As many of you know, I have been a Literacy Specialist for over fifteen years in New York City. Working in such a diverse city, I have always been surprised by the lack of multicultural reading material that has been available to my students over the years. Every good reading teacher knows that children relate better to books and texts that they can personally connect to and see themselves in. It's the best way to instill a true love of literature in them and to create lifelong readers and learners. You can imagine my excitement when I learned that I would have the opportunity to review the new bilingual picture book La Familia Cool: El tesoro más valioso / The Most Valuable Treasure by Dania Santana. It is a heartwarming story about a multicultural family who celebrates its diversity and takes pride in instilling values in its members. My sons and I especially loved all of the different characters in the book who mirror … [Read more...]
Teach Your Children To Celebrate Their Differences! #LaFamiliaCool #Giveaway #Ad
Put A Healthy Twist On Holiday Traditions! #FuelGreatness @FUTP60 #Ad
*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with National Dairy Council Fuel Up To Play 60 en español and Latina Bloggers Connect. As always our opinions are 100% our own. The holidays are right around the corner and, let's face it, most of us are more excited about all the delicious foods that we are going to eat than we are about receiving presents. Well, at least that is what I am looking forward to enjoying. You see, food has been at the center of our family celebrations from as far back as I can remember. It's no secret that Hispanic family gatherings usually involve mountains of yummy foods and our family is no exception. Along with the glamorous side of eating during the holidays, there are also common issues of overconsumption and overindulgence. This becomes obvious when you hear people at work saying that they plan on wearing pants with elastic waists to make sure they stay comfortable as they stuff … [Read more...]
Immortalize Your Family’s Memories! #MiVidaShutterfly @Shutterfly #Ad
This is part of a sponsored collaboration with DiMeMedia and Shutterfly. However, all opinions expressed are my own. Over the years, I have taken a lot of photos of my family. It means a lot to me to be able to capture all of our precious memories so we can look back on them for years to come. Unfortunately, life happens very quickly and I've never been very good at organizing all of these pictures in a way where they are easily accessible. I want to be able to sit in a cozy chair and relive every joyful moment that I have spent with the ones that I love. This past month, I used some of our favorite photos from the past year to create a Shutterfly Photo Book featuring our most memorable moments of 2015. Not only is this a wonderful way to organize all of our photos, but it also allows me to be able to capture, share, treasure and pass these memories on to future generations. The best part is that I can also share … [Read more...]
Celebrate Perfect Imperfection This Holiday Season! @MinuteMaid_US #DoinGood #DimeMedia #Ad
*DISCLAIMER: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Minute Maid and DiMe Media. All opinions are my own. Last year, I attended my friend Lauren's wedding. We have been friends for almost ten years and we have been there for each other during good and bad times in our lives. She was a beautiful bride and I was so happy for her because, by marrying her groom, she finally got the happiness that she has always deserved. The best part was that, since they both had children from previous relationships, their family would now grow overnight by leaps and bounds. As with any other blended family, they have experienced their share of ups and downs since coming together as one. Getting all of the kids used to one another, as well as adding stepparents and exes into the mix, has proved to be extremely challenging at times. The one single thing that has gotten them through it all is their love for one another and their … [Read more...]
Spread Cheer This Holiday Season! #MiVidaShutterfly @Shutterfly #Giveaway #Ad
This is part of a sponsored collaboration with DiMeMedia and Shutterfly. However, all opinions expressed are my own. If I have to be honest, I would say that I am one of those people who is always scrambling to get everything ready for the holidays. Although it is my favorite time of the year, it's very difficult to prepare in advance due to my career as an educator along with my responsibilities as a mom. Last year, I didn't have time to send our yearly holiday photo cards and it broke my heart. It has always been really important to me to send these cards out to friends and family so they could enjoy pictures of our family and so we could convey our love and caring to them during this very special time of the year. This year, I visited Shutterfly to create our personalized cards and I am beyond excited at how beautiful they turned out. My husband and I were so happy that Shutterfly offers holiday card designs … [Read more...]
We Are Dedicated To Being A Close Family! #LatinosConDedicacion @HBOatsLatino #cbias #ad
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LatinosConDedicacion #CollectiveBias Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wish you could have a do-over? That is exactly what it has felt like since this week started. Between mixups in basketball game schedules, trying to get over a bad cold and keeping up with the house I don't know whether I'm coming or going. One thing that is always foremost in my mind is my dedication to making sure that I fit in some quality time with my boys whenever possible. When our weekdays are busy like this, I have to get a little more creative. Believe it or not, there are so many ways that you could spend time with your kids. Something as simple as a trip to the grocery store can turn into a fun time sharing laughs and enjoying each other's company. As a Latino family, what matters to us that we are together and we are … [Read more...]
Tips For Keeping Your Kids Active In The Fall #FuelGreatness @FUTP60 #Ad
*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with National Dairy Council Fuel Up To Play 60 en español and Latina Bloggers Connect. As always our opinions are 100% our own. The leaves are changing and it is getting colder outside. Although most of us enjoy having cooler weather, it's also a little more difficult to keep our families active when they are limited from playing and frolicking outdoors. Despite this, it is really important to find ways to keep your children motivated. As parents, we need to model being active even when we would rather curl up under a warm blanket. Let's face it, maintaining physical activity is the cornerstone of being in good health and I, for one, want to instill these good habits in my boys from a young age. Believe it or not, Fuel Up to Play 60 has a wealth of new Spanish-language resources to encourage healthy living among Hispanic youth and families around the United States. The … [Read more...]
Be Involved In Your Kids’ Education And Health! #FuelGreatness @FUTP60 #Ad
*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with National Dairy Council Fuel Up To Play 60 en español and Latina Bloggers Connect. As always our opinions are 100% our own. I have a confession to make, being a Working Mom is not easy at all. It is extremely challenging to be involved in my children's education and health while juggling a full-time career. One major obstacle is just not having enough time in the day to get everything done. This includes time for planning and preparing healthy meals and making sure that our boys get enough physical activity. Despite these difficulties, my husband and I understand the importance of modeling living healthier lifestyles for our kids by practicing good nutrition and getting enough exercise. This is why we were very excited to find out that Fuel Up to Play 60 has launched new Spanish-language resources to encourage healthy lifestyles among Hispanic youth and communities around … [Read more...]
Enjoy The Moment This Back To School Season! @MinuteMaid_US #DoinGood #DimeMedia #Ad
*DISCLAIMER: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Minute Maid and DiMe Media. All opinions are my own. This week here in New York City, students have headed back to school and I am back in the classroom teaching seventh and eighth grade like I do every year. This is a very exciting time in our home with shopping for uniforms and school supplies. However, it is also a time of sadness for me because, as a Working Mom, I really enjoy the time that I get to spend with my boys over the summer. As a result, I try to cherish special moments throughout the school year despite the fact that we are often bogged down with hectic school and work schedules along with daily extracurricular and sports activities. I'm sure that many parents feel the same way that I do and often wonder whether they are spending enough quality time with their kids. The truth is that most of us are doing a much better job at being parents than we … [Read more...]
Celebrate Little Moments With NESCAFÉ® Clásico™! #MomentoNESCAFE #Giveaway @NESCAFELatino #Ad
Life has a tendency of moving at a very fast pace. We often get caught up in trying to keep up with the race and don't spend enough time slowing down long enough to appreciate every single moment. While most of us stop to celebrate the big events in our lives, like weddings and birthdays, we rarely commemorate the small victories and precious little events that sprinkle our lives. This is especially true when it comes to marriage, especially when you have kids. Couples can get preoccupied with working and raising a family and don't always take the time out to enjoy each other's company for stolen moments. My husband and I have decided to appreciate life moment by moment just because and not due to being obligated to do so on special occasions. It's our way of expressing our love and letting each other know that we matter in our relationship. Enjoying a cup of NESCAFÉ® Clásico ™ with my sweetheart makes these simple moments even more enjoyable. It has been a … [Read more...]
