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...]

Get Closer As Your Team Goes Further! #CelebrateCloser @CrestLatino #LatinaBloggers #Ad

*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Crest and Latina Bloggers Connect.  As always our opinions are 100% our own.     It's no secret that spending time with my family is a priority to me.  I fully take advantage of every opportunity that arises to connect and to celebrate with those who truly matter to me in my life.  There is just something about soccer that elicits pure joy from all of us while we are together.  It has a lot to do with the excitement of cheering on our favorite teams and players and of the anticipation of winning the whole thing and being number one!     Soccer is also one of the things that has allowed me to stay close to my family in Spain.  I often get homesick and long to see my grandparents and the rest of my family that is on the other side of the world.  Through social media, we are able to discuss our triumphs and disappointments when it comes to our team's performance and it definitely brings us closer together.  When you miss someone … [Read more...]

From The Mouths Of Babes… #YoureDoingOkMom #Ad

*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with JOHNSON’S® Baby and Latina Bloggers Connect.   All opinions are 100% mine.       Ever since I found out that I was going to become a mother, I worried over whether I would be able to do a good job.  After all, being a mom could possibly be the most important role of a woman's life.  Unfortunately, however, parenting does not come with a handbook and children certainly don't come with instructions.     I love being a mom but, like most moms, I often wonder if I'm even doing this whole parenting thing right.  Luckily, my boys seem to think that I am the cat's pajamas and they remind me on a daily basis that I'm doing a great job after all.  I asked my eight year old son what I'm really great at and his response included, "Giving me hugs, taking care of me, scratching my back, and making sure my clothes are clean."     The old saying is so true, "From the mouths of babes…"  Who knew that scratching his back every … [Read more...]

Togetherness Defines Today’s Modern Family! #LaFamiliaDeHoy #Ad

*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson and Latina Bloggers Connect.     Last December, Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies revealed the Jiménez family as LA FAMILIA DE HOY™.  This family was chosen to represent the family values of the Hispanic community which included being active, multicultural and keeping up with the modern times.  Juan, Biviana and their three children: Elisa, Diego and Benicio embody all of these qualities and definitely mirror what my family and I consider to be the epitome of the Latino family.     Like the Jiménez family, our family shares a special bond and we find ways to support each other and be there for one another whenever possible.  Sometimes this includes making arrangements to pick up each other's kids from school or sharing the cooking responsibilities during family gatherings and dinners.  Family is very important to us and we make sure that we teach our younger generation about their roots and … [Read more...]

Treasure Those Special Family Moments! #FamiliaLubriderm #LatinaBloggers #Ad

*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with LUBRIDERM and Latina Bloggers Connect.  I received a promotional item to facilitate this review and as a thank you item for participating.  All opinions are my own.     This afternoon, I was having a conversation with a colleague at work about how, as I am getting older, my priorities have changed significantly.  Now that I am a mother and a wife, it is clear to anyone who is in my life that my family is the most important thing in my life.  I treasure and value every single opportunity that I have to spend quality time with them and those instances are the moments when I am the most happy.     During these last couple of months, we have had some amazing experiences together and even spent some time snow tubing with the kids.  Unfortunately, due to the freezing temperatures and the barrage of snowstorms that New York City has had this winter, being outdoors has wreaked havoc on all of our skin.  We have all complained of … [Read more...]

Protect Your Loved Ones From The Sun’s Harsh Effects #NTGBeautifulInsideOut #Ad

*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Neutrogena and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions are 100% mine.     Normally I am the mom who prides herself on always being prepared for whatever situation arises regarding my family.  You will find everything from band-aids to sunblock in my purse on any given day and my husband and children have come to rely on my constant preparedness.     Last week, my family and I took a mini-vacation to a local water resort and, as usual, I packed all of our bags the night before and made sure that we would have all of the clothing and necessities that we required on this excursion.  At least I thought I had packed all of the essentials...You see, when we settled into our lounge chairs by the pool, I realized that I had forgotten to pack sunblock.     You are probably wondering why I would forget to pack sunblock on a family vacation but there is actually a very good explanation.  I expected us to spend all of our time in the … [Read more...]

The Impact Of Education On My Life-Neutrogena® Wave for Change® #WaveForChange

    Education has always been a very important part of my life from as far back as I can remember.  I was raised by both of my parents and my father has always been a manual worker while my mother stayed at home to raise us kids.  Although my father always worked hard, there never seemed to be enough to go around when it came to supporting a family of five.     Don't get me wrong, we never went without eating but there were some scary times when we didn't know where the rent money was going to come from or how we were going to get basic school supplies to start school in the Fall.  As a result, my parents always encouraged all of us to do well in school and to pursue higher education.  They made it clear to us that having a career would ease some of the financial burden that we had seen them go through in our childhood.     For the third year in a row, the Neutrogena® Wave for Change® campaign is bringing hope to thousands of kids in need.  For every Wave for Change® video view on … [Read more...]

My Skin Care Rituals: Neutrogena Wave

As I have gotten older, I have noticed significant changes in my skin. I have always had oily skin on my face and used products over the years to minimize the appearance of shine as the day progresses. Since having children, I have noticed that my skin has changed from oily to dry, particularly on my T-Zone. For the first time in my life, I am having to use moisturizers to combat dryness on my face. This is definitely something very new to me because I have never needed to moisturize my face. Quite the contrary, I spent countless money, hours, and effort just trying to control the oil on my skin. It has definitely become apparent to me that my skin care rituals play a big part in the condition of my skin, especially on delicate and sensitive areas like my face. Normally, I wash my face in the morning and in the evening.  It is necessary that I use an effective but gentle cleanser because I still battle oily skin despite having some newfound dry patches.  I like to use cleansers … [Read more...]

Celebrate Children’s Day!

There are many traditions that we value from our childhoods that still resonate with us as adults.  Especially when those memories were good ones, we reminisce about them fondly and try to share these experiences with our children as parents.  Having lived in Spain until the age of 8 and then New York City up until now, I have had the privilege of celebrating and sharing in a variety of traditions.  One particular tradition that I have happy memories of is Children's Day. Children's Day is a traditional  holiday that is celebrated throughout the world on various days.  It is especially popular in many Latin American countries.  In Mexico, it is celebrated on April 30th.  The meaning behind this holiday is setting aside a special day to recognize the importance of children and the role that they play in society.  We can all agree that children are very important in society and they bring a lot of joy and love to their families as well as others who come in contact with them … [Read more...]