About Me

Hi! I’m Deborah Cruz but my friends call me, Debi.  I tell the TRUTH about Motherhood and now, I’ve even got the skinny on the teens. I’m a freckled Mexican from Chicago; first generation Mexican American, the oldest daughter of six children to a Mexican father and a southern mother. I’m the bicultural Marcia Brady, only my parents are Catholic so we share biological parents.

I spoke differently because of the accents I grew up hearing. My brain rapid fires words with no filter. Being teased for my pressured speech led me to embrace the written word. It’s how I process everything.This is where my love of words and languages began. When I write, there is no confusion about what I’m saying. I tell you the truth, all of it, the good, the bad, the ugly and the funny.

My unique language situation at home, led me to speak four languages; English, Spanish, French and Italian. I did before becoming a mom. Now, I’m fluent in baby, gibberish and currently, I’m mastering the art of tween and teen speak. I can still enjoy foreign films with no subtitles but that’s about it.

I spent my childhood traveling to Mexico. This is where my love of travel was born. My dad was adamant that we immerse ourselves in the culture. We did and I’m grateful that he did this for us. I do the same for my girls. Now, we travel as much as possible together as a family. Nothing compares to seeing the world through the eyes of your children and teens.

Life has thrown me a lot of obstacles from the beginning but I’m grateful for those struggles because they’ve truly made me stronger. It’s made me grateful for where I am because I know where I’ve been. Where there is a will, there is always a way. My parents taught me this.

About Our Family

By fate, I ended up in the wrong place at the right time (Purdue University) and met the 6’5″  man who is everything I never knew I always wanted. He proposed after not quite four months of dating, thanks to a little help from Salma Hayek. Fools Rush In inspired the Big Guy to propose.

We graduated college, got married, waited five years, went to New Orleans and got pregnant on street pizza. Best night of our lives. Then we grew up… sort of. Or maybe we just created our own little fun group of people to hang with. They say where there are no doors, create windows. Well, we had the same idea with humans. 

We’ve currently been married for ever. Not saying we’re special, we just work hard to grow together instead of apart. It’s something we’ve actively done every day for the past 20 years. Obviously, I was a child bride. We’re now the proud parents of two daughters, Bella just turned 14 and Gabi is 11-years-old.

When I started this blog, Bella was 3 and Gabi was 1-years-old. My girls have grown up on the blog. If you’ve read the blog for a while you’ll remember them as the 2 ballerina toddlers who liked to paint their faces with fire engine red Chanel lipstick and get pearls stuck up their noses. If you are new to The TRUTH, they are the two gorgeous models featured in fashion posts on my Instagram page. They are good girls with big brains, big smiles, and big hearts. Oh yeah, and eye rolls that will make your head spin and your abuelita raise up outta her grave with a chancla in hand.

We are officially Walt Disney World addicts. My first pixie dusted trip was on our honeymoon. It took some convincing on the Big Guy’s part. However, when the only thing a man asks for at his wedding is to walk in to the Star Wars theme and to honeymoon at Disney World, you’ve got to at least consider it. It was 5-star magical and concierge level all the way. Our Disney World honeymoon convinced me that it could be as romantic as walking hand in hand in Europe.  We’ve gone 20 more times in the past 20 years.We even brought the kids a few times. You can bet we’re going back this year to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

The Big Guy, Bella, Gabi and I currently live in the Midwest with our Victorian Bulldog, Lola.  She keeps us on our toes and in stitches.

Over the years the TRUTH has evolved from just a little baby book full of mommyisms and how to survive the early years to us being on the brink of raising young ladies. I can tell you how to change a diaper, co-sleep, survive kindergarten drop off and discuss sex and guide your daughter through the murky waters of male attention. We’re only just beginning, and I don’t want to jinx it, but honestly, I love the tween and teen years.

Every phase, I think I can’t love being a mom any more but then we get to the next stage and I fall in love with my girls all over again. Hold the phone, this is all true but that’s not to say my girls aren’t bat sh*t crazy some days. Teenage hormones are no joke. Currently, I’m just trying to raise good human beings and I think I’m doing a pretty good job.

There’s a little bit of everything here; parenting from conception to the teen years, travel, politics, entertainment, delicious recipes, home decor and DIY renovations, tech and a little fashion and lots of sharing of all the things I love. Disney and Broadway are my jams. Also, this is the year of positivity so I’m getting healthy and sharing that journey.

That’s us in a nutshell. I’m a word nerd with a Ricky Ricardo laugh. The Big Guy is a tech savvy savant with a sexy brain who helps me out on this blog. The girls are the reason for my smiles, my happy heart, my gray hairs, the holes in my closet and my checkbook.  They are my everything. They’re following in my footsteps and have their own website The Cool Girl Society where they hope to inspire all girls to be themselves and find the special within.

Our favorite thing to do is be together; laughing, trying new foods, experiencing new cultures and exploring the world. For us, family is everything and everything is better together.