The TRUTH About Motherhood

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Fall Beauty tricks to get your Outside matching your Inside
Beauty~ Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit https://moms.dailybuzz.com/channel/style.
Today, I am going to share some of my beauty secrets. Now, I don’t share these with just anybody so you should feel pretty special. But seriously, who doesn’t want to live in a world full of beautiful truthful mommies running around all over the place? I know I would love it. You are all gorgeous on the inside, I know this for a fact from all the lovely comments you leave, and I am sure that he outside matches the inside so let’s help keep it that way.
Here are my fall beauty tips for keeping your outside beauty in sync with your inside beauty.
- Start the day with a hot bath and an invigorating, exfoliating body wash. I promise it wakes up your senses and get’s you going on those cold, dark mornings of late fall. And if you rinse off in cool water, it helps close up all those pores and hair follicles. BONUS!
- The exfoliating wash will help get rid of some of that dry skin and eliminate some of that awful itching that comes to us in the fall and winter months. If you really want to revitalize the way you look, you can actually opt for cosmetic treatments such as juvederm.
- Moisturize*Moisturize*Moisturize* I can not stress this enough. Honestly, you should be moisturizing every single day of the year , every season, from the age of puberty on but you most definitely need to moisturize during the colder, drier months. Moisturize your face at night with a night time wrinkle reducer, in the morning use a tinted moisturizer with some SPF protection. It will keep your skin hydrated and not pasty, plus help hold off crows feet. (*Also, wear your sunglasses year round.) When you get out of the shower, moisturize immediately. Lock in the moisture. And for those crazy dry feet,(* Shhhh, top secret beauty secret) slather those suckers in Vaseline ( I like the coco butter scented one) and put on some cozy socks to let them marinate for a bit. I swear it works.
- Shave your legs and paint your toenails! I know you think no one will see your legs or toes until spring but just remember this…if you feel pretty , you will look pretty. I always feel prettier when I’m presentable, besides I’ve seen a lot of wool shorts for this fall!
Beauty, you are worth it!
- Drink your water!I mean it , drink 64 ounces of water a day. It makes you look good. Your skin will glow. Your skin will be hydrated and not itch.It also helps flush your body of all that water weight we ladies tend to collect around shark week. Eat better. You need to get all of your daily recommended amount of vitamins,so eating fresh food and taking an actual vitamin can help replenish some of those nutrients that you will be lacking by being shut indoors and hibernating over the colder months. Bonus: Vitamins make your hair, nails and skin look better and grow. Hello, what’s sexier than a woman with long flowing hair, glowing, blemish free skin and nails that can beckon you to come hither?
- Whiten your teeth. I love the professional crest white strips professional effects. This best invisalign dentist nyc told me that they work as good as anything he would do in his office with the exception of the Zoom treatments, especially if your teeth are not that discolored. You know your skin will be paler so whitening will help your teeth look whiter versus the yellow tinged color they can look against pale skin after a autumn filled with hot coco, hot coffee, hot tea, hot toddies, Diet Coke and red wine! A girls gotta warm up.
- Wash your hair less. I know it sounds gross but again, the world is a drier place in the fall. In the summer, we are running all over town ~~sweating~~ glistening and our hair is full of oils and sunshine.In fall, our hair starts to dry out like the leaves on the trees. My suggestion, wash your hair every other day. I know it may sound disgusting to some of you but , in the long run, it will be better for you. OK, if you just can’t do it, wash every other day and on off days use a dry Shampoo. Also, hot oil treatments are your friend. Just pretend you are at a spa and spoil yourself. Or if you want to go the crunchy route, I hear mayonnaise brings out a wicked shine to your hair.
- Last, but certainly not least, I change my make up to all of my warm fall colors. No, your bright pink grapefruit kiss does not look good on your pasty skin in November. Think the colors of the fall foliage; warm colors. And don’t put away that bronzer, you still need some color. It’ll give you a little kiss of summer, smack dab in the middle of fall. You will glow.
These are my tips for looking like a hot Mommy in the fall. A few changes to accommodate for the weather and a few minutes of “me” time is all it takes. I promise you can sneak it in. They say beauty is pain, but really with these simple tips beauty is no pain at all! What are some of your go to fall beauty tips and tricks?
Thank you to Walgreens for sponsoring this blog post. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions and beauty tricks are my own.
Beauty is as beauty does
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2011/10/11
Sometimes the Most Important Things to be Said Don’t Require Words
Disclosure: This moment of nostalgia sponsored by Milk Life Lo Que Nos Hace Fuertes. All memories and opinions of my grandfather/ abuelito are my own.
Growing up in a Latino family, you learn 2 things very early on; 1) family is everything and 2) food and drink are the ways you show love to your family. I love milk. My girls do too. It’s nutritious and delicious and something I feel good about serving them. We go through at least 3 gallons a week at my house. It’s sad to think that many kids don’t even get the recommended servings of milk especially since milk is such an integral part of a balanced nutritious meal plan to help children grow up strong. The taste of milk reminds me of home but my love of milk originates back to my childhood and fond memories of my abuelito (grandpa) Manuel in Mexico.
My abuelito, known fondly in his village as Don Manuel, was a humble, quiet man with a wisdom and kindness that exuded from his smile and his eyes. He was a hard worker all of his life. He ran our family ranch until he was in his 80’s when he was thrown from a wild stallion and broke his hip. That was my abuelito.
READ ALSO: My Father the Immigrant
He was someone you looked up to because he always did the right thing, even if the right thing was reading and taking time out of your busy day to respond to your young granddaughter’s letters. Even if those letters were her practicing her terrible Spanglish on you by hand writing you the most heinously, grammatically incorrect letters ever. He had patience and always made time to write me back, even when free-time was non-existent in his day.
I remember spending our summers in Etucuaro, the small village in Mexico that my father is from. My abuelito would be up and off to work the ranch and milk the cows before any of us were even awake. He’d be home with a jug full of fresh milk and eating his breakfast by the time I’d stumble into the kitchen and see him hunched over exhausted quietly eating his leche con pan.
What is leche con pan, you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like bread with milk. It was a foreign concept to me. I was raised in Chicago, not on a farm. I was a kid, he was a very old man, even the first time I met him. Our worlds were very different. He had actually lived in Chicago and spoke English in the 1920’s. Our frames of reference were 60 years apart, but I knew if he liked it, it must have been good.
“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.” -Cesar Chavez
As a kid, I was all about milk and I loved pan dulce but what he was eating looked like bread rolls and milk. I wasn’t exactly begging him for a bite of his breakfast. Every morning, that I ever saw him, he would eat the same thing. No cereal. No oatmeal. No eggs and sausage. No breakfast burritos. Just kidding, I never saw a breakfast burrito ever in Mexico, unless you count chorizo and eggs on tortillas but no one calls them breakfast burritos. My point is that I thought maybe it was some kind of “old person” thing. I was a kid.
He’d offer me a bite and every day, I’d politely decline; walking away thinking he was really cheating himself and I knew better. Then one day, almost as a dare to myself, I said yes. His eyes lit up and he smiled at me approvingly. He took his spoon and lovingly scooped me out a bite of his breakfast.
READ ALSO: A Girl and her Grandpa
I opened my little kid mouth and happily accepted. I was expecting to be underwhelmed or maybe even want to spit it out. I mean, it was just bread and milk. But it wasn’t. It was a delicately, sweet warm roll (torn up into pieces) covered in sweet, thick fresh milk and it tasted like a hug from my abuelito. If the warmth of his eyes when he smiled at me had a flavor, it would have been leche con pan and ever since milk has been my most favorite thing to drink.
“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.” -Alan D. Wolfelt
Sadly, my abuelito passed away when I was in college but all I need to do is close my eyes and I’m a little girl again; right back at his kitchen table in Mexico and he’s smiling at me with those gentle, kind eyes of his (the same ones my father has). Sharing his breakfast with me. He’s tanned from years of working the ranch in the hot sun. He’s smaller than he once was and he’s tired from decades of early mornings of milking cows to care for his family. But his heart is full of love for his little granddaughter who writes him those silly letters and he gives her the last bite if she wants it. This is love, this is family and, for me, this is milk.
I don’t make leche con pan for my girls because that was ours, his and mine. Honestly, I’ve never tried to replicate it but my girls are known to enjoy their own version of leche con pan with their own Grandpa Manny (my dad). I’ve loved watching them sit at the kitchen table where I grew up, drinking homemade champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate) and eating pan dulce with my own dad. Yes, sometimes, they even dunk their pan dulce in their champurrado. Seeing them there with my father always reminds me of those mornings in Mexico with my abuelito.

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For more content and recipes with milk visit https://fuertesconleche.com/nutricion/dales-mas-leche and follow Siempre Leche on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
2018/07/16
Precocious Puberty~ A Mother’s Prayer…for NO Pubic Hair!
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Kimberly Danek Pinkson
My girls are growing so fast, in a blink of an eye puberty will be hitting us over the head like a hammer. It seems every new day brings a lost tooth, a growth spurt of some sort, a new amazing feat they can perform or skill they have learned. In all reality, I am in constant awe (you know, with the exception of those days that I feel that I am watching paint dry). I’d say between my two girls I spend 97% of my life having my breath taken away. Some days it feels like it is all going by too quickly and I just want to slow it down a bit and enjoy it more. Then my friend, whose daughter is 7, drops this bomb on me….her daughter is getting underarm and pubic hair.WHAT??? Apparently when she was giving her little girls their nightly bath,she noticed a few tufts of hair after her daughter said she couldn’t get her underarms clean. Poor kid.
Puberty before the age of 10, say what?
Yes, you could hear a pin drop when she told me that, with the exception of the thud of my jaw hitting the floor. She, like myself, tries to feed her girls a reasonably healthy diet. They are pretty diligent about the organic/no hormone milk and dairy products, eggs, fruits and veggies. Her girls are not overweight. They are an average upper-middle class Caucasian American family. Yet, her little girl is on the brink of prepubescence. This thoroughly freaked me out. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was changing diapers? I’m still wiping asses ( I just wiped one before I sat down to write this post. Don’t worry I washed my hands). What kind of cruel world is this that little girls who are still in need of their Mommies to bathe and wipe them ….should start getting pubic hair and menstruating? If you’re looking to remove unwanted body hair without worrying about waxing, cuts, or razor burns, look no further than the list of the best bikini trimmers here https://emeraldspa.com/best-pubic-hair-trimmer/.
Precocious Puberty;Dont be Fooled by the Name
They call it Precocious Puberty. It sounds all cute and adorable. As if cramps and mood swings are anything but terrible, especially for little girls. Don’t even get me started on the onslaught of hair growing in places you least want it. And so I am compelled to write a little prayer to God or the Goddess Mother Nature ( whomever you believe is responsible for this early onset puberty sweeping our nation and whomever can actually do anything about it).
Dear God,
It’s Me..Truthful Mommy (I’m sure even God thinks that’s my name by now) are you there?
Please let my little girls stay little for a little while longer.
I want to cuddle them and read them to sleep.
I want to kiss their foreheads and all their booboos and make them magically all better.
I want picnics in the park, uncontrollable giggles because I act like a goofball. I want innocence and virtue.
I want to be the best thing since sliced bread, for a little while longer.
I want to get to know them a little better before they become hairy, hormonal beasts.
I want the time to bond deeper before they hit that place in puberty where I am the enemy.
The moment that I become the dumbest, most ignorable and annoying person in the world.
I’m pretty sure this happens on the first day of spotting.
I am not ready for all that just yet.
Please wait until they are passed the age of losing teeth and learning to ride bicycles before bestowing their monthly visitor upon them.
I know with puberty, precocious or otherwise, comes boys.
You know we are not ready to deal with boys!
Dear God, most of all I pray for health and happiness for my girls.
Please give them a few more years to get their feet firmly planted on who they are before turning them into someone else.
This is my mother’s prayer.
Please, God…no more pubic hair (at least not for a few more years)!
For now, let’s just say no to early onset puberty (Amen)
Puberty, Precocious or otherwise
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2011/08/09
The Hidden Dangers of Juicing

Do you know the hidden dangers of juicing? A couple weeks ago, I watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and obviously, related a little too much. I immediately wanted to start juicing as a way to incorporate more fruits and veggies into our everyday diet. The fact that I have read that juicing helps with everything from losing weight to curing cancer made it even that more lucrative.
But I never considered that there could be hidden dangers of juicing.
Juicing is healthy, or so I thought. I’ve known for some time that our diets have began to see a deficit in fresh fruit and vegetables and I want to change that. So, I told my husband that I wanted a juicer for Mother’s Day…but I wanted it now. Why put off til tomorrow what you can do today? Carpe Diem and all that shit.
I must have had that crazy look in my eyes because he agreed and within a few days, my brand spanking new Breville juicer arrived. I was very eager to get started so I downloaded the Joe Juice Diet book ( by the guy who did the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead documentary) and got started. This is exactly why I am not allowed to watch infomercials. See The Enya incident of 1997, the Zumba incident of 2007, the Meaningful Beauty incident of 2006 and the Insanity & T25 incidents of 2012 and 2013. I am the optimistic insomniac who is easily sold anything in her delirious state. Anyways, I digress.
I got my Breville juicer and decided on a 3-day juice. I served all my juice over ice because I need juice to be cold but you can drink it room temperature if you prefer.
Here is what my juicing experience looked like:
Day 1-3
Breakfast:
Hot water with lemon ( instead of coffee & to jumpstart your metabolism)

Bye-Bye Blue Juice ( ½ cup blueberries, 1 cucumber, 1 lime, 1 pear. Makes 1 serving.)
Snack:
Water/ Coconut Water
Lunch:
Joe’s Mean Green Juice (16 Kale leaves, 2 cucumbers, 8 celery stalks, 4 apples, 1 lemon and a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger. Makes 2 servings.)
Afternoon snack:
Green Citrus ( 4 apples, 4 oranges and 12 handfuls of leafy greens. I use Kale. Makes 2 servings.)
Dinner:
Joe’s Mean Green
Dessert:
Peach Delight (1 sweet potato, 2 ripe peaches, 1 apple, 1 1/3 cup of blueberries and a dash of cinnamon.)
Now, while I liked all of the juices with the exception of the Mean Green which I just haven’t gotten the recipe to taste yet. I think it needs less cucumber. Cucumber is so overpowering and I love it but it’s just been a tad too much for me. Full Disclosure: by the end of day two, I was so famished that I would have eaten my own arm off. I ended up eating an actual salad with grilled chicken. Juicing is hard. I did lose 3 pounds in 3 days and I had a lot of energy.
Bedtime:
Herbal Tea
My experience showed e the hidden dangers of juicing.
I loved the drinks but two things happened to me that I wasn’t anticipating and they scared me a little bit.
1) I had a lot of energy. Like too much. I was talking a lot ( more than usual and if you know me you know that is A LOT!) and apparently, I was very loud and fidgety. Now, this may not be alarming to any of you but for me a person who flirts with mania, well, it felt a little too close to home for me. So, if you are prone to bouts of mania or hypomania, maybe juicing is not for you unless you are trying to induce an episode in which case, call your doctor right now!
2) As a person 16 years in recovery from eating disorders, juicing felt a lot like a gateway drug to restricting. I felt a switch flip and I have been obsessing over everything I put into my mouth ever since which, yes, I did need to be more aware of but didn’t necessarily want to be hyperaware and experience the guilt that I associate with carbs so this has me a little worried. I find it alarming that simply by following a regimented diet for 3 days; I can feel those old tendencies pulling at me so strongly. The good news is that I am completely aware of it and have added whole foods back into my diet but the refined sugars and flours are just not worth it to me at this point. I’m not sure I would recommend juicing for anyone who has had issues with restricting in the past, it could be a trigger.
My plan is to continue juicing for breakfast and for my afternoon and evening snack and to eat healthy meals for lunch and dinner. So my takeaway is that I do love juicing. I love the energy and knowing that I am adding a lot of great fruits and veggies back into our diet and that is good for all us but I could never live on just juice of an extended amount of time. And if you’re interested in learning more about juicing, you can visit https://juiceguru.com.
Also, I don’t drink a lot of alcohol or coffee on a regular basis so I never experienced the usual withdrawals so I can’t tell you how bad those might be. I can say that my morning Bye-Bye Blues juice blend gave me a lot more energy than a cup of coffee ever has.
Tips:
Don’t overdue the kale because it can be bad for you
Remove peels from citrus
A little lemon/lime go a LONG way
Cucumber is powerful
Remove the pits from peaches
Remove seeds from your apples ( cyanide). I forgot.
Use organic ingredients if you are juicing the skin
Too much fruits equal too much sugar.
Do you juice? Please share your favorite juicing or smoothie recipes?
Have you discovered any hidden dangers to juicing?
2014/03/24
This Blogger’s Life…Jessica Escobar
This week, I am so proud and excited to welcome Jessica Escobar of Jess in the ATX to This Blogger’s Life. It’s not often that I gush about anyone ( other than my kids) but Jessica truly is my Latina sister from another mister. Aside from being a whip smart lawyer working in a law firm and superhero mom & wife by night, she is an amazing woman who writes from the heart. In her quiet, classy way ( yes, she is my complete opposite in this area) she is fierce and loves and lives BIG. She is an all in kind of woman with a heart as big as Texas. When you talk to her, she is one of those rare people who actually listens and is present. She makes you feel like you matter and this is a gift that many lack.
I don’t know exactly how many years that I have “known” Jessica but it feels like I have known her forever. That’s what it feels like reading her blog, like you are sitting down at the kitchen table with a dear old friend you’ve grown up with and know one another’s secrets. That is the beauty of blogging friends, they know the secrets that you might not tell your in real life friends because it’s just too damn hard to utter the words of weakness or fear but online, for me anyways, I can speak freely and never hold my tongue. I appreciate that in other writers as well because then I feel like I know the real them; flawed and imperfectly awesome. Jessica is so much more to me than what a quick blurb could ever describe so I will leave you with this, please check out her blog Jess in the ATX and see for yourself what a true warrior looks like; quietly stoic and ever pressing on, never giving up. I admire this Jess more than she knows. You will thank me for having the chance to get to know such a truly, strong, amazing and authentic woman. Jess is more than just one of my favorite people on the Internet, she is one of my people in the world. She’s the real deal and you will be a better person for having known her. I dare you to see her smiling avatar and not have a better day. That’s Jess, she lights up the world.
This Blogger’s Life… Jessica Escobar

Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging a few years ago as a way to share my stories about my daughter. It was a way to share her funny moments and my proud mommy moments. It was less about me and more about her.
What’s one piece of advice that you would give to a new blogger?
Don’t make it about trying to be like “that other blogger over there who does that big stuff”. It isn’t about trying to be big. You can’t compare yourself or try to copy their style. You have to have your own voice and speak from your heart.
What are the three words that describe you best?
proud, strong, caring
What is your favorite website?
Hmmm that’s tough. I really don’t have one! I really don’t surf the net. I have a very small list of blogs I love. It’s definitely not the mainstream ones.
What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not blogging?
Running. I’m out of the habit but it’s something that I’m working to get back into it. It’s my release and my me time. Self care is VERY Important and something that often gets neglected as a mama.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself from blogging?
You have to find your voice. It’s easy to be scared of what the people in your “real life” will think of you. It’s so much easier to build a community who truly understand and support you. I’m proud to share my experiences because you never know who is reading and understands what you’re going through.
How do you balance life and blogging?
Right now I’m on “hiatus.” That’s a nice way of saying I’m having a dry spell. And I’m ok with that. Sometimes you just don’t have the words and when you aren’t trying to be the next big thing that’s fine. You can’t be hard on yourself and force the words out or you won’t enjoy yourself. You have to make the time when you want to and it’ll just balance yourself out.
How has blogging changed you or your life?
It has given me an absolutely amazing community of women who have been the most wonderful support system and group of friends that I wish I had in my community. They are the best bunch of women that I’ve never met. It’s so true that some of your best friends can live in your computer.
What do you think makes a successful blog? A great blog? Are they one in the same?
They are definitely similar but not necessarily the same, not to me. A successful blog is the one that gets all the big traffic and the one that people know. They have all the “big sponsors” and they’re the ones that people want to be like. That’s all good and great. And there’s the GREAT blogs. It’s being awesome but more than hits. They’re the ones like Deb who truly speak they’re minds and are real and open and about LIFE. Many bloggers speak from the heart. Sometimes you blog for the hits. We’ve all done it and it happens. No harm no foul.
If you were to stop blogging today, what would you do with the rest of your life?
I would be fine. I would look back at what I wrote and be proud. But I would never let go of my blogging community.

How do you balance telling your story, without telling the story of others in your life?
That’s the hard part. I have to balance my true story with the privacy of my family. I struggle with that a lot. I really censor myself because I fight depression and anxiety. I don’t want people in my personal life to read it and judge my husband or my girls and think they are getting less than a wife or a mother. It’s also why I’ve pulled back on what I say about them. It’s a hard road to walk but it really is up to you as a blogger to decide how much you share and who your audience is. I’m very weary of my real life people, and that’s just because I am reserved with them in real life. I’m not one way online and different in person.
Blogging has changed a lot, just since I started 5 years ago, what do you miss about blogging in the early days? What do you love that has changed?
Blogging seemed to be a lot more carefree. Then you go through the phase where you want to really grow and get big. Then you get over it and just want to be.

How do you consistently come up with relevant and shareable content?
I really try to speak from the heart. A lot of that has to do with parenting, because damn that shiz is hard work! I think that’s something a lot of other women struggle with. We question our skills but often we just underestimate ourselves.
If you could have a dinner party for 6 people, living or dead, who would you invite?
OMG, Steve Jobs. I just finished his bio and I’m obsessed. My mom. She passed of cancer in 2006. DEB! Damn I love that girl. She’s so real. Three other computer friends. 🙂 I’m not a star gazer, so no one famous.
What’s the one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I’m actually on a social media hiatus and that kind of happened during my depression. I’m just removed from social media and not really interested and that’s ok! The people that I’m connected to know where to find me and I know where to find them. I think that’s why I’m disconnected from the internet right now.

What’s the one post that you are most proud of?
The one where I laid it all out about my postpartum anxiety. I was really scared to hit publish because I had to admit that I’m human. What’s more? I sent it to a few people in my family.
https://justjessatx.com/postpartum-depression-maternal-mental-health/
Jess, Thank you so much for letting me interview you on This Blogger’s Life! You truly are one of my favorite people in the world and you know I am not about blowing smoke and rainbows up butts, so you when I say it, you know I mean it. Keep on keeping on, mama! You are an extraordinary woman and I feel blessed to be called your friend. XOXO
If you want to know more about Jess, check out the blog, JESS in the ATX on Facebook and @Jessesco on Twitter.
You will wonder why you didn’t have Jessica Escobar in your life sooner:)
2014/08/08
A Little Pampering Goes a Long Way
This week I left the frigid below zero temperatures of the Midwest bound for LA and 70 degree weather to attend the #WeAllGrow Summit for Latinas. To say that I’m excited is a gross understatement. I’ve been doing all the usual fun conference stuff like obsessing over what to wear (in LA since I’ve never been), scheduling a little pampering for myself (so I don’t frighten any other bloggers away) and trying to schedule in face time with some of my favorite bloggers.
I’ve been badgering all of my LA friends about what I should wear because I don’t want to get laughed or pointed at and was told by my friend Jessica that I could wear sandals in February but my pedicure better be on point. I live in the Midwest; so obviously, my pedicure is not on point. Not even close. My feet have been hiding inside of fur-lined boots, my skin has been buried under layers of clothing and my entire beauty regime consists of mostly bathing, brushing my teeth and moisturizing. I’m not setting foot in California in this state, lest the pointing begin.
I’m dying the grays, waxing all the hair and undoubtedly getting my pedicure and manicure. I tried to schedule in a massage too but between deadlines and life, I just ran out of time. While a massage would have been perfect for relaxing my mind before a long day of flying and a week of intense networking, it just wasn’t meant to be. Next time, I’d really like to try a thai yoga massage.
I can imagine the smell of lavender oils and the ambient lighting filling the room. The scent of lavender always reminds me of a relaxing spa day. It’s one of those luxuries that we moms are not often afforded. I’m like Pavlov’s dogs in that way; I smell lavender, I instantly relax and associate the situation with luxurious pampering.
So imagine my surprise when I received a large box of Angel Soft toilet paper, lavender scented. Yes, it smells so good. My entire bathroom smells like a spa. I know it’s just toilet paper, but isn’t it the little things that make life special. In case you are wondering (because I was), no it’s not purple. It’s the same Angel soft toilet paper that it’s always been, only it smells fantastic and you’ll feel like you are pampering yourself every time you use it.
If you are interested in learning more or winning a year’s supply for yourself, you should totally RSVP for the Twitter party.
#LlevalaSuave Bilingual Twitter Party with @AngelSoftLatino
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2015, 5pm PST / 8pm EST
Where: On Twitter with the hashtag #LlevalaSuave
You can use this link for easy access starting now: https://twubs.com/LlevalaSuave
Co-Hosts: @En_TuZapatos @LorraineCLadish @MamaXXI @SassyMamainLA
Moderators: @lbconnect @laflowers
Special Guest: @AngelSoftLatino
Prizes: Three (3) giveaways of one (1) year’s supply of Angel Soft® with Fresh Lavender Scent bath tissue and a $100 gift card to a Spa
This is a sponsored campaign in collaboration with Angel Soft® and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

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2015/02/27
Full Hands
I am sitting by the pool in Florida, watching my girls frolic in the water under the warm Florida sun as I get a little too much sun exposure. It is heavenly and I miss you all very much but in my absence, I have some fabulous guest writers stopping by. I know that you will love them as much as I do.
Today’s guest writer is Jessica Watson, the amazing author of Four Plus an Angel. She can also be found @JessBWatson. If you are not familiar with Jessica or her blog, you are in for a real treat. She is a fantastic writer with a gift for the written word. She writes with a raw and honest heart and tells her story like only a Mom’s soul can do. Every time I read her blog, I walk away thinking, laughing and/or crying but always feeling like my day is better for having stopped by Four Plus an Angel.
Thank you Jess for sharing your TRUTH about Motherhood. XOXO
Full Hands
I am often told I have my hands full.
Persuading two four-year olds to stay close with a toddler on my hip and a teenager talking my other ear off as I weave through Target can bring out these sort of comments, I guess.
But they bug me. Maybe because I am already a little irritable when I’m stopped mid-crazy shopping trip or maybe because I will never feel like my hands are full or maybe because, aren’t all of our hands full?
If my kids have decided to be relatively quiet on a shopping trip but the mom one aisle over has an only child who has gone all “wet noodle” in front of the bouncy balls and is screaming like he just skinned his knees on concrete, aren’t her arms the full ones?
Whether you have one child or two children or 10, the truth about motherhood is that it is not easy for anyone, everyday, every moment.
No matter how elaborately your neighbor organized her daughter’s lemonade stand, no matter how perfectly manicured your sister-in-law’s nails are and no matter how many runny-nosed children your best friend manages to entertain in her minivan, there is no supermom.
She doesn’t exist.
There isn’t a mom on the planet who can do it all perfectly from sun up until whenever she manages to lay her head down every. single. day.
And the minute we all come to terms with this, put down our recycled or paper or plastic shopping bags, and just embrace the fact that we are all doing the best we can, motherhood will get a whole lot easier for everyone.
I think back to my early years of motherhood and the pressure I put on myself to read 4 inch thick parenting books, to get rid of the pacifier, to visit the popular park, to join developmentally stimulating playgroups, to send a fancy-schmancy snack, and I wish I could have just told myself to relax.
What makes us unique, what makes our kids unique, is the kind of parents we are, the way we decide to spend our time with them and how we handle the good days and the bad. So your kid has seen Mommy crack in the laundry room and my kid has seen me ugly cry over the dishwasher. Let’s just hope they forget that part and only remember how we pushed them on the swings until our arms were ready to fall off or how we helped them with homework until we had to prop our eyelids open with a pencil.
If you have one child I hope he remembers an afternoon spent on your lap and you remember that one teething, nap-deprived toddler can be just as tough as a household of five busied siblings.
And if you have five children I hope they remember filling up the couch for movie night and you remember those days you did made everyone’s favorite lunch snack or managed to get them all to soccer on time.
Because we are all supermoms, making media-approved or media-exploited choices, we love our children. And if your easiest day is my hardest then that’s just one more reason to lift each other up through this mom-gig and pour a universal glass of wine to clink glasses at bedtime.
We’ve parented our way through one more day and our kids are cute enough when they sleep that we are already poised to get up the next day and fill our arms with motherhood all over again.
2012/06/05
5 Time Management Tips for Busy Moms
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Being a parent is hard in ways that people never tell you about; in ways that you couldn’t even have imagined. From juggling work (Yes, mama got a full-time job as a Marketing Director and going back after being OOO for 17 years is effing hard), managing your home ( I’m trying my best to manage the tornado disaster that is lived in and loved by two active teenagers and two rambunctious dogs), and taking care of your kids’ physical and emotional needs, being a modern mom or dad involves a lot of hard work and dedication.
About 97% of young Millennial and Gen X mothers and fathers often feel burned out by parenthood. As a mom, it’s very easy to lose track of time when you are busy handling multiple tasks. There aren’t enough hours in a day, and it can feel very frustrating and stressful not being able to get everything done. But that doesn’t mean your life has to be that way. This post will help you find ways to manage your time better while allowing you to also do the things you love. Without wasting any more of your precious time, here are some top time-management tips for busy moms.
Top time-management tips for busy moms

Have a schedule and stick to it
As a mom, you’ve probably questioned how quickly time runs. You wake up early, get breakfast, get your family ready for their days, do chores, work, and prepare them for bed at night. It seems like an endless cycle of doing the same things repeatedly and when you through a full-time job into the mix it sometimes feels impossible. Having such a routine can make you lose out on some productive hours. Instead, why not create a daily or weekly schedule (ToDoList is my favorite app ever) that you and your family can follow? During one of your rare quiet moments, you can draw up a list of everyone’s activities and put them in a planner. Fortunately, there are several online planners that everyone in your household can access and stay on top of their tasks and activities.
Learn to delegate
Yes, you’re a mom, and while most moms are amazing at multitasking, you’re still human. That means you’ll also burn out and want a break and some much-needed rest. You cannot do it all, so you must learn how to delegate. If you have a partner, you must learn to share your responsibilities. Also, if you have older kids, you can delegate certain tasks to get them involved. Delegating these responsibilities lifts the weight off your shoulders and gives you enough time to attend to other matters.
So, what can you do? Set up a family meeting to discuss how everyone can play important roles at home. You can set up a chart and delegate different responsibilities to each family member. Ensure that the entire family is clear on the rules and agrees to any schedules. Once this has been established, you will begin to find time for things.

Shop online
One of the best things about online shopping is that it saves you time and makes life much easier. Instead of spending hours traveling from home to your local grocery store and back, you can do it in the comfort of your home. With online shopping, you will still have access to a wide range of products that make it easier to compare prices just as you would in a physical store. And even better, most online shops offer amazing discounts and offers to make it better to buy in bulk. However, be forewarned you can easily spend more than you do at Target because it’s just too easy.
But it’s not just groceries you can get for your family. You can also order your family’s medications online. Most local pharmacies offer online services for your NHS prescriptions and other medications, so it’s definitely worth a try.

Buy your time
There are times when it’s just impossible for both you and your partner to get out of tight and busy schedules. What do you do when you have other responsibilities preventing that? You must pay for additional help. Paying for extra help can set you back a couple of dollars, but it is worth it. You can outsource chores such as cooking and cleaning. I’d highly recommend this just to give yourself a break. You are already doing so much. If you have younger kids, you can enroll them into a good daycare or hire a babysitter for those busy days. You can also ask your parents or trusted friends to help you out when you are in a bind.
Make time for yourself
Juggling various responsibilities can take its toll on your physical and mental health. You might also lose your sense of identity after spending years placing everyone’s needs above yours. That’s why it’s important to carve out personal time where you can unwind and relax. Ask for support from your partner and use this break to do the things you love to do. It could be catching up on your hobbies, visiting a friend, or pampering yourself at the spa.
With these simple and effective time-management tips, you can better manage your schedule and still make time for yourself. Don’t forget to ask for help when you need it.
2022/06/09
What Would You Do if Someone You Loved Went Missing while Visiting Another Country?
We’ve all seen those stories about college kids in other countries studying abroad only to never come home because they go missing, right? Or those kids whose parents took them on a trip to some magical, tropical island and poof! they disappear into thin air? Well, my dad lives 2,162 Miles from home in Mexico for 8 months of the year and this morning, he was missing. Let me restate, as far as I knew this morning, he had been missing for 8 days! This is not something that I would normally talk about but it happened and my nerves are pretty much shot so I’m trying to process all of this the only way I know how.
This morning I received a phone call from my sister, asking if I had heard from my father. My mom still works so she is still in the states all year round. Me, not hearing from my father for a week or even a month is not cause for concern but my mom gets daily phone calls. No phone call since July 27^th. None. We called AT&T and the phone has not pinged since that day and every time we call it, it goes straight to voicemail. There is no ringing. My dad is in his 60’s. So, I go into full panic mode. I’m a fixer. I can’t wait for things to work themselves out. That is not me. I was one hair away from hopping a plane to Mexico.
The first thing I did was call the phone to confirm that it is, in fact, going directly to voicemail. It is. I know because I called 75 times (sort of like when, in disbelief, I found out I was pregnant and took 17 pregnancy tests). Still, it went straight to Voicemail. Then I did what any sane person would do, I called all my brothers and sisters and then I called the town. Yes, the town he lives in ….in MEXICO!
He lives in a very small town and back in the 80’s before cell phones and people having landlines, in this particularly small part of Mexico, we called the post office. I called that number and in my best rusty Spanish, I asked someone (anyone) to please go check on my father and to either call me back and let me know what was going on or to have him call me. Do you know how hard it is to track down someone who lives virtually off the grid? Think trying to locate Lewis and Clark without a cellphone or GPS. The nice woman on the other end said she would call me as soon as she knew anything. Meanwhile, I had to wait. I am not good at waiting. I am the worst waiter in the history of the world, especially when it potentially relates to the health and safety of my father.
So, I did what any insane with worry person would do, I Facebooked every cousin I know and asked them to ask their parents to call the city, call their family and friends in that small town and then I called in the big guns. I called my best friend (Who speaks Spanish like a native) and had her inquire on my behalf. This was all within 30 minutes of my original call, one Xanax and a phone call to a long lost uncle. Desperate times, desperate measures my friends.
You see, my dad is a healthy 66-years old man, he rides his bike and runs and is a very much a loner. He likes his solitude. I guess he needed the quiet after living in a house with 6 kids for all those years. Anyways, the nice woman at the post office told my BFF that she had went to the house after “Debi” ( that’s me the crazy one) called and it wasn’t broken into and his vehicles were there and he was probably just out riding his bike, as he does daily. Apparently, everyone knows him in town and she told us not to worry she would go check again in a bit. Then my cousin walked into the post office and said, I just saw him riding his bike in the plaza. Weird, right? I still wasn’t satisfied. I needed eyes on the old man STAT!
I had no solace. I spent my morning crying and imagining the worst possible scenario. I went to a dark place in my head. I was imagining that I would need to rush a passport and grab a flight to Mexico to collect a body.A BODY! I couldn’t handle it. I was on the verge of hysterics I was sure he’d gone off into the mountains and either gotten hit by a car, bitten by a snake or worse. WORSE!! Mexico worse, not US worse. The worst.
Just as the Xanax kicked in and I was about to call the federales in Mexico and then the embassy, the phone rang. It was my sister telling me that my dad was on the phone with my mom. His iPhone has died. I’m sure he is annoyed that I called the city multiple times and sent people over to find him. He is a very private person but he should know that if someone I love goes missing, I’ll never quit looking until I find him. I don’t give up. So, here I sit emotionally drained from this mornings events and all I want to do is hug my dad but that won’t be happening until November.
I always thought the worst feeling in the world was when your kid wandered off in the Target and hid under the racks for 2 seconds and it scared the crap out of you but apparently, losing your dad in another country where you can’t just look for him or call the cops is a pretty close second. I’m thinking of putting a chip in my dad next time he’s home. I’m not kidding. I’m not sure I can handle this happening again. A contingency plan has to be put into place or an intervention…for me.
What would you have done if a family member went missing while in another country?
2014/08/04
How to Teach Kids about Credit Card Responsibility
This post is brought to you by a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and WellsFargo but all thoughts and content about how to teach kids about credit card responsibility are my own.
I grew up poor. There were 6 children, my mom stayed at home and my dad worked as a forklift driver at the local glass factory. We were a 100% blue-collar family. Money was always tight but my parents did what they could, with what they had. Everything was paid in cash and if we didn’t have the cash, we just didn’t get it and we saved until we did or we decided it really wasn’t that important. I hated this way of life. Being poor is not anything anyone would choose.
In high school, I got two jobs so that I could have the things that other kids had like-named brand clothes, shoes, a television and radio in my room. I could finally afford to “hang out” with my friends and use the car because I could afford gas and admission into the movies, roller rink or at the mall.
It was difficult being 17 with 2 jobs but I learned the importance of hard work and saving. I learned the value of money, even if it was a hard lesson learned. I bought what I could afford and I learned to have very discerning taste and appreciated and took care of those things. I had a solid financial foundation.
Then I went away to university, this is where everything went horribly wrong, and suddenly there were banking institutions all over the quad offering me free t-shirts and pre-approved credit cards, or as I thought of it in my 18-year-old mind “free money”. I couldn’t help myself, I took every free t-shirt and credit card they offered me and without my parents there to remind me just how blue collar I really was, I just kept spending. Having credit felt like freedom from my blue-collar existence but I had no idea that I was trading my financial restrictions for full-on slavery.
Did I mention I was at university only by the grace of academic scholarships and financial aid? I wasn’t supposed to work in college. I was supposed to focus on my studies so that I could become something better. I had no business having any credit cards, never mind several and what kind of Bozo gives credit cards to unemployed children, anyway? Who could afford the crazy interest rates in the fine print that no one bothered to mention to me? So there I was, 18 with all the credit cards and no way to pay them back and interest building up daily. I felt like I was suffocating. I wish someone has talked to me about money.
It wasn’t like I could ask my parents for help. They never had credit cards and I was pretty sure that they’d be disappointed that I had racked up thousands of dollars in debt just trying to be cool. To be honest, I was embarrassed but I couldn’t just keep avoiding my responsibilities. I had to get a job again to pay my bills. I wish I had someone sit down with me and teach me how to use credit and explain all the responsibilities that came with it rather than handed me a credit card app while they tossed me a t-shirt. I felt duped.
Here are some credit tips from Wells Fargo that I wish I had when I was getting my first credit cards.
- Check your credit report annually
Make sure your credit report contains current and accurate information. Errors will negatively impact your credit score. Request a free copy of your credit report at least once a year from AnnualCreditReport.com or call toll-free 1-877-322-8228.
- Pay your bills on time
Your payment history is one of the biggest factors in your credit score – including things that may surprise you like on-time payment of your rent and cell phone bill.
- Pay more than the minimum
Paying more than what’s due on your personal credit cards helps you pay down debt faster and can improve your credit score.
- Keep debt at no more than 35 percent of your gross monthly income
Lenders look at the amount of debt a consumer has compared to their monthly income when making credit decisions. If you think you might be in troubled waters financially, it’s best to opt for something essential like Credit Repair Analysis to help you in your endeavors.
- Contact your lenders
If you ever have trouble paying a credit account, contact the lender rather than simply not paying.
- Think before closing accounts
Closing credit card accounts may lower your available credit and hurt your credit score.
Wells Fargo has a full list of helpful credit tips and money managing tips that are perfect to share with your teenager or anyone who might benefit from some financial guidance. Can’t we all?

Wells Fargo is committed to making financial education and in-language resources available to Latino consumers. That includes providing customers with bilingual online tools, Spanish Text Banking, Spanish account statements, Spanish-language call centers, Spanish-speaking bankers in stores across the nation and more.
As part of that commitment and in order to connect with the Hispanic community in a meaningful way, Wells Fargo recently collaborated with Telemundo for the “Conversemos de Tus Finanzas” campaign. The campaign is focused on empowering Hispanics to enhance their financial knowledge and help them to reach their financial goals. The campaign provides customized content, tools and resources around the important financial topics of money management and credit.
I wish they had this when I was 18 but I’m sure glad they have it now and these kinds of invaluable resources will be available to my girls when they get older. Plus, the silver lining, they get the benefit of learning from my credit mistakes.
2014/11/22