I am a total ice coffee snob! I have tried a lot of "easy" ways to try and make my own ice coffee at home and I always fail... until now! I am a mom of two (2 year old and 4 month old) I need simple and this is not just simple, but is really good. I no longer crave the coffee shop ice coffee, I crave my DIY coffee!
Items You Will Need: Trader Joe's Coffee Concentrate (Secret Ingredient) Water Half and Half Sweetener ( I use vanilla syrup)
The way the Coffee Concentrate works is you mix it with 1 Part Coffee to 2 Parts Water. This will take a few trials to get the right mixture you like. I use a 20oz Mason Jar Tumbler that has markings on it to mix my ice coffee. Here is one on Amazonsimilar to mine.
I then use four pumps vanilla syrup and top it off with half and half.
Lastly, what is ice coffee with out LOTS of ice!
Tip: I make my ice coffee about an hour to thirty minutes before I leave in the morning and once its all mixed I let it sit in the fridge to get colder and I feel it tastes even better!
Want to see just how easy this is? Watch my video!
I have the best fruit dip recipe that will make any fruit tray a hit! Also, it is so simple with only two ingredients and so yummy you will never serve fruit without it.
Ingredients:
8 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
7 oz Marshmallow Creme
Direction:
Mix both ingredients together
BOOM! It's that easy!
My favorite fruit to serve with this is strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Mellon's also taste great with the dip.
Now go on, try it and watch your guest crowd the fruit tray.
TIP: This will go fast. Make a lot. :)
Want to see how easy this is to make? What the video!
My son is fresh out of the newborn stage and as I was reflecting on the last 3 1/2 months I came up with tips that helped me survive the newborn stage.
These are tips for you mom to physically and mentally survive those exhausting, but amazing first few months.
1) Let Some Natural Light In
My doctor told me to make sure I go outside to get some sunlight on my face. He said, "it was good for the brain". Now those first few weeks are pretty hard to "get out", but I do think there is something to getting some sunlight.
I would make it part of my daily routine to open the curtain and blinds in the kitchen, living room, my room and even the nursery. Oddly, it helps you feel like you are still apart of the outside world.
2) Find 30 Minutes To Yourself
Now, this might sound easy or impossible. I think it is a little of both. It really is easy to find 30 minutes a day. Although, you are exhausted in the first few months and you either don't have the energy to do anything or you really don't want to leave your baby.
I encourage you at least two or three times a week, hand baby to daddy and take 30 minutes away from baby. I would either to go Target, get a Starbucks and walk through the store. If I didn't want to physically leave the house I would run a bath with a Lush bath bomb, usually with ice cream in hand, and catch up on my favorite YouTube channels.
Not only is it good for you to take 30 - 60 mins away from baby, it is good for baby and daddy to bond without you around.
3) Light A Candle
Most nights I found myself camped out in my room between the hours of 8pm - 10pm . My daughter was in bed and I was waiting until 10pm when I needed to feed Max next. Those nights I would light my favorite candle.
It is 8pm and it feels like the entire world is getting ready for a peaceful night of sleep and you... well your night is just getting started. You know you will be up throughout the night or all night with baby. I found lighting a candle helped relax me and feel like I can conquer the night.
4) Shower, Brush Your Teeth, and Change Your Clothes
This tip is key. At about 11am everyday was my chance to shower, brush my teeth, change my clothes AND I even put some make-up on. With a newborn you pretty much walk around with spit-up on your clothes and if you are nursing you know the struggle of leaking. Just being able to shower, brush your teeth and change your clothes helps you feel good. I would change from my pajamas into yoga pants or leggings and a new nursing tank top. It felt good to have fresh clean clothes on.
I bought a tinted moisturizer with the intention of using it once my son was born. About 95% of the time I would apply a tinted moisturizer, mascara and blush. That made me feel even better! If you like make-up, I would suggest a tinted moisturizer for daily use.
5) Have Perspective
In the moment of taking care of a newborn, it is exhausting and overwhelming. It feels like it will never end. In the grand scheme of things this stage is only a blink of time in their life and in your life. The long nights, the hurt from nursing, the stress of making bottles at 2 am and endless google searches on "is this normal..." will soon pass and you will be looking at your baby sitting up, crawling, walking and even talking. When you feel like it is hard and the thought of another stressful day is overwhelming, try to keep this perspective: It really is a short window of time that they are this small.
