Episode 413: Navigating New Responsibilities, A Cafecito with Marias Gamesa

This May, we’re so excited to team up with Marias Gamesa in this amazing effort to help moms engage in real conversations about motherhood and cultivate a community.

We want to give a special shout out to Marias Gamesa, we grew up eating Marias Gamesa and now our kids love them too! What a dream come true. This year, they have launched the Cafecito con Marias Gamesa campaign. You know we love our cafecito, and we love to chat - that’s exactly what the Super Mamás podcast is all about. It’s even better when it’s a space for conversations with other Latina moms - brought together to speak on these important topics. This week’s Cafecito con Marias Gamesa session will feature our very special guests Karen Ayala and Michelle Disla, two Super Mamás who will unpack the realities of modern-day motherhood and what self care means to them today.

Karen Ayala, lifestyle mom influencer, offering an authentic glimpse into the joys and challenges of stay-at-home motherhood, from homeschooling adventures and toddler mishaps to delicious recipes. With her candid approach, she provides valuable insights into the realities of homeschooling and the everyday chaos of parenting.

Michelle Disla, creates easy-to-follow Caribbean and Latin American comfort recipes with a warm, personal touch. With over a million followers across various social media platforms, her lively energy and relatable style have helped her connect with a wide audience. Her recipes are all about simplicity and bringing a taste of comfort and home into your kitchen. Off camera, she is a new mom, a wife, a daughter, a friend, and known to many as "social media's favorite cousin."

our conversation with karen and Michelle

What does self-care mean to you, and how did it look before versus after kids?

Self Care Looks different when you become a mom

Small things are big wins for new mothers, be kind to yourself

What is Quiet time? Karen teaches us some of her quiet time tips

A recent survey by Marias Gamesa found that Latina moms recognize the importance of pursuing personal interests to balance motherhood, even though 45% occasionally feel guilty about it.

How do you take time for yourself, and do you have any tips for the Super Mamás on how to prioritize yourself?

What is an Everything shower?

Utilize nap time to your advantage

A fun fact learned on the recent Marias Gamesa is that, when possible, 80% of Latina moms use the following shortcuts for finding “me” time: asking their children to join in on their personal interests or utilizing their children's nap times

What are some things you said you’d never do, but you now swear by? Did you stick to one parenting style, was it the same as your parents?

Co Sleeping vs Crib Sleeping

Parenting Styles change as kids get older

Another shocking statistic found in Marias Gamesa Survey stated that a notable 83% of Latina moms reported feeling judged for their parenting decisions, with meal choices being the common source of scrutiny.

links

For more information visit Marias Gamesa

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Episode 412: Building a Village for New Moms, a Cafecito with Marias Gamesa

This May, we’re so excited to team up with Marias Gamesa in this amazing effort to help moms engage in real conversations about motherhood and cultivate a community.

Growing up, Marias Gamesa was a staple in our house, and Bricia even uses it for her famous mole recipe. This year, they have launched the Cafecito con Marias Gamesa campaign. You know we love our cafecito, and we love to chat - that’s exactly what the Super Mamás podcast is all about. It’s even better when it’s a space for conversations with other Latina moms - brought together to speak on these important topics by Marias Gamesa. Over the next two episodes, we’re having a cafecito takeover and welcoming some very exciting guests from the Marias Gamesa Squad - a group of four Latina moms and content creators who will share their realities of motherhood with us - especially when it comes to building a village of support with family, friends, and other moms like us. This is one of the few topics we’ll dive into during this Marias Gamesa takeover that stem from their recent survey on modern-day motherhood.

This week’s guests, part of the Marias Gamesa Squad, are Gabby Carlin, a mommy of three and content creator, and Rossini Perez, a mother of three, lunch-obsessed content creator and cookbook author - we are going to dish into some of the key areas where modern-day mamás need support, community and conversation, and encourage our listeners to join in on the conversation and do the same.

Our Conversation with Gabby & Rossini

Motherhood feels lonely sometimes:

Finding your people, your tribe either in person or social Media is important when becoming a mom. You were not meant to do this by yourself.

How did you find your village?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help: Motherhood is a journey and we all need a helping hand.

Lean on the wisdom of your own Madre and Abuela

In a recent survey by Marias Gamesa, despite 64% of Latina moms sharing they have a support systems, 1 in 5 stated that they face tough parenting moments alone.

What are the biggest lessons that you have taken from your own mother?

Patience is Key, try your best to enjoy the moment, time goes by way too fast

Structure and routine are helpful tools. Gaby and Rossini give us a play by play of their day.

Don’t compare yourself to others, specially social media. Motherhood is messy for everyone, you are doing great !

Marias Gamesa recent survey also found that 62% of moms report feeling relieved after connecting with their own mothers after challenging parenting moments

What are some of you favorite memories with you mom, and how do you want to relive those with your own children ?

Gabby and Rossini share their favorite memories and how they are trying to create new memories through traveling and shopping days!

We share some our favorite remedios learned from our own mamas

Despite almost 90% of Latina mothers indicating that they feel at ease with reaching out to their own mom or mom-like figure for parenting support, Marias Gamesa survey indicated that a shocking 70% of Latina mothers feel too overwhelmed or feel like they don’t have enough time to even call their mothers

links:

For more information visit Marias Gamesa

Listen and Share this and all other episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcast and All other Podcast Platforms.

Episode 406: Spring Cleaning with Ria Safford - A Throwback Episode

Spring is here and that means we are getting the urge to organize, but where do we start? For some of us It all seems so overwhelming and never ending when it comes organization . Is that you? Don’t worry, this week we are bringing back one of our favorite episodes of all time on all things organization with the Fabulous Ria Safford a Professional organization expert who shares tips, tricks and tools to accomplish your organization goals so listen up and take notes! This is definitely an episode worth bringing back.

Who else feels renewed after an after a deep clean, when you look at your new space and breathe in the cleanliness?

About ria

Ria is a mother of 3 and a PROFESSIONAL organization expert who has worked with A list celebrities like Paris Hilton, Crisy Teigen and others. and the force behind RiOrganize a hub of lifestyle experts who bring you solutions for every aspect of you and your family's lives. 

Ria has always had a knack for creativity, but it wasn't until becoming a mom of 3 that she began to appreciate the stress relief organization can offer. As someone who is messy by nature, Ría loves sharing her tools with others. As she says, “You don’t have to be born with it—organization can be learned, practiced and perfected.”

Since our last conversation Ria has recently published her book “ The Organized Home for New Parents” a resource for new parents who feel nervous and overwhelmed about how to safely set up a home for a new baby.

Our Conversation with ria

❖ The Basics for Ria´s organization list

❖ Finding what works for you.

❖ Assessing your needs

❖ What to keep and how to sort it

❖ Understanding your space

❖ The organizing mind set.

❖ Our best tips for organizing and how we do it

links:

Learn more about all things organization on RiOrganize

Get Ria’s Book “The Organized Home for New Parents “

Listen and Share this and all other episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcast and All other Podcast Platforms.

Episode 321: Not an Angry Mom, I’m a Raging Mom: Owning Mom Rage with Annia Palacios

“Motherhood is hard, but it doesn’t have to be this hard.” - Annia

Have you ever felt so anxious, overwhelmed, tired, or a million other emotions, but what comes out is… anger? This is called rage, in particular mom rage, and our guest this week is explaining these feelings and how we can handle them. Annia Palacios is a therapist who has dedicated her career to working with moms after her own struggle with postpartum depression. During our conversation, we discuss the symptoms of mom rage, the challenges of motherhood that ignite these emotions, and our overall maternal mental health. We also touch on post traumatic stress that parents specifically have felt over the last few years, and how to cope. 

Before the show…

Bricia is alone this week (Paulina is in Oaxaca), but we do have a major announcement this week. Our michelada mix company, I Love Micheladas, is now being carried in select Costco locations in California! We want to shout out our tiny but mighty ILM team who worked so hard to make this all possible, and to our new Costco family for all the love, patience and support. Full list of locations is below. And for our listeners not local to Los Angeles or California, you can also shop our mix at Vallarta, Northgate Markets and 24/7 on ILoveMicheladas.com.

Costco Locations Carrying I Love Micheladas Mix

Azusa

Eastvale

Fontana

Fullerton

Inglewood

La Habra

La Quinta

Monterey Park

Norwalk

Oxnard 

Van Nuys

More about Annia: Annia Palacios is a therapist, coach, mom and stepmom who has dedicated her career to working with moms. She transformed her therapy practice into primarily working with mothers after her own struggles with postpartum depression following the birth of her first child. Through that journey, Annia realized that moms deserved better and shouldn't have to suffer in silence.

Today, Annia's therapy practice is dedicated to helping moms and mom-to-be navigate postpartum depression and anxiety, grief, infertility, and birth trauma. Her coaching work supports mom in managing mom rage and the mental load of motherhood so they can redefine themselves and find balance in life and motherhood.

Annia offers therapy services to clients living in Texas and Florida through Tightrope Therapy and provides coaching services nationwide and internationally via Moms Playbook Coaching.

Our Conversation with Annia

How long does maternal mental health last?

Post Traumatic Stress after Uvalde and other tragic events

Preparing for Safety with our Children

Symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety

Mom rage - what does it feel like and look like?

How to cope with rage

Annia is offering Super Mamas listeners $100 off her signature "Mom Rage" coaching package. You will receive 5 individual 1:1 coaching sessions to help you understand what makes you rage, instantly begin applying coping skills to help manage your unique situations and develop a playbook to help tackle future issues. Just mention that you found

Links

Follow Annia on Instagram - @the.therapy.mom and TikTok @tightropetherapy

You can also learn more about Annia’s practice at TightRopeTherapy.com and her online coaching for moms at MomsPlaybookCoaching.com.

Episode 318: Parenting from Abundance with Lilliana Vazquez

Our guest this week, Lilliana Vazquez, has held many titles - style expert, former television host on E!, and most recently, mama to her almost one year old son, Santiago. Like most episodes, our conversation is all about parenting but this one is a little different. We’re not only talking about Lilliana’s road to becoming a parent, including IVF treatment and her birth story, but also what is means to parent in abundance. She believes that making sure her own cup is full before anything else helps her be the best parent she can be. We also talk about the difficult feelings surrounding motherhood, advocating for your health (always!) and how good it feels to finally be heard. 

More about Lilliana: Lilliana is known as one of the fashion blogging OGs, and has carried many titles - from blogger to style expert, TV commentator to television host on E!. The enterprising star has curated a career that began from her small blog (CheapChicas.com), which she launched in 2008, to being seen by millions daily on numerous platforms including NBC TODAY, "Extra" to "The Talk," "Rachael Ray," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Steve Harvey."  Today, she’s at PEOPLE (The TV Show) as a Special Contributor covering all things entertainment, red carpets, runways, and celebrity pop culture news.

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, to a Puerto Rican father and Mexican mother, Lilliana is a first-generation Latinx who radiates gratitude for the dedication and sacrifices that her family made for her. Among the first in her family to attend college, she graduated from George Washington University, where she earned a double-major in international business and entrepreneurship. Lilliana has always used her platform to advocate for her community, and fight for Latinx representation in media and entertainment, as well as raise awareness on social issues.

In April of 2021, Lilliana announced she was pregnant with her first child, after battling with six years of infertility and IVF. After living this experience, Lilliana wishes to use her voice and platform to break the taboo around infertility and how it affects the Latinx community. In July 2021, Lilliana announced the birth of her healthy baby boy, Santiago “Santi” Merrick McGrath. Lilliana hopes to continue sharing about her journey to motherhood, the lessons, the challenges and hope with other mothers and those who hope to experience motherhood one day.

Vocabulary from this week’s episode

IVF: In vitro fertilization (IVF) helps with fertilization, embryo development, and implantation, so you can get pregnant.

IUI treatment: Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a simple procedure that puts sperm directly inside your uterus, which helps healthy sperm get closer to your egg.

AMH test: AMH, or anti-mullerian hormone is a substance produced by granulosa cells in ovarian follicles. Research shows that the size of the pool of growing follicles is heavily influenced by the size of the pool of remaining primordial follicles (microscopic follicles in “deep sleep”). Therefore, AMH blood levels are thought to reflect the size of the remaining egg supply – or “ovarian reserve”.

Gentle cesarean: A gentle C-section is a cesarean section which is elective and can occur under controlled situations.

Lilliana’s experience: “You can apply the same principles as a natural birth - skin to skin, cord clamping, vernix, and weight & height measurement can be delayed as long as the baby is okay. You can ask for a clear curtain instead of blue so you can watch the birth. You can also ask the doctor to take their time and be gentle; these are all things to discuss with your doctor if you are planning a gentle cesarean.”

Pick or Tip of the Week

Bricia’s pick this week is food! She has everything you can think of in her pantry - oils, salsas, etc. - she just wants to try one of everything. She recently tried David Chang’s products like the chili crunch, but her pick is the noodles. These are restaurant quality noodles come in clutch when you don’t have anything to eat.

Sun protection is Paulina’s tip this week. Coola Organic Radical Recovery After Sun Lotion has really helped her daughter’s recover from summer camp since they’re spending all day in the sun. They lather up before bed and it helps them so much in the morning.

Links

Follow Lilliana on Instagram @lillianavazquez

Episode 313: When Business and Motherhood Meet with Ellen Marie Bennett, founder of Hedley & Bennett

Who knew that becoming a mom is so much like running a business? Only our friend, Ellen Marie Bennett. She’s a new mom, founder of the brand Hedley & Bennett, and an incredibly accomplished woman who has changed the culinary industry. She talks about her birth story (including her 40 hour labor!), why it’s necessary for both parents to be a part of the postpartum experience, and how becoming a mother has changed her perspective as a business owner. She may be a new mama, but she has been exuding super mama vibes for a long time!

More about Ellen:  Growing up, Ellen Bennett, the founder and Chief Brand Officer of Hedley & Bennett, the leading Los Angeles based culinary brand, found herself spending summers in her native Mexico learning to cook with her abuelita. Soon after graduating high school, Ellen found herself back in Mexico City attending culinary school where she would rekindle the joys of her summer cooking adventures while learning the skills needed to tackle the hustle of the professional kitchen. Back in L.A., she put her training to work cooking in two Michelin Star restaurants, Providence and Baco Mercat. It was during this time working on the line that she experienced a “uniform” that was not aligned with the creativity and confidence found in the kitchen. This led to the vision for Hedley & Bennett; make the best aprons in the world by marrying the needs of professional chefs with the design trends for today's discerning consumers.

Today, Hedley & Bennett makes culinary workwear and gear that outfits over 6,000 restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, resorts and hundreds of thousands of home cooks all over the world. This evolution has also led to creative, out-of-the-box collaborations with brands and partners such as the Grateful Dead, Vans, Madewell, Parachute Home, Rifle Paper Co., Product (RED) and more. 

In early 2020, Ellen pivoted the resources of her company during the global COVID-19 pandemic to make masks to meet the needs of both professionals and consumers while donating hundreds of thousands of masks to front line workers. 

In April of 2021, Ellen released her first book Dream First, Details Later, which outlines her personal playbook of putting your inner worrier on silent and leaping into action. Peppered with unfiltered behind-the-scenes stories and colorful illustrations, the book empowers readers with the tools they need to bring their boldest and best ideas to life.  

Ellen and the Hedley & Bennett story has been featured in the New York Times, Fast Company, Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur,  Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Today Show and more. Ellen lives in Echo Park with her husband Casey, their brand-new baby boy Nico, their pet pig Oliver, and six chickens.

Our Conversation with Ellen

“My greatest accomplishment yet.” - Ellen, on becoming a mom

Her pet pig, Oliver

Nico’s birth

“40 hour labor - that’s a full work week!” - Ellen on her birthing experience

The story of Hedley & Bennett

“It started with this decision and this mental shift from no to yes and then taking the actions necessary which is very much like running a business.” - Ellen, on deciding she was ready to start a family

“There are crazy similarities with business and motherhood and I’m only 5 months in.” - Ellen

“It’s incredibly important that both that both the man and the woman show up for postpartum because it’s so fucking hard. It’s so much work and it’s so intense for the mother, and no mother should have to do it on their own.'“ - Ellen

Ellen’s postpartum experience

“I have never stopped in that way. I’ve never stopped for 40 days ever. It was crazy but I needed it.” - Ellen

“When the baby comes, you feel like your marriage becomes #2. But it shouldn’t. It needs to be number 1.” - Ellen

Business & a baby

Links

Follow Ellen on instagram @ellenmariebennett

Follow Hedley & Bennett on Instagram @hedleyandbennett and shop aprons, accessories and more at HedleyandBennett.com

Buy her book Dream First, Details Later: How to Quit Overthinking & Make It Happen! “It’s an easy read!” - Ellen

You can also buy the audio version, read by Ellen herself

Bricia also recommended this book, The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother, to Ellen during her baby shower. They both highly recommend it when preparing for your postpartum experience.