Welcome to my life.

I'm a working mom of one, trying hard to get good at balancing it all. (It's not easy to balance advertising with mommyhood!) Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but I never stop trying!

[yanisa]

The color combinations in her name. 😍 Her drawings always make me pause my crazy life for a minute and just smile. #thehighlightofmyday #findyourjoy #workingmom #findingbalance #momvslife #artbymyfiveyearold

[yanisa]

I miss the sun. I only get quick peeks of it in the morning when I walk my daughter to school, and when I walk from my car to the office. The rest of the day I'm indoors, and I miss the sun. So this is one of my favorite pictures from this year (so far). I close my eyes and think back to that wonderful week at sea, where the sun and I got to spend a lot of quality time together. I miss you, sun! #takemeback #cruiselife #sunworshipper

[yanisa]

Better late than never. First day of kindergarten. I still have mixed feelings about it. Such a little kid in such a big school. I'm happy, I'm anxious, I'm excited, I'm scared. I'm nostalgic of the baby days when I got to stay home with her and she was no one else's responsibility but mine. When she was my full-time job. When I didn't have to worry about her needs being met by strangers, wondering if she's crying or having a great day. This week it feels particularly hard to be a working mom. But life goes on. And I have to trust that the system works and that she's learning life skills that I can't teach her. That these experiences will complement the lessons we try to teach her at home and that in the end, all will be well. Tonight, she's in bed - I know she's safe and I can give my worries a rest. I will close my eyes wishing and hoping for a good day tomorrow, for her and all our little ones. #workingmom #momvslife #firstdayofschool #firstdayofkindergarten #viviisfive

[yanisa]

The joy of opening big birthday presents! #findyourjoy #humansofjoy #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock #countdownto5 #birthdaygirl #mimuñequita #lalaloopsy

[yanisa]

5 days to 5 years old. 6 days to 10 year wedding anniversary. 13 days to family vacation at sea. And I love this photo taken by a kind stranger. Life feels particularly good today. ☺️ #losgarciavelez #domingoteamo #thefinalcountdown #michimu #miamichildrensmuseum #family❤️

[yanisa]

Tonight's random thoughts: A dog is a girl's best friend. She gave him her blanket! 😍 Beagles will let you do anything to them. #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock and #thecutestbeagleontheblock #beaglesofinstagram #bffs #beaglelove

[yanisa]

Mine is the one with a head. #domingoteamo #countdowntokindergarten #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock

[yanisa]

Today we went shopping for her new school uniforms. Payasa. (How come there's no clown emoji???) #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock #countdowntokindergarten #sabadoteamo #humansofjoy #findyourjoy

[yanisa]

A little #kiwicrate brings out a lot of silliness. Today we built a paint pendulum and made spiral paintings. #kiwipendulum #itsthelittlethings #findyourjoy

[yanisa]

Bathtime shenanigans! At what age do we lose our ability to make every little thing fun? Can it be recovered? I'll try really hard and report back! #findyourjoy #viernesteamo #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock #workingmom #momvslife #findingbalance

[yanisa]

#tbt to our family trip to Colorado. 2016 has definitely been the year of #findingbalance so far. We're spending more quality time together and we're learning to appreciate every moment, even when our child is throwing a tantrum and gives us the evil eyes. #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock #viviencolorado #workingmom #momvslife

[yanisa]

Remember what it feels like to be a kid and LOVING being sick because you could skip school? Well, yesterday my daughter got to spread her germs in my new office and in all honesty, I loved it even more than her. ❤️ #workingmom #momvslife #thecutestpreschoolerontheblock #thefabfours #zumbakid #zumbahomeoffice

[yanisa]

I've had a migraine all weekend, yet look at everything I have to show for it. It's hard not to smile when I look back and see everything we did, even when my head feels like it will literally explode into millions of teeny tiny pieces. Tonight I'm grateful that I survived, that Viviana got to do all this, and that I can finally lie in bed and take something strong to render me unconscious. I will pass out with a smile and a heart bursting with love. #lookingatthebrightside #glasshalffull #momvslife #workingmom #brownies #pancakes #swimschool #findingbalance #goodbyeweekend

[yanisa]

The Happy Photo Effect

By looking at this photo, you would think my daughter had THE most amazing time in the snow. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is this smile only lasted about 30 seconds. The truth is she hated every minute after that and it sucked. 

Now, let’s say I were to post a photo of this day on Facebook. Obviously, this is the photo that I want for posterity. I want the happy memory of Snow Day. So I go ahead and share it. I share the illusion that this day was all happiness. Share a photo every day, and everyone thinks your life is perfect.

I have frequent conversations with my mom friends about how difficult this job is. We vent about our kids’ tantrums, our exhaustion, and our disagreements about parenting with our significant others. We usually blame ourselves for not having enough patience or not being smart enough in the ways we’ve dealt with each situation, and we conclude that we are failing as mothers. We all do this, yet we feel like we’re alone in our feelings because the photos we see on social media from our friends are of happy moments. So we wrongfully assume that their entire days are like that, and that their kids are saints because they’re better mothers than we are. The truth is, we’re all good mothers. We all try our best and we all post the happy photos because of course, that’s what we want to share and remember.

I don’t think people post only happy photos because they want to portray a facade. Some maybe, but not everyone. I think most do it because, in the same way I do, that’s what they want to remember. After all, having kids, no matter how difficult, brings us more happiness than angst. And these short-lived moments of joy throughout the day turn into the fuel that helps us withstand the tantrum tornadoes and the whining downpours.

It could be that posting only happy photos is our coping technique. A natural instinct to focus on the good things, so we can recharge and keep enjoying the toughest job in the world. Yeah, I think it’s that. :-)

[yanisa]

These two collecting seashells. #itsthelittlethings (at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park)

[yanisa]

Even at the beach there's whining. But it's cool. Life is messy that way. It's imperfectly perfect. 😊 #findingbalance #sabadoteamo #momvslife #virginiakey #beachsaturday (at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park)

[yanisa]

This is how I'm starting 2016. Looking up. My first resolution: #findingbalance Bring it on! Here's to #newbeginnings