I cannot say the same about my own father. Looking back, he really wasn’t involved in my life-despite sharing the same home with me growing up. He was a good provider-went to work everyday…but that was about it. He did not interact with me very much. Never really asked how my day went, you know, all the typical father/daughter stuff. Turns out, there was nothing “typical” about him.

Most people do not know this, but I have not spoken to my father in almost two years. A few years ago, I found out everything I thought I knew about him was a lie. The person I thought he was- was a lie. I found out he had done something so heinous, that I could no longer speak to him. I could no longer allow him to be part of my life, or my children’s lives. 

One day very soon, I will devote a whole post to what he did-but not today. Today I just want to say that it’s all right if you don’t celebrate your father on Father’s Day. You’re not a bad person, especially if you have a valid reason. You’re not alone- I know what it feels like to be let down by the one person in your life that should never let you down, never hurt you, never hurt the ones you love. 

This Father’s Day, I celebrate all the Dads out there that are worthy of celebration. My father is NOT one of them. 

 I’m a big smoothie/juice fan. I have been drinking smoothies since I was a kid, we just didn’t call them smoothies! We’d mix milk, bananas, strawberries & a little honey in the blender and guzzle it down. One of our favorite little vitamin shops, made these awesome papaya smoothies, that were out of this world delicious! One of these days my brother and I will be able to recreate it perfectly, I’m sure of it! When I was asked to try Sambazon Juices & Smoothies, I immediately said yes. Sambazon® offers a full range of fresh and organic juices, smoothies, and frozen products in a variety of delicious and exotic flavors. Their products are made with premium quality whole food Amazon plants and fruits that deliver the highest bio-available nutrition. This company is truly dedicated to bringing the next level of nutrition to the world while supporting the environmental and social well-being of the Brazilian Amazon and its people. Sambazon is both Organic and Fair Trade certified, supporting two million acres of the Amazon Rainforest and over 10,000 family farmers.

While I’d heard about them before, I’d never tried Sambazon. They aren’t sold at my local grocery store, but I was able to locate them at a Super Walmart nearby. (I tried to get them at Costco, but I arrived just as they were closing.)

Walmart carries three varieties:

• Supergreens with Kale + Ginger:  This is a potent blend of Açaí berries, a powerful new blend of six varieties, plus a hint of ginger. It delivers around two servings of whole fruits and veggies, without added sugar.
• Energy: This potent blend of Açaí berries, Yerba Mate, and Guarana delivers a whole food experience that boosts the body and mind the way nature intended. Energy is available in two flavors: A rich berry superfood juice blend with 50mg of organic caffeine per bottle, and a new Mocha Java superfood smoothie with 80mg of organic caffeine from fair trade coffee beans, plus a hint of chocolate.
• Açaí/Antioxidant: This Original Amazon superfood juice is bursting with powerful antioxidants and healthy omegas. It’s a delicious way to combat free radicals and comes in two flavors: Original or Açaí+Blueberry+Pomegranate. They were out of the first two, so I picked up a couple of the Açaí [Ah-sigh-ee].  
  These are not your typical smoothies/juices. If you are used to a lot of sugar in your drinks, you may not like Sambazon. The Acai beverage I tried was not very sweet. I liked it… but my hubby and little one did not. They aren’t big  smoothie fans, so I really wasn’t surprised they didn’t care for it. (More for me!) I love that Sambazon Superfood juices are NON-GMO, USDA organic, vegan, gluten-free, and provide whole food nutrition. Their juices and smoothies are available in ten different delicious flavor varieties, and packed with antioxidants and healthy omega 3-6-9s.

I’m going to go back to the store & see if I can try the two varieties that were sold out, SuperGreens with Kale & Ginger and Energy… I want to try the Blended Breakfast one also, it’s the first beverage to combine whole fruit with ancient grains (like quinoa and amaranth), chia, and Organic/Non-GMO verified soy milk. I think I’ll like the  strawberry-banana blend, and it’s a good source of fiber (7g per bottle). Yay!  

Who wants to try Sambazon for yourself? #MomsMeet and Sambazon are letting me host a Giveaway for my readers! YAY!  Please go like Sambazon on Facebook. I’m so excited for y’all! Here’s what you will win if you are randomly selected as the winner: You’ll receive three (3) FREE product vouchers, plus a wooden bowl and spoon valued at $45! Enter the GIVEAWAY below!

I’m going to keep this GIVEAWAY simple. Open to U.S. residents only. Must be 18 or over to enter. Winner will have 24 hours to contact me once I email them. If the winner does not contact me within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen.

1. Follow me on Pinterest  HERE. Leave me a comment telling me what name you are following me with. THAT’S IT! One entry per person. Winner will be chosen on June 10th, 2013. Good Luck!

Every once in a while, he’d start off in his bed (only after we forced him to), but some time in the middle of the night, he’d sneak into our bed. His reasons for not wanting to sleep in his own bed were many: he’s afraid of the dark…what if he needs us in the middle of the night & we can’t hear him… he doesn’t like sleeping alone…and of course: MONSTERS! No amount of reassurance helped. He’d start crying and I’d give in, why? … because I was tired & wanted to get to sleep myself! I know, I know… Bad Mommy!

A while back; he started saying he didn’t want to sleep in his bed because it was a “baby bed.” Hmmm… my wheels started turning. Maybe, just maybe, I thought. When I saw one of my blogger friends post that she was selling her little one’s Ikea bed, I knew this was my chance! This weekend I went & picked it up! Here it is, loaded up in my car!  I want to thank my friend, Maribel & her hubby, for carrying the bed out to the car for me… my back was acting up all this weekend and I was in no shape to lift anything. Once I got it home, hubby got it situated in the room. My little guy was so excited!!! After the bed was set up, he left with hubby to run some errands. Now was my chance to get the bedding I had purchased over a year ago out of the closet. I couldn’t remember if it was twin size or full… I crossed my fingers & hoped for the best.    Guess what? It fit! Woo-Hoo!! I texted pics to the hubby, but told him not to say anything to the little man; I wanted to surprise him. When he got home, he walked past his room & did a double-take. “Huh?!” He ran in the room to check out his new bedding. He told me he really liked it, but that he missed his old bed. Uh-Oh! He we go… when it came time for him to go to sleep Saturday night, he said he wanted someone to sleep in his room with him (meaning me!). I made myself a pallet of blankies on the floor & slept next to his bed. (Hey, if it means him sleeping in his bed, I’ll do it!) That was Saturday night. Sunday night he slept in his bed, in his room, all by himself, all night! And I snapped this pic this morning!

 Yep, he’s in there, buried under the quilt! Three nights in a row, in his big boy bed! Woo-Hoo!!

How old was your child when they got their Big Bed?!

McDonald’s gave me a cool bag to give to one of my readers! It includes a yoga mat, an egg-timer, gift card and a huge cup with a lid…great for transporting your smoothie! WHO WANTS TO WIN IT?!

GIVEAWAY! 

We’ll keep this real simple:

1. Go to my pinterest acct and follow my boards here! Come back & leave me a comment telling me you did & the name you are following me under.

That’s it! Real simple! I will pick a winner on June 4th, 2013. You will have 24 hours to contact me after I email you. Must be 18 or older & live in the USA. Thanks & Good Luck!

Disclosure- I was invited to try the new menu items at McDonald’s so I could write this post. I was also given a McDonald’s bag to give away. I was not paid any money to write this. All opinions are my own and I loved the food I was served!

I’m happy to say my little man’s Kinder class is much more exciting than that!  Do you know what this is? It’s a silkworm! There were tons of them in my child’s class, tons! He was so excited to show them to me. The guy above was one of the few that had not spun himself a cocoon yet, take a look at the others! Look at all those little cocoons, I was fascinated by them.   Wait til you see the next pic! I’ve stared at it over & over … it’s a silkworm spinning a cocoon around himself… and you can see right through the cocoon! Take a look! See him? Towards the top? Isn’t that cool? (Yes, I’m a geek for stuff like this!)  The fun doesn’t stop there, Oh no! This Kinder class knows how to have fun… what have we here?  Yep, you read that correctly, it’s an Incubator!!! I wonder what’s inside? Eggs & baby chicks… & chicks hatching out of eggs right before my eyes!   How awesome is that?! Did you have an incubator in your Kinder class? Baby chicks hatching out? I know I didn’t- but I sure am glad my little one is getting to experience all of this at such a young age. Look at these cuties: It doesn’t get any better than that! My hat’s off to the teachers at my son’s school- they are doing a fantastic job with the kids. Projects like this help to foster a love of learning, and it is something the children will never forget. Baby chicks on one side of the classroom… silkworms on the other… gotta love it!

At first, I accepted any paid post that came my way, I was so anxious to get my name out there, so anxious to become a “real” blogger. Write about a deck of cards for two dollars?  SURE, I’ll do it! I didn’t know any better, I had no one to school me. I don’t do that anymore. I’ve mostly had to school myself. You see, in this wonderful world of blogging- there are very few bloggers willing to help you out… show you the ropes. Why? I don’t really know. The only thing I can come up with is that they are scared. Scared that you might become better than they are. Scared you might make a connection with a brand & get a campaign that they want. Instead of helping out their fellow bloggers, they keep everything they know to themselves.

Makes me wonder… did anyone ever help them out? When they first started blogging, did anyone advise them? I guess not. If they had, surely they’d want to pay it forward… right?! Every job I’ve ever worked, I had someone training me, showing me what to do, helping me out. Not with blogging! No sir! ‘Ya won’t find that here! (Unless you’re part of the clique, you know, the “in” crowd). I’ve never been part of that crowd, I’m a bit of a rebel- I blaze my own path and follow it wherever it takes me!

I’m the new face of blogging. I WANT to help others. I believe we are all here on this earth to help one another. Maybe it’s because I’m a Christian, and believe in Matthew 25:40. Maybe it’s because I have been through so much crap in my life. Maybe it’s just who I am … I don’t know. I do know that if you ask me a question about blogging, I will tell you what I know. I will help you in any way possible. I will share leads with you, I’ll give you answers to your questions if I have them. If I don’t, I will try to find someone that does. Am I worried that you might get a campaign over me? No. Am I worried that a brand might like you more than me? No. I know that by helping others, I will be blessed in return (Luke 6:38). Brands that I am meant to work with, I will work with. Campaigns that I am meant to get, I will get.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place, if all we just helped each other out? Lifted each other up? Think about it!

I would like to give my two cents to all the organizers of blogger conferences out there. I’m gonna keep this short & sweet. I am not a “Rockstar” blogger. I am fairly new to the blogging world and still learning the ropes. When I shell out my hard earned money to attend a conference (conference registration, hotel, flight), I’m doing so in hopes that I will learn something at the conference. I want to leave there knowing more about the world of blogging than when I arrived. I’m not going there to be seen. I’m not going there to hang out with my blogger friends, (although that is a major plus)… I’m going there to learn. I want meat, so to speak.

What I don’t want is a 2-3 day conference with only one day of sessions/workshops. If I arrive on Thursday- I’m expecting sessions on Friday… not a day of  ”inspiring” chatter… give me sessions! Please don’t bunch all the sessions & workshops together on Saturday & make me choose 2 or 3 of them… scatter the sessions out between Friday AND Saturday… that way I can attend twice as many, learn twice as much and leave feeling like I got my money’s worth!

Please remember that I have had to rearrange my schedule (heck, my entire family’s schedule) to attend your conference. I want meat, not fluff! Don’t just wine & dine me, educate me! I know I’m not the only one that feels this way. I might just be the only one brave enough to say it out loud. I hope you’re listening! 

The MA began by marking on my son’s back in black marker. Every mark stood for something he would be tested for. There were 21 marks on his back when she got done. (twenty-one!) Next, came the bad part. He was face down on the exam table, and one by one she pricked his back with a needle that delivered the substance being tested. 21 different needles! He was crying… scared and panicked. He started squirming around and kicking. I was trying to calm him and help keep him still. His cries were now borderline screams. He was red in the face. I felt so bad for him. I could tell he was in a lot of pain and the test wasn’t even halfway done yet. When the final needle pierced his skin, I told him the worst was over. I don’t know if I was telling him the truth or not. I don’t think I was.

For the next 20 minutes, he was not allowed to touch his back. No scratching, nothing. He cried the entire time. I took this photo as soon as the MA was done poking him, you can already see a reaction starting. It  got worse from there:

We weren’t done yet.

 After 20 minutes were up, the MA measured the red, raised spots on his back. Then she wiped off all the marker & put some hydrocortisone on his back. That was followed with some oral liquid antihistamine medication.  She then told us what he was allergic to and by how much. There is a scale they use to determine this. 0-2 on the scale, no worries. At 3, they begin to worry. 4 & 4+ are bad. She created a whole new level for one of my child’s reactions. Bermuda Grass scored a 4++ !! My little over-achiever. Here’s what the form looks like that they fill out and give you to take home.  Also found out he’s allergic to cats! This can’t be my child, I LOVE cats! Guess I will have to love them from afar, don’t think my little guy could handle being around them, he scored a 4 for cats. He turned out being allergic to 5 different things, you can read them on the form. If your child needs to be tested for allergies, please be prepared. They are going to cry, and they will be miserable for the entire 20 minutes afterwards. I am glad I had him tested, now we know what to avoid and when to avoid it. I just wish there was a kinder, more gentle way to do the testing. He’s fine now, the redness & swelling subsided within a couple of hours. Yay!

Did I mention I need to be tested too… I haven’t made my appointment yet.

Now that the weather has warmed up and spring is in full bloom, (literally), you probably won’t catch me without my shades on. Yes, I do wear them to protect my eyes from the sun’s damaging effects… did you know prolonged exposure to the sun can cause cataracts? There’s another reason I wear them. They’re hiding something I don’t want anyone to see. Can you guess what that is? No, I haven’t taken up kick-boxing, I don’t have black eyes! In many ways, it’s worse than a black-eye. At least a black eye would heal in a few days and disappear. No, what I have lingers on, all throughout spring. Under my glasses; my eyes are red, puffy & often times watery. I’m a victim of seasonal allergies and it not only affects the way I feel, but how I look too.
According to a recent survey, 96% of women with allergies experience ALLERGY FACE™  – the beauty challenges like a puffy face, red nose and watery eyes – that are associated with typical allergy symptoms. 
Just this morning, I woke up all puffy, eyes itchy & red. My sunglasses are a lifesaver. My little one often asks me why I’m wearing them on days the sun isn’t shining! “Mom, why do you need your glasses, there’s no sun today?” Children are so observant. I  tell him that I don’t want people seeing my eyes, because they might think I’ve been crying! He knows I suffer from allergies, as a matter-of-fact, so does he. Attending my little one’s soccer games are the worst for me, as soon as I get there; my eyes get watery & I spend the entire game wiping away the “tears” that are rolling down my cheeks. (And yes, I have my shades on the entire time!)
In an effort to help women look their best despite their allergies, the makers of ZYRTEC® have partnered with beauty and fashion expert, Carmen Ordoñez from @VivaFashion, and have released the first (of a three-part), bilingual video series on YouTube.com/Zyrtec, in which Carmen shares her personal beauty tips to take on ALLERGY FACE™ beauty challenges. In part one, “Tackling ALLERGY FACE™, One Tip at a Time, With Carmen Ordoñez,” Carmen introduces her tips to help disguise a red nose, a puffy face and watery eyes. Take a look:   Love her tip for contouring a puffy face: “Using an angle brush, apply a bronzer with brown undertones parallel to your jawline to help contour your face. Make sure it’s only one or two shades darker than your natural skin tone as you don’t want to overdo it.” Stay tuned for the release of part two and part three of Carmen’s video series, which will be distributed in the summer and fall, respectively. In the meantime, be sure to follow Carmen on Twitter at @VivaFashion and check her blog www.VivaFashionBlog.com for her latest ALLERGY FACE™ tips and tricks.  Visit Zyrtec on FB at Facebook.com/Zyrtec to learn more about how to combat ALLERGY FACE, and for coupons.

Here’s a little tip MY allergist shared with me… don’t open the windows in the house until AFTER 10AM. By that time, most of the pollen has settled and won’t get blown into your home. What are Your favorite beauty tips to help fight ALLERGY FACE?!

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored campaign on behalf of Latina Bloggers Connect and the makers of ZYRTEC®.

 Having never seen FEM perform in person, I was in for a treat! These guys have so much energy & it’s infectious! They were all over the stage & their fans (including me!) were loving it. They put on a concert for us, right there on the third floor of the San Francisco, Union Square Macy’s. They told us how groups like the Beastie Boys had influenced them growing up. It was evident to everyone there, that these guys LOVE what they do.  I was up front, so I had a great view of the guys and all the action! I took photos, I sang along to their hits, like G6 & Rocketeer, and I even busted a move or two! I couldn’t help it, these guys make you want to move! Here’s a little video for your viewing pleasure.

 I loved how the group interacted with their fans, they really made everyone feel like they mattered and weren’t just a number.  Far East Movement didn’t come alone, they brought a little friend with them. None other than teen dancing sensation, Bailey “Bailrok” Munoz. He wowed the crowd with his slick moves and huge smile, the kid is cute!   And he can dance his feet off! See for yourself!

   I want to thank Macy’s for acknowledging Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and for hosting such a fantastic event. The fans, young & old, enjoyed the show. When the group finished performing, they were available to take pics with their fans, class act all the way! I don’t know what time they left that night, the line of fans was very long! I’m sure they made all those people very happy. Thanks for a great show, FEM! (If you’d like to see more of my videos of Far East Movement, pls go to my Youtube page: TheMommyPowers). 

Disclosure: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.