*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Coca-Cola and DiMe Media and all opinions are my own. When my husband and I got married in 1999, we immediately discussed that we were planning on having children. We both had so many things in common when it came to parenting and we agreed on all the important issues that arise when two people are raising kids together. Unfortunately, we were unable to get pregnant right away and, year after year for four years, we were disappointed that it just wasn't happening for us. Suddenly, in late 2002, we got the news that we had been eagerly awaiting for, we were expecting and I was due to give birth to our child in June of 2003. During the entire pregnancy, we planned for everything! Every afternoon, we would both come home with new clothes for the baby which soon began to fill the closet in the nursery. There was so much planning for the arrival of our new blessing that we were actually painting the nursery in sky blue the … [Read more...]
Every Baby Is Born To Do Something Special! #imbornto #MoDSquad @MarchofDimes #Ad
I'm very excited and proud to share with you all that I have been selected, along with 39 other moms across the country, to represent March of Dimes in the #ImBornTo campaign. That number was chosen to represent the number of weeks in a full-term pregnancy. They call us the MoDSquad and we are here to celebrate all of the moms and dads who keep babies healthy and safe, before and after birth. During my second pregnancy, I started having contractions at 34 weeks and my son was in real danger of being born early. Every week, I had to go into the hospital to receive IV fluids in order to stop my contractions and keep me from going into labor early. I was very afraid because I knew that babies born prematurely are at risk for developmental delays and medical problems. Thankfully, the medical interventions worked and I was able to hold off giving birth until 38 weeks and had a healthy baby boy. March of Dimes believes that every baby is born to do something special and … [Read more...]
Being A Mom In The City That Never Sleeps! #MomsTrustHuggies @CVSHealth #cbias #Ad
*This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias Being a Working Mom can be challenging enough as it is but add to that living in the most fast-paced city in the world and it becomes even more interesting. As a matter of fact, many of my friends wonder how I have ever even managed to get out of the house since I had my boys because they know that it is not easy being a full-time middle school teacher and a mom. When I had my older son in 2003, I realized right away that I would have to get really creative and resourceful in order to be able to navigate being a mother in New York City. There are just so many things for busy New York moms on-the-go to consider who live in the Big Apple such as packing a diaper bag that won't weigh you down or getting babies ready to head out and enjoy the big city. Having lived in the City That Never Sleeps for the majority of my life, I adapted right away to … [Read more...]
Celebrate First-Time Moments With Your Little One! #PampersPrimerasVeces @PampersLatinoUS #Ad
*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Latina Mom Bloggers and Pampers. All opinions are 100% mine. My husband and I tried for almost four years to become pregnant with our first child. After much prayer and frustration, we finally found out that we were expecting and it was one of the single most joyous day of our lives. From that very first moment, we were determined to document every precious first-time event through writing and taking photographs. The first thing that I did was to start keeping a journal throughout my pregnancy to have a record of all of the thoughts and emotions that I was experiencing. We also started putting together a photo album that included all of the sonogram images that we were given at my obstetrician appointments. Obviously, the culminating moment of our joy was the birth of our son in June. It was during that very moment that my husband and I learned what it meant to fall in "love at first sight." We never … [Read more...]
Being A Working Mom When Your Kid Is Sick… #WorkingMom
The past couple of weeks have been rough for us in the health and wellness department. If you have been keeping up with us here on the blog and on social media, you know that I have been sick on and off with a bad cold, we have been dealing with my mother's mental health issues, and this week my younger son got sick with strep throat and asthma as well. Normally, when either one of my sons is sick, my Mom stays with them during the day. This really puts my mind at ease while I am at work because I know that she will care for them just the way that I would if I was home. Since my mother is currently in the hospital, I had to take my sick son with me to work on Monday in order to administer his asthma medication throughout the day. Today we had a snow day so I was glad to be able to stay home with my son an additional day to care for him. He is definitely better but he still has a cough which I wish I could take away from him. Tomorrow it will be back to work and I … [Read more...]
My Promises To My Children… #PromiseToBaby #Partner #LatinaBloggers
*This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with JOHNSON’S® Baby and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions are 100% mine. Becoming a mother has been the greatest joy of my entire life. Despite my many other accomplishments, whether academic or professional, motherhood has been the most rewarding and truly the role that I want to be remembered for. As a mother, there are certain promises that I have made to my children that will be true for their entire lives. These promises coincide with what I deem to be my responsibilities as their mother. Although the list of promises that I have made to my boys is extremely long, I tend to focus on the top five when we are going through our daily lives. These are the five most important promises that I vow to my two sons: I will keep you safe from harm and protect you at all times. I will love you unconditionally for the rest of your lives. I will always be there for you, to support you, no matter what. I will … [Read more...]
Celebrate Early Learning With Fisher-Price®! #FPMiPrimerCumple #Giveaway #Ad
*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Fisher-Price® and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed are my own. I can still recall the joy of planning both of my sons' first birthday parties. For me, it was such a precious milestone that should be celebrated and rejoiced while surrounded by friends and family. So many exciting things happened in that first year including saying their first words and taking their first steps and there were so many joyful events to still look forward to. The photos and the memories that remain from these celebrations will forever be etched into my heart. As a mother, I am thrilled to introduce all of you to Fisher-Price® Mis Primeras Mañanitas program. It is the first of its kind campaign designed to connect directly with Latina Moms and their families. It refers to “Las Mañanitas”, a song that highlights the love and optimism that a Latina mom feels on her baby’s special day. Being an educator, this … [Read more...]
Working Mom Confessions
I've always been a worker bee. From the moment that I was able to go out to work, I did so with gusto. It's not that my parents forced me to go out and work or made me pay bills but they were just making it financially and I knew they could not stretch their budget anymore to accommodate my adolescent needs. As they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention," so out of the need to assert my independence and financial freedom, I went to work at 16. My first job was at Consumers which was a retail store chain that was very popular here in New York City during the early nineties. I felt like a million bucks working as a cashier there and I would cash my weekly check at the local check cashing place. There was such a sense of pride for me in being able to earn and spend my own money that it was intoxicating. Consumers eventually went out of business so I worked at McDonald's during my senior year in high school to be able to pay my graduation expenses. That was a very … [Read more...]
Celebrate Mothers And Help Raise Money For Childhood Cancer! #MyHeroMom #MC @NM_News #Ad
*I participated in an Ambassador Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating. Have you lost someone you love to cancer? Unfortunately, chances are that you have been negatively affected by this disease in one way or another. In 2007, when I was thirty years old, I was diagnosed as having Chronic Myeloid Leukemia or CML. There is no way for me to describe to all of you what a shock and horror it was to hear those words. When you are young you think you are invincible and you never expect to hear that you are afflicted with a life-threatning illness. Since I had a newborn baby and a toddler, I did not have the luxury of feeling sorry for myself and I decided to take my health into my own hands and to become proactive about my treatment. I am very blessed that advances in modern medicine have made my form of Leukemia treatable although I do still suffer from … [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...]
