Madres de Oro (Golden Moms)

 

I'm pretty sure if you've been following my twitts and visit regularly Sabor a Cajeta's Facebook page, that you've seen me talk about my excitement for writing for Terra.Com in their section Madres de Oro.  In Español, of course.  (Don't worry if you can't read Spanish, Dariela one of the Madres de Oro bloggers writes her columns in English.)

For sixteen weeks you can read about  my (and other lovely bloggera's) experience of raising the champions of tomorrow.  That's right, it all begins at home.  How we raise our little ones will dictate (for the most part) how they grow up to be, and as mama's aren't we looking to raise champions?  I know that is one of my goals, to raise smart, caring, earth conscious, healthy kids. 

Pass on by and pay us a visit and leave a comment or two.  We love to hear what you have to say.

photo a day mommy moments challange: inspired by family magazine

As you know I love, love, love anything photos.  Looking at them and taking them.  It is a pastime, a hobby, a love of mine.  I'm pretty sure you've noticed by now (If not, where have you been?!!)

Anyway, I am super excited to announce that I will be a judge for Inspired by Family Magazine Photo A Day Mommy Moments Challenge!  How cool is that?  Check out their website for more info.   And then come on back here ever day between April 16th to May 11th, to see what photos I take.  That's right, even though I'm a judge I plan to play along just for fun.  No, I won't be entering mine for the challenge.  But you can!!!

So go on and get inspired, take tons of photos and enter them for a chance to win some cool prizes or simply to play along.  It is all up to you!

organizing: small changes

Hello there!  How are your new year goals/resolutions coming along so far?  Still working on them?  Did you give up?  If you're anything like me I know you won't give up that easily.   I'm cheering you on!  I know you can do it! (Hey we gotta motivate each other.  Right?)

I'm sure you're wondering how I'm doing.  Have I started them?  Yes, I have!  Small accomplishments, but rewarding ones.  So far I have gone back to the gym and plan to continue doing so.  I'm also going to bed earlier.  Yey!  I also started  working on a schedule to maximize my time during the day.  Maybe wake earlier (a hard one for me.  Even now that I've been good about going to bed early.)  and hit the gym first thing in the morning so I have the rest of the day to: parent, work, blog, craft, home school and so on.  I really want to find a way to fit all that and more into my days.  Ahem, any tips?

When it comes to organization, though I haven't necessarily started organizing my craft room, I have, however,  gathered a lot of inspiration through Pinterest.  I'm sure I've mentioned before my addiction to pinning and pinning and pinning.  I think my addiction may be as bad as buying fabric!

Well then, let us go back to the organizing shall we.  

I believe that sometimes tackling the smaller spaces around your home first, is better than trying to tackle a large room (like my craft room), so here are some small changes I would like to make around the house in the next few days to begin with.

In my closet:

portable hooks via martha stwart

 Reorganize my belts.  Currently my belts hang from a hanger, but slip off very easily.  That drives me crazy.  Isn't this the perfect solution to the problem? And so easy to make.  You can see the how to at MarthaStewart.com. 

creative scarf solutions via smallrooms

Tackle the scarfs!  I recently organized my scarfs by hanging three or four per hanger to keep them from wrinkling.   I thought I was the coolest person on the block, but then I saw this and well...all I could think of was- why did I donate all my old shower curtain hooks!!!  Another perfect solution for small spaces.  This way I can hang more scarfs onto one hanger and use up less space.  You can find more creative scarf organizing solutions at smallrooms.

In the linen closet:

there is no direct link to this photo, I stumbled upon it on pinterest.

Um, again- why didn't I think of this before?!!!!  To keep your bed linens tidy and organized simply put your folded linens in their coordinating pillow sham.  Wow!  I totally love this!  Really I do.  You don't understand how picky I am about folding my bed linens, how I carefully fold each sheet (fitted or not) until they all sit perfectly even on my shelf.  Craziness, I know.  But that is just who I am, and I am in love with this solution!!!!

In the kitchen:

scrapbook organizers in the kitchen via Chica and Jo

Our house is not small by any means, but I do have a small kitchen.  Something I didn't mind before I started enjoying cooking and had kids.  If I could make any changes to this house it would be just that, a larger kitchen (and maybe more closet space.)  So I'm constantly looking for solutions to organize my kitchen. You would be amazed to see how much I can fit in our small galley kitchen without keeping it all out on the counters (did I ever tell you I hate clutter? Especially counter top clutter!) Using a craft paper (or magazine) organizer to hold different items around the kitchen would be a perfect solution for my shelves.  To see other ways to use the craftbook holder in the kitchen visit ChicaandJo.com. 

Organizing, even in the van:

16 ways to organize your recycling via Better Home and Gardens

Need I say anything else?  Not pretty, but very practical.  Though I would skip the plastic bag to keep it greener. 

Finally around the craft room:

paper towel holder via realsimple.com, box ribbon organizer via marthastewart.com and multi-tiered pants hanger via cratingkeepsakesblog.com

Ribbon!  I have lots of it and need more ways to display it while keeping it organized.  I will share with you one of my own solutions (for a slopping wall) later, on the mean time I share with you the three solutions I found and plan to use for the rest of my ribbon.  I really like the paper towel holder solution RealSimple.com came up with.  I'll be looking for one (or several) of these on my trips to the thrift shops.  MarthaStewart.com also came up with a nice solution using photo boxes, but it takes a bit more work to make.  I really like the multi-tiered pants hanger solutions that they came up with at CreatingKeepsakesBlog.com. 

Jewelry organizer tutorial by Tonya Staab

Jewelry.  I like to make it for friends, as gifts, for me, for fun.  I like the idea of displaying it in my craft room using an old type set drawer.  I have one that was given to me and I planned to use in my nene's room for him to display all his small Lego pieces, but I just might change my mind and keep it to display jewelry.  Shhh.  Don't tell him.  Okay?

Are you inspired yet?  Want to start organizing?  Still need more inspiration?  Then visit DaNita's blog Delightful Order.  She created a roundup of all her organizing tips.  And she has many.  Check them out and get inspired!

Happy Organizing!

running around with chiquitos

If you've ever wondered what some parents do to keep their chiquitos (little ones) entertained and well behaved while out running errands...pass on by to New Latina and read a few of my secret (or not so secret) weapons.  Especially the Five Points Game I started using a while back.  It works just about every time. 

What are some of your parenting techniques for keeping the peace while shopping with little ones?

Knowledge Conquers Fear: October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month

Did you know that October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month?  I am embarrassed to say I didn't, but I will do anything possible to help others (like me) be a bit more aware.

Now in Laurita Tellado's words:

October is an eerie month, filled with monsters, mummies, and the macabre. But while the occasional witch or skeleton might freak you out, one must concede that there are indeed more frightening things– like finding out your child will be born with spina bifida.

And yet, each day in the U.S., an average of eight families welcome a child with spina bifida into the world. Annually, an estimated 1,500 infants are born with spina bifida each year in the U.S.

I was born with spina bifida nearly two and a half decades ago. The diagnosis came as a total shock to my family, along with an entire set of secondary complications. I was also born with hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain.” During the first ten years of my life, it seemed I was in the hospital every other week with a bladder infection or shunt malfunction. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t really scary at times.

But then, at age ten, I discovered a fantastic way to defeat my worst fears– knowledge. I vowed I would educate myself and read up on the condition that, up until that point, seemed to be taking over my life. Much like a child who imagines a ghost is in his closet, grabs a flashlight and realizes it’s only an old coat, I had come to the realization that, when you take the time to learn about something, no matter how terrifying it may seem at first, everything is less scary in the light of knowledge.

According to the Spina Bifida Association of America, “spina bifida remains the most commonly occurring birth defect in this country.” Just how common is it overall? PubMed Health, the Web site of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, reported in March of this year: “Myelomeningocele [the most severe form of spina bifida] may affect as many as 1 out of every 800 infants.”

As a 21-year member of the Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida, I’m doing my part to shed light on this condition by raising money for the Walk-N-Roll for Spina Bifida. When my parents and I moved from Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida in search of better educational and healthcare opportunities for me in 1990, we found a support system away from our family and homeland in joining the SBACFL. My personal search for a public spokesperson for the spina bifida cause, as well as my work as a current member of the SBACFL board of directors, have helped me find my true purpose– galvanizing as many people as possible to support the spina bifida community.

So, in the spirit of shedding light on a little-known condition, and in honor of October, which is Spina Bifida Awareness Month, here are some statistics about spina bifida that might spook you a bit:

• Spina bifida is more common than muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis combined.

• Latinos have the highest incidence of spina bifida out of all the ethnic groups.

• Ireland is the country with the highest incidence of spina bifida in the world.

• About 50 percent of babies with spina bifida areselectively aborted after being diagnosed with spina bifida.

• Doctors recommend that every woman of childbearing age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to help prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida up to 70 percent of the time. In spite of this, there are currently an estimated 166,000people in the U.S. living with spina bifida– up from just 76,000 just last year.

• About 90 percent of people with spina bifida are also born with hydrocephalus. Many need a shunt inserted near the brain to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid– and many requiremultiple shunt replacements during their lives.

• Other very common secondary conditions include bladder and bowel incontinence, as well as frequent urinary tract infections.

• After the onset of puberty, young people with spina bifida are more prone to clinical depression than most people. Researchers think this may be due in part to social isolation.

Being able to share this information with all of you today is without a doubt the most empowering and inspiring aspect of my life. I’d love nothing more than to give you that very sense of empowerment. Please publish this post on your own Web site(s), and feel free to add your own personal intro that will make it relevant to your blog followers. As many people as I’ve managed to rally in support of this cause, you have an advantage that I don’t–your audience. So, please share this information with everyone you come into contact with.

Below is a video that explains just why the Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida means so much to me, and why I’m participating in the Walk-N-Roll.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIpzk_1ICX4]

I will be raising money online for Team Holdin’ Out for a Hero until October 29th, when we have our Walk-N-Roll event. Donations can be as small as $5 or as large as $50,000. (Yes, I do like the $50,000 better!) Every cent counts! Every cent of every dollar will go towards supporting families affected by spina bifida in 22 counties in and around the Central Florida region and supporting educational and awareness efforts.

Yes, to the new parent, or even to the already-grown individual, spina bifida can seem like a scary thing to deal with. But there’s a power in numbers and a strength in awareness– a strength that gives us the courage to open the closet, shine the light in the ghost’s face, and reduce it to nothing but an old coat.

Thank you for helping me conquer my biggest fear– ignorance of spina bifida.

~ Laurita Tellado, HoldinOutforaHero.org

just a quick little stop

...to let you know that I am officially a regular contributor for New Latina! 

I have to say this is very exciting for me.  I've been meaning to share the news for some time, but as always life got in the way.  Nimodo.

I'm sure you've heard me write about them here before, or twitt about some of their great articles, and I've also posted several on my Sabor a Cajeta fan page.

New Latina was created by Angélica Pérez-Litwin, a Latina I admire so very much.  I remember when she would talk about creating a site to inspire today's Latina.  And through her hard work she made that dream come true.  Her beautiful dream has grown so much and has helped (and inspires) many Latinas, including my self. One my favorite sections of  New Latina is Ask a Professional where, as Angelica discribes it best " Latina women connect with other professional Latinas and receive advice via an anonymous Question & Answer format on Facebook." How great is that?

So please do stop by and check out my most recent article "Who Knew I Would Love Staying at Home" , and while your at it  take a look around.  You'll want to go back again and again.  I guarantee it.

¡Hasta pronto!

Guess what?

A quick little visit just to let you know I was honored to get invited to post a tutorial on how to make your own book,  at my favorite blog Latin Baby Book Club.  A place where I can always find great reviews on the latest and greates Spanish and bilingual children books out there. 

Go check it out and while your there take look around, you just might find that perfect book you've been looking for.

sharing with you :: compartiendo contigo

Here on the weekend?  I know, crazy right.  But I  wanted to make a quick stop and share with you about my friend Maura Hernandez and her blog:  The Other Side of the Tortilla.  A cooking blog of traditional and delicious Mexican meals.  If you love homemade-yummy-food like I do, then you need to stop by her place.  Her writing and recipes are easy to follow, and mighty inspiring.  Maura also recently started vlogging.  And boy, is her video great.  I can't wait to see more.

¿Aquí en fin de semana?  Increíble, ya se.  Pero quería compartir con ustedes acerca del blog The Other Side of the Tortilla, de mi amiga Maura Hernandez.  Es un blog de cocina y recetas de comida Mexicana.  Es que si te gusta la comida, sabrosa y casera, pues tienes que pasar a conocerla.  Su forma de escribir (todo en ingles, lo siento) y recetas son fácil de entender y seguir.  Hace poco también Maura empezó a vloguear (usar video en su blog).  Me encanto su primero y espero ver mas.

Did I convince you to go visit her?  So what are you waiting for, go check out The Other Side of the Tortilla!

Que tal, te convencí de ir a visitarla?  Pues que esperas, ¡checa The Other Side of the Tortilla!

But before you go I leave you with a cooking presentations she did this past Friday at Blogalicious.

Pero antes de irte, te dejo con este vídeo de una presentación de cocina que izo este viernes en Blogalicious.

Maura Hernandez making Albondigas!

(And a great ¡GRACIAS! to Maura for mentioning me.  ;)

***

Did you know that from September 15 to October 15 Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated here in the US? Thought I personally think we should be celebrated every day (lol), I love that we have a whole month to shout-out our pride.  And proud I am to be a Latina!

Kroger Co has joined the Celebrations for the second year with  http://bit.ly/celebratetheamericas.
Check it out.  And if you are as crazy about coupons and good deals as I am, you will be happy to know they sent out (to those that have an MVP card) a boat load of coupons for Latin foods.  I got mine a while back and have used many of them.  And guess what?  They even had them written in both languages.  Pretty cool.  

tagged... :: me toca...

I was tagged. Yes, by sweet Marcela from Culture Mami. What a nice treat.
Me tocaron. Si, la dulce Marcela de Culture Mami. Que divertido. (No sean mal pensadas, estoy hablando de un juego. Jajaja)

The rules: Go to photos, then to your eight folder, then your to your eight photo.
Las reglas: Ve a tu folder the fotos, busca el octabo folder y de el la octaba foto.

Now tell your story....
Cuenta tu historia....

Funny, this picture was taken exactly a year ago. June 09. I was working on a birthday gift for one of my son's friend. And to keep them entertained while mami cut and sewed, I gave them some macaroni noodles to glue on some pieces of cardboard boxes (helping our mother earth a step at a time). They later painted their creations and gave them to papi as a father's day gift. Since, lots of the noodles in A's craft have fallen, but Ri did a great job. We still have his on display on one of our shelves. And look at A's hair! It is so short and at the time I had no idea she would get such beautiful curls. And that baby fat? It is nearly gone. She's slimmed down so much since. Babies, awwww...there are barely any traces left in this house.

Lo curioso de esta foto es que la tome casi exactamente un año. Junio del 2009. Estaba ocupada cortando y cociendo un regalo para un amiguito de mi nene. Y para mantenerlos entretenidos les di unas pastas de macarrón seco, pegamento y un pedazo de cartón (nuestra manera de cuidar a nuestra madre tierra, pasito a pasito) a cada uno. Después pintaron sus creaciones y se las dieron a Papi como regalos del día de los padres. Desde entonces, el de A se a despegado poco a poco, pero Ri pego el de el muy bien. Con decirles que todavía lo tenemos de adorno en una de los estantes de la casa. Y miren el cabello de A! Que cortito. Nunca me imagine que al crecer le salieran tan lindos risos. Y esa gordura de bebe? Ya no le queda nada. A adelgazado tanto desde esa foto. Bebes, hijole....ya no queda ni uno por esta casa.

Now it is your turn! :: Ahora es tu turno!

Liz from Thoughts of a Mami
Disney from Ruffles and Stuff
RosaMaria from La Vida Compartida
Claudia from Handmade con Amor
Dana from Made

Your it!!!
Te Toca!!!!

just for a minute...

I apologize for not posting in so long, but life has been well, life. But I did want to take a minute to invite you to my talented baby sister's new blog Love Ameliko (click here.)
Les pido perdón por pasar tanto tiempo lejos de mi lindo blog, pero hay veces que la vida diaria no te deja. Pero si quería tomar un minuto para invitarlos a que pasen a visitar el nuevo blog Love Ameliko de mi talentosa y linda hermanita (has click aqui).

I hope all of you are doing well, and I hope to be back soon, with good news, more photos and crafts to share.
Espero se encuentren bien, también espero regresar pronto con nuevas noticias, mas fotos y mas proyectos por compartir.

Thank you for being patient with me.
Gracias por su paciencia.

surrounded by hearts...and snow

We've been stuck indoors a lot more than usual during this time of the year. We've had a lot more snow than I can remember in the 7 years I've lived here. And though snow is beautiful and all, I am so tired of how everything comes to a standstill, because there is not enough equipment to get the roads plowed fast enough. So we are stuck, once again, indoors.
Nos hemos pasado dentro de casa mucho mas de lo usual, durante este tiempo del año. Pues ha nevado mas de lo que estamos acostumbrados (por lo menos en los últimos 7 años que he vivido aquí). Y aunque me encanta la nieve y lo lindo que se ve todo, no me gusta de que cada vez que nieva no podemos salir porque nuestro estado/ciudad no puede limpiar las calles rápido, por falta del equipo necesario. Es que estamos en casa, una vez mas, sin poder salir.



The kids and I have been working on several Valentine projects to decorate our house and to give as gifts to family and friends.
Los nenes y yo hemos estado haciendo varios regalitos para la family y para decorara la casa para el Dia de San Valentin.

** I apologize for the bad photos. Natural light has been almost non-existing around here due to the winter storms hitting our area, and well...am also still learning how to use my new Nikon D5000. ;)
** Les pido disculpas por las fotos que salieron pésimas. No hemos tenido mucha luz natural por causa de las tormentas invernales. Y tambien, pues...todavia estoy aprendiendo a como usar mi nueva Nikon D5ooo. ;)

This is a heart garland I made last week to decorate our mantel. I got the idea from Rae's esiest heart garland (see here). She used beautiful bright colored felt. I loved it and I loved how simple it was to make. So I decided to make our own. Unfortunately I have no felt (really need to order me some) so I searched through my stash of fabrics and old clothes to see what I could use. I found a pretty wool sweater of A's that had shrunk so small even a baby would be uncomfortable wearing it and a terry cloth hooded sweatshirt I have not fit into for years. (How I miss that size 2, pre-babies.) Anyway, I free hand cut hearts out of both garments, not worrying about perfection. And because the terryclothe does fray and this particular one is quite thin, I used two for each heart, I placed them back to back and sewed a simple zigzag edge around the heart. I then sewed a simple line through all the hearts to connect them. Ta Da! A heart garland was born out of up-cycled fabric (how I love the feeling of re-using what I have).
Esta es una guirnalda de corazones que cosí la semana pasada para ponerla arriba de la chimenea. Tome prestada la idea de Rae y su super facil guirnalda de corazones. (ver aqui). Para su guirnalda Rae uso fieltro de unos colores preciosos. Me encanto y me encanto lo fácil que es de hacer. Como yo no tenia fieltro (necesito acordarme de comprar fieltro), busque algo que tuviera la textura parecida y encontré un suéter de lana (que era de A y se encogió de mas, que ni un bebe estaría cómodo usándolo) y un sudadera vieja mía echa de tela para toalla. Bueno después corte los corazones, sin preocuparme de que estuvieran perfectos. Despues junte dos corazones de los de la tela para tuallas, pues se deshilan y aparte esta tela en particular es muy delgada. Despues de juntar los corazones les cosi una linea de zigzag alrededor. Al terminar cosi una simple linea en medio de cada corazon para juntarlos y formar mi guirnalda. Y listo! Una guirnalda fue creada de materiales viejos (me encanta lo bien que se siente encontrarle vida a ropa vieja).




Yey! I really like how it turned out.
Yei! Me encanta el resultado.

On a different note, our official Mom's Night Out was suppose to be last night, and because there was a change of a wintry mixture, it was decided to cancel it. I was so bummed, because I really needed to get out. So after the forecast was changed to rain and snow until the next day, one of the mamas called me to see if we would still go out. So there you have me calling here and there to see who would go. I am so glad some mamas and I decided to take a chance and head out to dinner last night. We had a great time. I really think that when you are a stay-at-home mama you really need to try and give yourself some "me" time. I really needed it.
Cambiando de tema, ayer se suponía que íbamos a salir varias mamas del grupo de mamas que pertenezco y por causa del clima se cancelo. Estaba super triste, pues la verdad que me hacia falta salir. Es que después de darnos cuenta de que el clima iba a mejorar un poco (por lo menos por unas cuantas horas) una de las mamas me hablo a ver si todavía me animaba a salir. Claro que si! Es que ahí me ven hablando por teléfono a ver quien quien quería salir con nosotros. Por fin después de juntar a unas cuantas mamas, salimos a comer. Y que bueno, pues nos divertimos mucho. Exactamente los que necesitaba.

Yet again another note: If you have a boy or two, or more...you have to check out MADE and Made by Rae. Both Dana and Rae have teamed up to dedicate this month to ALL BOY. Yes, you heard that right, all about the boys! I am so excited, since most of the things I end up sewing/making are for my spunky A. Not any more, this time it will be all about Ri. They have such great ideas. So stop by and check them out and if you make something let me know, I would love to see it.
Cambiando de tema una vez mas: Si eres mama de un hombrecisto (o un par, o mas) tienes que pasar a checar el blog de MADE y Made by Rae. Dana y Rae están dedicando todo el mes de Febrero a los niños. Si a los niños...nada de niñas. Esto me hace super feliz, pues es fácil de encontrar miles de cosas para hacer para mi nena A, pero mi pobre de Ri casi ni le toca nada...ya no, ahora por medio de Dana y Rae estoy encontrando mas que suficientes ideas. Es que pasen a ver sus blogs, y si hacen algo me encantaría ver su resultado o si tienen nuevas ideas, pásenlas...porfa!






So what have you been up to?
Y que tanto has echo?