Photo courtesy of http://valentinmaya.com

Today I am flying out to the Riviera Maya for five nights.  I am so excited and am looking forward to this much needed relaxing trip.  Doesn’t the above photo look amazing? I know there will be plenty of things to do but I hope to spend majority of my time laying with my feet up relaxing.  I love to travel and I love seeing new sights and exploring but I am going to fight against myself to make sure I take some time off on this trip instead of keeping my days busy the whole time.  It’s been quite a while since I went on a true vacation with no conference schedule, no children and no work.

Photo courtesy of http://valentinmaya.com

My friend Alan, heck he’s practically family, invited me to go somewhere with him this summer and our original plan was Jamaica but I’m sure you have all heard of the mess going on over there so we felt like it might not be the safest place to go right now.  Although we had to change plans, I can’t say these photos look all that bad, can you?  Jamaica, Mexico, either way it looks beautiful and I’m thrilled to be going!

My one request for our all inclusive resort was no children.  I love children but at this time I need the break with some peace and quiet.

These photos were pulled from the resort’s website where we will be staying.  I can’t wait to visit Valentin Maya and tell you all about it.  I plan to take videos and photos during our trip.

I love to travel.  That sentence is probably an understatement for the true passion I feel when visiting other areas and experiencing new things.  I love seeing other countries.  Heck I even enjoy traveling to other states and being able to see all of our country.  I like short road trips with the kids.  Flying across the country for a conference or taking a true vacation to stay at a resort over the border.  Just being able to get out of my home town and see new sights, eat different food and try something new is amazing to me.  Plus it’s fun!

Number 42 on my Life List is to spend the summer living in another country and number 43 on my Life List is to spend one year traveling to other countries to work and live so I can experience different culture.  These two items on my Life List has been itching at me lately.  Obviously it isn’t realistic for me to take off for a full year since my children so young so that plan will have to wait.  However my kids go and visit family quite often during the summer months so I plan to keep my eyes open and maybe even search for an opportunity to work abroad.

Have you seen the previews for Eat, Pray, Love?  This movie looks amazing to me and I do love Julia Roberts.  This movie reminds me of my Life List items and I would love to be able to do what she sets out to accomplish.  I think it’s inspiring.  I can’t wait to see the movie and I’m sure once I do I’ll want to pursue my goal even more.

If you are a business that needs help for a month or two for a short term project or maybe wants some social media consulting, contact me and let’s discuss how I can help you. If you know of a position that is open somewhere feel free to leave me a comment telling me about it if it requires travel. I’d love any recommendations.

Eat, Pray, Love

In May I was invited by Quaker Chewy to attend the Afterschool Rocks concert featuring Miranda Cosgrove from iCarly.  This was Miranda Cosgrove’s very first concert and my girls and I were thrilled to experience it.  On our way to the concert we jammed in the car listening to T’s iPod of Miranda Cosgrove songs since we were already fans.  During the concert we were surrounded by 200 screaming kids and watched Miranda perform 6 songs.

Being a teen mom myself I am very impressed with the Afterschool Alliance initiative.  A few facts to chew on:

• On school days, the hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex.
• Teens who do not participate in afterschool programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes than teens who do participate.  They are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and they are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and engage in sexual activity.
• Parents with children in afterschool programs are less stressed, have fewer unscheduled absences and are more productive at work.
• In communities today, 15.1 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends.
• Just 8.4 million children are in afterschool programs—but the parents of another 18.5 million children would sign up if a program were available.

Can you believe those facts?! I mean they all make sense but when they are written out like that it makes you think, doesn’t it?  I fall into those statistics.  I was a mother at the age of 15.  Yes, I had sex before I was married and had a child before I was even considered an adult.  I can say in our area there aren’t as many afterschool programs as I’d like to see.  Most of them are extremely costly and I for one know how important they truly are.

Quaker Chewy has joined together with the Afterschool Alliance to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs.  Afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. The Afterschool Alliance works with the Administration, the U.S. Congress, governors, mayors, and advocates across the country. Its network spans more than 26,000 afterschool programs.

During our meet and greet with Miranda Cosgrove we were given the chance to sit at a table with her and ask a few questions. She was so sweet and answered our questions well. I must say I was impressed. Gabby and T were both completely star struck. Gabby wanted me to tell her she liked her boots because she was too nervous to say it herself. Then all of a sudden she worked up the nerve and blurted out ‘I LIKE YOUR BOOTS‘ really quick and loud right in the middle of me asking Miranda a question. We all just giggled. I knew T wanted to tell her how much she enjoys iCarly and how she loves her clothing style so at one point I looked at T and said ‘did you have something you’d like to say to Miranda?‘ and all T could do was stutter ‘I really liked your concert‘. She was so nervous that it was difficult to just get that one sentence out. She went from being red from embarrassment to pale white like she’d seen a ghost. I’ve honestly never seen my daughters speechless and yet I found it amusing. The whole drive home T was still trying to grasp the reality of it all. I thought she was going to faint she was so worked up.

My questions to Miranda Cosgrove:

How do you feel about working with a large brand like Quaker Chewy to promote the afterschool initiative?

I feel blessed to have the opportunity to support the Afterschool Rocks program.  When growing up I was very involved in after school programs such as music and sports.  Since I was lucky enough to have these opportunities growing up I didn’t know what it was like to not have them.  Now that I realize not everyone gets those chances I understand how important it is. ~Miranda

What do you think when you see little kids wearing your picture on their shirts or sporting various iCarly logo merchandise?  So in other words, how does it feel to have so many fans?

It’s still just all so amazing.  Each time feels just like the very first time.  I enjoy when my fans come up to me and tell me their favorite iCarly episode.  I really love it when someone comes up to me and says how much they like my style because I spend hours looking through catalogs with my stylists picking out clothes. ~Miranda

Miranda also complemented T’s blue highlights and Gabby’s pink tutu.  She was very well spoken, polite and down to earth.  She was patient with Gabby giving her several hugs and took her time posing for photos with us.  I love seeing famous people put their time and talent towards something good.

View all photos from our event on my Flickr set.

Full Disclosure: Quaker Chewy allowed us to be guests to Miranda Cosgrove’s concert in order to learn more about their Afterschool Rocks initiative.  Miranda Cosgrove’s quotes in response to our questions were not recorded or written down during time of interview and were written in this post based on my memory.  The words may not be exact as she said them but the concept is the same.

I am proud to announce that Constructive Playthings has launched their all new ambassador program and I have been chosen as one of the lucky 12 to represent them. The 12 bloggers, also known as the Constructive Moms, will be your source for discounts, reviews, promotions and of course giveaways.

Now to introduce the bloggers:

Constructive Moms

• Lee {My Sentiment ExactLee}
• Allie {No Time For Flash Cards}
• Karen {3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires}
  
• Keri {Toy Queen}
  
• Brittany Hudson-Greer {The Greer Five}
  
• Dwan {MommaDJane}
  
• Tenille {Feisty, Frugal & Fabulous}
  
• Jody {Mommy Moment}
  
• Lisa {Crazy Adventures in Parenting}
  
• Gina {A Wrestling Addicted Mom}
  
• Bridgette {Experimental Mommy}
  
• Kimberly {Raising Olives}

Follow Constructive Moms on Twitter.

Image via Wikipedia

This weekend I rented the movie: Love Happens with Jennifer Aniston and loved it!  There was one part in the movie that inspired an idea for me.

Without getting into the whole premise of the movie, I’ll try to sum it up.  Jennifer Aniston plays a single woman who owns a flower shop in the city.  After going on a date she invites the man back to her flower shop while she finishes up some last minute arrangements.  During her dates visit he picks up one of the greeting cards attached to some flowers and reads it out loud.  This is followed by her showing him a small box she has cards stored in with messages from strangers written on them.  They begin to read the cards out loud to one another; some sweet, some funny and some sad.  Jennifer states that she kept these specific cards because she found them compelling.  My favorite part in this scene is when she said ‘it’s life on a 3×5′.

My oldest daughter is turning 13 in July.  I am still in shock that I’ll have a teenager so soon.  Even though we are already beginning to plan her party and I pretty much know what she wants as a gift, I want to do something special.  Becoming a teenager is a big deal, it’s one of those milestones that you remember forever.  For both her and me…

I thought something very fun and unique to do would be to create her some life on a 3×5.  I plan to write 365 things on 3×5 note cards.  Who knows, maybe I’ll have it printed up nicely or laminated or maybe it will just be written up in my own sloppy writing for her to treasure.  I plan to include life tips, famous quotes, random tid-bites or just about anything that I think is worthy for her to read once a day during her first year as a teenager.  I know they have those desktop calendars out there where you pull a page and read a new quote, but this is going to be from me, her mother.

Have any suggestions? 365 phrases is a lot.  I’m already feeling overwhelmed.  Her birthday is July 24th and it has to be complete before then.  I plan to search for famous phrases and quotes, any tips that are worthy to share or even a short funny joke that’s relevant.  I’d love some ideas, share them in the comments if you’d like!

Father’s Day is coming up and what better way to celebrate than Sprout-style! Upload a photo to dance with Dad, then submit to Sprout for a chance to be on TV on Father’s Day. It’s all part of Dad’s Boogie Woogie Dance Party! Join Dennisha and Chica LIVE on Sunday June 20th from noon – 3pm ET for a special Father’s Day celebration.

While you are over visiting Sprout take a moment to read my guest article about a Dream Father’s Day.  Feel free to join in on the conversation within comments and tell us what you are planning for the perfect Father’s Day.

Table of contents for My Happiness Project

1. My Happiness Project – Life List Update
2. My Happiness Project – Week 2
3. What Makes Me Happy? – Week 3
4. Relaxing with Toes in Sand – Happiness Project

In February while attending the Mom 2.0 Summit conference I bought the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and she even autographed it.

In March I read some of The Happiness Project.

In April I published my Life List with item number 54 being to complete my own Happiness Project.

Last week I took action to download Gretchen’s eBook on how to run a group with your Happiness Project.  I have read through her discussion tips and have decided to put some into action immediately.

1. I started an one sentence journal.  This is working great and although it’s sometimes two sentences a day, which is totally fine, I always find something positive from the day to write down.  Right after climbing into my bed for the night, I grab this journal off my night stand and write a quick note.  Great way to reflect on something positive and keep track.
2. I decided I will start blogging my progress with reading the book, actions I take and how I plan to make this reality of completing my own Happiness Project.  Not sure if you can actually complete the Happiness Project, it’s more of a work in progress… but you get the idea.
3. Create and run a group.  This is the tricky part.  I would love to have a group or weekly discussion with someone else who wants to take part in The Happiness Project with me.  I would love to reach out to some other bloggers who might want to blog once a week about our progress and maybe hold one another accountable.  Work on small steps together, even if it is as simple as keeping an one sentence journal.  I’d be happy to host a weekly Mr. Linky here so we could read each others posts and maybe we could follow along with Gretchen’s eBook layout for tips and suggestions.

So who’s with me?  If you are interested, leave me a comment or email me at djane (at) mommadjane (dot) com.  We could maybe even have a Skype discussion if you wanted.

I’ve always wanted to adopt a child.  I remember when I was growing up I used to tell my parents that the only children I would have would be children that I adopted.  Of course I was blessed with three beautiful kids that I love very much.  When I was married my husband and I had checked into becoming Foster parents.  I’ve always had a heart for children and helping provide one a home would be a blessing to me, not just the child.  Although I’ve put the Fostering/Adopting plans on hold, I do plan to make this happen one day.  Matter of fact, I even listed Foster a Child on my Life List that I published recently.

Did you know that May is National Foster Care Month?  Did you know that it would take less than 1% of the U.S. population to provide a family for every child in foster care?  It’s amazing to think that 463,000 children are currently in foster care and 123,000 children are waiting to be adopted.  Every child deserves to have a home with caring and supportive parents.

You can learn more about fostering and adopting by visiting AdoptUsKids.org and see how you can get involved.  Even if all you can do right now is help spread the word and promote awareness of the children waiting for homes to welcome them in.

Adopt Us Kids is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Last week was Nurse Appreciation Week and it really got me thinking about all of the nurses I am in one on one contact with regularly. 

As you all know Gabby had a five day hospital stay a couple of weeks back where they conducted a MRI and video EEG throughout her stay.  I must admit that stay was one of our roughest.  Gabby was just down right miserable majority of the time and several different hospital shifts assigned us with nurses that left me wondering why they became a nurse for children in the first place.  Then of course there were the amazing ones.  The ones who came across several halls just to say hello after recognizing Gabby’s name on the intake forms even though they hadn’t been her nurse in two years.  The ones who go home at the end of their shift feeling blessed inside to be able to share in a child’s life to make a difference.  The ones who feel lucky to have their career and do it for more than just an income.

Having patience and the heart to be a medical provider for anyone, especially children is not something that I take lightly.  I love children and although I say I could work in a setting full time with them, I would never admit to being able to handle caring for kids that are seeking medical attention for whatever reason.  The heavy heart the medical staff must carry for those children by watching them suffer, fight illness and some even losing their battle for life must be hard.  Could you imagine? I admire the strength they must have.

Gabby has been very blessed throughout her 8 years by receiving some of the most amazing medical care by some of the best in their profession.  To all the Nurses and Medical Staff out there, thank you for all you do and we hope you had a wonderful Nurses Appreciation Week!

I am so excited to be packing up to head out for our Disney Cruise. The kids and I have been looking forward to this cruise for months. It couldn’t have come at a better time either, after spending 5 days in the hospital Gabby needs a break. Heck our whole family could use one. The cruise leaves the port on Thursday and comes back on Sunday. I wish we were able to spend more than three nights away but right now timing doesn’t allow for it.

I took T on this same cruise for her 6th birthday and now Gabby has just turned 8.  I am so excited to be able to finally take her and Noah to experience Disney on the Ocean.  My family are huge Disney fans and this will be the little ones first cruise and Noah’s first airplane ride.

We have also been given the opportunity to take my niece and nephew.  My niece is 15 and she is very close to T and my nephew is almost 12.  The three of them will have a blast running around together while the two little ones play.  Both my niece and nephew have never been on airplanes and of course never been on a cruise.  I am very excited to be able to share this experience with them.  Long story short, this vacation is a blessing to them and something they may never experience again.  We have been very fortunate by some family members who have made it possible for them to attend.

While I’ll be gone my twitter stream and Facebook status updates will be very quiet.  I am going completely offline the whole time.  I have scheduled a few posts to go live on my blog.  I can’t wait to share photos and stories from our trip when we get home.

Bahamas here I come!