August Mama 2026 | Nuris Gabriela "Nunu": Two Books, Three Boys, and the Courage to Stop Shrinking

Mom of the Month | Series No. 5

Every month, here at Espresso Mamitis, we crown a new Mom of the Month, a woman who deserves to be honored, celebrated, and seen. And let's be honest, Mamitis: August was a beautifully chaotic month. Between back-to-school shopping, new routines, and the last warm days of summer, our Series No. 5 slipped right through our fingers. But some crowns are worth waiting for. So today, as September comes to a close, we're making it special by crowning our August Mama.

August was still warm, and this woman is exactly that: warm, strong, honest, and a fiercely loving mom who deserves to be honored, celebrated, and seen. Here at Espresso Mamitis, we are not here to feature perfection. We celebrate the messy mom, the married mom, the single mom, the fun mom, the present mom. This series exists to put a spotlight on real motherhood, the kind that doesn't make it to the highlight reel but absolutely deserves to.

This August, that crown belongs to Nuris Gabriela, or as we like to call her, Nunu. She is a wonderful writer, a twice-published author, and the queen Mom of the Month: our August Mama. 

My heart is so full writing this one, Mamitis. Nunu is officially part of the Espresso Mamitis family now, right there with us in our WhatsApp community group, and her presence there matters more than she probably knows. She shares her own story, the hard parts included, so that another woman reading it can finally exhale and think, "Oh. It's not just me." She lifts other women up again and again with the same message: you are not alone.

What gets me most is that she does all of that while being a present mom at home to three boys. Three. She packs lunches at 7 a.m., volunteers at school in full costume, and runs Nerf wars in the dark, and she still finds the energy to show up for other women. That is not small. That is admirable.

As a fellow Latina, with my Venezuelan roots and her Salvadoran heart and Montréal soul, I am so proud to introduce her to you. So welcome, Nunu, to the Espresso Mamitis family. Pour your coffee (espresso in the morning, espresso martini at night; you'll understand soon), and let's get to know the woman behind Stop Complaining, Bitch.

Who She Is — In Her Own Words

We always start here, because this is where the real woman shows up: not the titles, not the handles, just her.

"I am both an introvert and an extrovert. I know how to behave in public settings, and I do love being around people, but I feel completely drained afterward. I love to talk, but public speaking makes me so nervous that I get dizzy and feel like I'm about to pass out.

I own a library in my home—or, really, my home is a library. I love books and I love reading. I don't have a favorite genre, and I'm always open to recommendations. I love to write just as much as I enjoy talking and breathing.

I'm an American-born (Los Angeles, California), raise in Canada to Salvadorian parents and the oldest of many sisters, because I come from a blended family.

I work from home. I teach Spanish and English, in addition to my day job as a data analyst, and I also freelance creating content, editing, and doing behind-the-scenes photography.

And I make sure to volunteer at my kids' school so they know their mom is watching them."

"My home is a library" - Nunu, I think every book-loving mama reading this just felt a little jealous. And let's take a second for that list: data analyst, language teacher, content creator, editor, photographer, school volunteer, author. And somehow she still describes herself as someone who gets drained after a party. Mamitis, you can be a lot of things and still need your quiet. Both are true.

A Real Tuesday in Nunu's Life

We ask every mom this, because the unfiltered version is always the good stuff.

"Every Tuesday is Taco Tuesday and my longest day of the work week because it's basically my Monday.

I start my day at 5:45 a.m. by making coffee and turning on my laptop. I sign in, check in, read the topics and stories I'll be working on, and gauge how busy the day is going to be.

If the younger boys are here, I make their lunches around 7:00 a.m. and wake them up at 7:45. While they get dressed, I make them bowls of cereal.

My oldest is most likely already gone because he likes me to wake him up at 6:00 a.m. so he can go run some soccer drills.

I make sure the younger two have everything they need for school, and they're on the bus by 8:40 a.m. The house is finally quiet.

I check my work messages and, depending on what's happening there, I make coffee or breakfast. Then I start the taco meat in the slow cooker. By 2:00, the house smells like spices and juicy carne for tacos.

I get off work at 3:00 and either take a minute or run an errand, then finish cooking.

The boys get off their bus after 4:00 p.m., and then the chaos starts all over again—but I love it. We may have a meltdown, an angry child, or a grumpy teenager, but I love it.

Bedtime is around 8:30 for the younger ones and 10:00 for my oldest. If I'm lucky, I go to bed around the same time, but realistically, I usually end up going to bed around midnight or later.

And then I start over."

By 2:00, the house smells like spices and juicy carne. I can smell it from here, Nunu. Look at the love on that day: waking her oldest at 6 a.m. so he can chase his soccer dreams, cereal bowls for the little ones, taco meat slow-cooking while she works. A meltdown, an angry child, a grumpy teenager, "but I love it." That's motherhood in one sentence.

Her Daily Fuel

"Coffee. And coffee. And coffee drives me. Coffee. 

But in all seriousness, what I believed drove me were my boys. But as of about a year ago, what has really been driving me is all the years and years of being told I would never achieve it. That I would never publish. That I should do something practical.

But fuck practical."

We laughed, and then we cheered. Mamitis, how many of us were told to put our dreams on a shelf and "be practical"? Nunu took every one of those voices and turned them into fuel. If you have a dream you set down years ago, consider this your sign to pick it back up.

Montréal Made, Culturally Rich 

Nunu is a Montréal woman with a beautifully layered story, and that mix of where she comes from and where she lives shapes everything about who she is.

Growing up in Montréal:

"I just remember that when we moved here, it seemed normal and natural to me to be surrounded by so many different cultures and so many different types of people.

I was always the minority in the group being Latina, and it never bothered me because I loved being around everyone. I had Italian friends, Portuguese friends, Haitian friends, Jamaican friends.

My house—my home—was always filled with food and laughter and so much warmth and everything that was nice.

And I'd say the way that shows up for me now is mostly through music and how much my home is always filled with music. My home is filled with books.

I don't know if that's culture or what, but yeah. "

Food, laughter, warmth, music, books. Nunu, whether that's culture or just you, it sounds like the kind of home every kid deserves to grow up in.

Nunu - growing up in Montréal

The roots she's passing down:

"I'm trying to make sure they learn Spanish and understand what it means to be not only Canadian, but Salvadorian as well.

Food is obviously a big part of that. I try to give them foods from my country. A big part of it is eating rice and beans, tortillas, and all that kind of stuff.

Christmas is also very important to me. We celebrate on the 24th instead of the 25th because that's how I was raised and what means the most to us and to me.

Music and dance are also a very big part of our culture. I love how vibrant and colorful we are.

But at the same time, there are some things from my culture that I don't want to carry forward.

Not having boundaries. Not allowing my children to have a say.

There has to be conversation.

The whole "I'm your mom, so that's it" thing doesn't really work for me."

This answer made me stop and reread it. As a Latina mama, I know that "porque yo lo digo" energy so well. Nunu is doing something powerful here: keeping the rice and beans, the tortillas, the Nochebuena on the 24th, the music and dance, and gently letting go of what doesn't serve her boys. That is intentional motherhood, and it is generational healing.

The motherhood she imagined vs. the one she's living:

"To be honest, I never imagined myself as a mom.

I had my firstborn when I was almost 30. He came 12 days shy of my 30th birthday, so I really didn't picture what I have now when I had him.

I truly believed he was going to be the only one. He was five when I had my other kids.

I'm amused because I realized my mother used to let us do so many things when we were younger. By the time I was 9, 10, 11, 12, I was taking the Metro on my own.

I would never dream of that with my kids. It terrifies me to even allow them to cross the street themselves to catch their school bus.

I think I'm a little stricter than I ever expected to be. I thought I would be more lenient.

I also believed raising boys in this city would be a lot easier than it is. But I constantly find there are things I'm trying to shield them and protect them from or teach them.

So it's very different from what I imagined.

And I also didn't imagine myself as a single mom.

I did not get married to get divorced.

So this is also what's funny for me, because none of this is what I imagined."

None of this is what I imagined. So many of us can say the same, Mamitis. The motherhood we live rarely matches the one we pictured, and it's no less beautiful or valid for that. To every single mama reading: we see you, and you belong right here.

The Book. THE Book. 

We had to talk about it, because that photo of Nunu holding her book with that smile says everything.

What Stop Complaining, Bitch is really about:

"Stop Complaining, Bitch is really about reclaiming your voice and recognizing that you are allowed to have boundaries, needs, wants, and a life that isn't built entirely around keeping everyone else comfortable.

What inspired me was being tired of constantly being told to minimize myself. That I shouldn't have boundaries. That I should always give up or give in to keep the peace—especially when that peace came at the expense of my own peace.

And honestly, I got tired of that.

There comes a point where you have to ask yourself, Why am I always the one expected to shrink? Why is everyone else's comfort more important than mine?

The book is my way of saying: stop apologizing for taking up space.

You are allowed to say no.

You are allowed to have boundaries.

You are allowed to choose yourself.

And sometimes, yes, you have to tell that little voice telling you to keep everyone else happy to stop complaining, bitch."

Why am I always the one expected to shrink? Mamitis, read that one more time. The title makes you laugh, and then you realize who it's actually talking to: that little inner voice that keeps telling us to make ourselves smaller. Nunu wrote a whole book to tell it to hush. 

Holding her book for the first time:

"I think the biggest emotion I've experienced is complete amazement.

Complete and total amazement.

I still cannot believe that I did this. That she's finally published. That she's here.

So the smile on my face is simply disbelief that it finally happened.

I've been saying for more than 30 years that I would be an author. That I was going to publish. That I was going to do this. That I was going to be one of the most famous authors on the planet. 

But I wasn't encouraged the way I wish I had been.

I was told that I needed to find a practical job that would pay my bills.

And, well...

I stopped writing for a long time.

Then, around December 19, 2024, I asked my best friend to hold me accountable. I asked her to ask me every single day if I had written because I wanted to start writing again, and I was worried something would happen to discourage me.

So I started writing every single day.

And now I don't necessarily feel an urge to write. I can't really explain it. It just feels like me to be writing again.

I'm so happy to be back.

I'm so happy to be doing the things that I love.

So excitement, bewilderment, disbelief, and everything good—that's how I feel about holding my book."

That she's finally published. That she's here. Nunu calls her book "she," and I love that. More than 30 years of dreaming, a long silence, and then one brave text to a best friend in December 2024. And to that best friend, whoever you are: thank you for asking every single day. That is what a village looks like. 

The messy middle:

(A gentle note, Mamitis: in this answer, Nunu shares about surviving sexual abuse. Please take care of yourself as you read.)

"I would say the hardest parts of writing this book were at the beginning, where I speak about sexual abuse and sexual assault brought on by incest.

That was—and still is—something very difficult for me to even talk about.

But I feel that it's important for people to know.

Then there was talking about my marriage.

That was also very difficult for me to discuss because, like I mentioned previously, I didn't get married with the intention of getting divorced.

I got married because I truly believed it was forever.

So seeing and feeling like I had failed, while understanding at the same time—logically—that I wasn't the only person at fault when it came to the breakdown of the marriage, was difficult.

Those were the hardest and messiest parts to write.

Once those were done, it became easier for me to continue with the rest."

Nunu, thank you. We don't take this lightly. Putting the hardest parts of your life on the page, knowing they're still hard to speak about, is an act of enormous courage, and it's why so many women will feel less alone when they read your book. We are honored you trusted us with this.

What she wants women to feel after reading:

"That she is more than enough.

That you can never be too much.

If anyone feels you're too much, or keeps trying to dim your shine, or keeps trying to act like what you need and want doesn't matter, that's not true.

You matter very, very much.

Even if the only person you matter to is yourself, because at the end of the day, that's the most important person in your life.

It's yourself."

You can never be too much. Mamitis, if you've ever been told you're "too much" (too loud, too emotional, too opinionated, too needy), this one is for you.

The Real Story of Raising Three Boys 

Three sons. THREE. We have so many questions and also so much respect.

What three boys have taught her:

"Sometimes I need to throw a tantrum to show them how ridiculous they really are. 

That pranks and farts are hilarious and apparently go hand in hand.

That being the center of the universe—their universe—can be overwhelming.

I'm tired a lot. Being there for them means fighting depression extra hard, and some days I just want to give up.

But imagining my life without them keeps me going.

I've learned that I'm allowed to be weak. I'm allowed to fail. I'm allowed to be wrong, apologize, and feel everything and anything.

It's okay to play. It's okay to be silly. It's okay not to take everything so seriously.

We laugh for no reason, just because.

They've taught me to be kinder to myself and to forget faster about what doesn't matter.

Because all the little things are a big deal to them.

It's also a little hard raising a teenager. Nobody tells you how hard that's going to be.

Having a big boy who thinks he's a big man is quite difficult sometimes. 

But I'm completely obsessed with them, and I love them.

They are my whole world.

They're my whole universe.

I cannot imagine my life without them.

Despite everything that has happened to me in my life, they are my why. They are my reason for keeping going, even on days when I don't want to."

From fart jokes to the most honest thing a mom can say, all in one answer. That's a house full of boys, and that's Nunu. Thank you for naming the hard days too, Nunu. So many moms are quietly fighting their own battles while still showing up for their kids. I'm allowed to be weak. I'm allowed to fail. Yes, you are, mama. And your boys are so lucky to have a mom who teaches them that feelings are allowed.

The invisible load:

"I think nobody prepares you for how much you worry.

I worry a lot. All the time.

And nobody prepares you for that.

I also don't think people see how many moms are crying behind closed doors. Nobody sees how hurt we are because we feel like we're failing our children.

We feel like we're not doing enough.

I think the biggest thing is that sometimes we feel like we're not doing enough, or we feel like we're going to lose our kids, without realizing that their opinion of us is completely different from the opinion we believe they have of us.

Coming to terms with my teenage son telling me I'm a good mom, while I don't feel like I'm a good mom because I feel like a failure, has been something I've had to work through.

I know I'm very hard on myself.

And I think that's the hardest thing: how much I put on myself, more than they do."

Their opinion of us is completely different from the opinion we believe they have of us. Mamitis, I need you to hear this: your kids see a very different mom than the one you criticize in the mirror. Nunu's teenager told her she's a good mom. Believe them. 

I feel you Nunu, I see you - How many times has my own teenage son also told me “Mama,  you are a good mama”.

When it all piles up:

"I cannot pinpoint one specific moment because usually it's a lot of things that just pile on and pile on and pile on until they drive me crazy.

Then, let's say, one sock on the living room floor will send me completely over the edge.

Or I'll be trying to talk to someone on the phone, and that's when they decide they want to come and say something.

So I don't know if it's one specific thing.

I would say it's usually a cluster of things."

The one sock. Every mom reading just nodded. It's never really about the sock, is it?

Back to school, her way:

"Funnily enough, I don't find back-to-school stressful.

Actually, I love it because we go back to our regular routine, and that's something I missed during the summer.

It's something I crave in my daily life: routine.

So it's not much chaos for me when we're back in school mode.

It's just normal for us."

We came in expecting chaos, and Nunu said nope, this is my happy place. A mama who loves routine. We love that, and we're a little jealous.

Struggles & Softness 

Nunu wrote a whole book called Stop Complaining, Bitch, which tells us she's done some real work on herself. This is the part of the interview I read slowest, Mamitis.

The hardest truth about motherhood and creativity:

"That we take on so much all the time.

And moms do it to ourselves, too.

A lot of times, we are the ones who put all those heavy loads on ourselves.

I sometimes wish we were more like dads because sometimes kids do things and you want to pull your hair out, you want to scream, you want to just act out in some way.

And a lot of times dads are just like, "Okay, whatever. I see you. We're in trouble now."

But they don't necessarily lose their minds over what the kids do.

So I kind of wish moms would give ourselves more grace.

I wish I would give myself more grace, because it's something I struggle with.

And I know I'm not the only one.

I know that when I'm stressed and losing my patience, I don't think clearly anymore.

That's also how it affects my creativity.

When I'm angry, nothing comes out. I can't even put my emotions or feelings on paper.

But when I'm calm—even if I'm upset—it's very easy to say what it is that I'm feeling."

"Okay, whatever. I see you." Honestly? Maybe we could all borrow a little of that energy. More grace, less weight. Noted, Nunu.

On burnout:

"As a mom, I think I felt it when my oldest wasn't even two years old and I went back to university.

I felt completely overwhelmed.

We had finally moved into our own place, and I don't remember what happened that day, but everything was going wrong.

And when he went to bed, I had a complete and total meltdown.

I remember, too, that I had tried calling people, and nobody—for some reason, nobody picked up that day.

So I just cried and cried and cried and literally cried myself to sleep.

And then the next day, I was back to me again."

“Nobody picked up that day”. That line stayed with me. It's exactly why communities like ours exist. Mamitis, if you're ever in that place, reach out to our WhatsApp group, to a friend, to anyone. Someone will pick up. 

The guilt she carries:

"I feel like maybe I don't have or spend enough time with them, or that I'm not giving them the attention they deserve, or that I'm not giving them everything they need and everything they want.

Sometimes I feel guilty for taking me time.

And just recently, I started to go out again and do things because I had closed myself off so much.

And sometimes I still feel guilty about doing things that don't involve my kids.

I think I would tell another mom carrying that same guilt that it's okay to have a life outside of your children.

It's okay to take time for yourself."

It's okay to have a life outside of your children. Print that. Tape it to the fridge. And Nunu, we're so glad you're going out again. 

What she'd tell her younger self:

"To give myself more grace.

To be more patient with myself.

To do what I do for others, but do it for myself, because it doesn't seem like I'm kind enough to myself the way that I should be.

Stop doubting myself.

And stop looking at myself through other people's eyes.

Because for the longest time, I always thought I was fat because everybody used to say, "Oh, you'd be prettier if you lost weight." "You'd be prettier if you were thinner."

And in my mind's eye, I still see a very fat girl.

But when I pull up the pictures, I was never fat.

So just to be kinder and more patient with myself and give myself more grace."

Stop looking at myself through other people's eyes. Oof. How many of us are still carrying words someone said to us years ago? Nunu, the girl in those pictures was beautiful then, and the woman holding that book with that smile is beautiful now.

Content, Community & Creating Out Loud 

Nunu isn't just a mom and an author. She's a creator, and we want to celebrate that too.

Why she started sharing:

"I used to work in marketing and advertising, and I would travel all the time.

With the way social media was growing, I thought this would be fun to do and easier to do.

And it's both easy and hard. 

But I enjoy what I do.

I share because I feel we all have stories to tell, and sometimes people feel that just because no one is talking about something, they're alone.

So it's about not feeling alone.

For some reason, social media isolates people a lot. We're always glued to our phones, glued to the screen.

Whereas when we were kids, I remember we would sit at the lunch table at school and there were no phones. There were conversations, jokes, and everything.

So I guess I'm trying to build a sort of community."

Trying to recreate the school lunch table online, where people talk, laugh, and don't feel alone. Nunu, that's exactly what we're building here too. Welcome to the table. 

Holding space for creativity with three boys:

"I truly believe there's a time and place for everything, but you also need to want to make the time.

It can be overwhelming sometimes, but I'm also very lucky that my children are creative too.

They love to draw. They love to sing. They love music, and they build things with Legos.

They're also at an age where they're very much self-sufficient, so they don't need me all the time.

And I actually enjoy having them watch me when I'm working.

They'll play while I'm writing or working or editing, and I don't feel like they take away from any of that.

At home, I have a little corner where my office is. I'll sit there and put my headphones on, and the kids know, "Okay, Mom is busy."

But if they need me, I'll stop.

If what I'm doing isn't urgent or isn't something I can't put down, I'll pause and work with them.

I think I have a pretty good balance because if I'm working, I usually work during the hours they're at school, unless I have a deadline or something.

Otherwise, it's never really been a problem."

Headphones on means Mom is busy, but if they need her, she stops. Her boys are growing up watching their mom write books in the corner of their home. What a gift that is.

What she wants women to feel when they find her:

"That they are not alone.

That many of us have gone through these types of situations where our marriages don't work, our relationships don't work, and we feel like failures because we have this mentality that a mom and dad should be together.

And sometimes women, even when they have a partner, are essentially single married moms simply because, yeah, the dad's there, but he doesn't do anything.

He believes that just because he goes to work, he doesn't have to do anything when he comes home.

So I want them to know they're not alone.

I want them to know that they are 100% enough.

That they're not a bitch simply because they put boundaries in place or simply because they say no.

We have a voice.

We should be using it.

And the only permission we really need is our own."

The only permission we really need is our own. Mamitis, that's the whole book in one line.

Wins & Wonder 

Crown. On. Head. This section is all hers. 

The win she's claiming out loud:

"For many years, I truly believed that writing was simply a dream. That it would never amount to anything and that everybody around me was right—that it was just a pretty little dream to have.

Publishing two books in the span of less than six months is the biggest win for me.

My first one was published in March, A Very Stable Empire, a divine biography, and then this one in August.

So yeah—not even six months.

I was able to publish two books, and for me, this is a dream come true.

I've been dreaming about this since I was able to write and read.

As a kid and as a teenager, I always had notebooks. I always had pencils. I made sure that whatever poem popped into my head could be captured.

And if I didn't have paper, I'd get an envelope, a napkin—whatever—just so I could write.

So as of today, my biggest win is definitely having two books published between March and August of this year."

TWO BOOKS. In less than six months. While raising three boys and working a full-time job. From poems on napkins and envelopes to two published books, Nunu, that "pretty little dream" is real now, and we're giving you a standing ovation.

The joy that caught her off guard:

"My youngest's birthday is coming up, and we decided that he could go shopping for what he wanted so he could have his own presents.

He decided he wanted a new Nerf gun and bullets, among a couple of other things.

And it turns out we came home and everybody had a Nerf gun.

My 16-year-old, my 10-year-old, my almost-nine-year-old, and me.

We were all on teams fighting each other, and it was so much fun.

We turned off all the lights. We were hiding. We were laughing and startling each other because it was dark.

We just had a lot of fun doing that."

Lights off, teams picked, Mom hiding behind the couch with a Nerf gun. THIS is the stuff they'll remember forever.

What she does well that no one claps for:

"This is a hard question because a lot of times I still don't feel like I'm good enough to be their mom.

Maybe it's instilling a love of reading and creativity, because they do enjoy drawing. They enjoy music.

But wait—I got it.

It's the school activities.

It's one of my favorite things to do.

Not that I take it for granted, but I don't always recognize it because at the same time that I'm doing it for them, I'm also doing it for myself because I enjoy being in their childhood.

If the school says, "Hey, can you come for Halloween to either take pictures or do face painting?" I'll go—and I'll be dressed up.

I'll dress up as whatever they want me to dress up as.

I've done Day of the Dead. I've done a mime ballerina princess. Anything they want.

I love that I'm able to participate and act like a kid all over again with them.

It's my favorite thing because I feel like they give me permission to enjoy and continue to have that childlike wonder."

"But wait—I got it." We love watching her find it in real time. A mime ballerina princess, Nunu? We need photos. You are not just present in their childhood; you're in it, fully. That deserves every clap.

Closing With Love 

Her most honest advice for the mom in a hard season:

"I talk about this in my book.

One of my favorite tattoos is the one I have on my left arm that says, "This too shall pass."

I think that is the best advice I've ever gotten and a constant reminder that it doesn't matter what it is—everything passes.

The good things will pass.

The bad things will pass.

Everything moves on.

Nothing stays the same.

So in the moments when we're feeling the worst, when we're feeling lost, depleted, and all of that, we have to remember that there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.

There is no harm and nothing wrong with asking for help if you can't do it by yourself.

You would be surprised how many people you might actually have around you who want to help you.

Another thing I've been doing with my kids for a while—and something I've done myself for a long time—is that every evening I ask them to write down one thing they're grateful for.

I think as women and as moms, we should do the same thing.

Sometimes we forget what we have because we're so overwhelmed by all our responsibilities.

Being grateful sort of adds this calm to life because you can see all the good things that are actually going on and happening.

It's just that sometimes the bad things seem to have a louder voice, and usually the good things get lost in all that loudness.

Sometimes you have to be patient with yourself.

And you will see that this too shall pass."

This too shall pass. And tonight, before bed, write down one thing you're grateful for. Just one. Nunu's boys do it every evening, and I think we should too, Mamitis. 

What she wants every mom to walk away feeling:

"You are not too much."

Five words. That's all she needed. And honestly? That's all any of us needed to hear.

Where to Find and Support Nunu

📍 Instagram: @nuns_bitsnbites 📖 Stop Complaining, Bitch (published August 2026) 📖 A Very Stable Empire (published March 2026)

Go follow her, grab her books, and send her some love from the whole Espresso Mamitis village. 

And Finally — If Motherhood Were a Coffee Drink…

We always end here, and Nunu did not disappoint.

"100% I would be an espresso in the mornings and an espresso martini at night. 

Because all I do is go, go, go, go.

Even when I don't have the boys, I feel like I'm constantly on the move and constantly on the go because I still participate in their school activities even when it's not my week to have them.

So I would definitely be an espresso.

But on a Sunday morning?

I'd be more like a café au lait. "

Espresso by day, espresso martini by night, café au lait on Sunday mornings. Very Montréal, very Nunu. And did you catch that? She shows up to school activities even on the weeks her boys aren't with her. That's a mom who never stops showing up.

Muchas gracias, Nunu, for opening your heart, your home, and your story to this community. Thank you for writing the hard chapters so other women don't have to feel alone in theirs. Thank you for reminding every mom reading this that she is allowed to say no, take up space, and choose herself. And thank you for proving that a woman can be tired and still dreaming, soft and still fierce, a present mom of three and a published author, all at the same time.

You are not too much, Queen. You are exactly enough. That crown looks so good on you.

Did her story resonate with you? Drop a comment below or share this with a first-time mom who needs to read it today. And if you missed our previous Mom of the Month features, head over to  espressomamitis.com to catch up — the village is waiting.