DBTL: ADD/ADHD Awareness

When my daughter was in middle school and high school, she would frustrate me to no end with the way she never seemed able to just settle down and get her homework done.

No, she had to be in her room, with the music on, a book in her lap, her phone in her hand texting her friends, and then a song would come on and she'd be singing, and two hours later she might have gotten 30 minutes worth of work done.

At the time we kidded her about being a spacy blonde.

Then she got to college and was struggling with a full-time classload. A family friend offered to tutor her. This friend will always be one of our guardian angels, because she was the one who recognized the signs of what was really going on and encouraged my daughter to go see the doctor.

Within five minutes with the doctor, my daughter had met so many of the criteria on the checklist that she was diagnosed as ADD/OCD/Anxiety with a touch of Depression. Among the medications she started, she was put on Ritalin. Within the first couple days, she made a comment to me that finally clued me in on what it was like in her brain:

"I feel like I'm only having one conversation with myself instead of eight."

Since then, I have tried to be more patient, and I have been learning more about Attention Deficit Disorder, and now her behaviors make so much more sense to me. They're still frustrating at times, but at least I understand WHY they happen.

So I was glad when this month's awareness theme focused on ADD/ADHD. If you want to find out more about what it's like to live with these disorders, you can read about it here.

As usual, the Digi Blog Train List designers have put together a great collection of items for you. You can collect their kits at:

Moore Blessings Digital Design
Dreamn4Ever Designs
Ostrea Designs
KJD designs
Angel Wing Scraps
Dea’s Design
DigiJen Scraps  <-- you are here
Shuckclod’s Stuff
DBTL FB Page(click bonus)

And now for my offering:

DOWNLOAD

As usual, I tried to find some bits with a little humor and some that can promote some understanding. I hope you are able to use them to scrap about your own struggles with ADD/ADHD or those of someone you love.

See you back here April 10th for the Scrap Designers Blog Train - the theme will be "Pet-astic!"  (Plus I'm planning a surprise based on my own fandom interest.) ;)

SDBT: The Sounds of Music

Hello, and welcome to March!

When I was in 2nd grade, I started taking piano lessons. As the years went on, I not only played for myself, but I also played for the junior high and high school choirs, dabbled in music arranging for a ladies quartet, and now sometimes fill in for the our church choir director when she has to miss a rehearsal. Music has been such an important outlet for me - it is my worship language, and my mom used to say she could tell when I was upset about something because I would practice my piano lessons extra long...and extra loud.

Even if you never had a music lesson or sang a note in your life, you can't escape music. It's on the radio. It's in the background of the TV shows we watch and the movies we go see. Some poets even say there is music in the sound of a baby's laugh or a running creek.

"The Sounds of Music" are such an intrinsic part of life, and I'm thrilled that it was chosen as this month's theme for the Scrap Designers Blog Train. Our designers have come up with some fantastic, bright-colored freebies for you. Feel free to hop around and see what each has to offer:

SugarButt Artistic Designs

Promethean Concepts

KJDdesigns

Songbird Scraps Designs

Moore Blessings Digital Design

Nellie Bell

DigiScrap Angelhaze

Skinni’s Scraps and Stuff

DigiJen Scraps <-- You are here.

And here is my contribution for this month. I found so many good quotes about music, it was hard to narrow it down! But ultimately, it seemed that these might be the meaningful to the most people.

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(If you have trouble with the download, please let me know. The link didn't process quite like I expected, so I don't know if that's just a new thing or if it's a problem.) 

Remember to keep a song in your heart, and I'll see you back here around March 20th for the next Digi Blog Train List Awareness train! This month is ADD & ADHD Awareness.

DBTL: Teen Pregnancy Awareness

1956:
A 17-year-old unmarried girl becomes pregnant by her first boyfriend. She is sent to live with an older, married sister in another town. The child is born. The nurse doesn't know the baby is supposed to be adopted, so the baby is brought to the mother...but only for a few moments until the nurse swoops back in, says, "You're not supposed to see the baby," and takes the child from the mother's arms. The baby, through private adoption, is places with a couple who has long wanted a child of their own, but who has become too old to be considered by most adoption agencies.

2006:
A 16-year-old unmarried girl becomes pregnant by her first boyfriend. However, times are different. This girl is kept at home. She has the baby at 17, early in her senior year of high school. Her parents help with the baby so she is able to finish high school. She doesn't marry the father, and she stays a single mom, raising the child with the help of her parents and a network of friends. She also attends college, first getting an associate's degree, then a bachelor's degree.

As it happens, I thought I might have to skip this month's blog train because my husband and I were going to be on vacation just before it went "live." But when it was announced that Teen Pregnancy Awareness was the topic of the month, I had to do something. You see, the baby in 1956 was the husband I just went on vacation with, and the mother and baby in 2006 were my daughter and grandson. And I was the one who suggested that we devote a blog train to this topic.

So yeah, you can find all the numbers and statistics at websites like the CDC's page on teen pregnancy. But they don't tell the story of the strength it takes to hand your newborn off to someone else, or to keep the child and raise him or her. They don't tell how many people it takes, or the sacrifice it takes. They don't explain how important it is for family and friends to circle around today's young mom and help her achieve her own goals as well as provide a stable life for her child. They don't tell you how crucial it is to remind a young mom - whether she has chosen adoption or parenthood - that she is not a failure, but that she still has all the potential she had a year ago, and she can still do anything she wants to do...even though it may take a little longer.

Our designers have put together a nice collection for Teen Pregnancy Awareness. Be sure to stop by and pick up the goodies from all of the following blogs:

KJD Designs
Shuckclod's Stuff
Dea's Designs
Five Little Loves
Dreamn4ever Designs
DigiJen Scraps   <-- you are here
Designs by Cocotounette
Obviously, this topic  hits close to home. As a result, I found it difficult to be too casual, flippant or cutesy with this month's word art. It is, for the most part, meant to be straightforward and encouraging, while at the same time acknowledging the difficulty of being a young mom. I hope you can find something here you can use.

DOWNLOAD

If you have stumbled upon this blog and find yourself with a teen pregnancy in your life, I would be more than willing to chat with you about it. Sometimes, the best shoulder belongs to someone who has traveled a road ahead of you. You can message me here or through Facebook under DigiJen Scraps.

Otherwise, I hope to see you back here on March 10th when the Scrap Designers Blog Train launches with "The Sounds of Music."

SDBT: For the Love of Food

Just when you think it's safe to go back in the kitchen...... *cue ominous music*

You've survived the holiday season - Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. Maybe you started a new diet or started working out. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, the cold weather is not helping your case any (while those of you in the South can get out and enjoy the warm temperatures and sunshine).

And then...Valentine's Day shows up. Candy. More candy. Maybe dinner out if your guy wants to treat you to a night out of the kitchen.

And then...if you're like me...you throw a birthday in there just after Valentine's Day. So it's ANOTHER dinner out, and some kind of cake or something special that can carry the "Happy Birthday" message.

And THEN...if you're like me...you're celebrating this particular birthday-ending-with-a-5 (and an anniversary-ending-with-a-5 that happens in a few months) with a cruise. And if there's one thing cruises are famous for, it's the endless food.

So hey! It only seems fitting that the Scrap Designers Blog Train this month should have the theme "For the Love of Food"! You can jump on the train from here and pick up several freebies for your food-related layouts:

Skinni’s Scraps and Stuff
Songbird Scraps Designs
Promethean Concepts
Scrapbookcrazy Creations by Robyn
KJD Designs
Dea's Designs
Moore Blessings Digital Design
DigiScrap Angelhaze
DigiJen Scraps  <-- You Are Here

As usual, I have food-related word art for you - and it's a big set this month. (Not surprising, since food is one thing that everyone can relate to.)

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NOTE: I was serious about that cruise. We leave tomorrow (the 10th) - the day this train goes live. So if you have any problems with the download, please leave me a message. We'll be gone about a week, but I'll deal with any issues when I get back home.

Otherwise, I'll see you back here for the Digi Blog Train Awareness train on Teenage Pregnancy on the 20th.

Bon Appetit!

DBTL: Restless Leg Syndrome Awareness

Well, THIS certainly was an educational month for me!

It's one thing to read about one of our topics that we focus on with the Digi Blog Train List - to try to understand it enough to find appropriate words or phrases to create word art. But it's something completely different to start reading about a medical condition and realize that you, yourself, have several of the symptoms on the checklist.

I always thought Restless Leg Syndrome was something that affected people who were trying to sleep. But I realize now that it could also be an explanation for my compulsive urge to squirm and move around as I sit in the evenings, often watching TV and/or working on my computer. My legs will be up on the footrest of our recliner couch, and suddenly I'll just HAVE to move and stretch them, change position, or even massage them against each other. (For anyone who has given birth...you know that urge to push? And you just can't NOT do it? It's similar to that. You can't NOT move around.) If I don't, it gets that pins-and-needles feeling.

Thankfully, that's the ONLY effect I have linked to this syndrome. Others have it much worse. You can learn more about Restless Leg Syndrome at the Restless Leg Syndrome Foundation website.

In the meantime, our group of designers have come up with mini kits, elements, papers, and even some planner pages this month.

You can pick up all of your freebies by visiting the designers' blogs:

KJD designs
Dea’s Design
Ostrea Designs
Angel Wing Scraps
Dreamn4Ever Designs
Moore Blessings digital Design
Cocotounette Designs
Shuckclod’s Stuff
DigiJen Scraps
DBTL FB Page(click bonus)

And, as usual, I've created some word art to go along with the theme:

DOWNLOAD

I hope you're able to use some of these, whether it's to scrap about RLS or some other chronic illness.

For those of you who will be back for the Scrap Designers Blog Train, note that we'vre moving our release date from the 1st of the month to the 10th of the month. So come back on February 10th for our next theme: For the Love of Food.

SDBT: Cold Hands, Warm Heart

January is, honestly, one of my least favorite months of the year. November has Thanksgiving, December has Christmas, and February has my birthday. March is technically the beginning of spring, even if the weather may not always agree.

But January in my world is just cold. And I don't like the cold.

I've always been a cold-natured person. My feet are warm only in the mornings before I get out of bed. I have made an art form otu of dressing in layers. Everything I can possibly manage is either fur-lined or fleece or flannel.

So it was a wonderful chance to reframe my way of thinking when this month's theme was announced - "Cold Hands, Warm Heart." It was a chance to remember the good things about the colder months of the year - even if it's only a reminder that the cold makes us appreciate the warm months even more.

So that's my take on "Cold Hands, Warm Heart," and it was a guide for the phrases that I've turned into word art for this month.

DOWNLOAD

(The download may say it's corrupted, but I've had someone test it and it is fine.)

You can get the blog train goodies from our other designers by following these links:

Promethan Concepts

KJD Designs

Digiscrap Angelhaze

Skinni's Scraps and Stuff

Nellie Bell

Songbird Scrap Designs

Moore Blessings Digital Design

DigiJen Scraps <-- you are here

AND...a special note...starting in February, the Scrap Designers Blog Train will move away to from the tidal wave of activity that occurs on the 1st of the month, and we will start posting this blog train on the 10th of each month. So I'll see you back here on February 10th!

DBTL: Tourette Syndrome Awareness

Hello, Blog Train Friends! Happy Holidays!

Just like usual, the Digi Blog Train List is off and running this month to bring awareness to another cause.

This month we're focusing on Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette Syndrome is sometimes inaccurately called "the cursing disease." In fact, Tourette Syndrome is considered a "tic" condition, and these tics can be either physical (as simple as blinking or shoulder shrugging) or vocal (throat clearing or grunting). Some vocal tics do involve inappropriate language, but it only happens in 10-15% of cases. You can find out more about the condition here. 

Earlier this month I had a chance to meet someone who has Tourette Syndrome. And honestly, if she hadn't mentioned it, I never would have known it. She takes medicine to keep the tics under control. Once I knew that, it made me even more angry that explosive outbursts of profanity has become the stereotype for this condition. It's. Just. Not. Accurate.

Our group has created some cute mini kits, word art and papers for you this month, plus an extra frame that you can pick up at the Facebook page. The designers participating this month include:

Angel Wing Scraps

Ostrea Designs

DigiJen Scraps <-- you are here

Shuckclod's Stuff

Dea's Design

Dreamn4Ever Designs

DBTL FB Page

You can get my set of word art using the download link below.

DOWNLOAD

I hope you find this word art useful. And while you're here, be sure to pick up the Christmas Word art that I created for the Scrap Designers Blog Train.

See you in a couple weeks when the SDBT takes off on January 1st. And between now and then, I hope you're able to have an enjoyable (and somewhat relaxing) holiday season.