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Natalie Martinez

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Being a cheer or dance parent can have its challenges; it can be exhausting and time-consuming. You need to keep very organized, supportive and involved! You’ll be wearing many hats, from chauffeur, hair stylist, nutritionist, chef, personal assistant, travel agent, psychologist, and probably even a few more! All of these jobs are equally important. But the most important of all, is the role of supportive parent. Managing all of these can be very hard. Here are some tips to ensuring you’re a supportive parent and managing the expectations of your cheerleader and the studio they represent. Tips to be a supportive cheer parent: Don’t lose perspective: Wins, losses, scholarship opportunities, status and endorsements can cloud judgment and cause a parent to lose perspective. This can ruin the experience for your child and negatively affect the coaches, other team members, parents and officials.  Remember – we are working with kids here!…

T’is the season to start thinking about gifting. that doesn’t come as a surprise, but as a parent, the thing that always does catch me off-guard is the amount of gifts I need! Between my two kids, we have 6 teachers, 4 coaches, plus the 3 lovely ladies in our aftercare program. That’s an additional 13 gifts I need to consider!  They would all be grateful for a card, but I’m a gift-giver! I just love to show how much people mean to me, and gifting is my love language! I’ve found the solution to the perfect unique and practical teacher gifts – without overspending and still keeping it special and personalized! I’ve been using Mabel’s Labels since my kids were babies, and I’m a huge fan! Their labels are stuck on my kids’ stuff through everything! Plus, we never lose anything! That’s NOT because my kids are organized, but…

It’s the time of year that starts to creep up on some families. No matter how fun summer has been, it comes to an end; some of our kids become anxious and dread the unknown ahead. A new year at school can be exciting, but it can be a tough transition for other kids. New class, new teacher, new friends, some see the unknown as exciting and fun. However, for kids who struggle with transitions and change, these exciting times can require a lot of planning and care. Here are some anxious kids transition tips for school. First, parents may begin to see behavior changes in their anxious or sensitive kids this time of year. Kids may start to ask a lot of questions about the new year (which is particularly difficult when you don’t have the answers for them).    Some signs they may be struggling with transition to…

June is Pride Month! We plan on celebrating, supporting, and learning. We have attended the Pride Parade for many years and are excited to participate again in 2023. My daughter will be 6 this year, and I’m excited to have her attend. But we’ve put a lot of thought into attending and ensuring that we’re doing it respectfully. Pride is a big deal for the community and not one to take lightly or use simply as a costume party. Here is a guide to some things to consider about attending Pride; why I bring my kid, and you should too! Firstly, it’s important to understand why you’re going. So many people have fought for the right to be at the Pride Parade. It’s not just a day for glitter and rainbows. So make sure that your reason for taking your child is genuine and not to play dress-up. Make sure…

When you experience the Sunday Scaries like I do – adding a Superbowl party into the mix brings me a great deal of anxiety. This year. I’m hosting *yikes* But I have done this before, so I know I can do it again! Here is the plan I followed previously, and I can proudly say, I had a great night! So, if you’re hosting the Superbowl this year – follow my tied and true tips to making it easy on yourself! You veggies & dip don’t need to be in the shape of a football stadium, and your dessert doesn’t need to be shaped like a football, believe me you’ll still have a good time! FOOD: Make a list This year with the price of groceries so high, I did some calculations and the amount of ingredients needed will cost far more than the cost of buying pre-made trays and…

New year, new beginnings! It’s the time of year when we start to look around our house and discover that some areas are a hot mess. The media tells us that this is the time to find a fresh start, clean-up and get organized. So here we are – looking at our pantries and realizing this is an area that really needs so organization. And organization means LABELS! We love the look of a neatly labeled pantry. And perfectly cute pantry canisters labels. Not only can you be a feel organized, but in doing so you your pantry into something Pinterest worthy, and that’s so satisfying. However, here in lies the problem – cannister commitment issues.  It’s so hard to commit to a canister with a beautiful label if we’re worried it might change. We’re here to tell you show you 5 ways you can move beyond cannister commitment issues.…

We often discuss kids’ safety on Halloween, wearing bright colors, crossing the street, and checking candy. But as our kids become tweens, the rules seem to change, and there isn’t as much info floating around on Halloween safety for teens and tweens, especially in modern-day society. Eventually, our kids will reach a point when they wander out without adults or perhaps attend a party. The rules are different. While we want them to be independent and have fun with their friends, it’s also essential to send them into the world armed with all the tools to stay safe. Your must talk to them before going out. As painful as they may find it – it’s super important. Read safety tips to make yourself aware of and open the discussion up with your tweens and teens. Tips: Pick a route ahead of time. Make all the parents aware of this route…