reviews: nuvia cafe instant coffee

i am a fair weather coffee fan.  i will drink it daily for weeks straight and then hardly touch it for months.  this drives dave crazy.  he hates coming home from work and seeing coffee still sitting in the pot, or even worse: half a cup of coffee or more in a mug.  the only time i will drink coffee it seems is when i buy it (probably something about paying for it) & if we're at a dinner or something.  instant coffee is more up my alley- but the taste leaves a lot to be desired.  with that being said- i was a little skeptical about nuvia cafe when i found out it was instant coffee- that's how i used to drink my coffee when i lived in my apartment without a coffee maker.  it. was. awful.  however- nuvia cafe doesn't taste like instant coffee- and it actually tastes better than the coffee we've been brewing at home (sorry dear)!  i was pleasantly surprised!  dave & i are both fans of strong-flavored coffee- and nuvia has a delicious bold taste- just the way i like it.

made up of only 4 ingredients: sumatran arabica coffee that is infused with african mango seed, pomegranate &  ganoderma (all certified 100% organic).  so you're probably wondering what those ingredients are, especially since nuvia cafe says they're instant healthy coffee.  ganoderma is an ancient asian mushroom that's been used in traditional chinese medicine.  the ganoderma mushroom is thought to have many healing benefits- immunity booster, anti-tumor effects, blood pressure lowering.  nuvia cafe also is a premium appetite suppressant & supports healthy energy.  i can't really speak for the appetite suppressant- since i work out during the day, i find myself pretty hungry throughout, but i do feel like it gives me good energy without an afternoon crash- and I can still sleep at night without feeling wired!

i'm sold on the taste of nuvia cafe alone, but add in these health benefits, and i'm hooked.  i'll definitely be carrying some nuvia cafe with me when i go back to work next week! 

nuvia cafe can be ordered online, ships the next day and comes with a 30 day money back guarantee!  also be sure to check them on out on twitter or facebook! 

I received a sample of the above product to try for free and keep in exchange for a review.  I received no further compensation.  All opinions are honest & my own.

(gentle) opinions needed

the jason wu for target collab came out about a month or so ago, and i once again dragged myself out of bed and woke the baby early for crying out loud to check it out.  i had my eye on the pink/yellow striped dress, blue floral dress & the blue poplin dress (google them b\c i'm too lazy to link)- neither of which i could find in the store when i arrived about 15-20 min after it opened.  when the missoni collection was at target last year i went to the tiny target by dave's office and was able to snag the one thing i wanted before anyone in the illinois suburbs found out what a missoni was.  jason wu was a little different, and i live near a different target- so the collection was picked through in just that short amount of time.  they didn't even have either of the dresses i wanted, so i grabbed a few things to try on that i thought might work.  in the end i went home with a black pleated skirt, a blush-colored tie top, a pale blue cardigan and a red striped dress.  

initial thoughts-  skirt- could barely squeeze into a size 8 (?!), but wanted a basic black skirt.  tie top- cute, but not bowled over.  cardigan- size small seemed to swallow me, but loved the color and snaps.  dress- my favorite, but shapeless. 

i wasn't 100% crazy about them, but i felt i wanted something from the collection.  i ended up letting them sit in the tgt bag on my floor for almost a month.  i got everything out about a week ago and tried it on again.  i ended up swapping the blush top for a modcloth dress, i put the dress in the laundry to be washed and was still undecided on the other items (now leaning toward returns). 

so like i said, i washed the dress.  to the instructions- machine wash cold, tumble dry low.  i even did delicate cycle with the wash.  i should've listened to my gut and not dried the dress, but our low dry does really well with things... big mistake. 

my dress is now pretty short, but since i'm short it's too long to be a tunic...  this is where i need you dear reader...  is this a keeper, or should i try to sell/swap it?

dress: jason wu for target

belt: target

sandals: sperry topsider

see- it's short.  i feel like it has to have the belt though or else it has no definition to it.  now without belt:

just kind of hangs like i'm wearing a sack.

b-t dubs.  i have my hair in a milkmaid braid- totes cute

 man, my back part is awful... and my hair is not the greasy hot mess that it looks- i promise.  just dark & shiny.

your thoughts on the dress though... belted, unbelted or see ya later?

happy birthday bb

oh baby, it's another baby?

no, sillies.  you must be effing crazy.  i am not having another baby right now, or anytime soon.  so, don't get your hopes up, and stop asking...

also, this isn't directed to anyone, or meant to insult anyone.  when people want to have babies is their business.  this is my disclaimer!

i did want to write on this because it seems a hot topic now- ian and all of his friends are nearing 1, and siblings are already on the way or in the works!  i on the other hand feel sometimes as if i am being looked at like i have 2 heads because i'm not in the process of making a sibling for my child...

my niece was born 3 weeks ago, and if you've been following my blog for quite some time, you'll remember that my other niece was also born the week of thanksgiving the previous year...  they are 1 year and 5 days apart.  and as much as this thrills some people to no end the thought of another cute cuddly baby in the house, all i can think about is my terrified sister-in-law who has a 1 year old that needs her, and she has a 3 week old that needs 100% of her attention.  she can't even pick up her 1 year old b\c she just had her 2nd c-section in as many years- and she lives 225 miles away from here, and her husband works all day, and their other daughter is in school.  she's tired, she's experiencing the baby blues, and she's trying to figure out this new baby, and she's trying to figure out nursing, and my niece doesn't get why mommy won't pick her up- and it's hard.  i know she'll figure it out, because she's awesome, but i think she would rather have spaced them out further.  and that's reason enough for me...

reasons for me to have another baby:
1.  they are cute and cuddly, and smell like babies, and tiny, and they have tiny cries, and clothes and yawns
2.  the actual experience of having a baby is awesome
3.  i love being pregnant, most people actually give a crap about you- plus it's fun to eat.
4.  my biological clock is ticking (i am under 35, so this does not apply to me)
5.  i have a lady condition that requires me to rapid fire babies (this does not apply to me- luckily b\c sadly i have many girlfriends with this issue- and it's just not fair)

reasons not to have another baby
1.  i would love to be pregnant again, but i must constantly remind myself that the experience of being pregnant is temporary
2.  babies grow up too fast- when i first had ian, i kept thinking about how he was going to grow so fast, and i wanted him to stay a baby forever.  yes, he has grown fast, and i wish he would stay a baby forever, but guess what, they all grow.
3.  i am not michelle duggar
4.  having a baby is a financial burden (yes, burden b\c you have no money- the baby itself is NOT a burden).  dave and i do not use credit cards (unless they say "ann taylor loft"...), so debt is not an option for us- however, after  not having credit card debt for 3 years, we have found ourselves having to use our 1 card b\c sometimes the money runs out before the month does, and another baby would be 2x the struggle.
5.  we are still paying for having ian after the insurance shenanigans
6.  i'm just enjoying ian.  i'm enjoying the hell out of him.  just.  him.


i had a friend who told me shortly after ian was born (she had just had her own baby as well) that if she never had another baby besides the one she had just had, that she would be content.  i thought she was crazy.  now, i can understand where she was coming from.  although i would love a little girl, i am perfectly content with ian- i even told dave that i would be happy if i didn't have another boy because i wanted ian to be our only boy- he's just that special.  first born babies are lucky:  they get mommy & daddy all to themselves- no sharing with siblings or competing for time.  i want ian to get as much one-on-one time before he has to share me with someone else.  i also don't want 2 babies in diapers, but that's another story.  so don't plan on me seeing yes or 2 pink lines or a plus sign or whatever your test reads for at least another year- or more.

and that's my take.

wean green cubes review

about wean green the company:  founded in canada in 2008 by melissa gunning, wean green is dedicated to providing parents with safe and environmental baby products that fit into every parent's diaper bag.
"we love researching environmentally friendly, modern, and unique baby products. we also love it when our diaper bags match our shoes! with this in mind, we created a company devoted to combining eco and chic in all of our products. our eco-chic designs make it possible for parents to choose environmental products without sacrificing style.  wean green grows with your baby, too. our wean cubes were designed with many secondary uses, including keeping cereal from spilling all over your purse!  our goal is to ensure that your eco-footprint does not grow faster than your baby's sweet little feet. the wean green team continues to design products that will meet the expectations of our weaners and their proud parents."  wean green means it when they say they are keeping their eco-footprint as small as your baby's feet:  their packaging is environmentally friendly and contains NO paper!  all of their invoicing and media kits are done electronically.

about wean green cubes:  wean green cubes are a safe way to store and transport food for your little one- they're bpa, pvc, phthalates and plasticizer free!  they are made from 100% recyclable glass that's durable enough for the dishwasher and to stand the heat of a microwave and the cold of the freezer (from my personal experience, don't accidentally send one flying off your kitchen counter onto your tile floor, b\c i'm pretty sure no glass can handle that).  wean cubes have smart clip lids that lock into place keeping air out of your food, and food out of your bag!

about my experience with wean green:  these cubes have changed our lives in the baby food department.  every night we were taking out our bowls, filling them with baby food, and covering them with plastic wrap that didnt' stick to the bowls.  heating food took forever... and traveling with the bowls, forget it.  we were using food storage containers that i'm sure weren't bpa free.  the wean green cubes eliminate all this mess.  we take the food straight from the freezer, pop 2 servings in the cubes and either go straight to the microwave or the refrigerator to thaw.  the cubes not only heat the food faster and more evenly- they also don't get hot!  i did manage to break one of my cubes by accidentally slinging it off the kitchen counter (there were tears involved), but that was more of a clumsy mommy thing.  they are also extremely easy to travel with- put the food in the cubes, clip the lid- and drop them into the diaper bag (they fit perfectly in the side bottle pockets.  no spills, no worries.  they clean easily and don't stain.  my husband raves about them EVERY TIME he uses them.  his words:  "these are totally awesome, i love them!"  i definitely wouldn't want to go back to life without them.  if you feed your baby, these are a MUST!

wean green cubes in action:

wean green cubes come in 4 delicious colors:  blueberry, raspberry, carrot & peas

up close and personal- tight fitting lids prevent spills and keep food fresh!

ian's food for the lunch & dinner- easy as can be!  (ian was eating plums & pumpkin for one meal, and mango & cauliflower for the other)

from the microwave, straight to the table!

interested in buying wean green cubes for your little weaner?  go to their website and during checkout enter the promo code "ohbaby"

disclaimer:  the opinions stated here are mine and mine only.  i was not compensated for this review, however, i did receive a sample of the product to try and review. 

mommy reads! book review- all this and heaven too

if you know anything about me at all, you know i love classic movies.  in fact, i prefer them to new movies.  maybe it's because we don't go to the theater a lot.  who knows.  but i'd much rather see a movie on tcm than anything new.  drives husband crazy.

 

so i had seen the movie all this, and heaven too a few years ago.  i don't remember much about it now (i know i really enjoyed it), but i remember that the acting was good, and the story was very compelling.  it features bette davis, charles boyer and barbara o'neil. it was through watching the movie that i found out it was based on a book.

i actually received the book from husband well over a year ago, but it got packed away in the move and forgotten.  i came across it recently and decided i would give it a read.  what i found upon reading was much more interesting.

all this, and heaven too is a fictionalized account of actual events.  the author, rachel field, was the great niece of the heroine, henriette deluzy-desportes, and although her great aunt died before she was even born, her story compelled her enough to write about it.  the basis of the story is- mademoiselle d leaves england to return to her native france to become a nanny for the duc and duchesse de praslin.  the duchesse is obsessively in love with her husband, almost to the neglect of her children, and the duc does not return her love.  mademoiselle d and the duc are drawn to each other, but can obviously never be together.  their friendship becomes tabloid fodder, the duchesse ends up murdered and henriette has to plead her case in order to be set free.  this was one of the most notorious murder trials in all of france's history and led to the fall of the monarchy.   

i had a really hard time getting into this book.  it probably took me 3 months to get 100 pages in, but once i hit my stride, i found it easy to keep going, and was able to finish the rest of the book in about 2 weeks.  it definitely made me wish i knew french because i would've had a lot easier of a time trying to pronounce words and names.   once i got really into the book the story was quite compelling, and i had a hard time putting the book down.  i thought that the story ended quite well- and what you thought was going to be a murder mystery ended up being the story of a beautiful romance.  i wish the author had known more about mademoiselle desportes' life, but the way she tells it, you would hardly forget it was fictionalized.  i only wish i could know what had become of the praslin children, but i'm sure mademoiselle desportes and ms. field do as well.  

i'd definitely recommend this if you're into murder mysteries, classic movies, french history, american history, or romance.  not my new favorite book, but i'd probably read it again.

2.5 stars out of 5

crying it out

cry it out is an interesting thing.

crying it out is the method in which a parent leaves their baby in their bed to cry for a specific period of time, before offering comfort- without picking them up.  the reason for implementing this method of sleep training is to help train your baby to fall asleep on his or her own without using "crutch" ie: rocking, patting.


you can start with cio as early as 4 months- dave and i didn't know this in the beginning, so we tried it the first couple weeks until we found out we needed to wait- oh, i felt terrible.  now we are at 4 months, and we have just started implementing it again.  we didn't really need it at first- but with the turmoil of the current wonder week- it has been a necessity.


why do i think cio is a good idea?  it's a good idea because i feel you need to teach your baby to self-soothe.  i just don't think it's a good idea to go and pick your baby up every time they cry- why?  i mean, sure, you have the ability to say, "my baby is so good, he/she never cries" but of course they won't when you are picking them up every time they cry.  giving into them will only make things harder when they are older- because babies are smart!  if i leave ian in the room and he is cooing and content he starts to cry the second the door closes, but the second my hand touches the knob to come back in, a hush falls over the room.  he knows.

it's also the toughest thing in the world.  it's the toughest thing in the world because nobody wants to hear their baby cry- it just tears you up- you want to go and run in and rescue them- hold them and rock them to sleep, but you've got to be strong!  i like to do necessary daily tasks during that time to keep me occupied- ie: eat breakfast or lunch, take a quick shower (all within earshot or view of my baby monitor).

crying it out has really started working for us.  5 minutes is usually my first check in.  after i put ian down for a nap or bedtime, i give him 5 minutes- if he's still fussing i go in and assess the situation:  is he wet?  has he spit up?  is he gassy?  has he lost the pacifier?  is it too hot/cold?  has he pulled mr. bear over his face?  i check into these things, flip him back over (he's been flipping to his tummy to sleep lately, and i find it easier to get him to sleep if i "start him over again" on his back).  i talk to him and reassure him, re-wind his lamb or mobile, give him a few pats and i'm out again.  this time i extend the time from 7-10 minutes.  lately, i  haven't needed to do this, and sometimes lately i haven't even needed the first check.

there have been other times though that after all the check-ins; the crying just won't stop.  and those times have ended baby in my arms both of us fast asleep in my bed.  and that's ok too.  sometimes baby just needs mama, and mama just needs baby.

what are your methods in getting baby to sleep with ease or to self-soothe?