*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with AT&T and #WeAllGrow Latina Network. All opinions are 100% my own. It's that time of the year again where everyone is scrambling to start the new year off on the right note by creating a list of resolutions for 2018. To be completely honest, I have never really made any resolutions but I have always seen the importance of setting goals and looking ahead to maximize on how I can make positive contributions to my community. As an educator who teaches in the South Bronx, I have many opportunities to see how poverty and lack of access to technology can have a negative impact on our Hispanic community. Let's face it, just about everything nowadays either needs to filled out online or you need to have an email address and the Internet to progress in our society. AT&T recently conducted a study to analyze how technology can be used as a resource to better the lives of individuals, allow people to connect with loved … [Read more...]
Teach Your Children To Celebrate Their Differences! #LaFamiliaCool #Giveaway #Ad
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...]
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...]
Celebrate Latino Culture – Rice Pudding Recipe #HerenciaLeche @SiempreLeche #Ad
*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with MilkPEP and DiMe Media. However, all opinions expressed are my own. Enjoying delicious food is an integral part of Latino culture. There are so many recipes that immediately catapult me back to my childhood and remind me of my rich heritage. One particular dessert always comforts me and overwhelms me with happy memories about joyful family gatherings and being surrounded by those who truly have mattered in my life. For these reasons, I love to prepare and enjoy rice pudding with my own family in the hopes that they will also be reminded of these good times we spend together whenever they enjoy this decadent treat. The best part about making rice pudding for my family is that it contains milk and its 8 grams of high quality protein with every serving. I'm trying to raise strong boys and I know that the human body needs protein, which is found in milk, to build muscles and … [Read more...]
Join Us For The Coca-Cola #ForTheDream Education Bilingual Twitter Party! @CocaCola #Ad
*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Dime Media and Coca-Cola. However, all opinions expressed are my own. I can still remember all of the educational goals and dreams that I started mapping out for bot of my sons from as early as when they were in my womb. Education is a central focus among Latino families with so many planning for their child to be the first to attend college in the United States. This summer Coca-Cola and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund teamed up to make a difference and help more families achieve their education goals. The #ForTheDream program is helping Latino families and students prepare, plan and pay for their college education, and raising awareness of the college resources available to them. Through this summer’s #ForTheDream movement Coca-Cola will donate $1 for every social post up to $10,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship! To add to the excitement Coca-Cola is also hosting the #ForTheDream … [Read more...]
