Prenatal visit 25 weeks - documentary

This morning I had a prenatal visit for which I had to drink this orange stuff to test my sugar levels. My hubby thought it was interesting if we could document the whole morning from downing this nasty stuff to actually going to the MD's office. I had my blood drawn and got an ultrasound of the baby, so stay tuned for this cute little video of our morning!

Also, I made a little tutorial of the Gel Nail manicure so that will be posted soon as well!

my hubby gets creative reading a book to our daughter

Found this hilarious video of my hubby reading to our daughter. I remember cleaning up for the night and down the hall I hear this strange voice. I grabbed the camera and found this...LOL

My hubby got Spoiled!

We go to the beach and its like 77 degrees with a slight breeze, this little breeze made my hubby super cold that he needed to wrap himself in a blanket! LOL He says he can't wait for the summer to start!!! hahaha

SENSATIONAIL!!! Tried another color!

I am obsessed with this GEL kit! I just couldn't wait 2 weeks to redo my nails. I went to CVS today to buy a few more colors! The one in the picture is called Sugar Plum! I absolutely love the way it came out! My nails are short and still look fabulous!

They grow so fast!!

Found this cute video of my love bug making funny noises and getting praise for playing the piano! Boy does time fly, so sad I will never have her be that small again.

kicking up my feet...

Cleaned up the Kitchen, put my daughter to bed, hubby is sleeping too! Enjoying some quiet time! I rarely watch TV anymore but tonight is my favorite show I give any time to, Bethany Ever After! My feet are up, got my pop corn and feeling my little guy kick up a storm! It's honestly starting to feel so close! 15 more weeks to go! Can't wait to hold my little man in my arms!!!

Our silly moments from Sunday

Spending time with the family. Everyone is super silly and having a good time after lunch!

Ladies GEL AT HOME!!

So my best friend posts this video about doing Gel manicures at home and I love trying out new products so I went on www.sensationailgel.com. So I just had to try it considering how pricey(about $45)at the salon The starter kit runs about 60 bucks but at CVS they had a 10 coupon for it. Also, they had all the colors so I bought a few more, at 11.99 each. Also, there was a coupon for 2 bucks off each one.

The Starter Kit Includes:
* LED Lamp * Gel Cleanser *Gel Primer *Color Gel Polish *Gel Base & Top coat *Double Sided Nail Buffer *Lint Free wipes *Bamboo Manicure Stick

I followed the simple steps that were included and I have to say it took about 30 minutes to do both hands. My nails are super fine and brittle so after completing the system they looked beautiful, neat and hard like at the salon. Supposedly it comes with enough product in the starter kit for 10 applications so for $6 dollars you get Gel manicure at home! I love it!!!

She wants buttpaste instead of toothpaste

How CUTE!

How cute is this! My love bug asked daddy to help her do her nails. Daddy gladly complied :-)  Spending time together cleaning and doing things around the house. Later going to look at some blueprints for the future office!

People dropping like flies

Witnessed another accident. At 10:02 am woman in her thirties was working her legs on the machine and had to be removed by paramedics because she couldn't walk after.

Getting criticized, NO FUN!

You know how getting criticized or critiqued by a boss is not always enjoyable. A boss might be very careful not to hurt your feelings and try to be as professional as possible. I've had plenty of those in the work force. It never feels good but you have a chance to go home and get away from the stress. The worst type of criticism though is by your significant other. There are no boundaries as to how you talk to one another and therefore someone gets hurt!

Even though you're trying to work together and have a common goal or at least you think you do, when one starts dumping their thoughts and ideas on the other is no fun! We both have very different personalities, he's calm and mellow and I would consider myself a bull dog when it comes to business so when we have a difference of opinion of how something should have been said or handled things get pretty ugly, FAST!

The horrible thing is you have to see each other even after hours which makes it even worse. I totally understand why spouses shouldn't work together!

I sort of wish I could pack him up and send him away to to his favorite destination, upstate New York..LOL! Just saying I need some room to breathe.

Crash behind our house at 4AM

At 4:19AM my hubby and I woke up to a loud BANG. We immediately jumped out of bed and looked out the window. It was too dark to see anything through our bushes. We walked out into our backyard and hear this drunk guy calling for help. We peak through the bushes and notice he crashed his red Mustang into a tree. The front was really messed up

We see a car drive up, it was one of our neighbors offering to help him. He declined help and was talking to a woman on the phone begging for her to come out there. Someone obviously called the cops because within a few minutes 3 cop cars arrive at the scene. They tested him for alcohol, he did the drunk walk and then they took him away. This whole process took about an hour an a half. This is the second red car I see this month in a crash.

I tried to be a little spy and go out my camera to take some photos...this is the best one I got. This morning I drove by the scene and the poor tree took a beating. I'm surprised he didn't hit the mailbox or a traffic sign that were also next to the tree.

Trying something new

I've always been a skeptic when it came to getting your nails done. I've seen what acrylics do to the finger nail and did my best to stay away from it especially since I have frail nails. A good friend told me about this gel thing they use now that doesn't damage the nail so the idea started growing. Another friend has been nagging at me to go with her. After trying to put it off for a while I finally agreed. I truly feel like I've been living in a box, why didn't I try this sooner!? The funny thing is at the salon there were guys getting the treatment too!
I loved the experience and now counting down the days until I go get my nails done again!!! My new obsession! LOL

Being a beach whale

Hanging out at the beach with hubby. Trying to tan my belly. Surprisingly there are a lot of people here.

REFUELING

Okay, so with all the negative people yapping their opinions at me lately about how and what I should and shouldn't be doing I'm starting to crack. When you hear all the nay sayers constantly trying to tell you how to live because "they know better" its not a positive feeling. Going to try to limit the amount of contact I have with these certain people.To reverse this negative downward spiral I'm turning to some positive reading material, the Bible and "Win the Key principles to take your business from ordinary to extraordinary." going to fuel my mind with the optimism that I've been lacking.

And to really energize my mind and body I'm definitely going to aim for more sleep tonight. Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

Closest people...lack of support

Have you ever felt like the people closest to you(family members) are the ones that are always rooting against you? Well, I've always felt like that with certain people in my life and it seems the more they know the more negativity they dump on you. They don't realize they are stuck in their mindset and instead of sharing wisdom about challenges of life, they teach you to run away.

Sometimes I wonder if these people realize that they are setting a bad example for the future generation. Don't they know making excuses and trying to shelter their kids is only teaching them to run away from their problems.

I wish I had more money and send those people to a psychologist so they can see that they are the ones that are messed up and need major help.

Magic Kingdom...not so Magic!

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always heard great things about Disney’s Magic Kingdom.  My family couldn’t afford to take us.  I just knew that one day I would experience the “Magic” everyone was talking about.

First time we went was in last year in December, I did not have a good experience because I was so nauseated and there were wayyy to many people. I figured maybe we came at a bad time.

We decided to go up this weekend to the Magic kingdom to try to finish exploring the whole park. Once again we there were soo many people. C’mon this if February when does it quiet down!? It took like 55 minutes just to enter the park. Slightly annoyed I tried to stay calm. My hubby is like I’m surprised there is no violence anywhere with these massive lines..LOL

Once inside there was barely any room to walk around. Everyone was going in different directions. Tons of strollers passing each other with passed out kids high on sugar and junk food. The wait to see the fairy princess’s was like 50 minutes long and it got worse from there. Almost all the rides had a wait time of 70 minutes or more, we were shocked! So obviously we couldn’t stay in lines that long for one primary reason our daughter who is only 3 would not enjoy the wait. Surprisingly my 3 year old behaved very well.

We walked around, did some basic simple things like ride the train and spent money on food that was way overpriced! Soon it was time for the main st. parade. We got our spots and sat as the characters made their way down. It was funny to see how many kids didn’t even care for them and many were just sleeping. I also noticed how ALL the adults were taking pictures of them as though they were celebrities in their eyes. I thought to myself “are these people insane!?” LOL.. Their kids had no interest and they were drooling over the Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Aladin, etc.

After 6 hours at the park and overheated I could barely walk. I suggested we start heading back to our hotel and enjoy the pool. No one protested so we made our way to the monorail. It took like 45 minutes for us to just get to the car.

A friend from Europe made fun of people at Disney saying how lazy people are having their 4 and 5 years olds in strollers. But honestly I wish I had a stroller for me! LOL The Park is enormous and maybe having this extra 25 lbs on me wasn’t helping the situation. I felt irritable, hot and cluster phobic. This was not enjoyable to me!  How could people want to do this so often and how in the world do so many people handle this in the summer???

I told my hubby that we should only bring our kids there when they are a lot older and maybe try to go to the park just the two of us to tolerate the waits and the mass crowds. 

Doing my sister a favor...

Finished up all my errands this morning! Got to see my Besti for a bit :-) and now packing!

My sister needed a ride to a convention that she committed to in Orlando and her ride fell through. I've convinced my hubby to take this trip before the baby arrives and use up our Magic Kingdom tickets! After many conversations he finally agreed!

My little munchkin is soo cute as she's packing her mini luggage with all her Disney accessories. She's so excited!

Yummy!

So my hubby requested an omelet this morning for breakfast.

I chopped up one medium tomatoe, small sweet onion and sauteed it in butter for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Sometimes I use garlic but to save on time I just sprinkled some garlic salt into the mix. While that was cooking I blended 6 organic eggs with a fork and then added the mixture to the tomatoes and onions. I covered it with a lid and turned down the heat to low medium. While that cooked I chopped up some dill and after a few min I sprinkled it on top along with some pepper and then covered it again.

After a few more minutes my Omelet was ready to eat! It was fabulous!

Stress stress stress...

So the search for the right location, the right office continues! The stress of searching is really intense, it feels like there are too many road blocks. At the same time I know these challenges and stress are meant to bring us to the right place, just not quite sure where and when!

What if we don't find what we're looking for here, will we attempt to look at other locations like New York? Do I want to go back there? No way but hey if it means a business opportunity for us, why not. We're starting to entertaining that idea by looking at whats open there and considered how that transition would take place if we did find something there. Or are our standards here too high?!?

Trying to stay positive and look to God for strength to keep looking and keeping the right attitude!

Beach time!

 Picked up our daughter from school and headed to the beach! The temperature was back in the 80s!!

My Trainer was MIA this morning

I was looking forward to my boxing session with my trainer this morning! I get to the gym, do half an hour of speed walking and when I went to find my trainer he was nowhere to be found! I called and texted him but no response. I hope he’s ok.

Even though I hate when people don’t show on time or are unreliable it was nice to have all these other trainers coming up asking if they could help me, and even offered to train me! 

No pain no gain that is my motto!

The reality is everyone has pain in their life some a little some a lot. It never stops coming. Some people avoid dealing with it while others look at how this pain can bring them gain. As you navigate through life you have to learn to deal with all kinds of things especially difficulties in your life that cause you pain, whether it’s physical pain, emotional pain, financial pain, or familial pain, we all experience have it. If people accept pain as part of life and learn to work through it,  their lives will become a lot more enjoyable. People who avoid dealing with it ultimately find ways to numb that pain either with drugs, food, television, video games, or shopping.

I’ve met people who constantly complain about things nonstop but never do anything to improve their circumstance. Instead of finding solutions, or working towards improving their situation they just look for someone to blame, becoming a victim.  It takes an effort to deal with a circumstance that’s causing you pain but if it could improve your life wouldn’t you make that effort? Nothing good comes for free! You truly have to work at improving your life and solving problems that cause you pain!

I went through lots of pain as a child! I never blamed the people who caused me that horrible pain. I look back now and so thankful for that hardship because it made me the person that I am today.

Some people make excuses as to why their circumstances can’t be changed.  They blame others for not having a better life a better house, a better family, better health…etc.  If you want to improve your life, look within and stop looking for someone to blame for your suffering. Being a victim never solved anything.  Start turning the tide by accepting you are in control and take positive steps to change what is causing you pain.

Showered with gifts!

My love bug was so excited to go to school today! She picked out a pretty Red Dress for Valentine's Day Party! She walked into her classroom and immediately joy filled her face! There were balloons and all kinds of decorations all over the place! I knew she would have a great day!

When I went to pick her up she had so many gifts with her and two heart Balloons! She was talking so fast about all the fun she had and all the gifts she got! When we got home she showed us the gift she made us, a picture frame with her photo inside followed by the sweetest words ever "Happy Valentine's Mommy and Daddy, I love you!" That melted my heart! What an amazing day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful loving Valentine's day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wow I'm impressed! Not because these are Organic Roses but also because there is something about watching my husband working hard in the kitchen making us a Hazelnut, Dulce de Leche Cake using the finest ingredients for Valentine's! He's such an amazing cook! He knows how to spoil his girls with sweets! Happy Valentine's Day!

Can't wait for our munchkin to get her little surprise from mommy and daddy at school!

You can’t buy REAL love with gifts

Valentines is here and all the love birds out there are looking for a way to shower each other with flowers, candy and even jewelry! I used to want that too until I found real love! Don’t get me wrong I still like presents just not on this holiday.

I think it’s not fair for a people to be pressured into buying stuff or taking their date out somewhere just because it’s a holiday.  A lot of money is spent on this holiday and guess what people will spend whatever it takes to “Prove their Love.” Shouldn’t it matter how a couple spends time together and how creative they can get vs. how much money they spend on one another?!? What matters most is when a man/woman make an effort without having a reminder on a daily basis!

Valentines is a huge money maker for the economy and don’t get me wrong I like hearing this news because the markets are growing but REAL love takes place when no one Is looking, when no one is expecting anything from one another. Real love is so much deeper than flowers and candy. It took many years for me to understand this but I guess it takes growing older to grasp and appreciate this wisdom.

23 Weeks

Feeling very pregnant now that the baby kicks are getting stronger and a full blown belly gorging out. As you can tell I'm heading to the gym!

Life is too short

I was driving to a Playdate with Mila and as soon as we got on the turnpike this was what we saw.This picture says it all!

There is tragedy all around us! Lets make a conscious effort to strive for the best life now because you never know when your life will end!

Lovely Date, Happy Couple!

My Hubby took me on amazing date this weekend. All the little things that matter to me like holding hands, talking, and sharing sweet kisses came true! We ignored our phones and focused on “US” Also, I never used to understand this advice but not talking about business or kids on a date is also a good thing to avoid.  We had a great time together!

We didn’t ignore our problems but worked hard at trying to figure out our relationship. And the reality is, after this many years together we really have to make an effort at building and working on our relationship!

Sometimes things don’t end up according to “My Plans” and that’s ok. At least that’s what I’m learning through some of the challenges that I am faced with. Last weekend I didn’t get the perfect Anniversary but this weekend I got the perfect date! Sometimes it’s hard to accept that not everyone revolves around my schedule. I will admit that I am a sucker for paying attention to each challenge and try my hardest to improve.

Ignoring Problems = Road to NOWHERE

Every time we run into a problem we have a choice to make. We also have to decide on the approach we will take to tackle our problem.  

If we think of a problem as a “challenge” that we can conquer and grow from we will have a different, more fruitful result after the problem is solved. We will have more energy and more motivation to deal with it as well.

We have to make a choice: (1) to go for it or (2) to run from it. 

Deciding to face the challenge will be difficult or even frightful. But if we don’t move towards this resistance we are stealing from ourselves. We’re stealing chance to grow as a person, socially, intellectually, spiritually…. In every way imaginable!

How lucky are we to get this chance to gain experience through a challenge, through this so-called-problem! If things are going great in our lives we never get a chance to boost our current situation, our current circumstance. We are stuck, we don’t grow.

The easy road leads to a place called “NOWHERE”. At this “NOWHERE” place you can expect to find those who have been running away or are currently running away from conflicts, problems, or any challenge. When you suppress or not deal with your problem/challenge over time things start to compound and in the long run you might not be happy with your life, wondering why!

Do yourself a favor; take positive steps addressing the challenges in your life. First acknowledge, and then find time to search for solutions. If Other people are part of the problem, guess what a conversation has to take place to solve the problem.

Not Nuggets I swear, well maybe ;)

My hubby had a great idea for dinner tonight we had Ah tuna defrosted and instead of grilling it like I wanted he suggested finely grinding it up adding an egg, salt and pepper and a teaspoon of ginger dressing. He battered it up in flour and sauteed it on the frying pan. The result is this amazing natural tuna nugget! I paired it with some potato and cucumbers! Dinner is Served!

Your Daughter can read!!

I walked my daughter into class this morning and her teacher comes up to me and asks "When did you teach your daughter to read?" I told her that I started her on the Your Baby Can Read program at around 4 months. She starts telling me that the other teachers noticed her reading things around the classroom and she decided to give my darling a little test. The teacher said she read this poem for her and she was blown away. I gave my love bug a big hug and kiss for her accomplishment! A very proud moment for me :)

Investing quality time into your kids pays off!
Your Baby Can Read is an amazing tool! Going to buy it for our son...money worth spent x2!

Good Morning! Can't wait for my Boxing session!

Meeting up with my trainer this morning after I drop off my daughter at school to do a little boxing!

Anyone interested in getting their frustrations out and getting a great work out I highly recommend Boxing/ Kickboxing. I would love to do some kickboxing also but its not healthy now that I have large baby bump.

my husband fed our dog CAVIAR!

Ever since we got a little puppy my husband has been obsessed with feeding him human food. This has been a back and forth battle between the two of us. I don't want the dog begging for food, yet he continues to feed him. He's like whats the problem with him eating human food anyways, in Russia our dogs ate human food its only in America they teach them to eat kibble...LOL He did have a valid point. It's nice to both be Russian and see eye to eye.

I guess giving him some left overs here and there isn't to bad, I thought to myself. So I joined in on giving him a peace of meat here and there.

Sometimes I feel like my hubby is testing my patience because today during dinner he gives him some of his CAVIAR! I almost flipped out because I wasn't sure if caviar was deadly to dogs. After some research I calmed down. The funny thing is the little 5 pound pooch ate it up! I guess our dog is proving to be a Russian Dog after all.

Our pup loves car rides LOL

Our pooch loves to ride with us. It's funny how my hubby supports his legs so he doesn't fly out. This dog is fearless!

Plastic surgery = Cat women everywhere!!!

Plastic surgery is on the rise! More medical students are choosing to specialize in plastic surgery because of good money! But when I see how many women are turning into cats....LOL I start to wonder who is to blame?? And why in the world would they get plastic surgery seeing what COULD HAPPEN to them??Are these doctors not skilled enough to play art with your face or are the women to obsessed with perfection?I see these feline faces all over Boca and on reality shows.

A new doctor with little experience can give you a discount on the price but can mess up your face. Are these women looking to save money or is one surgery not enough for them? Who knows, all I can say is its kind of scary looking.

Not long ago I was checking out at the grocery store when I noticed a cat woman in front of me making a payment for her purchases. She was wearing a sports bra and yoga pants. I would guess she was somewhere in her 50s. You can tell she had lots of liposuction on her stomach, a boob job, and more than enough nips, tucks and fillers on her face. I noticed how people around her were staring at her especially the cashier and the bag lady.  The cat lady walked on and the cashier and the bag lady mumbled something to one another and chuckled.

These older women are trying so hard to reverse the signs of aging and hoping to stay youthful. But all I can see is an immature selfish person who should be spending time with their grand kids instead of focusing on appearances!

Is advertising to blame for this nonsense?? Why can’t we accept what God gave us and not be tempted to do such horrible procedures when there are more important things in life? I thought as people age they get wiser but based on this behavior what kind of example are they setting for the younger generation? 

JEALOUSY, root of all evil…seriously cut it out!

If you ever find yourself wanting something others have and start to feel jealous of them, I think it’s time to have an attitude adjustment! Guess what?!  Being jealous of others only brings more misery to YOU! Trust me I've seen this play out many many times!

It’s so funny because it’s so obvious when someone is jealous!! Their eyes are always on the look out to compare their worth to someone else’s! Sure it’s nice to dream of having a better car or house but don’t lust after it because you see someone else has it.  Instead wish them well and be happy for them!

My mom always compares me to someone else and always to find flaws in the other person just so she could make herself feel better! I hate when she does this! It’s such an ugly characteristic to have! Its embarrassing too! And the only reason she does this is because she has low self esteem! 

Seriously don’t you know that having positive thoughts and wishing well to others brings happiness to you!?  Sometimes you don’t get rewarded for doing good or wishing well, but at least your heart is in the right place!

Adjust your thoughts, appreciate what you have and be happy for others! And watch your life shift in the same direction! This is the ultimate secret to success and joy in your life!

Fueling your mind and body!

I’m curious how many people strive to read something on a daily basis. Not something off the internet but a book, a magazine, news paper?  I know after I finished college finding time to read was so challenging yet I was always craving that time to myself. It’s so important to constantly fill your mind with information or a new way of thinking. You constantly have to go out of your way to fuel up your mind otherwise you start to get rusty.

I think that when you stop pouring knowledge or challenge your own belief system you start to live in a box. Maybe I’m wrong but I know that happens to me sometimes. When I’m idle for a while and don’t make an effort to read a book my thinking becomes very limited.

Same applies to eating, do you know when sometimes you want to eat something and the first thing in sight is a bag of chips or a candy bar. It’s easily available but when you chow it down you really don’t feel your best. To feel your best you constantly have to make an effort to get better food or plan ahead. I’ve made this mistake so many times but I remind myself the value of doing things the right way and try again to improve.

My Experience at Tatiana Restaurant in Hallandale!

I’m a sucker for good food  and love exploring the next best thing but dining at Tatiana’s, you just get blown away! I always go back there for all it has to offer! All your expectations reach new levels! This place is so gorgeous! So many details go into decorating and the owners go above and beyond to make it eye pleasing the moment you walk in!

The service is always great but my favorite part of this place is the Russian cuisine and the entertainment!  You have so many menu options to choose from! I wish I lived closer because for me Russian food is better than all the rest and this place knows how to serve it up! Not only do you get dinner, you get live singing, a show and dancing! Worth every penny!!

Russian’s do it big and bigger! People who dine there dress to impress, not trashy but high end fashion!  This is NOT a cheap date experience, be prepared to spend money but remember it’s not just dinner it’s the whole package! If you’re looking for a special date, night out on the town or just to try something new you have to experience Tatiana’s!

This weather is unbelievable!

Picked up our love bug from school and headed to the playground! It has been raining on and of for the last few days so we wanted to take advantage of the sunshine! I love these happy moments where we can enjoy one another and have a good time! 

This weather reminded me of summers in Upstate New York! But we get to have this weather in February!!! Can't complain!!!

Happy Moments with hubby after dealing with Stress

After we dropped off our daughter our next destination was my OBGYN for my monthly prenatal visit. I was excited because my hubby could see our little boy on the screen and we can share the joy together.

You know how when you go from feeling this anxiety and then all of the sudden this overwhelming joy the feeling was so powerful!  Like I always say you need to go through hardship, deal with it and learn from it to move on to a happier place. And that place was at my doctor’s office.

The routine visit went well but my doctor reminded me to see a specialist about a condition that I have, which I hate discussing but I told him after the baby is born I will address it.

We headed to lunch, after debating whether we should eat out(our favorite hobby…LOL) or go home..we couldn’t resist stopping by Roccos Tacos. We implement a new rule though, NO CELL PHONEs during meals. 

We had a great lunch/date, discussed our goals, dreams and how we can be better parents and a better couple for one another. I'm learning to appreciate moments like this that make us who we are and not try to be something that we're not.

How we handled the situation at school

The stress I endured last night not knowing what really happened to my daughter was unbearable. I reached out to close friends and family for advice and their take on the situation. My husband and I had a long conversation about how to handle this and we decided to just hear the teacher out.

My love bug seemed happy this morning and eager to go to school. She seemed unaffected by what happened.  We did our best to talk to her yesterday about it and nurture her so she knew we loved her and cared for her. Guiding your child during difficulty is so important even though you feel weak within.

When we walked into her classroom, I didn’t want to see her teacher because to me she was the enemy. My husband was right by my side. I smiled politely and said good morning. My daughter was happy to see her and started showing off her new chap stick and pillow that she brought in. I asked her in a calm yet concerned voice “What happened yesterday?” She seemed nervous and her hands were shaking a bit which could mean a few things but she assured me that it was an accident and that she will try to find ways to keep my daughter in bed by providing her with books.

It’s the most helpless feeling in the world not knowing what really happened and trying to find the courage within to trust this person. So I got some assurance that the teacher would supply her with books and hopefully this will not happen again especially since my husband and I were both there and trying to find a solution for this. I didn’t want her to think we were attacking her because that is not a good way to build relationships but I do hope that our presence and lots of questions really helped her realize that we are not pushover parents and that “Accidents” like this are unacceptable.

My daughter was brought to tears at school

So today I pick up my daughter from school and there is a note from her teacher saying that my daughter bumped her head on the plastic cot during nap time. When I asked my darling about it she seemed to have a hard time explaining it but said she wasn't listening to the teacher. After a few attempts to getting her to tell me what happened she told me the teacher pushed her and she bumped her head on the cot and started crying. My heart almost stopped. Did this teacher intentionally hurt my child? Was my daughter confused about what happened? I was always searching for a reason to yank her out of school but now that she's on schedule do I teach her to flee this problem. My hubby and I went to the director to talk about what she told us. The director said she will talk to the teacher and we will have a conference together in the morning.

Can I tell you how stressed out I am with all this!? Has anyone experienced something similar with their child and day care and how did you handle the situation?!

My Experience with Amway and applying it to our Business

 For anyone who is not familiar with this name its a company that was created over 52 years ago as a direct selling business. People would join and go door to door selling back in the day. It's quite a different company these days especially now that there is internet and the company offers a lot more not just soap.

So last year a close friend decided to show us "The Plan" I being of journalistic background was very skeptical and just wanted to be nice and hear him out and save the questions and research for later. Although most of the info was in Russian...all I remember was that he said we can get a refund...LOL I'm the queen of getting refunds and discounts! So to wrap things up I just wanted to get him out and since he assured we could get a refund my hubby and I signed up.

For some reason my spouse saw something that I didn't and kept raving about it. Anyways as time went by I didn't want to do anything but figured hey if this lets me do a little shopping why not...make up, skin care, vitamins, cleaning products and jewelry was what I got no complaints. I did my research tried the stuff and liked being around positive business driven people. My husband was ok with me shopping so I did.

Things got really interesting when my hubby wanted to show plans to our friends. That's when my comfort zone was challenged. "What will they think of us??" was circulating in my mind. So I let him know I want nothing to do with it, but watching him struggle with inviting people made me so sad because I'm soo good at communication and setting up events! And guess who took over!? LOL. Same thing happened when he tried to share the info with people. So, I started doing stand up presentations to our friends. Did I ever tell you how much I love doing presentations. For some reason I would get a high in college knowing I had to do a stand up presentation in front of 300 people. It's such an amazing experience. But I did not feel comfortable sitting down with people one on one. I know my strengths and it felt good to do something that I enjoyed.

This went on for a year. It was great to see the support from our friends as we decided to explore this business.  This company gave me the foundation and the support to share info and teach people about products that I still use today even though I don't do much of exposing the business anymore. I made some money doing it and know its not a scam. If anyone ever asks me for recommendation for products I always give my opinion and refer them to my favorite skin brand Artistry. Do I make money off it? Not anymore but I do enjoy this product!

I didn't really appreciate that experience until my husband and I started moving forward in our own business venture. Starting our business was already costing us thousands of dollars. We hired professional help to get the right advice, and guidance that we needed. Which was so funny because people who judged Amway always complained how expensive it was and how it's a scam but it made me realize how those people are not capable of starting a business and have no idea what the REAL cost of starting a business is. People who can start any business can take risk, can take rejection, can take the good with the bad. I am super grateful for that experience because I am soo much stronger and thick skinned as we move forward into our practice!

Every experience that comes your way is meant to teach you and build you for something greater. You just have to open your mind and let those experiences in.

How evil and selfish - 2 boys dead!

For those of you who have not been following this story from the beginning, today was a tragic end to the remainder of the Powell family.

In 2009 Susan Powell went missing leaving her 2 boys Charlie 5, at the time and Braden 3. Her husband Josh Powell became the person of interest. Susan's parents got custody of the boys last year. Josh Powell was allowed to have supervised visits with his sons. Today as the boys arrived with a case worker for their scheduled supervised visits to their father's home. Charlie who was 7 and Braden 5 ran into the house and Josh slammed the door behind them. The case worker heard explosions and the house went up in flames. Authorities are calling this a double murder suicide.

I don't know about you but to me this guy pretty much admitted he was responsible for whatever happened to his wife. The guilt and the stress was so unbearable that the only thing that made sense was killing himself and the boys!?!? Unbelievable!!! I can't imagine what was going through this guy's mind and how long this evil been growing within him?

Stories like this make me appreciate my own family a lot more and realize how sometimes the things we focus on in life are so petty!

Hugging my loved ones a little harder tonight and praying for the families that are affected by this tragedy!

Good School horrible lunch

When I interviewed Mila's school I got a chance to see the little kids getting ready for lunch. I noticed that in each classroom about 50 percent brought home lunch and the other 50 had "School lunch" that was ordered from a fast food restaurant. Those who ate fast food, had 4 nuggets on their plate and a fruit cup. The other children brought sandwiches, rice, veggies etc. It made me wonder why parents pay soooo much money for their children to be in the best school but not care about what their kids put in their mouths. They spend a lot of money of their fancy cars they drive their kids in but not in the quality of food?? This does not make any sense to me!!! Are they really lazy or just don't know that nuggets are bad for you?? Don't they realize that fast food causes obesity and lots of other illnesses?

I have been very careful as to the types of foods I expose my daughter to because I don't ever want her to be confused about food choices as I was as a kid. I strive to give her the best nutrition possible. Her teachers always say how well she eats and that they've never seen anything like it. I hope she sets an example for other kids if their parents are not taking that responsibility close to heart. And I hope this post will really help parents step up their game in providing better food choices for their kids. It's not easy doing the right thing but it's totally worth it for your offspring!

This is what I packed my daughter for lunch today:

Basmati Rice with wild Tilapia
Chopped Red Peppers
Sliced Cucumbers
Sliced Peaches

Hope for the future as we move forward

Today the real test began  as we started processing how we both felt and trying to understand why things ended up the way they did last night. I guess with every challenge how you handle the after math is very important. Ultimate advice is to communicate each other's feelings clearly with out insult or judgement.

Through out today we both found time to express how we felt and got on the same page and expressed our apologies to one another. We both got slight hope that this too shall pass, the most important thing is to learn from this experience and apply to the next challenge we encounter.

Looking forward to our make up date :)

Happy 8 Years to us! Lets see whats left that fits!!

Okay so I have a little problem with finding something to wear tonight. I love to get all dolled up and go out to dinner but right now only like 5% of my closet fits. I've been wearing a lot of black lately but that's super boring. So after digging through my closet I found 2 dresses the "Might" fit...LOL If not, it will be black on black yet again. We shall see how that that turns out.

Looking forward to dinner at a fancy Russian restaurant with a show and live music! I've been craving Russian cuisine for the last few weeks :)

SNOBBY RICH WOMEN...Can't Stand them!

There was this one experience that I will never forget of a selfish rich woman that I came across my path that's worthy of mentioning.

This past summer we made a trip to Miami Seaquarium. My daughter was so excited, she just wanted to be everywhere at once. You know how there are always certain shows that are scheduled through out the day. We had already seen a few.

Our last stop was the Flipper show. We got there early, got great seats. My hubby and I always talk in English and can quickly spot Russian people. So these two Russian women sit next to us and put their 2 kids I would assume ages 4 or 5 in front of us. As the stadium got filled up more kids were sitting next to these 2 Russian Children. A few moments later I see this woman walking up the steps with a massive branded bag, giant sunglasses, massive rock on her hand and branded clothing. You can tell by the way she walked that she expected the world to bow down to her. I think its hysterical because underneath all that materialistic stuff is an insecure little person.

Anyways she starts walking in the row in front of us where the 2 Russian children are sitting. As she flips her hair as though she's all that and swings her shoulder, her massive bag flew into the little boy sitting right in front of me and almost hit his head on the concrete floor. The Russian woman sitting on the right of me jumps from her seat to try to help her son and pushed the bag out of his face. The Snobby Rich woman started screaming at the Russian woman for Touching her. I could tell the Russian woman had a hard time verbalizing that the her son just got hit with a massive bag and could have been worse. But the Snob could care less about the kid. She sat in the row in front of us next to a little girl and started hugging her and shouting down the row to someone saying how she almost got knocked down. She just kept going on and on about how this woman pushed her. At that point I've had enough of this idiot. Quick with my words and a stern voice I said " EXCUSE ME you almost knocked the life out of this poor little kid, and all you care about is YOU and YOUR Bag??? What kind of an example are you showing your daughter?"

This Lady looked as though someone just punched her in the face, I guess no one has ever stood up to her before. The second Russian woman quickly ran out of the row. The Snob started yelling down the row to a FAT male guy about how RUDE I was to her. My hubby jumped in and started backing me up as well. Then this guy starts yelling at us. I'm like " This is non of your business she almost killed a kid with her bag and doesn't even acknowledge it or even apologized for it." The guy keeps rambling saying he saw the whole thing even though he's like 20 feet away. I started laughing at him and went back to the SNOB. "you need to say sorry to this kid immediately" she pretended not to hear me.  At that point the 2nd Russian woman returned with a security guard that has instructed her to LEAVE immediately!

I had a similar incident in upstate New York while grocery shopping with my love bug. I was at the seafood section of the grocery store getting a few different types of fish. It wa about 10AM. The guy behind the counter was really friendly and started telling me where the fish has come from and how good it is for you.

A Snob who fits the profile of the woman above rushes in and starts tapping her foot. I look at her with a friendly smile and she has the nerve to give me a dirty look. I told the guy you know what why don't you help her I'm not in a rush. But what got me was this woman continued to be rude even though I had given her my turn. She didn't say thank you she gave me another dirty look. I understand I am a bit younger than you but you DO NOT rule the world. Of course I couldn't hold it in and said " Excuse me that was really rude of you" So then she proceeded to say how rude I was to have a conversation with the fish guy when she is in a RUSH....I almost burst out laughing. I told her if she was in a rush she should have planned her schedule a little better, allowing enough time to get HER fish. I love how these SNOBs react when someone stands up to them...She grabbed her fish and screamed  "B****" at me as she ran off and my come back was, "That's all you got??" The fish guy was like...can you believe this.??..and I'm like yeah but I'm glad I just gave her a piece of reality! She is no one and needs to stop acting like she rules the world.

I hope with both these experiences my darling learns to help the less fortunate and stand up for herself. It is never OK to let people mistreat you no matter how much money or power they have. 

Reflecting on 8 Years of Marriage

Wow time has flown!!! Today is a big milestone! It brings me back to how it all began and how madly in love we were the first few years. Although there is a deeper, much more profound love now, I am so blessed to have found my partner for life who loves me for who I am and vice versa.

I'm not going to lie Marriage is not an easy road. I admire couples who have been married longer and understand what longevity really means. If you want success in your life you have to truly work for it. There is no such thing as an easy marriage. No one is perfect and as you spend more time together you learn about each other's flaws and that's where that deep love comes from is learning to respect and love them no matter what.

In today's society we're taught to constantly change cars, phones, clothes, and partners. I admit to most of these myself but I always try to protect my marriage and my relationship with my husband. I do have moments of weakness where I just want to beat the crap out of him...lol but I've learned/learning to keep my cool. There were moments where I just wanted to abandon our marriage, run away and not look back. And in the heat of the moment it would make sense but once a rational me takes over I realize I'm not going to flush everything we've worked for down the toilet.

We are individuals that are growing in our own way and still learning to work together as a team. We're expanding and with that comes more challenges and tests of our endurance. I've once read that marriage is marathon not a race. We keep building on the foundation that we've laid many years ago. We have a beautiful daughter and a son on the way! I am so proud of our accomplishments as a family! I encourage everyone to look at their life and invest into people you love no matter how difficult it might get sometimes, because in the long run they are the only ones who will be there for you!

Can't wait to celebrate our union tonight, no presents, no flowers, and no cards. That stuff is not important. What matters most is a conversation, a dance, a kiss...another moment we can cherish forever!

Letting go of people that don't belong in your life.

Have you ever been friends with someone who oozes negativity. The moment you are around them you start feeling great anxiety coming over you. Their body language, facial expressions and their conversation topics just make you want to run for the hills!

These individuals are always talking about how bad life is on their end, how nothing good comes their way, always nagging about other people and blaming others for their misfortunes. I'm sure we all resemble some of this in a small way but these people breathe negativity.

I'm sure we all know someone who resembles this person. The reason I bring this up is I used to be close friends with someone like that and know a few people now.  I've noticed when I was around this type of person, my mind slowly started to view everything from their pessimistic perspective.

When I was younger and was trying to navigate through many difficult circumstances I would always go to church. I conversed with people who just always looked on the bright side of things. Over the years I've developed a habit to seek good and positive in every difficult situation. But as a teen I met someone who became a close friend. Most of our friendship was long distance because I moved to New York soon after we met. I always thought she was right and thought her as my superior. In my mind she had a "perfect life." She had a wholesome family, she was smart, and witty. Our lives were  completely differnt. I was married with a baby on the way but she would always date around. I settled into my life as wife and mother and my priorities changed.

When I moved back to Florida and started spending time with her it was clear to me that I was so wrong about who I thought she was and who I was. She didn't have a great family, she didn't have a perfect life, in fact she was an emotional train wreck. She was always jealous of others and very manipulative. People would always make excuses to avoid her. I saw her true colors, her negative, selfish demeanor and how she was affecting me in my personal life. For some reason I would always go out of my way to help her but when I needed help with my daughter or issues with my hubby she was no where to be found.

I started to realize that I am not that insecure little girl from my past anymore and refused to tolerate this. My hubby started questioning why I was friends with someone like her. Why did I give her my attention when she didn't care about me? Why would I help her when in return she would hurt me? The more I stood up to her and her negative behavior the more controlling she would TRY to be. It basically got to a point where she would insult me and talk behind my back just to make herself feel better. My friendship with her unraveled and though this process I found amazing friends who saw me for me despite what she told them and gave me support as I grew into my own and learned to stand up for myself. After all I am striving for a beautiful, happy life. The most important lesson is I am setting an example for my kid(s). I don't ever want them to think something is OK even though its NOT.

I am still acquainted with people of this nature, but I make no effort to converse with them unless I have to. Life is to short to have negative people who naturally bring you down and if you know of people like that stop making excuses as to why that relationship matters, stand up for yourself you have nothing to lose but the negativity.

Rushed my daughter to the doctor after school!

I pick up my love bug from school and her teacher says she's been rubbing her eye and she "might" get pink eye since she's new at school. Although her eye looked slightly red I rushed to the doctor. We got seen within 20 min and got prescribed some eye drops "just in case."  We don't have family insurance and at check out I paid only 30 bucks! What a deal!!!!!!!! I'll save you the story for another time as to why we don't have insurance but I am starting to believe it's a lot more cost effective to save money and pay for medical care yourself!

Separation Anxiety Part 2

Why did I take her for granted, why didn't I savor those moments when she would hold my hand?? When she would look to me for guidance on how to deal with selfish kids, how to buckle herself in, how to cut her food!! I know this probably sounds like I'm talking about her in passing but in reality those moments are gone, they are only memories now.

During her second day of school something very unsettling happened. During the playground hours she opened the gate and started walking out. This was definitely a good reason to pull her out. But was I being unreasonable? I did not feel that my child was safe at the school so we transferred her to my number once choice school. It was closer and a lot more expensive but was it worth it knowing I had peace of mind?

The expensive school was like eye candy for any kid or parent. My darling loved being there. The program even reminded me of a Russian pre-school I used to attend as a toddler. The structure of this facility was just what I wanted for my little free spirit. 

As each day went on, I started looking for flaws of this school also, trying to find a reason to withdraw her. I pep talked myself out of it. I don't want to show my daughter my insecurities. It is not my personality to bounce around from one thing to the next. So I knew this was it and I had to commit and stop looking for a way out.

A whole week of school went by. My darling seemed to behave so much better at home. I look forward to spending time with her every day after school. I have more patience for her and my attention is 100% on her when she is with me. My relationship with her has drastically improved and getting more hugs from her means the world to me!

This change was not easy, especially for me but it has helped me grow and appreciate my love bug even more. I guess its true what they say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder!"

Not a smooth start to 2/3/2012

Do you know when your body starts feeling achy and slightly warm right before you get super sick? Well, last night was exactly how I started to feel. Moving around became a challenge and all I wanted to do was to lay down. I started loading up on vitamin C by eating like 5 tangerines and a bowl of berries...LOL

My hubby came home and noticed a less energetic me and quickly made me his special drink he vows cures everything - Organic Wheat grass with water. As much as I hate the smell and taste of this, I drank it knowing he had the best intentions for me.

Every morning I'm usually the first one up, however today I was looking for reasons not to. The aches were still present and my mind a blur. This reminded me of college days when I did have a choice to stay in bed all day.

I knew I had to make my daughter breakfast and lunch and forced my body up. It's amazing the strength you find within for your kids. As I got everything accomplished I completely forgot that today at school was Pajama day.

My little love bug looked so cute in her uniform but as soon as we walked into school, I realized she was going to be an outcast because everyone was wearing Pajamas. Of course I started feeling like a horrible mother for not having it all together. Why is it that we strive to be perfect for our kids and if something does not go according to plan we lash out at ourselves and assume we're bad parents?

Trying to stay positive and focus on the goal

When there is too much change happening at once, I start to slowly show wear and tear. On a daily basis I strive for a positive attitude but when things start compounding the ones closest to me see how I start to break down.

For the last 2 months we've been working on a business deal, as we started to see light at the end of the tunnel things quickly fell apart. When we think a great opportunity comes along something goes wrong. It's great to have it go down hill because there is always something to learn from that experience but it also feels like time wasted. In any business transaction there are always negotiations and talks that are held between all parties involved and those talks can either go smoothly or break down. 

We dusted off our shoulders and kept looking kept researching. Found another great opportunity but the broker is giving us a run around. Location is great and it stings a bit when someone is not being honest with you. 

As we go on this back and forth ride of what if and what could be I keep praying that the right place, and the right deal comes along! 

Separation Anxiety Part 1

Not to long ago my hubby and I started looking at starting our own business and with that came a lot of time into research and consultations with professionals. I absolutely love anything to do with business. But as we submerged our selves into growing a business our relationship with our daughter started to fall apart.

I used to devote hours to doing projects, reading, going places and cooking together with my little love bug but as that attention started to fade she started to act out. Everyone talked about children going through terrible 2s but I was certain it started at 3. My daughter would misbehave to the point that I would watch myself become more and more impatient with her and therefore was creating this toxic relationship I vowed I'd never have with my daughter. My husband would let her watch cartoons to help with this bad behavior but for me, numbing your brain with a moving image is reversing all the teaching and time that I've invested into my daughter.

I strongly believe that television, video games, and computer games are the worst thing you can do for your child! So, as we started focusing more and more on business I started giving a huge deal of thought into putting my baby into school. Many who know me know how much I've wanted to home school her but with a second baby on the way it started to make more sense to start researching all our options.

After interviewing 4 preschools, I've noticed how excited my little darling was in that environment. As a mother I felt proud that she would do great  and decided to enroll her in a Christian school.

The first day of school was the hardest on me. My darling was so excited. We packed the lunch bag together with all her favorite snacks( strawberries, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes) As we started driving my mind was searching for reasons to turn around, to go home but despite my internal protests I knew I would follow through with this task.

We walked to her classroom and she was soo happy to be there, she didn't look back to see if I was still there, she was right at home. It broke my heart seeing her fully occupied and not looking back to see if I was still there. 

As I went on with my daily routine the pain became unbearable. Tears just started pouring out of me with no end in sight. I arrived at the gym and somehow managed to pull myself together. Memories flooded my mind of how we would do everything together and all of the sudden I was alone, learning to walk on my own again.  

Relationships

As we move through our life we meet all types of people and it is our choice how much attention we allocate to each relationship. Obviously if you care about someone you have a desire to be with them, spend time with them, share your thoughts ideas, life etc. Both parties should have a mutual desire to want to invest into that relationship. Some relationships bring out the best in us and some just weigh us down.

As I've grown in my personal life by making mistakes in all sort of relationships I have learned to appreciate the ones closest to me and how to say "No Thank you" to the toxic people who don't have my best interests at heart, and the most interesting thing I've observed was that sometimes these toxic people don't even have their own best interests at heart.


It's not always easy to distance yourself from people that you don't feel are an asset to your life, but distancing yourself is something you have to learn to do for your own good. My favorite saying is, You are who you spend your time with. So strive to be around people who support you, who inspire you, who help you during those bleak times in your life and watch you life blossom.

Trashy Women at the gym

Dropped of my daughter at school and headed to the gym. As I'm working out on the 2nd level of my gym I really enjoy people watching. One thing I do not enjoy is seeing women with barely anything on! Why do they think its attractive to go to the gym in a sports bra and something that resembles boy short undies?

As the females rotate the weight machines at the gym I start to wonder, do they like putting their flesh on this not so sanitary equipment? What do they think about as they sit down and almost nothing covers their bottom? I can't help myself but judge these trashy women! Why? Honestly I really want to know what goes through their stupid brain?? Do they like attention? Do they feel insecure with themselves that they have to show it all to the world? Do they like meat heads checking them out?? Don't get me wrong I love putting on my bikini and flaunting it at the beach, but at the gym?? Maybe I'm missing something here. All I can say is these women do not respect themselves or their version of respect is super messed up!

This is not the first time I'm coming across this and as you know I like to get the male version of this nonsense. My observation is this: You are what you attract. Good men do not like women flaunting their assets anywhere. Good men like when women preserve what God Gave them. Trashy men, well they like TRASH!

As I headed downstairs and saw the face of the half naked woman it hits me like a ton of bricks that her daughter would play with my daughter in the day care at the gym! This infuriated me soo much, how could this mother be setting such a disgusting example for her daughter????? Ok, I must admit I am a bit uptight about what I expose my daughter to but seriously this is crazy!!! At that very moment I just wanted to slap that women for setting a slutty example for her daughter, but I kindly smiled and walked on.

Our children watch our every move, if you want to raise a good girl you have to lead by example!

Body Image issues During Pregnancy

During my first pregnancy I did not care about how I looked or how I felt. I was tucked away up north and could hide beneath layers of clothing. The environment was very dark and all our friends would always stay in during those cold, long winter months. I gained soo much weight and my body never looked the same after. After moving back home to a warmer climate I've worked hard to get myself on track. With baby number 2 on the way I am truly fighting to stay in shape. I'm a tad bit older and understand that with age things don't bounce back as they used to. Pregnancy can really take a toll on you in many ways. Although I brought my body back to where it was after my first pregnancy I never wanted to weight that much again. The feeling is absolutely disgusting to say the least. I go to the gym almost every day to keep myself in shape but it really makes me sad seeing the numbers on the scale creep higher and higher. I used to work this hard to be a petite little thing and now all my efforts seem to be working against me. Everywhere I read, I'm reminded that exercise is really good for the mother and child and makes labor a lot more manageable. I hope all these things are true and the good thing is my body craves working out so the moment i have this little peanut I can continue with my workouts and hopefully gain my body back sooner than later!

I keep reminding myself how wonderful it is to fit into cute summery dresses and how wonderful it is to be light on my feet to keep me motivated. I love my bikini in the summer so the less weight I gain the fewer stretch marks my skin will have and the faster I start losing this extra weight.

Every time we go out in a group of people for some reason I feel judged being so much bigger. I start to wonder what people are thinking about me. Can they tell I'm pregnant?? Why can't I just own this bigger rounder body?? My mind starts pouring out all these crazy thoughts. I can't imagine being heavy all the time, i would probably be soo depressed.

Baby kicks

I don't know why but at night the baby gets going and starts with the kicking and punching. I enjoy the movements but i really try to pass out before my little darling keeps me up at night! I try to get myself to bed early to start getting some rest just in case I have a rough night...this is quite amusing considering the baby is not born yet.

21 weeks

21 weeks
Pregnancy is not always fun. For some women its a breeze. I am not one of these women. With my first pregnancy I gained soo much weight because of hormone fluctuations and cold weather. Now that I'm pregnant with my 2nd baby and in a completely different climate and scared of gaining soo much weight again, I'm fighting to slow down the weight gain. I love feeling small and light and now that I'm 17 pounds into the game, I am feeling the pain! I honestly dont know how heavy people live with so much extra weight. Everything is sooo much harder to do and getting dressed is no fun at all. Don't get me wrong i am in LOVE with food but I love myself more. Every woman can relate to weight struggles many men too considering the western diet and lack of discipline but if you want to have a long, healthy, energetic life you have to fight for it. Even though I'm in a set back with my pregnancy I strive to make the best food choices daily, continue to work out, and set an example to my 3 year old daughter.