We were lucky to catch up with Maria recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Maria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I am a former elementary school teacher, so finding fun things to incorporate into my lessons was really important to me! Once I had my oldest, that feeling naturally melded into my motherhood journey. I want to do fun things with my kids, but I also wanted to make sure it was affordable and simple. I now have 4 kids, so the need for fun, but simple ideas is a MUST! I had been wanting to document our family ideas for a while, but just never got the nerve up to actually make an account. Back in the spring, I was talking to my husband and I told him I really wanted to create an account that can help empower Moms, Dads, Grandmas, Grandpas, etc to create simple magic for the kids in their lives. So I started an account from scratch, and here we are today!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Maria, I am a Mom of 4 kiddos, 2 cats, and 1 dog! I taught elementary school for 6 years, and then decided to open a home daycare in our basement after we had our second! I provided daycare services for almost 2 years until 2020 hit and the pandemic began. I had to shut down my daycare which made my husband and I have to reevaluate what our next step was! I was very fortunate to be hired as a Marketing and Operations Manager for a wonderful realtor. I worked part time remotely and this is where I learned everything I know about social media!! I always think to myself about this. My boss took a total chance hiring me because I had no prior experience, and because of that, she was the catalyst to who I am today. Flash forward 2 years and I now run my own social media pages @prideandjoylife where I share parenting tricks, magical family experiences, recipes, etc!!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think my parents can attest to this- I don’t really take no for an answer 🤣 However! I won’t be forceful about it. I will respectfully understand your viewpoint, about turn riiight back to my drawing board, and come back with my next idea. Every time there’s been obstacles, I choose to face it straight on. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not this stone cold person navigating these things beautifully and in a strong standing manner. Quite the opposite!! But I think this is what gives me the strength.. I feel every ounce of disappointment. I allow myself to lean into the frustrations of obstacles. And then once I’ve felt those feels to my core, I go right through the challenge. I have to see it through or else I will drive myself crazy. I’d say this personality trait has helped me in the social media realm a ton because I just choose to keep chugging along even when the going gets tough!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Community!!! Oh my gosh community is HUGE. You cannot do this alone. I repeat, if you are trying to go out into the social media world, find a community within your niche. Interact with them. CONSTANTLY!! The women who show up for me on my page KNOW they can count on me to show up for them on their page!! Plus, how rewarding is it to cheerlead someone? Find your niche community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prideandjoylife.com
• Instagram: prideandjoylife
• Facebook: Prideandjoylife
• Other: TikTok: Prideandjoylife

Image Credits
I took all photos!