Due to chronic headaches and associated effects from managing my chronic pain, I found myself unable to keep up with the previous pace of work required to maintain this site. But, I am determined to get back at it, even if it’s just a bit at a time! So, let’s start fresh; let me introduce myself to those of you that are coming here for the first time and reintroduce myself to those of you that have been around a bit longer! Welcome and thank you for joining me in this continued journey!

A Little About Me

• I was born in Puerto Rico.
• But, my family moved to Florida when I was 8.
• I’ve lived in Florida ever since!
• I married a Caribbean islander too! He’s from Trinidad and we’ve been married 18 years.
• We have 2 beautiful multicultural children. They’re 10 & 15.
• Yes, I speak Spanish. Being bilingual is fun…and sometimes challenging (even to this day)!
• Raising multicultural children is also fun and challenging.
• I love to dance. I would have loved it if I could have been a professional dancer.
• I love sharing my cultural traditions with my family and children.
• And our Puerto Rican food. My kids may not always like all of our delicious Puerto Rican recipes, but I sure love eating them!
• I suffer from, battle, live with a chronic illness called idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) AKA pseudotumor cerebri. I also have chronic migraines and about 2-3 other types of chronic headaches.
• Depression has, unfortunately, also made its way onto my list of medical ailments. 
• Living with chronic pain and a chronic illness for the past 7+ years has not been easy, y’all.

What Have I Been Up To This Past Year?

• Lots of family time! Like…a lot.
• Lots of Netflix & Hulu (and Prime Video and Disney+ too) – Hey, we’re in a pandemic and there’s been lots of time spent at home, remember?
• I’ve built up my island on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Yes, MY island. On my own Nintendo Switch. The one that we bought specifically so I could have my own island after I initially had a house on my kids’ island, but then they didn’t want to cooperate very well and the three of us were having a hard time agreeing on design changes and villagers, etc. So yeah. That happened. (Did I mention that Animal Crossing came out right at the beginning of the pandemic – way back in March 2020?)
• More recently, I’ve started practicing my Pokémon photography skills with the release of New Pokémon Snap!
• We’ve been busy planning my daughter’s Quinceañero party! Oh man, is that a lot of work!
• I formalized some of my freelance professional services and launched them on Fiverr.
• Currently, we’re just trying to enjoy the more relaxed summer schedule!

What have you and your family been up to during this pandemic? I hope you all have been safe and healthy and that there has been minimal impact on you and your loved ones.

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami

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3 Kid-Friendly Ideas for your Fourth of July: Red, White, and Blue Fun with Food

Fourth of July Berrylicious Bubbly for Kids

Ingredients

• Lemon-lime soda
• Fresh strawberries
• Fresh blueberries

A little fizzy drink is perfect for kids and makes a wonderful treat! We made strawberry and blueberry ice cubes by adding sliced fresh strawberries and a couple of fresh blueberries into our ice cube tray before filling with water. Then, we simply poured lemon-lime soda into a cup with a few of our berry ice cubes and a couple of extra fresh berries! The kids loved their fizzy Fourth of July drinks! You could also do the same with water and make berry-infused water for a non-soda Fourth of July drink.

Red, White, and Blue Chips & Dip

Ingredients

• Blue corn tortilla chips
• Sour cream
• Salsa or pico de gallo

Chips and dip are a super easy snack and one that kids enjoy. To make ours fit our Fourth of July theme, we layered our chips and dip using red, white, and blue. Layer your blue corn chips with sour cream, then salsa to create a red, white, and blue effect. You could also use cut-up tomatoes or pico de gallo instead of salsa.

Patriotic Frozen Yogurt Sundae

Ingredients

• Vanilla frozen yogurt
• Fresh strawberries
• Fresh blueberries
• Splenda or sugar (optional)

What kids don’t love a fun ice cream treat? Our take combines frozen yogurt with fresh berries for a red, white, and blue sundae! Simply mash up a few strawberries in a medium bowl and add a dash of Splenda or sugar if you’d like. Then, pour your mashed strawberries over the frozen yogurt and add a few blueberries on top. Delicious!

We hope these easy and kid-friendly Fourth of July foods will help you and your family enjoy the holiday in a fun way! What other red, white, and blue foods help you celebrate Independence Day?

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami

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The past few weeks have been a mix of fun family time, challenges, learning curves, and stress. I will not pretend that I have been ok through all of it; I have definitely shed my share of tears. It has been tough for me to get used to being home every single day 24/7. I don’t even get a small reprieve from things that often were an annoyance, like driving in traffic to get the kids to school or heading to the grocery store. (Thus far, my husband has been making our supply runs.) But, I will say that today I have some things I am grateful for.

Being Grateful During the Coronavirus Pandemic

• that we are privileged to own several devices so both our kids can continue their education via their school’s e-learning
• that I already worked from home and did not have to change much in my day-to-day schedule to accommodate this new routine and family dynamic
• that my husband’s job is flexible and allows for him to work from home during this time, not only helping both the kids and myself, but also helping to ensure his safety
• that we filed our annual taxes and received our refund before this all started
• that my kids’ teachers are communicating so well with us and trying their best to help their classes adjust
• that my babies have both their father and I to support them with their schoolwork
• that I have so many other things to be thankful for that I know I can’t possibly list them all

Not every day is one where I remember that even though this time is challenging, there’s still much to be thankful about. But, I am trying to keep it in mind – not only for myself, but also so I can show a good example for my children. I hope you’re all well friends. How are you being grateful during this pandemic?

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13 Meatless Recipes for Lent

1. Shrimp & Vegetable Noodles – A simple meal that’s easy and quick to cook!
2. Salmon en Escabeche – My kids’ favorite fish cooked slow and with minimal ingredients.
3. Puerto Rican Tostones with Shrimp Topping – A traditional Puerto Rican side dish, reinvented to create a delicious appetizer or entree if served with rice or vegetables.
4. Bacalao en Salsa (Codfish Fricassee) – One of my favorite seafood dishes growing up!
5. Ensalada de Bacalao (Puerto Rican Codfish Salad) – Another childhood favorite, this salad is light and fresh and goes perfect with a side of white rice.
6. Garlic-Infused Rosemary & White Wine Tilapia – Simple, easy, and budget-friendly – what more could you ask from this meatless recipe for Lent?!
7. Tuna Fish Finger Sandwich Appetizer – A great appetizer or make-ahead lunch idea!
8. Trinidadian Style Stewed Lentils – These stewed lentils are hearty, filling, and again, very budget-friendly.
9. Tortilla Española (Spanish Egg and Potato Omelette) – Breakfast for dinner, anyone?
10. Ginger Mango & Avocado Pasta Salad – A great side for your seafood entree, with flavors perfect for the upcoming spring season!
11. Green (Spinach) Mac and Cheese – Turn your kids’ favorite into a fun and colorful meal – just don’t tell them you sneaked some veggies in there!
12. Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas) – Our traditional and beloved Puerto Rican arroz con gandules is easy to make and a perfect meatless side dish for Lent!
13. Arroz con Maiz (Puerto Rican Yellow Rice with Corn) – Another wonderful meatless side dish that is easy to make!

I hope these simple meatless recipes for Lent will help you as you plan your weekly menu plans this Lenten season. Incorporating vegetarian and seafood meals for Lenten meatless Fridays doesn’t have to be difficult. Keep things simple and I’m sure your family will enjoy trying some new dishes during meatless Fridays this Lent!

What are some of your favorite meatless recipes for Lent? Share below in the comments!

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami

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Taking care of ourselves is so important, but sometimes it can be challenging or costly, especially if you regularly use prescription medications. When you have a chronic illness or condition that requires medication to manage or keep under control, you can easily spend a good amount of money on medicine each month. This is actually my situation. I live with chronic headaches and take two daily medications to prevent the headaches from happening, plus I have two other medications that I take as needed for pain when my headaches inevitably occur. Prescription medications save and improve the quality of life for many, particularly for the estimated 157 million people who by 2020 will have been diagnosed with a chronic condition (according to the most recent data from The National Health Council). If you’re like me and are part of those 157 million, then you know how important it is to take your medication as prescribed.

At one point, when I filled my prescription medication, the total retail cost would have been $1,300! Thankfully, we have health insurance, so we didn’t have to pay that price. However, it made me wonder – what about people who don’t have insurance? I can’t imagine the burden and stress one must feel at the thought of having to pay $1,300 in medications. If you are uninsured, have a high deductible plan, or the medication your doctor prescribed isn’t covered by your insurance, you can download a free prescription savings card at InsideRx.com to see if it can help with the cost of your medications. Inside Rx provides discounts to consumers averaging 78% on generic medications and 37% on select brand medications and has saved Americans over $400 million since 2017. It’s simple to use, so let’s see how you too may save money on prescription medications!

Tips for Saving Money on Prescription Medications

• Download a free prescription savings card at InsideRx.com
  • Download a digital card on your phone or print a paper card – show either each time you visit the pharmacy
  • Your Inside Rx card can be used at more than 40,000 participating pharmacies in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including the major chains
  • You can search for your medication to find the best deal and closest pharmacy near you
  • Save on both generic and brand-name medications*
• Have pets with prescription medications? Inside Rx may help you save on their medications too with the Inside Rx Pets card!
• If you have insurance, check if you can lower your copay by switching pharmacies or signing up for home delivery of a 90-day supply of medication
• Talk with your doctor or pharmacist to see if there’s a generic or less expensive option of your brand-name prescription

Did you know that not taking medications as prescribed (called non-adherence) can worsen medical conditions or require you to get additional medical care? It can even cause additional health problems, which ultimately increase healthcare costs. The CDC estimates non-adherence causes 30-50% of chronic disease treatment failures and 125,000 deaths per year in the U.S.!¹ The cost of prescriptions is one reason for non-adherence as people without health insurance or those who have health insurance but have high out-of-pocket costs, sometimes choose not to fill their prescriptions. It’s estimated that 20-30% of new prescriptions are never filled.¹

I admit that I’ve been guilty of not adhering to my prescribed treatment in the past for various reasons. I hope this information about how the Inside Rx prescription savings card can help you save money on prescription medications for your family and/or pets is helpful. Whether you have a chronic condition or just need to save money on a prescription medication every now and again, Inside Rx is worth a try!

¹ https://www.fda.gov/drugs/special-features/why-you-need-take-your-medications-prescribed-or-instructed

*Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Inside Rx. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Inside Rx is not insurance. Use is subject to eligibility restrictions and other terms and conditions at www.InsideRx.com

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