​I'm so excited to finally share this with you!!! I feel very blessed to have been able to get pregnant so quickly after we decided to start trying, but I also had so may other feelings come up for me. I felt joy and guilt, and I was very annoyed at everyone and everything.  But to be honest that been because of people asking, touching and being nosy, even though I understand they have good intentions.
I had been on the fence about sharing because I didn't want to go into details about how we came to a decision, but I have finally come to terms with my story and I want to share it with you. I want to be transparent and authentic. 

If you have read all my blog posts, at some point I might have mentioned that my mom died when I was 3 years old. She passed away after a long battle with ovarian cancer, and although I don't remember much, I have been told since I was little that it could be hereditary and that I might want to get checked. 

I have seen  A LOT of posts directed at teachers saying "don't take work home", "the holidays are for you to enjoy", "enjoy your time without work", "finish all your grading now before the break", "plan your first week back now", "avoid thinking about work during your vacation", etc, etc, etc... 
I get it... I have been there; I have graded everything before the break so I can enjoy my vacation without thinking about work, but I have also been the teacher to grade during my vacation time and I don't regret it! 

My first year teaching was by far one of the hardest ever. Not only because it was my first time doing everything, but because before I got hired I had already made plans to go on vacation in October for my grandmas 90th birthday. I felt so guilty to take the time off that I only requested two days off and I flew to Peru for the weekend!!! I spent about the same amount of time on planes than with my family in Lima. Shortly after, I had to go back during Thanksgiving to take care of my grandma who had been diagnosed with cancer and who was too old to survive a biopsy to determine if we should do something about the cancer. It was a lot more complicated than that, but we chose to take turns flying to Peru to 

Fighting the Sunday scaries right before going back to the classroom after a long break is SO HARD!!!! 
I can usually shake it off by reviewing my plans for the week (which I usually finish the week before. I HAVE TO stay organized or my anxiety can get the best of me) but the Sunday scaries the day coming back from break are a different story... those I can't shake easily!!! 
So... here are some ideas that, hopefully, will help you stay calm and give you some space to transition from vacation to classroom mode. 

First.... 
It's important to remember that we have all been on a long break, both teachers and students, so if you are dreading going back to the classroom, your students probably feel the same way. So, whatever you do, they'll be okay with it. 
It's also important to remember that the first few days, even the first week, can be a transition period or a new beginning. This is the time to re-build relationships with your students, some of them may have already forgotten they like you! ​

A lot of people think about self-care as something to do after they are already feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, stressed out and stretched to the max. 
For me, self-care should be preventive. We HAVE TO take care of ourselves everyday to avoid the stress and burnout, not wait until we are already feeling our worst to try to fix it.
During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time figuring out what preventive measures I needed to take to make sure I was taking care of myself every day. 

Self care became healthy habits and effective routines that helped me avoid that dreadful feeling of burnout... and because, we all need some help, I found great apps to support me on my journey towards a more stress-free life.

Here are my favorite apps!!! I hope they serve you well too... ​​

Mis mejores amigas siempre me dicen que no sé cómo relajarme... y en realidad creo que mi problema es que soy extremista. Cuando estoy trabajando, me dedico a eso al 150% y cuando estoy en plan relajo, también me olvido de todo y todos y solo me dedico a mí... pero, ¿en dónde está el balance en eso? 
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Salí de vacaciones el 9 de junio y como ya tenía planificadas las vacaciones a Cancún no se me hizo difícil entrar en "vacation mode". Ahora que estoy en casa, estoy perdida... ¿qué hago?

Al regresar de viaje, me di cuenta de que me aburría en casa. No tengo niños, mi pareja trabaja de lunes a viernes desde casa y yo no sé qué hacer... Me toma tiempo adaptarme a las vacaciones y lo que mejor sé hacer cuando estoy aburrida es comer o comprar... ¿¿no les ha pasado??