Mama Unfiltered

 Ok, so before I get into my birth story for Jeremiah, I first need to give all of you a little backstory on my previous births, just in case you haven't been around long enough to have heard all that I have gone through 😅 Alright, so let's start with Isaiah's birth first, naturally lol His pregnancy was extremely easy, besides the heartburn. And labor was pretty easy going too, minus the fact that the epidural I was given only numbed half my body and it took the anesthesiologist poking me 2 times to even get the epidural in. But after delivery was a whole 'notha story! I tore first off, and the midwife was so rough sewing me up that I could feel EVERYTHING. Then said midwife informed me she had removed the placenta and I was good to go. However, not even 2 days later, I found out that she left the placenta membranes in and I had to get that removed as well as be put on medication to help remove whatever was left. With Joshua's pregnancy, I was diagnosed with HELLP...

 Every year since I was younger, I've always made a list of goals I planned on achieving for that New Year. And I mean, I'm pretty sure most of us associate a New Year with goal setting. Am I right? Some goals are way out there and seem unattainable, while others are simple and easy. But as I get older, I'm learning some tricks and tips that help me attain my goals and stay motivated. I know some you put there reading this will think it's all just a bunch of bologna, and some of you will take this to heart. Just know this, these are the things that work for ME, so they may not work for you, and that's okay. Find what works for you and stick to it! 💪🏼 1. Be clear with what you want.  Instead of saying "I wish" or "I want", say "I will" when it comes to what you want to achieve or gain. For example, if you want to lose 10 lbs, say "I WILL lose 10 lbs." This is your way of putting out into the Universe that you WILL lose that w...

5 kids. Just, wow... I know so many of you are out there thinking, “Are you crazy?!”, “How are you going to handle 5 kids??”, “This lady can’t even handle the kids she has now 🙄”, etc etc.  Well first off, a big 🖕🏼to those of you judging me right now, thinking I can’t/ won’t be able to handle them or that I am a bad mom in the first place or whatever! Ok. This hasn’t been easy on me, and those judging me right now are just making it that much harder.  So yes, I am pregnant with baby #5. No we did not plan it. Yes we were EXTRA careful, ( I don’t think y’all need all the details) and yet somehow still ended up pregnant. We honestly don’t know how, but my guess is it was/ is Gods will.  I originally went in to see the Dr for irregular, painful periods that turned into a missed period with extreme cramping and lightheadedness. I had no clue I was pregnant, especially because I usually just KNOW by 5 weeks. I thought maybe I was dealing with fibroids, cysts, a hormonal imb...

Once your baby turns 1, it’s almost as if they’ve crossed that magical threshold, the one where they’re no longer a baby, but also not quite a toddler. You know the one, the one where they all of a sudden want to run and walk and climb, they want to feed themselves and do everything they see everyone else doing. Yeah, that one.  Well it turns out Bella crossed that threshold way before she even turned one. And I guess that’s to be expected, seeing as she has 3 older brothers to look up to. So it should come as no surprise when I say, I weaned Bella off of pacifiers and bottles before she turned 13 months!! 🎉  Now who wants in on my secret?! Lol So first things first, I should probably disclose that Bella started weaning herself off of pacifiers around 10 months. And what I mean by that is, we stopped taking her pacifiers with us on outings and left her pacifier in her crib throughout the day. The only times she’d use her pacifier was at nap time and bedtime...

So this is something that has been irking me for a very long time now. I have been a stay at home mom for 4 years, and it seems I am always dealing with the same common misconceptions.    I have 4 kids, with all of them being very close in age, which means they’re each in their own stage of growth at the moment. So let me just lay out all the misconceptions & BS that stay at home parents get below. And yes, some you deal with, some you don’t. Each situation varies by family of course.  1. People assume that because you stay home, you’re not allowed to be tired.  This is absolutely some major BS right there! As a SAHP (stay at home parent), you have your littles depending on you, all the household chores & cooking riding on you, and your spouse depending on you; not to mention, you probably have your own goals that depend on you as well. In my situation, I am at the stage where Isaiah (my soon to be 7 yr old) is working on bettering his speech and re...

We made it! The BIG ONE! 1 whole year of life completed, and it literally flew by 😭 you are my only daughter and last baby, so it’s understandable why your 1st birthday is bittersweet. The day you were born, I was over the moon! I mean, I finally had my baby girl in my arms!! 😍 the day I had been waiting forever for had finally come! I’m not gonna lie though, when they placed you on my chest, I had to double check that you were 100% a baby girl 😂 There’s something so special about having a daughter though, a different kind of bond that is formed. I have special bonds with your brothers, but having you has caused me to form a different type of bond. I don’t yet know how to explain it, but it’s one that I hope will continue to grow over the years. I absolutely cannot wait for those mother daughter bonding dates, inside jokes and all around good times. Looking into the future now, I see us having an unbreakable, loving, caring bond. As it is, you’re already a mamas girl, al...

Hey Everybody! I know it's been a hot minute since Iv'e written anything new, especially since I said I was going to do monthly recaps, but I'm back! So this topic is actually a tough one for me to address. I've been dealing with this eating disorder for a VERY long time, but only recently admitted it to myself and out loud that I have/ had a problem. It's something that I still deal with to this day. I am an emotional eater and I binge eat. And on top of that, I have a hard time with body positivity when it comes to how I view myself. I do not know why I am the way I am, what caused it or what still causes it. What I do know is that it makes my day to day life hard. From, should I eat this? Oh this is way too unhealthy. To should I wear that? No, that shows too much of my fat or you can see my belly roll through my shirt. For those who don’t know, binge eating is basically when one eats huge amounts of food in one sitting, and then feels shame or regre...

What better way is there to start 2020 than w| glowing skin?!  🧖🏻‍♀️  This past month I received a Voxbox filled with complimentary products to help me combat this harsh winter while keeping my skin moisturized and glowing.  1st up: Gold Bond Ultimate Whipped Shea Body Butter When they say whipped, they definitely mean whipped! It’s light & fluffy, and a little goes a long way. I put it on straight after every shower and it helps lock in the moisture, keeping my legs feeling and looking moisturized. Another plus, it doesn’t leave your skin feeling greasy like other body butters. 10/10 recommend this  👍🏼 2nd: Vitamin C + Pro Collagen Moisturizer Out of all the products I received, this one is by far my favorite! It’s very lightweight, non- greasy and I only have to use a little at a time. I apply it after every shower to lock in the moisture and once applied, it doesn’t even feel as if I have any moisturizer on my face. 100% recommend th...

Oh January, how you’ve been rough. And to think, it’s only the first month of the year  🙈 To recap: We started the year off right, with Javier having started a new job, both of us in a positive mindset, my business looking up. And then Javier lost his job. He was let go literally at the beginning of the 2nd week of the month. I’m not going to get into the details of what happened, just know that in part, it was his fault, but it was also mainly his trainers fault.  But that’s ok. It just wasn’t meant to be.  So that week, we both threw ourselves into applying literally EVERYWHERE again. He was driving all over, applying at every place he walked into, getting interviews left & right. Within 6 days, he started at a new job and we were ecstatic! Until he actually started working and realized how long his hours were + how horrible his schedule is.  He started with going in between 2-3 am every morning and wouldn’t be home until about 5. Now he s...

So before I start, Elijah is 2 years old and has been ready to be potty trained since he turned 1. I, however, wasn’t ready due to the extremely rough past year we had. Yeah yeah I know, no excuses right? But when you think about it, if you try and potty train when you yourself aren’t ready, it will make potty training your little that much harder on both them and yourself.  So now that I got that out of the way, let me tell you how I personally potty trained Eli. Keep in mind, every mama has her own secrets to success and you can definitely tweak this method however you see fit.  Seeing as he was already ready to be potty trained, he was at that point where he didn’t like his pull-up to be wet or have poop, like to the point where if he had poop, he’d waddle and absolutely refuse to sit down  🤣 One day, I just told him “you know what? You are not a baby. You are a big boy and are more than ready to be potty trained. We are doing this whether you want to or ...

As 2019 comes to an end, I took some time to sit back and reflect, to look back and see all the challenges we’ve faced as a family, the person I’ve become and the obstacles we’ve overcome. But more than just looking back, I’ve also looked forward, to the goals I want to conquer, to the person I still have yet to become and to where I want to be this time next year.  We started this year off with Javier being let go from his job, we’ve had to accept help from others (which is in no way a bad thing, but if you know me, you know I’m stubborn and don’t like to rely on others for help lol), we’ve had to rely on food stamps, we’ve been living paycheck to paycheck, and neither Javier nor I have been able to get a job.  Halfway through the year, I gave birth to my final baby, Javier started school for his Class A and Isaiah started kindergarten. Still no job for either of us.  Now at the end of the year, Javier passed his class A test and is officially class A certif...

Hey everyone! You all asked, and I listened! So down below I have shared the recipe for my fave Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe. I do add notes about how I make it in parentheses compared to how the recipe goes. Feel free to tweak the recipe and make it to your liking. Enjoy! ☺️ 6 boneless chicken breasts Chicken broth 1 red onion diced 2 carrots diced (I do 3-4) 2 potatoes diced  1/2 cup of tomato paste (I add a bit extra) 2 bay leaves (I do 3-4) 4 garlic cloves (I add a bit extra) 1 tsp chipotle Chiles in adobo sauce chopped (I did about 3 tsp) 2 tsp pickeled jalapeño peppers chopped (I did about 4 tsp) 2 tsp Mexican oregano 1/4 tsp cumin Salt to taste White pepper to taste 2 zucchinis diced 2 yellow zucchini squash diced 1 red bell pepper diced Juice of 2 limes OR substitute with Lime Essential Oil  4 tbs sweet sherry 2 tbs fresh cilantro chopped 2 tbs fresh mint chopped Monterey jack cheese for garnish  Tortilla strips/ ...

It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to sit down and write with everything going on. And this time is no different with all the nesting this mama is doing to prepare for baby girl  🥰 so I’ll keep this post sweet & short.  Since having started on this oily journey, I’ve made it my mission to stay away from any & all conventional medicine unless absolutely necessary. I’ve even gone this entire pregnancy without taking any conventional meds  🙌🏼 I’ve only been taking my dōTERRA LLV supplements on a daily basis and using DigestZen for heartburn and morning sickness.  So it’s only natural that I would love my labor and delivery to be as natural as possible too!  I plan on diffusing Balance, Peppermint & Wild Orange during labor to help calm my emotions while giving me energy. I’ll also be applying my Mood roller (a blend of Balance, Wild Orange and Frankincense) to the bottoms of my feet and my pulse points to also help with my anxiety....

Do you ever find yourself comparing yourself to other moms? Whether it be moms on social media or moms out in public, working moms or stay at home moms, moms you actually know or even your own mom. I find myself constantly comparing my self and I HATE it. This is what we moms everywhere call Mom Guilt. Mom guilt means different things to different moms. Mom guilt is that feeing you get when you leave your kids with someone so you can go to work, that feeling you get when you’re constantly yelling at/disciplining your kids, that feeling when your kids act out in public, that feeling when you choose to formula feed over breastfeed, I mean, the list just goes on. Mom guilt is real. And it sucks. Mom Guilt hits me practically 24/7, in many different situations. And lately, it’s been hitting me HARD 😭. Recently I feel as if I’ve been yelling too much, losing my patience and not connecting with the boys as much as usual. I used to find ways to spend some 1:1 quality time with each of t...