Weekend Links: Some of My Favorite Mommy Blogs!

by angelica on September 3, 2010 · 0 comments

in Family,Family Life,Mom,Parenting

Mama, Mommy, Mami, Mamita, Mom, Mamacita, Mother…Blogger

Well, I completed my first week of mommy blogging at Modern Familia.  Been having a great time at it!  In honor of all the mom bloggers out there, here’s a short list of some of my favorite mommy blogs.  Please check them out — they’re all awesome!

Steady Mom ::  Total admiration for the remarkable life this woman lives!

Divine Secrets of a Domestic Diva :: Hilarious…Love this one!

Unknown Mami :: Funny, real, love her writing, but she won’t show you her face.

5 Minutes for Mom:  Who doesn’t deserve 5 minutes after all that diaper changing, cooking and sweating?

MamiTalks ::  Beautiful family, amazing photographs by awesome photographer mami

ModernMami :: Balancing motherhood, work and career, with a sprinkle of social media smarts

Culture Mami :: A mom and I.C.U. nurse shares her beautiful family and stories on parenting

Mama Latina Tips ::  Tips, Recipies & Great Giveaways — Check out her Pina Colada Frozen Dessert Recipe

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Long Day of Work, a Dance with My Princess, and Schizophrenia Talk

by angelica on September 2, 2010 · 0 comments

in Balancing Work & Family,Family,Family Life

Photo by Mara Barros

Today was my private practice day (as a Clinical Psychologist). It is one of the longest days I have during the week, working outside of home. I love the work that I do. It gives me tremendous satisfaction. I do come home late on these days, and I sometimes miss my younger two children’s bedtime. So tonight, by the time I came home, Mr. Chunky was already sleeping. He looked like an angel, with soft skin and somewhat of a smile on his face. The Princess, of course, was still up and full of energy. We even danced together to the beat of a song I absolutely love, by Shakira (see video here).  It has an Arabian beat to it, and it reconnects me to my belly-dancing class days 15 years ago.  Ending a long day of work this way was phenomenal and very centering.  When we were done dancing, I looked at The Princess straight into her eyes and told her that I loved her, and then we hugged tightly.

I then proceeded to put her to sleep, which was not as loving as our dancing and hug was.  She really gives me a hard time going to sleep.  She has a million requests and rituals, and is very good at keeping track of every one of them — Can I have leche con chocolate (chocolate milk)?  Can we read a book, mami?  Can I sleep in your bed?  (No, for the 17, 438th time!).  I didn’t give Papa a kiss good-night…can I do that now? And so, it goes on and on and on, until I feel my blood pressure rising.  How can children flip you this way from one moment to another?  Unbelievable…!

After putting The Princess to sleep, I then went over to The Artist’s room to talk about a research study she has designed and proposed to a research institute, the Nathan Kline’s Institute.  It is a really cool project — she is planning to study and compare the self-portraits (self-drawings) of schizophrenic patients in an inpatient unit to healthy individuals.  The goal is to see if these simple self-drawings can help differentiate between these two populations, and serve as a simple, adjunct diagnostic tool.  She came up with this idea because she is truly fascinated with schizophrenia as a disorder, and also loves art.  For sure, combining these two passions into a research study has the potential of distinguishing her among her peers during college applications.

Everything The Artist does is impressive, and it seems to flow effortlessly from her.  She is this serene, quiet spirit that has the power of a storm when she smiles, creates, speaks and laughs.  She has taught me so many life lessons over the years…many of them centering around acceptance, patience, enthusiasm, and peaceful living.  I will repeat here what I’ve always said about my teen girl for years…I want to be her, when I grow up…

Angelica

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Whenever I Can, I Use “Positive Parenting”

by angelica on September 1, 2010 · 0 comments

in Dad,Family,Family Life,Parenting

On Positive Parenting…

This is my first week of 8 weeks of mommy blogging here at Modern Familia.  One of the things I’ll be doing here is share with you some of the parenting tools and philosophies we use to raise our 4 children.  This does not mean we always use these tools, and it certainly does not mean that when applied they always work.  Parenting is challenging, and what you do at a particular moment to help resolve a conflict, or negotiate a sibling issue, depends on a long list of variables.  So, my goals is always to try using effective tools — knowing very well that it is not as easy as it sounds and you don’t always achieve the results you hope for – and that’s OK.

So today I wanted to share with you a video that explains SO well what is positive parenting. I really enjoyed watching how well this approach is described and explained in this interview.  The video is 10 minutes, but if you watch the first 3 minutes, you’ll get a pretty good idea (and will most likely decide to watch the rest of it). I would love to hear your thoughts on this approach, and especially discuss how frustrating and challenging it can be to try applying a particular parenting tool – because parenting ain’t that simple…

Enjoy!

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Balancing Creativity and Motherhood

by angelica on August 31, 2010 · 0 comments

in Balancing Work & Family,Mothering


Photo by Tokyo Ties

For the past 2 years, I have been brainstorming a ton of creative business ideas.  Too many ideas to count.  For some reason, I couldn’t put it all together into a neat business plan.  I kept getting lost in the creativity department, searching for the executive door that would take me into full action.

Recently, I had lunch with Ana Roca-Castro, the founder of Latinos in Social Media.  The woman is an amazing visionary, a genius who can turn a creative idea into a concrete, step-by-step strategic plan of action.  That lunch meeting was like dynamite.  I left feeling renewed and with a great sense of purpose and direction.  I had finally figured out “how” I was going to pursue the collective ideas and passions I had harbored for quite some time.  Happily, I made a nice long list of steps I needed to take, from point A to J.  But as soon as I pulled into my driveway at home, I was hit with the reality of my life:  motherhood.  All of a sudden the smooth path from A to J felt rocky and bumpy.

How do you balance the need to be creative with the responsibilities of motherhood.  I find this hard at times.  I don’t know about you, but I have this constant explosion of creative ideas going on in my head.  I just simply can’t stop thinking and creating. This is who I am, there is nothing I want to change about it.  I just want to be able to carry out the vision, to put it out there.  And now that I know exactly what I need to execute my vision, I find myself feeling increasingly anxious to get them done, now (!).  But there is the constant interruption of motherhood, all day long.  Who can afford to have 5 minutes to themselves, let alone 5 minute to work on your business ideas…

So how do you shut your brain, especially when motherhood calls?  How do you carve the time for creativity or professional projects when there is really no more time left in the day?  Do you sacrifice sleep (I’ve done that…not a good idea). Do you get more help at home?  Do you talk to friends?  Do you give up?

How do you balance it all?

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8 Weeks of Mommy Blogging!

by angelica on August 29, 2010 · 12 comments

in Family Life,Parenting

Mommy Blogging for the Next 8 Weeks!

I am currently working on an exciting project that will require a significant amount of my time over the next 8 weeks. In order to create “balance” (aren’t we all tired of that word?), from September to the end of October, 2010, I will be blogging about my parenting experience with my four children, ages 1.5, 4, 10 and 16. This type of content will help reduce the amount of time that goes into researching and writing the advice-oriented posts you find here in Modern Familia.

I think you’ll enjoy some of the new content.  Think of it as a mixture of mommy blogging, show-and-tell parenting, funny moments, and insight-oriented parenting.  With school opening again in September, and the holidays around the corner, there’ll be plenty to mommy blog about!

Back-to-School & Home-Schooling

You’ll read about the relationship between my 1.5 year old and 4 year old, and how I deal with it.  I will write about my attempt to home-school (part-time) my 4 year old.  This is a new venture for me, but I was a first grade teacher a long time ago, so I’m sure that will help.  I’m looking forward to the experience of structured teaching.

You’ll also read about my impression of my children’s teachers and this year’s school curriculum; and you’ll find out how I deal with homework, sibling rivalry, teen issues, and toddler behaviors.

Competitive Academic Programs & College Applications

I would like to share with you how I have coached my teen daughter (16 years old) throughout her school years, and share with you how I’m helping her prepare for college applications.  Likewise, I’ll share with you how I’m already preparing my 10 year old to apply for competitive academic programs that will enhance the types of summer and after-school activities he engages in the future.

More Opportunity For Discussion & Comments From You!

I am SO looking forward to mommy blogging!  I’ll get to hear your suggestions, comments, thoughts and ideas!  So, put your seat belt on and come for the ride. It’s going to be bumpy, but surely fun, weird at times, entertaining (I hope) —  we might both learn a thing or two.

Without Further Ado:  My Family!

Five years ago, my husband and I moved to the suburbs of New York, about 40 miles from NYC.  We love it here.  It is a small, peaceful, beautiful and quaint town.  I love watching the deers (usually mommy, dad and baby deers) stroll on my backyard and cross the streets.  Yes, I did get Lymes disease a few years ago, and it was not nice (!).

We have 4 children, a dog, a cat and a turtle.  My husband is a physician in the city.  Life is busy, very busy around here.  I spend a lot of time driving around my kids to school and their many activities.  I have a part-time private practice as a Clinical Psychologist. I love my profession. It keeps me grounded and inspired.  Aside from all of that, I spend a lot of time online, as you can imagine…

Here are our 4 kids, from the youngest to the oldest.

Mr. Chunky:  The 1.5 year old toddler.  Why Mr. Chunky?  ’Cause he’s chubby, chubby…with deliciously chunky thighs and pinchable chubby cheeks.  He has this inner peace that radiates. He is always smiling, bringing out the best in everyone.

The Princes:  The 4 year old girl.  ”Princess” because that’s how she carries herself…and sometimes she actually looks like one.  Demanding, loud, beautiful, impossible to be ignored, very smart, and SO loving.  As a middle child, she’s definitely making sure we don’t forget she’s still around.

Mr. Chunky and The Princess

Mr. Chunky and The Princess

The Sportsguy: The 10 year old boy.  Serious. Gentleman-like.  Sweet.  Social. Controlling.  Learning to play the violin, but loves talking, watching, playing, breathing sports, especially baseball and football.  Will replace Alex Rodriguez, Dominican baseball player, in about 10 years.

Sportsguy looking after Mr. Chunky

The Artist: The 16 year old teen girl.  Gracious, open-minded, geeky, mature and wonderful teen.  In love with biochemistry, schizophrenia research, and photo shop.  A talented artist who loves to cook.

The Artist, on her 16th birthday in Oxford

Pictures of the dog, cat and turtle will come later.  And you’ll surely get to see pictures of my husband, mom, sister, parents-in-law, nephews, nieces, cousins…I have a huge family.

I hope you join us!

Angelica

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Weekend Reading: A Powerful Poem: Growing Up With A Father’s Addiction

August 27, 2010
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Photo by Ganesh.Ch If you’ve been following Modern Familia for a little while, you know we don’t shy away from the heavy topics.  As a practicing Psychologist, I know very well how important it is that we read, learn about, and discuss these real life issues.  You either pay attention to them now, or pay [...]

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What Do You See In Your Child’s Eyes

August 25, 2010
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Photo by Horizon When was the last time you looked straight into your child’s eyes? Making Eye Contact with Our Growing Children We are so busy bouncing from one task to another, that we have forgotten to take a moment to look at our children.  Poetry will remind us, over and over again, how the [...]

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Family Secrets and Children

August 24, 2010
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Photo by Horizon.Integration “We dance around in a ring and suppose, while the secret sits in the middle and knows..” Robert Frost Family secrets can be quite powerful. We keep secrets when we don’t want others to know something about ourselves or our families.   We hide the truth because it is either painful, shameful, uncomfortable, [...]

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The Pursuit of Family Happiness

August 17, 2010

Photos by Reuters Pictures Happiness, like everything else, is something you need to actively work on. Happiness is not something you are born with, or something you can get from someone else. To be happy, you need to pursue it – consistently and with great intention. Happy families, in general, tend to have several characteristics [...]

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Weekend Post: What I Have Learned So Far

August 13, 2010

Photo by Roquen M 1.   That life is not a smooth, straight line, and that’s totally fine. 2.   That dark chocolate makes me feel great. 3.   That being kind and giving to others is a reflection of inner peace. 4.   That my mother was right about a lot of things. 5. [...]

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