First Time Mom and Losing It

**I received the product below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


I love cooking in my oven but I don't love the mess left behind on baking dishes. I tend to always line my baking dish with aluminum foil to help with the clean up but it tends to make my food stick no matter how much cooking spray I add. The Baking Wizards Silicon Baking Mat was the perfect solution to my baking problems. All you have to do is put the mat on the bottom of your baking dish for a perfectly non stick surface. The mats are super easy to wash and can be reused thousands of times.


For years I have seen these chefs make parmesan crisps on cooking shows so I wanted to try using my new Baking Wizards baking mat to make them. I switched it up to cheddar cheese and thought of forming them into cups to hold my favorite taco bean meat.

To make the cups I first shredded some cheddar cheese on the biggest shred side of a box grater. Then I packed a tablespoon measure with some of the cheese and placed the mound of cheese on the baking mat. Then I carefully spread each mound making sure to leave space in between each round. I placed it in the oven and baked it on 350 degrees for five minutes.


While the cheese rounds are baking I took out a mini muffin tin and placed it upside down. After the five minutes are up I took the cheese round out of the oven and let them cool off for one minute. Then I carefully pried up each round using a spatula. I placed each round on top of a muffin cup and carefully draped them. Let the cheese cups cool down until they are no longer soft. Place them into an airtight container until you are ready to use then.

I took my delicious Turkey and Taco Bean Dip to fill the cups. I added a dollop of homemade guacamole and a slice of radish.

Enjoying the beautiful weather while having fun in the park.

It is so easy and fun to craft and find activities for my toddler to do during each holiday. I like going online to find coloring pages of the different holidays to explain to my toddler what each one is. I usually will print out two copies, put one in front of her and one in front of me with the crayons spread out in the middle. As we both color I tell her what each holiday is and why we celebrate it. With Cinco De Mayo approaching I love that it is a Mexican holiday so I can to throw in some Spanish lessons too.

I wanted to create my own coloring page that I could incorporate some magnetic pom poms to decorate. When I made the magnetic pom poms for my Weight Loss Command Center my toddler was intrigued so I had to make some for her too. It is so fun for little ones to change the colors of the pom poms in an instant and to match them up with the circles.


First you have to print out the printable.  Then you can spread out the crayons and have fun coloring with your toddler or kids. As this point I also take the opportunity to ask my toddler what the different colors are. I usually say "I want to color this part red but I can't find the red. Can you help me?" She is so into helping mommy right now so she gets so happy to get the crayons for me.

Than you can place the colored printable on top of a magnetic board like the one below. I used the magnets it came with to hold the paper in place.

Click on the link for my Weight Loss Command Center  to see how I made the magnetic pom poms. Have fun switching up the colors of the pom poms on the colored sombrero.



How you do Celebrate Cinco De Mayo with your little ones? 

**I received the product below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.

Whenever I have a bad weight loss week, where I eat things I'm not supposed to and don't exercise as much as I should, I turn to my Weight Loss Detox water. I first heard about this detox recipe on Pinterest and when I found out it came from Jillian Michaels I had to try it. I wanted to make sure the recipe was 100% hers so I did some research and found this video:


One of the main ingredients of the Weight Loss Detox Water is the Dandelion Root Tea. This tea has tons of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It is rich in Vitamins A, C, D, B-complex, iron, potassium and zinc. Dandelion Root Tea helps the body detox by helping remove excess water that causes bloating. This is especially helpful when you eat lots of foods that are high in sodium .

To make the tea, mix the following ingredients in a pitcher:

• 1/2 gallon of distilled water
• 2 tblsp lemon juice
• 1 tblsp pure cranberry juice
• 1 tea bag of Dandelion Root Tea

Allow the ingredients to seep and meld together for about one hour. Then sip it throughout the day. I do this for one week and usually lose at least 5 pounds with the help of eating right and exercising.


I love that the Dandelion Root Tea from KissMe Organics is raw which helps maintain more of it's nutrients as compared to the roasted kind. The KissMe Organics brand is also organic, naturally caffeine-free and extremely affordable when compared to buying it by the box in stores. It also has the added flavorings of hibiscus and cinnamon. Though they are very subtle it does help keep the natural bitterness of the Dandelion Root Tea away.

You can purchase a carton of the KissMe Organics Dandelion Root Tea on Amazon.

As soon as I felt myself slipping with the weight loss efforts I went to my Weight Loss Command Center to tweak it up a little bit. Having this huge visual right by my door is super motivating because it makes it easier to schedule my day. I decided I wanted to make my Weight Loss Command center just a little bit better.

I have a weekly notebook planner where I write down what I will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now I take the Whiteboard part of my command center and write down what I am going to eat the night before. This way as soon as I wake up I can look at my command center and prepare my meals for the day.


The whiteboard calender was a huge disappointment as the marker wouldn't easily come off and it was already starting to peel off. I found the cork board square that went with my other squares in the center so I used it to hold a paper calender that I designed. Click on the link to download your own calendar. This made it easier to just write on the paper and post it onto the cork board then having to write on the wall.



I wanted to add a fun way to track my pounds lost so I made these super easy magnets out of pom poms. I always have pom poms on hand from my daughter's art projects so I took little pieces of magnetic tape and hot glued them onto 15 pom poms. For every pound lost I will move it over to the lost side. My first small goal is to lose 15 pounds so this is one way to keep track.



I also changed the motivational poster for the month. You can download it here.


What are some of the fun ways you keep track of your pounds lost? 

**I received the product below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


Even though I have a consistent skin care routine that like I have been having minor breakouts. I tend to always touch my face so I know that I am transferring dirt and oil to my skin. I wanted to do something more than just using my facial cleanser so I was so happy to get the chance to review the Beauty Royale Skin Cleaning System.

The beauty royale skin cleaning system comes with everything you need to take care of your skin. You get the small facial brush that is perfect to give your facial skin a super deep clean. The body brush for bigger areas of your skin like your shoulders and back. The facial sponge that can be used to perfectly apply moisturizer. The pumice stone that is perfect for feet and elbows. You also get a cute chevron storage bag to put everything in.


The rotating machine is waterproof so you can use it in the shower. It is super powerful yet super gentle on your skin. When I saw the is used 4 AA batteries I thought it would be too powerful on the face but it actually feels really nice. It is super simple to take out and put back the different brush heads. It only has an on and off switch so it's easy to use right away.

I have been using this system for over two weeks now and really see a difference in how clean my face is and how soft. Not only is it deep cleaning your skin but it is also exfoliating. The extra exfoliation is making my skin super soft. Please check on my video review on the system below.

Click on the link to check out more information on the Beauty Royale Skin Cleaning System and purchase one on Amazon.

Spring weather is finally here so we started practicing for Soccer Season in June!

This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Vi and Va Dolls and Latina Bloggers Connect.


I remember loving my fashion dolls when I was a little girl. My best friend and I would play with them for hours! I got some for my daughter as soon as I knew I was having a girl and saved them until she was old enough to play with them. Now she wants to play all the time with me and I have fun role playing with her.

I was so thrilled to see the line of fashion dolls called Vi and Va that are inspired by Latino cultures. Viviana and Valentina are two teen sisters and Felicia and Roxxi are their best friends who are also their cousins. Being Puerto Rican, I can definitely relate as I am very close to sisters and cousins. I was so happy to see how different all four dolls are as it covers the melting pot of Latinos for all over. I love how each girl has their own talents. Viviana has her little guitar because she loves music. Valentina comes with a baking dish of cookies and a recipe book because she loves to cook. Felicia comes with a paint brush and paint kit because she loves to create art. Roxxi comes with a radio because she loves to dance.



My favorite was Valentina because she looks the most like my daughter and she likes to cook like my daughter and I. I let my daughter bring Valentina to the kitchen as we made dinner. Then we had fun role playing with her little kitchen and Valentina making empanadas while the other girls sat and watched. My daughter loved changing their clothes and brushing their hair too.


In addition to the four dolls there is also a Birthday Celebration set, Fashion Designer set, Hair Stylist set, and a Head Styling Doll head. (I think we will be purchasing that one next!) You can find the entire line of Vi and Va dolls and sets exclusively at Target. Follow Vi and Va on Facebook and Twitter to get all the latest product news.

Enter below to win a Vi and Va Styling Head!


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This is sponsored post in collaboration with Vi and Va Dolls and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

April 30 is the day Mexican's celebrate the day of the child or Dia Del Niño. We always celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day so it great to be able to celebrate children's day too. I love to celebrate with my daughter on every holiday so we decided to make an easy Mexican recipe to go along with the theme.

I wanted to make something simple, fast and toddler friendly so I took out my pressure, some beef, cheese and of course my favorite salsa from Herdez. All I did was throw in some beef chunks, a jar of the HERDEZ® Salsa Casera, sealed up the pressure cooker and set it to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. While it was cooking on high pressure my daughter helped me tear some cilantro while I shredded the cheese and cut up the tomatoes.


After the 20 minutes were up I left the pressure naturally escape for 20 minutes. Then I drained out all of the meat and mixed in some of the torn cilantro. To assemble the quesadillas I added some of the beef with the torn cilantro and a squeeze of lime to half of a tortilla. Then I topped it with lots of cheese and folded it in half. I added a little bit of coconut oil into a pan and placed the quesadilla in and toasted it on both sides until golden. I cut it into wedges and served it to my toddler. She loves cheese so it was a hit!


I love that the HERDEZ® Brand is family friendly and authentic in food, their tradition and culture. It was through their website that I learned of the Día Del Niño and I decided to celebrate it. Not only is it celebrating the complete joy of having children in our lives but also of our inner child. I decided to celebrate my inner child by adding some fresh tomatoes and extra HERDEZ® Salsa Casera to my quesadilla.


Right now until April 30th HERDEZ is holding a photo contest on its Facebook wall! All you have to do is submit your favorite childhood picture tagged with #ThrowbackThursday on their Facebook wall. Each week three winners will be chosen to win a Día del Niño prize pack. "One grand prize winner each week will win a socialmatic camera, film, HERDEZ product, HERDEZ apron and recipe cards. Two runner up winners each week will win a selfie stick, HERDEZ product, HERDEZ apron and recipe cards."