Infograph: Effects of Stress

February 27, 2013

stessinfograph

Last night, I texted my good friend and physical trainer Jackie, “I’m going to the gym kicking and screaming. When will we all be better????” It was 7:30 pm and after a long day of having all three boys home because of illness, the last thing I wanted to do was to get on an elliptical for 30 minutes. Feeling off because I have been out of the gym for a week (my toe!), I was starting to feel the mental stress but I couldn’t make myself get out of the house.

Jackie texted back, “You are taking steps towards it. Stride on elliptical for mental clarification and de-stress.”

The words were accurate and encouraging (what I needed the most) and I did it! I was on the machine for 35 minutes and did a variety of ab work. I decided to not write last night and watch an episode of Girls, chatted with Jose and didn’t turn on my computer. But guess what? It’s 6:30 a.m now and I’m doing another thing I love, I know Diego will be home from school today and I’ll be ready for him, his brothers and my day because I gave myself the time I needed.

What are you doing lately to de-stress? Anything that is not on this infograph?

I hope you are all staying healthy and warm. To my Chicago readers, “You can do it! You’re from Chicago!! What’s a little snow?” ;-)

Image via Pinterest

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Listening

January 31, 2013

Listen

Diego (Age “5 years and 50 weeks”) is talking about languages. He wants to know, “What language is in first place? Second place? What are the top ten languages in the world? Are there more languages than countries…?”

Santi (Age 2 years 2 months) is talking about dinosaurs. “Saytops! Rex! Steg-soar!!!”

Jordi (8 1/2 months) is dancing and saying, “da da da da!”

What are your little ones saying?

Image via

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Hello 2013!!

January 2, 2013

Another year to start fresh!!

So how come I have been reading that 2013 might just be unlucky or plain awful?. One article even talks about ditching the new resolutions all together (a great read)!

I posted the above message on My Friend Betty’s FB page on New Year’s Day and it was well liked! I found it on Pinterest and felt it was a great way to welcome 2013. Also, isn’t it simply a great outlook on life? No need to be worried about the number 13 or feel that your expectations are too high. Follow this message, keep it simple and be positive.

What do you think? Are you superstitious?

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Read Much?

September 25, 2012

Oh just browsing through Pinterest again and I see THIS!!! Clever and gorgeous! I clicked on the picture to find the brilliant person on Etsy who designed this Tale of Two Cities scarf and find that Tori will also customize for you! Just pick a book and then pick a page. She’ll make it for you.

So I browsed some more and found this…

Hahaha! So I thought, I’ll put together a blog post on these printed items. But I had to search long and hard to find the original posting of this picture and came to The Style Files blog and their post on Project Sleepless.

Then I remembered that while shopping at Nordstrom recently, I saw this…

So I did a little more investigating and found that the makers of this awesome The Outsiders iPhone case have a website full of other things for book lovers! Out of Print Clothing is fantastic and they convinced me to buy a Nook or whatever just for the sole purpose of buying one of these…

Gosh. I’m a little nerdy bookworm. It wasn’t so hard to keep finding book related items that I loved! Don’t they all make great gifts? Must remember. Hey! That’s what Pinterest is for!

Stay gold.
Your friend,

Betty

P.s. Oh, that scarf? I would totally do Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2. ;-) What would you do?

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Where Shall I Sit, Gentlemen?

August 17, 2012

This is our kitchen. It’s a modest size and I love the appliances. The fridge is the best but you can’t see it here. The problem right now is this…

Not the kids!! The table! This table is from Japan. Jose and I started off in Japan as a family of two and had a nice tiny apartment. We bought this table with 2 chairs and it extends so we placed Santi’s high chair at the end and we dragged in a dining room chair when we were four. Now we are five! We just attached the space-saver high chair for Jordi that both Diego and Santi used. I’m not dragging another chair in AND I really don’t want three meals a day done in the dining room. I grew up Mexican…the dining room is for special occasions, unless I put plastic covers on my cloth seats…jajaja! Sorry mami! So I’m shopping for a table and I think it should be white. I know, I know! With three boys? BUT, look at my cabinets. They are white. The table must also seat five. So I found this from Crate and Barrel…

and this from Pottery Barn…

and then I got a little crazy (and distracted) and just wished for this from someone’s dream board on Pinterest…

I’ll let you know what we end up getting. Jose might just veto the whole thing. We always plan to re-do a room and then forget about it. It isn’t easy to shop for furniture with 3 boys! But maybe you have a store recommendation for me? Something on-line?? Help!

Have a great weekend!

Your friend,

Betty

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Friday Reading

July 20, 2012

Getty

It’s been a great week. We finally got some relief from the hot weather with some cool rain out here in NJ. We slept with the windows open for the first time in a long time last night. So refreshing.

We are off to another busy but relaxing weekend! Although first, I wanted to share these links with you.

Super Moms! We find the space to squeeze time for ourselves during breaks like baby’s nap time. These women are getting in tip-top shape while kiddies sleep: Don’t Hate Her For Being Fit in The Wall Street Journal.

More for the Super Moms (especially for the working-mom). We really could have it all, especially if companies would change policies for families. Here’s a good article to read: Five Ways To Make Your Job Humane from Salon.

Other news: Do you feel you are the only one living in clutter? If you have kids, you have stuff. Lots of stuff. I keep telling myself I have to donate a bunch of toys because it is literally driving me crazy. A new book comes out soon about Americans and our things. Check out the short piece, All Our Stuff is Stressing Us Out on Newser.

But not everyone lives with an abundance of things. Read and enjoy the pictures of the Couple Who Live in a 240-square-foot Apartment in New York City and are HAPPY! Inspiration? Definitely.

And just for fun: I found these two cute and funny blogs this week. Children with Swag inspired me to tweak and document the boys and their cute outfits a little bit more and Pinstrosity: “This isn’t a site to just laugh and make fun of projects gone wrong, but to help troubleshoot and learn from the Pinterest fails we all have.” Go ahead and laugh though. It is funny.

If any of these reads inspire you, please share! Love to hear your thoughts.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Your friend,

Betty

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Happy 4th of July!

July 3, 2012

Happy 4th of July! Are you ready for tomorrow? Jose’s brother Rick and his wife Martha (one of my BFFs) will be visiting today from Kansas City! Our friends Luis and Vanessa (another BFF) will be here from Chicago too! There will be lots of food, drinks and laughter…I am so sure of that. Can’t wait! Here is a little inspiration from Pinterest for you! [Read more...]

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Saving Art Work-A Pinterest Inspiration

June 4, 2012

Last art piece that came home from preschool: Diego’s stegosaurus.

Diego graduates from preschool this Wednesday! I can’t believe my baby is about to enter the real world of academic life! So I have been thinking that I want to take all the art work I have saved from his two+ years at preschool and do something like this:

Pinterest

I currently have his art work organized in this cool and very useful Alex Expandable Art Folder I bought from Amazon. But now I can photograph all of Diego’s work and use the folder for Santi and Jordi.

Looks like I have a lot of work to do!

I also have this great Lil Davinci Art Display Cabinet that showcases and stores Diego’s absolute best work…so just because I am taking pictures and making a collage of a lot of artwork, I don’t have to throw away our favorite and super special pieces.

Storage of the Lil Davinci Frame

I can’t wait to share with you the final project!

Your friend,

Betty

P.s. Remember sharing is caring! Please pass my blog along to your comadre, hermana, tia o amiga!! Gracias!

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Bilingual Myths

May 24, 2012


I love this and I came across it on Pinterest today. I also discovered this great blog, Multilingual Living.

I’m happy to report that Diego is getting along really well with my parents in Spanish! When my mom arrived three weeks ago, his Spanish was a little rusty but just this week, as my dad arrived, he has really flourished! He still makes mistakes, no one laughs or teases, we correct him subtlety, and move on. He is quite confident and when he doesn’t know how to say something he asks. Perfect!

Santi is only about to turn 18 months but understands everything in Spanish and English and has more than twenty words in his vocabulary (ardilla, baseball, gracias, and agua to name a few)!

So there are myths about raising bilingual children, but really no need to fear. The one I hear a lot from concerned parents is Myth #1 shown above. I haven’t had a problem with the boys taking their time to speak…actually we welcome a bit of silence around here! Jajaja! We are a chatty family and love when my parents tease us about how much everyone talks and often at the same time!

We will continue to work on practicing a lot of Spanish after my parents leave with our little tricks and efforts. How’s it going at your house? Would love to hear some more tips! Hasta la proxima.

Your friend,

Betty

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Dreaming: Outdoor Living

May 16, 2012

Pinterest

As the weather gets better, I feel it will be quite intimidating to go anywhere alone with the three boys! I’m lucky to have a spacious backyard where the boys can run around all summer long (nothing at all like these beautiful spaces). So I am day dreaming again and gathering some inspiration. I picture myself hosting a fabulous dinner party in the picture above…

House Beautiful

…a delicious champagne brunch with my girlfriends here…

House Beautiful

…my books, a computer, magazines and Jose…here…

Elle Decor

…and watching my four boys play a little futbol here.

Remember to dream big! Put your intentions out into the universe!

Your friend,

Betty

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