And the winners are…
To celebrate the hard-working, selfless moms of our community, Parenting OC Magazine teamed up with local businesses to give two lucky moms a fabulous makeover package. Family and friends submitted an essay about why a mother in their life is deserving of a makeover. A huge congratulations to Maria Valencia and Shannon Warren for winning Parenting OC’s Mom Makeover!
Maria Valencia
“My mom is the heart of our family. She is the person who has always held us together with love, strength and endless sacrifice. While many people talk about how amazing their mothers are, my mom truly is a miracle.
When my mom was young, she suffered a devastating accident. She fell from the second floor at her school and hit her head. The injuries were so severe that doctors told her family something no parent ever wants to hear — they said she would not live past 16 years old. The future they imagined for her was heartbreakingly short.
But my mom proved them wrong.
Instead of a short life, she built a beautiful one. She grew up, became a mother and dedicated herself to loving and caring for her family with everything she had. Through all the challenges life brought her, she never let that accident define her. Instead, she became one of the strongest people I know.
She has spent her life putting others before herself. She was always the first to help when someone needed it, the first to offer comfort when someone was hurting and the first to celebrate when someone succeeded. No matter how tired she was or what she was going through, she always showed up for the people she loved.
Over the years, like many mothers, she focused so much on taking care of everyone else that she rarely took time to care for herself. She carried the responsibilities of motherhood with grace, strength and unconditional love. She never asked for recognition and she never expected anything in return. She simply loved her family with her whole heart.
Today, the same woman doctors once said would not live past 16 is about to turn 72 years old this September. That alone is a testament to her strength, resilience and the incredible spirit she carries inside her. She truly is living proof that miracles exist.
To our family, she is already beautiful. Her kindness, her courage and her unwavering love make her the most incredible woman we know. But a mommy makeover would give her something she has rarely allowed herself to have — time to feel celebrated, appreciated and confident in herself.
After a lifetime of overcoming the impossible and dedicating herself to her family, she deserves a moment that is just for her.
My mom is not just strong. She is a survivor, a fighter and the foundation of our family. Winning this mommy makeover would be a way to honor the miracle that she truly is.
And if anyone deserves to be celebrated, it is her.”
— Nominated by her daughter, Vanessa Corona
Delite Travis
“My wife, Delite, is the center of our family. Not in the abstract sense. In the literal, daily, ‘I don’t know how she does it’ sense.
We have four kids. That alone is a full-contact sport. But Delite manages the school schedules, the appointments, the activities, the birthday party RSVPs, the forms that somehow always need a signature, and every little detail that keeps our household from spinning off its axis. She remembers things I forget I forgot. She notices what our kids need before they know how to ask for it.
And she does all of this while holding down a demanding executive leadership role at a college. Real responsibilities. People counting on her. Decisions that matter. She carries that weight with focus and professionalism, and then she walks through our front door and becomes fully present for four kids who all need something different from her at the exact same time.
I watch her do this every single day, and I am still amazed.
Here is what most people do not see. Delite is the one who stays up making sure tomorrow is handled. She is the one who checks in on a friend going through something hard, even when her own plate is overflowing. She is the one who quietly holds space for everyone around her, and she almost never asks for anything in return.
She is not the kind of person who stops to take care of herself. If there is time left over in the day (and there rarely is), she fills it with something for someone else.
That is exactly why she deserves this makeover. Not because she needs it. Because she has earned the chance to sit still, be taken care of and feel as beautiful on the outside as she already is to everyone who knows her.
Delite is thoughtful, steady, funny when you least expect it, and stronger than she gives herself credit for. She is the reason our family works. She is the calm in every storm and the warmth in every room she walks into.
To me and our children, she is everything. I would love for her to have a day where someone else does the caring, and she gets to just receive it.
She has more than earned that.”
— Nominated by her husband, Michael Travis
Our deserving moms received the following prizes: Customized eyebrow shaping, lash lift, teeth whitening, makeup, and hairstyling.
More About Our Sponsors…
Project Beauty Brow Art:
- Eyebrow Grooming with Michelle – receive customized brow measuring, shaping and grooming according to your specific facial features.
Heavenlash:
- Lash Lift – a low maintenance lash perm service using safe, quality products to lift your natural lashes up to your desired curl for up to 6 weeks.
Blanc By Ibeth:
- Teeth Whitening session – Experience a relaxing teeth whitening session with state of the art equipment that guarantees your smile to be a minimum of 2-3 shades brighter.
Unity Salon:
- Hairstyling— creating waves, braids, curls or straighten their hair for a beautiful new look
Surjaya Artistry:
- Makeup, to highlight the clients’ best features
- Instructions on how to replicate the desired look
- Products to take home
instagram.com/surjaya.artistry
Compiled by Madison Amirehteshami
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