Dr. Seuss and Univision

Es el momento

This has been a crazy week! My sons came home last Friday and told me that they were having a Dr. Seuss celebration at their school on Wednesday. The day would begin with a parade and oh by the way.. they wanted me to find them Dr. Seuss-like costumes. So… here I am on Saturday working on their homework (yes.. five and seven year-olds have homework) and then on Sunday we were off on a mad dash to try to find costumes. Finally, I said we could just decorate shirts and they could go as “Thing 1” and “Thing 2”. They were not impressed but to placate me they agreed. WE had tons of other errands so we didn’t have time to get to the t-shirts until later then next day. On Wednesday they had their parade with kids that have artists as parents*side eye* and *sigh*  and I was so excited that the full-on celebration was held in the evening. The school had pizza and apple juice for sale  and were showing “Horton hears a Who” playing via projector in the cafeteria, computer Dr. Seuss games, a reading room dedicated to books, and an illustrators room where they made hats and a variety of other crafts…* insert Mommy falling asleep at the art table here*

I say this to say that although I wished I could have gotten some rest at some point, I wouldn’t trade doing all of these things with my boys for anything because growing up with a single mom.. she was there for none of my academic accomplishments or activities… First I thought it was because while I was in elementary school her English embarrassed her and that is why she didn’t come. Then in junior high I thought it was because her nursing career was taking off and she was just too tired and/or too busy to come. By the time high school came I didn’t have to make any excuses because I was too used to it to put too much thought into it. Most of my friends’ parents used to cheer me on as well... so... that made me feel okay. As I went on to college to Hawaii … I didn’t have the separation anxiety that most of my peers had because I pretty much knew how to function without parental guidance. I got a job, went to my classes, and found some roommates to my first apartment (did I mention I was barely 17 at the time  ... lol). I would change anything because I am proud of who I am today but I knew that when I had children things were going to be WAY different. 

When I was in elementary school I was living in Boyle Heights, a primarily Hispanic neighborhood. There it was very commonplace not to see many parents at meetings, ceremonies, or games. In junior high school I went to medical magnets and the parents there were more present. I would say 80 percent of parents came to all of our different activities.  

When I had children I wanted to be at everything, but due to work I have to pick and choose what events I can go to, but I try to make it as much as I can. We do homework together and while I am cooking I have them take to turns reading to me. Being in constant communication with their teachers also helps me to feel like I am more in the loop. I was very impressed when I learned from LATISM about Univision’s “Es el momento” campaign because they encourage more parental involvement in the education of our children. They also talk about the importance of financial planning for our children’s college education. Please take the time to go to their website. I am so encouraged that such an organization sees the importance of using their influence within our community for such an important cause. 

As parents we are our children’s first cheerleaders. They look to us for support and guidance. We must be able to offer them our time because at the end of the day even if it is an extra 10 minutes to read your kids a bedtime story, believe me, they will cherish those memories and use them as fuel to do better academically. I know it has done wonders in my children. Happy reading!

Delays…

I know .. I haven’t really kept up with you guys like I should.. however.. so much has been on my mind.. you see.. I am going to be turning 29 on March 7th.. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about where my twenties went ..LOL! .. There has been so many ups .. some downs.. but most of all, I am amazed that I am “here” in life.. allow me explain: a couple of weeks ago I was having coffee with two awesome friends .. we have a monthly “girls evening out” .. and we were catching up and I was telling them about my goings on and I said this statement, “I am truly in a place in my life where everything else is just a bonus because amazingly enough I AM HAPPY” I know what you are thinking .. okay .. what is so amazing about feeling that way.. but for me it was an amazing moment because I honestly feel that way.. for so long.. I had felt like “okay.. if I can just [insert goal here].. then my life will be better (or complete)”… and that feeling of fulfillment never came .. Not after getting married, having two children, getting my degree, getting a steady job, or moving back home.. nothing made me feel “content”. Yes, I know now that you can’t rely on external actions to bring you personal fulfillment .. but I had to learn this on my own.. and I did that day when I was able to say the words “ I AM HAPPY” and mean them.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that because I am happy that I am going to stop striving on personal and professional goals.. I just wont let those things determine my happiness. I AMMM BACK readers… just took some time to myself for a second to explore this new me.. nice to meet you self .. this is the start of a wonderful friendship!

Find your happiness people.. its inside you .. and it is an incredible thing!

XoXo,
Bere

Emily Perez- Pursuit of Beauty (Part II)

I have always been fascinated by the arts, whether it is drama, art, or music. There is something that is inherently powerful about people that can put their emotions into a character, song, or picture. Even if you can’t connect with people through what they say... there is definitely a song or a movie that can take you to that place that can help you heal, break down, or reminisce on a happy time. 

That is one of the reasons why I wanted to interview Emily Perez, I wrote about her art for one of my favorite blogs: Click {latina}. However, I wanted to talk about what drives her personal life because there are two very awesome parts to her. She is obviously a wonderful artist but she is also a wife, mother, sister, and friend. Like many of us, there is a very fragmented person living inside of us. We go to work and we know what the workplace expects of us, then we go home and we know what our loved ones expect of us, and the list goes on…

However, Emily chooses to allow her lives to intertwine, if you will, because her art fuels such a huge part of who she is. She isn’t a pretender, what you see is what you get with her. She is passionate and smart and that doesn’t change whether she is home or at a shoot. 

When she quit being a line producer and took up photography she was not new to the art scene; she had attended art school on a scholarship while pregnant with her first child. Not impeded by her upcoming role as mother, she embraced art school. Artist always see things so differently and an example of this is that even back in high school her love of Doc Martens ended with her decorating them because they used to be her palettes as she crisscrossed her legs and painted. One day, not long after ending her job being as line producer, one of the pairs she had decorated for somebody, ended up on her doorstep. The person who sent them wrote Emily that she no longer wore them but she didn’t have the heart to throw them away because they were a work of art. She was reminded of what her art used to look like, and I think that it was her past reminding her that above all she was an artist maybe life giving her a little nudge. She never knew how the person who sent her the shoes was able to find her after all those years…

We also bonded over coffee that day because she is also a mom to two boys. We laughed over their antics and of course we shared pictures. She is an incredibly hands-on mom and has a tight bond with both of them. It is hard to say that we have the same bond with all of our children. It is hard to do that because they are individuals in their own way and that influences the bond we have with them. 

She believes in letting her kids be individuals, and I definitely agree because if we try too hard to make them what we want them to be, we take a part of them that is not ours to take. As parents we are there to mold, to guide, and to just be present in their everyday lives. She remembers back when her youngest said something to her and she stopped for a second to think “wow... when did he learn that word?” That is when she began to open her eyes to the 18-hour days of line producing and what it was doing to her… seeing her life just blur into one scene... we have all been there... I think... that time in your life when a small thing wakes you up and makes you wonder “How did I get here? Where did the time go?”

By the end of the interview, over burgers and wine, we talked some more about the challenges we have of balancing life and work and what we universally agreed on was that if you are doing what you love professionally it balances out with your personal life because it enhances the happiness that you have within your home. She has an amazing husband who supports her, children who she is close to, and a professional life that allows her to find beauty in the world around her. Truly she is inspiring because above all …. in pursuing her happiness she is an example for any woman who has ever stopped to think: Can I really do this? Can I get paid to do what I love? When I was younger... I used to {fill in the blank} ... Can I go back to it NOW? 

Yes... you can if you have the dedication, drive, and passion... she did.

Laundry!

Have you noticed that laundry mysteriously appears overnight? (okay.. I know.. there are no fairies that pile laundry in the wee hours ..) However... one of the coolest things about being a grown-up is being able to buy whatever product I want .. like a beauty product (or two or three)... 

Being a Purex Insider I get to try products FOR FREE (how awesome is that!) ... and even though I HATE DOING LAUNDRY ( partly because it never ends)... this new product, which just hit stores today, is really awesome .. yes.. it smells great .. and yes.. there is NO oily residue on clothes.. but the coolest thing about it is that all you have to do is toss the crystals in at the beginning of the wash and you don't have to worry about forgetting to put fabric softener when the Rinse cycle comes on... wooo hooo!

Who wants a free coupon to try it out? Be the first to leave me a comment on this post and you will get a coupon to try this product out :) Happy washing! ;)

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Sand, road and my first marathon…

Last weekend I ran my first marathon.. Let me tell you .. it was a very big milestone in my life… let me explain.. in my family we are prone to uterine and breast cancer so I get checked quite frequently (which I HIGHLY encourage all the ladies reading this to do the same .. and men to please encourage the women in your life to do the same). Last June I had to have a growth removed and then unfortunately it returned by November which meant I had to have another surgery.

It was difficult for all of us, me and my children were in a very bad emotional place.. needless to say I had to move from Tampa, FL back home to have the second surgery and make sure that I recuperated fully … thankfully it has not returned (woooo hooo).. which leads me to my marathon story.. the anniversary of my second surgery was on November 4th  and so that day I made a decision to "take more control" of my body.. and that led me to make the decision to run my first marathon .. well that and one more thing..

One thing that is very hard for a strong woman to say out loud is that they need help and believe me .. last year taught me to humble myself enough to ask for outside help .. but there is one more thing.. HAVING OTHERS BELIEVE IN YOU MEANS SOOOO MUCH…

Also in November some very special people believed in me enough to send me out to a press junket for the Toy Story 3 DVD release and that day pushed me to believe that I could come out of the shell that I had created because of a variety of circumstances… if you get nothing else out of this post .. hear this: LONELINESS is a choice… you have to want better for yourself and just take a leap of faith .. because believe me .. even though the hardest thing to face is to rejection.. what is worse is not even trying.. GET OUT THERE.. join a gym. join a book club, take a college class.. reevaluate what you are doing and find what you love because as you get older the things you enjoy change.. and once you find out what you love .. GO FOR IT…. and just know that the universe/God/ or whatever it is that you believe in .. are behind you .. if you just love yourself enough to seek positivity.. :) Leave me a comment and let me know what drives you or what you love now that you may not have realized you loved … as for me .. I'm training for my next marathon! 

Here are some pics:

Me and the road :)

My favorite part of my run ...

Yogi Bear, Boo Boo and my boys!

This past weekend I took the boys to see Yogi Bear IN 3D! It was beyond awesome and you can read my interviews in my contribution to CLICK {latina}.. however ... today my eldest son wanted to tell you about the movie in his own words :) ..enjoy!:



There you have it folks the movie was SUPER-NICE! We had such a good time and the movie is definitely worth spending extra to see it in 3D. The actors were all hilarious and of course Yogi and Boo Boo were at it again .. this was a movie that had us all laughing!


Here are some pictures of our movie experience:

They are fans of the CHEESE

We had pizza afterward..

Guess where we saw the movie :)

Saying he wished he could see it again .. that day :)

I know for those of us that grew up with Yogi it will be so cool to see the "smarter than the average bear" in the big screen.. but wait until you see your kids' faces when they see Yogi and Boo Boo "kicking it" and traipsing in roaring rapids... it's magical!

One of the things I love the most about having kids is that they see things in such a magical way that even if you did what they did when you were little .. you get to relive your childhood all over again .. I know that it sucks to be the "bad cop" or the "mommy" ALL of the time.. so I encourage you to take a breather one night/evening/afternoon  and take your kids to a movie and pretend that you were their age again .. STUFF your face with popcorn, drink sugary drinks, and laugh with them ... and afterward take them to a park to burn all that energy off .. because believe me kids grow up fast .. and you want to enjoy them (and vice versa) .. leave me a comment and let me know what you guys thought of the movie :)! (and have some popcorn for me!)

Treasured time…

I cooked on Sunday.. I made greens, sofrito-infused ribs, and mac and cheese..soo I didn’t feel too bad that I did NOT cook for Thanksgiving ;) .. instead my mom, the boys, and I headed to Vegas for 4 days… let me just say this: If you think Vegas is just for adults .. you would be WRONG.. there are a TON of fun stuff for kids and their parents to do there.... like buy them stuff they don’t need. :)
 

                                              Watched some shows.

                                       Snuggled in front of a fireplace.

                                       and… ate lotssss of yummy food!

Since I work so much, it is so rare that we actually spend a lot of quality time together… so just being able to sleep snuggled next to them and not have to wake them up at the crack of dawn was an experience unto itself. I try to do exciting things with them as much as I can because I know that one day they will be with friends, out of town, or maybe working (ironic..lol).
Being a single mother is a lot of things … but it is rewarding .. the key is to find a way to still do what you love ( whether it is a hobby or your 9-5) … and to take the time to enjoy the little things with your loved ones.. whether it is an impromptu park date .. ice cream cone.. or what in our house is called “backwards day” .. it is a day in the month where we have dinner for breakfast and vice versa .. it is the memories you create in such times that will make everything else worthwhile..
Love yourself, cherish your time, and treasure your memories :)