5 Ways for Blended Families To Bond

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnuggleUpMoments #CollectiveBias

Family bonding is hard. Blended family bonding is even harder. Blended families take a lot of effort to make work. Think about it, you are getting two family sub-units and asking everyone to get along. It takes work, lots of planning and lots of patience. I have read many books, articles and spoken to many other parents and found 5 ways that work for us.

Before anything else, I want to mention that it is very important to remember that bonding takes time. Remember, you are trying to introduce individuals with different personalities and asking them to get along. Patience is an extreme virtue in these situations. 

If you haven't read my blog before, let me introduce to you our blended family: 

When JC and I started dating almost five years ago, I already had a son, Adrian, and he had two children, Amberly and Gian. I also help raise my niece, Ivanna, so she is like a daughter to me and also part of our family.  When we first got everyone together, there was lots of crying (from me and JC) out of frustration. We could have easily given up but we kept at it. Today, along with all the children's other biological parents, we are one big supportive family. 

5 Ways For Blended Families To Bond

1. Communication is key. We have lots of open communication in our home. All members of the family are allowed to express how they feel in any given situation as long as it is done with respect. I feel that children need to be able to express themselves freely. There are days where they will be frustrated with each other or with us. I want to know about it. Also, communication amongst parents is extremely important. All the parents and grandparents in this relationship are able to speak to each other as needed. The children come first.

2. Travel together. This is so important to us. Whether we go out of town or have a staycation, vacations are a great bonding experience. From planning to experiences, there are opportunities to voice opinions, make decicions and bond. We, JC and I, take two vacations with the kids annually.

3. Play. Play is the easiest way for children to bond. We specifically plan park days where we just hang out and play together. This way they learn teamwork and social skills. They also get to see their parents at a juvenile level which I believe is important for children. 

4. Make friends with other blended families. Children need to feel safe and understood. We have noticed that since becoming friends with other blended families, our kids have really opened up. They see that there are others in their situation and that it's not so terrible. 

5. Snuggle. What do I mean by snuggle? I mean, sit on the couch and watch a movie together or just have a family hug session. Show affection to each other and make sure the children feel loved.

Creating everyday snuggle-up moments helps us bond. I added this to my list because one day as I was doing one of my many loads of laundry, I noticed the Snuggle® bear on my bottle of fabric conditioner and realized that we weren't showing that much affection to our children. It was a sudden spark of emotion that I felt, all from that adorable bear! I now keep a bottle of Snuggle® Ultra Blue Sparkle® fabric conditioner in my laundry for two reasons: one because it smells amazingly fresh and two, it reminds me to snuggle my kids!! While, I was shopping the other day, I also  noticed that Snuggle® made scent boosters and who wouldn't love an extra boost of fresh scent? I picked up a container in blue iris bliss® scent and now all my clothes and towels smell incredible! Snuggle® Ultra Blue Sparkle® fabric conditioner and blue iris bliss® Snuggle Scent Boosters® are better together just like families are better together!

Snuggle® laundry products are available at your local Sam's Club! During the month of March, there are exclusive savings for Sam's Club members on Snuggle® products!

Are you a Snuggle® lover looing for more opportunities to interact with the brand? Join the Snuggle Bear Den-it's FREE! Sign up, complete missions and be rewarded. Explore the site and update your profile so you can begin your first mission! 

Clean In Layers - Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #LimpiaTotal #CollectiveBias

Working from home has taken some adjustment. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I needed to get organized and create a schedule because I was all over the place. I was doing too much all at once (blogging, cleaning, laundry, consulting, parenting, etc..) and actually not doing anything at all, I mean look at my downstairs view:

What in the world? It looks like an explosion. There was stuff EVERYWHERE! By the way, this is a real picture, I am quite ashamed. I needed to get it together and quickly or we would drown in stuff. My first solution was to get everyone to pick up their stuff, but honestly, I don't think anyone heard me #momproblems. My next solution was to go old-school. By old-school, I mean clean the way my mama taught me. Cuban moms take pride in their spotless homes and we grew up knowing that "los sabados son dias de limpieza" where no matter what, you were awaken up early on Saturdays and you had to clean. No ifs and or buts about it. By 8am, you heard las baladas (Spanish romance music) playing and could smell el cloro (Clorox) and by the end of the day the house smelled of lavender amazingness!  Now, I am busy on Saturdays and don't want to spend the day cleaning, so I clean in layers, room by room, during the week.

I gathered my cleaning supplies. In order to clean properly, you need to clean in layers. First, pick up the mess. I put a basket at the bottom of the stairs and threw in everything that needed to be taken upstairs. Then, I assembled my cleaning bucket. This cleaning bucket needs to have everything you need to clean. There is no time to stop cleaning and look for a cleaning product. That wastes time. 

Essentials to stock a cleaning bucket:

-cleaning bucket

-pair of gloves

-roll of paper towel

-glass cleaner

-wiping rag

-toilet brush

-60 oz Pine-Sol in Lavender 

-121 oz bottle of Clorox Liquid Bleach Original Scent 

(I'm not kidding on the size, my house always had this big size bottle)

-75oz Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (these are a new school Cuban mama addition, there are even lavender ones, hello incredible smell)

-bottle of glass cleaner

Next, crank up the baladas (my mom's personal choice was Luis Miguel). If you are Hispanic, you know what I am talking about: Juan Gabriel, Luis Miguel, etc.. It is not cleaning day unless "Querida" is on! On my playlist, I added some salsa music because I cannot clean a bathroom without dancing to some Marc Anthony and Eddie Santiago. 

Now, pick a room to start cleaning. Ready for some more embarrassing pictures? My mother would kill me if she saw this but here we go...

My kitchen......

Truly shameful. This is right after breakfast too. My mama taught me that rooms are cleaned quickly, like in less than 10 minutes fast. So, I brought in my cleaning bucket, set my timer to 10 minutes and got started. First, I put away everything that I wasn't using, dinner items, clean dishes, plastic grocery bags. Then, I put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher followed by wiping down the counters with a Clorox Disinfecting wipe. Then, I swept the floor. All this completed in 9:47. Look at my kitchen now:

It's like day and night. This 10 minute kitchen cleanse now takes place every morning. After breakfast and dropping the kids off at school, I come in here, turn on my music, set my timer and go. 

Bathrooms can also be cleaned daily or a couple times a week in 10 minutes. Take your big bottle of Clorox and pour some in the toilet. Let it sit there while you pick up and wipe down counters with Clorox Disinfecting wipes (next time, I am getting the lavender ones). Then, clean the toilet with your toilet brush, wipe down the rest with a disinfecting wipe and flush the toilet. Sweep the floors. DONE!

What about my floors? Well, my mama mopped them everyday. Yup, EVERYDAY! I don't do it everyday, but I do mop my floors a couple times a week. Growing up in a Cuban household, you used very specific cleaning supplies to mop the floor. First, you didn't have a ring mop, nope, according to Cuban moms "eso no limpia," we used a wooden stick in the shape of a T (el mapo), along with a "frasada" (orange cloth) and Pine-Sol in Lavender scent. This was it. There is no variation to this other than the color of the cloth. The mop has to be the same and your house has to smell like lavender. Seriously. So guess what I use in my home to mop my floors?

Old habits die hard! After sweeping your floors, you add some Pine-Sol in Lavender scent to a bucket of water. Then you dip your frasada and ring out some water. Drape the frasada over el mapo and start mopping. Then, you ring out the dirty, refill a bucket with clean water and repeat the process. After you have done this two times, you throw out the water, rinse your frasada and set it out to dry. Your floors will be super clean and your home will smell amazing! The lavender smell brings back so many memories!

These cleaning methods work! They have been instilled in children's brains for generations! Thanks to my mother, I know how to clean a home properly and quickly.

(Don't forget to Pin this image so you can make sure to come back and re-read my mama's cleaning tips)

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox Liquid Bleach and Pine-Sol Lavender work together to clean, disinfect and aromatize your home. Pick up these items at Walmart for the best price and selection. 

5 Ways Blended Families Can Stay Connected

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone.  #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias

Blended family life takes work. It's not easy managing 7 schedules (3 children and 4 parents) and lots of activities into 2 weekends a month. In order to have a smooth transition between homes, lots of communication and scheduling is involved. My main goal is that the three children are comfortable and feel safe, whether they are in our home or the other parent's homes. I like for everyone to always feel connected to each other. 

The most important way to feel connected to each other is to spend time together. Every other weekend, when we are all together, we make time for each other. We attend all extra curricular activities together, as a unit. We go to the park, we go to the movies, we play board games, everything together. JC and I do not plan a date night or attend anything that we can't all go together. We make sure to dedicate ourselves fully to our family.

When a couple splits, the children are always the ones that get the short end of the stick. All of a sudden, their lives change and their family structure changes. This is hard on children and can affect their schoolwork. One big way we stay connected, as a family, is to put education first. We are involved in every aspect of all three children's schooling, from uniforms to homework to extracurriculars. Adrian lives with us so helping him is easy but since Amberly and Gian lived most of the time with their mom, we have needed to get more creative. First, we always go over the week's schoolwork and homework when they come over. They always have computer work and we make sure that is completed before they go back to their mom's house. 

But what about during the week? They need help with their homework and JC came up with a great solution. Every night at 7:30pm, the kids log onto their computer at home and JC gets on his phone and they video chat. The kids know that their homework has to be completed by this time and while they are chatting, they ask JC questions and review for exams. This has helped the kids immensely. They are more prepared for school and they get to "see" each other every day!

Video chatting uses lots of data so we knew we needed to up our phone plan to accommodate this. While  we were strolling through Walmart the other day, we saw a sign for their Walmart Family Mobile Service and decided to check it out. 

After some research, we found out that we could get a newer phone (on rollback pricing, so under $100) and monthly service, that includes Unlimited Talk, Text & Data, which includes up to 10GB of 4GLTE, plus a free movie on VUDU every month, per line for $49.88. 

It's a great deal for us. It's a little cheaper than what we were paying previously and the service includes a movie every month.We watch lots of movies with the kids and this can really get expensive so a free movie every month rocks! We watched our first movie on our SmartTV and it was so easy. We can also watch the movies on our laptops or tablets. Convenience is everything for families!

JC purchased the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE Prime for only $79.92. Yup, a Samsung Galaxy for under $100!! It's tax refund time and a good time to upgrade your phone but spend your refund wisely. Spend some on a phone and use the rest for a family vacation!!

He is super excited to be able to chat tonight using his new phone!

Another way blended families can stay connected is to have a family hobby. Something everyone is interested in and can do together. Ours is flying kites. The kids really enjoy learning how to fly kites and it also gets them outside and playing which is super important to me!! Hobbies don't have to be expensive, the ultimate goal is to do something together. 

The kids also need to bond on their own. Four years ago, we introduced three very different children to each other and asked them to become siblings. Boy, has that been an adjustment!! They have argued, fought, ignored each other, annoyed each other, played together, defended each other and ultimately have learned to love each other. It's been a long process but now they consider each other siblings, not step-brothers and stepsisters but just "my brother" or "my sister."

Lastly, blended families can stay connected by communicating with each other. Keeping the lines of communication open builds trust and shows support. Al three kids know they can come talk to me about anything and I will be honest with my answer. They know I will listen openly without judgment. They need to feel secure and just listening helps more than you can just imagine. I am not here to judge any other parent, I'm here to help. I think this last piece of advice helps any family situation, not just blended families. Remember, that if you listen to your kids, without judgment, when they are young, they know they can trust you and they will come to you when they are older with way more serious problems that you are going to want to know about.  Keep those lines of communication open!!

Is your family a blended family? How does your family stay connected? 

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to  http://cbi.as/2n6q6 or your local Walmart for current pricing. 

Rock Your Workout With a Fun Playlist and a Yummy Drink

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated  by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #V8LlenodeSabor #CollectiveBias

Hi! Raise your hand if you are still into a "new year, new me" mindset? (HANDS RAISED HIGH OVER HERE!!!)  I've started eating better, especially since I now take my time while shopping at Walmart and have a list of essentials, like V8 V-Fusion® juices and quinoa, that I try not to stray from. I've also started exercising. I used to exercise regularly but then I got lazy and quit. Well, not anymore. I am determined to lose a little weight (not too much, us Latinas love our curves!) and get a little healthier! To me, the most important aspect of my workout is my playlist. I need to have a playlist full of fun, upbeat, Latin songs that get me going. Honestly, my playlist rocks!

This playlist is full of oldies and some new fun songs and lots and lots of Pitbull. Hey, I am from the 305!!!

ON THE FLOOR ( Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull)
ECHA PA'LLA (MANOS PA'RRIBA) ( Pitbull Feat. Papayo)
DANZA KUDURO (Don Omar)
LOVUMBA Daddy Yankee)
FIREBALL (Pitbull Feat. John Ryan)
ADRENALINA ( Wisin Feat. Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin)
LA VIDA ES UN CARNAVAL ( Celia Cruz)
SUAVEMENTE (Elvis Crespo)
RABIOSA (Shakira Feat. Pitbull)
LARGADINHO (Claudia Leitte)

OJOS ASI (Shakira)

FRUTA FRESCA (Carlos Vives)

Are you already dancing in your seat? These songs are muy caliente y divertidas! Perfect to sweat off those pesky pounds!! 

The rest of the day, I am focused on what I eat. I still have my arroz con frijoles (rice and beans) but I have switched to brown rice or quinoa. I have also cut out soda. I now drink more water and juice. I don't like all juices though so when it came time to choose one, I went for V8. I've always like V8 and the last time I was at Walmart, I realized that there are so many new flavors: Strawberry Banana, Peach  Mango, Acai Mixed Berry and Pomegranate Blueberry.

V8 V-Fusion® juices taste amazing and are chock full of fruits and vegetables. Actually one serving of juice is equal to 1 serving of vegetables and 1 full serving of fruit. I even took a picture of theback so you can see how much amazingness there is in one bottle:

I've also cut down on coffee and for a little extra energy, have started drinking the V8 V-Fusion® Energy in Peach Mango. It's like a tropical paradise in a can!

All V8 V-Fusion products are available at Walmart. I found mine in the juice aisle!

Be sure to check out the full line of V8 V-Fusion® line of products available at Walmart! 

Tell me: What are the must-haves songs on your workout playlist? Are any of my favorites on there?

Orange Cranberry Spinach Salad

Disclosure: Thisshop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BetterWithCraisins #CollectiveBias

One of my goals for 2016 is to have more meatless meals. JC and I are both on the same meatless kick so I have been coming up with unique twists to our favorite meals. We both love spinach salads so on Sunday, I decided to try a new version of the classic spinach salad. I love oranges and cranberries together so I decided to make Orange Cranberry Spinach Salad for dinner!

Tell me that doesn't look awesome and oh man, it tasted better than I could have ever imagined. It also made for a super quick meatless dinner. 

Orange Cranberry Spinach Salad

Serves 2

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach leaves

1 cup baby kale 

8 grape tomatoes, sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced

1/2 cup mandarin oranges

1/2 cup Craisins® Fruit Clusters Cranberry Almond

Feta cheese

olive oil for drizzling

Wash and dry your greens and place in a large salad bowl. 

Add red onions and sliced tomatoes and toss.

Add mandarin oranges. If you use canned mandarin oranges like I did, make sure to drain them well first. 

Add 1/2 cup of Craisins® Fruit Clusters and sprinkle with cheese. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Let's get a close up look at all this goodness. So many pretty colors.

This salad was bursting with flavor. It was sweet with a kick, in part to the red onion and kale. It was also very filling. 

Craisins® Fruit Clusters are the newest variety of dried cranberries available from Ocean spray. I am a huge fan of the original Craisins® Dried Cranberries. I add them to sandwiches, salads or even buy the multipacks to carry in my purse as a snack. 

Craisins® products are avaialble in the dried fruit section at your local Walmart. 

Tell me: Do you like dried cranberries? What's your favorite food to pair them with?

New Holiday Tradition: Decorating Cookie Balls

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #OreoCookieBalls #CollectiveBias

I love holiday traditions. We do them all: the elf, pictures with Santa, driving around to see lights, matching pj's, cookie decorating but this year I wanted a new holiday tradition. I wanted something that would be fun to make and yummy to eat (honestly, my kids don't even eat the gingerbread cookies after we decorate them!) I brainstormed for a while and decided that our new tradition would be decorating cookie balls! 

I've been making cookie balls for years. I make them for most parties and sometimes, just because. They are so simple and yummy. I know my kids actually eat them, sorry gingerbread people, and I knew they would love to sit around one afternoon and decorate them. I started with the official OREO cookie ball recipe!

OREO Cookie Balls

Ingredients:

1 pkg (8oz) brick cream cheese, softened

36 OREO cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)

4 pkg (4oz each) semi-sweet baking chocolate

Make it:

Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended. Shape into 48 (1 inch) balls. Freeze 10 minutes. Dip balls in melted chocolate, place in single layer on waxed paper-lined pan. Customize with your own ingredient additions or decorative skills. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Share and enjoy!

Pretty simple right? In our home, my family likes both the original OREO cookies and the Golden OREO cookies so I made sure to buy ingredients to make cookie balls of both flavors.

Original OREO cookies

This is what your cookie balls will look like prior to dipping in the melted chocolate!

Adrian and JC's favorite: Golden OREO cookies!

Golden OREO cookie balls! I made all the cookie balls ahead of time. I stored them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until it was time to decorate. 

The kids wanted to decorate the balls as reindeer and snowmen so I made sure to grab a couple of extra ingredients at the store: pretzels, edible googly eyes, hard-shell candies, black edible ink pen, peanut butter cups and peppermints. I laid all these ingredients and the cookie balls on the table and let them decorate. I think they came out adorable!

Spending time together as a family is exactly what the holiday season is all about. We had so much fun, I know that our new tradition will soon become an old favorite!

All items for the cookie balls were purchased at Walmart. You know I love me some one-stop shopping!!

For more OREO cookie ball recipes, click here!

Tell me: What new holiday traditions are you starting with your family?

Easy Ways To Recycle and Re-Use at Home (FREE Printable)

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BringingInnovation #CollectiveBias

Do you recycle? Do you have recycling bins in your home? We used to have our own county issued recycling bins in our last home but when we moved to our apartment, we found community recycling bins in the back of the complex. They are not as convenient as the ones in our previous home, but that hasn't stopped us from recycling everyday. We already have a chore chart up in our house for regular chores so I decided to create a Recycling Assignment chart to handle all the recycling that piles up in our kitchen!

See these 4 kids? I try my best to teach them to take care of their planet and even though I am showing you complete goofballs in this picture, they take their recycling seriously!

Right-click below to download our Recycling Assignment Chart for your home! This printable also has notes about what is recyclable so your kids learn as they go!

Our recycling assignment chart is up on our fridge where we can all see it everyday. We are each assigned a day and have been pretty good at keeping up. We also re-used a box we already had as our in-house recycling bin. Nothing fancy but it's on less box hanging out in a landfill.

Re-using something or giving it a "second chance" is important in our home. We try to buy recycled products as much as possible and we give our business to companies who have also taken on this initiative. Energizer® is one of these companies. Energizer has released new EcoAdvanced™ batteries. These are the world's first AA battery made with 4% recycled batteries and is Energizer's longest lasting battery! TRY IT! Power your most critical devices AND have less impact on the planet!

Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ AA and AAA batteries are available at your local Target in the batteries section. Pick some up today and update your home with guilt-free energy!