We felt fortunate to have the pleasure of chatting a bit during a roundtable with the talented and funny actress, comedian, voice artist, producer writer and now mom of 2 young boys, Amy Poehler. Amy is the starring voice of Jenny, a strong female turkey character and natural leader who falls in love with Reggie (the main character turkey), in the movie “FREE BIRDS.”

During the interview we got to know a little more about Amy and a side of her that we don’t usually get to see, being a mom. Free Birds centers on Thanksgiving and the holiday season, so we asked her about her plans for the holiday season, and also asked if she or her family have any traditions they keep or new traditions they have recently started. Amy’s response, “I like to cook. I don’t get to do it as much as I’d like, but I like it. I feel like holidays in general–correct me if I’m wrong, are becoming really loose in a good way. I feel like everybody’s deciding how they want it to be. Especially when you have your own family, you kind of get to decide how you want to spend your holiday, like what suddenly is important. I like watching movies with my kids on Thanksgiving night. That’s always a really fun thing, especially showing them a movie they’ve never seen is always really fun.”

When asked about her career and motherhood and how she feels is the best way to “juggle” between each. Amy replied by saying, “Just kind of figuring out what is good for you. What works for you is what works. Everybody’s thing is different. And especially as you go on, you learn what things are important to you, what things fall away, and that you shouldn’t listen to anybody’s advice, and don’t worry about what anybody says. Do your thing. Whatever works for you and your family is the right thing.”

Amy then opened up and honestly told us about her most embarrassing “mom fail.” “Oh, Gosh. Sometimes, I forget where I’m driving them to. That happens, right?”

Our last question focused on reading to her kids. We asked, “Are there things that you like to read to your kids, or is reading something you like to do for yourself?” Amy replied, “We read all the time. They love books. It’s fun to read to them. Especially when you’re a working mother, it feels like a really good day to connect at the end of the night, to talk to them without forcing them to talk to you.”

Don’t miss Amy’s animated performance in FREE BIRDS from Relativity Media and Reel FX Animation Studios in Theaters on November 1, 2013. And check out our interview with Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson!

You can also visit the official website Like FREE BIRDS on Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube and Follow @FreeBirdsMovie on Twitter and Instagram #FreeBirds

Carla Gutierrez was born in Lima, Peru. She is the founder of Notas De Mama a Spanish blog created for Hispanic moms living in the United States. At Notas de Mamá Carla shares her daily life, family outings, recipes, product reviews and DIY projects. She enjoys crafting and decorating her home, while challenging herself to do it on a budget. Carla loves being a wife and a mom, and raising her 3 year old son in sunny California. She loves teaching her son about the Peruvian and American cultures, and is proud that at age 3 he is fully bilingual. Connect with Carla @notasdemama .

Why? Because we want to bring to a national platform our message that raising kids in more than one language is one of the best gifts you can give them. We have been blessed with interviews on Univision and Telemundo to promote the book, but we wanted to be in a general market morning show because we know the impact that has and the ripple effect in taking our mission far and wide.

And it finally happened.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Yes, we agree the segment was way too short. Erika Levy, Associate Professor of Speech and Language Pathology, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and I definitely had a lot more to share and that needs to be said and Natalie Morales and Willie Geist definitely had a lot more questions. Natalie stayed with us after we went off air sharing how she wishes she would have made a bigger effort to speak Spanish and/or Portuguese to her kids. But she admits to it being really tough for her since her husband only speaks English. We reassured her that it’s really not too late.

A huge thank you to the TODAY Show producers, staff and talent that treated us so well. Gracias to all who shared the video via Facebook, Twitter, emails, etc. The response has been overwhelming and we can’t wait to see what’s next because, yes, BILINGUAL IS BETTER!

Eugenio Derbez is one of the greatest entertainers Mexico has ever had and now he’s managed to cross over to Hollywood with a film that has been his dream-in-the-making for over 10 years: Instructions Not Included. This adorable bilingual (English/Spanish) movie, distributed by Pantelion Films, opens in select U.S. theaters this Friday, August 30th. We don’t just suggest you go watch it, we urge you to not miss this movie! Not only will you laugh and will your heart strings be pulled, but you will let go a sigh of relief that finally, finally, Hollywood has captured a beautiful slice of Latino bilingual and bicultural, and even blended, families.

Eugenio Derbez, who not only stars, but also wrote, directed and produced Instructions Not Included,  isn’t the only one that shines in this movie. Loreto Peralta clearly steals the show and Derbez graciously lets her. This is Loreto’s first film, but it certainly shouldn’t be the last. This 9-year-old girl, born and raised in México City, was discovered only after the casting had gone through so many rounds of boys and girls and just couldn’t find the right kid for this part. One of the main requirement? S he must be perfectly bilingual. And Loreto is just that. Not only is she completely at ease going back and forth between English and Spanish, but she’s also an innate artist with incredible talent and a smile that melts our heart. You would think this part was actually written for her!

We got the chance to watch the movie at a private screening organized by Latina Bloggers Connect and Pantelion Films, where we also got to meet and talk with Eugenio Derbez and Loreto Peralta. Of course, we had to ask them about the importance of being raised bilingual. You will love their responses and should bookmark this video for when you need extra inspiration!

I really don’t want to tell you much about the movie’s plot because I don’t want to spoil anything for you. You can check out the trailer below and just know that you will laugh, you will cry and you will walk out of the theatre feeling warm and fuzzy and will want all your friends to feel it too. ¡Es en serio!

One of the greatest perks of being a blogger is all of the connections and new people you meet that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Since starting here at SpanglishBaby my network of other like-minded bilingual parents has grown and we have all been able to connect on different levels yet at the core is desire to raise our children speaking a second language.

A few months ago I received an email from a fellow Latina mamá who had been reading my posts on SpanglishBaby and just so happened to live 10 minutes away! So I wanted to introduce you to Nikki Scully, half-American, half-Costa Rican mom and SpanglishBaby reader or SpanglishMami as I named her. Here we talked about her background, what she wants for her kids and the fondest memories of her bilingual upbringing!

MJO: Tell readers about your background and what makes you a Spanglish Mami?

NS: I am the proud daughter of a Costa Rican mother and a father from Ohio. My father took his love of Spanish language and Latin culture and joined the Peace Corps in 1970. His adventures took him to Costa Rica, where he fell in love with a young tica. And the rest is history.

MJO: Why is it important for you kids to be bilingual?

NS: Mainly, I realize  what a gift my parents gave me. Although I didn’t appreciate it as a child, I truly feel like knowing Spanish opened a world for me, setting me apart in ability to communicate with so many more people and appreciate another culture and its values, music, food and more. Being bilingual and bicultural is a source of great pride, which I’d love to pass along to my children.

MJO: Do you have any concerns about bilingualism?

NS: My biggest concern is: “What will this look like in a few years?” My kids are very young (2 years old and one month!), so I am just at the beginning. Their learning Spanish now is easy in that they spend their days with me, but in the back of my mind I fear that all my efforts will be shot once they go to preschool. I feel like I always seek out parents with children that are a bit older to see what their journey has looked like up to that point (and what our future might look like). Often, it’s reassuring to see that speaking Spanish to their children has really worked!

Also, although my Spanish is good it’s still my second language, so often I could explain/describe something to my son much better in English. I worry that this causes me to talk much less to him overall than I would if we spoke English. I have to make a conscious effort to talk, talk, talk, and many times look up how to say something! It’s really a learning experience for me, too.

MJO: How have others (family, strangers, etc). reacted to your decision to raise them bilingual?

NS: I am still learning to be comfortable speaking to my children in public in Spanish. However, when other parents hear me speaking Spanish to my son, the reaction is almost always positive. Parents usually say that it’s really cool and that they wished they could do the same with their kids.

MJO: My husband is learning Spanish and we have some great “lost in translation” moments. Tell us about your funniest bilingual moment.

NS: My husband is very supportive of my efforts, and he speaks some Spanish and English to the kids. His Spanish skills are getting better as we go, but he can get … creative. Sometimes he thinks he remembers a word, but he’s just off a little bit. For example, he said “conchillo” once when he meant “conejo.” Or “hornatuga” when he tried to say “zanahoria.” I think it’s hilarious that his made-up Spanish words sound like they could be legit.

MJO: What is your favorite bilingual books, toys, movies, etc.?

As someone who loves to sing, I find my most powerful tool to encourage bilingualism is music! I try to expose Jack to all kinds of music in Spanish, whether geared toward kids or not. It takes a little more searching to find good children’s music in Spanish — and I love artists I found on SpanglishBaby, particularly Sara from Music with Sara and Nathalia’s From Here to There CD. I sing the songs over and over, particularly in the car!

MJO:  Tell us about your favorite “Spanish speaking” childhood memory?

NS: I am blessed that my siblings and I grew up taking trips to Costa Rica to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Many of these trips were at Christmas time, when my fondest memories are of evening nochebuena Mass followed by a big meal and waiting for el niño to stop by with gifts! There was always so much excitement surrounding that evening, and it was a treat to stay up late.

Beyond that, my warmest memories include music. I come from a family of guitar players and singers, and to this day family get-togethers always mean lots of hearty singing and dancing! Never a dull moment.

A little more about Nikki: I have a bachelor’s in Spanish and secondary education, and a master’s in Spanish. I taught high school Spanish for nine years before deciding to make the home my classroom! I have aspirations of ramping up my blog — I’m working on it! Connect with Nikki at Fantastic Imaging.

Are you a SpanglishMami? Get in touch and tell me your story!

¡Besos!

{Photo courtesy of María José Ovalle}

Disney’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” opened last weekend to a solid #1 spot in the worldwide box office. If you’re one of those that’s flocking to the theaters to see it — as you should! — you’ve probably already been charmed by the character of China Girl.

China Girl is voiced by 13-year-old Joey King — well known for giving life to the spunky Beezus in the “Ramona and Beezus” movie starring Selena Gomez. This seemingly delicate character is full of zest and life, and turns out to become a sort of conscious for Oz, played by James Franco, in this prequel to Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” books, as imagined by director Sam Raimi.

Oz and his flying monkey friend Finley are on their way to find Glinda, the Good Witch, when they run into a desolate China Girl that had just lost it all. China Girl is actually a porcelain doll, making her fragile from the outside, but in the inside she’s a tough girl with opinions, a cute stubbornness and even a manipulative attitude to get what she wants.

We sat down with Joey King to learn more about China Girl through her interpretation of her, and also about the fascinating process Sam Raimi created in order to match China Girl’s facial expressions to hers.

How did you get this role?

Sam Raimi always wanted to know what my opinion was about the scene or how I felt about my character.

Were you able to improvise a little bit?

Yes, I definitely did. There was just a bunch of little things that we could throw here and there. It was really nice to know that we had that and it was comfortable to know that we could do that without him getting mad. He left that window open for us.

Can you explain a bit about the process of your recording your voice for your character?

They had like three cameras in this booth that I was in and they filmed my face and they attached my facial expressions on to China Doll. That was very interesting since I had never seen that technology being used before. It was really exciting for me to be part of something like that. I was also the whole time on set with the other actors and I got to do the scenes with them for real. They just had to keep me and Zach Braff hidden behind a rock or something and we’d peg our faces there and the people would be filming us; that was really strange, but cool.

I’m trying to visualize that …

Yeah, so there’s this one scene where we’re in the Haunted Forest and there’s like a rock and Zach and I hid behind it while our characters as little puppets were sitting there where we were supposed to be and they had the cameras on the set to film our faces and our facial expressions and we’d kinda play out to James Franco and Michelle Williams. So that was very neat and different. People are like “How do you do that?”

So how did that tie in with the puppeteer and the motions that he was doing?

The puppets were sitting in our places and my puppeteer, Phillip Hubert, was standing there with his marionette puppet with all the strings and bringing her to life. He was very good.

So he gave her personality and you gave her personality?

Yes, you know what he would do? We all had earpieces on and we’d have fun with them. Zach and I would whisper to James, “Listen to your conscious, James.” The puppeteer had an earpiece too and he would match China Girl’s performance to my voice and my performance.

Wow, that’s sounds like a lot of choreography…

Oh, yes, it was difficult to master, but he’s definitely got it down.

I adored China Girl and wasn’t expecting her at all. What about her personality do you identify with the most?

Her and I share a lot of traits. She’s very sassy and manipulative. She works her way into getting herself into that adventure. We’re very similar her and I. I prank my sister, so that’s kinda like my manipulative side. I’m kinda sassy, too. That’s why I loved getting to play her because it wasn’t too far away from my personality.

When was the first time you saw China Girl and what was your reaction?

I first saw her at the screen test and they brought out this very rough version of her. I was like “That’s amazing, it looks so cool!” She was so small. It was so exciting to get to see what I might be playing. Once I got to watch the movie, I was nervous to see how my voice would match and how she would come out, but when I saw her it was perfect and great.

What tip or advice can you give kids or their parents that want to get into the movie or TV business? You’ve done so well.

Thank you. The thing that I tell everyone is that it’s hard because it took me a while to get to where I am and I’m here now. But it’s definitely a lot of rejection, going to a lot of auditions and I got disappointed a lot. Like, you get so close, but not close enough or you just don’t get it; it’s really hard to deal with and sad. But you have to know that you have to hang on and never give up because you never know when it’s going to take off. I just have to know that when one door closes, another door opens.

Recently, we got a chance to speak to Maria Canals-Barrera, known for playing mother to teenage wizards on Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.” This year, Canals-Barrera will reprise her role as Theresa Russo for an upcoming special, “The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex” that will air March 15. Canals expressed love for her role, the cast and the show saying that going back was fun and easy. “The affection that we have for each other and the gratitude that we have for our show is very much there,” Canals-Barrera said.

In real life, Canals-Barrera is raising two young girls. She sees the experience of working on Wizards as a class in “teenagery” that is preparing her for the teenage years ahead. “The writers draw upon real issues,” she said, “like sibling rivalry, falling in love, peer pressure, and teenage insecurity. So it was like practice for me.”

More than the insight to raising teenagers, Canals-Barrera has appreciated the way Wizards celebrates the characters’ heritages without stereotyping them—a quality she emulates in her personal life. “[Wizards] was about this family that were American, and the mother happened to be of Mexican heritage and it was part of who they were and it was an embraced part,” she said. “There are a lot of shows that don’t even cast people that are of Latin heritage. But our show had leads that were part Latino and also embraced it. We were part of the American family, it wasn’t something that marginalized us, it was something that was another layer to us, which is important.”

Like many Latina moms, Canals-Barrera finds language to be a powerful component of her daughters’ identities. “As Americans, speaking English is what unifies us and then on top of that when we can still speak the language that our parents spoke; it’s another incredibly beautiful layer to who we are.”

“I thought it would be easier,” she said of raising bilingual children. “Then I realized that it’s not so easy when you are an American of Latin heritage as opposed to being from another country.” Canals-Barrera is a first generation Cuban-American while her husband is a third generation Mexican-American. “Our instinct is to speak in English,” she said. “We made a deliberate effort to do more; to speak Spanish more so that they can hear it more and learn it more.”

On her experience working with Chef Helen Cavallo on Disney Junior’s “That’s Fresh,” – a fun and energetic short-form cooking show that offers busy parents quick and simple recipe ideas centered on fresh, seasonal ingredients – Canals-Barrera said that it was fun and she enjoyed it very much. She is no stranger to cooking Latin American dishes in a hectic environment. Canals-Barrera has a strong culinary background; both of her parents were great cooks that loved to cook everything from traditional Cuban dishes to Chinese and gourmet. “It was a really wonderful celebration of food in my house,” Canals-Barrera said. In her own cooking, she likes to incorporate traditional dishes in a healthy style. Letting her daughters participate in the inventing part of cooking is equally as important. “It’s a lot of fun for them, and they get to see what they are eating and they enjoy it.”

“The Wizards Return: Alex vs Alex” premiering Friday, March 15 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.
Disney Junior’s popular short-form series “That’s Fresh,” a cooking show hosted by chef Helen Cavallo that presents simple, healthy recipe ideas for kids and families. In the episodes premiering Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14 (both at 9:25 p.m., ET/PT on the 24-hour Disney Junior channel), Maria will be helping Chef Cavallo prepare a delicious roasted chicken and banana tostones, a traditional Latin American dish.

This past week we were invited to attend the magical Disney Animation Studios for the release of “Wreck-it Ralph” on 4-disc Blu-ray combo pack. “Wreck-it Ralph” tells the story of Ralph, a muscular, video game “bad guy” who stars in a video game of the same name. His sole purpose is to use his humongous hands to destroy buildings while other members of the game try to stop him from doing it.  After 30 years of playing a bad guy, Ralph decides he wants to change his image and become a video game hero. Ralph leaves his video game and ends up in the town of “Sugar Rush” where he meets Vanellope Von Schweetz.  In the Spanish version of the movie, Mario Filio is the voice of Ralph and Maria Antonieta De Las Nieves, of Chilindrina fame, is the adorable Vanellope Von Schweetz.

We had the opportunity to chat a moment with Maria Antonieta during our Disney Animation Studios visit. Maria Antonieta was lovely as always, incredibly friendly and very humble. She told us it had been a while since the last time she had done a voiceover. She confessed that at first, she was not so sure she would be able to do it, especially since she was lending her voice to breathe life and personality to a little girl in Spanish.  Maria Antonieta told us Disney contacted her for the role because, movie director Rich Moore, used to watch “El Chavo del 8,” where Maria Antonieta played “La Chilindrina” when he was a young man living near  the border of the United States and Mexico.  With Rich Moore’s guidance and a little update on new techniques, the character of Vanellope Von Schweetz came to life in Spanish.  Maria Antonieta said it was a pleasure working with Rich Moore, as soon as they started working everything fell into place and she did an amazing job.

We could not let this great icon go without asking her some questions about her life. One question many of us have on our minds is what her secret is to staying so young. Smiling, Maria Antonieta replied, her secret to maintaining youth and vitality is to be a “normal person.”  She said, “I do my work with love.  But when I’m not working, I rest and share moments with my family.”

We asked if there was a message she’d like to share with Latino families living in the U.S., to which she replied, “We live in a new culture and our children will adopt different traditions but it is important to maintain our roots.”

At the end of the chat she added, with humor, that despite the fact that she worked in “Wreck-it Ralph,” she encourages moms to moderate the amount of time their little ones spend playing video games. She suggested replacing video games with juegos de mesa to encourage family interaction or sitting down together to laugh along with “Wreck-it Ralph” DVD.

Maria Antonieta told us (in the voice of Vanellope) “Ralph taught me that I should not be frightened by people’s size or physical appearance, and I taught him he was not ugly or bad, that’s how we became friends.”

“Wreck-it Ralph” is an uplifting movie that provides fun and healthy entertainment for the entire familia and it is now available on combo pack at stores.

Check out the clip below which features the Spanish version of when Ralph and Venellope first meet! Then scroll down for the giveaway.

The Giveaway!

For a chance to win a copy of “Wreck-It Ralph” on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack just leave us a comment telling us why you’d like to share this movie with your kids. Then enter the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carla Gutierrez was born in Lima, Peru. She is the founder of Notas De Mama a Spanish blog created for Hispanic moms living in the United States. At Notas de Mamá Carla shares her daily life, family outings, recipes, product reviews and DIY projects. She enjoys crafting and decorating her home, while challenging herself to do it on a budget. Carla loves being a wife and a mom, and raising her 3 year old son in sunny California. She loves teaching her son about the Peruvian and American cultures, and is proud that at age 3 he is fully bilingual. Connect with Carla @notasdemama .

We will always jump at the chance to be invited to talk about our favorite topic of all times:  Raising bilingual and bicultural kids and the rewards and challenges that come with it.

One of our constant partners and promoters is Vme TV.  We have been organically writing about Vme ever since we launched, even before they believed enough in us and you to sponsor SpanglishBaby, because we´ve always believed they have the best free educational programming for Spanish-speaking kids.

One of their most popular shows is TuBebé, hosted by Minerva, Venezuelan mom of a 2 YO boy being raised in Miami. TuBebé covers topics concerning pregnancy, maternity and babies. The producers called me to set up an interview via Skype since I´m in L.A. and their studios are in Miami.  It was the first time they were doing this, so it was a great experiment for all of us.

As you can tell in the video, I had a great time talking to Minerva and totally forgot this was going to be broadcast to hundreds of thousands of viewers!  Her and I just got chit-chatty about our kids, their Spanish, las familias and everything the SpanglishBaby community is about.

Hope you enjoy it!

Disclosure:  Although Vme is a SpanglishBaby sponsor, this is not a sponsored post or part of an advertisement commitment.