Mami Knows Best | Puerto Rican Haitian Mami | Blog for Parents, Urban Moms: parenting tips

2:05 PM

School photos 2020-20 Thanks Corona

2:05 PM

Just some back to school humor. In our district we were given the choice of hybrid learning and remote learning we chose remote until our c...

Just some back to school humor.

In our district we were given the choice of hybrid learning and remote learning we chose remote until our city can get down to 3% positivity rate for covid-19. We are currently at 10%. I believe if we keep the kids home we'll be able to open up at full capacity sooner than later. We are all in this together.

Gas mask hand crafted using 95% recycled materials by S.Douglas El

12:11 PM

Our Girls Massaged/Tortured Daddy 😂💆😭 | Poor Daddy!

12:11 PM

Daddy needed a massage so these 2 volunteered 😂 💆 😭 poor daddy! This was the most aggressive Massage I've ever seen in my life

Daddy needed a massage so these 2 volunteered

😂

💆

😭poor daddy! This was the most aggressive Massage I've ever seen in my life

7:50 AM

My Baby Loves Her New Hamster | I'm Just Glad She Found Her After She Got Out

7:50 AM

Anna and her new lil sister 😘 😂 I'm glad she found this MF hamster before I lost my mind 😂 😭

Anna and her new lil sister

😘

😂 I'm glad she found this MF hamster before I lost my mind

😂

😭

6:27 AM

Babies love Green juice

6:27 AM

A lot of people say their children don't like a large variety of fruits and vegetables. I never could understand that. My childr...

A lot of people say their children don't like a large variety of fruits and vegetables. I never could understand that. My children eat what I give them to eat and I started off feeding them fruits and vegetables and they enjoy eating healthy.

I have 5 children and all of them are different. No they all don't like the same things for example 4 of my children love avocados and my 12 year old doesn't really care for them but she love's beets and carrots. But none of my children can tell me that they are not going to eat any veggies. The key word is have a variety and let them choose. And smoothies are delicious and excellent source of fruits and vegetables!

Babies love Green juice 😘💪 don't let them get used to that high fructose corn syrup crack shit. #greens #fruits #veggies #eattolive #happykids #healthykids

A post shared by Sakkara Ali #LMT #columbusOH (@alisakkara) on Nov 5, 2017 at 5:07pm PST

12:20 PM

"Snow Days" What do you do with the children on snow days?

12:20 PM

how the kis look when you tell them to go play in the snow Today the children are out of school because of the freezing cold and the cra...

how the kis look when you tell them to go play in the snow

Today the children are out of school because of the freezing cold and the crazy snow fall over night. They are happy and I'm like oh come on.. Because I now have to be the party planner for the day!

So we are doing fun things indoors today. You know movies, video games,cooking yummy treats, and board games. My children do not like to play out in the cold snow. I guess it's because they are from Brazil where it was always worm. When their friends come to the door to ask if they are going to come out to play they be like are you crazy...lol I think it's so funny. I am from New York and I loved going out to play in the snow as a child.

the are not going out unless it's in the car. lol

We always spend around 1 hour on school work as well..Math and Reading so that they can stay on the learning path!

How it looks outside..Beautiful!

So what do you do with your children on snow days?

2:46 PM

How we maintain and style our hair

2:46 PM

Seanna is angry after I washed and blow dried her hair lol We all have our bad hair days but hair is such a big deal in my house because...

Seanna is angry after I washed and blow dried her hair lol

We all have our bad hair days but hair is such a big deal in my house because I have 3 daughters. All three of them absolutely hate getting their hair combed. And yes they get it honestly, because I don't like combing out my hair either. I have noticed that the less we do to our hair the more it grows. Hear are my 3 girls and I. We all have really long and thick hair. I usually wash our hair about 4 to 6 times a month. That's once a week or every other week depending on how dirty our hair gets.

S'zion is being a big girl but she is the most tender headed of all

I keep our hair moisturized with hair creams or butters and oils. My favorite oils are Moroccan Aragon oli, Shea oil, black Haitian castor oil, and Almond oil. What I do is mix all the oils in the palm of my hand and use my finger tips to rub them through the scalp.

S'nai is the oldest so she pretty much goes with the flow but she has the most hair of all

Then I either braid or flat iron our hair.

Mami

Below is our youngest son. His hair was really long when we came to Columbus from Brazil 3 years ago. And we love trying new styles with him. He has such beautiful hair.


Shakari is getting his hair twisted with the sponge. It's pretty cool.

I'll have to make a whole new post about that!

9:58 AM

My Daughter's First Speech

9:58 AM

My daughter participated in the MLK Oratorical Contest yesterday and did a great job! We are so proud of her. Her speech was powerful an...

My daughter participated in the MLK Oratorical Contest yesterday and did a great job!

We are so proud of her. Her speech was powerful and she spoke the truth about racism in America. Here's a copy of her speech below.

The topic of my speech is would Dr. Martin Luther King think that we live in chaos or community today.

As a African American girl I have to say that Black people have come a long way in our country’s history. African Americans have overcome and accomplished a lot through struggles of open hatred and racism only based on the color of their skin. African Americans have lived through and survived a horrible past in America through slavery, oppression, and Jim Crow.

I was born in the USA, but I spent five years of my life growing up in Brazil. Living in Brazil does help me appreciate how far my people have come because we did not see any Black lawmakers while living there. Also there were not many Black people

8:49 AM

Potty Training With Papi...

8:49 AM

Here are a few videos that papi was using while potty training his little princess.

6:10 PM

Taking the Girls to Ballet Class

6:10 PM

Some footage of the girls at ballet class. I just want to share some of the things we do to show a positive way to stay active and raise ou...

Some footage of the girls at ballet class. I just want to share some of the things we do to show a positive way to stay active and raise our families.

It's really important to have your children involved in extra curricular activities. It helps them find positive outlets to express themselves, get exercise, and also socialize with kids their age that are active as well. The last part is really important because kids that don't have anything to do will find bulls#@! to get into like sex, drugs, and all other forms of delinquent activity.

We have 5 children (3 girls, 2 boys). One of our rules is to make sure everyone stays active. Everyone plays soccer, except for our baby. The boys play basketball and the girls take dance class and will probably start cheerleading this year.

They usually have something else going on in addition to that stuff as well.

We live right next to the girl's dance school.

They go twice a week.

All of the girls head to dance class together. Our baby just sits and watches.

She can't wait to get started though. I can tell.

Nani's class is longer than her younger sister so she patiently waits for her turn.

9:15 PM

Flying With Kids Pt 2 | International Flight With Children

9:15 PM

We flew over 7 hours straight with four children and everything went smoothly. Here are some tips on how you can replicate complete with...

We flew over 7 hours straight with four children and everything went smoothly. Here are some tips on how you can replicate complete with some pictures and video from our trip.

This is basically an update to a post I made years ago about an international flight with my children.

It doesn't have to be torturous or horrible if you plan ahead.

Have plenty of activities, snacks, and it doesn't hurt for them to take a little sedative (like Benadryl) beforehand. I'm definitely not ashamed about that part because I've witnessed how horrible it can be if you go without.

Pre-Flight Check

Make sure you have games, toys (preferably new), medicine, movies if possible, and a parachute just in case they kick you guys off the plane. We stopped at the Subway in the airport and fed everyone right before we checked in at the gate. After that everyone except for me and daddy had a dose of the pink stuff. That is so crazy that there are Subway restaurants all over Brazil.

Games, Games, Games

You definitely want to give your children plenty to do. We had a laptop and an iPad on our long flight. We've since upgraded. All the children now have child-safe tablets called Funtabs. These

8:26 AM

CHANGE OF LIFE

8:26 AM

@ the Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Change of life. Since arriving back in the U.S.A after living in Bahia Brazi...

@ the Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

Change of life.

Since arriving back in the U.S.A after living in Bahia Brazil for almost 4 years my family and I have done 3 life times worth of living. We found a nice place in the suburbs of Columbus, OH. We got our children in top schools that are helping them with the dramatic change from growing up and studying in a foreign country,

We welcomed our newest addition to the family on February 27,2013. "Our Buckeye baby"

We bought one of the best cars in the world for a family of 7. Ford Freestyle 3 row 7 passenger suv. And yes we did have to go through the whole process with getting our drivers license all over again and everything. I really felt like a teenager having to take the drivers as well as the written part of the test to receive our Ohio State drivers license.

We also placed all four of our other children in all kinds of extra curricular activities,camps as well as participated in many local events.

The girls are in ballet class, right here in Canal Winchester. They are loving it so far. Their dance school is so close to our house that we can walk to class.

It's called Studio C, check it out www.dancestudioc.org.

Our four oldest are playing soccer for Upward. They are having a great time! It's a pretty cool faith-based organization. They have multiple sports leagues. Check them out upward.org.

W have had a wonderful 9 months back in the States. We are truly blessed to have had all of these amazing adventures and I am looking so forward in our new journeys to come.

With our children growing and learning so many new things as they find their way and passions in life. I cant help but to share my joys and gratitude with the universe.

Thank you for allowing me to share this awesome information with you!

1:18 PM

My Experience Living Overseas

1:18 PM

Living overseas in Salvador, Bahia-Brazil has really opened my eyes to new and amazing ideas. My whole outlook on life has broaden...

Living overseas in Salvador, Bahia-Brazil has really opened my eyes to new and amazing ideas. My whole outlook on life has broadened beyond measures. I totally appreciate everything in my life more and have learned to exercise more patience from living here. I have learned so much from some really great people and I am glad that they were placed in my life when they were.

My children have been raised here in Brazil for over 4 years now and they are no longer strictly “American”. What I mean is we have been here for so long and they were so young when we got here that they don't really have any solid memories of the Unites States.

We moved here for a more natural relaxed life and tropical weather. Well we got all of that plus some. We learned a new language, culture, history, and way of life. We have been on an adventure from the time we stepped on to the air plane. We have lived in many neighborhoods all over the city and have experienced the different classes and quality of living. This really made an impression on us.

To witness rich and poor people living together side by side was mind boggling. In the U.S. people that are doing well financially live as far away as they can from the lower class communities. In Brazil, even though a lot of the upper class live in closed condominiums with doormen/guards, there is usually a favela or hood just down the street.

11:15 AM

SNACK TIME

11:15 AM

OUR 4 BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN Hello every one sorry it took so long before posting but I have been crazy busy. Not to worry I will be fill...

OUR 4 BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN

Hello every one sorry it took so long before posting but I have been crazy busy.

Not to worry I will be filling you in on all of the things we have been up to.
We are still in beautiful Salvador, Bahia Brazil. We recently moved from a neighborhood called Amaralina to Jardim de Alah. We absolutely love it here but we are in a condo apartment and are surrounded by neighbors...

Being an educated American I hired some help and created schedules for the children and their Nanny's so that our day's can run smooth and fun. Here are some pictures of the children playing with their food. Literally lol We cut up some apples and bananas gave every one a cup of granola, raises, nuts and a spoon of organic peanut butter and jelly. It was fun and yummy!

The children made all sorts of things from fruit animals to people. This kept them busy and quiet and the best part about it was the mess was all edible. lol

12:33 AM

Great stories for children "portuguese read along"

12:33 AM

6:59 AM

DEALING WITH FAMILY STRESS

6:59 AM

Family Stress, how I deal with it and ways I stop stress from turning in to depression. Being a young mother of four can get a little ...

Family Stress, how I deal with it and ways I stop stress from turning in to depression.

Being a young mother of four can get a little crazy at times. My children are very smart and loving they warm the hearts of every one that meets them. But sometimes life can get really stressful. They range from age 9 to age 2 and at the end of the day they are young and need a lot all the time.

Some people cannot imagine being alone with one child so I know caring for 4 children would seem like something from out of this world. Like a star wars movie packed with none stop action and craziness. Lol Yes and again there are four of them, so we have our ups and downs and no matter what being a good responsible parent it can get a bit stressful.

Children today are a whole lot different than children were back in the 40’s and 50’s. I was born in the 80’s and I can see how children of today’s society differ from the children of my generation. Children born in the 2,000’s are charged with a different kind of energy

6:48 AM

BEST CARTOONS ACCORDING TO MOMS AND KIDS

6:48 AM

My children Love watching cartoons. Any cartoons! I try not to sit them in front of the T.V. to often but when they are I pick the cartoon...

My children Love watching cartoons. Any cartoons! I try not to sit them in front of the T.V. to often but when they are I pick the cartoons and Its mostly educational cartoons like a lot of what some of the other moms said below. They really do help our kids keep English as a first language being in Brazil for more than 3 years at the children' s young age they would have forgotten a lot if I didn't keep some of these cartoons alive. Enjoy!

Today I have a house full of kids. There are two four-year-old girls downstairs on a break from the big girls, who are upstairs. I've let the little girls downstairs turn on Zoboomafoo, their pick over Phineas and Ferb, SpongeBob and Toot & Puddle.

As a mom, I prefer Sprout and Noggin because I feel they have better quality programming and less intrusive advertising. Up until this summer, my kids, even my big seven year old, have been on board with this plan. But this summer, 8 and 5 are just around the corner and suddenly, my "little" kids are pecking at the egg shell I've kept them protected in, ready to break out. More than that, they are able; my seven year old can read and work the television guide a little too easily.

We're not quite on the same comfort level page, my kids and I, about TV viewing, and I know we're not unique.

9:54 AM

Snakes On A Plane Have Nothing On Flying With Kids!

9:54 AM

Flying With The Baby Bunch!!! My story. I just have to share this. Its like a scary episode of Barney mixed with a little Friday ...

Flying With The Baby Bunch!!!

My story. I just have to share this. Its like a scary episode of Barney mixed with a little Friday the 13th. LOL!

It starts on July the 2nd 2008. We had a 5:00 p.m. flight witch was a smart move on our part because the kids would sleep most of the way at night. Mind you that we had been planning for this trip months in advance.

(Be sure to check out Part 2!)

What did we do to get ready for the 18 hours of traveling with 3 small children? We bought a portable dvd player with head phones, hand held video games, cards and travel games, a lap top loaded with games and 4 controllers, coloring books, packed goody bags filled with great treats, extra clothes thank the (Gods for that), oh and Benadryl. LOL.

Ok before I proceed with the Brazil trip lets go back a bit to when there was JUST 2 children, lol...