The Believe Box

I was recently given the opportunity to be a sponsor for a child with cancer. I was to send a believe box to a beautiful 2 year old girl who is struggling with this horrible disease. After learning that she loves all things Hello Kitty I decided to take my six yr old shopping with me.  We headed to Target to get a whole lot of Hello Kitty. We used this time to talk about this little girl and how she is very sick.  My daughter felt so bad for her and was very curious about her life.  I was thrilled to see how caring my daughter is. She picked out tons of stuff and helped me pack it up. We are both so excited to hear if she liked her gift. I read this am that she has had a rough few days, I really hope this lifts her spirits.

When Tragedy Hits

When tragedy hit, a local family lost their home and three dogs to a fire.  Their daughter is in dance class with my oldest daughter.  My daughter was so upset when she heard the news and wanted to help in any way possible. I was thrilled to see just how giving and caring she can be.  It was amazing to see how she put the feelings of her friend before her own.  The whole community pulled together and filled a large storage unit with enough stuff to fill a two bedroom home.  All that's left is to find them a place to live and make it a home.  It was very heartwarming to see just how we all pulled together to help out.  Even complete strangers dug through their houses to find items to donate.  Imagine if we (the entire human race) were all so caring and giving every day!!!

In light of this tragedy I began to think, what would we do if it happened here?  We have discussed a fire safety plan. In case of fire get out of the house meet by the mailbox.  Then what?  This is where our plan ends.  Where do we go from here? How would we make the transition easier for the kids, how would we handle losing all of our memories?  It was an extremely scary and overwhelming thought. It is always a very real possibility, one just never knows when a tragedy will hit.

As scary as it all sounds I think we would be ok.  People have proved that in this situation.  When in need we can pull together and really make a difference.  Even if it is just one person, one time.  A little thing to us can be life changing for another.  Our little things, our garbage, our donations; they all changed the lives of one family for the better.  Sometimes we need to trust in each other and believe in humanity.

When a tragedy hits, we have the ability to turn it into something amazing and beyond belief.

The Struggles of Raising Bilingual Children

            My husband speaks Spanish and English while I speak only English.  I can understand some Spanish but not enough to have my household be soley a Spanish-speaking household.  Hence the need for a bilingual household.

            While language is on the top of the list of things of importance for our children we often struggle to keep it as a priority.   We find it all to easy to resort back to English.  It makes things easier.  When speaking Spanish it takes much time to get things accomplished.  A simple task now turns into a major task due to the time spent translating and trying to understand what needs done. Unfortunately we often want to try to make things go faster and the second language is thrown out the window.

            Another struggle we have is with comprehension.  My in laws are much more comfortable with Spanish than English.  Due to this the kids have trouble understanding them and visa versa.  If we could put more focus on learning Spanish we could overcome this obstacle and allow our families to connect even more.

Statistics show that the US has the 5^th largest Spanish speaking population.  Over 12% of the population speaks Spanish, even more in NY.  Te benefits of being bilingual are far above that of speaking another language. “The bilingual brain develops more densely, giving it an advantage in various abilities and skills”.  What mom wouldn’t want their children to be smarter?  What mom wouldn’t do whatever it takes?

All in all we need to buckle down and get language back on the front burner.  I need my husband to speak more Spanish in the house, if not only Spanish.  I know I will get frustrated and confused but I should take this as a learning opportunity for myself as well as the kids.  The kids come first.

Some other steps we are taking are attending a weekly book reading done in Spanish as well as a weekly Spanish class for the kids.  I am excited to get back into raising our children to be bilingual.   Who knows, maybe we will add some other languages into the mix!

Biggest Loser Challenge

As a mom I often feel like life revolves around the kids. As much as I love it, I've decided to do something for me, ALL ME!!!!!  Not for the kids!  So what am I doing? I just signed up for the biggest loser challenge at my gym!!!  Lol, it's nothing major but I'm excited, yet I know I will miss my carbohydrates terribly.

Anyone want to join me in this challenge?

In addition I'm going to create a few goals for myself for the year.  Lose the baby weight, tone up all the flab, and maybe even run a 5K!!  Can you tell I can't run?!  Well, I will!!!  I'm signing up for my first 5K today.  The run is in June so I have plenty of time to get in better shape and accomplish this feat.

I can't wait to meet the new and improved me at the end of the year!

Our Surprise Gift

Baby Fernando was the best gift of all this holiday season.  Due on January 27th our little man surprised us with his quick entrance to the world on December 23rd, 5 weeks earlier than expected. He was born at 5lbs 6 oz and 18 inches long. 

He struggled with weight gain, had only 1 breathing issue, and needed to be in the incubator to help him regulate his temperature as well as a uv light for jaundice. After 2 weeks in the nicu he came home to meet his sisters. 

He is now doing great.  He needed to be home with his family to thrive.  He is now a happy and healthy one month old baby who is loved by all.