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ASHLEY MARTINEZ | Mompreneur

@ashleymartinez7_

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I originally went to Walmart looking for some new couch pillows, but when I saw they were $16 EACH, I had to pause. I guess my frugal side kicked in because I just couldn’t justify spending that much on one pillow. I decided I’d rather look around elsewhere and see if I could find a better deal.

But you know how it goes… you go in for one thing and somehow leave with a cart full of other little finds!

Instead, I picked up a candle warmer, some scented wax melts, a candle, and a few pine cones to add to our Christmas tree. Just a few simple touches to make the house feel a little cozier this season.

The pillows can wait until I find a deal I’m happy with!

Does anyone else go into Walmart for one thing and come out with everything BUT what they originally went for? 😂 by @ashleymartinez7_

With my due date right around the corner, at this point we’re all just surviving, not cleaning. 😂😂

If the toys are everywhere, consider it toddler enrichment. If the house is a mess, consider it nesting… just in reverse. 🤣

Mama is officially too pregnant to chase, bend, pick up, or repeat herself 100 times. You wanted independence, baby? You’ve got it! Clean up or keep up because this mama is clocking out. 💀😂

#ThirdTrimester #ToddlerMom #PregnancyHumor #MomLife #DueDateCountdown by @ashleymartinez7_

Meet GuruNanda RTG 2.0 6-in-1 Pre-Pasted Disposable Toothbrushes! 🪥
•LINK IN MY BIO
A convenient option to keep on hand for busy days and life on the go. This 60-count pack is available now on Costco.com!

🛒 Shop online at Costco.com.

#ad #GuruNandaXCostco

@gurunanda.official @iampuneetnanda

#costcoonline #GuruNanda #newatcostco costcofindsonline GuruNandaXCostco by @ashleymartinez7_

This picture holds a kind of pain that’s hard to explain. This was the last time I saw my dad, and even then, years had passed before we saw each other again. Since the day I was born, his presence has been inconsistent. He comes into my life, gives me a glimpse of what having a dad might feel like, and then disappears again.

And every time he leaves, it feels like another wound reopening in a place that never fully healed.

The hardest part is that he’s never been the father I needed him to be. So sometimes I wonder if I’m really longing for him, or if I’m longing for the idea of him. The idea of having a dad who shows up, who chooses me, who protects me, who loves me consistently, and who makes me feel like I’m worth staying for.

I think that’s what has kept me craving a relationship with him all these years. Not necessarily the relationship we’ve had, but the one I’ve always wished we could have.

Mental health struggles and addiction have played a part in his absence, and I know there’s a deeper story behind his struggles. I can have compassion for what he’s battling without pretending that his absence hasn’t hurt me. Understanding someone’s pain doesn’t erase the pain they’ve caused you.

And now, there’s a part of me that knows the day I have to say goodbye to him for the last time may bring a grief I’ve already carried for most of my life. Because in some ways, I’ve been grieving my dad long before I ever had to grieve his death.

I’m grieving the childhood I didn’t get, the memories we never made, the father-daughter relationship I kept hoping for, and the version of him I needed but never truly had.

Maybe that’s the hardest part of having an absent parent: you can grow up knowing they weren’t there for you, and still carry a little girl inside you who hopes that one day, they will be.

I’m learning that I can love my dad, understand his struggles, and still acknowledge how deeply his absence has affected me. Both things can be true.

Sometimes, we aren’t just grieving the person we have. We’re grieving the parent we needed, the relationship we deserved, and the hope that one day things might finally be by @ashleymartinez7_

Some days, I’m not looking for a lesson in what I’ve survived. I just want someone to acknowledge how much I never deserved to go through.

In such a short amount of time, my life has changed in ways I never could have prepared for. Being pregnant, suffering a stroke, trying to recover while growing a baby, and now finding myself back in the hospital facing another serious complication. It feels like every time I try to catch my breath, something else happens.

I’m trying to heal physically, mentally, and emotionally while still being a mother, still carrying a baby, and still trying to make sense of everything that’s happening to me.

And the truth is, I’m tired.

Not just physically tired, but tired in a way that sleep cannot fix. Tired of being strong when I never asked to be this strong. Tired of having to process things that have changed me forever. Tired of trying to find the positive in situations that have genuinely hurt me.

I know healing takes time. I know I have so much to be grateful for. And I know God has carried me through moments I didn’t know how I would survive. But faith doesn’t mean I never feel broken. Gratitude doesn’t mean I don’t grieve. And surviving something doesn’t mean I have to pretend it didn’t hurt.

Sometimes, I don’t need a silver lining. I don’t need another reminder of how resilient I am. I just need room to be human, to feel the weight of what I’ve been through, and to admit that none of this has been easy.

I’m still here. I’m still fighting. But I’m allowed to be hurting, too.

Not every part of my healing will look like strength. Some days, it will simply look like me trying to get through the day. And right now, that has to be enough. by @ashleymartinez7_

30 weeks pregnant, and somehow my story keeps taking another unexpected turn.

I was just hospitalized for a cerebral thrombosis (a blood clot in my brain), and I’m still trying to recover from that while navigating pregnancy. Now, I’m back in the hospital after going to the ER for extreme back pain, only to find out I have a kidney infarction — an area of my kidney that has been injured due to a loss of blood flow.

Never in a million years would I have imagined that back pain would lead to another serious diagnosis. Between pregnancy, recovering from a stroke, and now facing another medical complication, this has been more than I ever expected to navigate at once.

It’s scary not knowing what the next day will bring, especially when I’m carrying my baby and trying to stay strong for my family while my own body is going through so much.

I’m taking things one day at a time, holding onto my faith, and praying for healing, protection over my baby, and the strength to get through whatever comes next.

This is not how I pictured my pregnancy, but this is my reality right now. One day at a time. 🤍

#PregnancyJourney #30WeeksPregnant #StrokeRecovery #KidneyInfarction #HighRiskPregnancy PregnancyComplications by @ashleymartinez7_

Lately, people have been telling me how strong I am, but I know I’m not moving forward by my own strength. It’s God’s grace, mercy, and power carrying me through every moment.

And I’ve realized something through all of this: being strong doesn’t mean you always have to be strong.

Sometimes, even the person everyone sees as strong just wants to hear, “I’m here for you. You don’t have to go through this alone. If you need me, reach out.”

Because honestly, I’ve heard “you’re so strong” over and over throughout what I’m going through. And I know every person who said it meant well. I truly do. But sometimes, hearing that you’re strong isn’t what you need when you’re hurting.

Sometimes you don’t want to feel like you have to keep the armor on just because everyone believes you can handle it.

I’m allowed to feel emotional. I’m allowed to feel overwhelmed. I’m allowed to be scared, concerned, or simply tired. None of those things make me weak. They make me human.

There have been moments when I didn’t know what was next moments when life left me unsteady, exhausted, and unsure of myself. But one thing I know for certain: God has never stopped having a plan for me.

I’ve survived too much to let this chapter shake my faith. From the trials I faced as a child to the battles I’ve carried into adulthood, I’ve overcome things I once thought would break me. And I know it wasn’t by my strength alone. It was His mercy, His grace, and His hand sustaining me when I couldn’t carry myself.

So even when I can’t see the road ahead, I choose to trust the One who can.

And I’m learning that if God has forgiven me, I have to learn to forgive myself, too.

I’m still healing. I’m still growing. I’m still becoming. And I don’t have to put on armor every day to prove that I’m strong.

Sometimes strength looks like admitting, “I need you, too.”

And sometimes the strongest thing we can do is let people show up for us.

I’m standing today, and that is my testimony: God has carried me this far, and He is not finished with me yet. 🤍 by @ashleymartinez7_

I never imagined I would be sharing something like this.

I’m currently hospitalized after having a stroke while pregnant, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around everything that has happened. What started as an unexpected health scare became something much more serious, and I’m now facing something that can be life-threatening for both me and my unborn baby.

It’s been about a week, and I’m still not where my doctors need me to be with my treatment. That reality has been incredibly difficult to process. More than anything, I want to go home.

But being a mom to three beautiful children already makes this even harder. I miss my babies more than I can put into words. I want to be there with them, hug them, hear their voices, and just be their mom instead of being in a hospital bed wondering when I’ll get to go home.

At the same time, I know I have to be here. This isn’t something I can just push through or walk away from. I need to take this seriously because my life and my unborn child’s life depend on getting through this safely.

Right now, it honestly feels like it’s me vs. me. I’m fighting to keep my mind from going to the darkest places while trying to stay strong for the children who need me and the baby I’m carrying.

I’m praying that God strengthens my faith because there are moments when fear feels much louder than anything else. I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know exactly how this is going to unfold. But I’m trying to trust God, trust my doctors, and take this one day at a time.

Even on the hardest days, I’m choosing to believe that this is not the end of my story. I may be tired, afraid, and uncertain, but I am still fighting with faith in my heart, strength I didn’t know I had, and love for the children waiting for me. I’m going to keep taking each step, trusting that God is carrying me through this and leading me back home.

One day, I will walk out of this hospital, hold my children in my arms, and thank God for bringing us safely through. Until then, I’ll keep believing, keep praying, and keep fighting my way home. by @ashleymartinez7_

There’s something about rising with the sun and getting outside that makes me feel so much better, even on the days when all I want to do is stay in bed and rest.

I’m growing a whole human right now, and it’s crazy to think that soon she’s going to be here in my arms.

Time is going by so fast, and I know I’m going to cherish these moments so much. The mornings, the walks, feeling her move, and being able to still do the things I love while she’s growing inside of me.

I know this won’t last forever, so even on the days when I’m tired and would rather stay in bed, I want to keep taking advantage of these moments. To get outside, move my body, and just enjoy this time.

Soon enough, she’ll be here. And I know I’m going to miss having her all to myself like this. 🤍 by @ashleymartinez7_

I’m building businesses, raising my babies, and creating a life I’m proud of but motherhood has made me realize that financial protection is part of that responsibility, too.

I’m not just building for myself anymore.

I have children who depend on me. A household that depends on income. A future I’m working hard to create.

And moments like this watching my little girl run excitedly toward a new park, completely carefree remind me of exactly why protecting that future matters to me.

God forbid something ever happened to me, I would want to know that the people I love wouldn’t also have to carry the financial burden of losing my income.

That’s one of the reasons life insurance has become more personal to me not simply because I’m a life insurance agent, but because I’m a mom.

The more I learn about life insurance, the more I realize that simply having a policy doesn’t always mean you’ve taken the time to understand what it would actually do for the people depending on you.

And that’s something I’ve been thinking about for myself, too.

If something happened to me tomorrow, would my family know exactly what financial protection I have in place?

If your answer is “I’m not sure,” that’s okay.

I think sometimes we’re so busy taking care of everyone and building our lives that we forget to stop and make sure the foundation underneath it all is protected, too.

I’m learning, building, working, raising my babies and documenting all of it along the way.

Because building a life is important.

Protecting the people you’re building it for matters, too.

#Motherhood #Mompreneur #BusinessBuilder #FinancialProtection by @ashleymartinez7_

I want to remember this...

These mornings walks, the fresh air, the sunshine, walking alongside my son and just being here in this moment.

As I get older, I know life will change in so many ways. My kids will grow, they’ll have families and lives of their own, and I’ll have more years behind me than I do ahead of me. Honestly, one of the things I pray for is that I get to hold onto these memories for as long as I possibly can.

I want to remember these walks. I want my kids to remember taking these walks with me. I want them to remember the little conversations, the sunshine, the ordinary mornings that probably don’t feel like much right now.

Pregnancy, motherhood, and everything else life brings can make the days feel so full. But moments like this remind me how much there is to be grateful for right here, right now.

Maybe one day, when my kids are grown and they’re doing these same things with their own families, these are the moments I’ll look back on and be thankful I didn’t take for granted.

The ordinary moments really are the important ones. These are the moments I want to remember. 🤍

#Motherhood #Memories #Lifetime #MomentsLikeThese #InstaJournal by @ashleymartinez7_