This month’s Fabulous Female is very successful blogger, and mom, Erika Batista! At an early age Erika new she wanted to be a mom. When she married her husband they had the conversation about her desire to stay at home with her children. For Erika it was important to be there for her kid’s formative years, participate in school functions and be present for all of their milestones. While this didn’t come without sacrifice, she told me that the benefits outweighed anything she had to give up.  It’s Erika’s belief that family comes first.

While caring for her oldest Ben, she would get questions from friends and family about her clothes or makeup, since she was (and is) always so well put together. While Erika loves nothing more than being a mom, she recognizes that she’s a woman first. From her love of beauty and fashion, and as an outlet to keep the essence of the woman she loved to be before her kids, she launched Bye Erika Batista (formerly Lolabluestyle).

Through her blog Erika hopes to share the message that “mom life isn’t the end of your life… we can still be powerful, sexy, independent, loving and hardworking while being moms”.  She wants women to know that our goals are not limited once we have children. Erika’s philosophy is that it’s the opposite, and as mother’s we are natural multi-taskers, and becoming a mother empowers us to realize we can accomplish anything. While her passion is to achieve her dreams one step at a time, at the end of the day what drives her is being an example to her children, and inspire them to be and do whatever they set their minds to.

For Erika it’s a priority to empower and support other women in any way she can. Erika believes that “women who are leaders and support one another, from the kindness of their heart, empower me”.  She loves to use her platform to pay this forward by sharing details, of her life, through her social media accounts and blog. She takes pride in sharing her journey, whether they be wins or losses, so that she can create a connection with other women.

Erika credits her mom as being her biggest inspiration. As an adult she reflects back on her mother being a single parent, and how hard her mom worked to give her the world. Erika knows that she can never fail and the life she lives is so fruitful because of the lessons, and morals, that her mom taught her.

While her mom is such a big role model, she acknowledged that her husband, kids and aunts play a critical role in her success and are her biggest support system. Whether it be her kids cheering her on, with hugs and kisses, her husband being her photographer or getting that helping hand with dinner or laundry Erika says that “my village is golden and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank God”.

You can follow Erika at Bye Erika Batista or on Instagram @byerikabatista and on Facebook to get lifestyle, fashion, and make up tips as well as recipes or parenting advice!