Zoological Wildlife Foundation Miami: A Hidden Gem in Miami

I was born and have lived my entire life in Miami. I thought I knew everything this city had to offer, until this weekend when JC surprised me with a trip to the Zoological Wildlife Foundation Miami. This place is truly a hidden gem. The Zoological Wildlife Foundation is an organization dedicated t educating the public are rare and endangered species in the captivity and in the wild. I would consider this a private zoo as tour appointments have to be made but honestly, it's worth every penny. They have lions and tigers but they also have owls (the reason JC took me), kinkajous, leopards, porcupines and a plethora of monkeys and apes. So many animals I was overwhelmed. JC found this place online as he was looking for an owl encounter for me (there aren't really that many). I love owls but had never actually seen one until Saturday!

Yup, that's a real spectacle owl! You are able to pet it and honestly, when you are so close, they are kind of creepy. When they look at you, you feel like you are being judged by a cruel teacher at school!

JC loved the monkeys, two babies.....

see that joy of playing with baby animals, until.....

one of them pulls on your lumberjack beard!

Then it was time to interact with the most adorable animal I have ever seen...a kinkajou! This kinkajou only wanted to cuddle and be held like a baby. I melted!!

This magnificent creature just watched us. Hank was kind and let us pet him. He also like taking selfies. If you stand behind him and hold your phone up in front, he will pose!

After some more interactions (a baby alligator, tortoise, baby otter) it was time for a tour. This facility had so many animals. My favorite were the white lions (brought to the US to be saved from hunters in South Africa) and JC's favorite was Aladdin the camel.

This lion just turned 5 and is supposed to be a mature adult but he just wants to be pet!

I have so many more pictures but honestly, this is definitely a place to check out in person. This foundation is doing so many amazing things to care for these animals and I recommend it to all those traveling to Miami! I can't wait to take Adrian!!

For more info: http://zoologicalwildlifefoundation.com/wildlife-tours/

I posted more pics on my IG: http://www.instagram.com/secondchancesgirl

3 Steps To An Easy At-Home Date Night

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

It's my favorite time of year, the time of year when we are back on schedules. I absolutely love summer but after a while, I need to be back on schedule. I need to know when we will have all three kids vs. just one. I need to know when we will be home and when we won't and I need to know when I will be spending some alone time with JC. We have so many kids around during the summer months and so much pressure to "entertain" them that I feel like JC and I don't even have a minute to talk to each other, much less date. To me, dating is very important for our relationship. It's our time to talk, to hang out, to spend time together as adults. Getting back into our regularly scheduled lives helps us "fall into passion" with each other again!!

Since we have three kids and babysitters can be expensive, we usually have at-home date nights. I actually really like at-home date nights because we don't have to worry about busy restaurants or spending tons of money. My favorite date nights are surprise date nights on those nights where I know he is working late and I can have everything ready by the time he gets home (and the kids are asleep!) I do this often so I have mastered 3 steps to an easy and sexy at-home date night!

Step 1: Plan your night. Even though it's technically a surprise date night, there is some planning required. Wear something attractive but comfortable. Plan your meal. Will be it take-out or are you cooking? If you are cooking, make sure to check out step 2! Make a playlist of your favorite "romantic" songs. Pull out the candles. I hate thinking of all these things each time so I keep a basket in the closet with everything I need and just pull it out!

Step 2: Cooking? Make something simple and delicious! JC loves my cooking so I don't mind cooking up a simple dish that I know he will love. On our most recent at-home date night, I made Sauteed Shrimp with Pan Fried Sweet Potato Wedges. This is a delicious dish that takes a total of 20 minutes from prep to table!

SAUTEED SHRIMP AND PAN-FRIED SWEET POTATO WEDGES

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For shrimp:

1 bag large cocktail shrimp (41-50 count bag)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped yellow onions

2 cloves diced garlic

1 tbsp chopped basil

1/2 cup white wine

salt and pepper to taste

For sweet potato wedges:

1 medium sized sweet potato (cut in wedges)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

For shrimp: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add shrimp. (I use cocktail shrimp because I am too lazy to clean raw shrimp, it also cooks super fast.) Add basil, salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup white wine, lower heat to medium and let cook for about another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve.

For sweet potatoes: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes and sprinkle with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Turn all the wedges so they are fully coated with olive oil and spices. Cover and let cook for about 6 minutes. Turn potato wedges and cook for another 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve.

Step 3: Try something new. If you have been with your partner a long time, things can get a little routine, especially in the bedroom, so at-home date nights are the perfect time to try something new. Couples need to nurture the passion in their relationship and heightening the excitement with something new, like K-Y® LOVE Sensuality Pleasure Gel, is the way to go. A healthy love life, along with discovery and honesty keeps our relationship fresh.

I can't wait for our next at-home date night! It will definitely be a fun surprise for us both! Be sure to check out the Intimacy Tips for Busy parents video below for more tips on falling back into passion with your partner!

K-Y® LOVE Sensuality Pleasure Gel is available at Walmart in the family planning aisle.

Tell me about your perfect at-home date night. Do you have any tips and tricks you use to enhance the intimacy between you and your partner?

Get To Know Us In 7 Pictures

I've given myself a little challenge. I've noticed some new readers lately (thank you so much!) and realized that I needed a re-introduction post. I wanted something different than just talking about myself (you can read that in The Girl page) so I decided to make it a little more fun. Now, in this post, you can get to know us, all of us, through pictures, seven to be exact. Why seven? I have no idea! It was the first number to pop into my head!!

Here we go!

{ONE}

Not your traditional storybook family here, we are a proud blended family! Pictured above, from left to right, there's me, Amberly, Gian, JC, Adrian and Ivanna. JC and I met in 2011 at work! When we met, I was already a mom to Adrian and he was a dad to Amberly and Gian. Ivanna is Adrian's cousin from his dad's side who I met when she was 2. She is being raised by her and Adrian's grandparents and I have pretty much taken her in as my own! 

{TWO}

We live in Miami, Florida. I was born and raised in Miami. All the kids were born here too. JC emigrated here from Cuba when he was eight and has been here ever since. We love living in Miami and honestly, cannot picture raising our family anywhere else!

{THREE}

These three are 9, 8 and 7 years old. Their birthdays are all at the end of the year (November 10, November 11 and December 27 to be exact. They get along 25% of the time and argue the other 75%, sounds like regular siblings to me!

{FOUR}

We are water junkies. Whether it be the pool, beach or a lake, we love hanging out by the water!

{FIVE}

We are BIG hometown team fans. We cheer for the Miami Heat, Miami Hurricanes, Miami Marlins and the Miami Dolphins. We are real fans too, no matter how many losing seasons our teams give us, we cheer for them!! 

{SIX}

We love Disney! We went on our first Disney cruise this year and then up to Magic kingdom in July. Disney World is always the best vacation spot for us!

{SEVEN}

Fourth of July is our family holiday. We have been together every Fourth of July since we became a family. We love all holidays but this one is it for me. I love our traditions of spending the day at the beach and then watching the most amazing fireworks at the Biltmore! I plan on continuing this tradition as long as possible!! Family Rule: The kids know that no matter where they are in the world, we are together on the 4th!!

This was quite the challenge because our family is so much more than these seven pictures but here you get a good idea of who our family is! Anything else you'd like to know, please feel free to comment below or email me!

His Greatest Voyage: Fatherhood!

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

I was sitting at my desk the other day thinking about Father's Day. Father's Day is a special day to honor the amazing man who raised you. My dad is incredible. He set the bar so high for me when it comes to men. He came to this country at 26 years old and worked so hard to get by and raise his family. He was also an excellent step-father to my older sisters. He has been there for us every single day of our lives, supporting us, loving us and teaching us. I knew that one day, the man I chose to be the father of my children would have the same amazing qualities my father has. When I asked my dad what has been the greatest voyage in your life, he said "ser papa" or "fatherhood!"

I met JC in 2011. We both worked at the same engineering firm. I was already a mom and he was already a dad. JC became a dad at 19. He was in his first year of college. He was scared and didn't know what to do. He didn't have the greatest example to learn from either, his dad ran out on his family when JC was only 11, never to be seen again. Like my father, JC emigrated to the US from Cuba. Only difference, he was only 8 years old. He had it rough but he vowed to himself that the day he had kids, he would be the greatest father ever. He says that he remembers holding Amberly as a newborn and knowing that from that moment on, playtime was over. He was going to set an amazing example for this little girl! 

JC had his second child, Gian Carlo, at 21. Once again, still young, still in college and now with a full-time job and a toddler at home. Life got insanely hard for him and the kids mom and they decided to split up in 2008.

Now a single dad and college student, he knew he had to go all the way. He would go to school and work all week and then see his kids on the weekend. He struggled but made it through. A couple years later, he graduated with a degree in Architecture and was working at the engineering firm where we met!

(first pic we took together! Babies!!)

We started dating quietly for a couple months and then we decided to introduce our kids to each other. Adrian first, since I am a single mom and always with Adrian. I was nervous as could be but I was confident that JC was a kind man that would embrace Adrian. I was right. They have been pals since Day 1. 

They are friends. Sure they argue but it's all based out of love. Adrian adores JC. He is his "Papa." JC calls Adrian "my son." It melts my heart everytime I hear it. They are with each other everyday. Honestly, JC is the perfect example of a father! He treats all three children the same. He supports them. He loves them. He plays with them. He is stern when he needs to be and kind the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of the day. He goes to every sporting event, every play, every show, every school program, everything the kids are involved in. He is present in his kid's lives! He has used his past as groundwork for parenthood. He has even taken on one of the most difficult roles in life, being a stepfather, and made it look easy! He is our anchor, our rock, our everything!

I asked JC the same question I aked my dad. What has been greatest voyage in your life so far? He said "fatherhood! it's been amazing!" For Father's Day, I wanted to get him a gift that represented a voyage, something to remind him all he has been though and all the excitement to come. While I was at Macy's the other day, I saw the new Nautica Voyage cologne. It was a sign. I suddenly remembered him telling me that when he was in high school, he always wore Nautica and now there was a Nautica Voyage set right in front of me. I had to get it for him!

Nautica colognes are for the "gentle man!" An everyday hero. A man who is excited for his future and actively chases his dreams. Nautica Voyage symbolizes a man on a journey and I think there is no greater journey than fatherhood! Fresh, cool and aquatic, Nautica Voyage sets sail with top notes of green leaf and crisp apple. An aquatic heart of water lotus and drenched mimosa echoes the very essence of Nautica.  A rich blend of damp moss, musk and refined woody amber anchors the fragrance with a deep and undeniable masculinity. The deluxe gift set I purchased is available for $65.00, a $128.00 value. This gift set includes: 3.4 oz Eau de Toilette, 2.5 oz Aftershave Balm, 2.5 oz Shower Gel, and 1 oz Eau de Toilette. It's the perfect gift for that special dad in your life!!

I love bringing you giveaways and this one rocks. Enter below for your chance to win one of the following:

• 1 Grand Prize Winner will win a $4,000 Cruise Vacation Package
• 5 Second Place Winners will win a Nautica Men's Fragrance Gift Package

Nautica for Dad


OK now that you have read all about the amazing dads in my life, please tell me about yours!!

DIY Printable Ultimate Car Trivia Game - Easy Father's Day Gift

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

Dads are fun. Dads work hard. Dads love hard. That's why they deserve all the attention that their family can dote on them, not only on Father's Day but everyday! I have some very special things lined up for JC for Father's Day but I couldn't help but gift him some of his gifts early. He's a sucker for handmade gifts. He loves the thought put into them so on top of handmade cards (he wants a giant-sized one), I created a trivia game. We love to play games together as a family and since he's a car fanatic, I would create a car themed trivia game. Super fun, right?

Father's Day gifting doesn't get any easier than this. Just download the files below, print out on cardstock and cut. I used a paper cutter so I could make sure they were the same size!

               

 

                           Download here                                                Download here

Like I mentioned before, JC is a car fanatic. With three kids, he hasn't been able to get his dream car (Nissan Skyline) but it will happen one day. For now, he has his Corolla, his first car that he got on his own during college. He says he will keep this car forever. He takes good care of it but doesn't always have time to clean it. I decided to get him one of the new Armor All Car Care Gift Pack 10-piece Buckets I saw the other day at Walmart. This bucket brings so many car cleaning products and he can just keep the bucket in his trunk. He can stop anywhere and clean his car! He loved it!

The 10-piece bucket (valued at over $30) includes:

• Armor All Orange Bucket with Lid
• Armor All Extreme Tire Shine
• Armor All Original Pump 10 oz
• Armor All Ultra Shine wash & Wax
• Armor All Cleaning Wipes
• Armor All Glass Wipes
• Armor All Quick Silver Wheel & Tire Cleaner
• Armor All Towel
• Armor All Pro Tips Booklet
• Sponge

All he need to keep his car looking like new!

JC is an amazing dad and an even more incredible step-dad. Adrian and I are very lucky he came into our lives three years ago!

He loves like no other. He supports like no other. He plays like no other. We love him and are grateful every day for him! We have lots more in store for him for Father's Day but so far he loves his trivia game (took it to work to play with his colleagues) and his car care bucket. 

The Armor All Car Care Gift Pack 10-piece bucket is available in the Auto Care section at Walmart for 19.88. Make sure to download this coupon and save $2.00 off your purchase (while supplies last). 

Life Lately: Crazy Saturday Weekend Edition!

Life is CRAZY busy around here lately. The kids have lots going on with school and getting ready for testing. JC has several Crossfit competitions during March and April and I am busy with blogging. It's insane but I am enjoying every minute of it!

Friday evening we picked up Gian and Amberly and got a cute surprise. Gian lost his two front teeth! I love toothless smiles on little kids!

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning (6:30am) to get to soccer, a Crossfit competition, art class and Cinderella's Royal Ball at the Disney Store! First, we dropped off JC at the gym where he was competing at Battle of the Machines IV. Pulls on the beard for good luck!

We waited around until JC was done with registration and rules.

I attempted a group shot but I guess it was too early. Look at Amberly's "over it" face!

Then we had breakfast at Dunkin Donut's and if you follow me on IG you saw that the kids had an intense Q & A with some police officers who were in the booth behind us.

Intense morning Q & A session with some police officers! "Do you arrest kids?" No! "Why do you eat donuts?" #kids #socurious

A photo posted by Ida Arias (@scggirl) on Mar 7, 2015 at 5:27am PST

Then it was off to soccer! Adrian was a little off his game but did manage to score a goal. He has a new love for soccer and will be attending an intense soccer camp during Spring Break!

After soccer we rushed over to art class and then made a mad dash to the Disney Store where Amberly wanted to attend the Royal Ball. We made it to the last session at 12:30 p.m.  Amberly went dressed as her favorite princess, Rapunzel!

This was a super cute event where the kids, most dressed as Cinderella, got an extended peek at the new Cinderella movie, learned about kindness to others and even learned to waltz!

After the ball and buying MORE Tsum Tsum's ( I need to write about my kids obsession with those) we were on our way back to the gym where we luckily caught JC in the last WOD (workout of the day)! Sorry for the blurry pics, he was racing through this WOD!

Buy in: 50 Box Jumps

AMRAP:

5 deadlifts

30 yd farmer's carry

5 Power Snatches

This was his 4th WOD so he was beat! I'm glad we caught him in action though. The kids love to cheer him on during competitions! After that WOD, we waited around for the closing ceremonies and I'm thrilled to announe  that my honey got 3rd place in the Men's Terminator category!!! 

This is the first competition where he podiums so it was a HUGE deal! We went to dinner to celebrate where everyone was so exhausted that we left half our food on our plates, went back home and passed out! EXTREMELY eventful Saturday!

Sunday was science project day! Amberly and Gian both worked on and thankfully, finished their science projects and then it was time to relax and play video games!

If you notice, we have yet to finish organizing after the move. If we continue with weekends like this, organizing might never happen!

3 Years of Love!

Happy Friday! Today is all about love here on the blog! Today JC and I are celebrating 3 years of love and happiness! I am so grateful to have met him and get to spend everyday with him. We, along with our 3 kids, are the family I always wanted!! So Happy Anniversary to us!!

My all-time favorite pic of us!!

Wishing us many, many, many more years of happiness and love!