Starbuck’s Pink Drink – Rip Off

August 7, 2018August 7, 2018Leave a comment

If you are reading this post it means one of two things…either you are a total Starbucks addict like I am…OR you are frugal like I am and would like to indulge in the deliciousness that Starbucks has to offer but you are too cheap, or…”frugal” to do so and you are looking for ways to bring the flavor of Starbucks to your kitchen to not miss out on life.

Either way, I’m glad you stopped by. This blog won’t be groundbreaking, it’s pretty much old news at this point, but indulge me if you don’t mind. Apparently this “Pink Drink” is a thing but I was totally unaware as I’m a coffee person more than a refresher or tea person when I do go to Starbucks so I had no clue…

Recently, as in like literally 6 weeks ago, I gave birth for the first time to a beautiful baby girl. In doing so I began the magical (somewhat hellish) journey of breastfeeding which I was totally not as prepared for as I thought. Turns out your milk supply sometimes can be inadequate or inconsistent, who knew. In spending countless hours researching ways to increase my supply, one of the suggestions I received from numerous people, Mom Groups etc was to try the mysterious Starbuck’s Secret Menu item called the “Pink Drink”. To be clear, it’s not necessarily the drink itself that has magical boob milk powers. Turns out coconut (milk, water etc) can have a positive impact on supply so they say.

With this in mind, and out of shear frustration that my baby girl is having way more formula in conjunction with my breast milk than I would like, I went to our local Starbuck’s where I know the barista by name (it’s sad really) and ordered it. It felt so unnatural and weird to order anything but my usual drink by the way (a grande iced vanilla latte with only 1 pump of vanilla syrup) Like I didn’t even know if I was saying it right…or if the barista would know what I’m talking about. Thankfully he knew exactly what it was and the ordering process was pretty seamless.

My thoughts after trying it was that it was amazing. It is delicious and different. It is very light and refreshing making it perfect for summer/warm weather. I felt kind of bad paying $5 a pop for it, especially considering the volume I will be drinking in my quest to see if it will help my milk supply. So I decided I would figure out a way to make it myself and off to the store I went to buy all the ingredients.

The recipe I used can be found here:

Starbuck’s Pink Drink Recipe

My thoughts:

It was harder than I thought to find Acai Berry Green Tea – and when I say hard, I mean they didn’t have any at the one grocery store I went to so I just bought something else and was too lazy/busy/didn’t care enough to go to Whole Foods or somewhere else to try to find the exact tea you are supposed to use. So I substituted and used the Celestial Red Raspberry Zinger tea and it was really tasty.
It’s not as sweet as the Starbucks original, which is good for me as I like things lightly sweetened/unsweetened anyway. I used local raw organic honey as my sweetener because that is what we had on hand but Agave would probably be just as good.
It was pretty easy to make it and the longest part of the process is boiling the water & steeping the tea but you could totally make the tea ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator and pour as needed I would think?
I saved $5, and the planet each time I made one as that is one less cup, straw and lid in the landfill – so you’re welcome for that. About that $5…well I’ll probably blow that $5 I just saved somewhere else. Probably on makeup if we are being totally transparent here.
I wonder if using fresh sliced frozen strawberries in place of the ice cubes would make it taste better so it doesn’t get as watered down? I may try that next time. It’s just a thought as I sit here and reflect.

Before you try this at home, please know there are quite a few different variations of the rip off recipes for this drink when you Google it which was a little overwhelming. I had a hard time narrowing down which recipe I wanted to go with at first but chose the one that seemed the easiest.

The final verdict is that it was just as good as the $5 a pop original and here’s hoping it helps my milk supply (along with the many other things I’m eating/taking/doing to increase my supply in conjunction with this)

Until next time…

XOXO, Crazy Jess

Dear Baby Hannah,

May 16, 2018Leave a comment

I’m sitting in your room right now in the recliner with my feet up looking at all the odd and ends left to do to prepare for your arrival and also marveling at how swollen my feet look. It’s thundering and raining pretty heavy outside tonight and I can smell the delicious dinner your Daddy is cooking for us as I sit here. It should be ready soon and that’s good because I’m about due for another snack.

I should be doing a million things other than sitting here but I just wanted to relax for a few minutes and soak in this peaceful time. Your big brother whom we call Baby K or Bubba is sleeping in the room next to yours as I type this. I want to snuggle him but that will just wake him up and if there is one thing you need to know about your brother it’s that he likes his sleep and does not like to be woken up. He gets a little cranky and he is totally not a morning person either as a side note (just like me actually). You should be prepared for this.

You are on my mind like every minute of every day because you are literally kicking and moving all the time of course but also because your Daddy and I prayed for you for so so long and now here we are and you are just a few short weeks of making your arrival (exactly fours weeks to the day from my official due date of 6/16/18). I’m still in shock and denial sometimes but this ever growing belly and your kicks and movements make your presence very well known and real.

As im sitting here I am thinking of all the things I want to tell you and how much I can’t wait to hold you. So with that said, here are a few things you should know before you get here…

I don’t know what I’m doing with this Mom stuff, I’m just winging it every.single.day and hoping for the best but your big brother seems to think I’m pretty ok at it though.

I want everything to be perfect for you but at the same time don’t want to spoil you to the point that you don’t appreciate things and life and the value of hard work. I’m not afraid to tell you No when I have to.

We don’t know where we stand on vaccinations, education plans, if the cry it out method is torture or if eating a truly grain free and organic diet is best and only way etc So we will just be taking things day by day. I hope you understand and will just go with the flow as we navigate these uncharted waters.

The new born stage takes some trial and error and adjustments. I mean what worked for your big brother may not work with you, so please be patient with us and know we are trying our best.

I get overwhelmed easily when things don’t go as planned or I feel I’m failing. I’m pretty hard on myself (like all the time). I’m working on this. Be gentle with me. Know I’m just trying to be everything to everyone at all times, especially for you and Bubba and some times I reach a breaking point. Your Daddy usually helps to reel me back in though.

I’m not a morning person (I may have mentioned that earlier) and I need my coffee to function in the mornings. Your Daddy on the other hand is more the morning person around here so if you plan to lean towards that tendency y’all will be two peas in a pod. Sorry in advance for being grumpy.

I’m opinionated and have a bit of a smart butt sense of humor. Some people love me for my no nonsense personality and others aren’t quite sure how to handle me. So if the friends you make one day have parents that don’t like me, it’s ok I’m used to it and it’s their loss. I will try to not embarrass you too much though. Note I said I would TRY.

Your Daddy is amazing. Like seriously you won the lottery of Dads with this one. You will have him wrapped around your finger as soon as you arrive I’m pretty sure. He is so patient, giving, nurturing, loving and hard working for us. I’m already kind of jealous because I’m confident you are going to truly be a daddy’s girl. But your big brother is a total mama’s boy so it evens out.

You are so loved already. I can’t even begin to describe how much love we have for you already. Not to mention how much love awaits you with this crazy and large family of ours. I mean you have three grandmas for crying out loud how awesome is that?!?

You can do anything you set your mind to and work hard to obtain. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You are going to be a strong, confident, and amazing female and I am eager with anticipation to see where this crazy life takes you.

There is so much more but that’s enough for now.

So for the next four weeks, focus on growing big and strong and get ready to greet us when you are fully grown. But not too big though as we are trying to attempt an all natural unmedicated birth here… just sayin’

Love you to the moon and back times infinity,

~ Mommy

Crazy Jess | Life Update | Vlog

April 11, 2018April 11, 20182 Comments

Hey there,

Long time no see…I know it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted a blog or vlog however I did post a Life Update last week for those interested in my mediocre YouTube channel. Please don’t forget to like, comment & subscribe! I hope to post some new and exciting content in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

XOXO,

Crazy Jess

Top 6 Life Hacks – Cut The Chaos

November 26, 2017November 26, 2017Leave a comment

I feel like I start out every blog or vlog with the same note about how I’m so sorry it’s been so long since my last post…and I truly am. But life is crazy at the moment (more info on that in the coming weeks)…however in the meantime, I did want to share what I have been up to in an attempt to try to cut the chaos in our lives the best I can.

So with that said…

I am in no way a perfect homemaker, wife or Mom. I’m the first to admit that. But I have implemented a few life hacks in to my weekly routine that have definitely made a huge positive impact on my anxiety, stress level and sanity. When my home is cluttered or not organized I feel very overwhelmed, but at the same time I’m always so busy that some weeks I have a total lack of control of the chaos. Even though the thought of being lazy and not doing these things is appealing sometimes (ok all of the time, after all I have many hours of Real Housewives of ____ on my DVR to catch up on), I remember how less stressful and anxious I will be in the upcoming week once it’s all done and push myself to make them happen.

1) 👚 Wardrobe Planning

I plan out the outfits that Baby K is going to where for the entire week, and sometimes I do this for myself as well, although inconsistently. I always do this for him though. Doing this once a week for the next seven days is a huge time saver and makes our morning routine so much easier.

2) 🥘 Weekly Menu Planning

My chef hubby hates to stick to a planned menu but I really like it because I always know what we are to have and when. This allows me to make a corresponding grocery list and results in only having to go to the store once a week rather than multiple times. It also helps hold me accountable for my diet and what I’m eating. Failing to plan results in me making poor food choices and as far as I have come post op after having gastric bypass that is not good and will not help me make it to my final weight loss goal. It’s also perfect for those days you get home and your brain hurts and you don’t want to have to think about anything you just want to automatically know what to cook and get to it. We then write down the weekly menu on the notes section of our dry erase calendar in the kitchen and mark off what we cooked. This also allows us to move things around when necessary in case our day doesn’t go as planned.

3) 🍎 Scheduling Grocery Pick-Ups/Shopping Online

This, hands down has been a saving grace for us lately. After we decide what we are going to eat for the week, I then log in to our favorite grocery stores website and place an online grocery order for pick-up. Not only is this a HUGE time saver, in that I don’t spend an hour mindlessly going up and down each aisle with no plan on what I’m buying, but it’s also saved us huge amounts of money as we are strictly sticking to what’s on our list for the week. Since we have started this, we spend only $50 a week on groceries, where before we would spend anywhere from $100-$150 (in multiple trips throughout the week) because we weren’t planning effectively. This is a must try if you haven’t already done so.

4) ✅ Daily/Weekly Goal Setting/To Do List Making

Some weeks I am not as adamant about marking everything off the list but I do have a daily/weekly to do list that is on the wall in the kitchen. It is framed so we can use a dry erase marker and mark off what we have gotten accomplished for the day/week as we go. I have it broken down in to tasks to do daily, and tasks to do on a certain day of the week such as laundry, cleaning, miscellaneous to-dos etc. See below an example of the one I created. My husband and our family make fun of me for this but it really helps me stay organized and I feel a sense of accomplishment as I get to mark off something from the list each day.

5) 👖 A Laundry Schedule

Like all families I found that we were literally drowning in laundry. Dirty piles, clean piles that need to be folded, piles that we can’t remember if we washed or not, piles that were folded but never put away etc. What we realized however, is that the reason we always had so much laying around is because we were consistently waiting until everything was dirty and then trying to do a laundry marathon in one day washing six loads of laundry back to back. That is total insanity! Who has time to wash, dry, fold and put away six loads of laundry in one day? I’m over it by maybe the second load if we are being honest. So, we developed a laundry schedule which has us only doing one load of laundry a day and that one load is washed, dried, folded and put away all in the same day so it’s not nearly as overwhelming. It’s been amazing and I haven’t run out of clean clothes yet since trying it.

Example Laundry Schedule:

Monday: Colors
Tuesday: Towels/Linens
Wednesday: Darks (Hubby’s)
Thursday: Whites
Friday: Baby K’s Clothes
Saturday: Delicates
Sunday: Darks (Mine)

6) 📖 Reading/Less Screen Time

I love to read but most people don’t know that about me. Why? Because I’m always so busy they have never actually seen a book in my hands, or if they have, they have seen it took me 12 months to read it. Reading is a stress reliever for me that for so long I didn’t make time for. I have found now that I am reading every evening instead of falling asleep to my Facebook feed that I’m sleeping a lot better at night. Coincidence? Maybe. But it’s currently working for me so I’m going to go with it. It’s also helping me knock out quite a few books on my “must read” list.

So that’s it. That is my current top 6 life hacks to cut the daily/weekly chaos of a full-time working, wife, mom and human. What are some of your life hacks that save you time and sanity during the week? Share below!

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you will subscribe if you aren’t already. I can promise you mediocre posts on an inconsistent basis that you definitely won’t want to miss out on regarding, makeup & beauty, saving money/good deals, life post-up weight loss surgery, foster parenting, being a wife and mom and other general life musings. LOL 🙂

Until next time,

XOXO Crazy Jess 😘

************************************ Stay tuned for a future post update post on these Future Goals listed below (maybe 2018 resolutions?) to see how I did or what I did to make them happen.

– Blog/Vlog Topic Planning & Post Scheduling

– Hosting my first Giveaway

– Increasing my blog/vlog traffic/following

Mom Truths

August 28, 2017Leave a comment

Most of you are aware that my husband and I are Foster Parents. If you aren’t aware, well surprise! We have one amazing foster son currently whom we have had since he was three weeks old (Baby K).

Side note: My husband and I do not have any natural children yet, although we do hope to grow our family through adoption, we still maintain hope that God will give us a baby naturally. I’m throwing this out of the way now because it’s the number one question we get asked when people learn we are Foster Parents.

With that said, it should be very clear to you now, hopefully, that I’m a new Mom. I do not pretend to know everything about being a Mom and I don’t spend hours on Pinterest/Google/Youtube researching the sound of the gas my baby just passed obsessively (most days) but in my short soon to be 8 months of mother hood I have learned a few things that I wanted to share.

So here you go, prepare to be dazzled and I’m sure my book deals and talk show offers will be rolling in any day now….

1) We all don’t know what they heck we are doing and are literally just winging it. Every. Single. Day.

2) Sleep really is a long lost friend that you won’t see for a long time. Enjoy it while you still can (🎶hello sleep, my old friend…🎶, oh…that’s not the actual lyrics?)

3) Our kids are the cutest and most amazing things that have ever graced this planet and you can’t tell us otherwise (whether they are foster kids or birth kids it doesn’t matter) and even when they are acting like the spawn of the underworld.

4) Moms and women in general need to stop being so judgmental of each other. What works for me and my baby/kid(s) may not work for you and your baby/kid(s). That doesn’t make either of us wrong, it just makes us different and different is OK!

5) Everyone has an opinion on how you should Parent, the best way to care for your infant, the only way to potty train etc. but it’s exactly that, it’s opinions. Take them for what they are worth and raise your kids how you see fit. You are doing a great job and you aren’t going to mess your child up by letting them cry it out, or the way you potty train, etc.

6) People will absolutely judge you based on the appearance of your kids, especially in the south where we live. Seriously though, as long as they have decently clean clothes and shoes on their feet you should consider that a win and let it go. Don’t worry about what other people say/think. A superman Halloween costume with owl bedroom slippers and a Paw Patrol jacket may not match but it makes your kid happy so just let them do them and go with it.

7) It’s OK to take time to do something for yourself. Get that haircut/massage/pedicure or go see that movie by yourself and feel no guilt! You deserve it! You can’t take care of others if you can’t or aren’t taking care of yourself. Think of it like a gas tank. If your tank is always empty or running with the low gas light on you aren’t going to get very far now are you? So fill up that tank! Buy the makeup or Lularoe (within reason lol!) or make the appointment for your hair/nails or pour that glass of wine 🍷 and run that bubble bath 🛀 tonight! You NEED it and that’s ok!

8) You can’t always do it all by yourself! Ask for help and don’t be afraid or ashamed to do so. I’m sure you have someone or people you can reach out to (family, church groups, a spouse, your best friend or other Mom/Foster Mom friends etc) There is truth to the saying “it takes a village” so use that village when you need them and don’t be afraid to ask for help. It doesn’t make you a better Mom trying to be a super hero that tries to take on everything by yourself, not that you aren’t an awesome Mom for your attempt at doing so. But refer to item #7 above again – your tank sometimes may run low so fill it up!

10) Don’t sweat the small stuff. Kid’s really don’t have unrealistic expectations on anything, especially babies. If they are fed, changed and cuddled then they think they are literally winning at life and things can’t get any better. If they are an older child, as long as you play with them, talk to them and show interest in the things they are passionate about or enjoy by devoting some uninterrupted one-on-one attention their way they are good to go.

11) Never pay full price for anything! They grow out of things so fast or move on to a new development stage in the blink of an eye so there is no use to spend hundreds of dollars to ensure the Baby/Toddler product economy is thriving. Clip coupons, buy things on clearance, yard sale, check out mom groups on Facebook for things for sale or that people may want to trade and be proud of the thrifty money saving Mom you are!

12) It’s perfectly normal to check numerous times at night to make sure your baby is still breathing. It seems crazy, or in my case sometimes makes me feel like I am a total psycho one step away from being committed, but we all do it! We are all good Moms and that is why we do it. We just want to make sure our little ones are safe and it is perfectly natural to do this. After a while you will find yourself doing it a lot less often but still, rest assured you are not alone. (Hanging my head in shame as I type this, while at the same time am entering the nursery to check in on Baby K for the third time in an hour…totally normal….) 😜

13) Put your phone down. It’s so second nature for us to have our phone in our hands 24/7 because we don’t want to miss a good Mom hashtag or Instagram/Facebook post opportunity, but in doing so we are not fully present and we are missing out on the moment itself. I’m totally guilty of this so I’m not preaching, I’ve noticed myself doing this more and more as Baby K progresses and I keep telling myself to stop, breathe, put the phone down, and enjoy the moment more. It’s easier said than done though, I mean who doesn’t love a good Mom hashtag or cute photo opportunity to show to our friends and family all over social media?

14) Make time for your significant other. Just as much as taking care of yourself is important, so is your relationship with your partner. Make the time to have uninterrupted conversation (aka kid free time). Get a babysitter, plan a date night and stick to it. Love Muffin and I try to have at least one date night a week. That date night can be as extravagant as going out to a nice dinner on the town, or it could be just putting the baby to bed, having a picnic dinner on the living room floor and binge watching our favorite show together. Whatever it is, do it. You have to nurture your relationship as adults/partners to flourish as parents together.

Note: for those single parents out there – this is the time that you should set aside to get out. Go out on a date (if you are interested in dating), or if you are not actively looking to get involved with anyone, make dates to visit your friends and go out on the town or have dinner with a group of friends. You must have social interactions with adults for your sanity! It’s also important for you to continue to nurture your friendships/relationships with other adults. Remember that village we referred to earlier?

15) Lastly, do what works for you and your family. My Mom Truths are just suggestions from my time in the hood. Mother hood that is. Which has only been brief, so clearly I’m no expert. These are the things that work for me and my family and I hope may be helpful for some of you other Moms/Foster Moms/Step Moms/Adopted Moms out there. I’d love to hear your Mom Truths too so comment below and let me know how you maintain your marriage/home/sanity while juggling life in the Mother-hood.

Until next time,

XOXO,

Crazy Jess 😘