Tag: momsrock

Mom Life, Posts

International Women’s Day 2021

marcetheblogger

Empowerment means having the confidence to have control of self and receiving the support that is right. It means you are respected and have the power to do something. Much of women empowerment is mentioned in politics and is directed towards women in a professional career (rightfully so) but that leaves out a key role some women play in their life…being a mother.

Let’s think about this. We can carry another being (or multiples) for nine months! We then have to deliver these little ones and be in full mommy mode while recovering from delivery. As mothers we have to adapt to changes immediately and navigate parenting without a guide book! This is truly empowering. Of course, this does not minimize women in professional careers but shows appreciation and support for women who are at home nurturing their kids which is significant and meaningful.

Oftentimes, these women are overlooked and bombarded with pessimistic messages from family, friends, colleagues, and especially social media. Social media can portray a negative image of mothers because the messaging is women are wasting so many rights we fought to gain by being home and not doing “real work.”  

Motherhood needs more recognition and support and way less judgement.  There are many questions we think about when we go to bed at night and the key one is am I doing this right? So this March, Women’s Month, take some time to recognize a woman or women in your life who have made an impact on you or are making an impact in the world by caring for children.  A simple text goes a long way and can put a smile on another woman’s face and increase their confidence.  

This pandemic demonstrated how empowering motherhood can be. It opened my eyes to what being a stay at home mom really means. Waking up everyday with a toddler and preteen at home while having to work full time has not been easy but those tight hugs and goodnight kisses make it worthwhile. You see real power consists of choice, creativity, control and flexibility and mothers are out here doing it each and everyday.

Empowered Women Empower Women
Posts

A Different Type of Thank You

marcetheblogger

A few weeks ago, we had a work meeting where a colleague hosted a workshop addressing how we express our feelings.

How many times have you asked or been asked how are you and the answer was: “Good,” “Okay,” or “Fine.” Now think about how often there were other feelings and energy behind those actual words.

Oftentimes we tend to hide what we are actually feeling in an effort to avoid speaking more about what is actually going on or what is affecting us. We may think our feelings are negative and may not want to pass them onto others or we merely try to deny our own true feelings to ourselves. Some may also shy away from expressing joy or happiness especially during these times we are living.

During this workshop, we learned about other words to use to describe our current state (chart below). The most unique and important part of the workshop (for me) was when we had to do an activity where we had to think or write down how we were feeling in that moment (personally or professionally). At the end, we were instructed to thank those feelings and give a reason why. It was a great way to see the positivity in a negative mood or feeling and to also check our energy behind them.

Personally, I have been going through so much. I really went into the workshop with little intention to participate. I kept telling myself how much I didn’t want to speak about my feelings especially with coworkers. But of course bottling things within is never the solution and actually finding new ways to look within ourselves is pretty cool and can bring about a new perspective.

Below are some of the feelings I thank on a weekly (more like daily) basis. I encourage you to take a moment and try the same! Take time and observe your energy and level of pleasantness in this very moment. It’s nothing like finding that silver lining to motivate you to keep going!

Where do you land on this chart right now?
Thank You
Let's Get Personal

Reflection

marcetheblogger

Hi All,

I am feeling a bit nostalgic today so I wanted to share some thoughts. At the end of 2017, I took a very crazy leap of faith and accepted a new position. Why was it crazy, you ask? Well because it required a significant pay cut and leaving a job after 4 years (my longest job).

I had decided earlier in that year that I would return to grad school and get a degree to work in higher education. I knew it would not be easy and I knew it would require sacrifice. I went through so many situations since making the switch and they were not easy.

Many don’t know but I had interviewed at other schools but was never offered a position. But I did not become discouraged!  I knew I wanted to do more with my life. I wanted to make an impact on people’s lives.

I was fortunate to have started my higher education career at the beginning of 2018. Since then I have moved on to a different institution and feel beyond excited for the new opportunity. I am fortunate to be working with a great team and cannot wait to see what the rest of this school year brings for me.

Travel

Dolphinaris – Cozumel, Mexico

marcetheblogger

During our family cruise this past August, our ship docked at beautiful Cozumel, Mexico. This was our one stop where we decided to participate in an excursion. It was a family friendly activity that we all truly enjoyed.

For our last stop, we booked the Dolphinaris Experience. Due to my son being so small we opted not to do swimming with dolphins since he would not be able to participate and we were also on a budget. We booked the excursion directly on the Carnival app which was super easy and convenient.

We received our instructions in an envelope the morning of our excursion. Typically we would have received it the night before but we booked it super last minute. Once we docked, we made our way to our meeting spot where we had to wait about 45 minutes to be taken to our transportation. Our group was split into different taxi vans and the drive was about 15 minutes.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the super nice staff. We were able to watch some of the excursions that were already taking place while we waited for our host.

Shortly after we were given instructions to get ready. We had to shower beforehand to make sure we washed off any products that could harm the dolphins and water life.

Our instructor was great and we were in a small group of 4 plus the baby. The instructor explained what we had to do clearly and also shared valuable information about the dolphins. The two dolphins were named Marce and Frida. We were able to interact with them and had such a fun time.

After we were able to enjoy a buffet with an open bar before we had to head back to the ship.  The options ranged from building your own taco to a good ol’ burger or hotdog. We also enjoyed some drinks called “Sex on the beach.”  At the end, we had the option to purchase our pictures and other gift items. Tip: NEGOTIATE! 😉

Below are some pictures of our adventure.

Jena getting a kiss 😘
Dancing!
Baby John got in on the action!
Frida jump!
Splish splash!
Family, Mom Life, Travel

Cruise 2019 – Pictures

marcetheblogger

Hi everyone!

I am a picture fanatic so this post will be dedicated to a few pics from our family cruise. We went this past August and had a great time! It was an amazing experience and we all enjoyed ourselves! We stopped at some beautiful ports in a week span. Thank you Carnival for the memories!

Family, Mom Life, Travel

Family Cruise 2019

marcetheblogger

This summer we went on our first family cruise. We did it right before the beginning of the school year as a way to close out our summer. It was a 7 day cruise leaving from the Port of Miami to the Grand Cayman Islands, Roatan Island, Belize, and Cozumel.

We flew into Fort Lauderdale a day in advance and then took a cab over to Miami. We stayed at a Marriot close to the Port. We didn’t have a car so we mostly just walked around the surrounding area to do some exploring. We ended up doing a late night Target run and were able to get some necessities for our trip that we were missing.

This post will focus on some of the items I felt were important to have on this cruise especially traveling with a family. I will do a post and share some great pictures at a later time.

Items to bring in no specific order:

These were the key items to have. The cruise ship helped with our milk supply as it was available 24/7 for the baby.

I will keep updating this as I receive feedback. Feel free to share your own tips and I can continue to keep this growing!

NOTE: LINKS ARE NOW COMMISSIONED!

Food

Cooking Attempt!

marcetheblogger

Chicken Tortilla Soup!! I don’t typically cook because let’s face it, I am NOT a fan but I gave this recipe a try. My director gifted the department with different soup recipes for the holidays and I thought it was the cutest thing ever!!

This recipe was super easy and did not take much time which was perfect for me since I am no expert in cooking. I did the simple version since I didn’t have any chicken or canned beans.

Final Verdict: I must say both myself and my fiancé really enjoyed this! It was delicious and def a meal I will make again in the future!

Family, Mom Life

YAY for Delayed Openings!

marcetheblogger

One of the perks I have enjoyed at my current job is delayed openings! They give me a little extra time in the morning to enjoy breakfast and have longer morning chats with my oldest child. This girl is my world and was my whole world up until I had my son. She changed my life. I love watching her grow although it has been challenging at times. Sometimes when I hear her speak I hear myself because of the vocabulary she uses. It’s true kids really do follow their lead. I love being this little girl’s mom and can not wait to see her be all that she can be.

Let's Get Personal, Mom Life

Breastfeeding/Pumping

marcetheblogger

I had my first child a little over 10 years ago.  When constantly asked “Don’t you remember…?”  Well actually “NO!”  I don’t remember almost anything from my first baby.  I was super young (20) and there are very minimal things I can recall.  

Breastfeeding, however, is one of those I actually do remember and let me tell you, I remember it was a terrible experience.  I can honestly say I barely tried breastfeeding/pumping.  It was very painful and I gave up super quick!!  I didn’t research it at all, I just knew it was what I was suppose to do.  I can remember having limited support for this so I think that added to why I easily quit.  I feel a little bad when I think back at this but there is nothing I can do to change it.

When I was pregnant with my son, I did constant research on breastfeeding including reading a ton of blogs, articles, and watching YouTube videos.  I went on an overload of breastfeeding research.  My fiance was also supportive as he did his own research as well.  We both agreed we wanted our son to be breastfed.  

Boy oh boy!  When the time came to begin breastfeeding, I was quickly reminded of how hard it was!!  I had not even made it out of the hospital before having my first meltdown post baby.  I was so frustrated, sore, and tired from trying to properly breastfeed my son.  My fiance was a huge help as he constantly got the nurses and lactation specialist at the hospital involved.  By the time we left the hospital about 4 days after my son was born, I had my routine pretty set…or so I thought.  

Breastfeeding was extremely difficult for the first few days that turned into weeks.  After some hurdles, we decided to do both breastfeed and formula feed.  I do not feel bad about this at all.  It was the best decision we could have made at the time as my lack of producing enough milk was affecting the baby’s weight gain.  

For a little bit, I felt extremely down at what I thought was failing at breastfeeding.  After speaking to lactation consultants and doing even more research I learned I was not the only one who struggled.  For whatever reasons, I just was not one of the women who could produce an abundance of milk and I accepted that.  I told myself if I could breastfeed and/or pump until my baby was 6 months I will have accomplished my goal.

Fast forward to the present and I can say I am SUPER PROUD of myself!! My son turned 6 months on the 17th of this month and I am officially done pumping.  I probably could have continued but honestly after researching and lots of thought I knew stopping at this point was the best for me.  I was constantly thinking about pumping and worried about how much I was not making that it just added stress to my mind.  I feel good knowing that I reached my goal and that I was able to provide my son with as  much breast milk as I possibly could.

To all the breastfeeding mommas or pumping mommas out there, keep pushing!!!  Your baby deserves all that you can give no matter how much or how little!  I know it’s hard but you can get through it and if it does not work out, thank goodness for formula!!  Don’t feel bad, there’s only so much our bodies can do.