It will NEVER cease to amaze me of the major sacrifices my parents made to come to this country. I had a popsicle today from our local Jaime’s Grocery, aka La Tienda Mexicana and as I was savoring the delicious and refreshing paleta de limon, I was taken back to Mexico. It was for just one instance that I began to imagine myself down there enjoying their wonderful homemade ice cream. All while listening to the multitude of sellers around me and the loud colors that sometimes overwhelm you. That was just a little moment for me, but how often does this not occur to my parents or any other immigrant adult that has left it all behind to sometimes never return? My family and I are blessed to be able to go back and visit but there are many who unfortunately can not do this. The feeling of being here and missing so much and so many down there, really takes over your heart sometimes. But, they have to move on and suck it up; continue with their day at work or whatever it is that now occupies their day. Then when you are down there, you are missing certain things from here. For my family specifically, I think it would just be the FAST showers down there due to the shortage of water or that our street sometimes gets blocked by la música. I can not be anymore blessed and thankful that my parents have worked extremely hard to build and construct a home for my siblings and I in Mexico and in the USA. Not only that, but they have worked extra hard for us to be knowledgeable of certain things that now as an adult have certainly come in handy. Their hard work and dedication for us to be a part of two worlds, two countries, two cultures is a wonderful gift I will treasure and try to pass on to my own children.

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I am a very low maintenance female; and even more so now as mom. Growing up my dad didn’t even let us do our nails, let alone wear makeup. So where in the world did my wild princess learn to love makeup? I DO NOT KNOW!! Famoso dicho Mexicano, ‘lo que no no puedes ver, en tu casa lo haz de tener!’ Asi es, en mi casa tengo a una niña a la cual le encanta maquillarse. She has so much fun putting lip gloss on her eyebrows and well, just all over her face. I love watching her do this! I honestly pretend I am not watching her look at herself in a pretend mirror while she’s also watching tv (multitasking like her mom apparently). Deep down, I am hoping she becomes some famous YouTuber! Lol, just kidding but really, that’s now a career path! I was nursing her brother one day a couple months ago and her dad was supposed to be watching her. Suddenly, I heard silence, we all know that means danger or a huge mess, right? Sure enough, nail polish all over her little toes AND the restroom floor! It’s still there, I cover it with a rug. Her dad was supposed to clean it but hasn’t came around to it. She’s learning! She’s growing! She’s fine!

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Mom friends how in the world do you keep your clothes clean?!? Seriously!! I think every garment I own has some kind of stain on it! My baby touched the avocado I was feeding him and then of course went for a sweet hug. My wild princess was ‘helping’ me with something in the kitchen and dropped something on my sock, like seriously my sock! Good aim, I guess. Some of these stains will never be removed. If you see me wearing clothes with stains on it, you know why. I guess I can also look at this like, ‘Oh that shirt was stained this day by this baby or that was the day we were making keepsake footprint crafts for Easter’. They are growing! They are learning! I am fine!

My name is Carolina and being home with an almost 3 year old wild princess daughter and a 10 month old baby boy has been quite exhausting. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely ADORE my children but I am a working mom. I enjoy being out of the house doing productive things. Being at home, while continuing my teaching job, AND working on a degree is causing some stress. Although, part of me LOVES to keep busy, another part of me is about to shoot itself. I love the multitasking adrenaline that I take upon my shoulders BUT doing it from home is extremely hard; not to mention the arguments with my husband. Poor guy, I release the nasty stress on him. Also, I am Mexican, so I am kind of expected to cook. That is definitely my weakness, I am NOT good at it. I follow recipes and measure everything, unlike my amazing mom and mother-in-law who cook everything from scratch and just add some love to their delicious meals. Anyway, I am leaving you with this image of the wild princess I introduced and her calm baby brother. She was drawing on the window with window markers and then she wanted to help me wash dishes (something she frequently ‘helps’ with). Instead, I pulled out the Windex, handed her a paper towel and it was less messier than when she ‘helps’ with the dishes. She was also working on her fine motor skills squeezing the bottle. Oh, by the way, shortly after this she sprayed her little brother in the eye and then her own eyes. Don’t worry, I calmly and quickly rinsed their eyes out. They are fine! They are growing! They are learning!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton