My Ramblings...and News

I've been really stressed this week,

so many things to do, my checklist goes on and on.

 Plus, my hormones don't help either,

they're definitely kicking in during this pregnancy.

Sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out!

I hope that's normal.

But I had some pretty good news this week, too.

I found that we're having a baby boy this time,

Sophia is going to have a little brother!

I was kind of shocked because

I thought that was going to be another girl.

I guess I was wrong, but it's great!

I love seeing this picture. It always makes me laugh.

This Sunday, Sophia is turning one. I can't believe it!

She grew so quickly. Just yesterday, I was holding her in my arms

 and welcoming her into this world.

Now, she's turning one and almost walking too.

How time flew.

I've been planning her birthday party over a month now,

hopefully everything will be okay.

I hope she has a great time.

As I'm typing this post,

I'm waiting for my batter of bonbons to cool

so I can start rolling them.

It's way past my bedtime and midnight,

but I'll be rolling bonbons for the party.

Maybe later I'll do a post with the recipe.

My kitchen is calling me, better go now.

Sorry for my ramblings.

Cucumber, Tomato & Onion Salad

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber (peeled, cut lengthwise, then thinly sliced)
1 plum tomato (cut lengthwise, then thinly sliced)
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
handful of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
- In a bowl toss together the cucumber, tomato, onion and parsley.
- Add the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss it again really well.
- Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
- Serve.

*tip*: I like to eat the cucumber with seeds but if you prefer you can scoop the seeds out.

Some Everyday Moments...

These are a few of my moments that I would like to share with you.

To me, they're priceless moments and a reminder to be thankful everyday

because I get chances to live them.

 I'll always treasure them, these are the things that it'll never be taken away from me

 because they're live in my heart.

My everyday moments...

My two Valentines!

Our first Valentine's day with Sophia.

 I made cupcakes and my husband decided to share with her.

Look at her cute red lips from the icing.

Helping her Daddy!

Laundry time at Grandma's.

Sophia and I sharing a tender moment.

My little cutie pie.

I've a lot more moments but today I decided to share these.

They always bring a smile to my face and I love remembering my memories.

♥

My Banana Cake

Yesterday I decided to make my favorite cake, banana cake! and since I love it so much I decided to share with you. The recipe is simple and easy to follow. Enjoy and happy baking!

Ingredients:
6 bananas
1 cup of sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1 cup of flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mash really well 5 bananas with the sugar (you can use a potato masher to do this).
3. Add the eggs and flour, mix until well combined. Add the baking powder.
4. Pour the batter into a buttered 9x13 baking dish.
5. Cut the last banana into thin round slices and place them on top of the cake batter. Sprinkle the cinnamon and the remaining sugar on top as well.
6. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.

A Time To Yourself

It's very important to take a time to yourself.

Being a mom can be hectic sometimes, we're always trying to juggle

and do everything in our busy schedules.

So, we need a time to just "breathe", a time to just be.

 It can be anything really like; taking a nap, getting the hair done,

 a little shopping, praying or just be in total silence.

But it needs to be your personal time,

 to just enjoy yourself or to put things in perspective.

 I usually have my "time" when Sophia takes her naps in the afternoons,

sometimes I read, catch up with my TV shows,

 nap, blog or just stay in silence. Even if I have just five minutes,

I try to make the most of it. Just like I said "breathe".

Try to remember not to make yourself crazy

with so many tasks during the day,

even if you don't make all of them, it's okay.

Nobody is perfect.

I love this quote from Joyce Meyer:

"I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect, nobody’s perfect. But, I'm OK and I'm on my way."

♥

Motherhood In My Words

Being a mom means the world to me.

 I have the most sweet little girl, her name is Sophia.

Seeing her face every morning, hearing her laughs,

watching her grow a little bit each day are priceless moments to me.

 Being a mom is hardwork,

 trying to juggle everything everyday can be difficult

 but the experience is incredibly rewarding and beyond words.

Like today for example, I had to take her to get some blood test done, 

she cried so much and all I wanted to do was just hold her and make the pain go away,

and she just hugged me so tight. She wanted to feel secure and loved,

and I thank God because I've the privilege to do that.

When she smiles or make her little surprised faces, my heart melts. If you're a mom, you'll understand what I'm trying to say. If you're not one yet, you'll in the future. 

I love this picture. It's when I took Sophia to the beach for the first time.

♥

New Changes!

New changes are coming to the blog and I just started with a new layout. I'll be sharing many new things with you, things about my life in general. I hope you enjoy and be excited about the changes that are coming because I am!

For Your Health: The Benefits of Water

Our body is made up of 55%-75% of water and is in constant need of water to replenish. Our lungs can expel between two and four cups of water a day by simply breathing, even more on cold days. Water is very important to our health, every system in our body depends on water. The lack of water can lead to dehydration, which can lead to excessive thirst, fatigue, headache, little or no urination and lightheadedness just to name a few.

In order for our body to function properly we need to drink plenty of water. Drinking at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (aka "8x8 rule") is key to a healthy body. Remember, every day our body loses water through sweating, exhaling, urinating and bowel movements, so our body is in constant need of it. 

Here are some of the health benefits water:

• It regulates body temperature
• It cleans and detoxifies inside your body
• It protects and moisturizes our joints
• It transports nutrients and oxygen into cells
• It helps to lessen the pain and burning of heartburn.
• It helps maintain a healthy weight
• It helps with metabolism
• It helps you to feel more energetic
• It protects our organs
• It moisturizes the air in our lungs

Pampering Your Feet!

It's very important to take proper care of your feet. After all, it's the most used and abused part of our body. We're always running around, working, walking in high heels and after a long day they take a beating. So, we need to take our time and give our feet the care they deserve. Here are few tips and homemade recipes to pamper your feet at the comfort of your home:

1. Soak your feet in warm water for 10-20 minutes and towel dry.
Peppermint Foot Soak
Ingredients:
- Water enough to cover your feet and reach your ankles
- 3 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 1 drop of eucalyptus essential oil and 1 drop of lemon essential oil (these two are optional but aid the invigorating sensation of this foot soak
 Preparation:
- Boil water and let it cool down a bit.
- Add the oils and soak feet as long as you like.

Lavender Herbal Foot Soak
- 5 litres of warm water
- 2 drops of lavender essential oil
- 1/4 cup of sea salt
- Soak your feet for 10-15 minutes.

2. Exfoliate - at least 2 or 3 times a week. Just like your body, your feet should too. It helps remove the dead skin and soften any calluses.
Citrus Foot Scrub
- Mix 1 cup Epsom Salt, 3 teaspoons organic olive oil and the juice of one small lemon.
- Immediately massage soles of feet (don't give the Epsom Salt time to dissolve), giving extra attention to any areas of thick skin.
- Rinse with warm water.

Sugar Foot Scrub
- Mix the 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of lotion in a bowl.
- Massage the sugar and lotion mixture in your feet to exfoliate.
- Rinse with clear water and pat dry. Apply some additional lotion to your soft feet.

3. Apply a good moisturizer everyday and massage.

4. Foot Mask helps conditioner the skin on the feet and rejuvenate them.
Overnight Foot Mask
Ingredients:
- 4 teaspoons of almond oil or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons of cocoa butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 vitamin E capsules
Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and work the mask into you feet. Step into cotton socks, and leave on overnight. The next morning, remove the socks and rinse feet in lukewarm water.

The Pirate (1948)

Manuela is engaged to a local rich man, but she dreams about the legendary pirate Macoco. A traveling singer falls in love with Manuela and to win her heart he pretends to be the famous pirate and causes trouble along the way. This is a fun film to see, it has great comedy and chemistry between July Garland and Gene Kelly. The dance numbers provided by Gene Kelly are amazing as always and Judy Garland's voice is divine.

Directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, George Zucco, The Nicholas Brothers, Lester Allen, Lola Deem, Ellen Ross, Mary Jo Ellis and Jean
Dean.

The featured songs are: "Nia," "Mack the Black," "You Can Do No Wrong," "Be a Clown" and "Love of My Life," music and lyrics by Cole Porter.



Home Decor: Wall Art

I love beautiful wall decor, it brings life to a simple boring wall. Practically anything can be used depending on your imagination and creativity, from vintage frames to family photos to scrapbook paper to simple white plates. Take a look:

Get inspired by this vintage wall decor by Kasey Buick. Learn how to use vintage frames, different accents  and family photos to create a wall display.

Learn how to create an electric plate wall art, fill that empty space on your dining room with just mixing different plates. Head over to Liz Marie Blog for the step by step process.

Create this chic wall art just using scrapbook paper with different colors, patterns and textures. The overall look is amazing. Take a look at the other pictures at A Pop of Pretty.

My Year So Far...

It's August already! Are you surprised as I am? It seems that time is just flying by, pretty soon Summer will be over and the ever changing colors of Fall will start soon. My year so far has been really great and I had the opportunity to experience many things.

These are just a few of the things I had the pleasure to experienced. I had fun decorating the house for Easter since it was the very first for Sophia. It was also my first Mother's Day with her this year(last year she was in my belly!). My family is growing, I found out that I'm going to be a mommy for the second time! We took a family vacation to Virgina Beach and had many great memories. Watching Sophia grow each day is priceless to me and incredibly rewarding, I love being a mom.

Also, I'm looking forward to new ones. I'm making preparation for Sophia's 1st birthday, I can't wait for her party at the end of this month, it'll be fun. In the fall, I'm planning to take her to the pumpkin patch and do many fun things. I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with all my family and decorate the house for Christmas.

I thank God for each moment I have, for the great things He has given me and my family. May He continue to bless the rest of this great year. I hope your year has been great as it has been for me! ♥