City Life 2 Army Wife @bitavee-blog - Tumblr Blog

Reymond feeding Romeo a mini bagel #toocute #theseboys #toomuch #brothers #myloves #minibagel

#toocute #brothers #minibagel #toomuch #theseboys #myloves

I gave Him a notebook just for him to color, I did everything possible to show him what it's for. I go and vacuum and come back to this.....I took it as him thinking out of the box 😑😌 #travieso #thisboy #toomuch #gottalovehim

#thisboy #gottalovehim #toomuch #travieso

What my son (step son) got me for Mother's Day!! He made my day ❤❤❤❤😍😘 he drew me too and gave me actual tea. He is such a sweetheart.

So bad, last years Halloween candy. My husband and I told the kids we had thrown this bag away. Now me and him sneak away to the kitchen and eat candy lol.

Reymond dancing with Romeo and his swing lol #brothers #salsainhisblood #love

#love #brothers #salsainhisblood

A stroll on this beautiful spring day

#netherlands #spring #sunny day #mi barrio #motherhood

Two Babies and A Flat Belly

Before I had my first son, I was hard at work trying to reach my dream waist size. I was 27 inches and was trying to loose two more to get to 25 inches. I was 39 inches around my hips and I was okay with that I just had to get my waist small enough. Then I found out I was pregnant and in a way I felt a little bad because I had been on my way to a smaller waist but overall I was excited because I was going to have my first baby. In the beginning I ran and exercised while pregnant but then I got lazy and tired and hungry so working out wasn't part of my pregnant lifestyle. After I had my first son I wanted to get my body back but I sure wasn't working diligently at it. And then a few months after I had given birth I find out I'm pregnant again. I was sure happy I hadn't put too much time and effort in getting my pre baby body back because I was going to end up getting big again.

Now that I am so close to giving birth to my second son, I am absolutely obsessed with getting my body back. I know for sure this will be my last baby so I am very ready to get back in shape without having to worry about getting big again because of a pregnancy….

Well, I gave birth!!, and I will write all about it but on another post.

What have I been doing to get back in shape? Right after I gave birth (and I mean right after I pushed out my baby and went back to my room) I put on a loose-ish girdle, it helped me out A LOT with getting my tummy back in place. Also I’m breastfeeding so that helped me out with getting my uterus to its normal size and the best part is I burn calories while I sit and feed my little one. Two weeks after I gave birth, I put on a tighter girdle that my husband had bought for me. He had told me that this type of girdle is very popular amongst Panamanian women because it was very effective. So I decided to give it a try. My husband calls it a “Faja Columbiana” and he bought mine from fajasmax.com. My mother in-law told me I had to wear it for 3 months, taking it off only to wash and at night. So far I love it, it gives me a sexier silhouette. And it pushes all of my chunkiness into all the right places. It has been a little over a month and my stomach is flat. I have not done any abdominal workouts since the doctor advised me not to. And I have only been eating clean (protein, fruits and veggies). I love the progress so far, so I will definitely continue what I am doing. As soon as six weeks have passed, I will start doing cardio, runs every other day so I can get rid of the extra little fat that is still lingering and also I have been doing squats to compliment the shape the girdle has been giving me. J

#postpartum #motherhood #waist #flat stomach #flat abs #fitness #skinny #babies

The Perfect Parent

Well I can definitely tell you right now that there is no such a thing as the perfect parent. When I first found out I was pregnant with my first son, I knew I wanted to be the perfect parent, to teach my child everything I knew about life and to raise him to be a respectful, smart, humble and just all around perfect person.

I started by researching on parenting methods and theories. I came across Amy Chua’s book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, on some areas I felt like she was onto something, but I mostly thought she was hard on her girls; She didn’t really let them be children. No kite flying, no circus, no water fights, no childhood. To this day I still wonder if the daughters resent their mother deep inside.

I actually am very thankful for the adults in my childhood that let me be a kid. And because of my very satisfying and wonderful childhood, now as an adult I feel satisfied with life as a whole. I have no complaints and I even try to have my kids enjoy the things I did.

Now that my son is 11 months old, I have been trying to offer him a variety when it comes to parenting style. Although I have accustomed my son to constant cuddles and mushiness, I have also tried to be strict with him. Lord knows it gets hard for me, because all my son has to do is smile and I am simply not upset anymore so definitely my husband is the more stricter parent. So when my son gets in trouble, he comes crawling to mommy for comfort which of coarse softens my heart and I comfort him. I also try not to speak baby gibberish back to him, instead I hold conversations with him so that he may attempt to speak. He has been repeating sounds similar to the words we say. And he has been learning to stay focused on a book as I read it to him.

My mother says I’m too hard and strict on my son and my husband says I smother him too much. At the end of the day I stick to my parenting method and I actually do recognize that I do have to take my strictness up a notch. But so far my parenting style has been working for me and my son. After my son gets in trouble he still comes up to me and snuggles with me, I imagine it means he’s sorry. So as long as he still wants a hug from mommy, I’m a happy camper.

#perfect parent #Motherhood #Amy Chua #Parenting #11 month old #happy kid

The Netherlands and My Beauty Routine

Life has been treating my family pretty well for having recently moved to the Netherlands from the States. Most Dutch folk speak English so the language barrier hasn't been too tough on us. The Dutch are very friendly and they open up about their personal lives quite easily. Its been very cold here, so the beauty routine has changed quite a bit. Definitely more moisturizer and chapstick. My favorites being Nivea Lotion (this one) mixed with Eucerin Plus (found here), it leaves the skin super soft, something I have always received compliments on since I started with it (winks eye). And my most useful chapsticks and lip balm being the Carmax strawberry (right here) and Fresh Sugar Lip Balm (found here).

My munchkin enjoying the view

I definitely do not go out much, I hate the cold. So Ive been sparing my skin. And my pregnancy has made me very very lazy. I will admit its a bit of a challenge to look fabulous, very pregnant (8 months), and trying to keep warm. A lot of other mothers here didn't even suspect I was pregnant till I came out with a sweater one day. Ive been using trench coats, pea coats and well just very large cozy coats with faux furs and scarves. And when its came down to doing my hair Ive relied on my natural waves and good hair days (thank God for prenatal pills). Overall life is good, just some getting used to :)