Words do hurt

We all grew up with:

Sticks and stones may break my bones, 

but words will never hurt me.

However, these days, words are getting more intense, BULLYING is reaching new heights with irreversible consequences.  Before they even learn to speak, it's important to start teaching them the importance of using those words in a nice way...and it all starts with US, the role models. It's hard to remember that there is a little sponge absorbing EVERYTHING they hear and see, but we must. It breaks my heart to even think that MY SON's words might cause another child this much hurt and it hurts me even more to think that my baby head might shed tears like this child due to another child's words. 

My son isn't even 2 and hopefully years from when we'll have to discuss bullying, but I guess it's my momma sense that is already thinking ahead...AND WORRYING...

Photo from Ellen McKim Sattler's FB page

I like a song I heard once...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words and unkind laughter are very real and we can feel them hurt  a long time after. So lets be careful with what we do and say, so that we don't hurt someone!"

Don't ask me where I heard it, cause I can't put a finger on it...but I do remember it was on a CASSETTE PLAYER (wow...old).

--------------
After i posted this, I checked my email and had a email from Parents.com with

Teach Your Kid How to Handle Bullies, in the subject line.... coincidence huh. 

Check out these 3 articles they posted:

•		Cyberbullying: What Is It?
•		Teach Your Child to Respect Others
•		18 Tips to Stop Cyberbulling

Get in the Halloween spirit with these quick and simple Ideas

Preparing your home and little ones for HALLOWEEN, might seem a little daunting and haunting...haha, but it doesn't have to be a dreaded scary event. It can be LOADS of fun!

My son and I have done the following:

Ours looked a little scarier...ahaha

1.Paper towel ghosts: Instead of hanging ours from handles, we attched long strings and tied them onto Tacs on the roof beam in the living room...so we have cute hanging ghosts in our living room.

2. Yummy Jello Gigglers Pumpkin activities that my sister suggested. Here are some more ideas for JELLO-ween!

3. Pumpkin carving/ seed roasting- This is actually an activity we have for later TODAY or Tomorrow...you'll see pictures HERE soon!

We are making pumpkin cut outs and using  Cool Whip with Green Dye, we're adding some final touches.

Check out these other Halloween Ideas from Kaboose.com for Fun Family Activities that will surely get you in the HALLOWEEN SPIRIT!!

 Pumpkin cap Instructions here

 Witch Instructions here

 I am definitely going to try this one:

What you'll need:

• Glass canning jars with lid bands

• Acrylic paint: green, white, black

• Paintbrush

• Large, medium, and small round sponge applicators

• Black marker

• 2 metal nuts per jar

• Instant grab glue

• Clear gloss sealer spray

How to make it:

1. Remove tops from jars; remove lids from the bands and save them for another project. (See photo.)

1. Paint bands black and jars green; set aside to dry. (See photos 1, 2.)

1. When dry, paint a second coat on the jars and have an adult spray the black bands with sealer spray. Set aside to dry.

1. Dip the large round sponge applicator into white paint and dot on the eyes to the front of the jar. (See photo.)

1. Mix a small amount of green paint with some white paint to make a light shade of green. Dip the small round applicator into the green paint and add the nose to the front of the jar. (See photo.)

1. While the eyes and nose are drying, take the black marker and lightly draw on stitches and a mouth on the face. (See photo.)

1. Use instant grab glue to attach a nut to the side of the jar. Allow it to dry for several minutes before turning the jar over and gluing a nut to the other side. Stand the jar up and let everything dry. You may need to check the nuts and make sure they are sticking. Simply press them back in place if need be. (See photo.)

1. Dip the medium round sponge applicator into black paint and add the pupils to the eyes. Allow them to dry completely. (See photo.)

1. Have a grown up spray the jars with gloss sealer spray, each jar and black band should get three coats, wait 30 minutes between coats.

1. When everything is dry, screw the black bands back onto the jars and add a tea light candle.  Wait until it gets dark and watch them glow! (See photo.)

Tips:

1. For a safer option, you can purchase battery-operated tea light candles.

1. If you don't have canning jars, you can use any type of recycled glass jar. Simply paint the rim of the jar black in place of a band.

1. These jars make great holders for your Halloween party table as well. Fill them with pixie sticks, straws, or lollipops!

Ghost Instructions here

Vampire Instructions here

Besides these great ideas...I also found these AMAZING PUMPKIN LETTERS that you can use to decorate just about anything! A-Z and #0-9. If you are feeling really crafty, You can print those letters on IRON ON PAPER (transfer paper can be bought a Michaels or any store of that sort. Click here to find a store.) and Print your CHILD's NAME onto a CANVAS TOTE Trick or treating bag! How's that for super crafty momma! Make sure you print the image as a MIRROR IMAGE...so that when you Iron it on to the bag...it won't look backwards. =)

Happy Halloweening!!!

Difficult times...with no explination

Like I've said before, Motherhood is a complex state, it's one that tests your courage, your trust in the greater plan, and in life itself.There are days when it's ups and downs get to you, but on those days I try to think of how this role I have is a special gift....a gift that some moms wait years to experience.

Some people stumble upon motherhood at around 18 weeks (me)...and by God's grace completely....since I'd been doing everything from extreme manual labor to lack of good nutrition during those first couple weeks of my pregnancy(while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama). However, there are other mothers that will themselves through many painful experiences, time and time again, all in hopes that they can hold a baby...their own miracle, in their hands one day.

Yesterday my sister called me to tell me that her co-worker and friend who was 3 1/2 months pregnant had suffered a miscarriage. She called to ask me what she should say to her...I didn't have an answer for her. All I know is that everyday that goes by, you fall in love even more with your baby and it must be such a difficult time for her friend right now. My sister told me that she called my mom for advice....and my mom just started crying.

You see the thing is....My mother was one of those moms--those moms that had to wait, and pray, and wait some more to finally be OUR MAMMA. She and my father lived through 1 still born (full-term), and 4 miscarriages (the first 2 in the last trimester and the last 2 in the second trimester). That's 5 painful losses in a 12 year time-span. They did everything in their power to become parents, like so many couples who try millions of things, that in the end lead them to feeling even more helpless, and empty.

Fortunately a doctor in Miami from UM, Mary J. O’Sullivan, M.D., took my moms case and promised to help her have a baby. With a 2 year treatment, daily stomach injections each costing ($$$$$) big bucks, and bed-rest, my mother was able to finally hold me in her arms...a baby she thought she would never get to have, and one that took her a while to believe was really hers. Because they did have a two year window, my parents tried for #2, my sister and were again able to witness a miracle.To this day, doctors aren't sure why my mom had so much trouble having children, but I honestly think that God's mysterious ways just don't have explanations or reason sometimes. (This caused my mom a lot of stress towards the end of my pregnancy because she didn't want me to suffer any losses, like she endured.)

Both my sister and I have grown up, reaping that love that they started storing 12 years before we were even conceived. To some we may be sheltered, or babied, or "consentidas" , but to those that know my parents' story, they understand that for my parents...wanting to enjoy and be a part of our lives as much as possible was a dream that they thought they might never get to live out. I've always been thankful for the relationship that we have, their love for us, and all the sacrifices they've made for us to be a family....but now that I have my own little family, I am beginning to catch a glimpse of how difficult it must have been for them all those years of loss...and the choices that we are so inclined to make once we start thinking like a mamma and a papa.

Mommy and Daddy, I'm sorry for all the suffering you lived through but THANK YOU for being patient and enduring everything you did...still holding on to the hope of making us all a FAMILY one day.

Mommy y daddy, Perdon por todo el sufrimiento que les toco vivir pero GRACIAS por ser pacientes, y superar todo lo que superaron...aguantadose a la esperaza de convertirnos en UNA FAMILIA un dia!

Here are some excerpts from a poem that my dad wrote years before I was born...for "me" while he was waiting to get his chance to become a daddy.

Ya veras……/                            You'll see

Lo felices que seremos/             How happy we'll be

Al lograr combatir/                  As we are able to combat

Lo que al final venceremos/     That which we'll in the end overcome

.......

No son notas de nostalgia/             These are nostalgic notes

Que escribo para ti/                       That I write for you

Son tal vez  cánticos mensajeros/  They are maybe little song messengers

Que pudiesen reposarse en ti./       That could rest in you.

Pero en esta noche solitaria/          But on this solitary  night

Silenciosa….                                    Silent...

En las que nos hace falta/                In which we miss

Tú presencia./                                   Your presence. 

 .......

Entonces, que placenteras/  Then, Enjoyable

Serán aquellas mañanas/      Will be those mornings

En que tus manitas/              In which your little hands

Estrechen las nuestras./        Will stretch on ours.

Jan 3, 1982, 3 years before I was born

So, Manuela, I still don't really know what you should tell your friend, besides be there. My heart goes out to her.  I hope she can feel the love and support that she needs right now to get through this very difficult time. 

We can't all have perfect families

I love my sister. She is getting her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy at NOVA and I know she is going to be a great therapist. I turn to her when I have fights with my husband or questions about marriage. She hardly ever just takes my side, which makes me mad at first, but then I understand that she is training to do just that....be objective and neutral. She sent me a quote that she read this morning that I thought I would share....

"Its something about risking imperfection to keep growing..we can't all have perfect families and its being ok that maybe life is not perfect...no super mom or dad...no super child...we live in a society that preches perfection yet what we need to do more is take risks and knowing you it might not turn out perfect! Love your child, love your parents, and partner for who they are...find the meaning of who your family was, is, and wants to be in the future...Therapy is not to point out what is it that your doing bad but showing you that what you have done is what you have considered "right" for youself and your family....."

Sometimes, I do let life's imperfections get to me...and they affect life in the family nucleus. I confess that I have given in to the philosophy that couples that go to counseling are "in trouble" or in too bad a shape to solve their own problems. No one even talks about counseling openly because it's almost TABOO...but the truth is, sometimes you do need a neutral 3rd party to help out. As I learn more about their role and the help they can provide, I see that Marriage Counselors are like Nutritionists. You can go to them when your doctor says EITHER YOU CHANGE YOUR EATING HABITS OR YOU'LL DIE, or you can go as you notice that you need to get a better nutrition program into your daily routine to be able to enjoy a BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE. Nutritionists can fine tune your diet....and in combo with a good exercise plan, you are on your way to a HAPPY and HEALTHY way of life>>Isn't that what we all want from our marriages?

I don't have a perfect family...But I love my family with ALL MY HEART. Thanks Manuela for sharing this quote with me today and for wanting to go into a profession where you will be CHANGING the lives of so many Families! Your patients will be LUCKY to have you!

Happy Friday!!!

Spicy Black Bean Dip

One of the great things about the Bootcamp4Moms that I coach is that even thought the classes are localized and rather "private--meaning a few moms", you are actually part of a VERY LARGE TYSON METHOD COMMUNITY. When you sign up for a program, you gain access to a great on-line community where there are a whole bunch of different moms posting things on blogs and forums about  how they are managing to mix workouts with mommy life..... plus you get quick ideas for recipes that might be a slightly healthier version of something you already make.... and little you can see little tips here and there that about random topics that can make that "Get back in shape Journey" a little smoother...IT TAKES A VILLAGE for everything these days.

But anyway...to my post point, I got this dip recipe from the Tyson Method Social Website. And I just wanted to share it with you, cause I love dips.  They are quick to make and when they are in the fridge I tend to OPT for the dip as opposed to...say.... the rest the the pantry and refrigerator! My only caution with DIPS is  that once I DIP, I can't stop! So I have to watch how much I scoop out or even make (to be honest)....cause I can easily devour it all in one sitting. At least with this one I won't feel so bad about it since it's only a 104 calorie ''snack'' if I can contain myself and eat only 2 portions...lol.

Spicy Black Bean Dip
Practically fat-free and an excellent source of fibre. The dip can also be spooned onto plates and served as a light lunch, accompanied by warm whole-wheat pita bread.
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 can (540 ml) black beans, rinsed and drained (see the variation if using dried beans)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2⁄3 cup chopped fresh coriander
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 pickled jalapeño chili peppers, finely chopped

 DIRECTIONS:

1.In a small saucepan of boiling water, cook the garlic for 2 minutes to blanch. Drain and transfer the garlic to a large bowl. Add the beans and mash with a potato masher.
2.Stir in the vinegar, lemon juice and cumin until the ingredients are well combined.
3.Fold in the coriander, green onions and jalapeño chili peppers and serve. (This recipe can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring the dip to room temperature before serving.) 

PER SERVING: Serves 8: 52 calories, 3g protein, 0.4 g fat, 1g sugar, 3g fibre, 23mg sodium
No oil, no sour cream, no cream cheese—there’s simply no added fat in this black bean dip, and the powerful seasonings mean that you’ll never miss it. Canned beans are a handy pantry staple. They are an excellent and inexpensive source of protein and fibre, and contain little fat.

Let me know what you think.....
Happy Dipping!!

Top 100 Moms Changing the WORLD!

The other day my Facebook status read: 

"I keep looking around facebook like if Im going to find something that justifies me wasting all this time on Facebook....BUT NOPE...i'm just gonna have to click the X and walk away....why I just shared this...beyond me"

But I a couple days later I did find something WORTHWHILE!!! I came across a link on a friend's wall to this website: BABBLE.com. The link took me to a list of Mominees who have been nominated by friends and family to applaud their efforts at making a difference in the WORLD... TOP 100 Moms Who are Changing the World! How cool is that?!?!?!

The list of Mominees contains women of all walks of life and they are changing the world through their POSTIVE and inspiring actions EVERYDAY!

"Here’s a funny thing we at Babble have noted with increasing alarm: The most visible mothers in our society right now are the ones on tabloids. Deserving or not, women who have babies and can pose two weeks later in a bikini have become our role models, our focal point through the strange, amazing and occasionally hilarious territory of motherhood.What if, we asked ourselves, we could do one small thing to change that? What if we could shine a light on some of the most fascinating, influential moms in the world, real women who can show us how empowering being a mom can be?"             --Read more...

Looking through the list of Mominees, my heart was crushed with some of the stories that these women have told about their motivation to DO what they do...the loss of a child at an early age, diseases that have plagued their lives, handicaps, suffering turned to inspiration, and so much more! There are so many tear-jearking, stop-and-hug your baby stories that prove that there are MOMS that are making HEADLINES...just because of their LOVE they have for those little people that gave them the coveted title.

Check out the top 10 Mominees:

1. Courtney Rot-Inspirational
2. Shanna Marsh-Charity
3. Maya Thompson- Charity
4. Brenda Barberena-Charity
5. Shannon Becker-Inspirational
6. Sarah Erwin-Charity

7. Kristine McCormick-Activism

8. Molly Stapelman-Activism

9. Gretchen Holt Witt- Inspirational

10. Celeste Goodwin- Education

    
    

There is a current list of 100 Moms Changing the World. On the list are familiar names of women you see on TV making you laugh like Tina Fay or discussing politics like HillaryClinton to other's that you (I) probably would never have heard about otherwise (if you've been busy changing diapers, updating your status on FB, and making dinner),  like Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, who works with the UN as a special envoy for climate change.

Mominations are your chance to give a shout out to a great mom doing good things in the world – and for her to have a chance to win one of ten prizes of $5,000 toward her favorite charity!  If you nominated the mom you think most deserving in one of these ten categories – education, executive, entrepreneurial, charity, creative, politics, green, activism, inspirational, health/science – and she is entered to win.

Is there a DABBLER category being considered in the future??

It's encouraging that Babble.com is taking this initiative to recognize moms that are making a positive difference in the world! 

But it's important to remember that these women have had the opportunity to do extra-ordinary things under sometimes extraordinary-circumstances...

but being the number 1 mom who is changing the World in your child's eyes happens in the ordinary things and ordinary circumstances in your everyday life!

There are so many moms all round me that I TIP MY HAT TO... Austin Baby Momas, MDR Baby Momas, Running Mommas Friends, UF Friend Mommas, all those Momas of MULTIPLES (wink wink), Family Friend Baby momas, Cousin Momas,  and those ones sprinkled randomly around the world who make me laugh and cry with your stories, posts, and friendships throughout this amazing JOURNEY....

You ladies are on my list of TOP 100 MOMS Changing My WORLD!

Our World. oil on canvas:One of my painting for an exhibit in Miami a couple years ago.

Continue being the best version of yourselves!!! And as for the MOMS on THE LIST and the Mominees, CONGRATULATIONS and thank you for being such an inspiration.

Zulily.com- Deals for Moms, babies, and KIDS!

Deals definitely make mommy-hood easier! And there are all kids of these momma deal websites, but I had never seen this one, Zulily.com. This morning I came across it randomly by "doing research" on FACEBOOK (it's not THAT much of a waste of time to be on FB, lol).

Zulily.com is similar to those one-day deal websites like KIDS.WOOT.com but it allows you time to think...3 days. Sometimes when I find a great deal online, my phone rings, my son starts crying or wants food, I randomly get distracted (since these days I have the attention span of a 3 month old!), or I go look for my wallet to put my credit card info in...and I forget what I'm looking for and start making dinner or something random. Hours or days later, I see something that reminds me of the DEAL....BUT by then IT'S TOO LATE! Zulily cater's to this scatter-brained tendency by giving us MORE TIME with each DEAL, but at the same time is always adding NEW DEALS. Sometimes you know what you are looking for and what you NEED. But there are other times that you don't know what you've been looking for UNTIL YOU FIND IT!!

Each weekday they have great offers that can be up to 90% off!!! That's insane! Some deals are even better then going on Craigslist-getting things used like right now you'll find:

$100 off and FREE SHIPPING for Phil&Teds Strollers

55% off Peace Love World Clothing!!

40% off Kickboard USA Scooters for kids

65% off Echo Design, Women's scarfs and winter apparel

55% off Paul Frank baby wear and gear

55% off All Boxed UP: Storage Solutions--Now who, with kids, doesn't need more storage?!?!?!

This is only a tiny list of the things that you'll find on the website. I'll be here forever posting if I were to even put a dent in the list of options!....The website is great, easy to navigate, and full of fun stuff! Just go check it out and see all there is to SAVE!

Signing up to be a member is FREE, and you'll receive emails with the deals on tap!!

If your interested in signing up, GO HERE!