 18+ Entries will be accepted until Friday, December 16th at midnight CST. Any and all comments after that time will not be counted towards giveaway entries. Reader must leave a method of contact within comment and must respond within 48 hours of contact, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Random.org will be used to select a random winner from comments on this post.

Full Disclosure: My family received a complimentary Fandango gift card to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked for appreciation of my time hosting this giveaway.  All opinions are 100% mine and my family truly are huge Alvin and the Chipmunks fans!

For our Breaking Dawn party the theme was to celebrate Edward and Bella’s wedding.  By doing so we wanted to reminisce back to their ‘first date‘ at Bella Italia in Port Angeles.  I decided to transform the dining room into a restaurant style setting.  I was lucky to find some amazing free printables on Pinterest that helped assist with this transformation.

Source: pinkzebralounge.com via Dwan on Pinterest

 Water bottle labels used, thanks to Pink Zebra Lounge to show Sparkling Water imported from Isle Esme.

I used the round printables that were originally designed for cupcakes as the image on the place cards.  I thought Edward’s family crest was the perfect image since we were celebrating his wedding.  The place cards were added in front of each plate on the table for each party guest.  The guests were also able to take these home with them as a personalized souvenir from the party.

I created the menu to be from Bella Italia.  We added the logo on top and listed the items we planned to serve at dinner.  We laid the half sheets of paper on top of the plates for the table setting.  Even though we served Mushroom Ravioli we were too late in the planning process to order from the real Bella Italia restaurant.  The home of Edward and Bella’s first date now sells their famous Mushroom Ravioli online and will ship directly to your home, on ice, for you to prepare at your own Twilight Saga party.
The table was covered in a black disposable table cloth with a red shimmer cover on top to give it that more elegant restaurant feel.  All the dinnerware was disposable and plastic.  I purchased the silver plasticware to give it the look of real.  The wine glasses were even disposable.  This worked perfect for me for clean up time since we were heading out to a midnight showing after the party.  I wanted to be able to toss and go since we had 12 people for dinner.

I setup a second table near the wedding arch to seat more guests.  Just a simple card table with a table cloth and similar table settings.
The Breaking Dawn dinner party turned out fabulous.  I was more than pleased with the table settings and we all felt right at home in our celebration.

Have you hosted a themed party?  Did you match your theme across the table settings, party decor and activities?

We are in the thick of the holiday “hustle and bustle” and all we see is a sea of red and green – especially green, as in cha-ching!

If you plan on sliding the little plastic card to pay for your holiday purchases, here are some important things to keep in mind.  Check for interest rates and read into them, make sure you understand the terms of lower ones vs higher ones.  Sometimes the incentives outweigh a higher interest rate so be sure to check for any offered, such as cash back all year long and not just at the holidays.  It is a great way to get some money back while shopping!

For example, this Chase Freedom Review points out the sign up bonus of $200 cash back as long as you spend $500 in the first 3 months!  In essence you get almost half of what you spend on purchases back!

It also gives 5% in various categories each quarter up to $1500.  Through 12/31/11, you get 5% back on $1500 spent on dining, department stores, movie theatres and charitable organizations.  Every 3 months, you will enjoy 5% categories such as grocery stores, home improvement stores, gas etc.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Chase Freedom also provides unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases with no limits on what can be earned; 10% cash back when you shop online at selected stores through Chase!

Cashback rewards NEVER expire and there is no annual fee.  Be sure to opt-in to the Chase Freedom Reward program every quarter.  You will be notified ahead of time and even if you forget and remember later, the opt-in is retroactive so you still get incentive if you missed out on one month!

Chase Freedom is definitely one of the better credit cards to look into because of all they offer but no matter which card you end up going with, be sure you spend responsibly!  Happy Shopping!

The holidays have always been important to me.  I love Christmas and the magic that comes with it.  It’s the largest holiday of the year where all the family comes together to spend quality time in celebration.  To me it’s the most important holiday.  Every holiday we have together as a family I consider a blessing.

When I was growing up Christmas was filled with excitement of my childhood wishes.  After I had kids it became about seeing the excitement in my children’s eyes when they witnessed Christmas magic.

In 2007 the way I viewed things changed.  I think I started to cherish it more.  Gabby went in for her Hemispherectomy the first week of November 2007 and unfortunately we stayed in the hospital through all the major holidays and well into the new year.  Spending Christmas in a children’s hospital was not ideal for anyone.  Saying money was tight that year is an understatement.  Gabby was unexpectedly kept in the hospital for four months, meaning I was in the hospital for four months.  Not much work can be done when you are taking care of your child whose life was still in question.

There were times I wondered if we were going to have a Christmas.  Silly, isn’t it?  Christmas isn’t about the gift giving.  It’s about embracing life, family and truly being appreciative for what you have at that very moment, no matter how tough it is.  2007 is the year I witnessed a miracle.  Christmas time is when Gabby was able to move to the rehabilitation floor and learned to walk on her own again.  December of 2007 is the month we knew Gabby was going to live.

Spending Christmas in the hospital wasn’t so bad.  The girls were given the chance to take part in some fun holiday activities.  Gabby was healthy enough to take out of her room in a wheelchair or wagon to see the hospital Christmas tree and we were able to decorate her hospital room.  They even allowed her big sister, T, to spend Christmas Eve with us in the hospital so Santa could drop off their presents that night.

Those are the memories that are priceless.  Those memories are still fresh in my mind and capturing them to share with Gabby is worth everything to me.

YesVideo helps you preserve your memories by transferring your old home movies to DVD and digitizing your photos for you to share on a slideshow.  I love that you have the option of simply transferring your old media then editing online before ordering a DVD.  I have so many VHS tapes from when my oldest was little and several 8mm tapes from when I was younger that I wouldn’t know where to start ordering DVDs.  Being able to transfer the media first, then edit and arrange before ordering my DVDs is perfect.

YesVideo also offer the option to share your home movies with friends and relatives out of state through MemorySafe online storage.  This year I plan to capture as many home movies during the holidays on my HD video camera to transfer to BluRay.  While we are spending time together with my parents over the holidays we are going to gather all our old media to send in as a family and order copies of DVDs together.  My mom is excited about this.

Right now YesVideo is offering 15% off your entire order.  Use code: TRANSFER15 during checkout on their website to qualify.  YesVideo features various giveaways on their Facebook Page regularly so I suggest liking them to keep up to date.  You can follow YesVideo on Twitter where they also share photography tips and other specials.

What is your favorite holiday memory?  Do you have VHS tapes collecting dust on your shelves?  How often do you watch home movies with your children?

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing the information about YesVideo with you.  The story and opinions are 100% mine.

~Cherish today, for you never know what tomorrow brings.