Founding Contributors

Annie 

Annie Makhanlall is The Founder of Spectacular Creations – South Florida, LLC.; creator of The Frugal Trophy Wife blog; Specialist at Shutterbox Photo Entertainment and the lead advisor for The Supermama Life Academy. She brings creativity and sparkle to everything that she does. Her designs include the most exquisite invitations and her followers are always looking forward to using her savvy couponing skills! She manages her “Sparkle Empire” smoothly while staying super busy with her two sassy girls. She’s is the mom that walks down the hall with 2 bookbags on her shoulders; lunch bags in one hand and coffee in the other all the while managing to take pictures of her daughters… Yes, that is Annie! Amidst her busy schedule, she also continues to volunteer and give back to her community. A never-ending sharpie box readily accessible, she is constantly organizing in the hopes of finding the best alternative to simplify life. Ann’s ability to do all this while still making time for her favorite things is inspirational. She enjoys spending quality time with her girls; creating arts and crafts; holding nostalgic family picnics at the park; baking and decorating delicious cookies and adding glitter to just about everything she does!

Giovana

Giovana Pina is a tenacious, young mother to a radiant 4-year old boy. She is passionate about photography and understands the value of having a good education. With a trifecta of high motivations, she decided to invest in her education and tackled college only months after giving birth! In 2015 she graduated from Florida Atlantic University with her Associate of Arts Degree. She’s always worked full-time to support her son while cultivating her very own photography business. With a talented eye for capturing the perfect shot, she launched Imperial Snaps to satisfy her deep love for photography.  She is a natural in every sense and enjoys meeting new clients. “It’s an amazing experience to be able to create memories that people will hold on to forever.” In her free time, you’ll find her and her son out seeking a new adventure. Her motto is to make memories and take chances in order to really experience all that life has to offer.

Joy

Although Joy Acaso was born in the Philippines, she has made South Florida her home for the last 25 years. Joy appreciates the life that she and her husband are building here together with their children, an 11-year-old daughter, and a 5-year-old son. She is fascinated by the diverse cultures that surround her every day. In her practice as a Family Therapist, she values the integrity and uniqueness of every family and individual she meets. Joy tries her best to put awe and curiosity at the forefront because she knows that “one-size-fits-all” can never bring healing. She has made it her mission to spread awareness in utilizing therapy as a means of helping families bond closer and make their mental health their priority. In her free time, you’ll find her out on coffee dates or hosting intimate dinners with friends. 

Keitha

Originally from the beautiful island of Saint Lucia, Keitha Glace migrated to the United States at the age of 20. She lived in Brooklyn NY for 13 years and attended The School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Multimedia. Keitha is a Business Brand Builder. As a successful entrepreneur, network marketing professional, author, and business coach, she engages individuals and businesses at multiple levels and equips them with the knowledge and customizable tools, strategies and resources, that allow them to move forward in achieving their goals. Creativity moves her into action. She is a visual artist and is inspired by nature and cultural experiences. She expresses her creativity through her photography, painting and online writing. Her motto is Dream. Believe. Create. Keitha has moved back to South Florida after an 11-year hiatus. She is married to a wonderful man, also from Saint Lucia and they have an amazing 5-year-old son. They are her WHY! More on Keitha here!

Michelle

Michelle Urena was born in New York’s “little DR” (Washington Heights) and raised in New Jersey.  She is an American Dominicana who has a passion for helping everyone around her. Coming from a strong, Latin, hardworking family and an all-girls household has helped her become the WOMAN that she is today! She knows what she wants and giving up is never an option. Love, family unity, perseverance, integrity, fairness, and happiness are fundamental values that she lives by.

Strong desire to live by the ocean and her fresh romance with her best friend landed her move to Florida three years ago. Her job as a flight attendant facilitated constant visits up north which always kept her close to family and friends. Constant travel, spicy new love, dream job, adventurous move…..It was a bit of a fantasy world and she was loving every minute of it. This was the perfect moment for her to begin the process of attaining her second dream job of becoming a real estate agent. As if this wasn’t exciting enough, right before becoming a licensed agent she learned that she was awaiting her first child. Talk about a change in life perspective!

To date, she is a mother of two precious treasures. Her two-year-old son, Milo who is energy is driven, risk-taking little genius. Luna is her eight-month-old pretty princess who loves to learn and explore. Needless to say, mommy duties are supreme in her household. She has taken a break from flying so that she can focus on her priorities of being the best mom she can be and further her career as a real estate agent with Keller Williams. As she loves meeting new people and is drawn to helping everyone around her, Michelle enjoys participating in family activities, setting up playdates and traveling with the family. She considers mothers to be superheroes without the capes and strongly believes in the importance of empowering one another.

Natyia

Natyia Jimenez was born in La Isla Del Encanto Puerto Rico and grew up in Orlando, Florida. She’s lived in several cities through South Florida but has spent the last seven years in Broward County. Natyia is a happy wife and proud mother of two. During the day she works from home with her toddler and by night, once the kids are asleep, she creates content for her bilingual blog and YouTube channel. DIMELO MAMI is her passion project and her dream team is made up of her mom and daughter. She enjoys sharing her thoughts and experiences with others. Natyia’s favorite part about blogging and creating videos is capturing memories to look back on and pass onto her children. 

Rachel

Rachel M. Roth LMBT, CPMT is a woman whose whole life is inspired by curiosity and love. A Chicago Native, Rachel brings the great essence of the midwest to the south. She is a lover of music, food, coffee & life. She is an innate empath, a wife to a superman of a husband and a mother of 4 children.  Rachel is a Licensed Massage Bodywork Therapist with a focus on Pediatrics, Structural integration, Thai massage, and Prenatal work. Her passions run deep for Integrative Wellness much of which was inspired by her son’s journey through Tricuspid Atresia; a congenital heart defect and Pediatric Medulloblastoma‎, a form childhood brain cancer. This is where she learned that through integrative medicines, nutritional support, meditation and much dedication the body can heal itself outside the realm of standard allopathic care. Rachel has been in practice for six years and owned her own Massage Therapy and Bodywork Practice for three. 2019 brings a myriad of possibilities for Rachel, on the horizon is a BA in Integrative Medicine, continued study in the scope of Bodywork for Children, and all of which with a new baby on the way! Rachel has not let any challenge inhibit her from bringing her visions to fruition and does not plan to stop anytime soon. Peace, Love & Hip Hop!

Sallye

Sallye Forth is a mom working outside of the home, a co-parent, Life Coach and writer. She grew up in the Caribbean and has lived in Florida since Hurricane Andrew. She’s a citizen of the world who shares her world view on her blog, Blogstown.wordpress.com: a cybercafe for grown-ups. Sallye believes that her greatest challenge and growth has come from being a mother to her son who continues to amaze her with the extraordinary person he is! She has strived to provide him with love and attention but also discipline and a model of self-determination and self-sufficiency. As he now enters into another phase of his independence, she is also blazing a new creative path towards her dreams of being a writer, educator and pursuing long-held interests in ghostwriting for website development, furniture making, and Interior Design Staging. Her plan is to begin again to travel nationally and internationally this time with the goal of broadening her son’s cultural horizons so that he too becomes a citizen of the world. In the meantime, you can enjoy more from Sallye here and on her blog, Blogstown.wordpress.com: a cybercafe for grown-ups.

Sarana

Sarana Minick was born in Trinidad and now lives in Pembroke Pines. She is a stay-at-home mom to three very active kids, two girls eleven and ten and one baby boy who is nine. She is a proud military wife and self-proclaimed volunteer junkie. Her kids are very involved in competitive cheerleading and recreational soccer, and both girl and boy scouts. They love traveling, saving money, camping and glitter! A little bit of everything as they are still trying to master some. She’s very happy to be a Founding Contributor for Fort Lauderdale Moms Blog and has been searching for a platform to help other mothers learn from her experiences. Buckle up on this journey of life with kids as she will focus her contributions around her experiences as a military wife raising three, all things sports and her passion for good food! Sarana proclaims: “Together we can help raise them as best as we can, together in solidarity.  There is no such thing as a perfect mom. I focus on being the best mom I can be today and try harder tomorrow with a little help from our Mom Tribe. It takes all kinds of teachers, family, and friends to help shape our kids; so welcome to our journey and let’s help each other along the way!”

Contributors

Alejandra 

Alejandra Gonzalez is an immigrant of the Hispanic country of Cuba and born to a single mother. Her parents divorced when she was only five months olds, so there have been a lot of vital life moments that have shaped her personality and ideologies, especially in terms of motherhood. Although young, she has vivid memories of her father spending time with her. When she was only two-years-old, she and her mother were left completely alone on the island because her family immigrated to the United States chasing the ever-elusive American dream. Hence, her world with her mom became that much smaller. It was basically the two of them and a small group of friends that constituted our pseudo-family. At the age of six, after some legal battles in both countries, she and her mother immigrated to the United States. Although they came to stay at her grandparent’s home, it was once again just the two of them adapting to a new world. About a year after their arrival her mother fell in love with the man she’d grow up to know as a dad (her stepfather). It took several years for both of them to get used to the new dynamic of having a third member in our tightly-knit group. Her mother always put her first and instilled some strong mothering values in her even before she was able to consciously process it. At the age of twelve, her family welcomed a baby sister. She thought she learned a lot about motherhood during that time, but it took having her own child to realize how much her mother sheltered her from the weight she carried. 

In her family education and hard work have always been valued and prioritized. She saw these concepts come to fruition in her own household as she witnessed her parents buy their home, become American Citizens and earn their degrees a second time in a new country and using a new language. Alejandra is a proud university graduate. She began her career in education right out of high school. Following in her family’s footsteps of hard work, she worked full time throughout her educational years and became a K-6 Certified Teacher. During this journey, she met and fell in love with her husband and they started a family of their own.

Her husband has a very similar background and holds the same values as she does. They currently live in a single-family home with their three-year-old daughter and two dogs. Both Alejandra and her husband are involved in education and although they have always been hard-working and dedicated individuals, they truly believe that parenthood has pushed their limits and inspired them to become better people, professionals, as a couple and parents. They have learned that it’s their commitment to continuously-content chaos is what makes every day special and slightly easier!

Allison 

Allison Vorcheimer brings a mix of creativity and passion into all aspects of her life. She feels lucky to have been married to her best friend for a little over five years and to have welcomed their first son, Liam, in September of 2018. As a relatively new mom with a one-year-old son, she has been learning to balance life as a full-time working mom. Creativity extends into her career as a Fashion Merchandiser for a Miami based accessory company designing handbags and travel accessories, creating marketing materials, and managing social media content. She has always had a passion for writing and recently decided to start a shared blog, called Amy & Alli where she writes about her love for traveling, entertaining tips, fashion, and mom-life. Born and raised in South Florida, she is looking forward to raising her son where she grew up and to share her experiences with other moms on Fort Lauderdale Moms Blog.

 Coach Deena

Deena McDaniel is the creator founder of Christmas Near The Beach, a premier Christmas show in Hollywood, Florida. (Est. 2007). She began “blogging” before the term was even coined “blogging” and what we know it as today. In 1996, Deena began writing her weekly column Positively Beautiful, which is published in a local Missouri paper and more recently in blog form on Facebook. Her background includes TV commercial production, Evening News promotion, and hosting her own radio request show, “Sunday Drive.” She has a passion for fitness and loves to share it on all platforms and poses, literally!. Fitness has been a life long adventure, from bodybuilding to mime ministry you’ll see this mom of four teaching fitness of almost any style. Coach Deena has been teaching since 1991 and currently is also a dance instructor at Starlight Theater Company. As a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, she and her husband of thirty-two years are those extreme football fans you hear about. Boomer Sooner! Deena’s a brand-new grandmother and just wait until you hear how this granny is taking life by the “horns down.” She’s a stay at home mom, who has homeschooled all four of their children. Her journey to Florida began in 2005 in an RV with four kids ages two-years-old to fourteen. Living in Florida has been an ongoing vacation for this self-dubbed fitness freak. She’s excited to share her granny knowledge and teenage drama secrets to help you get through life. She and her family are active members at Palm Vista Community Church in Miami Lakes, FL.

“Remember you’re never able to quit the job of motherhood, rather the dynamics keep changing and your employment is for life.”- Coach Deena 

Heather

Guest Contributors

 Viviane

Viviane Delfino de San Martin was born in Brazil. Growing up in the beautiful city of Sao Paulo, Viviane learned to appreciate the beautiful things in life. At a very tender age, she aspired to see the world and explore every inch of it. She attended Canada High School in Buenos Aires. She later returned to Sao Paulo for her college education at Mackenzie University, where she finished with distinction in International Business in 2005.

During her time in college, Viviane was employed by H. Stern, a reputable jewelry company where she worked for nine years. During her time there, she was assigned duty on one of the company’s post on top of the Queen Mary II, one of the top transatlantic ships in the world. Viviane got to live her dreams of traveling the world, making stops at virtually every continent on the planet. The Queen Mary went around the world, literally, about three times before the voyage ended. The experience was surreal and very memorable. In 2011, Viviane left her Job as the excessive traveling started to take its toll on her. She wanted a more stable, predictable work/life relationship and so she opted to move back to Argentina where she would remain until the end of 2012 with her family. By the end of the year, she would relocate to the United States, where she resides today. In 2013, Viviane started her own business Wishes on Leashes which she caters to walking her client’s beloved four-legged friends. In 2018 she welcomed her first daughter Ava Madison.

Viviane is a Certified Integrative Health Coach by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York. She is now dedicating her time to launching her new career as a Health Coach in the wellness field. Viviane enjoys traveling the world, meeting new people and taking care of her family. She aspires to help people to become better and healthier versions of themselves.

Rachel

Rachel Stanley is a fit and fabulous mom over FORTY, yes 40!  She is married, has a son in elementary school and knows how to juggle fitness, family, and fun. Rachel has been a resident of South Florida for sixteen years now, originally from the Philadelphia area. She met her husband on an online fitness dating site and it was love at first sight…literally! They’ve been together now for eleven years and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Rachel started in the fitness industry thirteen years ago, as a fitness/figure/bikini athlete and competitor. She quickly fell in love with the sport and became a personal trainer in order to learn how to avoid injuries in her own body. After spending years competing, and listening to other’s nutrition advice, she realized there was a disconnect….while her body looked good, she didn’t feel good and knew there had to be another way.  

After spending eleven years in the corporate world, business-to-business sales, she decided to go out on her own and follow her passion for health and wellness. After giving birth to her son at thirty-four weeks, she went through the mental blame game so many of us fall into. She then sought out coaching and support which empowered herself to create “The Have It All Mom”.  She has continued to deepen her education in the health/fitness/nutrition arena and is an advocate for healthy moms, children, and families.

Her motto is “Nutrition is 85% of your game.” ~ Rachel Stanley, The Have It All Mom

Liza

Elizaveta Patchen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, licensed health and life insurance agent, a mom, a wife, and a daughter. She has been in private practice since 2017, an agent since 2019, a mom since 2016, and a wife since 2013. She is an adventurer in heart and dreams of going around the world one day. She enjoys her days filled with giggles, dance parties, princess outings, baby surf sessions, and of course work. In an attempt to be the best mother possible, Liza (pronounced as Leeza) makes schedules, does some homeschool resembling activities with her older daughter, and plans lots of activities for her little ones. She is always on the lookout for the best kid’s deals in the area.

Nadia   

Born in a very poor country, she came to the United States at the tender age of six with her parents and older brother. They had the vision to come to the land of dreamers, a place where anything you put your mind to you can make happen. Not letting the language barrier stop her Nadia achieved her Bachelor’s in Business Management. She’s made the United States her home and her parents proud. Nadia Haq Aseem works full time (for over 15 years now) as an Accountant/Procurement Specialist at a multi-million-dollar music hardware/software distribution company. While successful, her true love at heart was to have a family of her own. In 2013, she met the man of her dreams. They were married in 2014 and her perspective on life changed as she heard mommy for the first time from her husband’s son on her wedding day! What joy, but it didn’t stop there. They recently added an addition to their blended family with a little newborn princess that came into their lives on December 11, 2018. Their journey as parents has come with its share of lemons and they have lived, loved, and made some great lemonade. Nadia and her husband continue to stand strong through all life’s challenges and blessings alike. She is very excited to be a mother and even more excited to share her journey with you.